National

Sneak Peek

Axios Sneak Peek

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen taunted Moscow that U.S.-led sanctions have impaired Russia's “ability to conduct war” and claimed their military is now scavenging to find crucial replacement parts for battlefield equipment.

Why it matters: Yellen made her comments in an interview with Axios in Johannesburg, South Africa, after warning government officials in Pretoria they shouldn’t violate U.S. sanctions.

Taking shots at Russia has been a recurring theme of Yellen’s 10-day Africa tour, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine for driving up food and energy prices across the continent.

Yellen arrived in South Africa two days after Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met with some of the same officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, on her schedule, but Yellen and her team have insisted that the U.S. doesn’t want to force African countries to choose between the U.S., Russia and China.

Driving the news: Russia’s navy is scheduled to conduct training exercises with South Africa’s defense forces next month on the one-year anniversary of their invasion of Ukraine.

What they are saying: Yellen acknowledged the sanctions have not affected Russia’s currency, but said "our objective with the sanctions is to impair their ability to conduct war."

"They are scavenging decent airplanes for parts because they can't buy parts to repair (them),” she told Axios. “They have got their two biggest tank factories that can't repair their tanks.”

In an earlier press conference with U.S. and South African reporters at a job training facility in Emalahleni, she was clear that she raised concerns about South Africa potentially evading Russian sanctions in her meetings with South African officials.

“My main message is that we take very seriously these sanctions that we’ve placed on Russia in response to its brutal invasion of Ukraine,” she said.

The big picture: The U.S., China and Russia are competing for influence in Africa, a continent rich in minerals that will help power a green energy transformation.

Yellen’s trip is the first mission from the Biden administration in 2023 to convince Africa that the U.S. wants to be a long-term partner to help residents electrify their countryside, climb out of poverty and help feed the world.

President Biden will visit later this year, along with Vice President Kamala Karris. 

Axios interview: Yellen holds the line on Russia sanctions

“They have got their two biggest tank factories that can't repair their tanks.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends a bilateral meeting with South Africa's Finance Minister. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Russia

World

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

Ronna McDaniel secured a fourth term as chair of the Republican National Committee on Friday, following a bitter election over the leadership post, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: The RNC chair election exposed GOP infighting after the Republican Party's showing in the midterm elections and conflict over the vision for the party before 2024. 

Driving the news: McDaniel earned a majority of the votes in Friday's secret ballot, defeating California attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. 

She won on the first ballot, receiving 111 votes to Dhillon's 51, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture: McDaniel, who has served three terms as RNC chair, was tapped to lead the RNC in 2016 and was the favorite of then-president-elect Trump. McDaniel was chair of the Michigan GOP before becoming RNC chair. 

Dhillon, an attorney from California, is a strong Trump supporter. She earned the support of some of the most prominent conservatives, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, per the New York Times.

Trump did not make an endorsement in the race but congratulated McDaniel on her win Friday.

What they're saying: "After a hard-fought effort, we unfortunately came up short," Dhillon said in a statement. "However, the RNC will be better for the tough conversations that were desperately needed about how to reform the RNC to win elections and earn the trust of our voters, activists, and donors."

A representative for McDaniel did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

What to watch: McDaniel has said she will remain neutral in the 2024 Republican primary. 

Axios' Sareen Habeshian contributed to this report. 

Editor's note: This story was updated with new information. 

Ronna McDaniel re-elected as RNC chair

Trump did not make an endorsement in the race.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel greets supporters during a campaign rally with Georgia Republican senate candidate Herschel Walker on Nov. 29, 2022 in Greensboro, Georgia. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Republican Party

Tel Aviv

Axios from Tel Aviv

Police say a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue Friday night local time, killing at least seven Israeli citizens and wounding three others in an incident that officials are describing as a terror attack. 

The big picture: The gunman, who authorities identified as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem, was also killed, police said. It's the deadliest attack on Israelis since the new right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, assumed office. It comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.  

Driving the news: Khairi Alqam, a Palestinian from the A-Tur neighborhood in East Jerusalem was identified as the gunman by Israeli police. Police said he opened fire on worshippers as they left the synagogue then fled the scene in a car. (Jerusalem district police had earlier misnamed the gunman.)

When authorities blocked the gunman not far from the scene, he opened fire on police, and after a short chase, he was killed, the police commander added. 

