Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What’s Senate
News Pivots to
Business & Finance Ukraine,
As part of Disney’s quar-
terly earnings report, CEO
Israel Aid
Bob Iger presented a vision
of a new entertainment giant
that will embed the company
further into the American
Proposal
pop-culture psyche. A1
After GOP blocks
CVS reported solid
border-policy bill,
fourth-quarter earnings but Democratic leaders
downgraded its projected re-
sults for 2024 as medical-
press military aid
cost increases hit the Medi-
care insurance business. B1
WAS H I N GT O N— S e n ate
The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, Democrats tried Wednesday to
moving closer to the mile- pin down more GOP support
stone 5000 level, while the for a bill that would provide
Nasdaq and Dow gained 0.9% military aid to Ukraine, Israel
and 0.4%, respectively. B11 and other allies, after Republi-
cans blocked a broader mea-
Alibaba posted lackluster
sure that linked the foreign as-
sales growth and a plunge in
sistance to policy changes at
profit in the October-De-
the southern border.
cember quarter after ac-
HADI MIZBAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
On a Strong Economy
pin down more GOP support
for a bill that would provide
military aid to Ukraine, Israel
Set to 2.5
and other allies, after Repub- Shrink
licans blocked a broader mea- 2.0
sure that linked the foreign
The shortfall
assistance to policy changes
between
Many fear their long-term financial security is vulnerable
at the southern border. A1 1.5
government
Israel’s Netanyahu rejected
spending and Clayton Wiles, a truck driver in North Car- employs close to 50 people.
Hamas’s terms for a cease- 1.0
revenue this fiscal olina, earns about 20% more than three years But ask any of them about the state of the
fire in Gaza after the Pales-
year is expected to ago. Kristine Funck, a nurse in Ohio, has won American economy, and the same gloominess
tinian militant group called
for the release of thousands narrow to roughly 0.5 surfaces. “Unstable” is how Arguello de-
$1.6 trillion, helped By Aaron Zitner, scribes it. Said Funck: “Even though I’m OK
of prisoners along with other
by last year’s Amara Omeokwe, Rachel Wolfe right now, there’s a sense it could all go away
concessions in its first re- 0
bipartisan budget and Rachel Louise Ensign in a second.”
sponse to a U.S.-backed pro-
posal to end the fighting. A16 deal, a surprisingly FY2013 ’15 ’20 ’24 There’s a striking disconnect between the
strong economy steady pay raises, built retirement savings widely shared pessimism among Americans
*Projected
The Marine Corps said it and delayed tax Note: Fiscal year ends Sept. 30. and owns her home. Alfredo Arguello, who and measures that show the economy is actu-
was searching for five Ma- revenue. A2 Source: Congressional Budget Office opened a restaurant outside Nashville when ally robust. Consumers are spending briskly—
rines who were in a helicopter the pandemic hit, now owns a second one and Please turn to page A8
that went missing on its way
from Nevada to San Diego a
day earlier. A6
Bombs ripped through
Two Ph.D.s Launch Nuggets,
Slurpees Into Near Space
Disney Lays Out Vision INSIDE
To Bolster Its Fortunes
two separate political offices
in southwestern Pakistan’s
i i i
Baluchistan province, killing
at least 30 people, officials
said, a day before parliamen- U.K. company corners market of sending up
BY ROBBIE WHELAN nite is one of the world’s most
tary elections. A16
not people, but most anything else popular videogames. The deal
Officials in New York are The new, rebuilt Disney will expand the licensing of
pushing to restrict the algo- that Bob Iger has been prom- characters and story lines from
rithms that power a social- BY ISABELLE BOUSQUETTE Gummett, who works at ising is coming into focus with Disney franchises including
media platform’s feed, mak- British supermarket Iceland the help of football, Fortnite Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and
ing it the latest state to It was the most important Foods, had been charged with and Taylor Swift. Avatar within Fortnite. JASON GAY
attempt to rein in the big launch of Joseph Gummett’s creating a marketing cam- In a series of sweeping an- Disney also plans to stream A pay-per-view Super
tech companies in the wake career. He waited nervously at paign for its 50th anniversary. nouncements as part of the an exclusive cut of pop star
of federal inaction. A3 his office in Deeside, Wales, He wanted to do something company’s quarterly earnings Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour con-
Bowl? The idea isn’t
which he called “mission novel. “There aren’t many report on Wednesday, Iger pre- cert movie on Disney+ starting going away as sports
Marianne Williamson
ended her long-shot pri-
control” that day, as the things that haven’t been sented a vision of a new Disney March 15, with footage of five on TV changes. A12
vessel hurtled 110,000 done with a chicken nug- that will embed the entertain- songs not included in either
mary challenge to Biden for
feet—about 21 miles— get,” he says. “This was ment giant further into the the theatrical release or the
the Democratic presidential
straight up. When definitely one of them.” U.S.’s pop-culture psyche. The on-demand versions of the
nomination. A6
he received news Less than 100 miles wide-ranging initiatives marry movie, including the hit single
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
the endeavor was away in Sheffield, U.K., the company with some of the “Cardigan.” The Disney+
CONTENTS Markets Digest...... B7 successful, he was Chris Rose and Alex biggest brands in contempo- movie will be titled “Taylor
Arts in Review..... A11 Opinion................ A13-15
Business News.. B3,6 Personal Journal A9-10
filled with relief. Baker were ready. While rary entertainment. Swift—The Eras Tour (Tay-
Capital Account..... A2 Sports.......................... A12 Billionaire-backed major corporations fuel “The stage is now set for lor’s Version).”
Crossword................ A12 Technology........... B4-5 companies including Launch space tourism, Rose significant growth and suc- The company also said it
Heard on Street.. B12 U.S. News.......... A2-4,6 BlueOrigin, SpaceX and Baker’s 13-year-old cess,” Iger, Disney’s chief exec- would increase its cash divi-
Markets...................... B11 World News........ A7,16 or lunch
and Virgin Galactic company, Sent Into utive officer, said on a call with dend payment to 45 cents from
have reignited interest in get- Space, has cornered the lucra- analysts. 30 cents in July and repur- BUSINESS & FINANCE
> ting more humans into space. tive market of launching not Disney’s new moves include chase up to $3 billion in stock Uber posts first yearly
But as Gummett waited from people, but almost anything a deal to invest $1.5 billion in before the end of September.
his office, there were no hu- else. return for an equity stake in Adding to the Americana
profit since its IPO, on
mans on the vessel. Instead, Definitions differ on where Epic Games, the maker of Fort- theme, Disney said Nick Saban, strong food-delivery
s 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
there was a single chicken outer space begins—about 62 nite. With more than 100 mil- the legendary college football and ride demand. B1
All Rights Reserved nugget. Please turn to page A8 lion active monthly users, Fort- Please turn to page A2
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U.S. NEWS
CAPITAL ACCOUNT | By Greg Ip
S
China
Donald Trump’s steep tariffs iffs. So the U.S. trade deficit $280.8B o, if tariffs of 25% Olivia White, an author of
on Chinese imports in 2018. with Mexico leapt to $151 barely reduced the the McKinsey report.
Trump is spoiling to fin- billion in the 12 months 200 U.S.’s dependence on To make India a base for
ish the job, floating a 60%, through November, more China, would 60% do more? mobile-phone production,
Mexico
or higher, tariff on all Chi- than double the 2017 figure. Probably. Khandelwal ran the Apple is moving more sup-
$152.4B
nese imports if re-elected. The deficit with Vietnam ran 100
numbers for a 35% tariff. He pliers there. Samsung has
The U.S., though, hasn’t at $104 billion, almost triple Vietnam estimates a much larger ef- done the same in Vietnam.
kicked the Chinese import the level of 2017. $104.6B fect on imports and resulting Chinese companies are
habit as much as the data A lot of the value of those cost, equal to 0.8% of GDP. playing that game, too. To
suggest. Chinese and West- increased imports from Viet- 0 Still, Brad Setser of the get around American tariffs,
ern manufacturers have nam and Mexico consisted of 2010 ’15 ’20 ’23
Council on Foreign Relations their electric-vehicle and
found numerous ways inputs originally sourced in predicts China would double battery companies are build-
around tariffs; they are China. The McKinsey Global Source: Commerce Department via Haver Analytics down on efforts to evade or ing or contemplating new
likely to redouble those ef- Institute recently reported neutralize higher tariffs. factories in countries that
forts if the levies go higher. that even as China’s share of and others found the tariffs less, those counties re- “The incentive to disassem- have trade agreements with
Last year, the overall U.S. U.S. manufactured imports reduced imports of affected warded Trump politically, ble the product, take out a the U.S., such as Mexico,
trade deficit in goods shrank fell from 2017 to 2020, its products by 30%; some of the study found.) few screws, find an alterna- South Korea and Morocco.
to $1.1 trillion from $1.2 tril- share of the value added in that was made up for by pur- The fundamental obstacle tive screw supplier, ship Setser predicts that
lion in 2022, the Commerce goods consumed in the U.S. chases of other Chinese, for- to decoupling is that China’s them to a third party so it’s China, to make up for lost
Department said Wednesday. rose. eign or U.S.-made products. dominant position in world not 100% Chinese content, exports to the U.S., would
As a share of gross domestic The authors estimate the to- manufacturing makes it hard and package it as an export drive down its currency to
F
product, it fell to 3.9%, the urther, Chinese compa- tal cost to the U.S. economy to find substitutes. Its econ- from the third party is just boost exports to countries
lowest in over a decade. nies have been exploit- at 0.04% of GDP, as losses to omy is hard-wired to manu- overwhelming,” he said. Its that haven’t raised tariffs—
Most of the reduction came ing a U.S. law that al- consumers slightly offset facture more than it can companies would make even expanding Chinese compa-
via the gap with China. This lows packages worth less gains to U.S. producers and consume, dictating that it greater use of the de mini- nies’ presence in those econ-
narrowed by more than $100 than $800 to enter duty- the U.S. Treasury. export the surplus. As col- mis exception, he added. omies.
billion to $281 billion last free. Federal data compiled A separate study by David lapsing property investment This doesn’t mean the Of course, the U.S. could
year, the thinnest since 2010. by the Yale economist Amit Autor of MIT and co-authors undercuts growth, the ruling U.S. and China are destined try to keep those imports out
One reason the deficit Khandelwal and a co-author found that counties whose Communist Party has leaned to stay coupled. Historically, by hitting other trading part-
shrank is that U.S. importers show the number of pack- companies were meant to even more on manufactur- supply chains move gradu- ners with tariffs. Trump has
might have overordered in ages entering the U.S. under benefit from tariffs may ing, though many companies ally. Often, just one step or proposed a 10% levy on all
2022, leading to swollen in- that “de minimis” exception have marginally gained em- are already unprofitable. component goes offshore be- imports, not just from China.
ventories and fewer imports has tripled since 2017 to a ployment. But, on average, “2024 will be the year of fore an ecosystem of suppli- This, though, is a recipe
in 2023 even as consumption billion last year. any such gains were more overcapacity, and pressure ers develops. Over time, the for the decoupling of the U.S.
stayed strong. This doesn’t mean the tar- than offset by losses when on exporters in China will be Chinese component in U.S. not just from China, but the
More fundamentally, the iffs had no effect. Khandelwal China retaliated. (Nonethe- sky-high,” said Joerg Wuttke, imports from third countries whole world.
