🎯 Axios PM: GOP hits a wall

Plus: ✈️ End of an era | Wednesday, December 07, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Business Roundtable   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Dec 07, 2022 Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker and copy edited by Sheryl Miller, is 497 words, a 2-minute read.     1 big thing: SCOTUS steps back from the brink Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   One of Republicans' most audacious attempts to control elections may have hit a wall today at the Supreme Court, Sam writes. A group of GOP lawmakers from North Carolina asked the court to embrace a sweeping legal theory that could upend nearly every facet of the way states run elections. Most immediately, they said, state courts should not be able to strike down gerrymandered congressional maps. The same argument could also prevent state courts from reviewing any other changes to election procedures — or even extending an Election Day deadline. But that seemed to be a bridge too far for most of the justices, even on a conservative court that has almost always taken the Republican side in disputes over voting rights. At least three of the six conservative justices — John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — seemed to be looking for a ruling that would preserve the courts' role in the process, The NY Times reported. Why it matters: If the North Carolina lawmakers prevail, state legislatures — most of which are controlled by Republicans — would have near-total power to set the rules for the 2024 elections. "This is a proposal that gets rid of the normal checks and balances on the way big governmental decisions are made in this country," Justice Elena Kagan said during today's arguments, per Reuters. "And then you might think that it gets rid of all those checks and balances at exactly the time when they are needed most."     2. Zelensky is Time's Person of the Year Cover: Neil Jamieson for TIME, illustrating Volodymyr Zelensky and others who embody the spirit of Ukraine   Volodymyr Zelensky — along with the "Spirit of Ukraine" — is Time magazine's 2022 Person of the Year. "This year's choice was the most clear-cut in memory," editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote. Flashback: See a full list of every Person of the Year     A message from Business Roundtable 50 years of promoting a thriving U.S. economy     With the country facing new challenges, Business Roundtable CEOs remain focused on spurring job creation, improving U.S. competitiveness and strengthening our economy. Business Roundtable member companies support 37 million American jobs. Learn more about their economic impact.     3. 📸 Infamy remembered Photo: Audrey McAvoy/AP Ira Schab, 102, who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor as a sailor on the USS Dobbin, talked with reporters today in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, joined by his son. Read the story.     4. Catch up quick German police conduct a raid in Berlin. Photo: Carsten Koall/Getty Images German authorities arrested 25 members of a right-wing group, accusing them of plotting a coup attempt. Go deeper. Indiana is suing TikTok. (WSJ) The oldest DNA scientists have ever discovered shows that the Arctic was once warm, lush and full of life. (AP)     5. 🛬 The last 747 Photo: David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images   The iconic Boeing 747 is entering retirement after more than 50 years. The jet pictured above, which rolled off the assembly line in Everett, Washington, yesterday, is the last 747 Boeing will ever make. The 747 was the world's dominant jumbo jet for decades, immediately recognizable for both its sheer size and the bubble that houses a partial second level near the front of the plane. Air Force One is a 747. But it's been eclipsed by newer, more fuel-efficient jetliners. By the numbers: Production of the 747, the world's first twin-aisle airplane, began in 1967 and spanned 54 years, during which a total of 1,574 airplanes were built, Boeing said.     A message from Business Roundtable 50 years of advocating for a stronger America     Business Roundtable CEOs have helped shape policies to create and maintain long-term economic prosperity. These policies include a competitive tax code, workforce development, climate change progress, streamlined regulation and rules-based trade. Explore their impact and priorities.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: