🎯 Axios PM: "Putin is responsible"

Plus: Landlines are back | Friday, February 16, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Hyundai   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Feb 16, 2024 Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 435 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: World mourns Navalny Alexei Navalny during a hearing on Jan. 11. Photo: Vera Savina/AFP/Getty Images "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible," President Biden said today after Russian activist Alexei Navalny died in a remote prison. Navalny was one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's harshest and most persistent critics. He was an anti-corruption activist whose sheer determination and knack for capturing public attention made him the face of Russia's otherwise fractured opposition. "I do this because I hate these people," he told The New York Times in 2011, referring to some of his early activism focused on Russia's oil business. Catch up quick: Navalny was poisoned in 2020. After being treated in Germany, he returned home to Russia even though he was sure to be arrested once he landed. Go deeper Flowers lay next to a picture of Navalny at a makeshift memorial in St. Petersburg. Photo: Olga Maltseva/ AFP via Getty Images     2. ☎️ Gen Z loves the landline Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios   Some members of Gen Z think the old-school corded phone has a nice ring to it, Axios' April Rubin writes. Landline phones are having a moment among young people seeking reminders of "a simpler, pre-digital era," The Guardian reported. They're not always plugged in, however — sometimes a landline simply functions as vintage decor. Etsy, eBay and specialty shops are stocked with landline phones, and major retailers — including Urban Outfitters, Best Buy and Target — are selling new models that look straight out of "The Brady Bunch." 💿 What we're watching: Landlines aren't the only outdated technology getting a fresh shot at life: CDs and flip phones are back too. 💡Share this story ... A special edition of Axios AM tomorrow will focus on Gen Z.     A message from Hyundai Hyundai leads America's EV transition     Hyundai has invested more than $12.6 billion to establish state-of-the-art EV manufacturing facilities in Georgia and Alabama. The impact: Hyundai has created more than 13,500 direct jobs across its U.S. operations and added $8.3 billion in private earnings to the U.S. economy. Read more.     3. Catch me up Former President Trump speaks yesterday before a hearing on his hush-money case in criminal court in Manhattan. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images ⚖️ A judge ordered former President Trump to pay at least $350 million and barred him from running a company in New York for three years in the civil fraud trial that centered on accusations Trump misrepresented his wealth. Go deeper. 🗳️ Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he won't run for president this year, after all. Go deeper. 🇬🇷 Greece became the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. Details.     4. Beyoncé goes country Beyoncé at New York Fashion Week on Feb. 13. Photo: James Devaney/GC Images Beyoncé's new country songs are turning some folks upside down. First, an Oklahoma radio station refused to play the songs, even though they're pretty clearly country music — touching off a fresh debate over the genre's diversity and inclusiveness. That station has since relented, and many others never resisted in the first place. Then, someone used AI to produce covers of "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages" that were made to sound like singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus was performing them — which quickly racked up more than 1 million views. 🎧 Listen to "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages"     A message from Hyundai A driver of American growth     For nearly four decades, Hyundai has contributed to jobs, economic development and capital investments that have helped communities across the U.S. prosper. An example: 43% of Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are made in Alabama. See where else Hyundai is making an 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. 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. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: