The Full Belmonte, 6/28/2023
Supreme Court rejects GOP in North Carolina case that could have reshaped elections beyond the state
BY MARK SHERMAN
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state courts can curtail the actions of their legislatures when it comes to federal redistricting and elections, rejecting arguments by North Carolina Republicans that could have dramatically altered races for Congress and president in that state and beyond.
The justices by a 6-3 vote upheld a decision by North Carolina’s top court that struck down a congressional districting plan as excessively partisan under state law.
The high court did, though, indicate there could be limits on state court efforts to police elections for Congress and president, suggesting that more election-related court cases over the issue are likely.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court that ‘state courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints when legislatures act under the power conferred upon them by the Elections Clause. But federal courts must not abandon their own duty to exercise judicial review.’
The decision was the fourth major case of the term in which conservative and liberal justices joined to reject the most aggressive legal arguments put forth by conservative state elected officials and advocacy groups. Earlier decisions on voting rights, a Native American child welfare law and a Biden administration immigration policy also unexpectedly cut across ideological lines on the court.
Major rulings are expected by Friday on the future of affirmative action in higher education, the administration’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan and a clash of religious and LGBTQ rights.
The practical effect of Tuesday’s decision is minimal in North Carolina, where the state Supreme Court, under a new Republican majority, already has undone its redistricting ruling. Another redistricting case from Ohio is pending, if the justices want to say more about the issue before next year’s elections.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch would have dismissed the North Carolina case because of the intervening state court action.
The North Carolina case attracted outsized attention because four conservative justices had suggested that the Supreme Court should curb state courts’ power in elections for president and Congress….
Opponents of the idea, known as the independent legislature theory, had argued that the effects of a robust ruling for North Carolina Republicans could be reach much further than just that one state’s redistricting.
Potentially at stake were more than 170 state constitutional provisions, over 650 state laws delegating authority to make election policies to state and local officials, and thousands of regulations down to the location of polling places, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.
The justices heard arguments in December in an appeal by Republican leaders in the North Carolina Legislature. Their efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court on grounds that the GOP map violated the state Constitution.
A court-drawn map produced seven seats for each party in last year’s midterm elections in the highly competitive state.
The question for the justices was whether the U.S. Constitution’s provision giving state legislatures the power to make the rules about the ‘times, places and manner’ of congressional elections cuts state courts out of the process.
Former federal appeals court judge Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative who has joined the legal team defending the North Carolina court decision, said in the fall that the outcome could have transformative effects on American elections. ‘This is the single most important case on American democracy — and for American democracy — in the nation’s history,’ Luttig said.
Leading Republican lawmakers in North Carolina told the Supreme Court that the Constitution’s “carefully drawn lines place the regulation of federal elections in the hands of state legislatures, Congress and no one else.”
During nearly three hours of arguments, the justices seemed skeptical of making a broad ruling in the case. Liberal and conservative justices seemed to take issue with the main thrust of a challenge asking them to essentially eliminate the power of state courts to strike down legislature-drawn, gerrymandered congressional district maps on grounds that they violate state constitutions.
In North Carolina, a new round of redistricting is expected to go forward and produce a map with more Republican districts.
The state’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, praised Tuesday’s decision, but also implicitly acknowledged that it does nothing to inhibit Republicans who control the legislature from drawing a congressional map that is more favorable to them.
Cooper, who by state law can’t block redistricting plans approved by lawmakers, said that ‘Republican legislators in North Carolina and across the country remain a very real threat to democracy as they continue to pass laws to manipulate elections for partisan gain by interfering with the freedom to vote.’” Read more at AP News
“Separately on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the conviction of a man for making online threats to a stranger, a woman, violated his First Amendment rights. In a 7-2 decision, justices ruled that prosecutors must show that a person responsible for threats understood the threatening nature of that speech (The Washington Post).
The court emphasized that true threats of violence are not protected by the First Amendment. But to guard against a chilling effect on non-threatening speech, the majority said states must prove that a criminal defendant has ‘disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence.’
Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett dissented.
Billy Raymond Counterman, at the center of the threats case, was convicted under Colorado law of stalking and causing ‘emotional distress’ to Coles Whalen, a singer-songwriter he had never met. Counterman, who had previously been convicted of making threats to others, served four years in prison in the Whalen case.