$1.6T
That is the latest forecast and Republicans reached as mestic product, likely to change year, with the U.S. coming Other policy changes, in-
from the Congressional Bud- part of an agreement to raise in 2034. The how Washing- within days of defaulting on cluding aid for Ukraine, could
get Office, the nonpartisan the debt limit, will reduce def- scorekeeper’s ton draws up its debt. House Republicans also add to the deficit. A
scorekeeper that provides law- icits by $2.6 trillion over 10 forecasts also the federal dethroned then-Speaker Kevin House-passed bipartisan bill
makers with economic and years, CBO said. assume that CBO’s fiscal year budget. The McCarthy after he brought up aimed at cutting taxes for
budget data. The annual Immigration will also cre- federal policy fundamental a bill to keep the government families and companies could
shortfall between government ate a larger workforce, sup- will remain on
deficit outlook, down obstacles to im- funded at existing levels. Law- increase deficits in the short
spending and revenue is ex- porting economic growth and its current from roughly proving the fis- makers have since extended term if the Senate approves it.
pected to be roughly $1.6 tril- tax revenue during the next course, but that $1.7 trillion last year. cal outlook re- government spending several Deficits exploded during
lion this fiscal year. That is a decade even as the recent re- is unlikely. Ma- m a i n : times and face another test the depths of the Covid-19
drop from the roughly $1.7 cord surge in migrants has be- jor chunks of Republicans for March 1, when some fund- pandemic as the Trump and
trillion deficit logged last come a partisan flashpoint on the 2017 tax support ad- ing again expires. Biden administrations shov-
year—though the true size of Capitol Hill and in states that cuts expire after next year, dressing the problem only The fiscal stakes of the eled money into the economy.
last year’s deficit was closer are struggling to accommo- and lawmakers in both parties with spending cuts that Dem- likely rematch between Presi- While the annual shortfall has
to $2 trillion, a figure masked date them. agree that they want to ex- ocrats largely oppose. Demo- dent Biden and Donald Trump retreated, the deficit’s size has
by accounting changes for the Overall, the fiscal situation tend most of them indefi- crats, meanwhile, line up be- will be enormous. Key tax cuts still come as a surprise to
cancellation of President Bi- is deteriorating, CBO said. nitely. hind tax increases that of the 2017 tax law, signed by economists who typically ex-
den’s student debt forgiveness Deficits are elevated compared “Measured in relation to Republicans resist. Neither Trump, will expire after 2025. pect to see deficits shrink as
plan. with historical norms, and economic output, deficits dur- party wants to make changes Extending them all could cost the economy remains strong.
Lays Out
$0.25 billion
speak with him, he said. nue a year earlier.
–$138 million Disney has urged sharehold- The new streaming sports
0
ers to vote for its slate of 12 di- partnership is the clearest
–0.50
rectors instead of for slates
proposed by Peltz and another
activist investor that is press-
sign yet of how Iger plans to
expand ESPN’s audience
through streaming.
ing for changes at the com- “This service will bring to-
Continued from Page One –0.75 pany’s April 3 annual meeting. gether our collective portfo-
CHUCK ZLOTNICK/MARVEL STUDIOS
coach who retired from the “It’s déjà vu all over again. lio,” Iger said in the earnings
University of Alabama last –1.00 We saw this movie last year call, “providing consumers
month, will join ESPN as an an- and we didn’t like the ending,” with more of the sports they
alyst on its “College GameDay” –1.25 a Trian spokesman said want in a single place.”
program and contribute to cov- Wednesday after Disney’s earn- The deal marks a milestone
erage of the NFL Draft. –1.50 ings report. in the growth of the streaming
These announcements come Since his return, Iger has industry and could accelerate
FY2021 ’22 ’23 ’24
a day after Disney revealed a worked to modernize and pre- consumers’ shift away from
partnership with rivals Fox Note: Latest fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31 Disney said it expected to add between 5.5 million and 6 pare ESPN for a streaming fu- cable TV. Sports has long been
Corp. and Warner Bros. Dis- Source: the company million core Disney+ subscribers next quarter. Its ‘Echo’ series. ture, including by seeking a po- the key attraction of cable.
covery to launch a sports-fo- tential strategic partner and Iger said ESPN plans to be-
cused streaming service later helped by price increases to year earlier. Shares rose about ferent agenda and don’t un- striking a new sports-betting gin selling its channel directly
this year, a venture that could Disney+ and Hulu, as well as an 6% in aftermarket trading. derstand our company, its as- deal with Penn Entertainment. to consumers as a subscrip-
potentially reshape how fans increase in ad revenue. The Iger, who returned for a sets, or the essence of the ESPN’s financial results— tion streaming service in the
watch sports and hasten the company is on track to make second stint as CEO in Novem- Disney brand,” he said. which Disney began reporting fall of 2025, an offering that
demise of the traditional cable its streaming business profit- ber 2022, is trying to fend off The company was on track separately last year–improved Iger said will include sports
TV business model. able by the end of September, a proxy campaign from activ- to make its streaming busi- in the quarter. Its operating betting, fantasy, statistics fea-
Disney’s moves reflect the Iger said. ist investor Nelson Peltz, co- ness profitable by the end of income swung to $199 million tures and shopping.
breadth of challenges Iger is The number of domestic founder of Trian Fund Man-
contending with during his Disney+ subscribers fell agement, who is seeking one
second stint as CEO, from a
costly pivot to streaming to a
slightly to 46.1 million, likely
the result of price increases,
seat on Disney’s board for
himself and another for for-
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U.S. NEWS
Casting Statuettes Ahead of the Screen Actors Guild Awards Ceremony
U.S. NEWS
publican on the Senate Armed extent to which folks don’t Johnson kept his options a higher bar for those claims
Services Committee, Sen. care about their word.” open on Wednesday. “We’ll see and created new limits on the
Roger Wicker of Mississippi, A vote to advance the what the Senate does,” he said. number of immigrants seeking
predicting the bill would ad- slimmed-down package would Behind the scenes, House asylum to prevent the system
vance. set the stage for an unpredict- GOP leaders already have been from getting overwhelmed.
But hurdles sprang up. able battle in Washington in discussing a menu of options, a The bill would have required
Asked in the early evening if the coming weeks to get it person familiar with the mat- the government to “shut down”
Republicans could guarantee through the Senate and then ter said. the border to asylum seekers if
the votes for the slimmed- the House. The effort will test Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resurrected the Among those is to demand more than 5,000 migrants at-
down foreign-aid package if the leadership not only of foreign-aid proposal Wednesday morning. a concession on border policy tempted to cross in a day.
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U.S. NEWS
LLas
as Vegas
Vegggas
ARIZONA
ARIZO
ONA
NA
UTAH
a group of more than two Hessler said. The other loco- lina and about 3% in Nevada.
dozen local officials have motive and three cars carry- Minnesota Rep. Dean Phil-
launched a “Listen to Michi- ing sugar didn’t derail, he said. lips is the last nationally
gan” effort, vowing to vote A natural berm helped known Democrat still running
“uncommitted” on Feb. 27. contain the spilled fuel, which against Biden, who has
The leaders have been press- was pumped up by a hazard- scored blowout victories in
ing the White House for a ous materials contractor, ac- South Carolina and Nevada
permanent cease-fire in Gaza cording to a spokesperson for and easily won in New
and say they intend to hold Great Western’s parent com- Hampshire, despite not being
BREACHED: A mudslide damaged a home in Hacienda Heights, Calif., in a storm that battered Biden accountable. pany, OmniTrax. on the ballot..
Southern California for days. It was moving out of the region Wednesday after another soaking. —Ken Thomas —Associated Press —Associated Press
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WORLD NEWS
Kyiv Rations Munitions as Aid Dwindles
Ukrainian forces are rest. Zaluzhniy has com- ing U.S. provisions, Ukrainian
plained about poor recruit- troops have been husbanding
low on ammunition, ment, blaming the govern- the munitions they consume
while Russian troops ment. fastest, including ammunition
Since Russia’s large-scale and defensive systems. Russia,
are ‘taking bites’ invasion almost two years ago, sensing opportunity, has been
Ukraine has held off numeri- barraging Ukraine with
BY JAMES MARSON cally superior Russian forces drones, missiles and rockets
AND DANIEL MICHAELS with a combination of extreme that destroy military equip-
bravery and advanced preci- ment, demoralize the popula-
KYIV, Ukraine—After a hard sion Western weaponry. The tion and—potentially most
MANU BRABO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 92)
day of fighting in January, exactitude of systems includ- threatening for the longer
Ukrainian troops lost a couple ing U.S. Javelin shoulder- term—deplete Kyiv’s stock of
of ditches near the northeast- launched antitank missiles air-defense interceptors.
ern city of Kupyansk. By the fol- and truck-based Himars rock-
lowing morning, the Russians ets, and European Storm
had dug a mile-long trench and Shadow and Scalp cruise mis- Drone to the rescue
were firmly established. siles has allowed Kyiv’s lim- Ukraine has given priority
A Ukrainian sniper listening ited forces to humble what to hitting targets that can
in on a Russian radio channel have maximum impact, such
heard how. The Russians de- as Russian air bases from
ployed a special trench-digging where attacks are launched,
team typically made up of and fuel refineries or supplies
drunks and other ne’er-do- Ukrainian troops in Lyman, Ukraine. A scarcity of equipment far behind front lines. The
wells. When one refused to dig, is impeding their efforts to hold back Russian advances. goal is to undermine Mos-
one Russian officer reported, cow’s ability to wage war, and
the laggard was swiftly dealt artillery shells. ago was basking in the unex- not just hit groups of troops.
