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The Washington Post is cutting 20 newsroom positions and not filling 30 open positions, The Post's executive editor Sally Buzbee told staff in a note Tuesday.

Why it matters: Layoffs had been a growing source of tension at the company, ever since the plans were announced by CEO Fred Ryan in December. At least 60 people had joined The Washington Post's union since that meeting.

Details: "Newsroom leaders made these decisions after a thoughtful and deliberate review of our current roles and vacant positions," Buzbee wrote in the note obtained by Axios. 

"We prioritized the elimination of vacancies to minimize the impact on employees. We are also eliminating currently filled positions we concluded are not essential to serving our competitive needs," the note stated.

Buzbee added that the affected employees are eligible to apply for open positions.

As a part of the shakeup, The Post is also shutting down Launcher, its online gaming vertical, and KidsPost, according to two sources familiar with the changes.

Earlier on Tuesday, The Washington Post Guild notified members that layoffs had begun, according to a copy of the email obtained by Axios.

Employees had received invitations to meetings scheduled later in the day with senior newsroom executives, the sources said.

The Washington Post Guild denounced the layoffs in a statement to Axios.

"While the number of people affected is reportedly far smaller than what Publisher Fred Ryan initially alluded to in his layoff announcement at last month’s town hall, we believe any job eliminations right now are unacceptable," the union said. "The number should be zero."

The company had said in December that it planned to eliminate a single-digit percentage of its workforce.

Flashback: Post owner Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance in the newsroom last week, prompting the union to hold meetings with staffers to prepare for the upcoming cuts.

The big picture: A slew of media companies and tech firms have begun to announce sweeping job cuts as the economy continues to face uncertainty.

Vox Media, Adweek and NBC News are among the news media companies that have announced layoffs this past month. 

At the end of last year, CNN, Vice Media and Morning Brew laid off staffers, while tech news site Protocol shut down.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.

Washington Post cuts 20 newsroom jobs, shuts down gaming section

Another 30 open positions will not be filled, according to a note sent to staff.

Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

News media

Economy & Business

The FBI retrieved a "small number of documents" with classified document markings from former Vice President Mike Pence's Carmel, Indiana, home earlier this month, according to Pence's attorney.

Why it matters: The document discovery comes as both President Biden and former President Trump are under investigation for their handling of classified documents.

Pence has said previously that he didn't take any classified documents with him when he left the office.

CNN first reported that about a dozen documents marked as classified were found at Pence's home.

Driving the news: Following revelations about the discovery of classified documents at Biden's personal residence, Pence engaged lawyers on Jan. 16 to review documents at his personal home "out of an abundance of caution," Greg Jacob, Pence's counsel, wrote in a Jan. 18 letter to the National Archives. 

A "small number of documents that could potentially contain sensitive or classified information" were subsequently discovered. 

Pence had been unaware of the presence of classified documents in his home, but immediately secured the documents and directed his representatives to work with the archives to ensure their return, he added.

Between the lines: Per that first letter, "Pence understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry." 

In a second letter to the National Archives on Jan. 22, Jacob wrote that on the evening of Jan. 19 — the FBI agents came to Pence's Indiana home to retrieve the documents.

What they're saying: Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who chairs the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said in a statement Tuesday that Pence had reached out concerning the documents' discovery.

"He has agreed to fully cooperate with congressional oversight and any questions we have about the matter," Comer said. "Former Vice President Pence’s transparency stands in stark contrast to Biden White House staff who continue to withhold information from Congress and the American people."

Earlier this month, Comer said that the committee would not investigate Trump over his handling of classified documents, though the committee has announced that it would investigate Biden's handling of documents.

While Biden and Pence appear to be cooperating with law enforcement, Trump has been resistant and publicly denounced special counsel Jack Smith. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said during an appearance on MSNBC: "There’s a systemic problem with former occupants of the presidency and vice presidency having classified information at their homes when it shouldn't be there."

"There needs to be a review of what happens when people leave that office, the presidency and vice presidency."

Of note: Asked about the discovery of the documents during a press briefing on Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was "unable to comment."

The big picture: The revelations come after several tranches of classified documents were discovered in Biden's Delaware home and former office this month.

Criticism of Biden has come from both sides of the aisle over the disclosure, though there are key differences from Trump's handling of classified documents.

The revelations of classified documents from two former presidents and the former vice president have raised fresh questions over government records and how they should be handled.

Some of the documents found in Biden's home and former office date back to his time as vice president and a senator, though it's not immediately clear what type of classified documents were found or how they got to the various identified locations.

Jacob and the House Intelligence Committee could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting. This story has also been corrected to reflect that Mike Pence’s attorney said a “small number of documents,” not a dozen, were discovered at his Indiana home.

Classified documents discovered at Pence's Indiana home

Pence engaged lawyers to review documents at his personal home "out of an abundance of caution."

 Mike Pence on stage at the 2022 New York Times DealBook on November 30, 2022 in New York City

Mike Pence on stage at the 2022 New York Times DealBook on Nov. 30, 2022, in New York City. Photo: Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The New York Times

Mike Pence

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

A suspected gunman was arrested in agricultural Northern California after two related shootings near San Francisco left at least seven people dead and one person with life-threatening injuries Monday, officials said.

Driving the news: The second mass shooting to hit California within three days resulted in four people being killed at a mushroom farm on the outskirts of Half Moon Bay and three others near a trucking facility less than a mile away, per San Mateo County Board of Supervisors president Dave Pine.

The injured victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment, officials said.

Children were present at the shooting scenes, according to officials.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference that the suspected shooter,  Chunli Zhao, was found in his car in the parking lot of a sheriff's office substation in Half Moon Bay, a coastal city of some 12,000 people in San Mateo County.

 The 66-year-old was taken into custody "without incident" and the weapon was located in his vehicle, she added.

State of play: Half Moon Bay Councilmember Debbie Ruddock told NBC Bay Area that the victims in the shootings that began about 2:20pm local time were farm workers.

The FBI is assisting the sheriff's office "by providing investigative and forensic resources," the agency said in a statement.

Investigators believe the suspect was working alone and that he was a worker at the agricultural nursery, Corpus said.

What we're watching: Corpus said officials were working to determine Zhao's connection to the victims and to both scenes in San Mateo County, which is known for producing vegetables, flowers and permits cannabis farming in some areas.

A screenshot of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's tweet: "At the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting"

What they're saying: "We are sickened by today's tragedy in Half Moon Bay," Pine said in a statement. "We have not even had time to grieve for those lost in the terrible shooting in Monterey Park. Gun violence must stop."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday night that President Biden had been briefed on the shooting and asked "federal law enforcement to provide any necessary assistance to the local authorities."

"Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay, California," President Biden said in a statement Tuesday.

"For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence," Biden added. He reiterated his call for Congress to pass an assault weapons ban. 

The big picture: The mass shooting follows the one in Monterey Park, California, on Saturday night that killed 11 people and injured nine others on the eve of Lunar New Year.

Hours after the San Mateo County shootings, police in Oakland, California, said one person was killed and seven others injured in a shooting.

The Monterey Park shooting exposes a major problem with crime data

The deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history

 Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details. This story has also been corrected to reflect that Zhao is reportedly 66, not 67, as law enforcement initially said.

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At least 7 dead in Half Moon Bay shooting

It follows the mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, over the weekend.

A San Mateo County sheriff's deputy helps a police car exit the scene of a shooting on Jan. 23 in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Mass shootings

An Atlanta judge heard arguments Tuesday about whether an investigative report into efforts by former President Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results should be made public. 

Driving the news: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argued that for the time being the report should be kept secret to protect possible defendants' right to "fair trial," noting that "decisions are imminent" regarding possible indictments.

Media outlets, however, asked for the report's full release, given the "extraordinary" public interest in its findings.

Why it matters: Willis’ comments provide some insight into her thinking as she decides whether to indict Trump or his allies after opening an investigation two years ago. 

The report's findings are expected to influence Willis' decision whether to indict anyone of criminal conduct — and if so, whom.

Catch up quick: Willis called for an investigative grand jury to look into the matter last year. The "special purpose grand jury" spent eight months hearing from 75 witnesses ranging from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to Rudy Giuliani to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

The jurors finished their work earlier this month and voted to publish the report, according to Judge Robert McBurney, who is hearing the case.

What's next: McBurney told lawyers Tuesday he will "think about this" and get back to them with his decision on whether to release the report. If he does decide to release some or all of it, he said, he will give fair warning in any court order ahead of disclosure. 

"No one is going to wake up with the court having disclosed the report on the front page of a newspaper," he said. 

