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| Presented By Facebook |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen ·May 06, 2021 |
| ☕ Happy Thursday! Smart Brevity™ count: 987 words ... < 4 minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu. |
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| 1 big thing: The year of surprise shortages |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| American consumers and businesses face an array of shocking shortages in 2021 — the result of corporate miscalculations in the early days of the pandemic, Axios' Felix Salmon writes. - The shortages range from labor to lumber to rental cars.
It could take a surprisingly long time for a post-COVID equilibrium to take hold: - In the restaurant industry, which is struggling to find workers, experienced servers found themselves with almost a year to find other jobs with better job security and fewer health risks.
- In expensive cities, including New York and San Francisco, many simply left town. Hiring wasn't easy even before the pandemic.
In lumber, high prices are a consequence of the decision by sawmills to shut down production a year ago, in anticipation of an economic slump. - In autos, high prices reflect decisions by chip manufacturers early in the pandemic to concentrate on making semiconductors for consumer electronics at the expense of making chips for vehicles.
The bottom line: Rebuilding supply chains for a reconfigured economy is extremely difficult and time-consuming. - Pockets of sticker shock — rental car prices! — are therefore likely to remain for at least the rest of this year.
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| 2. Republicans tout stimulus they opposed |
| Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) during a hearing last month. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP Every Republican lawmaker voted against President Biden's COVID relief bill. But Republicans from New York to Indiana to Texas are taking credit for the goodies, AP's Steve Peoples writes. - Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York celebrated Biden grants to community health-care centers among her achievements in a "First 100 Days Report Card." The first-term Republican said she prided herself on "bringing federal funding to the district and back into the pockets of taxpayers."
- House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy — and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, backed by GOP leaders to replace Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chair — are among at least eight Republicans encouraging constituents to apply for the plan's Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
- Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) pointed on social media to millions in Biden health-care grants, saying that he was "proud" to see the taxpayer dollars returning to his district.
What's next: Democrats are promising to make the relief vote — and Republican resistance to it — a central issue in 2022 midterms. |
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| 3. Tech hubs lag in return to offices |
 Data: Indeed. Chart: Will Chase/Axios Many white-collar workers still work from home, slowing recovery for shops and restaurants in tech hubs, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. - Jobs are coming back more slowly in America's top tech centers than in other cities, according to an analysis from the jobs site Indeed.
Scores of jobs in big cities' central business districts — from bodegas serving coffee to fast-casual lunch spots to the nearby boutiques — depend on foot traffic from office workers. - Remote work, with staying power, could make many of those jobs disappear for good.
What to watch ... Jed Kolko, the report's author, said: "We might see a shift from traditional business districts to residential neighborhoods, if the downtown lunch becomes midday takeout." |
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| A message from Facebook |
| The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too |
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| It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. See why we support updated regulations on key issues, including: - Protecting people's privacy
- Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms
- Preventing election interference
- Reforming Section 230
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| 4. COVID cases hit 7-month low |
 Data: CSSE Johns Hopkins University; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios Thanks to vaccines, COVID infections in the U.S. are at their lowest levels in seven months, Sam Baker and Andrew Witherspoon report. - Deaths and serious illnesses have dropped significantly, and now cases are falling too — an important piece of protection for the future, if we can keep it up.
Go deeper: Interactive version of map. 🗞️ How it's playing ... |
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| 5. Facebook's next fights |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| The Oversight Board's decision to uphold Facebook's suspension of Donald Trump exposed the company to a new round of attacks, Axios' Ashley Gold and Margaret Harding McGill report. - Why it matters: The board urged Facebook back to the drawing board to better define its rules about political speech.
Democrats argue that federal regulation is needed to make sure disinformation doesn't spread unchecked on the social network. - Republicans took aim at Facebook's power to deplatform Trump.
Keep reading. |
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| 6. 🥊 Liz Cheney: "History is watching" |
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| Cheney speaks with President Trump in the Oval Office in 2019, during a bill-signing ceremony for the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP |
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| With the GOP poised to boot her from leadership as soon as next week, House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney writes in a Washington Post op-ed that her family's party "is at a turning point": Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution. ... History is watching. Our children are watching. We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequences might be. Read the op-ed. |
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| 7. 🎧 Luntz: Trump may cost GOP in '22 |
| Photo illustration: The New York Times. Used by permission Republican pollster Frank Luntz tells Kara Swisher on her New York Times podcast "Sway" that Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election "could cost the Republicans the majority in the House in 2022." - Luntz: "More than two-thirds of Republicans believe that the election was stolen."
- Swisher: "So it's working. This 'Big Lie' thing is working."
- Luntz: "It is working. ... What Donald Trump is saying is actually telling people it's not worth it to vote. Donald Trump single-handedly may cause people not to vote. And he may be the greatest tool in the Democrats' arsenal to keep control of the House and Senate in 2022."
"If Donald Trump runs for president as a Republican, he's the odds-on favorite to win the nomination," Luntz added. "He could never win a general election, but I can't imagine losing a Republican primary. ... I would bet on him to be the nominee and I would bet on him losing to whatever Democratic nominee there was." |
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| 8. Why waiving vaccine patents might hurt |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| The Biden administration will support a proposal to waive certain patent protections for coronavirus vaccines — a dramatic and controversial move designed to quickly bolster global supplies. - But waiving drug companies' intellectual property rights risks setting a bad precedent for future investment in new drugs, and may not meaningfully increase the availability of shots across the world, Axios Vitals author Caitlin Owens writes.
Keep reading. |
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| 9. Consumer space race heats up |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic are pushing to launch their first paying customers to the edge of space, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer writes. - Why it matters: If the two companies succeed, they'll open up a new market in the space industry, one focused on consumer-driven demand for expensive trips to suborbital space.
Blue Origin plans to launch its first crewed flight July 20. One seat is being auctioned off. - A Virgin Galactic seat costs about $250,000.
Keep reading. |
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| 10. 😬 Boom for adult braces, retainers |
| "Both a pandemic — and its possible end — are ripe conditions for driving ... adults back into the orthodontist's chair," The Wall Street Journal's Kathryn Dill writes (subscription). - "For many people working remotely, video meetings have become opportunities to parse their cosmetic shortcomings on screen, real or perceived. And having to wear a mask in many public places can render even full-on braces a secret."
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| A message from Facebook |
| Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations |
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| 2021 is the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the last major update to internet regulation. It's time for an update to set clear rules for addressing today's toughest challenges. See how we're taking action on key issues and why we support updated internet regulations. |
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| 📬 Please invite your friends, family, colleagues to sign up here for Axios AM and Axios PM. |
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