with: “We eliminated him.” The scarcity of shells, mis- pected success of campaigns Kyiv hopes the approach will
The advance had no imme- siles and rockets is impeding against overextended Russian be more cost-effective than
diate strategic impact, but it Ukrainian efforts to hold back troops that regained hundreds targeting front-line soldiers
shows how Russian troops are waves of Russian armored ve- of square miles in late 2022, and may buy some breathing
slowly pressing forward using hicles, troops and artillery. the spreading adversity is an room for Ukrainian soldiers.
a critical advantage: masses of Ukraine is improvising by us- unwelcome change of fortune. “By hitting targets at
poorly trained conscripts and ing explosive drones to take President Volodymyr Zelensky depth, you are relieving troops
indifference to the loss of life. out armored columns. But and his top general, Valeriy at the front,” said retired Ger-
Ukrainian troops are disad- Russian ground troops still slip Zaluzhniy, are at odds, and man Lt. Gen. Heinrich Brauss,
vantaged amid shortages of all through, despite taking heavy political infighting is growing. of Ukraine’s use of British-
kinds of equipment even be- casualties, allowing Moscow’s Zelensky has noted that the French cruise missiles.
fore the consequences of Re- forces to press forward. prospect of battlefield losses least three occasions, Ukraine had been considered one of Ukraine is also racing to ex-
publicans blocking additional “They are taking bites,” the holds potentially dire conse- used its U.S.-designed Patriot the world’s top militaries. pand its production of small
aid to Kyiv fully affect the bat- Ukrainian security official said. quences. air-defense missiles to sur- Now, with Congress unable one-way drones loaded with
tlefield. The most immediately “People really don’t like los- prise expensive Russian war- to agree on more military help explosives. Early in the war,
painful shortage is in artillery: ers,” Zelensky said in an inter- planes and shoot them down. for Ukraine, its soldiers and pol- Kyiv and private citizens im-
Russian forces are outshooting Morale boost needed view in January with Britain’s iticians fear their defenses are ported large numbers of re-
Ukrainians by about 10 Russian Russians have penetrated Channel 4, referring to the weakening. Europe is scram- motely piloted drones, first for
shells to every one they fire, a the eastern Ukrainian city of war’s earliest days, when few Frontline is fragile bling to step up, but it lacks the reconnaissance and later as
Ukrainian security official said. Avdiivka from the north and foreign leaders thought his Ukraine’s military-intelli- Pentagon’s well-stocked arse- offensive systems.
With manpower and equip- south, and are seeking to cut government would survive. The gence agency last week said it nals and ability to quickly ex- In the past year, Ukraine has
ment severely depleted by last off its main supply line. The lesson remains relevant, he in- had used naval drones to de- pand production of vital sup- shifted to making its own ex-
year’s failed counteroffensive, Russians also are closing in dicated. In politics, he said of stroy a Russian missile cor- plies such as artillery shells. plosive drones in roughly 200
Ukraine finds itself fighting a around Kupyansk, a city how failures are shunned, “it’s vette off occupied Crimea. If Congress doesn’t approve factories scattered around the
defensive effort aimed at delay- Ukraine retook in 2022 in a everywhere…from the war to Ukrainian drone attacks have new funding for Ukraine, U.S. country, most of them small,
ing Russian advances and pre- lightning counteroffensive. financing, from the military, severely curtailed the move- equipment won’t suddenly stop, improvised operations. The goal
venting a major breakthrough. Neither city is a major strate- just to bilateral relations.” ments of Russia’s Black Sea but slowly expire. Past appro- is to produce one million drones
Russia hasn’t solved the gic prize, but taking either To be sure, Ukraine is hav- Fleet and allowed Kyiv to in- priations budgeted for muni- this year. From a production
challenge of how to cut through would be the first major con- ing more success in the air crease exports from its main tions that are only starting to rate of about 5,000 drones a
Ukraine’s defensive lines with quest for Russia since it cap- and sea war. Russia appears to southern port of Odesa. be shipped, such as Ground- month last summer, Ukraine by
armored vehicles, which Ukrai- tured the eastern city of have failed in its efforts this The concern for Ukraine is Launched Small Diameter the end of last year reached
nians can quickly spot and tar- Bakhmut in May and allow Rus- winter to cripple civilian in- the fragility of the front line. Bombs, which are fired from Hi- 50,000 a month, said Gustav
get with aerial drones. But they sian President Vladimir Putin to frastructure, including elec- Soldiers in the trenches com- mars or other vehicles and have Gressel, a senior policy fellow at
are inching forward using their claim a morale-boosting victory. tricity and heating, with mis- plain their units aren’t fully a range of more than 90 miles. the European Council on For-
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P2JW039000-0-A00800-1--------XA
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ALLISON JOYCE FOR WSJ; CINDY SCHULTZ FOR WSJ; STACY KRANITZ FOR WSJ
outlook is that many Ameri-
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
© 2024 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, February 8, 2024 | A9
O
in their pajamas. Even Covid isn’t a
ne sign your office life slam-dunk reason to miss work any
is officially back to more if symptoms aren’t severe.
normal: a colleague
comes to work, hack-
Contagious workers feel pressure to show up and shame for coming in (Speaking of slam dunks: The
sneakers Michael Jordan wore
ing up a lung, and gets during his famous “flu game”—he
props for pushing scored 38 points with a 103-degree
through illness. fever in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA
If it seems like coughing and Finals—sold for $1.38 million last
sneezing are a louder-than-usual summer. Look no further for evi-
workplace soundtrack this winter, dence that we still fetishize tough-
it’s not your imagination. Respira- ing it out.)
tory illnesses have lingered above In certain cities, sick-shaming
the national baseline since Novem- bosses risk blow back. In New
ber, according to the Centers for York City and Washington, D.C.,
Disease Control and Prevention, as for example, it is illegal to ask em-
influenza, Covid, RSV and the ployees for doctors’ notes after
common cold circulate. brief absences.
Far from staying home to halt Even less-direct hassling could
the spread of germs, American be grounds for a complaint, says
workers are reporting to their Vanessa Matsis-McCready, vice
desks at the highest rates in al- president of human resources at
most four years. Last week office Engage PEO, which handles HR
occupancy hit its highest level functions for small and midsize
since March 2020, according to businesses. A general sense that a
Kastle Systems, which tracks department’s culture is to push
building-access card swipes. through sickness is enough to re-
“You really have to be unable to port to HR, she said. It may not be
speak and unable to function to re- enough to win a grievance case,
ally make an excuse for yourself but businesses can pay a price in
and say, ‘I’m going to take a sick reputation and morale.
day,’” says Alberta Johnson,
founder and chief executive of Peo-
ple Experts, an HR consulting firm. Learning the benefits
Johnson, who works a hybrid of rest and recovery
schedule, recently kept chugging When I spoke with Megan Woller-
through a sinus infection. She can- ton on Monday, one of her em-
celed some in-person meetings and ployees had just called in sick.
events to protect others but didn’t Given that Wollerton’s company,
take time off until she reached the Life Force Wellness, provides
point of exhaustion. She scolds health coaching as a benefit to
herself in hindsight for compro- other businesses, there was only
mising her health and modeling a one thing to do: She told the em-
suck-it-up attitude to her team. ployee to take the day off and re-
Subtly or explicitly, bosses assigned client calls.
sometimes urge employees to ig- Wollerton, 37, was an office
nore minor symptoms. Their own manager at an energy company be-
reluctance to take sick days can fore becoming a personal trainer
signal that subordinates are ex- and changing careers. “I worked in
pected to gut it out. Asking one of those environments where
whether an employee feels well you push through no mat-
enough to work from home, in- ter what,” she says.
stead of immediately granting a one-fifth said they encourage un- many ways we work now are try- She’s unlearning the
day off, can also apply pressure. der-the-weather employees to ing to gain a sense of control over habit of sucking it up,
So can harping on how inconve- come to the office. Almost a quar- their people, says Stacie Haller, which she considers short-
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SAM KELLY/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK (5); RYAN WOLLERTON; GETTY IMAGES
nient it is and that co-workers will ter said they suspect workers lie Resume Builder’s chief career ad- sighted. Being under-
have to pick up the slack. about being sick or exaggerate the viser. The survey results are con- staffed for a day or two is
In a January survey of 1,000 severity of their illnesses. sistent with others that show better than spreading an
U.S. managers by Resume Builder, Managers frustrated by the managers often doubt whether illness to the rest of the
their charges are giving full effort team and risking a bigger
while working from home. productivity loss later. Be-
Workers can’t win, Haller says. ing dismissive of employ-
They feel shamed by bosses if they ees who feel sick can harm
call out sick or shamed by col- retention, she adds.
leagues if they show up contagious. Jaymes Black, chief ex-
ecutive of the LGBT advo-
It’s going around cacy nonprofit Family
The good news is the latest Covid Equality, is fighting old
variant appears less dangerous, or urges to brush off sick-
at least no worse, than previous Megan Wollerton says sick days ness. Black, who uses gender-neu-
versions. The bad news is the vi- stop a wider spread of illnesses. tral pronouns, was slightly hoarse
rus’s mutations keep adding to the from a sore throat when I called
list of ways people can get sick. on a recent afternoon and about to
“We unfortunately expect that Bhadelia, director of the Boston take a nap—but not about to can-
every season we’ll have a new dis- University Center for Emerging In- cel our appointment.
ease to battle,” says Dr. Nahid fectious Diseases. All other work tasks would be
Some employees take sick days postponed until the next day,
whenever they sniffle or need a Black assured me, adding that
Michael Jordan played with a mental break. About 30% of white- they encourage employees to use
103-degree fever in an NBA playoff collar workers with access to paid sick days, too: “The work will be
game rather than calling in sick. sick leave used it last year, up from here when you get back.”
Swift as Psyop? Another Errors Tour Stop this theory have spread on Reddit
and X, including the claim that their
relationship is manufactured. Some
proponents of this theory have seen
Kelce’s support for Pfizer and Bud
BY ASHLEY WONG giving a presentation about fighting Light as evidence that he is being
misinformation. One slide features a paid to promote Democratic policies.
