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National

U.S. intelligence agencies say it is "very unlikely" a foreign adversary is responsible for cases of the mysterious illness known as "Havana Syndrome," according to a new intelligence review.

The big picture: The new assessment challenges long-held suspicions that a foreign adversary may have used directed energy attacks to target U.S. diplomats and government officials.

The new findings are similar to that of a preliminary CIA report released last year, which concluded that a global campaign by a foreign power was likely not the cause of the mysterious illness.

Driving the news: "Most [intelligence community] agencies have concluded that it is 'very unlikely' a foreign adversary is responsible for the reported [anomalous health incidents]," according to the assessment released Wednesday by the Director of National Intelligence.

The assessment said that different intelligence community agencies had varying confidence levels in the finding.

Intelligence community investigators also believe that "there is no credible evidence that a foreign adversary has a weapon or collection device" that caused the reported symptoms," per the assessment.

The agencies also said that the symptoms reported could be the result of factors "that did not involve a foreign adversary, such as preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors." 

The Washington Post first reported the findings of the assessment. 

Zoom out: Americans first reported symptoms associated with the so-called "Havana Syndrome" in Havana, Cuba in 2016. 

Cases of mysterious brain injuries have since been reported in China and Europe. 

What they're saying: "The Intelligence Community Assessment released today by ODNI reflects more than two years of rigorous, painstaking collection, investigative work, and analysis by IC agencies, including CIA," CIA Director William Burns said in a statement.

"I want to be absolutely clear: these findings do not call into question the experiences and real health issues that US Government personnel and their family members – including CIA’s own officers – have reported while serving our country," Burns said.

"We will continue to remain alert to any risks to the health and wellbeing of Agency officers, to ensure access to care, and to provide officers the compassion and respect they deserve," he continued.

Go deeper... State probing "Havana syndrome" cases among U.S. diplomats in Vienna  

State probing "Havana syndrome" cases among U.S. diplomats in Vienna

Intel review: "Very unlikely" foreign adversary responsible for "Havana Syndrome"

"We will continue to remain alert to any risks to the health and wellbeing of Agency officers," CIA Director William Burns said.

CIA Director William Burns participates in a discussion during an event at the Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center on February 2, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Politics & Policy

TikTok will try to help younger people limit their time on the app to one hour of daily activity, the company announced today.

Details: TikTok, one of the top downloaded apps in the world, will prompt teens under 18 years of age to enter a passcode in order to continue watching beyond 60 minutes — “requiring them to make an active decision to extend that time,” TikTok head of trust and safety Cormac Keenan said in a post.

For teens under 13 to watch for an additional 30 minutes, a parent or guardian will need to set or put in an existing passcode.

Other new features announced today include giving parents more control over their children's account activity and access to more data about the time their children spend on the app.

Be smart: A similar feature has been in place on the app’s equivalent in China, where users under 14 are limited to 40 minutes a day and blocked from access from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Why it matters: Excessive internet use has been a growing global concern.

TikTok, Snapchat and other social media platforms have been under scrutiny most recently for using what critics allege are inherently “defective” features that can exploit people’s compulsive tendencies — with one major federal lawsuit alleging that the companies can be held legally responsible for harms they cause to younger users.

What they’re saying: “We want our community to feel in control of their TikTok experience,” Keenan said.

The company “consulted” Boston Children’s Hospital experts within the Digital Wellness Lab in choosing the 60-minute limit.

And that “soon,” anyone who uses TikTok will be able to set their own customized screen-time limits and schedule sleep reminders.

The big picture: The 60-minute teen screen-time limit feature is set to be rolled out in “the coming weeks” and is part of TikTok’s larger plan to add more speed bumps to its scrolling experience.

Today’s announcement notably landed as a House committee voted to advance legislation that would make it easier to ban TikTok from the U.S. as bipartisan concerns grow over the app’s potential ties to Chinese government intelligence-gathering.

Our thought bubble: Keenan mentions in the post today that existing screen time prompts helped increase the use of TikTok’s screen time tools by 234% — but what would make more sense for companies to talk about is whether engagement time actually drops after limits roll out.

Of note: TikTok said it will prompt teens to set a daily screen time limit if they opt out of the 60-minute default and spend more than 100 minutes on the platform per day.

As we’ve written, another beneficial feature would be a weekly question about how people feel about their screen time.

What we're watching: The fundamental conundrum many digital businesses — and their investors — are facing is whether they'll have to make moves against their own success for social good.

White House: Federal agencies have 30 days to remove TikTok from devices

TikTok expanding time limits on app

The new app-limit features come amid growing scrutiny over its use.

Photo illustration of TikTok logo on an iPhone

TikTok

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

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

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Axios in an interview after his recent trip to Jerusalem that the Israeli government’s plan to weaken the Supreme Court is an internal Israeli matter and the U.S. should not intervene.

Why it matters: McConnell’s comments often set the tone for many Republican lawmakers who, unlike several Democrats, haven't expressed public opposition to the judicial overhaul plan.

Driving the news: McConnell visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel last week as part of a Senate delegation of Republicans. 

The delegation met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem.

A separate delegation of Senate Democrats led by majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) visited Israel at the same time.

What they're saying: McConnell told me the issue of the Israeli government’s judicial plan hardly came up in the meetings in Jerusalem and stressed this was a domestic issue.

“I don't have an opinion I'm willing to express about it," he said in an interview this week. 

"This is something the citizens of Israel are going to have to sort out for themselves without any American influence. … It isn’t any of my business to give Israelis advice about how to sort this out," he added.

The big picture: Democrats in Congress are increasingly voicing their concerns over Netanyahu’s controversial plan and its implications for Israel’s democracy and the bilateral U.S.-Israel relationship.

The plan, presented by the most right-wing government in Israel's history, has created an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the country, with growing fears that the confrontation between the government and the opposition will escalate into violence and chaos.

Biden told the New York Times last month that any fundamental changes in Israel’s judicial system should be based on a consensus to get legitimacy from the public and be sustainable.

Behind the scenes: McConnell told me a key issue that was discussed with Netanyahu was Israel's policy toward Ukraine.

"We want to see as much help for Ukraine internationally as we possibly can, and to the extent that the government of Israel could head in that direction, that would be a good thing," McConnell said.

He added, however, that he understands the complicated situation Israel is in with Russia. “The deconfliction agreement they have with the Russians with regard to Syria makes things somewhat complicated. But anything that the Israeli government could do to help Ukrainians would be appreciated," he added.

Worth noting: McConnell praised the visit by the Saudi foreign minister to Kyiv earlier this week and the $400 million aid package he announced.

“It's pretty clear to me, the Saudis would not have sent their foreign minister to Ukraine, they would not have committed $400 million if they were not on our side against the Iranians and the Russians in this war. And I think that's a very good sign," he said.

Scoop: McConnell says U.S. shouldn't weigh in on Bibi's judicial overhaul plan

"It isn’t any of my business to give Israelis advice about how to sort this out," McConnell said.

McConnell stands next to Netanyahu during their meeting in Jerusalem in February. 

McConnell and Netanyahu in Jerusalem in February. Photo: Handout/GPO

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel

Ukraine

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) turned heads on Capitol Hill this week by sending performance artists dressed in straitjackets and blue-and-red tinted glasses to the House offices.

Why it matters: It's part of a campaign Kinzinger is launching against political extremism and attention-grabbing political antics at a time when the House is focused on flashy hearings and probes into the Biden administration.

Kinzinger told Politico, which first reported his campaign, that the glasses symbolize the ideological binary in the American political system: "We’ve been programmed so much to believe ... that each event in the world should be seen through blue or red glasses."

Kinzinger retired from Congress this year after voting to impeach former President Trump over the Jan. 6 attack and serving on the Jan. 6 select committee.

The state of play: The performers were first spotted roaming the House office buildings on Tuesday, perplexing lawmakers and staffers with their unwillingness to speak or do anything to broadcast their message.

The mystery was solved on Wednesday, when they began carrying QR codes that link to a website denouncing political extremism and calling to "reject conspiracies and stand for truth, courage and integrity."

What he's saying: "We call them 'drones'," Kinzinger told Axios in an interview. "They're just kind of droning around, they really don't have a purpose at the moment ... because they just feel unrepresented. They feel like government is just kind of going along."

By "grabbing attention," Kinzinger said, they're also meant to satirize the "desperate need of every lawmaker and staffer there" to get onto television and go viral on social media.

Kinzinger said the purpose of them staying silent at first was to cultivate mystique.

By the numbers: Kinzinger said he is spending $250,000 on an "initial launch," including TV and digital ads, billboards and other performance art campaigns.

"I'm sure it'll end up probably building to be even more."

The money comes from Kinzinger’s 501(c)(4), Country First Action.

What we're watching: The anti-Trump Republican suggested he plans to stay in the GOP and will likely run for office again: "It's not, like, on my radar right now ... [but] I expect that there will be a moment where it's like, okay I'm ready to do this again."

Capitol Hill swarmed by performers in straitjackets

The anti-Trump former lawmaker plans to spend more than $250,000.

Capitol Hill

Vitals

Axios Vitals

More people are being diagnosed at younger ages and with more advanced cases of colorectal cancer, according to new research published Wednesday. 

Why it matters: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third most common cause of cancer‐related death in both men and women in the U.S. 

It ranks second in cancer‐related deaths globally and is the leading cause of cancer deaths in men younger than 50 years.

What they are saying: “We know rates are increasing in young people, but it’s alarming to see how rapidly the whole patient population is shifting younger, despite shrinking numbers in the overall population,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, and lead author of the report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

By the numbers: The proportion of individuals in the U.S. diagnosed with advanced-stage colorectal cancer increased from 52% in the mid-2000s to 60% in 2019.

Diagnoses of people under 55 years of age doubled from 11% or about 1 in 10 in 1995 to 20% or about 1 in 5 cases in 2019.

Death rates from colorectal cancer have increased since around 2005 by 1% annually in people younger than 50 years old.

The bottom line: These latest findings confirm trends observed in previous studies and have major implications for convincing younger people to get screened for the disease.

Colorectal cancer getting diagnosed later, among younger people: study

More people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at later stages of the disease and at younger ages, a study published Wednesday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Illustration of a magnifying glass examining a small cervical cancer ribbon.  

Cancer

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

Aviation officials are investigating two more alarming recent near-misses two weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration announced a "safety call to action" following several other concerning incidents.

Driving the news: In the most recent incident, a business jet took off without clearance at Boston Logan International Airport on Monday, forcing an incoming JetBlue flight to go around.

The FAA is investigating more alarming airplane near-disasters

The misses came just two weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration announced a "safety call to action."

Axios

Wednesday's top stories

Intel review: "Very unlikely" foreign adversary responsible for "Havana Syndrome"

TikTok expanding time limits on app

Scoop: McConnell says U.S. shouldn't weigh in on Bibi's judicial overhaul plan

Capitol Hill swarmed by performers in straitjackets

Colorectal cancer getting diagnosed later, among younger people: study

The FAA is investigating more alarming airplane near-disasters

Under pressure, Eli Lilly cuts insulin prices

Low-income households are falling behind on car bills

East Palestine's record of devastating derailments

Biden runs into the Supreme Court buzz saw

Gas is cheaper this year — but that has drawbacks for electric cars

McCarthy defends giving out Jan. 6 tapes