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| Presented By Facebook |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen ·Mar 02, 2022 |
| Hello, Wednesday. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,192 words ... 4½ mins. Edited by Noah Bressner. 📱 Today at 3:30 p.m. ET, please join Margaret Talev and me for a virtual event with State of the Union takeaways, including conversations with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Register here. |
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| 1 big thing: Ukraine splinters internet |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| Moves to restrict Kremlin disinformation after the Ukraine invasion are further splintering the global internet. - Why it matters: A universal internet — where everyone can access the same messages and services — is slipping out of reach as democracies falter and governments limit usage, Axios' Ashley Gold writes.
Zoom out: Social media execs have warned against the dangers of a Balkanized internet for years as many nations — including Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ethiopia and Turkey — limited access. - In China, American apps like Facebook and Twitter are blocked.
Between the lines: Cutting countries off can help dictators win. - In democracies, including the U.S., it's easy to focus on the harms of Big Tech and look to the government for answers, Kate Klonick, an assistant law professor at St. John's University, told Axios.
- But "what we're seeing with Russia and Ukraine is a return to some of the formative ideas around the power that the internet brings to individuals."
Reality check: Authoritarian countries plow ahead with their own visions for the internet as the U.S. and Europe search for alignment on privacy, AI, competition, content moderation and cybersecurity regulations. |
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| 2. Biden: "I get it" |
| What President Biden sees. Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA/Pool via AP President Biden said in his State of the Union address that getting inflation under control is his "top priority," while warning Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to higher costs for American consumers. - Why it matters: The White House knows the country is frustrated with price hikes. But officials also want credit for strong GDP growth, job creation and low unemployment, Axios' Hans Nichols writes.
"With all the bright spots in our economy, record job growth and higher wages, too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills," the president said. - "Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel. I get it."
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Above: An old-fashioned scrum greets President Biden after the speech. - Secretary of State Tony Blinken talked with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.).
Go deeper: Read Biden's vow to seize yachts and jets of Russian oligarchs, from the Axios AM Thought Bubble that dropped in your inbox late last night ET. |
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| 3. Zelensky: "The best people on Earth" |
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| Cover: The Times of London |
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| Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video on Facebook today in which he praised Ukrainians as "a symbol of invincibility," as the Russian invasion entered a seventh day. - "Another night of Russia's full-scale war against us, against the people, has passed," Zelensky said. "We've hardly slept for seven nights."
Zelensky said invading forces "know nothing about our capital," Kyiv, or Ukrainian history: "But they have an order to erase our history ... Erase our country. Erase us all." - "Today you, Ukrainians, are the symbol of invincibility, a symbol that people in any country can become the best people on Earth at any moment."
A member of the Ukrainian Emergency Service beholds Kharkiv City Hall following shelling yesterday. Photo: Pavel Dorogoy/AP Explosions rang out in Kyiv and Kharkiv as Russian forces intensified their bombing campaign on Ukraine today. - Kharkiv has been the scene of some of the worst shelling by Russian troops since the invasion began.
- Zelensky has called a strike on Kharkiv's central square yesterday an act of state terrorism.
 Axios Ukraine dashboard. |
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| A message from Facebook |
| We're making investments in safety and security — and seeing results |
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| Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Over the last several months, we've taken action on: - 62 million pieces of explicit adult content
- 51.7 million pieces of violent and graphic content
See how we're working to help you connect safely. |
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| 4. Babysitting rates skyrocket |
 Adapted from UrbanSitter. Chart: Sara Wise/Axios The average hourly rate for a babysitter leapt 11% in 2021 to $20.57 — far outpacing the 7% rate of inflation, Axios' Jennifer A. Kingson writes. - Why it matters: The increase, driven by the national labor shortage, is a hardship for working parents. But it's great for babysitters, who have traditionally been underpaid.
UrbanSitter, which connects families with child care and other household help, looked at booking data from more than 10,000 families to calculate babysitting rates across the country. - The survey — the company's 11th annual — found an 11% rate hike in 2021. By contrast, babysitting rates only rose 4% from 2019 to 2020.
By the numbers: The national average rate for child care is $20.57 an hour for one child, $23.25 an hour for two and $24.35 an hour for three. - The New York area had the highest rates ($23.45 an hour for one child), followed by the Bay Area ($23.32) and Seattle ($21.23).
- The lowest rates were in San Antonio, at $14 an hour for one child.
💉 Vaccinated sitters get higher wages. |
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| 5. George P. Bush in Texas runoff |
| Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke (D) poses for photos during a primary-night gathering in Fort Worth yesterday. Photo: LM Otero/AP In the first midterm contests, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was forced into a May primary runoff with Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who is the nephew of one president and grandson of another, AP reports. - Why it matters: Paxton was endorsed by former President Trump. While Paxton won more votes than Bush, his failure to win outright could raise questions about the power of Trump's endorsement.
Zoom out: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) will face Democrat Beto O'Rourke in November. - Abbott is in a commanding position as he seeks a third term: He begins his run with more than $50 million, with a strongly conservative agenda in America's largest Republican state.
- O'Rourke faces an uphill effort to recapture the magic of his 2018 Senate campaign, when he nearly ousted Sen. Ted Cruz.
👀 What we're watching: Nine-term U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar heads into a runoff against progressive Jessica Cisneros. - Cisneros has been endorsed by progressive stalwarts Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Go deeper. |
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| 6. 🔎 Axios investigates: D.C. mayor's WhatsApp use spurs new law |
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| The District Building. Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images |
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| The D.C. Council yesterday unanimously approved new rules to preserve government communications on WhatsApp, after an Axios investigation found that the use of the messaging app in Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration raises public records concerns. - Why it matters: The bill emphasizes that messages on such platforms should be retained, and it forbids the use of a feature that can auto-delete messages, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports.
Catch up quick: WhatsApp is widely used in District government for official government business, Axios found. Government ethics experts discourage the use of such apps unless safeguards are in place to retain communications for FOIA requests. |
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| 7. Bentleys sink |
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| Photo: Portuguese Navy (Feb. 18) via Reuters |
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| A burnt-out cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars, including Porsches and Bentleys, sank yesterday off the Portuguese Azores archipelago nearly two weeks after it caught fire, Reuters reports. - "When the towing started ... water started to come in," said Joao Mendes Cabecas, the captain of the nearest port, on the island of Faial. "The ship lost its stability and sank."
The blaze on the Panama-flagged ship — carrying around 4,000 vehicles made by Volkswagen Group from Germany to Rhode Island — broke out Feb. 16. The 22 crew members were evacuated on the same day. - Lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles complicated firefighting.
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| 8. ⚾ Baseball delays opening day |
| Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images With owners and players unable to agree on a contract, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred canceled the season's first two series, cutting each club's schedule from 162 games to likely 156 at most. - Talks that began last April went nowhere. MLB locked out players Dec. 2 in the sport's first work stoppage since 1995, AP reports.
Opening Day was supposed to be March 31. |
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| A message from Facebook |
| We're making investments in safety and security — and seeing results |
| |
| |
| |
| Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Over the last several months, we've taken action on: - 62 million pieces of explicit adult content
- 51.7 million pieces of violent and graphic content
See how we're working to help you connect safely. |
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