A
s the Kansas City Chiefs pre- picture of Swift, whom Bargar uses Bud Light became the center of a
pare to play the San Francisco as an example of a person whose culture war and a boycott last year
49ers in Las Vegas this Sun- social influence could be helpful for after the company used a transgen-
day, conspiracy theories are swirling countering misinformation. der influencer in advertising.
around Taylor Swift and her foot- Benz used this video to suggest Most of these theories don’t fac-
ball-player boyfriend Travis Kelce. that Bargar was a Pentagon repre- tor in an explanation for how foot-
They have taken on a distinctly po- sentative pitching the North Atlantic ball games over months could be
litical shape: Will the couple en- Treaty Organization on using Swift rigged. The NFL didn’t respond to
dorse President Biden for re-elec- as a psychological-operations as- requests for comment.
tion? Is Swift part of a government set—in other words, to spread pro-
influence campaign? paganda and sway American beliefs. False Theory No. 3:
The theories aren’t based in fact. His theory hinges on several George Soros “owns” Taylor Swift
Instead, they rest on conjecture, false false inferences. At the time of the In 2019, Swift publicly criticized the
assumptions and tenuous links to conference, Bargar was about to be- sale of her music catalog during an
public gestures the two have made come an employee at Graphika, a acceptance speech at the Billboard
over the years. Since 2018, Swift has social-analytics company—and one Music Awards, claiming that she
endorsed Democratic politicians—in- that Benz has accused on social had been told “the Soros family”
cluding Biden in 2020—and encour- media of working with the Penta- had partially funded the deal to pur-
aged people to register to vote. Her gon to try to censor online informa- chase her music.
boyfriend has appeared in ads for tion about events like the 2020 Some have pointed to these pro-
Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. But neither election and Covid-19. A spokes- nouncements as proof that the So-
has appeared at campaign rallies, as woman for Graphika said that while ros family controls Swift. These
other stars have. Representatives for it had contracts with the Depart- Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are at the center of conspiracy theories theorists have claimed that Soros, a
Swift and Kelce didn’t respond to re- ment of Defense, its focus was on related to the U.S. government, Biden, George Soros and the NFL. major Democratic political donor, is
quests for comment. combating misinformation. behind Swift’s push for Democratic
The two are now at the center of In a statement, Benz maintained person to explain a social network tions is a leap too far,” said Major politicians and liberal causes follow-
conspiracy theories on the American that he believed the presentation analysis concept to the audience.” Charlie Dietz, a spokesman. ing the sale of her catalog.
government, Biden, George Soros had proposed using Swift as a polit- After Benz shared the theory, But this timeline doesn’t hold up.
and the National Football League. ical agent, and cited other leaders Jesse Watters elevated it on his False Theory No. 2: Swift waded into politics in a signifi-
who had requested Swift’s influence Fox News program with a segment Playoffs were fixed so Biden cant way for the first time in 2018,
False Theory No. 1: in their campaigns. Last month, a titled “Is Taylor Swift a Pentagon could be endorsed at Super Bowl before the sale, when she endorsed
Taylor Swift is part of a ‘psyop’ European Union official publicly Asset?” Bargar said she hadn’t been Ahead of the Chiefs’ victory at the two Democrats in Tennessee.
Mike Benz, a conservative broad- asked Swift to try to encourage contacted ahead of the segment. AFC playoffs last month, broadcaster A Soros spokesman didn’t respond
caster and former State Department voter registration in Europe when A representative for Watters de- and Trump supporter Mike Crispi to requests for comment.
official under Trump, shared a video her Eras Tour begins there in May. clined to comment. said the NFL was “rigged” so that A spokesman for Soros’s nonprofit
PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES
in January from a 2019 educational Bargar, the researcher, said in a The Defense Department stuck the Chiefs would go to the Super Open Society Foundations said the
conference organized by the NATO statement: “I have no connection to down the rumors. “While we love Bowl, paving the way for Swift to theories were “preposterous.”
Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of the Pentagon or NATO. This was an Taylor Swift songs as much as the emerge during the halftime show “People need to be suspect about
Excellence. The clip, which he aired academic presentation at an open next person (and yes, I watched the and endorse Biden for re-election. where they get their news from and
during a livestream and in other conference for discussing cyber se- whole Era Tours 3+ hour long Though he suggestively teased ask themselves who is benefiting
posts on X, shows Alicia Bargar, curity challenges. Taylor Swift was movie), weaving her into conspiracy that he might have been joking in from the spread of these untruths,”
then a Johns Hopkins researcher, an incidental example of a famous theories about psychological opera- the days that followed, versions of the spokesman said.
P2JW039000-0-A01000-1--------XA
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
were,” says Emerson, who has a
summer cottage on Lake Ontario
and a fishing boat.
Active lifestyles
A greater share of 65-year-olds re-
ported meeting federal physical
activity guidelines of 150 minutes
of moderate-intensity aerobic ac-
tivity a week and strength training
in 2018 than in 1998, according to
researchers from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Staying active and muscle
strengthening can help reduce the
risks of falls, cardiovascular dis-
ease, depression and Alzheimer’s
disease.
Gina McRae, an administrative
coordinator for a consulting busi-
ness, turned 65 in early February.
Every weekday at about 7 a.m.,
McRae turns on her TV and works
out for about 30 to 45 minutes with
SeniorShape or other YouTube in-
structors, alternating between
strength, aerobics and yoga in her
Beltsville, Md., basement.
Her routine began in 2019 in
part to lose weight and because she
wanted to be more active than her
mom, whose exercise consisted of
yard work.
“I’m in better shape than she
was at 65,” she says.
Living single
The divorce rate among people 65
M
expect to live an-
ore Americans are Working longer other 20 years and
turning 65 this Nearly 20% of Americans 65 and might not want to
year than any prior older were employed in 2023, spend it in an un-
time in history. which is nearly double the share of happy marriage,
Today’s 65-year- those who were working 35 years says Brown.
olds are redefining ago, according to a recent report They often end
a milestone long associated with from the Pew Research Center. up living alone, al-
retirement parties and the end of “More are working and tending though not everyone
productive years. They are wealth- to work more hours,” says Richard can afford doing so.
ier and by many measures, health- Fry, a senior researcher at Pew,
ier, and expected to live another 20 who conducted the study. Close to ‘I love my job and business,’ says the Bipartisan Policy Center. A higher purpose
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ELENA SCOTTI/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK, PIXELSQUID; CRAIG PAMPEYAN; GINA MCRAE; ROBIN DARROW
years. A growing share are di- two-thirds of 65 and older employ- Robin Darrow, above. Craig Mark Emerson, 65 of Water- Having a purpose matters more
vorced. Many turn their focus to ees are working full time, compared Pampeyan, whose son, James, town, N.Y., retired last year after a than having youthfulness among
what they want in this next stage. with nearly half in 1987, he says. earned Eagle Scout rank, is now 40-year-career as a diesel- truck people 50 and older, according to a
“Being 65 is not just thinking They’re earning more, too, with av- doing an Encore Fellowship with mechanic, first as a small-business Harris Poll survey conducted for
about who you were, but what you erage hourly pay reaching $22 an the Boy Scouts after retiring. owner and then with a large logis- Age Wave. It’s good for our health:
might become in a new chapter,” hour in 2023, up from $13 an hour tics company. He has retirement It can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s
says Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age in inflation adjusted dollars in 1987, savings, but would have had more if disease, heart disease and stroke
Wave, a California-based consult- according to the Pew report. Harris, director of the Retirement he spent his entire career with the and can make people happier.
ing firm specializing in aging-re- Many in this age group are Security Project at Brookings Insti- logistics firm, which had a company “A lot of people are thinking
lated issues. Our own parents and working because they need the tution and former chief economist retirement savings program. forward. What am I going to do?
grandparents, he says, weren’t money now, or want to build a at the U.S. Treasury Department. Still he says has done relatively Where am I going to live? How
typically thinking of new ventures bigger retirement reserve so they Some of that 45% increase in well. His parents lived comfortably can I have a legacy?” says Age
and possibilities at 65. “They were don’t outlive their savings, says net worth reflects rising values of into their 80s on a small pension Wave’s Dychtwald.
winding down,” he says. AARP’s Carly Roszkowski. They homes and retirement accounts. and Social Security, but “we’re Craig Pampeyan, who turns 65
About 4.1 million Americans also enjoy their work, and the op- Not all baby boomers have fared better off financially than they in May, retired last year after a 40-
will reach 65 years old this year, portunity for ongoing learning and as well: Those 75 and older had a year tech career. He’s not done yet.
reaching a surge that will continue social connections, she says. 13% gain in median net worth over He received an Encore Fellowship,
through 2027, according to an anal- the same period. which matches seasoned profes-
ysis by Jason Fichtner, executive More wealth Today’s 65-year-olds have sionals with social impact organiza-
director of the Retirement Income Today’s 65-year-olds are wealthier more to spend now, but fewer tions. Pampeyan, who had been a
Institute and chief economist at than their predecessors. While sig- have pensions that offer pro- Cub Scout and Eagle Scout, was
the Bipartisan Policy Center. That nificant disparities exist, the me- tected monthly income. They have paired with Boy Scouts of America
is about 11,200 a day, compared dian net worth of those 65 to 74 to depend on savings, invest- to help with strategy and planning.
with the 10,000 daily average from was $410,000 in 2022, up from ments and Social Security to last, “I had to figure out how to get
the previous decade, he says. $282,270 in 2010 in inflation-ad- and cover expected rising care- engaged for the next chapter of my
Robin Darrow, vice president of justed 2022 dollars, according to giving costs, says Fichtner, with life,” says Pampeyan, who lives in
sales and marketing at Scentrifu- the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Los Altos, Calif. After his fellow-
gal Events, turns 65 in a few Consumer Finances. ship ends in November, he expects
months but has no plans to retire “This is one of the untold suc- Gina McRae, who just turned 65, to continue working with youth, ei-
because she loves her work and cess stories of the modern econ- exercises each morning before ther on his own or through an or-
also can’t afford to retire. Darrow, omy: There is a lot more wealth as work alternating between aerobics, ganization. “I’m interested in pre-
who lives in the Philadelphia area, people enter retirement,” says Ben strength training and yoga. paring kids for life,” he says.
T
he budget airline with its name that increase the changes Tampa, says he doesn’t shop around
on the Las Vegas stadium of a trip gone wrong. This to other airlines because he rarely
hosting Super Bowl LVIII is qui- spring, travelers can fly has issues with Allegiant. He travels
etly gaining fans of its own. from Bismarck, N.D., to with a backpack, doesn’t mind ac-
Allegiant Air took third in The Florida’s St. Pete-Clearwa- cepting whatever seat he is as-
Wall Street Journal’s annual airline ter International Airport. signed, and, more than anything,
scorecard, which ranks nine major Other routes include Phoe- loves avoiding layovers.
carriers on their operational perfor- nix to Asheville, N.C., and Ashley Kuchle says she won’t fly
mance. It’s the highest finish for the Omaha to Austin, Texas. giant Travel, the airline’s parent Budget airline Allegiant scored Allegiant again after an August trip
Las Vegas-based no-frills airline. Executives say this small-market company. It capped its number of well in several of The Wall Street with her parents from Cincinnati to
The smallest carrier in the rankings strategy differentiates them from routes at 500 a day during peak pe- Journal’s reliability rankings. Destin, Fla. Both needed wheelchair
scored well in the categories of rivals like Frontier and Spirit, which riods and changed its approach to assistance at the airport.
fewest mishandled bags, fewest are now chasing larger markets. maintenance to ensure it had parts an analyst with investment bank Kuchle, 32, says the wheelchair
cancellations and fewest passen- Frontier Chief Executive Barry spread through its network for TD Cowen. The carrier has fewer attendants promised to her at the
gers involuntarily denied boarding. Biffle said in an interview that fly- faster repairs. flights to southeast Florida, which ticket counter never showed up.
