Happy Friday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily.
To be ITK, know this:
Inside Washington’s about-face on sending tanks to Ukraine: Weeks of squabbling opened a rare breach between two of Ukraine's top allies. Then the president decided to make peace. Politico
Western tanks are coming to Ukraine, but will they be enough? Western allies have pledged to send at least 105 tanks, far less than Ukraine says it needs, and it may be months before they join the battle. NYT
Ukraine got its tanks. Now it wants jet fighters too: Politico reports discussions are underway about supplying Kyiv with modern aircraft, despite Western fears of escalation.
+ @JoshNBCNews: Exclusive from @NBCNews: Biden considering Europe trip around Ukraine invasion 1-year anniversary next month, sources tell @carolelee,@ckubeNBC & me
+ France and Italy are close to finalizing the technical details to supply a SAMP/T air defense system to Ukraine
+ The IMF is exploring a multiyear aid package for Ukraine worth as much as $16 billion.
AP: New barrage of Russian strikes in Ukraine kills at least 11
A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army Reuters
Reporting corruption in a time of war: The Ukrainian journalists’ dilemma: We face a continual tension between holding the government to account and not wanting the enemy to undermine us by exploiting bad news. Politico
The man who may challenge Putin for power Mikhail Zygar
+ Mikhail Zygar is a Russian journalist and the author of “All the Kremlin’s Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin.”
Keir Starmer: ‘We haven’t won – yet’ Isabel Hardman
Bloomberg: Italy’s Meloni prepares trip to Libya to boost energy supplies
+ Prime minister already visited Algeria earlier this week.
+ Eni set to agree to $8-billion investment in Libyan gas fields.
WP: 9 killed in Israeli raid, Palestinians say, in deadliest West Bank incident in years
US, Israel send message to Iran with biggest-ever military exercises: WSJ reports more than 180,000 pounds of live munitions were fired, and thousands of personnel took part in the exercise.
Turkey's opposition in disarray ahead of presidential election: With four months to go before the presidential election scheduled for May 14, the six-party coalition has yet to find a candidate. Le Monde
AFP: India to get more than 100 cheetahs from South Africa
Japan boosts Global South ties with eye on China and Russia: Nikkei reports as G7 summit approaches, Tokyo aims to take lead in security concerns.
AP: Japan launches intel satellite to watch N. Korea, disasters
New US base on Guam is aimed at deterring China: WSJ reports Camp Blaz is eventually expected to house 5,000 Marines and be a hub for training in the Western Pacific.
Biden grants Hong Kongers in the US a 2-year deportation reprieve: Politico reports White House says the people of Hong Kong face "increasing repression" by China.
Biden has the edge on Xi. That’s why it’s time to talk: The US would benefit just as much as China from a pause in hostilities, but for different reasons. Minxin Pei
Protests, prison, incompetence, and cocaine: Peru is pulling itself apart with little to no outlook for when normalcy will return. Southern Pulse briefly explores the underlying elements that currently hold the country captive in a state of socio-political arrhythmia. Southern Pulse
Canada has never had an Indigenous woman on its currency — this provocative campaign is trying to change that: Change the Bill movement hopes the Bank of Canada will honor a First Nations heroine for the first time on the country’s banknotes. Toronto Star
+ The FDA is considering a one-and-done annual COVID-19 booster plan.
Biden’s next 2 years: A brutal war and a rough campaign: A war with no end in sight threatens to loom over Biden and his expected reelection bid. Politico
No Democratic bench? Josh Shapiro and Wes Moore are ready to step up: The inaugurations in Pennsylvania and Maryland this month introduced Democrats to their future. Jonathan Martin
Potential Biden challenger Marianne Williamson heads to New Hampshire: WP reports the visit comes as state Democrats warn the ongoing showdown over primary dates “will create an opening for an insurgent candidate” that could embarrass the president.
Bloomberg: Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign faces trouble in crucial Iowa
+ Ex-president carried the state in 2020, and 2016 election runs.
+ Trump is visiting primary states New Hamshire and South Carolina.
Ending suspension of Trump’s accounts with new guardrails to deter repeat offenses Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs @ Meta/
How much does unbanning Trump really matter? John Herrman
An RNC remade by Trump backs away from his 2024 campaign: NYT reports Interviews with more than a third of the Republican National Committee’s members point to a desire for an alternative presidential nominee to emerge from a competitive primary.
The Hill: DeSantis wades into RNC race: ‘I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said’
+ “I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC," the Florida governor said in an interview.
+ DeSantis also speaks positively about McDaniel's top challenger, Harmeet Dhillon, the RNC committeewoman from California.