Zoom in: In a legal brief, national and local media outlets argued for the full release of the report, saying the issue was of "enormous public interest not just to Georgians, but also to citizens throughout the United States."

Fulton prosecutor Donald Wakeford told the judge Tuesday that the office is not opposed to the report’s “eventual release,” just not right now given the pending indictment decisions. "The time will come," he said. 

Because this investigative grand jury does not have the power to indict, only the ability to recommend indictment or not, its release could complicate any pending indictment the district attorney may be working on.

The other side: In a statement, lawyers for Trump said they would not participate in the hearing and "have never been a part of this process." 

Trump, they said, has never been subpoenaed nor asked to speak to the DA voluntarily.

"Therefore, we can assume that the grand jury did their job and looked at the facts and the law, as we have, and concluded there were no violations of the law by President Trump," they said. 

The intrigue: Norm Eisen, former U.S. ambassador and counsel in the first Trump impeachment trial, says he believes the special purpose grand jury has enough evidence to indict Trump and others.

But, he qualified in a press conference last week: "You just never know. While the great likelihood is that we're going to see a recommendation of charges here, you just never know."

What they're saying: Speaking to reporters alongside Eisen, J. Tom Morgan, former DeKalb County, Ga. district attorney and law professor at Western Carolina University, said the release of the report could put Willis "in a quandary."

"If the report says there have been certain crimes and certain persons should be prosecuted and she doesn't prosecute them, it’s going to come back to hurt her — and vice versa," he said.

What we're watching: If any of the report is released, the question of redactions is likely to come up, says Atlanta defense attorney Don Samuel — who is representing Georgia legislators in the proceedings. 

"The question is: is [Judge] McBurney going to give the individuals a chance to, in private, say how they want it redacted so that they're not publicly disgraced?" he told Axios.

Morgan says he thinks McBurney should do so. "I think if there are any individuals designated in that report and accused of certain crimes, they have an absolute right to have that redacted, certainly until they are indicted for those crimes," he said.

Yes, but: Those who have already been named targets in the investigation, including the slate of electors who "certified" a false Trump 2020 victory in Georgia, were not invited to participate in the hearing.  

Of note: Georgia lieutenant governor Burt Jones has been named as a target of the investigation, but Willis was barred from investigating him directly or bringing charges against him after supporting his past political opponent. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details from Tuesday's arguments.

Atlanta

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Atlanta district attorney pushes to keep Trump election report secret

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said "decisions are imminent" regarding possible indictments.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in court Tuesday. Photo: John Bazemore/AP

Donald Trump

Ticketmaster was in the spotlight on Capitol Hill on Tuesday following the Taylor Swift Eras tour debacle, which saw droves of fans unable to secure tickets to her wildly popular upcoming tour.

Why it matters: It took an artist as big as Taylor Swift to get the conversation about why Ticketmaster controls so much of the live event industry going again, and now lawmakers have their sights on Live Nation, the site's parent company.

In a time of unprecedented antitrust scrutiny over big companies, especially tech, LiveNation was grilled by lawmakers eager to notch wins for consumers.

The hearing featured many puns tied to Swift's lyrics, with senators quoting from some of the star's biggest hits. 

Driving the news: Joe Berchtold, president and CFO of LiveNation, which owns Ticketmaster, testified Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the state of competition in the ticketing industry.

"The recent onsale experience with Taylor Swift, one of the world's most popular artists, has highlighted the need to address [ticket scalping] issues urgently," said Berchtold. "We were hit with three times the amount of bot traffic than we've ever experienced. [...] This is what led to a terrible consumer experience, which we deeply regret."

"We apologize to the fans, we apologize to Miss Swift. We need to do better."

Other witnesses included Jack Groetzinger, CEO of SeatGeek; Jerry Mickelson, CEO and president of JAM Productions; two antitrust scholars, and a singer-songwriter.

What they're saying: "LiveNation is so powerful that it doesn't even need to exert pressure, it doesn't need to threaten, because people just fall in line," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who during her opening remarks said young people should have the opportunities to go to concerts like she did when she was young.

"Restoring competition to our markets is about making sure that fans get fair prices and better service," she said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) urged LiveNation's CEO to do more to root out bots, and said that if the previous agreement allowing the two companies to merge wasn't working for consumers, there should be structural remedies like breaking LiveNation and Ticketmaster up: "Your approach seems to be it's everyone else who's responsible here, not us. I hope that approach will change in the future."