As with budget competitors ing to larger destinations will give In 2023, the airline canceled less tends to be more congested than She and her husband grabbed two
Spirit and Frontier, flying Allegiant travelers the chance to save money than 1% of its scheduled flights and the Gulf Coast, she says. wheelchairs and ran their parents
means accepting limitations. Some in more places. Spirit didn’t respond improved its on-time arrival per- Allegiant also flies less than to the gate, but the door had
Allegiant routes are only available to requests for comment. centage to 72.8%—10 percentage Frontier and Spirit. Allegiant had closed. They couldn’t get out until
twice a week. If there is a cancella- Allegiant has grown more reli- points up from the year before. (Al- about 115,500 flights scheduled in the next day. Kuchle says getting
tion, travelers could be stuck for able. In 2022, it canceled 4.25% of legiant still finished sixth of nine 2023—60% of Frontier’s total and compensation took weeks.
days. It charges a host of fees for its flights, the most of any airline in carriers for on-time arrivals.) 38% of Spirit’s, according to avia- An Allegiant spokeswoman says
add-ons—picking a seat assignment, the WSJ rankings, and fewer than tion-analytics company Cirium. the airline takes responsibility for
bringing a carry-on bag or even or- two-thirds of its flights arrived on Operational advantages Unlike Spirit and Frontier, Alle- its third-party vendor, which didn’t
dering a premium beverage. time, according to data from Pulse, Allegiant flies its planes for about giant doesn’t oversell its flights, so it provide the scheduled wheelchair
But Allegiant’s most loyal cus- a data platform from Anuvu, an avi- 7.5 hours during peak days in 2023, didn’t bump a single passenger last assistance. The airline refunded the
tomers say they have learned to ation company. It finished fifth hours less than Spirit and Frontier. year. It also placed first in baggage. fares for the missed flight, resched-
play the fee game and don’t mind overall in that year’s rankings. That relative infrequency gives Alle- Allegiant had a higher rate of de- uled them at no additional cost and
ALLEGIANT
the upcharges. As rising costs and The airline needed a reset, says giant more time to recover if things layed flights than the largest U.S. hopes that they give Allegiant an-
overall hassles eat into so many Greg Anderson, president of Alle- do go wrong, says Helane Becker, airlines. Anderson says that’s be- other chance in the future.
P2JW039000-0-A01100-1--------XA
ARTS IN REVIEW
ART REVIEW
New Orleans
‘DEBBIE FLEMING CAFFERY: In
Light of Everything,” a retrospec-
tive of over 50 years of Ms. Caf-
fery’s work at the New Orleans
Museum of Art through May 5, be-
gins at the end. The main en-
trance to NOMA opens on a spa-
cious atrium, and on its
surrounding walls are 12 of the 91
medium-format, black-and-white
prints in the exhibition, the first
of Ms. Caffery’s pictures one sees.
They are all of birds and all dated
between 2018 and 2022—recent
work in her long career. She was
born in 1948 in southern Louisi-
ana, and spent time with her
grandfather who raised guinea
hens, homing and tumbler pi-
geons, doves and bantam chickens.
The wall text quotes her: “After
school I would often go with my
grandfather to feed his birds at a
beautiful magical place on the
Bayou Teche. I felt like I was in a ico” (2018) is a Mexican spotted that she endows them with an
bird paradise!” In 2018, she dis- owl, blind in one eye; it looks wise aura of significance beyond their
covered organizations in New in spite of its impairment. “‘PAPA,’ simple appearance: This is as
Mexico that rescued injured birds, King Vulture, France” (2019) is much an achievement of close at- Debbie Fleming Caffery’s ‘Jemez, Ms. Caffery spent considerable
healed them and released them possessed of a more than avian fe- tention and patience as it is of Rio Rancho, New Mexico’ (2018), time in two Mexican cantinas and
back into the wild; many were in- rocity. “Nigel, Livingston, Louisi- technical virtuosity. above, and ‘Nigel, Livingston, photographed the people she be-
jured beyond releasing. Those ana” (2019), a pelican, seems Most of the exhibition is in the Louisiana’ (2019), above left. friended there. “Ocotlan” (2004),
birds reminded her of her attach- aware of his responsibility as the museum’s dedicated photography grizzled and wrinkled, a propri-
ment to her grandfather’s, and she Louisiana state bird. It is charac- galleries, modest-sized rooms in etor, is seen in profile against a
has been photographing birds teristic of Ms. Caffery’s practice which Brian Piper, NOMA’s curator certain. Maybe both. dark background. “Marie” (1996),
there and elsewhere since. that she has lengthy attachments of photography, arranged Ms. Caf- In 1984, Ms. Caffery met Polly a woman past her first beauty,
“Jemez, Rio Rancho, New Mex- to the subjects of her work, and fery’s work chronologically, this Joseph, an elderly black woman wears a satiny blouse that shines
time beginning at the beginning. living in a cabin without gas, elec- in the dim light and looks at the
She started in the 1970s by concen- tricity or water; they became camera head-on; a man’s hand
trating on the sugar industry, fa- friends, and Ms. Caffery photo- rests on her left shoulder, either
miliar from where she grew up, graphed Joseph until her death a affectionately protective or omi-
working with a 35mm camera in decade later. The meager light in nously possessive.
the documentary style of the time. the cabin illuminated her dark When she went to New Orleans
Her portraits of African-American face enough in “Polly Joseph” in 2005 to shoot the aftermath of
workers set against the cane— (1984) to limn her palpable affec- Hurricane Katrina, Ms. Caffery
“Mary” (1974), “Reverend John tion for the photographer. When was reluctant to go into aban-
Harris, Overseer” (1972), “Sunrise” Polly moved into a nursing home, doned homes since she hadn’t
(1974)—show her acute sensitivity her worn Bible was left behind, been invited. Instead, she went to
to the human face. In the 1980s she turned to Ezekiel 19:1; the picture wrecked churches, still public
acquired a Hasselblad; half-a-dozen of the holy book, “Lamentations spaces, and took pictures of dam-
square prints are dark, except for for Princes” (1989), is about the aged sacred objects. Paint had
the flame and smoke of burning religious proclivities of both washed off the faces of “St. Au-
sugarcane. In “PaPa” (1987) and women. gustine” and “St. Teresa,” the
“Homer and Roland” (1985), sil- Darkness is Ms. Caffery’s signa- “Saint Praying” was beset with
houetted figures are set against ture element. “Marie and Angel displaced twigs, and the “Angel at
the conflagrations. In “Sun Peeking Trumpet” (2004) is one of her pic- the Pulpit” was missing a hand
Through Smoke” and “Sunset tures taken since the 1990s in and her nose. One senses the pho-
Burning Cane” (both 2001), it Mexico; the young girl’s face and tographer’s purpose here is not
seems nature itself is being incin- hand emerge from shadow, but the just to document, but to sanctify.
erated. In Ms. Caffery’s pictures white angel trumpet flower (a to-
fire is more than just combustion; ken of vivacity) that she holds is Debbie Fleming Caffery: In Light
it has metaphysical implications, brilliant, appearing almost as a of Everything
DEBBIE FLEMING CAFFERY (3)
but whether as punishing hellfire flame. Young “Bernardo Domingo” New Orleans Museum of Art,
or a purifying refiner’s fire is un- (1999), with his somber face and through May 5
bare shoulders, is seen in spare
light, so the white lace ribbon Mr. Meyers writes on photography
Ms. Caffery’s ‘PaPa’ (1987), (part of a costume) crossing his for the Journal. See his
included in the current survey at naked chest stands out and seems photographs at
the New Orleans Museum of Art. a significant mark. williammeyersphotography.com.
CULTURAL COMMENTARY Inventive musicians have rede- rhythm and individual and collective 100 years of immigration, transfor-
fined its scope and possibilities by improvisation to make the piece mation, and the roots of American
F
eb. 12 marks the 100th anni- parts that sound spontaneous. closely to the familiar version but prising Latin rhythms, incorporated “Rhapsody in Blue(grass),” with a
versary of the most famous Gershwin would later say that his nonetheless sounds fresh. piano variations and stretched it to six-member band. (On May 4, a Car-
and familiar work of American aim had been to show that an ex- Recording with symphony or- 26 minutes. negie Hall concert will celebrate Mr.
classical music, the splashy “Rhap- tended jazz piece could change tem- chestras, two eminent pianists have In 2022, pianist Lara Downes Fleck’s music, including the New
sody in Blue.” It came to symbolize pos, unlike most dance music, yet made it their own. Marcus Roberts teamed with Puerto Rican com- York premiere of his “Rhapsody in
the Jazz Age and made an interna- maintain its essence. He did more wanted his version “to reflect a jazz poser and saxophonist Edmar Colón Blue” for banjo and orchestra per-
tional sensation of its composer, 25- than that. With this piece, Gershwin sensibility within a classical envi- to create the 28-minute “Rhapsody formed with the Aeolian Orchestra.)
year-old George Gershwin, previ- injected modernism and new energy ronment,” so he injected a groove in Blue Reimagined” to “reflect on It’s fitting, during Black History
ously known only as a writer of into the American classical repertory Month, to remember that the banjo
popular songs and musical theater. and opened up the country’s concert is the quintessential African-derived
“Rhapsody” was commissioned halls to native composers, a singular American instrument.
by bandleader Paul Whiteman for a achievement. By contrast, Duke El- A bold transformation was issued
concert at New York’s Aeolian Hall lington and other American compos- in 2005 by California composer and
titled “An Experiment in Modern ers of color long struggled to gain bandleader Anthony Brown, who re-
Music.” Gershwin wrote it hurriedly comparable acceptance for their conceived the work as “American
for two pianos and Ferde Grofé work and, a century on, they still do. Rhapsodies” for his Asian-American
scored it for piano Critics have been orchestra. He cast it as a “21st cen-
and jazz orchestra, arguing since its pre- tury mural of our world’s demo-
marking it as a col- miere, with some graphic mosaic, particularly as re-
laboration. Gershwin It reshaped calling “Rhapsody” flected in the San Francisco Bay
himself played the pi- the American structurally deficient Area, ‘Golden Gateway to the East.’”
ano at its premiere. or, more recently, a His six movements replace piano
He called “Rhap- classical scene tired chestnut. But with electric guitar and incorporate
sody” “a musical ka-
leidoscope of Amer-
and still inspires audiences have never
tired of the tuneful
Cuban, Chinese and Japanese instru-
ments, Afro-Cuban rhythms and in-
ica,” and it is one. It musicians. piece. genious tone colors. The result is
fuses European prac- “From the very be- stunning. More than an arrangement,
tices (classical instru- ginning,” declares it’s an inspired recomposition.
ments, rhapsody, pi- musicologist Ryan Now that its copyright has ex-
ano concerto) with African- Paul Bañagale in his book “Arrang- pired, we can hope to hear many
American ones (banjo, blue notes, ing Gershwin,” “‘Rhapsody in Blue’ more reworkings, even transforma-
dance rhythms). has existed as a variable idea and tions, of this shape-shifting Ameri-
Its opening electric clarinet wail not a fixed text.” It quickly showed can icon. Whether you regard it as
announced that here is something its malleability. In an orchestration a symphonic warhorse, a razzle-daz-
different. A rhapsody has no preor- for piano and symphony orchestra, zle classic, or a splendid springboard
dained form, so a first-time listener it began entering the classical rep- for reinvention, “Rhapsody in Blue,”
might wonder, “Where is this go- ertory. Various versions were pub- 100 years on, shows no signs of dis-
ing?” and encounter a series of sur- lished: solo piano, duo piano, violin appearing into the past.
prises: tempo, key and mood and piano and other combinations.
HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
changes. And five main themes, On recordings, whole sections were Mr. Hasse is curator emeritus of
which Leonard Bernstein called “ter- omitted. Thus “Rhapsody” is a rara American music at the
rific, inspired, God-given.” Through avis, a work of art that’s canonical Smithsonian’s National Museum of
clever repetition, they’re memorable, enough to have an enduring place in American History. His books include
too. The final, most familiar theme the classical repertoire, yet supple “Beyond Category: The Life and
feels grand and romantic. The or- enough, like jazz, to lend itself to Genius of Duke Ellington” (Da Capo)
chestra and piano dance together, variation and renewal. George Gershwin in 1924 with the score for his famed work. and “Discover Jazz” (Pearson).
P2JW039000-0-A01200-1--------XA
SPORTS
JASON GAY a televised sporting event.
“Then it was succeeded by a
TIMMY HUYNH/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL|, MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS|, ISTOCK (3)
broadcast television, available to be made available to ESPN+, Hulu acted as if Roger Goodell had bit- the commercials are an event unto water universe—but he’s adamant
you whether or not you have cable, and Max subscribers. ten the top off the Washington themselves. that the game’s strength is its
steal cable, cut the cord, stream on It’s the re-bundling of the bun- Monument—but around 23 million In the meantime, the ground is reach.
your phone, or solder a fork to a dle! (Now on streaming.) watched, according to the net- shifting very fast. Bob Arum, the “We really like our model,”
coat hanger to get a fuzzy signal. Jokes aside, this strange alli- work’s estimate. boxing maestro and pay-per-view Schroeder told me. “Our partners
This is the way it’s been, and ance points to an urgent tension: A pay-per-view Super Bowl? pioneer, said he was dubious on a have done a great job with our
it’s worked. The Super Bowl is the Networks carrying pricey sports John Skipper, the former ESPN PPV Super Bowl a year ago. He’s model, and we’ll continue to inno-
most gargantuan television prod- need to figure out how to pay for boss, now the co-founder/CEO of changed his mind. vate and build and evolve around
uct in modern American life—a the rights in an expanding but fi- Meadowlark Media, raised the pos- “The deal they made with Pea- it, but the foundation will be
moon landing, once a year, with nancially-nebulous streaming era. sibility in an interview a while cock—that was effectively pay-per- around broadcast going forward.”
overwrought commercials—and its The cable bundle, of course, was back, almost as a casual thought view,” Arum said. “The next step is Translation: My cat is off the
power comes from its durable abil- a lucrative racket in which sub- bubble. He’s since grown more more playoff games [on other hook for that $10, at least for the
ity to reach 100 million plus peo- scribers paid for sports whether bullish. streamers]. I think it’s all moving time being.
ple, from the fantasy football loons they watched sports or not. With “The more I think it through, toward pay-per-view.” Television is in a turbulent
to the casuals to the first-timers streaming, customers pay directly the more I think it actually will Arum knows the reach of place, however, and there will be
asking why the late Wilford Brim- for the TV they want. Advertising happen sooner than I expected,” broadcast TV—he promoted the additional pressure to monetize
ley is coaching the Chiefs. fees can help, but it needs to add Skipper told me. “Because it makes 1978 rematch between Muhammad programming. Though pay-per-
Still, the TV business is chang- up, when one considers the billions great financial sense.” Ali and Leon Spinks which ran on view sounds preposterous, the idea
ing—overall broadcast audiences of dollars networks have commit- “As sports rights go up, you’re ABC and attracted an audience of isn’t going away. Until then, the
are shrinking, cable subscribers are ted to programming like the NFL. going to see the people who buy 90 million people on ABC. At the Super Bowl remains available to
fleeing, streaming is a rising but New ideas will be explored. The sports rights look for other ways time, it was an all-time record for all. Meow.
17
15
18
16 sort
24 Phishing, e.g.
He Makes Stars Disappear.
26 Ayatollah’s
19 20 21 predecessor BY ANDREW BEATON ever he may be. He’s the NFL’s best receivers. Miami
28 Lt.’s AND JOSHUA ROBINSON main reason why the Chiefs Dolphins dynamo Tyreek Hill
22 23 24 25 26 gave up the second-fewest led the NFL by averaging 112
subordinate
Las Vegas points in the NFL—and have receiving yards per game—
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 29 Aves. and THE MOST MADDENING a chance at stifling the Nin- and averaged just 62 per
blvds. part of playing against the ers’ top-three offense en yards in two tilts against
34 35 36 37 Kansas City Chiefs isn’t try- route to a Lombardi Trophy. Sneed, including in Kansas
31 Rub the
wrong way ing to contain Travis Kelce Sneed wasn’t supposed to City’s postseason win. Other
38 39 40 41 42 or read the mind of Patrick be the NFL’s next great shut- superstars such as the Ea-
32 Chin Mahomes. It isn’t even de- down corner. A wide receiver gles’ A.J. Brown (8 receiving
43 44 45 46 adornment coding coach Andy Reid’s of- in high school, he was lightly yards), the Vikings’ Justin
33 Sisters’ fensive schemes. The real recruited and wound up at Jefferson (28 yards) and the
47 48 49 50 51 overseer source of frustration for op- Louisiana Tech, where the Bills’ Stefon Diggs (45 yards
posing teams is trying—and school’s coaches shifted him combined in two games)
52 53 54 55 36 Research task
suddenly failing—to get the to cornerback and then to were all completely smoth-
39 Betrayed ball to their No. 1 downfield safety. ered, too.
56 57 58 59 60 sorrow playmaker. The Chiefs picked him in “It makes the defense so
40 Inclusive There are NFL stars who the fourth round of the 2020 much easier,” says fellow
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 make their teammates bet- draft and happened to dis- Chiefs corner Jaylen Watson.
word
ter, but what the Chiefs’ op- agree with Louisiana Tech’s “You can just exile every-
68 69 42 It may be ponents run into is L’Jarius assessment. They saw Sneed one’s No. 1 target.”
used to Sneed, a star who does as a natural born cornerback. When Sneed was the pri-
70 71 72 remove red something even harder to By the end of his rookie sea- mary defender this season,
wine stains find: he makes his oppo- son, when Kansas City fell to passers completed just 51%
45 Feels regret nents unimaginably worse. Tom Brady and the Tampa of their passes and averaged
HIGH APPROVAL | By Mike Shenk Over the past four Bay Buccaneers in the Super just 4.8 yards per attempt.
about
Across 27 Escape 59 Positions at 6 Parody months, Sneed has emerged Bowl, Sneed had cracked the That’s worse than the Caro-
character bridge tables 48 Look down on as arguably the best corner- team’s starting lineup. He has lina Panthers’ Bryce Young,
1 Judges wear 7 She voices
them in many 61 Topographical Spider- 50 Infuser back in the entire league. been a starter ever since. who had the fewest yards
programming map depiction Woman in contents And more than Mahomes or In the years since then, he per attempt among qualify-
7 Villain with languages even Kelce, he explains why has emerged into one of the ing quarterbacks this season
more lines 64 Swindled “Spider-Man: 51 Foot part
Kansas City is back in the rare defensive backs who’s a with 5.5. Sneed, in effect,
than the title 30 It’s a long Across the 53 Inundated
68 Gutter Super Bowl to take on the silent killer. He doesn’t rack makes opponents less effi-
character story Spider-Verse” San Francisco 49ers. The up interceptions or highlight- cient than the least efficient
attachment 56 Being, to
11 Political 34 Be 8 King Kong, Sartre Chiefs used to win in spite reel plays. Instead, he has an quarterback in the NFL.
