May 2, 2017

Putin and Merkel's awkward press conference

Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool / AP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin faced off in a terse joint press conference in Sochi ahead of this summer's G-20 summit in Hamburg, per Bloomberg.

The big topics: Ukraine and Russia's election meddling.

The split on Ukraine: Putin called the 2014 Ukrainian revolution — that pushed Russia's annexation of Crimea — a "coup d'etat," while Merkel said that Ukraine's current government "came to power through democratic means."

Putin on U.S. election interference: "Just gossip…We never interfere in the political life of other countries."

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Kyle Daly

53 mins ago - Technology

The slippery slope of protest surveillance

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump's call to treat antifa supporters like terrorists could be a green light for high-tech surveillance of dissidents.

Why it matters: It's unlikely the Trump administration can designate antifa as a terrorist group in any legally meaningful way, but the declaration gives law enforcement tacit approval to use a plethora of tech tools to monitor protesters and left-leaning activists.

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David Nather

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

The biggest crisis since 1968

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Bettmann/Contributor

The year 1968 has been on a lot of people’s minds lately — another year of protests, violence and upheaval that seemed to be tearing the nation apart.

Yes, but: This crisis also has moments we’ve never seen before — and some historians and experts say the differences suggest that 2020 doesn't compare well at all.

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Dion Rabouin

1 hour ago - Economy & Business

SoftBank to launch $100M fund backing companies led by people of color

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure said in a letter to employees early Wednesday that the firm will create a $100 million fund that "will only invest in companies led by founders and entrepreneurs of color."

Why it matters: The Opportunity Growth Fund is one of the first to put significant capital behind companies' statements of empathy and outrage in response to protests over systemic racism in the U.S. typified by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans by police.

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