‘A delusional speaker may lack awareness of the threatening nature of her speech; a devious speaker may strategically disclaim such awareness; and a lucky speaker may leave behind no evidence of mental state for the government to use against her,’ Barrett wrote in her dissent. ‘The Court’s decision thus sweeps much further than it lets on.’” [The Hill]
2020 election
“Federal investigators interviewed Rudy Giuliani as part of the special counsel’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, multiple sources familiar with the meeting told CNN. The meeting between Giuliani, his attorney Robert Costello, and investigators took place in recent weeks. The sources declined to say what investigators’ questions focused on during the meeting, which has not been previously reported. Special counsel Jack Smith has not announced any charges from his investigation into efforts to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election, but prosecutors appear to be nearing charging decisions, sources familiar with the case have said. Giuliani was a former attorney for Donald Trump.” [CNN]
President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at the Kremlin on Tuesday praising the Russian security forces for helping to resist the aborted rebellion.
PHOTO: SERGEI GUNEYEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
Wagner is preparing to hand over its heavy weapons to Moscow by Saturday.
“The Russian National Guard primarily responsible for maintaining order inside the country will get tanks and long-range artillery, officials said. This could mean Yevgeny Prigozhin’s paramilitary organization, which launched an armed insurrection last week, will be disbanded soon. After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin bet he had more staying power than the West, but Wagner’s mutiny exposed the risks for Russia’s political stability that quagmire now poses.” [Wall Street Journal]
Haze over Great Lakes region persists as Canadian wildfires blaze
“Some residents in the Midwest will remain under an air-quality advisory through Wednesday, and air quality is expected to reach unhealthy levels in parts of western and central New York and eastern Lake Ontario.
That means anyone in a sensitive group should stay indoors for any physical activity, and everyone else should limit the amount of time they are active outdoors.
•Fires in northern Quebec and low pressure over the eastern Great Lakes are sending smoke to Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, according to the National Weather Service.
•Detroit is under an air quality advisory until Wednesday night after the city and Chicago reached the top two rankings for air quality in the world Tuesday.
•Wildfire smoke contains noxious or poisonous gases and particulate matter, tiny particles that can be inhaled. Advisories in Wisconsin are expected to last through Thursday afternoon, with air quality expected to be most severe on Wednesday.” [USA Today]
Fans watch a baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs as smoke from Canada's ongoing wildfires shrouds Wrigley Field in a haze, in Chicago, Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Kim Johnson, AP
“Each minute, the world lost 11 football fields worth of tropical forest in 2022 — a total area about the size of Switzerland, according to University of Maryland data presented by the World Resources Institute. Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bolivia lost the most acreage of forests, which are vital to sequestering carbon and maintaining Earth’s biodiversity.” [Bloomberg]
A deforested area of the Amazon in northern Brazil in September 2022. Photographer: Douglas Magno/AFP/Getty Images
“A federal watchdog estimates that at least $200 billion of the $1.2 trillion federal aid given to businesses by the Small Business Administration during the pandemic was potentially fraudulent. The Office of the Inspector General claims in a new report that the rush to provide pandemic aid made it easier for scammers to get loans for non-existent businesses and have them forgiven.A pattern of staff negligence and misconduct gave Jeffrey Epstein a chance to kill himself in his cell, a watchdog found.” [NPR]
Court cases against Donald Trump advance in several states
“Former President Donald Trump, who is running in a crowded field for the 2024 GOP nomination, saw a lot of movement in several court cases he’s facing. Here are some of the key updates.
Recent Developments:
In New York on Tuesday, a judge signaled he’ll let the criminal hush money case against Trump stay in state court.
In Miami, where Trump faces 37 felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents, the Justice Department asked for the trial date to be postponed until December. An audio recording related to this case also surfaced this week. And on Tuesday, the scheduled arraignment of Trump’s valet Walt Nauta was postponed to July 6.
In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is scheduled to speak to federal prosecutors from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss.” [AP News]
”Former US President Donald Trump is intensifying his legal brawl with E. Jean Carroll, suing the New York author for defamation weeks after a jury held him liable for sexually abusing her.” [Bloomberg]
Trump taped discussing classified docs
Scott Olson/Getty Images
“CNN released a recording featuring former President Donald Trump seeming to show ‘highly confidential’ Pentagon documents about a potential US attack on Iran to people without security clearances.” [Vox] [CNN / Jeremy Herb]
“The tape, recorded during a 2021 meeting at Trump’s New Jersey golf course and released Monday, appears to undercut Trump’s recent claim that he never held onto classified material.” [Vox] [Associated Press]
“During the two-minute recording, Trump says ‘I have a big pile of papers’ while referring to ‘secret information.’” [Vox] [Axios / Erin Doherty]
“The tape could be key evidence in the investigation into whether Trump mishandled classified documents he kept after leaving the White House and obstructed efforts to retrieve them.” [Vox / Li Zhou]
“Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 federal felony charges in the case. His trial is set to begin August 14.” [Vox] [BBC / Max Matza]
Prosecutors to seek death penalty for Idaho college murders suspect
“Prosecutors in Idaho will seek the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger, who is charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, according to court documents.
They pointed to the ‘aggravating circumstances’ in the killings, describing them as ‘especially heinous’ and saying Kohberger exhibited ‘utter disregard for human life.’
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty.” [NBC News]
CDC issues malaria warning
“The CDC has issued a health alert to the public, doctors, and public health authorities after five cases of malaria were contracted in the U.S. in the last two months.
The four cases in Florida and one in Texas were the first to be contracted locally and not linked to travel outside the country in 20 years.
The CDC said there is no evidence to suggest the Florida and Texas cases are related and said the risk throughout the country is extremely low.
The CDC said all five patients have gotten treatment and are recovering.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said one person infected had spent time working outdoors. It advised residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellant and wearing long sleeves and pants.” [NBC News]
Deforestation Ramps Up Despite Global Pledge
A burnt area in Lábrea, southern Amazonas, Brazil, is seen on Sept. 17, 2022.Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images
“Almost 10.2 million acres of primary rainforest around the world were lost in 2022, according to a report published Tuesday by the World Resources Institute in conjunction with the University of Maryland. That’s 10 percent more deforestation than occurred in 2021 and the equivalent of losing 11 soccer fields of trees every minute. The destruction of more than 10 million acres of forest produced 2.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide—or around the same amount as India’s total annual fossil fuel emissions.
What makes the report’s findings particularly devastating is that 2022 was supposed to be the ‘turning-point year’ in global reforestation efforts, said Laura González Mantecón, a climate adaptation and reforestation fellow at the U.S. Forest Service. In late 2021, 145 nations pledged to reverse deforestation by 2030 at the U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, known as COP26. But international efforts to achieve that goal are already facing monumental challenges.
One of the greatest hurdles to achieving zero deforestation is the lack of financial liberties available to local communities. Lack of economic opportunity ‘leaves a lot of people with no other recourse but to clear land, to have a farm and be able to feed their family,’ González Mantecón said, allowing large corporations to take advantage.
That is evident in the nations with the highest levels of deforestation last year—Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, respectively; they also have high levels of poverty and financial instability. In Brazil, home to 47 percent of the world’s total rainforest, cattle grazing and highway construction caused most large-scale clearing. And Indigenous communities in Congo, facing severe poverty, have been forced to clear land to expand their agriculture businesses as a primary means of subsistence.
These countries’ governments have also contributed to the world’s deforestation crisis, the report found. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro used his four years in power to erode environmental protections and weaken the rights of Indigenous communities reliant on the land. Despite a $500 million agreement at COP26 to protect the African nation’s forests, the Congolese government auctioned off permits for oil and gas exploration in these very forests last November.
There is hope. Numerous countries have implemented policies to protect forests and limit the release of carbon dioxide. Last month, the European Union adopted regulations on palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and soy—all of which contribute to large-scale clearings. In April, China announced a new collaborative effort with Brazil to control illegal trade caused by cutting trees. And under Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, deforestation in the country’s rainforest fell almost 10 percent in May.
‘The value of a tree is not just the value of the timber that you’re selling, but the value of the biodiversity that it provides, the value of water filtration services that it does, the climate benefits that it brings,’ González Mantecón said.” [Foreign Policy]
“Prigozhin’s exile in motion. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group, arrived in Belarus on Tuesday after an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to exchange exile for his immunity. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Putin, negotiated the deal on Saturday. Russian authorities also dropped a criminal investigation into Prigozhin’s attempted coup—although the Wagner Group leader denies that was his goal.
Alongside reports of Prigozhin’s flight into Belarus, the United Nations published a report on Tuesday that indicates Russian forces summarily executed 77 Ukrainians who were arbitrarily detained during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In total, the U.N. has documented 864 cases of arbitrary detention by Russia since the war began in February 2022. The Kremlin denies committing atrocities against or targeting civilians in Ukraine.” [Foreign Policy]
THE WEST BANK
Israel OK’s more settlements in the West Bank, defying calls for restraint
“Israel’s far-right government this week approved plans to build thousands of new homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank — a move that threatens to worsen straining relations with the United States and increase conflict in the region. Read more.
Why this matters:
The decision has defied growing U.S. criticism of Israel’s settlement policies and raised tensions with the Palestinians. Many in the international community consider the settlement constructions illegal or illegitimate, as well as an obstacle to peace.
Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s 75-year history, has made settlement expansion its top priority.
Recent attacks between settlers and Palestinians, left 16 Palestinians and four Israelis dead. This year has been one of the deadliest overall in the West Bank in years, with at least 137 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and 24 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks.” [AP News]
“French energy giant under fire. Ugandan nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are going after a heavyweight investor in the country. On Tuesday, five French and Ugandan NGOs, along with more than two dozen civilians, launched legal action against French energy giant TotalEnergies. The case seeks compensation for environmental damage caused by the Tilenga oil drilling project and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
According to the lawsuit, more than 118,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania faced total or partial expropriation due to the two projects—leading to ‘serious food shortages’ and disregard for the local populations’ land rights. Environmentalists say the multibillion-dollar projects also threaten Lake Victoria’s freshwater and damage the park surrounding Murchison Falls.” [Foreign Policy]
“Pakistan’s military crackdown. Pakistan’s military fired three senior Army commanders for their insufficient handling of violent protests in support of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan following his arrest in May. Fifteen other top officers were also disciplined after the military accused them of failing to secure military installations from protesters attacking them.
Khan was removed from office last April with a no-confidence vote and arrested this year on corruption charges. The former prime minister has accused the military of orchestrating his removal. Now, Khan could face a military trial, where the threshold for evidence is murky and transparency is virtually nonexistent, journalist Betsy Joles wrote in Foreign Policy.” [Foreign Policy]
“Talk about leaving your mark on history. Italy’s culture minister called for a nationwide search on Monday to identify a man caught on video carving his and his fiancée’s names into the Colosseum in Rome. That’s right: While visiting the largest amphitheater ever built, tourists can now find “Ivan+Haley 23” etched into the structure. If convicted, the man could face a fine of at least $16,360 or up to five years in prison.” [Foreign Policy]
U.S. is far more globally popular under Biden than it was in Trump era
President Biden arrives to deliver a speech marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Feb. 21, in Warsaw. (Evan Vucci/AP)
“Former president and 2024 Republican front-runner Donald Trump has launched myriad broadsides at President Biden. In statements from the campaign trail, Trump has decried Biden’s ‘calamitous and failed presidency,’ and singled out a string of supposed foreign policy disasters, including the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the spiraling war in Ukraine and the looming confrontation with China. In March, Trump seized upon Biden’s slip of the tongue during a speech to Canada’s Parliament, where he accidentally applauded ‘China for stepping up,’ before swiftly correcting himself and saying ‘Canada.’
‘Mistakes like this, a really big one in Canada’s Parliament, are just not allowed to happen,’ Trump posted on his social media platform. ‘We are a laughing stock all over the WORLD!’
But whatever Biden’s propensity for gaffes and underwhelming approval ratings at home, international attitudes toward the United States during his time in office are far rosier than what they were under Trump — a reality underscored by new polling data from the Pew Research Center published Tuesday.
A median of 54 percent of those surveyed in 23 countries in the early months of this year said they trust Biden to ‘do the right thing regarding world affairs.’ Pew’s selected countries include a cross-section of global societies, from traditional U.S. partners in Western Europe and East Asia to developing economies in Nigeria and India to middle-income nations like Argentina and South Africa.
According to Pew’s data, Trump’s four years in office marked a dramatic drop in trust in American leadership on the world stage, with surveys showing record low levels of confidence in the U.S. president in countries as diverse as Germany, Brazil and India. Biden’s victory, which followed a campaign where he promised to bring the United States ‘back’ from a period of Trumpist disruption and turbulence, immediately led to a swing in global attitudes. In the years since he took office, confidence in him has dipped marginally in some countries, and been buoyed in others, particularly as Washington took a lead role in galvanizing and organizing the Western defense of Ukraine from Russian invasion.
The bottom line, though, is a world where Democratic administrations have appeared more favorable to respondents elsewhere, especially citizens of many close U.S. allies. ‘In each country, current ratings for Biden are higher than those for Trump, but lower than their peak during Obama’s presidency,’ Pew noted.
There are obvious limits to what can be gleaned from polling like this. The 23 nations selected, though arguably representative of broader regional views, don’t comprise the totality of global opinion on the United States. Nor is popularity abroad a measure of foreign policy success. But the trends do reveal a genuine impact in the shift from Trump to Biden, who sought to bolster U.S. partnerships with allies unsettled by the Trump years, from the Indo-Pacific to Europe.
Pew noted that ‘the share of the public that thinks the U.S. listens to countries like theirs has been on the rise, and in 12 countries, it is at the highest point we’ve seen in any of our surveys. For instance, in Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom — three key NATO allies of the U.S. — the share saying the U.S. considers their interests is larger now than at any point over the past two decades.’
Biden was also significantly more popular than Trump in ‘middle-income’ countries from Mexico to Kenya to India, which shows that the statistical warming to his profile is not simply a question of the geopolitical West finding reassurance in Biden’s leadership.
At the same time, perceptions of American economic power have increased in several countries during the Biden years, reversing what seemed a new coalescing perception in 2020 that China had already supplanted the United States in terms of economic clout. The effect of the pandemic and China’s draconian shutdowns may have a role to play here, while 70 percent or more in Nigeria, Kenya, India and Mexico see American investment as a net positive for their domestic economies, according to Pew, which plans to publish parallel data regarding attitudes to China in the coming weeks.
Biden’s presence in the White House has led to a general shift in countries viewing the United States in a favorable light. ‘Many countries gave the U.S. record low ratings during former president Donald Trump’s administration and the start of the coronavirus pandemic, then saw a marked improvement after Biden took office,’ Pew added. For example, 63 percent of Mexicans now rate the United States positively, compared with a low of 30 percent in 2017, Trump’s first year as president.
The one intriguing exception to this in the data is Hungary, whose illiberal government, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has yoked itself to the right-wing movement in the United States and also has remained the conspicuous outlier in the European Union for its approach to the conflict in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Orban told a German publication that he saw Ukraine as a Western proxy, parroting rhetoric familiar to the Kremlin.
‘Ukraine is no longer a sovereign state,’ Orban said. ‘It has neither money nor weapons. It can keep on fighting only thanks to the assistance being provided.’
Contrast Hungary’s position with its erstwhile ally in Poland, whose right-wing illiberal government shares many of Orban’s ideological priors when it comes to social policy and discussion of migration in Europe, but has become a bulwark of anti-Russia sentiment and a major strategic actor on the continent.
Biden journeyed to Warsaw to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and hailed its role in facilitating the defense of Ukraine. According to Pew’s research, ‘favorable’ perceptions of the United States among the Polish public — a startling 93 percent — reached a record high this year in two decades of polling.” [Washington Post]
Trump ponders Twitter return
Trump and the Truth Social logo. Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“It may take a while. But former President Trump has entertained the idea of returning to his happy place on Twitter, where he's been absent for 2½ years, sources tell Axios' Sophia Cai.
Why it matters: Trump still has 87 million followers on Twitter — but hasn't posted there since he was banned in 2021 after the Capitol riot.
Now some advisers close to his campaign expect he'll begin tweeting again at an opportune moment in his '24 campaign, which will be waged amid a legal onslaught.
For more than a year, Trump has been blasting his thoughts to some 5 million followers on Truth Social, a platform where he's the majority owner — giving him a financial incentive to keep the rage flowing.
What we're hearing: A person close to Trump's campaign cast the ex-president's Twitter return as a tool his team could use to try to offset bad news — another indictment, for example.
Trump considered returning to Twitter at the end of Congress' Jan. 6 hearings in December 2022, people close to Trump tell Axios.
His team even drafted possible tweets before he decided to stay on Truth Social, which had debuted months earlier.
State of play: Twitter's Elon Musk reinstated Trump's account last November. But Trump hasn't tweeted — staying steadfastly on Truth Social.
Under Musk, Twitter has become a favorite of conservative Republicans, many of whom repost Trump's Truth Social diatribes to Twitter's much broader audience.
Truth Social — replete with ads for alternative medicine, gun accessories and Trump-themed trinkets — has been Trump's medium of choice to rage in all caps against prosecutors and Biden administration officials.
Trump's activity on Truth Social has ramped up this month, starting with his preemption of the Justice Department's announcement that he was being charged in the classified documents case.
He ‘re-Truths’ posts from allies in Congress, favorable polling and clips from conservative networks.
Behind the scenes: Trump sends fewer than half of his Truth Social posts on his own, a person close to him tells Axios.
He dictates others — or they're written by top campaign advisers Dan Scavino and Jason Miller, or communications director Steven Cheung.
What we're watching: One scenario Trump has Trump rejoining Twitter but post exclusive content on Truth Social.” [Axios]
AI buying spree
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
“The race to lead in AI is spurring a fresh wave of corporate acquisitions and investments as tech companies seek to show customers they aren't sleeping on the red-hot technology, Axios' Ina Fried and Hope King report.
Why it matters: The pressure is on CEOs to prove they have an AI strategy.
On the acquisition front, Databricks announced this week it is paying $1.3 billion ($21 million per employee) to buy two-year-old startup MosaicML, which specializes in open-source AI models.
Thomson Reuters said yesterday it will pay $650 million for legal AI assistant Casetext.
Hundreds of millions more are being invested by large tech companies for minority stakes in AI startups.
Salesforce Ventures earlier this month said it's doubling the size of its generative AI fund — to $500 million.
Venture arms from Google, Microsoft and others are actively investing in AI startups.
Corporate investing can help larger firms get an insider view of startups' technical work and spot potential acquisition targets.
It's not just tech companies that are opening up their checkbooks. Consulting and other firms outside of tech are also stepping up their AI investments.
Accenture last week closed its purchase of Bangalore, India-based Flutura, which it says will boost its ability to offer AI services in the energy, chemicals, metals, mining and pharmaceutical industries.
PwC US recently announced plans to invest $1 billion over the next three years in AI projects and the upskilling of its 65,000-person workforce.
Reality check: The old Latin saying caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies here, too. Everyone these days says their company is an AI company.” [Axios]
Some Wall Street interns get $120/hr.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“Eye-popping pay is pushing ambitious college students back to Wall Street:
Applications for internships at Citadel and Citadel Securities — Ken Griffin's firms — were up 69,000 over last year (+65%) after the median wage jumped to $120 an hour, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: Layoffs in the tech industry mean college grads seeking high-paying gigs view banking as a better bet than Silicon Valley.
By the numbers: Median intern pay on Wall Street rose 19% at 16 firms studied by Levels.fyi.
Hourly intern pay at hedge funds and proprietary trading firms jumped to $111 — 29% higher than last year.
Between the lines: Financial firms view the pay jumps as a key way to attract top talent as they fight to bring workers to the office over work-from-home options.
Many interns are offered other benefits like sign-on bonuses, stipends and corporate housing, Bloomberg notes.” [Axios]
Sneak peek: Future of airports
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
“An airport-experience revolution is coming over the next decade, Axios' Joann Muller writes from a report by the Oliver Wyman Forum, a think tank that's part of the Marsh McLennan companies.
‘Our travel experience is about to get seamless, contactless, pleasant, fast and personalized,’ the study's lead author, Rana Nawas, tells Axios.
