Axios PM: 🏅U.S. backs Olympic protests — Groundbreaking Christmas movie — Congress rebukes Trump

1 big thing: U.S. backs athletes on Olympic protests | Friday, December 11, 2020

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Morgan Stanley   Axios PM By Mike Allen ·Dec 11, 2020 Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 542 words, a 2-minute read. 🚨Situational awareness: Look for quick authorization after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows hinted to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn that his job security might be in jeopardy as he pushed the FDA head to approve Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day. Go deeper.     1 big thing: U.S. backs athletes on Olympic protests U.S. athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos extending gloved hands skyward in racial protest during the playing of national anthem at the 1968 Olympic Games. Photo: AP It's not 1968 anymore: American athletes won't be sent home for raising fists, kneeling or other forms of acceptable protest at the upcoming Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee said this week. Why it matters: "When you sit in my seat, you have to make decisions that you think are on the right side of history," U.S. Olympics CEO Sarah Hirshland told AP. "And I believe we're on the right side of history." The International Olympic Committee is debating Rule 50, which bans within-the-lines protests, including on medal podiums. The big picture: By preemptively backing its athletes with a stance that feels simultaneously bold and long overdue, the committee has put itself at the fore of a modern, progressive Olympic movement, Axios' Jeff Tracy tells me. But the IOC has 206 members and some of its bigger ones like China don't share the same concerns or values about free speech or racial injustice, the AP notes. The U.S. has its own history: It sent Tommie Smith and John Carlos home in 1968 for the iconic raised fists, and put track and field athlete Gwen Berry on probation in 2019 for replicating the action at the Pan-Am games. The bottom line: Now the U.S. will have to determine what constitutes acceptable demonstrations. "That becomes a difficult situation," activist Harry Edwards told AP. "Because you could very easily get into a thing of trying to outdo someone else and it ends up having nothing to do with the spirit of the issue."     2. Pic du jour Photo: Go Nakamura/Getty Images Medical staff members dance to a Christmas song at a nursing station in the COVID-19 ICU at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston.     A message from Morgan Stanley Managing climate change risks with high quality, low-carbon stocks     One compelling strategy to address climate change in portfolios may at the same time offer the advantage of simplicity: Invest in companies with high-quality, franchise businesses. Not only can they compound their earnings over time, but they typically also have a low-carbon footprint.     3. Catch up quick Wade Hagenbart builds a tent for dining outside Guero's, the taco and margarita restaurant he co-owns in Brooklyn. Photo: Kathy Willens/AP   New York City will close indoor dining on Monday to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Go deeper. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy joined 125 House Republicans in backing the Texas lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the millions of votes in four battleground states that President-elect Joe Biden won. Go deeper. The Senate passed a one-week funding bill to stave off a government shutdown. Go deeper. It also overwhelmingly passed the defense authorization bill, defying President Trump's threat to veto the legislation. Go deeper. 🎧 Axios Re:Cap digs into the past, present and future of COVID-19 testing with Adam Schechter, CEO of LabCorp, one of the country's two largest testing companies. Listen here.     4. 1 smile to go: "Sugar & Spice" Jacky Lai (center) and Tony Giroux in "A Sugar & Spice Holiday." Photo: Kailey Schwerman/Lifetime via AP Coming Sunday to Lifetime: The first Christmas movie featuring a Chinese American family, AP reports. "A Sugar & Spice Holiday" stars Jacky Lai as Suzy, who returns to her small town for the holidays and teams up with an old crush for a gingerbread house baking competition. Why it matters: In Hollywood, it can often feel like studios only cast Asians in narratives where there's some kind of hardship or East-meets-West struggle. And with TV holiday movies, they're almost nonexistent. The movie is lovingly sprinkled with Chinese American nuances, including a photo of Suzy's deceased grandma flanked by incense sticks and the entire family eating with chopsticks.     A message from Morgan Stanley Managing climate change risks with high quality, low-carbon stocks     One compelling strategy to address climate change in portfolios may at the same time offer the advantage of simplicity: Invest in companies with high-quality, franchise businesses. Not only can they compound their earnings over time, but they typically also have a low-carbon footprint.     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: