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National

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) on Saturday announced plans to run against embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in 2024.

Why it matters: Menendez is facing deep political peril and mounting calls to resign from fellow Democrats in Congress and his home state after he was indicted on federal bribery charges on Friday.

Driving the news: Kim said on X that, after Menendez responded to calls for his resignation by saying he is “not going anywhere,” he felt “compelled to run against him.”

“Not something I expected to do, but NJ deserves better. We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our integrity,” Kim added.

State of play: The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York accused Menendez and his wife in an indictment of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes" in cash, gold, lavish gifts and other expenses in exchange for using his power to benefit a trio of New Jersey businessmen.

Menendez released a defiant statement on Friday insiting he would not heed calls to resign, adding: "It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat."

Flashback: Menendez previously faced unrelated corruption charges in 2017, but jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict in that case.

The latest: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Saturday became the first Senate Democrat to call on Menendez to resign. 

Worth noting: Kim flipped his central New Jersey district in 2018 and expanded his margin of victory while winning re-election in 2020 and 2022.

The former State Department advisor is the first Asian American member of Congress from New Jersey and would be one of just three Asian American senators if elected.

He may face stiff competition even if Menendez steps down – Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) have also been rumored as possible candidates.

Rep. Andy Kim to challenge Sen. Menendez in 2024 after bribery charges

The embattled New Jerseyan is now being told to resign by a fellow senator.

Rep. Andy Kim. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.

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Tropical Storm Ophelia is bringing heavy rains, strong winds and coastal flooding Saturday from the Carolinas to the Jersey Shore.

The big picture: The storm made landfall early Saturday morning near Emerald Isle, N.C., with top sustained winds of 70 mph. It was steadily weakening Saturday afternoon, and forecast to become a tropical depression Saturday evening.

The National Hurricane Center is warning of life-threatening storm surge flooding along coastal areas of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey Saturday afternoon and evening. 

Storm surge refers to a rise of water, typically driven by a storm's winds, above the predicted astronomical tide levels. 

Heavy rains are also expected to worsen from Washington to Wilmington,   north to Philadelphia, Atlantic City and New York City through Saturday night.

Zoom in: In parts of the Carolinas, more than 6 inches of rainfall has fallen, and flood warnings have been issued. As the core of the storm spins north-northeastward, areas that have seen about 2 inches of rain so far, including the I-95 corridor, may pick up another 2 to 3 inches. 

Moderate to major coastal flooding is forecast for the Mid-Atlantic coastline as the storm's strong onshore winds bring high waves along with a surge of water on top of typical tide levels.  

Between the lines: The storm began as an area of low pressure along a slow-moving cold front, but gradually took on tropical characteristics. Friday night, Ophelia took advantage of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream to intensify nearly to hurricane strength before crossing the coast. 

Throughout Saturday, bands of heavy rains have been pushing outward, far-removed from the core of the tropical storm, all the way into southern New England. 

There have been scattered reports of trees and power lines down in the Richmond and Washington, D.C. areas, with more abundant damage reports further south and east. 

So far, wind gusts to hurricane force have been noted in North Carolina, including 80 mph in Wrightsville Beach, 64 mph in Lewes, Delaware, 58 mph in Dewey Beach, Delaware, and 54 mph on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. 

Our thought bubble: Ophelia came ashore as a stronger storm than initially expected, which may surprise some of the nearly 7 million people under tropical storm warnings as of Saturday afternoon. 

Go deeper: El Niño amplifies 2023's extreme weather

Editor's note: This story was updated with new information from the latest forecast.

El Niño amplifies 2023's extreme weather

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Tropical Storm Ophelia drenches Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic

The storm is also bringing flooding rains and damaging winds to millions.

Satellite view of Tropical Storm Ophelia on Saturday, Sept. 23. Credit: NOAA/GOES

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Years of zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) gave the world ambitious venture capital-stuffed companies that sought to make everyday tasks and chores as easy as the tap of a button. But the reality of those business models is much more modest now.

Why it matters: We were promised a new world of hyper-convenience while VCs dreamed of billions in investment returns.

Driving the news: Just in the past week or so, a number of those companies have entered new corporate chapters.

On Tuesday, grocery delivery company Instacart finally went public.

Spin, a scooter rental company, was acquired by rival Bird.

Ultra-fast delivery startup Jokr raised new funding at a lower valuation.

The big picture: These businesses, while facing headwinds, are far from being considered failures. 

Instacart has managed to become profitable despite the delivery business being notoriously low-margin.

Jokr appears to be doing well in Latin America after retreating from the U.S. last year. A number of delivery services are operating around the world (though there's been a lot of consolidation given the low margins and complex operations).

Others, including Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb, have matured into publicly traded companies in recent years.

Yes, but: The results haven't met the expectations these brands touted at the height of the bull market.

In the late 2010s, we had apps for everything "on demand": valet parking, chocolate chip cookie delivery, home cleaning, and car repairs, just to name a few.

The majority of these companies no longer exist. Many of them shut down within a couple of years and others died slowly, sometimes at the hands of acquirers.

Instacart went public, but at a fraction of the valuation it had in 2021. (Its current stock price is also trading below its IPO and below what it was at the close of its first day of trading, but broader market forces are also a factor.)

Scooter and bike rental companies have gone through a lot of consolidation as well, and Bird has had a very bumpy ride since going public. 

Airbnb is facing new heavy regulations in some cities, including New York City, which just stepped up its enforcement on short-term rentals. The company has called it a "de facto ban." 

Between the lines: The value of a venture dollar has changed. It's not free anymore.

Companies have to do more with less and figure out how to generate their own dollars sooner.

One obvious exception right now is artificial intelligence, but even in that field, investors seem at least somewhat vigilant about business models.

The bottom line: After a decade-long trip into the stratosphere, we've come back down to Earth.  

Just as the ZIRP era lasted far longer than anyone thought it would, the current interest rate environment appears here to stay for a while. Startups should internalize that and adjust.

Driving the news: The Federal Open Market Committee this week elected to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, with 12 of 19 top policymakers expecting one more rate increase this year to be justified.

From my colleague, Axios Macro's Neil Irwin:

Between the lines: Fed officials are embracing a higher-for-longer strategy in which they only push interest rates slightly higher than they are now, but then hold those rates at elevated levels through most of next year.

The goal is to slow activity and keep inflation moving downward.

"Economic activity has been stronger than we expected, stronger than I think everyone expected," Powell said.

The median official raised their projections for 2023 GDP growth, to 2.1% from 1% in June, reflecting strikingly strong growth this summer.

The median also saw the unemployment rate rising only to 3.8% this year, not the 4.1% envisioned in June, reflecting a resilient labor market.

"Job gains have slowed in recent months but remain strong," the committee's statement said.

Fed officials expect inflation for the full year to be 3.3% this year and 2.5% next.

Of note: More top Fed policymakers now believe that the longer-term interest rate has risen, implying that rates will stay elevated well above the ultra-low levels of the recent past.

Five top officials now believe that the longer-term rate is 3% or higher. Three held that view in June and zero did last year.

The median estimate of longer-term interest rates was unchanged at 2.5%, however.

ambitious venture capital-stuffed companies

Convenience-focused startups adjust to tighter money, lower expectations

The reality of convenience-driven startups is much more modest now.

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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.

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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.

Axios

Saturday's top stories

Rep. Andy Kim to challenge Sen. Menendez in 2024 after bribery charges

Tropical Storm Ophelia drenches Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic

Convenience-focused startups adjust to tighter money, lower expectations

Mapped: The Sun Belt's summer for the record books

Tinder to charge power users $500 per month for VIP features

The lawyer sending nastygrams for Ray Dalio and Ken Griffin

Migrant surge makes U.S. housing crisis worse

How state unemployment benefits impact the UAW strike

Powerful X-rays are opening up "impossible" science

Deionomics: Coach Prime is big business in Colorado

Menendez resists Democrats' mounting calls to resign

Biden to join UAW strike and picket with auto workers