‘And we're on our way to making it less polluting,’ she adds, as airlines begin shifting to sustainable aviation fuels and airports electrify ground equipment.
Oliver Wyman researchers found that by the end of this decade, airports could be profoundly different, with more customized passenger services.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
Detroit Metro Airport has a massive futuristic departure board (above) that uses facial recognition to show travelers customized info about their flights.
LAX and Seattle-Tacoma are among the first airports in North America to test virtual queues, which let travelers skip the security line by making a digital reservation for TSA screening.
What's next: By 2040, touchless digital ID cards could replace paper passports.
Biometrics could allow passengers to walk uninterrupted through security and immigration "tunnels."
Reality check: Such a seamless experience would require secure data-sharing across a global travel industry, which could be a big hurdle.” [Axios]
Texas tops power record
Today's forecast highs. Image: Pivotal Weather
“Texas broke its electricity demand record yesterday after two weeks of 100-degree days, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.
Why it matters: Forecasters say relief might not arrive before the holiday weekend.
30% of the U.S. is under heat warnings and watches.” [Axios]
First Netflix, now Costco
Costco is asking members to show their membership cards at checkout. Photo: Kelly Tyko/Axios
“Netflix is trying to restrict password-sharing. Now Costco is cracking down on members sharing cards at self-checkout lines, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.
Costco confirmed to Axios that it has noticed ‘non-member shoppers have been using membership cards that do not belong to them’ since expanding its self-service checkout.
At a Costco in South Florida yesterday, a store employee was asking shoppers to show their membership photos at self-service lines.” [Axios]
Archeo-pizza
Photo: Archaeological Park of Pompeii
“A 2,000-year-old fresco that depicts what might be an ancestor of the Italian pizza has been found in the hall of a house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy's Culture Ministry announced.
Archaeologists presume that the flatbread depicted in the painting, next to a wine goblet, may have been eaten with pomegranates or dates, or dressed with spices and a type of pesto sauce, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: It can't technically be considered a pizza, since it lacks tomato and mozzarella. But the Pompeii discovery looks like a distant relative of today's pie.
Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago, is 15 miles from Naples — the birthplace of modern pizza.
Go deeper: Read the release.” [Axios]
Julian Sands, a wide-ranging British actor, was found dead.
Sands in 2013. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
“What happened: The actor went missing in January while trekking in California. Human remains discovered last week were identified yesterday as those of Sands.
How he’s best known: For his role in the acclaimed 1985 period movie “A Room With a View.” He would have been 65.” [Washington Post]
SPORTS NEWS
“The Bedard Era begins: Connor Bedard will be the No. 1 pick in tonight’s N.H.L. Draft. He enters the league with astronomical expectations, The Athletic writes.” [New York Times]
“Golf’s future: The PGA-LIV merger stands to profoundly reshape professional golf. But there’s still a chance the deal could fall apart, The Times explains.” [New York Times]
“Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett died yesterday in an apparent drowning off a Florida beach, authorities said, adding to the grim toll along the Gulf Coast in recent weeks. Rip currents have killed 11 people within two weeks along the Gulf Coast, preliminary data show, leading to warnings from officials about the dangerous water conditions. The deaths have spanned the Gulf of Mexico between Fort Morgan, Alabama, and Panama City Beach, Florida. In the US, the 10-year average for rip current fatalities is 71, according to weather service data. Rip currents were the third-leading cause of weather-related fatalities from 2013 to 2023, killing on average more people than lightning, tornadoes or hurricanes.” [CNN]
Klimt Breaks Euro Auction Record at $108 Million
“A portrait by Gustav Klimt sold for £85.3 million ($108.4 million) at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday, becoming the most valuable artwork to sell at auction in Europe. The previous record was set in 2010, when Giacometti’s L'homme qui marche sold for £65 million in London. Carrying an unofficial estimate in the region of £65 million, the Klimt, Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan), was executed in 1917-1918 and carried an irrevocable bid.” [Bloomberg]
Gustav Klimt’s Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) from 1917-1918. Source: Sotheby’s
”Lives Lived: Bobby Osborne was a singer and mandolin player with one of the most radical bands in bluegrass. He died at 91.” [New York Times]