| |
| |
| |
| Presented By The Boeing Company |
| |
| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen · May 19, 2022 |
| Happy Thursday. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,180 words ... 4½ mins. Edited by Zachary Basu. |
| |
| |
| 1 big thing: On the front lines with a Ukrainian soldier |
 |
|
| Andrii Shadrin after a firefight with Russian troops. Photo courtesy Andrii Shadrin |
| |
| Ukrainian Cpl. Andrii Shadrin's unit sets off daily from its makeshift base to points along the front lines in Luhansk Oblast in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where the most intense fighting is now happening. - "Some of the regions we have to reach, the only road available is under absolute fire control of the enemy," the 26-year-old tells Axios World editor Dave Lawler for the Axios podcast series, "How It Happened."
Why it matters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky describes soldiers in the Donbas like Shadrin as some of the best Ukraine has. Their battle to defend the region will decide the fate of the war. 🎧 Dave and Axios' Naomi Shavin put in weeks tracking down and telling this story. The podcast, Episode 5 of "How It Happened: Putin's Invasion," just dropped. - "How it Happened" has been in touch with Shadrin almost daily for four weeks. Our calls took place at night, after he'd returned to base. They were often interrupted by shelling ... by orders for a mission ... and once when he said a drone had been spotted overhead.
 Zoom out: After the failed effort to take Kyiv, Vladimir Putin turned his focus to the Donbas, vowing to "liberate" the region. - In recent weeks, Russian forces have gained ground. More than 90% of Luhansk, where Shadrin is fighting, is now under Russian control.
Destruction in Donbas. Photo: Andrii Shadrin The morning after our first conversation, Shadrin's unit came under fire as it was repairing equipment on an outpost directly on the front line. A piece of shrapnel struck him in the leg. - Shadrin, a trained medic, treated his own wound until he could be evacuated to a hospital. He declined painkillers, knowing supplies were tight. Once he realized he could walk, he returned to base.
Some of his worst days have come when traveling through recently shelled towns. Two civilians died as he tried to save them, he says. - Shadrin acknowledges that many civilians who remained behind likely supported Russia before the full-scale invasion. That's not uncommon in this largely Russian-speaking region, where many get their news from Russian state TV.
Now, he says the civilians beg them his unit to stay, "not to leave them alone, one-on-one with the Russians." A family dividedShadrin says his parents don't share that view of Russia, or the war. - He says that at home in Feodosia, a coastal resort town in Crimea, they absorb the Kremlin narrative of the war from Russian state TV, and believe their only child has been brainwashed.
- "I still want to go home," he told us.
Keep reading ... Listen to the podcast. |
    |
| |
| |
| 2. Workers' new power |
 |
|
| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
| |
| Your boss needs you more than you need her. - Why it matters: Pandemic-fueled demographic forces tightened the labor supply so much that even in a slowdown, newly emboldened workers are likely to keep leverage, Axios' Emily Peck writes.
State of play: There are jobs! jobs! jobs! for almost everyone who wants one — 1.9 jobs for every unemployed worker, according to BLS data. What's happening: - Baby Boomers are finally leaving the stage. Labor force participation for those 55+ is nearly 2 points lower than in February 2020.
- There aren't as many Millennials or Gen Zers to replace them, as Axios chief economics guru Neil Irwin has written.
- People with long COVID, or who are facing child-care pressures or even dealing with substance abuse, are also missing from the labor force. So are many immigrants.
Share this story. |
| |
| |
| |
| 3. 🗳️ Pennsylvania cliffhanger |
| Dave McCormick with his wife Dina Powell, in Pittsburgh on primary night. Photo: Keith Srakocic/AP Dave McCormick's campaign tells me their data show a clear path to victory in the too-close-to-call GOP Senate primary in Pennsylvania. - "Dave is going to win," strategist Jeff Roe tweeted.
McCormick — former hedge-fund CEO and official in the George W. Bush administration — expects to move ahead of Dr. Oz tomorrow when more absentee ballots are added to the tally, top advisers tell me. - McCormick yesterday closed the gap with Oz to 1,240 votes out of 1.3 million cast.
A recount is looking likely. Campaigns have deployed lawyers throughout the state. - Go deeper: How mailed ballots slow results in Pennsylvania.
|
| |
| |
| |
| A message from The Boeing Company |
| Committed to our communities |
| |
 |
| |
| Through community grants, we invest in community partners that focus on racial equity, economic mobility for underserved communities and breaking the cycle of incarceration. Discover more by visiting the Boeing Global Engagement Portfolio. |
| |
| |
| 4. 📷 1,000 words |
 |
|
| Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images |
| |
| At the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., former cadets toss their hats yesterday to celebrate becoming commissioned officers. |
| |
| |
| |
| 5. 🎢 Markets' fear factor |
 Data: FactSet. Chart: Axios Visuals Markets are sniffing recession, sending stocks to their worst daily decline yesterday since the early days of the COVID crisis, Matt Phillips writes in Axios Markets. - The S&P 500 fell 4%. The Dow slid 1,164 points (3.6%).
Why it matters: The markets have been volatile for much of the year. But yesterday's sell-off — centered in consumer stocks — set off greater alarm bells. What's happening: Disappointing earnings reports from Target and Walmart appeared to spook Wall Street. The bottom line: It seems all but certain we're being mauled by a bear market. But we'll have to wait for the S&P 500's losses to hit 20% from the Jan. 3 peak to get "official" confirmation. |
| |
| |
| |
| 6. 😷 32% of U.S. urged to re-mask |
 Data: N.Y. Times. Cartogram: Kavya Beheraj/Axios The COVID wave accelerated in 49 states: Maine is the only state to report a slight decline in the past two weeks. - Metro areas with high vaccination rates are accounting for a higher share of disease spread, Axios' Tina Reed and Kavya Beheraj report.
One-third of Americans live in higher-risk areas — mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. - People there should be considering wearing masks indoors, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said: "[W]e urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masking in public indoor settings."
Share this cartogram. |
| |
| |
| |
| 7. Scoop: Campbell Brown's new Meta role |
 |
|
| Photo: Meta |
| |
| Campbell Brown — the veteran news anchor, and Meta's vice president of news partnerships since 2017 — is being promoted to oversee a new global media partnerships team, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. - Why it matters: The new role allows Brown to focus on broader media partnerships in addition to news. New regulations around the globe are forcing tech giants, including Meta and Google, to pay to host news content.
Brown will oversee a team that manages partnerships with sports leagues, film studios, broadcasters, streamers, digital media companies and news publishers across all of Meta's products. - The team will focus on new partnerships that support short-form video, NFTs, and the metaverse.
Share this story. |
| |
| |
| |
| 8. 🎓 1 fun thing: Dr. Taylor Swift |
| Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Taylor Swift was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by New York University at Yankee Stadium yesterday. - "I really can't complain about not having a normal college experience ... because you went to NYU during a global pandemic," the singer-songwriter, who has won Grammys galore, told 19,000 graduates.
- "[Y]ou and I both learned that you don't always get all the things in the bag that you selected from the menu in the delivery service that is life. You get what you get. And as I would like to say to you, you should be very proud of what you've done with it."
Go deeper. |
| |
| |
| |
| A message from The Boeing Company |
| Find your purpose with Boeing |
| |
 |
| |
| Equity, diversity and inclusion are part of Boeing's core values. The strategy: Since 2020, we've committed more than $30 million to address racial equity and social justice in the United States. Join us today and help humanity take flight. |
| |
| 📬 Invite your friends to sign up here to get their daily essentials — Axios AM, PM and Finish Line. |
 | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment