The Full Belmonte, 2/11/2023
U.S. blacklists Chinese companies over balloon
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder at a briefing. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
‘The U.S. blacklisted six Chinese companies it said were linked to Beijing's aerospace programs as part of its retaliation over an alleged Chinese spy balloon that traversed U.S. airspace, AP reports.
The economic restrictions will make it more difficult for the five companies and one research institute to obtain American tech.
The big picture: The move is likely to further escalate tensions between the U.S. and China sparked by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend off the Carolina coast.
The latest: The U.S. government is attempting to recover a second shot-down object to learn more about it, Axios' Jacob Knutson writes.
A military fighter jet took down an unknown, unmanned ‘high-altitude’ object off Alaska's northern coast on President Biden's orders yesterday.
The U.S. does not know whether the object was owned by a state, corporate, or private entity or whether it was being used for surveillance.” [Axios}
Survivors found 5 days after quake
Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
“More than 24,000 are dead across southern Turkey and northwest Syria in Turkey's worst quake in 84 years
Above: An aerial view yesterday of a camp for earthquake victims in Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
The growing death toll raised questions about Turkey's earthquake planning and response. President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that authorities should have reacted faster, Reuters reports.
Photo: Hussein Malla/AP
This is a drone's-eye view of rescue teams continuing to search yesterday in Antakya, southeastern Turkey, as cranes remove debris.
Rescuers in Turkey pulled five members of a family alive from rubble, five days — 129 hours! — after Monday's quake, which was the country's most devastating since 1939.” [Axios}
Florida Officials Had Repeated Contact With College Board Over African American Studies
A letter from state officials is likely to fuel controversy over the College Board, which has been accused of stripping or minimizing concepts to please conservatives.
In January, demonstrators in Tallahassee protested policies restricting how issues of race are taught in Florida schools, including the decision by the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis to reject a proposed Advanced Placement course in African American studies.Credit...Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat, via Associated Press
“While the College Board was developing its first Advanced Placement course in African American studies, the group was in repeated contact with the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, often discussing course concepts that the state said it found objectionable, a newly released letter shows.
When the final course guidelines were released last week, the College Board had removed or significantly reduced the presence of many of those concepts — like intersectionality, mass incarceration, reparations and the Black Lives Matter movement — though it said that political pressure played no role in the changes. Florida had announced in January that it would not approve the curriculum.
The specifics about the discussions, which occurred over the course of a year, were outlined in a Feb. 7 letter from the Florida Department of Education to the College Board.
The existence of the letter was first reported by The Daily Caller, a conservative news site. A copy of the letter was posted on Scribd. Its authenticity was verified by a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education, which released a copy on Thursday….” Read more at New York Times
Lawsuit seeks arrest in Emmett Till kidnapping
An exhibit about Emmett Till will be on display in D.C.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library until March 12. Photo: Chelsea Cirruzzo/Axios
“A relative of Emmett Till is suing to try to make a Mississippi sheriff serve a 1955 arrest warrant on a white woman for the kidnapping that led to the Black teenager's brutal lynching, AP reports from Jackson, Miss.
Why it matters: The torture and killing of Till in the Mississippi Delta became a catalyst for the civil rights movement.
Last June, a team doing research at the courthouse in Leflore County, Miss., found an unserved kidnapping warrant for Carolyn Bryant, listed on the document as ‘Mrs. Roy Bryant.’
Till's cousin — Patricia Sterling of Jackson — filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the current Leflore County sheriff, Ricky Banks.
The suit seeks to compel Banks to serve the warrant on Carolyn Bryant, who has remarried and is named Carolyn Bryant Donham.
The backstory: Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Donham, identified Till to the men who later killed him.
The warrant against Donham was publicized in 1955. But the Leflore County sheriff at the time told reporters that he did not want to "bother" the woman since she was raising two young children.
Now in her late 80s, Donham has lived in North Carolina and Kentucky in recent years. She hasn't commented on calls for her prosecution.” [Axios]
Big money vs. Trump
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“A pair of libertarian-minded Republican groups — Americans For Prosperity and the Club for Growth — are planning to pour millions into the presidential campaign to stop former President Trump from winning the GOP nomination, Axios' Josh Kraushaar reports.
Why it matters: The battle for the Republican Party's future is a clash between the interests of its big donors and grassroots voters.
