Axios PM: Tragedy in Louisville

Plus: 🇹🇼 View from Taiwan | Monday, April 10, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By TikTok   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Apr 10, 2023 Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 511 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     1 big thing: Louisville reels Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during a news conference today. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Getty Images   The shooting this morning at Old National Bank in Louisville, which left at least four people dead, was the 146th mass shooting in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. "Our bodies and our minds are not meant to go through these kinds of tragedies," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in an emotional press conference. He said a close friend of his was killed and another was injured. Last month, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee also lost a close family friend to a mass shooting, at Nashville's Covenant School. The latest: Nine people were injured, including two police officers. Police said the Louisville shooter, who had worked at the bank, died at the scene. Go deeper.     2. 🇹🇼 Axios first person: Flying across the Taiwan Strait 1950s-era bunkers, U.S.-made tanks, and other wartime relics dot the small island of Kinmen, attracting tourists from Taiwan and China. Photo: Bethany Allen/Axios When China announced Saturday that it would be conducting "targeted military operations" around Taiwan, Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, who is based in Taipei, quickly booked a flight to Kinmen — a Taiwanese island just 6 miles from the Chinese mainland. It served for decades as Taiwan's first line of defense against the Chinese military. Here's Bethany's firsthand account: The last time China held massive military drills (last summer when then-Speaker Pelosi visited Taiwan), many flights were canceled as numerous Chinese military drill zones encircled the island, mimicking a blockade. I had been at Taiwan's much larger Taoyuan International Airport during China's drills, and the display was nearly all blocked out red with canceled flights. But the mood this time, at Taipei's tiny Songshan Airport, was calm and light. A few people watched the news broadcasts on wall-mounted TVs with looks of concern. But most passengers were talking, laughing and doing some last-minute shopping. Our flight path didn't vary from the standard path for that daily flight. Passengers on the aircraft seemed relaxed. We arrived without incident at Kinmen's tiny airport, and I grabbed a taxi to the center of town. One of the first things I saw was a group of people taking a ballroom dancing class at a local public activity center. The lilting music caught my attention — the dancers smiled as they spun slowly around the room.     A message from TikTok Data security and privacy: your concern, our commitment     To address concerns around data security, TikTok is building tailor-made systems overseen by U.S.-based teams specifically tasked with managing all access to U.S. user data and securing the TikTok platform. Learn more about data privacy.     3. Catch me up The Bidens at the White House Easter egg roll. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images "I plan on running" for re-election in 2024, President Biden told Al Roker of NBC's "Today" show at the White House Easter egg roll. "But we're not prepared to announce it yet." Go deeper. 200+ pharmaceutical executives jointly criticized a Texas judge's ruling on abortion pills, saying it creates uncertainty that could ripple throughout the entire industry, CNBC reports. The mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher has been charged with felony child neglect, per The Washington Post.     4. 🐘 1 fun thing: An elephant peeling a banana Photo: Lena V. Kaufmann, Rolf Becker, Andreas Ochs, Michael Brecht/Creative Commons license; GIF: Axios visuals   Pang Pha, an elephant at the Berlin Zoo, has taught herself to peel bananas, The New York Times reports from a new paper in the journal Current Biology. She only does it with bananas that are beginning to turn brown, possibly because they come loose more easily. Researchers think she may have learned the behavior by watching a former zookeeper.     A message from TikTok Data security and privacy: your concern, our commitment     To address concerns around data security, TikTok is building tailor-made systems overseen by U.S.-based teams specifically tasked with managing all access to U.S. user data and securing the TikTok platform. Learn more about data privacy.   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: