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National

Axios AM

Anne Ratchford Kearns — who lived for 60 years in the Pennsylvania house at the root of President Biden's "Scranton Joe" lore, and hosted him several times when he visited his hometown — died on Christmas Eve at 88.

The big picture: Biden loved to visit the house and schmooze with Kearns when he returned to Scranton, where he was born in 1942.

He sometimes came with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and sometimes with his late mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, known as Jean (who lived to 92!).

The president lived in Kearns' house from roughly ages 5 to 10.

Then-Vice President Biden hosted Kearns at the White House on St. Patrick's Day in 2010.

Kearns welcomed Hillary Clinton and Vice President Biden into her kitchen when they stopped in Scranton while she was running for president in 2016.

The Kearns family bought the home for $14,000 in 1962 from Edward Finnegan, Biden's uncle, according to The (Scranton) Times-Tribune, which gave Kearns a front-page sendoff.

Above: "From This House To The White House With the Grace of God," Biden wrote with a Sharpie on Kearns' living-room wall during a stop on election morning in 2020.

He signed a bedroom wall during his 2008 race for vice president: "I Am Home ... Joe Biden." (Photo)

Scranton lore says that when Biden was living in the house as a kid, he scrawled on his bedroom wall: "Joe was here." The Kearns family painted over his childhood graffiti. That's why Biden signing walls became a thing. 

The outside of President Biden's childhood home in Scranton.

The outside of President Biden's childhood home in Scranton. Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

Biden paid tribute to Kearns in a statement released by the White House: "Over the many years I knew Anne Kearns, and the many times I visited her at my childhood home, I knew her as an embodiment of Scranton values."

"She was a woman of integrity, grit, decency, compassion, and grace," the president continued. "Her greatest joy and her greatest pride in life was her family — her large Irish Catholic family — that always welcomed me home."

"North Washington, Maloney Field, Green Ridge Little League, Fisk Street, Simmey's, Marywood University, St. Paul's Church, and so much more. Nothing but joy and friendship. Anne was Scranton. And Scranton will miss her. Jill and I share our deepest condolences with the Kearns family and all those who loved her."

"Anne was Scranton": Biden remembers the owner of his childhood home

Biden loved to visit the house and schmooze with Kearns when he returned to Scranton, where he was born in 1942.

Anne Kearns with Joe Biden. Family photo provided by Kim Kingsley

Joe Biden

Politics & Policy

The U.S. Navy sunk three of four small boats from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and killed its crews on Sunday after an attack on a Maersk container ship in the Red Sea.

Why it matters: This is the most significant engagement by U.S. forces against the Iranian-backed Houthis since they started attacking ships in the Red Sea after the Gaza war began, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.

Zoom in: There was no damage to U.S. personnel or equipment, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Sunday.

The small boats had "fired crew served and small arms weapons" at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou and had gotten "within 20 meters of the vessel" and tried to board it, according to CENTCOM.

A security team on the Maersk ship returned fire, and U.S. Navy helicopters stepped in to respond to the distress call.

After the Houthi boats "fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew served weapons and small arms," the U.S. Navy "returned fire in self-defense," sinking three vessels. CENTCOM said the fourth boat fled the area.

The Maersk ship had issued two distress calls in less than a day to report attacks by the Houthi boats.

The container ship reported being struck by a missile while moving about the Red Sea, per a statement from U.S. Central Command on Saturday.

While responding, the USS Gravely "shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the ships," per CENTCOM. 

The big picture: The Houthis claim their attacks are against ships heading to and from Israel. But the rebels have attacked many other ships, and significantly hampered freedom of navigation on one of the world's most vital maritime commercial routes.

Maersk, a global shipping giant with 700+ container vessels, announced Sunday that it's pausing all sailing through the Red Sea for 48 hours.

