👠 Plus: "Sex and the City" house | Friday, January 17, 2025
View in browser
Presented By Amazon
Axios AM
By Mike Allen
·
Jan 17, 2025
Hello, Friday!
Smart Brevity™ count: 1,483 words ... 5½ mins. Thanks to Sam Baker for orchestrating. Copy edited by Bryan McBournie. 📱 A two-act TikTok play: 1. President Biden won't enforce the TikTok ban that's supposed to take effect Sunday, leaving the app's fate in President-elect Trump's hands. Go deeper . 2. Trump is considering an executive order "that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days, buying the administration time to negotiate a sale or alternative solution," arguing the app "will help him reach an adoring audience." ( WashPost )
1 big thing: California's "red pill"
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Republican activists have tried and failed for decades to end Democrats' near-monopoly on power in California. More than a week after the Palisades Fire erupted — and with three major infernos still burning — Republicans believe this is their moment, Axios' Zachary Basu writes from LA. 🚒 Elon Musk and his allies are waging a ruthless information war in California — flooding the zone with allegations of gross mismanagement by the state's Democrats. The targets are familiar: DEI programs at the LA Fire Department, undocumented immigrants , red tape — even aid to Ukraine . "The real red pill will come when people try to get permits to rebuild their homes and face multiyear waits," Musk wrote on X . 😨 The big picture: Musk's bluster aside, Democrats acknowledge they face serious challenges in California that predate the fires — and that their supermajority in the legislature makes it difficult to blame Republicans. Crime, homelessness, illegal immigration, high prices and an intractable housing crisis helped Trump increase his vote share in 45 of California's 58 counties in 2024. The short-term political danger is most acute for LA Mayor Karen Bass, who's up for reelection next year. She's been pilloried for traveling to Ghana a day after the National Weather Service warned of dangerous fire conditions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who's expected to run for president in 2028, has expressed a desire to work with Trump on the recovery effort. 🥊 Reality check: The main beneficiaries of California's backlash have been independents and moderate Democrats — not Republicans, and certainly not the strain of MAGA Republicans publicly agitating for a revolution. Go deeper . 🔋 California talker! "Burning Teslas Add to Toxic Mix of Pollution Delaying LA Return: Electric cars add a new dimension to the mess left by fires ... Specialized removal means longer delays for victims." ( Bloomberg )
- 🔆 Trump strikes warmer inaugural tone
Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Eight years ago, Donald Trump took office with a dark message about "American carnage" — a nation ravaged by crime, poverty and drugs. As he returns t o the White House on Monday, his team is stressing "unity" and "light," Axios' Erin Doherty writes. The weekend's pre-inauguration festivities have optimistic, hopeful themes, including a "One America, One Light" prayer service. 🕯️What they're saying: "Light signifies hope, it signifies a new beginning, it signifies a pathway forward," a person familiar with Trump's inauguration plans told Axios. "It's really something that has been a theme for the inaugural, yes, but also a guiding principle for our team over the past couple months." Between the lines: Trump and his inner circle feel vindicated and validated after winning the popular and electoral votes, and see a broad MAGA mandate.
Via Truth Social 🥊 Reality check: Trump has tried to play the role of unifier before. It hasn't lasted. Trump called for national unity after surviving an assassination attempt last summer. His speech at the Republican convention — his first after the shooting — began with a reflective, positive tone about unity. Go deeper . 💡 "Face into it": In an exit interview for last night's Finish Line, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients tells Jim VandeHei and me how private-sector strategies informed his government leadership. 8 tips .
✈️ Tech CEOs flock to D.C.
Chart: Axios Visuals Just about all the biggest names in tech will be in Washington on Monday for President-elect Trump's inauguration — a much different scene than the beginning of his first term, Axios' Sam Baker writes. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is the latest addition to the Big Tech guest list for Trump's swearing-in — a day after his company's app is set to be banned in the U.S. 💻 Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are also planning to attend, according to media reports. Elon Musk will be there, too. Share this story ... Inauguration latest .
A message from Amazon
Meet Kathleen and Miguel: growing their small business on Amazon
About their business: “We started selling Lucy’s Juices from our garage. Now we have a warehouse and 20 employees.”
Best part about selling in Amazon’s store: “It doubled the size of our company.”
More than 60% of sales in Amazon’s store come from independent sellers. Find out more.
