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National

Macro

Axios Macro

Republicans are hammering “Joe Biden’s America” as a land of rising violent crime, surging immigration and out of control inflation, but there’s just one problem: the numbers are starting to move in the opposite direction.

The big picture: With 2024 around the corner, the U.S. is making measurable progress in the areas where Biden has been most vulnerable to GOP attacks.

Violent crime surged in U.S. cities during the pandemic and ranked as a top concern for voters in the 2022 midterms. 

Republicans slammed Biden and Democratic leaders for rising crime rates, and many Democrats started embracing a more centrist approach to policing.

Homicides were down 9% in the first half of this year over the same period last year, according to a study of 37 major cities from the Council on Criminal Justice.

State of play: Violent crime rates are generally down across the board, thought they're still higher than 2019 levels. 

Meanwhile, illegal border crossings dropped to the lowest level in over two years in June, the first full month under Biden’s new, restrictive asylum rule, which makes it much harder to attain asylum.

That policy replaced a pandemic-era policy enabling rapid expulsion of migrants, and was sharply criticized by immigration advocates and some Democrats as something out of former President Trump's playbook. 

For now, though, it seems to have helped stave off an expected summer spike in migrants crossing the southern border.

What to watch: A pending court ruling may threaten the relative calm at the border. And even with border numbers plummeting, House Republicans have pushed forward with their effort to impeach Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas over the "illegal immigration crisis."

Arguably the biggest factor driving voter discontent has been inflation, which made consumers feel lousy about the Biden economy, despite otherwise favorable economic and job market conditions. 

Now, as inflation retreats, there are signs of a shift. 

Consumer sentiment, as measured by a long-running survey conducted by the University of Michigan, is the highest in two years — a jump “largely attributed to the continued slowdown inflation along with stability in labor markets.”

Behind the scenes: The Biden team has long been frustrated, and at times confounded, that these positive data points are not reflected in his approval rating, which is stuck in the low 40s, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.

The White House has recently done a flurry of events touting "Bidenomics" as they try to make voters more aware of what they believe is a stronger economic record than Biden often gets credit for.

GOP's crumbling case against Biden on crime, immigration and inflation

"Joe Biden's America" isn't looking as bad as Republicans claim.

Illustration of an elephant foot crumbling and breaking as it steps on an upright Biden campaign pin.

Joe Biden

Politics & Policy

Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday set the trial date in the classified documents case against former President Trump for May 20, 2024, per a court filing. 

Why it matters: The trial will likely begin after the Republican nominee in the crowded GOP field is crowned, and as the general election is heating up.

The new date comes after a clash between the Department of Justice and Trump's legal team over the timing of the trial, with the ex-president pushing for it to take place after the 2024 election.

Special counsel Jack Smith sought a mid-December trial date.  

Driving the news: Jury selection will begin on May 14 and a two-week trial period will begin on May 20, per the filing. 

What they're saying: A Trump spokesperson said in a statement that the new trial date is "a major setback to the DOJ’s crusade to deny President Trump a fair legal process."

"The extensive schedule allows President Trump and his legal team to continue fighting this empty hoax," the spokesperson said. 

A spokesperson for Smith declined to comment on the new date, but referred Axios to previous court filings and remarks at a hearing earlier this week.

Zoom out: The trial date falls after most primary race contests will have wrapped up, including super Tuesday. 

If Trump, the current frontrunner in the Republican field, is the eventual Republican nominee, he is likely to make the historic indictment a centerpiece to his re-election bid.   

Winning the presidency would give him a chance to install sympathetic Justice Department officials, or even try to pardon himself if he's convicted, Axios' Alex Thompson previously reported. 

Trump in June was charged with 37 criminal counts related to his alleged efforts to retain classified information after he left the White House and obstruction of justice. 

He also faces a number of other legal inquiries as he campaigns for president, including the probe into his alleged efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power during the 2020 election. 

An indictment in that case, also being led by Smith, could be imminent, Trump signaled on his Truth Social account earlier this week. 

Go deeper: Trump's shifting public defenses in classified documents case

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

Trump's shifting public defenses in classified documents case

Trump classified documents trial set for May 2024

The trial will likely begin after the Republican nominee in the crowded GOP field is crowned.

Former President Trump speaks at the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 15. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

2024 elections

Donald Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Florida's new Black history standards on Friday, saying "extremists" in the state are pushing "propaganda to our children."

Why it matters: Harris' speech sharply contrasts the Biden administration with several Republican presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who have made fights over education central to their platforms.

It is also the latest example of the vice president appearing publicly to tout popular Democratic causes as the White House aims to boost her public image ahead of the 2024 election.

Driving the news: "People who walk around and want to be praised as leaders, who want to be talked about as American leaders, pushing propaganda on our children," Harris, who did not mention DeSantis by name, said Friday.

"Let us not let these politicians, who are trying to divide our country, win, because ... they are creating these unnecessary debates."

"This is unnecessary, to debate whether enslaved people benefited from slavery. Are you kidding me?" she said. 

The big picture: The Florida State Board of Education approved the new standards this week, which includes a standard of instruction on "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, called the new standards a "big step backward" for the state.

DeSantis, in a statement before Harris' speech, said "Democrats like Kamala Harris have to lie about Florida's educational standards to cover for their agenda of indoctrinating students and pushing sexual topics onto children." 

Christian Ziegler, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, also criticized Harris' speech and said in a statement that "the government overreach on parental rights has already been overwhelmingly rejected in Florida." 

Go deeper: Republicans bet big on "the education election"

Republicans bet big on "the education election"

Kamala Harris slams Florida's new Black history standards

It also sharply contrasts the Biden administration with GOP presidential candidates who have made fights over education central.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a meeting on Artificial Intelligence in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on July 12. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kamala Harris

Latino

Axios Latino

The first line of Latina dolls to be sold by major U.S. retailers is scheduled to hit the shelves next month amid a renewed love affair with all-things "Barbie."

Why it matters: Diverse toys are important because they are learning instruments that can help develop self-esteem, problem-solving skills and positive interactions with others.

Toy companies have started to include different skin colors and body shapes only in the last few years.

Details: The Latinistas line, out next month from Purpose Toys, features four dolls with varied skin tones and hair textures.

They're named Dani, Lola, Julianna and Liv and were given bilingual mottos and back stories.

Purpose Toys, a small company founded in 2020 and made up of a multicultural team, also has a line of Black dolls with natural hairstyles and one representing alums of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

What they're saying: The dolls' creators say they're excited to disrupt the toy industry with products that celebrate "the joy and pride of the Latino community" and its cultural nuances.

"In designing our characters to be distinctly Latina, we've made them more than the 'friend' or 'sidekick' character and made it possible for children of the community to celebrate and be celebrated for who they are," Jovanna Rosado, head of Purpose Toys LATIN, tells Axios Latino.

"We want our kids to feel that 'main character energy' beyond a moment in time and to carry that confidence with them throughout their lives," she adds.

Of note: The growing attention to representation in dolls can also be seen in the "Barbie" movie, whose diverse cast includes actress America Ferrera.

She tells ScreenRant that she did not own a Barbie growing up, but that she's excited that now such a big movie centering on "something so iconic and archetypal and culturally dominant" took the opportunity to show more faces.

Go deeper: Listen to the Axios Today podcast, where Felix Salmon and Marina E. Franco share more details about the first ever all-Latina doll line.

Subscribe to Axios Latino to get vital news about Latinos and Latin America, delivered to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

New line of Latina dolls to hit stores amid "Barbie" mania

Toy companies have only recently started to include different skin colors and body shapes in the last few years.

The dolls in the Latinistas series (from left): Lola, Liv, Julianna and Dani. Photo: Courtesy of Purpose Toys LATIN

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Latin America and Latinos

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

World

J. Robert Oppenheimer's shadow still looms over New Mexico — as a scientific hero who helped reshape one of the nation's poorest states, and as a villain who generated a trail of human destruction still felt there today.