Victory Fund parsimonious 69 Pulitzer for one of their defense. Now they’re uncanny ability to vaporize How Sneed puts receivers
winner 57 Pipe problem one win away from back-to- opposing receivers’ statistics: off their games so consis-
org. 35 Coup target 9 “How about
Welty that!” 58 Carrier cooler back titles because of it. He didn’t allow a single tently begins with a risk-tak-
14 Bishop, e.g. 37 Move up and “We wouldn’t be nearly touchdown over the course of ing, physical approach that
down 70 Heart chart, 10 “My Guy” or 60 See the
15 Abandon for short sights as effective a defense if we the entire regular season. pushes him to the very edge
one’s 38 Largest of “My Girl,” e.g. weren’t able to say, ‘L’Jarius, This year, Sneed of the football rulebook. The
principles the Ryukyu 71 Sheet edges 11 Coward of the 62 “The Mystery go over and cover that guy has gone up 6-foot-1, 192-pound defen-
Islands 72 Express theater of Marie this week,’ says Steve Spag- against a who’s sive back is known for fear-
17 Fairy king Roget” author
approval of, 12 Trick nuolo, the team’s who of the lessly pressing receivers at
18 Like the 41 Crustacean defensive coordi- the line of scrimmage, ruin-
and, if
cheetah, used in a 13 Case worker, 63 Element nator. “And it’s ing the delicate timing of of-
creamy soup reparsed, suffix
among land for short always been the fensive plays.
a hint to 65 Pond fauna
animals 43 “Stand” band making sense 16 Puts on the top guy.” A risk from playing such
19 “Though 44 Become firm of five pairs of market 66 Org. with Even when Kan- a hands-on style is when it
death be poor, 46 Roofing schedules sas City’s offense spills beyond what is strictly
answers 20 Mineo in
it ___mortal went through an un- legal. Sneed was called for 11
material Down movies 67 Scot’s refusal
characteristic rough accepted penalties this regu-
woe”: “Richard
47 Playoff passes 1 Debate side Previous Puzzle’s Solution patch this season, the lar season.
II”
L I S P MAM B A E D S team’s defense remained “He loves to press and
21 Surname of 49 They’re 2 Confederate O N N O I N A L L V I C one of the best units put his hands on receiv-
the “It’s Your parallel to the soldier, WH A T D I D Y O U S A V E in football. Every ers, which receivers don’t
Thing” equator familiarly E L A P S E H OM E S I N week, Spagnuolo like,” said Spagnuolo, who
G I S T B R E E D S I N E
brothers 52 Lt.’s superior
JAY BIGGERSTAFF/USA TODAY SPORTS
OPINION
America’s Unfearful Enemies BOOKSHELF | By Paul Kennedy
The world is
on fire, and
7 trip to the Mideast.
His goal, as before, is
he called Ukraine a
“watershed moment
Trading
Places
the U.S. to negotiate an end for our country” and
should be hav- to the war in Gaza said the West’s op-
ing an elec- that ensures Israel’s position is an attack
tion-year de- security and estab- on the Russian Or-
L
Trump, is unwilling to talk Running alongside are looking not just ong before the U.S. completed its own continental
about anything other than his this mess are the for regional domi- expansion, its traders were pushing out across the
years-ago first term, and the two dysfunctional nance but active Pacific in search of new markets and sources of
other, Joe Biden, is barely able U.S. political parties obeisance to their supply. In the ports of mid-19th-century Hong Kong, many
to talk about the subject at all. that compose Con- rule. In the case of trading vessels could be found flying the flag of the fast-
It falls to everyone else to fill gress, now in the Vladimir Putin and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran and Russia, that expanding American republic. It didn’t matter to these
in the blanks of a hostile process of failing to means literally eras- American merchants that they were sheltering in, and
world. pass funding support for Is- erate inside the West’s ing opponents such as Israel trading from, a recently established British colony, for it
History will record two rael, Ukraine and Taiwan. traditional understanding of and Ukraine. was a commonplace for them to engage in commerce
dates as defining the final There is a limit to the power relationships governed Today, elements in both the throughout the British Empire. It was the age of total free
stretch of President Biden’s amount of global risk the U.S. by a balance of interests. In- Democratic and Republican trade.
first term: Oct. 7, 2023, the day can incur without suffering stead, all three under their parties want to believe that As Dale Copeland details in “A World Safe for
Hamas entered Israel and consequences. Put plainly—a current leadership have be- the water’s edge somehow pro- Commerce: American Foreign Policy From the Revolution
butchered 1,200 people, in- big war. come messianic political tects the U.S. Refusing to ig- to the Rise of China,” American traders were quite happy
cluding Americans, and Jan. We need to admit that movements. nore external realities was the to take advantage of the way British colonial acquisitions
29, when an Iran-allied militia avoiding a war is understand- Political messianism has point of Ronald Reagan’s deci- in Asia and Africa were opening up trade for all. Under
killed three U.S. service mem- ably what Team Biden is trying three characteristics: It is re- sion to raise U.S. defense ca- such circumstances, these merchants had no need of
bers at Tower 22 in Jordan. to do, notwithstanding its lentless in its pursuit of its pacity against the Soviet Union support from Washington. Nor in those early post-
compulsion to euphemize it as goals, outward-moving and to the level of an unmistakable Revolution decades would the U.S. government have had
an “expansion of hostilities.” virtually unappeasable. We deterrent. the interest or capacity to push commercial expansion
Iran, Russia and In this, the Biden administra- read daily about Iran’s “prox- Reagan summarized the abroad.
tion surely has the support of ies” in the Middle East, but strategy five months before How different the world would be by the end of the 19th
China know that the American people. As well, that bland word undervalues the 1980 election in his “Peace century, when a much more powerful U.S. and a much
Biden and Trump Mr. Biden can’t go anywhere in the fanatic energy driving Through Strength” speech at more confident McKinley administration asserted
the U.S. without being taunted Iran’s goals. At this late date it the GOP convention: “We know American trading interests around the world, against all
aren’t up to the task. by anti-Israel agitators. The would require extraordinary only too well that war comes comers. Mr. Copeland, a
antisemitic vote is on the brink myopia not to recognize that not when the forces of free- professor of international
of making itself part of the the Islamic Republic of Iran dom are strong, but when they relations at the University of
The first event was an Is- Democratic coalition. was, and always will be, a mes- are weak. It is then that ty- Virginia, reminds us that in
raeli intelligence failure. The We have heard a lot re- sianic movement. rants are tempted.” 1899 Secretary of State John
second was also a failure of in- cently, including in this space, Like Iran’s Supreme Leader Iran isn’t backing down to Hay demanded an “open
telligence, though not in the about the importance of deter- Ali Khamenei, Vladimir Putin the U.S.’s retaliatory bombing door” to the vast Chinese
military sense. The Jan. 29 rence. Less examined is and Xi Jinping are seeking the of its proxies, because it knows market, and American
deaths followed more than 150 whether these commitments to restoration of centuries-old the Biden Democrats’ long- newspapers bayed their
attacks on U.S. forces in the re- deterrence on paper will match cross-border empires. These term commitments lie with do- approval. Hawaii was annexed
gion. The deaths of those U.S. the ideological forces driving goals aren’t propagated merely mestic spending, not rebuild- and the Philippines taken over,
service members weren’t pre- the U.S.’s three primary adver- for internal consumption. Each ing military infrastructure. Mr. a piece of Samoa was picked
dictable. They were inevitable. saries—Iran, Russia and China. of these men believes it. Trump, an off-and-on public up for a naval base, Spain was
After several U.S. counter- Not one of these countries At the 2021 centennial of admirer of Messrs. Putin and tossed out of Cuba, the
strikes against the militias, the is a conventional opponent, the Chinese Communist Party, Xi, seems to think the answer Caribbean became a sort of
Biden national-security team subject—as the Biden national- Mr. Xi described China’s “na- to their messianism is him American lake, and the Alaskan
this week is pursuing the one security team believes—to in- tional rejuvenation” as a “his- talking to them, guy to guy. border was rounded off—to
strategy it believes in—diplo- centives offered through diplo- torical inevitability.” Mr. Putin On the available evidence, Canada’s protests. To ensure the protection of these
macy, which means having matic overtures to reduce their has likened his invasion of neither candidate looks up to national interests abroad, a powerful U.S. Navy was swiftly
conversations. aggressive behavior. Iran, Rus- Ukraine to Peter the Great’s the task of stopping these constructed.
Secretary of State Antony sia and China aren’t just mili- 18th-century expansions into three determined threats. The economic justification for an assertive America took
Blinken is on his fifth post-Oct. tary threats. None of them op- northern Europe. A year ago Write henninger@wsj.com. on a much bigger dimension in the 20th century, as the
U.S. abandoned its policy of isolation and very forcibly
intervened in World War I, then later entered both the
Bob Beckwith, the Fireman at Ground Zero Pacific and European theaters of World War II. The main
drivers behind these dramatic policy shifts were Woodrow
Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, and the arguments both
By Karl Rove crowd. As one of the three its founding. They’ve given by ordinary men and women presidents gave for the new approach were focused on
men jumped off the truck, I comfort to those in need, over- like Bob who quietly love their national security.
I
first saw him on Friday, realized Bob’s vantage point come challenges from man and country and serve. They teach The blatant aggressions of the kaiser’s Germany during
Sept. 14, 2001, at Ground might do. I asked him and the nature, and defended our na- our children, heal the sick, World War I, and Tojo’s Japan and Hitler’s Third Reich
Zero in New York. He was remaining man to jump up tion and our liberties, with protect the weak, build roads during World War II, Americans were told, posed
medium height, thin, wearing and down to show their perch their lives if need be. and homes and skyscrapers, existential threats to the U.S. and needed to be defeated.
jeans and a blue shirt with a was safe. Both reluctantly did; Born in Queens in 1932, run factory lines, operate ma- But behind that logic, Mr. Copeland argues, was a further
breathing mask hung around the truck looked steady part of the generation that ex- chinery, raise our crops, do re- objective: a world safe for commerce. Indeed, at one stage
his neck and a fireman’s hel- enough. I told them to stay perienced the Great Depres- search and tinkering and in- the author insists that “Wilson’s obsession with protecting
met bearing New York City there, that someone might sion and World War II, Bob venting, keep our communities America’s economic power sphere must be placed side by
Fire Department Company need help getting up. As I served as a Navy boatswain safe and, yes, put out fires. side with his idealism” about democracy and collective
164’s emblem on his head. turned around, the second mate before joining the fire Bob died a day before Toby security. A benign and open global trading system, in
Bob Beckwith stood with man disappeared off the Keith, the legendary song- which American traders, above all, would prosper, simply
two others atop a wrecked truck. Only Bob remained. writer and singer. The 62- would not exist if Britain fell or if Japan took control of
firetruck, flattened by debris The rest is history. The The man who stood year-old Oklahoma oil-field East Asia.