- 🏡 Mayors: We need more housing
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Mayors across the country are warning of a severe and worsening housing shortfall, Axios' Sareen Habeshian reports from a new survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, with the American Institute of Architects. 89% of the mayors surveyed said the federal government should provide
flexible and direct funding for cities to address housing shortages. The mayors want more low-income housing credits and housing vouchers. ⚡️ The big picture: There aren't enough homes in the U.S. to keep up with demand. Some estimates put the total housing shortage in the millions of units. The U.S. Conference of Mayors,
which opens its 93rd Winter Meeting in Washington today — with 270+ mayors in town — sees housing as a "national crisis [that] calls for a national response." Read the 20-page report ... Share this story .
- 🕶️ Everything's coming up Zuck
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Mark Zuckerberg is living his best life in the Trump 2.0 era, despite the president-elect's campaign threat to jail him, Axios Pro Rata author Dan Primack writes . Meta has been at the front of the pack of tech companies repositioning themselves for Trump's Washington. Not only has Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago and donated to Trump's inauguration, but conservatives also cheered his changes to Facebook's fact-checking policies and his comments about the need for "masculine energy" in the workplace. 🔮 All of that could pay off for Meta when it comes to future regulation. And it's given Zuckerberg the confidence to scrap content-moderation and workplace culture policies that appear to have privately chafed him for years. A ban on TikTok — if it were to actually take effect — would also benefit Zuckerberg. Meta would capture more new advertising spending than any other company if TikTok disappears in the U.S., according to an eMarketer analysis . Share this story .
- 📍 Mapped: Porn crackdown
Data: Age Verification Providers Association. Map: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Nineteen states have passed laws requiring adult websites to verify that users are older than 18 — and the Supreme Court could soon give more states a green light to follow suit, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes . The justices indicated this week that they're likely to uphold Texas' age-verification law. 🔒 How it works: Age verification laws typically require adult websites to implement a way of checking users' ages, often via government-issued IDs. The laws are meant to prevent underage kids from accessing pornographic websites. Critics say they raise privacy and First Amendment concerns. 💬 "Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy," Pornhub parent company Aylo said . Some adult sites, including Pornhub, have decided to go dark in states with age verification rules. Share this story .
- 🎥 David Lynch's legacy
David Lynch in 2019. Photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic via Getty Images Filmmaker David Lynch, whose family announced yesterday that he had died at age 78, was one of the rare artists whose vision was so distinctive that his name became an adjective. "Lynchian" has been used to describe any number of surreal, unsettling films — but no one ever truly replicated Lynch's touch. "He's one of those filmmakers who was influential but impossible to imitate," Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh told AP . 🎬 Lynch's work, including "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks," often depicted dark, evil forces lurking just below the surface of idyllic Americana. But what made his films unique, Axios' Sam Baker writes — and what "Lynchian" copycats often miss — was Lynch's sincere affection for the simple, small-town, cherry-pie-and-black-coffee world. In addition to being a director, Lynch was an amateur furniture maker, painter and outspoken evangelist for the Bob's Big Boy restaurant chain. He might have been "the first populist surrealist — a Frank Capra of dream logic," legendary film critic Pauleen Kael once wrote of Lynch. Read the NYT obit (gift link).
- 👠1 for the road: "Sex and the City" privacy
"No trespassing" signs adorn the front steps of the house that served as Carrie Bradshaw's apartment on "Sex and the City," a show that ended 20 years ago. Photo: Christina Horsten/picture alliance via Getty Images "Sex and the City" fans have been snapping photos in front of 66 Perry Street — the brownstone that served as the exterior for Carrie Bradshaw's apartment — for years. I couldn't help but wonder ... Isn't this still someone's house? And are they maybe somewhat annoyed that their front stoop is a tourist attraction? It is. And they are. ✋ New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission signed off this week on a request to install a gate in front of the famous stairs, to keep fans further away from the front door. "I'd hoped for literally decades that this would pass. But at this point, ... even someone as stubborn as I am has to admit that this isn't going away in the near future," said Barbara Lorber, who owns the three-unit building, told the N.Y. Times. Keep reading .
A message from Amazon
Meet Kathleen and Miguel: LA business owners thriving on Amazon
Favorite Amazon service: “We struggled to break into physical stores and found Fulfillment by Amazon was the fastest way to get our products to customers.”
Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options.
Find out more.
📬 Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends to join AM .
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.
Advertise with us .
Axios, PO Box 101060, 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.
And make sure you subscribe to Mike's afternoon wrap up, Axios PM .
Follow Axios on social media: