🏎️ Plus: Racing onstage | Wednesday, June 19, 2024
| | | | | | | Presented By U.S. Travel Association | | | | Axios PM | | By Mike Allen · Jun 19, 2024 | | Good Wednesday afternoon. It's Juneteenth, the federal holiday marking Black emancipation from enslavement. - Smart Brevity™ count: 694 words ... 2½ mins. Copy editor: Kathie Bozanich.
| | | | | | 1 big thing: Diving drones | A Manta Ray prototype. Photo: Northrop Grumman An animal-like uncrewed underwater vehicle dubbed Manta Ray can be seen maneuvering off the Southern California coast in new footage captured during testing, Axios' Colin Demarest reports. - Why it matters: Sea drones are reshaping naval combat — especially in Eastern Europe, where Ukrainian forces are sinking prized Russian ships using far smaller and cheaper tech.
The Manta Ray's almond-shaped body, rounded nose, horizontal fins and vertical tail can be spotted in the 360-degree video shared by maker Northrop Grumman. - While its dimensions aren't publicly discussed, the UUV (uncrewed underwater vehicle) looks gigantic next to people and boats.
- The vessel glides through the water, dips below the waves and resurfaces in the clip. Little wake is seen.
🖼️ The big picture: The U.S. Navy is banking on uncrewed systems to reduce logistical demands, boost surveillance and augment firepower for sailors and Marines. 🚀 Axios will launch a weekly Future of Defense newsletter this summer. Sign up here. |     | | | | | | 2. 🕶️ Juneteenth gains in popularity (and profit) | AP reporter Darren Sands spots his great-great-great-great grandfather Hewlett Sands, among U.S. Colored Troops soldiers on the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP (Read the story)Like all other federal holidays, Juneteenth can be a chance to make a few dollars — a trend that worries advocates, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. 💡Context: The rapid commercialization of Juneteenth comes as some states pass laws limiting the discussion about enslavement in public schools, and as some GOP lawmakers press for the return of Confederate monuments. - The popularity of Juneteenth and the racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder in 2020 led several cities and states to rethink how they commemorate difficult chapters of American history, including slavery.
Catch up quick: This is the third year Juneteenth has been a national holiday since President Biden signed legislation in 2021. - It commemorates June 19, 1865 — the day Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, with word the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed by President Lincoln more than two years before.
Keep reading.  Data: Mercer. Chart: Axios Visuals Reality check: The growth of Juneteenth as a paid day off for private companies has stalled three years after it became a federal holiday, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes from a Mercer survey. - 41% of employers with 500+ employees made Juneteenth a paid holiday this year, Mercer tells us.
That's up from 39% last year — and just 9% in 2021. | | | | | | | | A message from U.S. Travel Association | | Nearly 3 million passengers fly safely every day in the U.S. | | |  | | | | The travel industry is committed to a safe and secure traveler experience. With record-setting air travel on the horizon, TSA's screening technologies and the expertise of the U.S. airline industry will get you to your destination safely and seamlessly. Learn more. | | | | | | 3. ⚡ U.S.: Bibi video hurts effort to avoid new war | | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a state memorial ceremony yesterday for victims of the 1948 Altalena Affair in Tel Aviv. Photo: Shaun Golan/Pool via Getty Images Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new feud with the Biden administration is hampering U.S.-Israeli diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions on the Lebanese border and avoid war with Hezbollah, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. - Why it matters: Biden officials tell Axios they're concerned Netanyahu's words in a video he posted yesterday could create "daylight" between the two allies. That could further erode Israel's deterrence power in the region — especially in the eyes of Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah and the group's main backer Iran.
Nasrallah said today his militia could still invade northern Israel if the conflict escalates. 🔎 Between the lines: U.S. officials interviewed for this story said they don't understand what Netanyahu was trying to do or what he was hoping to achieve, other than scoring political points domestically. - In private, Biden's team was angry and shocked by Netanyahu's ingratitude. Some U.S. officials said Netanyahu looked "unhinged" in the video.
Keep reading. | | | | | | | | 4. 🏎️ 1 for the road: McLaren wants to boost women in racing | | McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, McLaren CMO Louise McEwen, F1 driver Lando Norris, Intercontinental Exchange and NYSE CMO Stephanie Dobbs Brown and Axios' Sara Fischer in Cannes today. Photo: Sean T. Smith for Axios CANNES, France — McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown wants to double the percentage of staffers from underrepresented communities, the majority being women, from roughly 20% to 40% by the end of the decade, he told Axios onstage today. - Why it matters: The goal comes amid the rapid growth of Formula One in the U.S. and increased fandom around the sport, Axios' Kerry Flynn reports.
"It's not just about getting females in Formula One championship ... but also in mechanics, marketing and engineers," Brown told Sara Fischer at Women's Sports House, hosted by Axios and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. | | | | | | | | A message from U.S. Travel Association | | America's travel industry: Moving travelers safely and efficiently | | |  | | | | This summer, more people will be traveling by air than ever before. The U.S. travel industry is working to get you there safely and hassle-free. From the plane you fly on to the technology TSA uses to verify and safeguard your identity, flying is safer and more efficient than ever before. Learn more. | | | | 📬 Please invite your friends to join PM. |  | 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.
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