Axios AM: Mike's Great 8 — 11 days, 8 calls, 1 ceasefire: Inside Biden's Gaza response

Why cicadas seem scarce | Sunday, May 23, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Amazon   Axios AM By Mike Allen ·May 23, 2021 🥞 Good Sunday morning. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,476 words ... 5½ minutes. ⚡️ Breaking: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told radio host John Catsimatidis that he won't get a COVID vaccine because he had the virus. Go deeper.     1 big thing: "Defund the police" lives on locally Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   The "defund the police" movement has gone local, ushering in an unprecedented wave of cuts to departments around the country in the year since George Floyd's death, Axios' Fadel Allassan reports. At least 20 large U.S. cities reduced their police budgets in some form, adding up to $840 million — according to media reports and data from the progressive group Interrupting Criminalization. 25 cities ended contracts with police to operate in schools. Supporters of the movement say they hope it's just the beginning of a process to buck a decades-long trend of increased police spending. But crime has gone up since the cuts, demoralized officers have left and recruiting is a problem. Police experts say the cuts look counterproductive, making it harder to improve training, including alternatives to force. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, the city council slashed $8 million from police. The city added $2 million in community-based violence prevention programs and a new mobile mental-health team. Seattle began 2021 with a police budget nearly 20% smaller than last year's, after eliminating police positions and moving services to other departments. Seattle finished last year with its highest homicide rate in decades and increased response times, with officers quitting at a record pace. Austin made some of the most dramatic changes, cutting $20 million from police and moving $80 million in services outside police purview. The city previously spent 40% of its budget on police; now it spends 26%. The money was moved to mental health first responders, substance abuse programs, food access programs, workforce development and victim support. The city bought two hotels to house homeless people. Crime went up. Council member Gregorio Casar said he expects that will subside once Austin has fully recovered from the pandemic. Keep reading.     2. 11 days, 8 calls, 1 ceasefire: Inside Biden's Gaza response A crater full of water and sewage remains where a home was destroyed by an airstrike in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, before the ceasefire. Photo: John Minchillo/AP Axios from Tel Aviv author Barak Ravid reports ... Before 11 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip ended in a ceasefire, President Biden held six phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and one with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. To get inside the path to a ceasefire, Axios spoke to U.S. and Israeli sources who were deeply involved in the diplomacy. What we learned: Netanyahu's aides called the White House with a clear message: The game had changed, and Israel would now undertake a military operation in Gaza. The first instinct of officials in the White House was to take a very active role, as previous administrations had done. But Biden told his top advisers that this time around, the U.S. would deal with the crisis through intense but quiet diplomacy with Israel and Egypt. One lesson they took from 2o14 was that President Obama's public posture centered international attention on the U.S. and made Israel very defensive, undermining efforts toward a ceasefire. The White House realized that Egypt was the only effective mediator that could facilitate a mutual ceasefire. Between Sunday and Monday, U.S. officials started to see signs that such a ceasefire was possible. Egypt had reached a secret understanding with Hamas to stop firing on Tel Aviv. The unannounced lull lasted 18 hours — proving to the White House that Egypt could deliver Hamas. By Wednesday morning, the White House assessment was that a ceasefire could be achieved within days, and Biden decided to call Netanyahu for a fourth time to push a bit harder. The atmosphere wasn't combative — with Biden taking the same "I don't agree with you but I love you" approach that has characterized their relationship over three decades. But Biden was firmer. In a dramatic two hours, Biden's aides were continuously on the phone with Israeli and Egyptian officials. An hour before the ceasefire began, Netanyahu told Biden he'd received assurances from the Egyptians that Hamas would not fire a last-minute barrage. Only then did Biden make a televised statement from the White House, praising Netanyahu for backing the ceasefire and claiming the window was now open for progress. The bottom line: Just 24 hours elapsed between Biden's urging of Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire and Israel's vote to do so. Keep reading.     3. Millions of cicadas were paved over On these satellite images of the Washington area, the brightest colors show buildings and pavement — and how they've sprawled. Credit: Xiao-Peng Song/Texas Tech, using Landsat imagery   Brood X cicadas are spottier across their 15-state range than they were 17 years ago: Some neighborhoods have been inundated, while others are seeing only a few, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes. Why it matters: The 17-year cicadas are one of nature's wonders. The patchiness of the emergence, particularly in suburbia, points to one of the key threats to these unique insects — urbanization. What's happening: Knocking down trees to construct new homes, businesses and parking lots can kill the insects or block their emergence, University of Maryland entomologist Paula M. Shrewsbury tells Axios. The two biggest threats to periodical cicadas, which emerge every 13 or 17 years, are urbanization and climate change, Shrewsbury says. "Even if they're close to the end of the cycle, they can't get out from underneath the pavement," Shrewsbury says. Warming temperatures could alter the timing of their emergence, or encourage interbreeding between 13-year and 17-year populations. That would reduce the number of cicadas emerging in any given year. That's a problem: The insect's main defense mechanism against predators is so many cicadas emerging at once that predators can eat as many as they want, yet many of the insects will still survive long enough to lay their eggs. Our thought bubble: The periodical cicadas are a reminder that we now live in an era known as the "Anthropocene," as human forces are re-shaping the planet. Share this story. Go deeper: Track cicadas with the Cicada Safari citizen science app.     A message from Amazon Watch what happened when Amazon raised their starting wage to $15/hr     Amazon saw the need to do more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour. In 2018, they established a $15/hour starting wage, and they've seen the positive impact it's had on their employees and their families first-hand. Learn more about the company's benefits.     4. 🛸 Identified flying object over N.M. Photo: Virgin Galactic via AP   Virgin Galactic yesterday made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle, AP reports. What it matters: Sir Richard Branson's company is forging toward offering tourist flights to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Virgin Galactic says those flights could begin next year. High above the desert in a cloudless sky, the VSS Unity shuttle ignited its rocket to hurtle the ship and two pilots toward space. What's next: Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said at least two more undated test flights lie ahead — the next with four mission specialist passengers in the cabin. Pending trials also include a flight that will take Branson to the edge of space.     5. 🍿 "Axios on HBO": Swan interviews Liz Cheney Photo: "Axios on HBO" Tonight on "Axios on HBO" ... Jonathan Swan travels to Jackson Hole and asks Rep. Liz Cheney: "Where do you get the hope for this, that this is going to work?" She replies: "Because I look at it from the perspective of what's right." See a clip. Catch Swan's interview tonight at 6 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.     6. Venture capital thrived amid COVID Data: PwC. Chart: Axios Visuals Rather than stalling startups, the COVID era birthed a new cohort of companies shaping how we live and work, Kia Kokalitcheva writes in the weekend edition of Axios Pro Rata. On March 5, 2020, iconic VC firm Sequoia Capital sent a memo calling COVID "the black swan of 2020," urging companies to "question every assumption." Reality check: The black swan swam on by. Venture capital investing had a record year (more than $130 billion), besting even the height of the dot-com boom, PwC's MoneyTree reports. But the number of deals (6,305) didn't reach the exuberance of 2000's 8,803 venture investments. The new reality: VCs are continuing pandemic-era "Zoom investing." The bottom line: Venture capital braced for the worst, but instead got the best. Share this story.     7. Federal agencies take aim at Trump's LGBTQ policies The Biden administration is pledging to reverse Trump-era policies restricting LGBTQ access to housing, health care and equal treatment in prisons, Axios' Orion Rummler reports. Why it matters: LGBTQ advocates expect action from the Biden administration after Trump quickly worked to undo the majority of protections secured under Obama. Keep reading.     8. 1 host thing: "The End of the A-List" A party at the home of American University President Richard Berendzen in 1981. Photo: John McDonnell/The Washington Post The pioneering journalist Sally Quinn writes in the cover story of the WashPost Magazine that D.C.'s elite social scene "is never coming back from the double blow of Trump and COVID. And that's a good thing": "A little lightbulb went off in my head one day when I was reading an article about my late husband, Ben Bradlee, and me. He was described as the editor of The Post and I — having worked as an author, TV anchor and reporter at The Post for nearly 30 years — was described as a 'socialite' and 'hostess.' Ben was always involved in the planning of our parties, especially the seating — especially his seating. Never once in the 43 years we were together did I ever hear him referred to as a host." "These days there is a sense of revulsion at the grift, indecency and cruelty that has emanated from Washington. More important, too many people have suffered and died. There is also a growing gap between the haves and the have-nots, and an increased awareness of racial injustice. So many groups in town now have their own hierarchies; in fact, what used to be called the A-list by some is not even in another person's alphabet." Treat yourself.     A message from Amazon Independent study: Spillover effects of Amazon's wage increase     New research shows that Amazon's wage increase to $15 an hour directly benefitted wages for other non-Amazon workers in those communities. The report also found that their increase of wages to $15 did not result in widespread job loss. Learn more.   📬 Please invite your friends, family, colleagues to sign up here for Axios AM and Axios PM.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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