Plus: "Charlie Brown" backstory | Monday, December 05, 2022
| | | | | | | Presented By Business Roundtable | | | | Axios PM | | By Mike Allen · Dec 05, 2022 | | Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker and copy edited by Sheryl Miller, is 490 words, a 2-minute read. | | | | | | 1 big thing: SCOTUS showdown | | Demonstrators from both sides rally at the Supreme Court today. Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP The Supreme Court seems likely to allow at least some businesses to turn away same-sex couples as customers, Axios' Sam Baker reports. - The court heard oral arguments today in the case of a Colorado graphic designer who wants to break into wedding websites. But, citing her religious beliefs, she refuses to make them for same-sex couples.
- It's a rerun of a high-profile case from a few years ago in which a baker wouldn't make a cake for a same-sex wedding. The court punted then — but has since gotten more solidly conservative.
Between the lines: Civil rights laws from all over the country say businesses open to the general public can't discriminate against potential customers on the basis of their race, sex or sexual orientation. - Some of the conservative justices homed in today on the difference between designing a website template versus a custom-made site, Bloomberg reports.
- That could set the stage to carve out an exemption for people whose work is highly expressive — without making the same exemption available to people who simply sell a standardized product or service.
|     | | | | | | 2. Flu cases surge |  | | | Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios | | | | The U.S. is in the midst of its worst flu season in over a decade, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes. - Flu-connected hospital admissions over Thanksgiving week almost doubled over the previous week.
What's happening: The return to pre-pandemic life has left us "immunologically naïve" and more susceptible to infections, experts say. | | | | | | | | 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. | | | | | | 3. Catch up quick | | Smoke and ash fill the sky after the Semeru volcano erupts in Indonesia. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images - Nearly 2,000 people have evacuated after the eruption of the tallest volcano on Indonesia's most populous island. (Washington Post)
- The Secret Service believes hackers tied to the Chinese government stole at least $20 million in U.S. COVID benefits. (NBC News)
- Hertz will pay $168 million to settle allegations that its customers were wrongfully arrested when the company falsely claimed their rental cars had been stolen. (Wall Street Journal)
| | | | | | | | 4. 🎹 1 fun thing: "Charlie Brown Christmas" backstory | | Photo: Peanuts Worldwide via AP The jazzy soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas"— which has sold 5 million copies over 57 years — happened in a hurry, AP's David Bauder writes. - Why it matters: The CBS special became an indelible holiday tradition. The music's nostalgia-fueled popularity has only grown.
In 1965, producer Lee Mendelson scribbled some lyrics to jazz musician Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here," for an animated TV special featuring the Peanuts gang. - Mendelson told his family he spent less than half an hour on it: "Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer."
Guaraldi's cascading piano evokes motion and lightly falling snow on "Skating." - The driving melody of "Linus and Lucy" is the eternal backdrop to a swinging party.
- "O Tannenbaum" shifts from the traditional carol to a bass-driven groove.
🎁 Great gift idea: A remastered version of the soundtrack, with recently discovered outtakes, is out this year (CD or vinyl). | | | | | | | | 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. | | |  | | 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.
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