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| Presented By Google |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen ·Nov 15, 2021 |
| Good Monday morning. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,183 words ... 4½ minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu. 📱 Please join Axios' Worth Sparkman and Alex Golden tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. CT for a Smart Take event on the reopening of arts and culture in Northwest Arkansas. Sign up here. |
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| 1 big thing: Inside the Christie-Trump divorce |
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| Photo: "Axios on HBO" |
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| Chris Christie told me on "Axios on HBO" that he and President Trump haven't spoken since before Jan. 6, when Christie frantically tried to reach his friend of 20 years — and Trump never picked up the phone. - "I tried to call him ... to give him advice on what I thought he needed to be doing to stop the violence," the former governor told me during our hour-long interview at his home in New Jersey.
- "I called Kellyanne Conway first. And I said to her: 'Have you spoken to him?' And she said she had not. And she said: 'I think we both need to call him.' And I said: 'Absolutely.' So I then called the president's secretary ... Couldn't get through. I then called his body guy. Didn't pick up. I then called the president's cell phone, and he didn't pick up."
The two were once so close Christie called him "Donald," even when he was in the White House. Right after Christie appeared on a Sunday show, the president would call him in the car and critique his appearance. - "I was desperate to try to get in touch with him," Christie told me, "because I felt like what was happening was awful and was going to be a stain on his presidency, and I wanted him to be the guy to stand up and stop it. But he didn't take the call, and so I said what I would have said to him privately on the air on ABC."
Christie, who's gaming out a possible run for president in 2024, said he still considers Trump a friend, and still would have supported him over President Biden. - But Christie was critical of Trump's rejection of Mike Pence for not going along with lies about the election: "I think it was an awful act to a vice president who had been extraordinarily loyal, and a guy who deserved much better."
Christie — out tomorrow with "Republican Rescue," which includes his prescription for the GOP — is pushing his party to move on from 2020. - "If we waste our time as Republicans talking about an election that we lost, we are going to lose future elections," he said.
Making it clear he won't let Trump bully him, Christie took a tough shot at potential 2024 candidates who plan to decide whether to run based on what the former president does. - "Those people who say that they will defer to Donald Trump have disqualified themselves from being president," Christie said. "[Y]ou shouldn't defer to anyone if you believe you're the best person."
Watch a clip. |
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| 2. Driving the day: Biden's bipartisan bash |
| A new sign is seen on the North Lawn yesterday. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters A swath of Republicans will join jubilant Democrats on the White House South Lawn this afternoon as President Biden signs the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. - Why it matters: The bipartisan guest list marks a pivot to implementation, after the hard-fought passage of America's biggest public-works bill since President Dwight Eisenhower created the interstate highway system in 1956.
In addition to the Democrats who run both chambers of Congress, Republicans expected today include Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Rob Portman (Ohio), and Reps. Tom Reed (N.Y.) and Don Young (Alaska). - Also expected are Govs. Kate Brown (D-Ore.), Larry Hogan (R-Md.) and John Bel Edwards (D-La.) ... plus Mayors Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, David Holt of Oklahoma City, Steve Benjamin of Columbia, S..C., and Robert Garcia of Long Beach, Calif.
- Trade association heads include Suzanne Clark of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Josh Bolten of the Business Roundtable and Jay Timmons of the National Association of Manufacturers.
- Union leaders include Teamsters President James Hoffa.
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| 3. Trump Hotel to become a Waldorf Astoria |
| Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images Under a deal nearing completion, the Trump name will be replaced by Waldorf Astoria on the historic hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. - CGI Merchant Group is set to acquire the hotel lease for $375 million — far less than the $500 million former President Trump was reportedly seeking in 2019, The Wall Street Journal scooped (subscription).
Why it matters: As we told you in September, the hotel was a central setting during Trump's chaotic presidency, and became a prop and symbol for both sides in the political wars. |
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| A message from Google |
| Google is committing $10 billion to advance cybersecurity |
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| By making all Google products secure by default, we protect billions of people from potential cyberattacks every day. And now, we're investing an additional $10 billion to modernize the security of governments, critical infrastructure, organizations, and businesses everywhere. Learn more. |
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| 4. Warning on trust: "The seams are splitting" |
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| Illustration: Megan Robinson/Axios |
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| "We are in a crisis of trust and truth," warns a report this morning from the three co-chairs of the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder — Katie Couric, Chris Krebs and Rashad Robinson: We see how our information ecosystem is failing the public, and how the absence or loss of trust in government entities, community institutions, and journalism, combined with a growing number of bad actors and conflict entrepreneurs who exploit these weaknesses, have led to real harms, sometimes with fatal consequences. Krebs, founding director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, says that "what's broken in our society" includes "who we trust, who has power, where we get our news." - Increasing workforce diversity is a key recommendation: "More diverse representation expands the aperture of decision-makers, reduces groupthink and risks of bias and blind spots ... These actions can curb the spread of misinformation in communities most vulnerable to or threatened by malicious actors."
Read the release ... Read the 80-page report. |
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| 5. "Axios on HBO" exclusive: IBM's quantum leap |
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| Photo: "Axios on HBO" |
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| IBM has created a quantum computer capable of processing information so complex the work can't be done or simulated on a traditional computer, CEO Arvind Krishna told Ina Fried on "Axios on HBO." - Why it matters: Quantum computing could help address problems that are too challenging for even today's most powerful supercomputers, such as figuring out how to make better batteries or sequester carbon emissions.
IBM says its new Eagle processor can handle 127 qubits, a measure of quantum computing power. - It would take a traditional computer "bigger than this planet" to be able to accomplish the same work, Krishna said.
Watch a clip. |
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| 6. Data of the day |
| Graphic: CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" |
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| 7. "Sesame Street" cast adds Asian American |
| Ernie welcomes Ji-Young, the first Asian American Muppet. Photo: Noreen Nasir/AP Ji-Young will be the first Asian American Muppet on "Sesame Street." - The 7-year-old is Korean American, with passions that include rocking out on electric guitar and skateboarding, AP's Terry Tang scoops.
- Ji-Young will debut in "See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special," which drops Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max and PBS.
The backstory: Ji-Young is the culmination of lots of internal "Sesame Street" discussion about meeting the moment after George Floyd's death and the wave of anti-Asian hate incidents. |
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| 8. 📺 40 years ago today: First "This Week" |
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| Ariel Sharon, then Israeli defense minister, joins Sam Donaldson, George Will and David Brinkley in 1982. Photo: ABC News |
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| On Nov. 15, 1981, ABC's David Brinkley launched "This Week," with his signature roundtable and the news "since the Sunday morning papers." - George Will, a "contributing analyst" on that first roundtable, said in a taped tribute on yesterday's show: "2061— I can hardly wait."
Photos: ABC Above: George Stephanopoulos as a "This Week" guest in July 1992, as communications director of Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's presidential campaign — and today, as anchor of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." |
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| A message from Google |
| Google is driving industry-wide security transformation |
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| The Google Cybersecurity Action Team is part of a $10B investment to modernize the security infrastructures of governments and businesses. This effort brings together the world's premier security experts to advise organizations on deploying effective cyber defense solutions. Learn more. |
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