What they’re saying: Tom Nides, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, called the attack a “horrific act of violence” and noted it took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

“I am shocked and disgusted at this heinous terrorist attack on innocent people, including children. Praying for all of the victims and their loved ones,” he wrote in Twitter. 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that President Biden extends his full support to the government and people of Israel.

State of play: Tensions in the region intensified on Thursday after the Israeli military killed nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, during a raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

Several Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were killed when a gunfight broke out during the raid. At least 20 Palestinians were wounded, including unarmed civilians.

Not long after the raid, the Palestinian Authority suspended its security coordination with Israel, raising concerns the situation in the West Bank could deteriorate even further.

What to watch: Friday's attack took place as CIA director Bill Burns visits Israel and the occupied West Bank. He is expected to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Saturday.

Secretary of State Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday for meetings with Israeli leaders. He is also expected to meet with Palestinian officials in the West Bank.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the correct name of the gunman, Khairi Alqam. Israeli police had earlier misidentified the gunman as Fadi Ayyash.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

At least 7 Israelis killed in shooting attack at Jerusalem synagogue

It's the deadliest attack against Israelis since the new right-wing government assumed office.

Israeli emergency service personnel and security forces stand at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. 

Israeli emergency service personnel and security forces at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem on Jan. 27. Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty images

Jerusalem

Israel

The Food and Drug Administration unveiled new guidance Friday to relax blood donor restrictions for gay and bisexual men.

Why it matters: The FDA's plan would ease restrictions that were set during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which several medical and LGBTQ organizations say are discriminatory.

The changes are necessary to "maintain an adequate blood supply," said Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

By the numbers: Approximately 20% of community blood centers across the U.S.  have a one-day supply or less as of Friday morning, according to the America's Blood Centers' daily tracker.

If the FDA lifts the three-month deferral period, the annual blood supply would increase by 2% to 4% annually, according to the Williams Institute, a research center at the UCLA School of Law.

Details: Under current guidelines, "a man who has protected sex with another man in the three months prior to a blood donation cannot be a donor, but a man or woman who has unprotected sex with multiple partners of the opposite sex over the same time period remains eligible," according to the American Medical Association.

Lesbian and bisexual women do not have a deferral period.

The FDA's proposed guidance gets rid of that time-based deferral for some men who have sex with men: "Instead, we recommend assessing donor eligibility using gender-inclusive, individual risk-based questions relevant to HIV risk."

The current donor history questionnaire would be revised to ask all prospective donors about their sexual history in the past three months, meaning gay and bisexual men would not be singled out.

The FDA is expected to make the guidance official after a period of public comment.

Zoom in: Men who have sex with men that are not in monogamous relationships would still be subject to the three-month deferral. 

The guidance proposes more inclusive language, saying that if "an individual" had sex with a "new sexual partner" or multiple in the three months before a blood donation, as well as had anal sex in that same period, they are not allowed to donate.

What they're saying: "Maintaining a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood products in the U.S. is paramount for the FDA, and this proposal for an individual risk assessment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, will enable us to continue using the best science to do so," said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in a statement.

FDA eases blood donor restrictions on gay, bisexual men

Several medical and LGBTQ groups have called the FDA's blood donor restrictions on gay men "discriminatory."

Picture of the arm of a person donating blood

Photo: Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

LGBTQ

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

Former COVID-19 czar Jeff Zients will become President Biden's chief of staff, following longtime Biden strategist Ron Klain's departure, Biden confirmed in a statement Friday.

Why it matters: Zients takes the reins as Biden is expected to launch his re-election campaign and as congressional Republicans are prepared to launch a series of investigations into the administration.

Driving the news: "When I was elected President, I knew that I wanted Ron to lead the White House staff.  He was uniquely qualified given his prior public service. He knows how government works, how politics works, how Congress and the White House works," Biden said in the statement. "He assembled the most diverse and the most talented White House team in history and leaned on them to solve impossible challenges."

Biden said he's seen Zients "tackle some of the toughest issues in government" and that he embodies the president's campaign promise "to make government work for the American people. He added: "A big task ahead is now implementing the laws we’ve gotten passed efficiently and fairly."

"I’m confident that Jeff will continue Ron’s example of smart, steady leadership, as we continue to work hard every day for the people we were sent here to serve."

Axios previously reported that Biden was preparing to name Zients as the next chief of staff, per a person familiar with the matter. 

The big picture: Klain is expected to leave the White House after the State of the Union address in February, Axios previously reported. 

Zients served as a co-chairman of the Biden transition team before becoming the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, a position he held until April 2022, and where he led the administration's vaccination plan. Zients was replaced by Ashish Jha as COVID response coordinator. 

Zients was then selected by Klain to launch a talent search ahead of anticipated post-midterms turnover, although it looks less likely that there will be a big Cabinet shake-up.

Klain is expected to stay involved in the administration after his formal departure, and Biden's main political and legislative team is expected to remain as is, Axios previously reported. 

Between the lines: Chief of staff turnover is common among presidents. Former President Trump had four chiefs of staff during his term and former President Barack Obama had five during his two terms in office. 

Klain at the end of last year had signaled to his closest allies that he was ready to transition from the White House, after leading the administration through several legislative accomplishments.

Flashback: Before joining the White House's COVID-19 response team, Zients served as director of the National Economic Council, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget and he led the team that fixed the botched HealthCare.gov launch during the Obama administration.

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Biden confirms Jeff Zients will be chief of staff

Ron Klain is expected to leave the White House after the State of the Union address in February.

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients (L) briefs reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 13, 2021

Jeff Zients briefs reporters at the White House on April 13, 2021. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Biden administration

Joe Biden

Cnn This Morning-7 01 28 Am - 7 04 41 Am-2023-01-27

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said Friday that video of the arrest of Tyre Nichols shows "unconscionable" behavior from the five former officers who have each been charged with second-degree murder over Nichols' death. 

Driving the news: Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died days after a forceful traffic stop. Attorneys for his family have alleged that footage from the stop — set to be released later Friday evening —shows Nichols being subjected to “unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating” by police officers for three minutes. 

The federal government opened an investigation earlier in January to determine whether Nichols' civil rights were violated by police during the encounter.

What they're saying: "You're going to see acts that defy humanity. You're going to see a disregard for life," Davis told CNN's "This Morning." "Duty of care that we're all sworn to. And a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement."

"And I'm sure that, you know, as I said before, that individuals watching will feel what the family felt. And if you don't, then you're not a human being," the police chief continued.

She said, in her assessment, the video is worse than footage from the 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Department officers.

The video will be uploaded on YouTube by the department on Friday night.

The department, through an initial review of footage, has not been able to substantiate its earlier claim that Nichols was driving recklessly, the police chief said.

Davis went further, saying the cameras did not record any evidence of probable cause for the traffic stop. 

What sparked the first confrontation between Nichols and the officers "is just unknown," she said.

Nichols was pulled over just blocks away from his home by a specialized police unit, called " SCORPION," which was created in 2021 to bring down crime levels in particular areas, Davis said.

The department is also reviewing previous arrests and footage from the unit, she said.

Davis said she could not "remove myself from responsibility" over the incident.

"The accountability is throughout the police department, all the way up to the chief," she said.

Davis said two paramedics are also under investigation by the Memphis fire chief over their actions throughout the incident. Based on her assessment of the footage, they delayed giving care to Nichols.

"They just stood by. They did begin to render care and concern, but it was long after several minutes."

Ahead of the video’s release, NAACP President Derrick Johnson in a statement Thursday called on Congressional leaders to watch it and pass police reforms.

"By failing to write a piece of legislation, you're writing another obituary. By failing to pass the legislation, you're passing on your sworn duty to protect the people," Johnson said.

Cities around the country have braced for protests after the video is released. Nichols' mother,  RowVaughn Wells, asked that protests be peaceful. 

"I don’t want us burning up our city, tearing up the streets because that is not what my son stood for,” Wells said at a vigil, according to local media. “If you guys are here for Tyre and me, then you will protest peacefully.”

The big picture: Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Thursday the five police officers, who are also Black men, were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. 

Go deeper: "They are all responsible": 5 ex-cops involved in Tyre Nichols’ arrest charged with murder, DA says

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional information and context.

Memphis police chief: Video of Tyre Nichols arrest shows acts that "defy humanity"

She said, in her assessment, the video is worse than footage from the 1991 beating of Rodney King.

Police

A new environmental movement has college students beseeching school officials to switch to organic lawn care — or let well-manicured campus quads grow wild.

Why it matters: Concerns about pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides like Roundup have been upending landscaping, and the students' efforts could boost the move toward natural lawn care.

An additional concern: drought, which has people ripping up their lawns in favor of succulents, wildflowers, and native flora.

Driving the news: A young, small organization called Re:wild Your Campus is leading the charge.

It's offering fellowships and encouraging college students to push administrators and groundskeepers to switch to vinegar-based lawn care products, embrace composting, and more.

Its first victory came in 2018, when students convinced the University of California, Berkeley, to switch to organic land management. (It's now 95% organic.)

A recent win at Grinnell College in Iowa involved restoring native prairie grasses on a 5,000-square-foot campus plot.

Where it stands: Re:wild Your Campus has endowed 20 fellows on 11 campuses in 10 states this year, including at Princeton University, Drexel University, the University of Michigan, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Its first cohort of fellowships came from six schools, including Grinnell College, Emory University, and Brandeis University.

The group just started offering a green grounds certification to qualifying campuses and released an impact report on its efforts.

What they're saying: "Students are enthusiastic about this — they're excited about working on a tangible issue that connects to climate change and biodiversity loss," Sheina Crystal, the group's director of communications and campaigns, tells Axios.

The goal is to get schools to "transition to organic land care with the integration of more rewilded spaces on campus."

Organic land care "fosters biodiversity; protects the health of students, groundskeepers, and campus communities; supports pollinators; and has the potential to mitigate climate change," the group wrote in its progress report.

The other side: School officials are "usually pretty resistant at first" and "have a lot of misconceptions" about the proposed changes, Crystal tells Axios.

They perceive alternatives to conventional lawn care as ineffective, expensive, and ugly — potentially ruining the pretty campuses that attract students and alumni dollars.

Groundskeepers, too, are skeptical of the students' suggestions and efforts to educate them — highlighting a town/gown divide between the typically young, female undergrads and the seasoned, often male grounds teams.

Re:wild has already been skewered by a pro-industry group, which flamed the students' claims of "climate anxiety" and called the chemicals they're attacking "low risk."

The backstory: The two founders of Re:wild Your Campus, Mackenzie Feldman and Bridget Gustafson, were beach volleyball players at UC Berkeley who were told by their coach not to chase the ball off-court because the grounds crew had just sprayed the area with toxic chemicals.

That galvanized them to get the relevant chemical, glyphosate, banned from campus.

In 2019, the year after they graduated, they campaigned to ban glyphosate on all 10 University of California campuses.

That successful effort led to the creation of the Systemwide Pesticide Oversight Committee, housed within the president's office at the University of California, which is managing the groundskeeping policies.

The big picture: There's a battle over lawns playing out nationally, as homeowners and communities try to balance aesthetics with health and environmental concerns.

A first-of-its-kind Nevada law requires that certain patches of grass be replaced with desert-friendly alternatives.

Programs like "No Mow May" encourage people to let their lawns go natural for a month to build habitats for pollinators.

On the other side, a homeowners association in Maryland demanded that one family "rip out their native plant beds and replace them with grass," as the New York Times reported. 

Flashback: Harvard College was in the vanguard when it pivoted to organic lawn care in 2008.

The effects were noticeable just a year later: "The organically grown grass on campus is now green from the microbes that feed the soil, eliminating the use of synthetic nitrogen, the base of most commercial fertilizers," the Times reported. 

The bottom line: Movements that start on campus often radiate more broadly into society.

"We're trying to make this an issue that's really at the forefront of people's consciousness when considering a college," Crystal said.

Students prod colleges to let campus greens grow wild

Colleges like UC Berkeley have stopped using chemical pesticides.

Illustration of a college pennant with a plant logo and the words "Go Green!".

College

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Tech Policy

With a new law that bars TikTok from government employees' work devices kicking in soon, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wants details on how it will be enforced.

Driving the news: The TikTok ban, which Congress passed last December, is supposed to be implemented by Feb. 27, but it's not yet clear how the federal government will do so.

 Hawley, who led the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, passed as part of the year-end omnibus spending bill, wrote on Friday to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the agency responsible for carrying out the law, per a letter seen first by Axios.

"This law requires [OMB] to develop standards for executive agencies to remove TikTok and any successor application from government devices within 60 days. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any signs of progress from your agency in developing these standards," Hawley wrote.

Why it matters: Hawley and others in Congress want to ban TikTok from the U.S. entirely. How the government enforces the ban on its own devices will set a precedent for further action.