Details: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said at the end of Tuesday's hearing that more competition reduces prices for consumers, ending his remarks with a quote from Swift's song "Karma."  

"Karma's a relaxing thought," he said. "Aren't you envious that for you it's not?" 

Context: Ticketmaster has previously blamed the Taylor Swift "Eras" tour debacle on bot attacks and unprecedented demand and interest.

A group of fans sued Ticketmaster last December for alleged fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations, and accusing the company of "intentional deception" for letting resellers buy most of the concert tickets, according to Deadline.

Flashback: LiveNation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010, in a deal that was brokered by the Justice Department during the Obama administration. Senators and witnesses suggested during the hearing Tuesday that the deal should be re-examined.

"As long as LiveNation remains remains both the dominant concert promoter and ticketer of major venues in the U.S., the industry will continue to lack competition and struggle," said SeatGeek's Groetzinger. "Our industry provides a cautionary tale about how behavioral remedies cannot solve the problems inherent in an anti-competitive merger."

Groetzinger said venue owners fear losing out on LiveNation concerts if they don't use Ticketmaster, and the two companies should be broken up.

Go deeper: Ticketmaster blames bots, demand for ticket issues

Ticketmaster cancels general public sale after Taylor Swift shatters record

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout. 

Live music execs grilled on Capitol Hill after Taylor Swift tour mess

The Senate hearing featured many puns on Swift's lyrics.

Taylor Swift performs in Japan on November 2018. Photo: Jun Sato/TAS18/Getty Images)

Senate Judiciary Committee

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

The Justice Department and eight states on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google's parent company Alphabet, accusing the tech giant of illegally abusing its dominance in digital advertising and violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Why it matters: It's the second major antitrust lawsuit filed against Google by the Justice Department in the last three years, and if successful it could force Google sell off much of its ad business. 

The DOJ and a coalition of state attorneys general sued Google in 2020 for allegedly using anticompetitive tactics to illegally monopolize the online search and search advertising markets. That lawsuit is ongoing. 

Details: "Competition in the ad tech space is broken, for reasons that were neither accidental nor inevitable," the filing reads. "One industry behemoth, Google, has corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising."

Bloomberg reported Monday that the lawsuit was imminent. 

The suit is seeking a judgment that Google has unlawfully monopolized both the publisher ad server market and advertiser ad network in the U.S. and acted unlawfully by tying products together.

What they're saying: "Today’s lawsuit from the DOJ attempts to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector. It largely duplicates an unfounded lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General, much of which was recently dismissed by a federal court. DOJ is doubling down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

The big picture: Google is already under heavy antitrust scrutiny around the world and faces anger from U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The case is also a major test for President Joe Biden's antitrust officials, who have been vocal about wanting to rein in the power and dominance of the biggest tech companies.

By the numbers: Google earned $209 billion in ad revenue in 2021, making it the largest advertising company in the world. By comparison, Meta — the second-largest ad company globally — made around $115 billion in ad revenue that same year. 

The vast majority of Google's revenue (81% in 2021) comes from advertising. 

Last year, Google's ad business took a hit thanks to economic headwinds impacting the growth of the global ad market.

The company will report its full-year earnings report next week. It's still expected to bring in more than $200 billion in ad revenue for the full year. 

Catch up quick: Google's advertising dominance stems, in part, from a handful of ad tech acquisitions that regulators argue have given it a leg up on ad-serving over its competitors.

In 2007, it purchased DoubleClick — an ad-serving company — for $3.1 billion, giving it access to a vast online marketplace where Google could sell display ads to place on the websites of thousands of online publishers.

In 2010, it acquired AdMob — a mobile ad network — for $750 million in stock, allowing Google to plant a flag in the quickly-growing mobile ad business that grew with the iPhone market.

Be smart: The lawsuit could meaningfully slow advances in Google's ad business at a time when it's starting to show signs of weakness thanks to the economy and growing competition from e-commerce companies like Amazon and streaming firms.

The company announced last week that it plans to lay off 12,000 workers to offset its rapid expansion during the pandemic.

The biggest proponents of antitrust action against Google's ad business have long been online publishers and smaller tech firms. 

Flashback: Google has been hit with numerous antitrust penalties over the past five years in the U.S. and Europe, worth many billions of dollars. It has also paid hundreds of millions in data privacy settlements in the U.S. 

