Jan 18, 2019

The New Yorker's next cover is a throwback to the Berlin Wall

Photo: John Cuneo, Boris Artzybasheff/The New Yorker, TIME

The cover of The New Yorker next week is "Walled In" by John Cuneo, who last year depicted President Trump enjoying a day of golf in the swamp.

Why it matters: Next week's cover nods to a magazine cover from another era — a drawing from 1962 about the Berlin Wall ("Wall of Shame") by Boris Artzybasheff for Time Magazine. “When it comes to drawing Trump, I’ve kind of hit the wall myself,” Cuneo said. “Half of a face is more than enough."

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Kyle Daly

49 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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