Go deeper: Maersk schedules more than 50 ships to travel via Suez Canal

Maersk schedules more than 50 ships to travel via Suez Canal

U.S. Navy sinks Houthi boats after container ship attack

The Maersk ship had issued a "a second distress call" in less than a day to report attacks by the Houthi boats.

A Maersk container ship sails southbound to exit the Suez Canal on Dec. 21. Photo: Stringer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Axios Explains: Israel-Hamas war

Israel

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

World

On New Year's Eve in Times Square, more than a ton of confetti will drop to ring in 2024 — and written on over 130,000 pieces of it will be wishes from all over the world.

What's happening: The Times Square Alliance collected thousands of wishes from 154 different countries through online submissions and a physical wishing wall in New York City in December. 

Those wishes will be mixed with confetti that falls at midnight Dec. 31, covering Times Square with thousands of hopes and dreams.

What they're saying: "We saw a lot of 'health', 'happiness', and 'peace' this year," Times Square Alliance vice president TJ Witham told Axios.

Here's a look at just a few of those New Year's wishes:

"It's always been a wish of mine to spend New Year's in Times Square. One day I will. Until then, this note will make it there for me."

"I want to succeed in my first year of medicine to one day become a pediatric surgeon."

"My wish is to become financially stable but also take my mom on her bucket list trips."

"I want the war end in Ukraine and my father will come back home and live under the peaceful sky."

"My wish is for my dad to never forget how much I love him. #dementiacaregiver"

"I wish for the world to be a little less homophobic and a lot more accepting in 2024."

"I wish for a year where I finally have the courage to do the things I'm scared to do and achieve the things I've dreamt of."

"I wish that the climate crisis will end."

"I'd love to go horseback riding with Reba McEntire!"

"I wish to see my 99th birthday and make it to my granddaughter's wedding in September!!"

"My wish is that my wife be pain free, happy, healthy and come to know how truly special she is."

"To have a complete historical American Girl doll collection."

"That there will be no wars in my daughter's lifetime."

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2024 wishes range from ending war to hugging a chicken

Illustration of the Statue of Liberty wearing party hats and confetti falling. 

Hub Stories - All

Science

Axios Science

A key ingredient for life spotted on one of Saturn's moons. An early chapter in human history revised. A slew of possible new materials predicted by AI. 2023's scientific discoveries — of the big and small, near and far — expanded the edges of knowledge.

Why it matters: The world is in urgent need of new ideas and inspiration to address chronic and infectious diseases, climate change, energy demands and other complex and consequential problems.

Here are some of the biggest discoveries and advances of 2023 ...

AI-assisted discovery: The push to use AI for science notched some advances in 2023 — including solving a famous math problem, finding a new class of antibiotics and predicting the structure of nearly 400,000 possible new materials, which are needed for next-generation batteries, solar cells and computing.

Gene-editing cure: The Food and Drug administration approved the first therapy that uses CRISPR gene editing, a treatment for sickle cell disease. The approach could be used for other diseases but is right now expensive, raising concerns about access to therapies.

Synthetic biology milestone: Scientists completed synthetic versions of the chromosomes in a yeast cell — a feat that advances the field of synthetic biology toward a goal of creating cellular factories that can be programmed to produce biofuels, medicine and materials. 

Human history revised: A genetic analysis provided more evidence that modern humans emerged from at least two populations that migrated across the continent and mixed with one another.

The finding put "a nail in the coffin" of the idea that modern humans had a single birthplace, one researcher told the NYT.

Brain maps drawn: A census of the cell types in the human brain, a map of the maggot brain and a complete atlas of the cells in the mouse brain  — multi-year efforts involving hundreds of researchers at dozens of institutions — were released this year. 

They could help provide much-needed insights into learning, behavior and diseases and disorders that affect the brain.

Astronomy challenged: The James Webb Space Telescope spotted unusual possible early galaxies and pairs of worlds — perhaps planets or maybe stars — orbiting each other. 

If confirmed, they could require a reexamination of the formation of stars and the evolution of the universe.

New species spotted: Spiders, sea slugs, octopus, plants, insects, microbes and hundreds of other species discovered this year are a reminder of Earth's vast biodiversity and could inform efforts to conserve it.

X-ray era: The world's most powerful X-ray laser produced its first pulses in 2023 — giving scientists a new tool for studying the details of the interaction of atoms and behavior of electrons. 

Yes, but: These advances come as evidence continues to suggest the pace of disruptive research is slowing down. Scientists are turning the mirror on science itself to zero in on what's contributing to the trend.

Here, too, AI could play a role: A paper this year suggested AI could help to not only speed up scientific discovery but push it in entirely new directions. 

The big picture: The impact of science isn't limited to shaping the course of humanity or swaying the planet's fate — it also can reveal our deep shared history and common cosmic place in the moment.

A year of discovery

We learned more about our brains, evolution and the cosmos in 2023.

Photo illustration of a lightbulb, brain scans and abstract planets.

Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos: NASA, Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab

News and analysis of the scientific advances fueling AI and quantum computing, revolutionizing biology and medicine, and tackling climate change. Science is changing the world and colliding with the global politics that shape it.

China

Axios China

China's leaders are expanding an anti-corruption campaign targeting power centers within the military, risking instability and a crisis of confidence during a sensitive time in China's foreign relations. 

Why it matters: Recent purges highlight the obstacles facing China's leader Xi Jinping as he tries to complete his military modernization drive by 2050.

Driving the news: Nine Chinese generals and three Chinese defense technology officials were removed from a top Chinese Communist Party advisory body late last week, according to Chinese state media. 

The generals largely came from the Rocket Force, which oversees China's missile program.

"The strategic nuclear force is what China relies on as the bottom line of its national security, and the last resort on Taiwan," said Yun Sun, China program director at the DC-based Stimson Center, told Reuters.

"It will take some time for China to clean up the mess and restore confidence in the Rocket Force's competence and trustworthiness. It means for the time being, China is at a weaker spot."

Details: The defense industry officials, meanwhile, all work at state-owned missile manufacturing companies. 

"These officials' removal may engender political instability among the political leadership," said Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub. Three members of the powerful Politburo also once worked at the same three companies of the ousted officials.

In China's opaque high-level politics, that kind of link between powerful officials and fallen officials could mean Xi is targeting patronage networks.

Between the lines: Corruption in the People's Liberation Army, China's military, has long been endemic and military officials have been resistant to efforts to address it.

Evidence of corruption in the advanced weapon systems and components sectors could detract from China's push to modernize its military and "may chip away at China's ability to catch up with the U.S. militarily," Sung added.

The other side: The Chinese government has not commented on the personnel shake-ups, though in July Xi called for "deepening reforms" in the armed forces and "improving the strategic management of the military."

"Corruption is the biggest cancer that harms the vitality and combat effectiveness of the party, and anti-corruption is the most thorough self-revolution," Xi said at the 20th Party Congress last year.

Background: The removals are the latest in a series targeting top-level defense officials in China. 

In August, two generals overseeing China's nuclear and missile force were removed and, in a highly unusual move, replaced with officials from outside the force.

Former Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu was detained earlier this year and then removed from his position. Former Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, who previously served as China's envoy to the U.S., was also removed from his position this year.

Chinese authorities have given no explanation for the removals, but rumors have swirled of procurement-related corruption, affairs and even espionage committed by the fallen officials. 

China's military purge deepens

The anti-corruption campaign could derail Xi's global goals.

Axios

Sunday's top stories

"Anne was Scranton": Biden remembers the owner of his childhood home

U.S. Navy sinks Houthi boats after container ship attack

2024 wishes range from ending war to hugging a chicken

A year of discovery

China's military purge deepens

Stocks end 2023 with a big surge

Axios Explains: The racist history of Trump's "poisoning the blood"

The Elon Musk industrial complex

Biden administration works around Congress in another Israel emergency weapons sale