2017: European antitrust officials charged Google $2.7 billion fine for abusing its search practices, more than double what was expected.

2018: European antitrust officials again charged Google €4.1 billion for abusing the dominance of Android. The penalty was upheld, although slightly reduced, last year after Google tried to appeal the ruling. 

2019: European antitrust officials charged Google $1.7 billion for abusing its advertising dominance. 

2020: The U.S. DOJ and state attorneys general sued Google over its search dominance. 

What's next: Google now has a chance to respond to the DOJ's initial complaint, and the process will be slow. Typical antitrust suits of this scale can take years to resolve, and some have taken more than a decade.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Justice Department sues Google over alleged search monopoly

Google, DOJ square off over search dominance

Here's what the U.S. antitrust case charges Google with

Google denies DOJ's antitrust claims in filing

Justice Department sues Google for "corrupting" ad market

It's the second major antitrust lawsuit filed against Google by the DOJ in the last three years.

Illustration of a gavel with the Google logo on the block

Google

Big Tech

Media

China's shrinking population highlights the need for the country to build a more efficient and robust workforce, but analysts tell Axios that it won't be an easy task.

Why it matters: China's nearly 1 billion working-age population already peaked in 2014 and has dipped in the last few years. By 2100, China is projected to have a workforce size of less than 400 million, according to UN data last July. Harnessing the potential of existing workers will be key to maintaining economic productivity, experts say.

"The question is whether an increasingly autocratic dictatorship can unlock the value of human resources when so many of the things that an open society like Germany or Japan can count on are beyond their reach," said Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist at the American Enterprise Institute, citing the institutional flexibility of advanced economies.

Driving the news: Following last week's population announcement, Beijing underscored the importance of retraining the country's workers.

"We should not only look at the quantity of the demographic dividend but also its quality," Qu Hongbin, vice chairman of the China Chief Economist Forum, told a state media outlet this week. 

China can continue to improve its human capital, and educational investments can counter the risks of a shrinking workforce, he said.

What they're saying: China needs to create more high-wage, high-value jobs because jobs based on cheap labor are expected to move away from the country due to geopolitical tensions and as other countries like India become bigger manufacturing hubs, said Zak Dychtwald, founder of market insights firm Young China Group.

That will leave a large swath of its population vulnerable to income loss, Dychtwald told Axios. 

"China’s population decline means fewer people need to support more economic weight. Fewer people working the same jobs as before will not cut it," he said.

Joseph Chamie, an independent demographer and former director of the UN Population Division, shared similar views. "Technology will play an increasingly important role in China's economic productivity," he said, adding that robots could be an answer to aging societies.

By the numbers: By 2030, up to 220 million Chinese workers may need to switch occupations due to automation, according to a McKinsey report in 2021. 

The changing workforce landscape will also bring challenges for China's 292 million migrant workers — unskilled laborers who move from China's rural areas into cities to seek jobs mainly in construction and manufacturing, the McKinsey report said. Many can't access quality training programs and have limited capacities to make work transitions.

State of play: Since 2017, the Chinese government has pushed the country to transition from "high-speed" to "high-quality" development. In its manufacturing sector, the government has prioritized the transition from making low-valued products to those based on advanced technology, which it hopes will drive economic growth in the future.

In 2020, the government also recommended delaying the legal retirement ages “gradually." In another document the following year, Beijing hinted that it could start implementing the measures nationwide by 2025.

Currently, the country has some of the lowest retirement ages in the world, with men retiring at 60 and most women at 55. 

China wants a more efficient workforce but analysts say that will be tough

By 2100, China is projected to have a workforce size of less than 400 million.

Tuesday's top stories

Washington Post cuts 20 newsroom jobs, shuts down gaming section

Classified documents discovered at Pence's Indiana home

At least 7 dead in Half Moon Bay shooting

Atlanta district attorney pushes to keep Trump election report secret

Live music execs grilled on Capitol Hill after Taylor Swift tour mess

Justice Department sues Google for "corrupting" ad market

China wants a more efficient workforce but analysts say that will be tough

War in Ukraine pushes Doomsday Clock forward

Trio of polls show Trump clawing back momentum from DeSantis

Several Ukrainian leaders ousted amid corruption allegations

How ChatGPT became the next big thing

What we know about the Monterey Park mass shooting

Biden's new tax hammer

Elon Musk admits Tesla investors would rely on "funding secured" tweet