Ron's first gaffe?
Why jump into this contest?
My guess is he wants access to big dollars from the Golden State.
LAT: California Rep. Adam Schiff enters marquee Senate race
AP: Slotkin preps Michigan Senate run after winning tough reelection bid
Avoid TikTok for government work, Dutch officials told: Politico reports the Netherlands wants the Chinese app to clean up its act on data protection before government services could use it.
TikTok’s new defense in Washington: Going on the offense: Keeping its head down has not paid off for the company, which now faces regulatory pressure on many fronts. So it is starting to speak out. NYT
Unless TikTok has a team of wolverines that wakes up every day and fights and educates with a high-low communications effort that spends a minimum of $20 million annually, this article will be the zenith of the effort.
+ @venturetwins: Has TikTok lost the hype? MAUs have plateaued and downloads are declining. With the novelty fading and copycat products gaining steam, TikTok needs a second act.
BuzzFeed to use ChatGPT creator OpenAI to help create some of its content: WSJ reports CEO Jonah Peretti said the publisher would use the technology to make more comprehensive quizzes, and interactive content.
What's BuzzFeed?
@sokane1: "BuzzFeed remains focused on human-generated journalism in its newsroom, spokeswoman says" an early contender for bleakest sentence of the year
ChatGPT is everything you wanted Bitcoin to be Joshua M Brown
+ Sam Altman, creator of ChatGPT and CEO of OpenAI, is making the rounds in DC this week.
Google prepares for second antitrust showdown: WSJ reports the latest US lawsuit against Google compounds the legal issues the company faces worldwide while broadening the scope of the government’s allegations around the tech giant’s online advertising business.
Toyota CEO Toyoda to hand control to next generation: WSJ reports Akio Toyoda, a scion of the auto maker’s founding family, will hand over the reins to Koji Sato, who has led Toyota's Lexus division.
Toyota tasks Lexus chief with transition to era of clean vehicles: Akio Toyoda cites his 'own limit' in moving to support role amid the rise of EVs. Nikkei
New York City could lose 10,000 Airbnb listings in short-term rental crackdown: Guardian reports new rules spark a furious debate as city tightens regulation of illegal rentals in an attempt to defend housing stock for tenants.
Nikkei: China's convenience store king Meiyijia eyes 50,000th shop by 2027
+ Retailer wants better ready-to-eat offerings as it combats low daily sales.
Luxury giant LVMH sales, profit hit new highs: AFP reports the world's top luxury group LVMH said Thursday that its sales and net profit both hit new heights last year, driven by strong demand in Europe, the United States, and Japan.
+ Sales soared 23 percent to 79 billion euros ($86 billion), and net profit jumped 17 percent to 14 billion euros for 2022.
Insight | Better to innovate, create, or aggregate? Bernard Arnault, Chief Executive Officer of LVMH, has never stitched a bag, designed a ring, or launched a product - he and his team have simply made them better. Full post here.
Beyond the hype, failure still is a big part of the space industry WP
The space industry wants to clean up orbit paths cluttered with debris: The space industry met in Paris in January and agreed to protect the most frequently used orbit paths, which are full of debris. Le Monde
Rome’s starlings create a stunning spectacle. The birds are by turns, mesmerizing and maddening. WP
The dwindling case for living in London Rory Sutherland
How a master sommelier couple built a wine bar with a diverse following Guardian
I can’t stop talking about pocket coffee Caroline Weaver
In Chicago, ‘opera can be hip-hop, and hip-hop can be opera’: Will Liverman and DJ King Rico’s “The Factotum,” at Lyric Opera of Chicago, is a gloss on “The Barber of Seville” set in a South Side barbershop. NYT
‘Stranger Things’ tops the list of most streamed programs in 2022: WSJ reports viewers in the US streamed the equivalent of 19.4 million years of content across platforms in 2022, a record high, according to Nielsen.
Harold Ballard doc pulls back curtain on a raw, uncomfortable reality Simon Houpt
The mecca of New York skateboarding, back from the dead? Decades ago, a gritty and dangerous spot under the Brooklyn Bridge was the nerve center for city skateboarders. Mayor Eric Adams just announced plans that could fix it up. NYT
AFP: Ukraine could boycott Paris Olympics if Russian athletes take part
+ @AlexiLalas: The #USMNT currently has no Sporting Director overseeing US men's/women's National Team programs, no GM overseeing USMNT, and no USMNT coach. We're 114 days from U20 men's WC, 141 days from Gold Cup, 175 days from women's WC, 547 days from Olympics, and 1,229 days from men's WC.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Caracal produces ITK Daily.
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