Jan 10, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Trump welcomes press 'back to the studio' for Cabinet meeting

President Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting. Photo: JIm Watson / AFP via Getty Images

President Trump welcomed the press "back to the studio" today for the first Cabinet meeting of 2018, and boasted about his handling of yesterday's bipartisan meeting on immigration, reiterating that "we want to see something happen with DACA."

"My performance — some people called it my performance, I consider it work — got great reviews by everybody except two networks ... [Some said] it was one of the greatest meetings they've ever seen." Note: no agreement was reached on immigration during the meeting.

Key quotes:

  • "Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness. So we're going to take a strong look at that. You can't say things that are false, knowingly false and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account."'
  • "The media will ultimately support Trump in the end, because they're going to say, 'If Trump doesn't win in 3 years [we're] all out of business.'"

Go deeper: NYT breaks down what Trump can and can't do on libel laws

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Dave Lawler
2 mins ago - World

The 53 countries supporting China's crackdown on Hong Kong

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Rolex/Pool/Getty Images

China's foreign ministry and state media have declared victory after 53 countries joined a statement at the UN Human Rights Council supporting Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong — compared to 27 who criticized the law.

The big picture: The list of 53 countries was not initially published along with the statement, but has been obtained by Axios. It is made up primarily of autocratic states, including North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Zimbabwe.

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Ben Geman
15 mins ago - Energy & Environment

CO2 emissions may have peaked, but that's not enough

Reproduced from DNV GL; Chart: Axios Visuals

More analysts are making the case that COVID-19 could be an inflection point for oil use and carbon emissions, but it's hardly one that puts the world on a sustainable ecological path.

Driving the news: The risk advisory firm DNV GL, citing the pandemic's long-term effects on energy consumption, projects in a new analysis that global CO2 emissions "most likely" peaked in 2019.

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Axios
48 mins ago - Economy & Business

U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs last month, while the unemployment rate dropped to 11.1% from 13.3% in May, according to government data released Thursday.

The state of play: While the labor market showed more signs of recovery when the government’s survey period ended in early June, the lag means that more recent developments, like the surge in coronavirus cases and resultant closures in some states, aren't captured in this data.

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