More than a dozen state governments have banned the app on government-issued devices, and universities have been banning it on their Wi-Fi networks as well. 

TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance and faces criticism and pressure over fears that it will share data with the Chinese government and manipulate content against U.S. interests. The company is seeking approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for a plan to protect its U.S. users' data.

Details: Hawley wants OMB to provide, by February 5, any guidance it has circulated around the act, a description of how OMB will measure government compliance with the law and any updates OMB has received from intelligence agencies that might inform the way the act is rolled out.

Be smart: The U.S. is far from passing a full-on TikTok ban, but Hawley and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado) introduced a bill Wednesday that would prohibit transactions with TikTok company ByteDance.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) says he's considering proposing a bill banning categories of Chinese apps including, but not limited to, TikTok, Axios previously scooped.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter previously told Axios state bans "do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok."

The big picture: TikTok has recently pursued a campaign to explain its app and how it works to the press, Capitol Hill lawmakers and researchers.

Per the New York Times, TikTok executives have been making rounds on Capitol Hill, telling legislators who want to ban the app that it keeps user data safe.

And per researchers who were briefed last week in Washington, TikTok is more fully outlining its plan to keep U.S. user data from leaving the country through a comprehensive program managed by Oracle. 

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note that Rep. Ken Buck represents Colorado, not Ohio.

Exclusive: Senator pushes TikTok government-device ban enforcement

Sen. Josh Hawley wants to know how a new TikTok ban for government devices will be implemented.

Illustration of an anvil swaying back and forth above the tiktok app icon

TikTok

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

Reproduced from Third Way; Chart: Axios Visuals

The murder rates in Trump-voting states from 2020 have exceeded those in Biden-voting states every year since 2000, according to a new analysis by ThirdWay, a center-left think tank. 

Why it matters: Republicans have built their party on being the crime-fighting candidates, even as murder rates in red states have outpaced blue states by an average of 23% over the past two decades.

Four reliably-red states consistently made the top of the list — Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Missouri.

Driving the news: Third Way's report analyzed homicide data for all 50 states from 2000 through 2020, using CDC data.

They used the 2020 presidential election results to characterize "red states" from the "blue states."

The findings build on a previous Third Way report that only analyzed murder rates from 2019-2020. This time, they write, they wanted "to see if this one-year Red State murder epidemic was an anomaly."

Zoom out: In Oct. 2022 — just before the 2022 midterm elections — a record-high 56% of Americans said there was more crime where they live, per Gallup. 

That included 73% of Republicans and a whopping 51% of Independents. 

Both parties rushed to spend tens of millions of dollars on crime ads that month.

Between the lines: The political implications don't always match the reality. 

"Crime has historically been a very potent political issue. It’s also very anecdote driven," said Jim Kessler, Third Way's executive vice president for policy.

Murder isn't the only crime committed or discussed, but Third Way hopes to combat the "media and political narrative that crime is a Democratic problem, occurring mostly in big blue cities and fueled by lax policies," they write.

What to watch: Democratic messaging on the issue in the 2024 cycle and whether there are renewed divisions between Democratic Party leaders and members of Congress — particularly after party infighting blamed progressives’ “defund the police” slogan for down-ballot losses in 2020. 

President Biden reiterated his views just last week when he told a group of bipartisan mayors gathering in D.C. that handling public safety shouldn't involve defunding police departments. 

Not an anomaly: 2020's red states have higher murder rates

The issue has plagued Democrats for years, but they hope new data will change the crime narrative.

Friday's top stories

Axios interview: Yellen holds the line on Russia sanctions

Ronna McDaniel re-elected as RNC chair

At least 7 Israelis killed in shooting attack at Jerusalem synagogue

FDA eases blood donor restrictions on gay, bisexual men

Biden confirms Jeff Zients will be chief of staff

Memphis police chief: Video of Tyre Nichols arrest shows acts that "defy humanity"

Students prod colleges to let campus greens grow wild

Exclusive: Senator pushes TikTok government-device ban enforcement

Not an anomaly: 2020's red states have higher murder rates

Scoop: GOP considers copying powerful Dem donor tactic

The housing market wakes from the dead

Scoop: CIA director visiting Israel, West Bank as concern over violence intensifies

Axios Finish Line: Choose joy

The evolution of Mitch McConnell