Why it matters: Oppenheimer's reputation dominates discussions about the Manhattan Project, often pushing aside the stories and challenges of the New Mexicans affected by the atomic bomb tests. 

Details: Oppenheimer's influence in creating the unincorporated town of Los Alamos, New Mexico, helped lead to the establishment of the Los Alamos National Lab and other military industries in the state. 

Those labs and industries have attracted top scientists from around the world to New Mexico, building a scientific hub and a thriving public school system.

His reputation for his role in ending World War II and the mystery around the once-secret town of Los Alamos have sparked tourism around labs, test sites, the scientist's home and other places connected to Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb. 

The new film "Oppenheimer," directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt, follows the American scientist as his team races to create the bomb and deals with the aftermath of its creation.

Zoom in: Oppenheimer's legacy aided in the creation of the Santa Fe Institute, a research center for complex systems science founded in 1984 that has attracted scientists and writers, such as the late Cormac McCarthy.

Thousands of people visit the Trinity Site when the federal government opens it twice a year and walk around the spot of the world's first atomic bomb blast scattered with radioactive green glass known as trinitite.

The state regularly hosts events about Oppenheimer. On Thursday, a 10-day Oppenheimer Festival begins to coincide with the release of Nolan's biopic.

This week, Los Alamos National Laboratory also will release its own documentary on Oppenheimer in which scientists call him a "hero."

A visitor of the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, New Mexico, looks over a small replica of the world's first atomic bomb detonated at the Trinity Test.

A visitor of the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, New Mexico, looks over a small replica of the world's first atomic bomb. It was detonated at the Trinity Site. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios 

Yes, but: Oppenheimer isn't revered among some Hispanic residents and Mescalero Apache members, whose families lived near the site of the Trinity Test.

They've suffered from generations of rare cancers after debris from the blast fell onto homes and livestock. 

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, said neither Oppenheimer nor the federal government ever apologized.

"I don't have anything against him. But I really despise the fact that they brought the Manhattan Project to New Mexico because it changed our state forever," said Cordova, a cancer survivor.

During the Cold War, the U.S. government stepped up its production of nuclear weapons — something Oppenheimer opposed later in life — and began mining uranium across the Navajo Nation.

The birth rate of sheep in the area dramatically dropped and surviving lambs struggled to walk. Other lambs were born without eyes.

Navajo uranium miners also developed cancer and grappled with health care bills.

There are more than 500 abandoned uranium mines today on the Navajo Nation, according to the EPA. Homes and water sources near those now-closed mines have elevated levels of radiation. 

This hogan, built of earth, stone and wood, is no longer occupied. Across the Navajo Nation, many hogans were made of uranium mill waste, the radioactive residue of the nuclear arms race.

A Navajo stands by a hogan, built of earth, stone and wood, that is no longer occupied. Across the Navajo Nation, many hogans were made of uranium mill waste, the radioactive residue of the nuclear arms race. Photo: Gail Fisher/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

State of play: New Mexico residents aren't included in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The federal law passed by Congress in 1990 awards financial reparations to Nevada Test Site downwinders and later uranium workers in other states.

Cordova and other New Mexico residents blame racism for the law excluding New Mexico residents.

The  U.S. Justice Department's Civil Division, which oversees the compensation program, declined to comment. But officials said Congress would have to amend the act to expand payouts to New Mexico residents.

Oppenheimer's legacy in New Mexico is complicated

J. Robert Oppenheimer's shadow still looms over New Mexico as a hero and a villian

Axios

Saturday's top stories

GOP's crumbling case against Biden on crime, immigration and inflation

Trump classified documents trial set for May 2024

Kamala Harris slams Florida's new Black history standards

New line of Latina dolls to hit stores amid "Barbie" mania

Oppenheimer's legacy in New Mexico is complicated

Relentless U.S. heat wave is likely to extend into August

Old houses now cost as much as new houses

Oppenheimer revealed the human and political sides of science

Axios interview: Zients says Biden will push for more AI authority