The donors are overwhelmingly looking for a Trump alternative in 2024, but Trump still maintains a strong hold on much of the populist base he empowered in 2016.
Driving the news: Americans For Prosperity, the conservative political network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, has said it will back a specific Republican candidate by the end of the summer.
The anti-tax Club for Growth, which has close ties to several potential presidential candidates, is less likely to coalesce behind one candidate.
The club has invited six prospective GOP candidates — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — to its donor summit in Florida next month.
Trump isn't invited.
Reality check: Message often matters more than money in today's politics. Trump lagged behind many of his 2016 primary competitors in campaign cash, but won the nomination because his message resonated with primary voters.
Republicans outspent Democrats $4.2 billion to $4 billion in the 2022 election cycle, but failed to win back a Senate majority and underperformed expectations in the House.” [Axios]
“Erdogan Wants Elections in May Despite Earthquake Fallout
The Turkish president is working on the assumption general elections will be held in three months despite this week’s devastating quakes. Selcan Hacaoglu and Firat Kozok explain that Erdogan is facing one of the toughest electoral challenges of his two decades in power.” [Bloomberg]
“Turkish Anger Turns to Erdogan Over Quake Delays, Weak Buildings
Quake survivors and opposition figures criticized Erdogan over Turkey’s poor construction record and rescue delays. As Selcan Hacaoglu and Beril Akman report, opponents say the country’s officials missed a window to potentially save tens of thousands of people.” [Bloomberg]
“Quake Aid Is Political Pawn as Powers Clash Over Syria Access
Aid deliveries to Syrians are being hampered by wrangling between rival powers in the country’s more than decade-long war. Sam Dagher explains that areas hit in Syria are mainly controlled by anti-government forces, raising tensions among Turkey, Russia and the US and Europe over sanctions against President Bashar al Assad’s administration.” [Bloomberg]
Rescue workers look for survivors in the rebel-held town of Jindayris, Syria, on Friday. Photographer: Rami al Sayed/AFP/Getty Images
The global bird flu outbreak is worsening, highlighting the challenge in reining in the deadly virus, Megan Durisin and Lisa Pham report. Just over 100 million poultry died or were culled due to avian influenza between October and Feb. 3, more than triple the record number from the previous season. [Bloomberg]
“Sunak Is Privately Drafting Plans to Rebuild UK Ties With the EU
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has privately asked officials to draw up plans for rebuilding the UK’s relations with the European Union after years of acrimony since Brexit. Alex Wickham reports on draft proposals over issues including defense, migration, and so-called economic statecraft.” [Bloomberg]
“Anger Over Longer Road to Retirement Ripples Across Globe
Public finances in developed economies are buckling as retirement promises made to previous generations collide with the realities of an aging population. Amy Bainbridge, Ainsley Thomson and Alice Kantor look into the slowest-moving economic crisis of our time.” [Bloomberg]
“Russian Moms-to-Be Flock to Argentina Seeking Safety, Passports
Argentina has seen an influx of Russian immigration since August as migrants flee Putin’s war in Ukraine and western sanctions throttling the economy. Among them are thousands of expecting mothers seeking stronger passports in Argentina for their children, Scott Squires explains.” [Bloomberg]
Charted: Brick and mortar boom
Data: Coresight. Chart: Axios Visuals
“Physical store openings exceeded closings on an annual basis last year for the first time since 2016, per Coresight Research.
Retailers are on pace to open even more stores this year than last, at a rate of 3 to 1, Axios Pro retail deals reporter Richard Collings writes.
The big picture: Online shopping helped stores navigate the pandemic — but retailers and shoppers have both realized the limitations of doing business entirely online.
As the world opened back up, shoppers returned to stores in hordes.
A big driver of store openings: shoppers seeking bargains, especially at dollar stores with a limited or nonexistent online presence, Coresight managing director Marie Driscoll tells Axios.
The top six retailers opening stores in 2022 were dollar chains and discounters, including Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Five Below, TJX Cos. and Aldi, in that order.” [Axios]
Parting shot: New 3-point record
Photo: Brian Babineau/NBA via Getty Images
“Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics shoots against the Charlotte Hornets yesterday.
During the game, Tatum sank his 1,000th career 3-pointer, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach the milestone, at 24 years and 344 days old, NBC reports.” [Axios]