from the World Trade Center, president clambered onto the roughneck and rodeo cowboy It was also for this basic commercial reason that, as
its battered frame covered in truck. Bob realized who he’d with President Bush was another salt-of-the-earth World War II came to an end, an assertive U.S. government
rubble and dirt. helped pull up and tried to on Sept. 14, 2001, has patriot and an amazingly insisted upon new international structures, such as the
Bob was 69, a firefighter for leave, thinking he should get gifted musician. He led Ameri- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
three decades who had been out of the way. Mr. Bush asked died of cancer at 91. cans to dance, tap our feet and (subsequently the World Bank) and the International
retired for seven years when him where he was going and sing along to—count ’em—20 Monetary Fund. These new world bodies, created at the
the planes smashed into the told him to stay. The president No. 1 singles and 40 million al- important Allied conference at Bretton Woods in 1944, had
Twin Towers. He watched the fumbled with a bullhorn; department. Married to Bar- bums sold. the noble aim of ensuring that the global economy would
attacks on a hospital waiting someone yelled “We can’t hear bara for 67 years, he was fa- Keith’s “Courtesy of the avoid ever again slipping into a Great Depression; but that,
room TV as his grandson—hit you.” The president, his arm ther of six, grandfather of 10 Red, White and Blue” caught in its turn, would help American businesses and American
by a car while riding his bike draped around Bob’s shoulder, and great-grandfather of two. the national mood after 9/11. jobs. For the same reason, when Cold War enemies
to school—was being treated. replied: “I can hear you. The He died Monday at 91. “We’ll always stand up and threatened this American-made order, they, too, had to be
For three days Bob saw the rest of the world hears you. Since 9/11, this quiet, gener- salute / We’ll always recognize firmly resisted. All of the Free World would gain from this
recovery efforts unfold on And the people who knocked ous, self-effacing man traveled / When we see Old Glory fly- robust protection, it was argued, even if it was privately
television until he couldn’t these buildings down will hear America raising funds for fam- ing / There’s a lot of men assumed that American companies would gain most of all.
take it anymore. He grabbed all of us soon.” ilies of firefighters and police dead / So we can sleep in
his helmet, drove to Manhat- When Bob returned to his officers who had suffered an peace at night when we lay
tan, talked his way onto home in Baldwin, N.Y., that injury or died, especially for down our head.” For the first time in more than a century,
Ground Zero, and went to
work, pulling rubble from the
night, he assumed no one
would believe he’d met the
families of burn victims. It was
never about him but the hero-
Bob Beckwith was one of
the Americans Toby Keith said
there is a global trade war that America
wreckage as rescue teams president. Not quite. Neigh- ism and sacrifice of others. helped us sleep in peace. Re- may not win.
searched for survivors. bors waited in the twilight to Former Rep. Pete King, his quiescat in pace to both these
The afternoon I first saw greet Bob with lit candles and friend these past two decades, good men.
him, Bob had climbed onto the patriotic songs. said that as recently as Decem- And so they did, for a good half-century after World
ruined firetruck to catch a No one ordered retired fire- ber as Bob battled cancer, he Mr. Rove helped organize War II. Many readers of this paper will recall the
glimpse of President George fighters to report to Ground told stories about comrades, the political-action committee astonishing success of Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber’s
W. Bush’s visit to Ground Zero that week. But Bob their bravery and sacrifice, not American Crossroads and is “The American Challenge” (1967), as France and other
Zero. As a White House aide, I showed up, just as ordinary his. That was Bob’s gracious author of “The Triumph of foreign nations appeared to be wilting under the outward,
was looking for where the Americans have done in urgent humility. William McKinley” (Simon & unbeatable surge of U.S. commercial competitiveness.
president could speak to the moments for our country since America has been blessed Schuster, 2015). There is therefore a historical irony that comes in Mr.
Copeland’s important final chapter, for the story here, as
he puts it, is of “the great geopolitical struggle” of the 21st
In Defense of the Child Tax Credit century “between a seemingly declining United States
wanting to maintain a semblance of preeminence and a
rising China seeking to establish itself as a dominant, if
By Timothy P. Carney households was identical. tax bill of the neighbors who courage marriage, so that not the dominant, state in its region and perhaps the
When they do their taxes have the same number of peo- more children are raised with- world.” Here, for the first time in more than a century,
T
he tax code should be this spring, each bachelor ple and combined income. A out the example of a working there exists another nation with a GDP almost as large as
neutral and shouldn’t claims the $13,850 standard $2,000-a-child credit closes parent. It’s a good thing, then, America’s, a nation that sells far more to the U.S. than it
pick winners or losers. deduction, leaving his taxable most of that gap. Like the de- that Congress isn’t seriously purchases, a nation that seems impervious to American
Its role is to generate revenue, income at $11,150—in the 12% pendent exemption before the considering a massive expan- pressure. All this suggests to Mr. Copeland that there is a
not to modify behavior. Con- tax bracket. His final tax bill 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it sion to the child tax credit, trade war in which America seems to be losing, not
servatives and libertarians of- will be $1,121, so the entire acknowledges that the three only from $2,000 to $2,100, winning. “A World Safe for Commerce” thus ends with the
ten cite those principles in op- house will pay $5,605 in fed- children are people. with more generous “refund- author’s recommendations for robust policies to preserve
position to the child tax eral income taxes. Those who argue that the ability” for parents who don’t America’s world order, which may be another reason for
credit. But that credit is no tax code shouldn’t favor par- earn enough to owe income paying attention to this work.
special-interest giveaway. enthood treat children as a taxes. While the great bulk of the book is a fine historical
Consider two hypothetical A break for working lifestyle choice or a consump- There’s plenty to debate analysis of America’s foreign-trade policies, from the pre-
houses, each with five resi-
dents. A married couple and
families is a matter tion good, like a Tesla. The tax
code shouldn’t be pro-Tesla,
about work requirements and
refundability. But a larger
Independence years until the Cold War, Mr. Copeland’s
study is, essentially, a work for fellow political scientists
their three young children live of basic fairness. but it should be pro-human, child tax credit in itself is a who specialize in international-relations theory. Parts of
in one house. Next door are especially amid our baby bust. matter of basic fairness. the book will prove tough reading for a general audience;
five young men who recently America’s fertility is below 1.7 many readers may not be able to appreciate, for instance,
finished college. The couple The married couple files per woman, and the number of Mr. Carney is a fellow at Mr. Copeland’s propositions about dynamic realist theory.
earned a combined $125,000 jointly and gets a standard de- births has fallen nearly every the American Enterprise Insti- For those of us not in that intellectual milieu, the nicely
last year, slightly above the duction of $27,700. The fam- year since 2007. An aging so- tute, a columnist at the Wash- written middle chapters will have to suffice. Overall, “A
average income for a family of ily’s taxable income is thus ciety will be a poorer society. ington Examiner and author of World Safe for Commerce” is an important work.
five. The bachelors each $97,300, putting it in the 22% This doesn’t mean we “Family Unfriendly: How Our
earned $25,000 tending bar bracket, with a tax bill of should have massive cash Culture Made Rising Kids Mr. Kennedy is a professor of history at Yale and the
and driving Ubers. The 2023 $12,027 before the child tax giveaways to parents. Exces- Much Harder Than it Needs to author of, among other works, “The Rise and Fall of the Great
pretax income of the two credit—more than double the sive child subsidies can dis- Be,” forthcoming next week. Powers.”
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OPINION
REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Supreme Court’s First Trump Test U.S. Consuls General Stand With Jimmy Lai
D
onald Trump and his opponents have Colorado’s Supreme Court cannot by itself dis- We applaud your editorial on the highly experienced former consul
embroiled the Supreme Court in this qualify Mr. Trump or anyone else it deems an Jimmy Lai trial and the crackdown in general, Amb. James Cunningham,
Hong Kong (“Jimmy Lai’s Offense: has been slandered as a “co-conspira-
year’s election politics, and the Court’s insurrectionist.
Tweets and Op-eds,” Jan. 12). It’s im- tor.” To see one of Hong Kong’s lead-
first test comes Thursday Section 3 notably doesn’t
when the Justices consider A 9-0 ruling against authorize state courts or offi-
portant to focus continuing attention
on this terrible situation.
ing journalists put on trial for engag-
ing in normal journalistic practice
the Colorado Supreme Court’s
decree barring the former
Colorado would be cials to enforce its provisions
or specify a process for deter-
We represented the U.S. as consuls sullies the reputation and brilliance
general in Hong Kong, always keeping that Hong Kong once enjoyed. Jimmy
President from the state’s bal- best for the country. mining whether individuals in mind that more education, infor- Lai should be set free.
lot. The Justices can help de- have “engaged in insurrec- mation, personal contacts, business RICHARD A. BOUCHER
mocracy with a unanimous tion” and how to disqualify and cultural exchanges were good for U.S. Consul General, 1996-99
ruling against Colorado. them from serving in government. Instead, the the U.S. and good for the people of Arlington, Va.
The Colorado court voted 4-3 in December 14th Amendment empowers Congress to “en- Hong Kong. We valued Deng Xiao-
to disqualify Mr. Trump under Section 3 of the force” Section 3 by enacting “appropriate legis- ping’s and China’s promises of “one STEPHEN M. YOUNG
country, two systems.” We openly U.S. Consul General, 2010-13
post-Civil War 14th Amendment, also known as lation.” Congress did so in 1870 by requiring
supported the Joint Declaration and Londonderry, N.H.
the Insurrection Clause. The four Justices held federal prosecutors to bring writs of quo war- the Basic Law. We publicly welcomed
that Mr. Trump engaged in an “insurrection or ranto to disqualify office holders. the initial respect for the new system RICHARD W. MUELLER
rebellion” on Jan. 6, 2021, based largely on evi- Congress later repealed most of this law. as well as the recognition of Hong U.S. Consul General, 1993-96
dence from the House Jan. 6 special committee. What remains is a federal criminal statute pun- Kong’s traditional open and vibrant Golden, Colo.
Maine’s secretary of state has made a similar ishing insurrection, which says anyone “who culture.
ruling, though several other states have ruled engages or assists in an insurrection . . . shall It is thus with great dismay and JAMES KEITH
in Mr. Trump’s favor on the question. be incapable of holding any office under the concern that we read about the trial U.S. Consul General, 2002-05
The easiest way to dispatch Colorado’s ruling United States.” But Mr. Trump hasn’t been of Mr. Lai and how one respected and Reston, Va.
is with a textualist analysis that the President charged with insurrection, and neither has any-
isn’t covered by Section 3. This is the argument one else who has been charged with other
that David Rivkin and Lee Casey make nearby, crimes in connection to Jan. 6.
and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey A risk for the future is that other partisans Cuba, Terrorism and the American Apologists
has made the same case in these pages. will define insurrection down to disqualify their In their letter “Cuba Is No Sponsor doing, Messrs. McGovern and Welsh
The argument is that the President isn’t an political opponents. As former Attorneys Gen- of International Terrorism” (Feb. 1), join the Clintons and former Attorney
“Officer of the United States” as defined by the eral Ed Meese, Bill Barr and Mr. Mukasey argue Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern General Eric Holder, President Barack
Constitution. Earlier versions of Section 3 in- in a friend-of-the-court brief, “without a clear and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch twist Obama and then-Vice President Joe
cluded the President and Vice President, but statutory definition, the types of presidential the language to fit their narrative. In Biden, who pushed clemency, in 1999
these offices were scrapped from the final text. actions that might be deemed an ‘insurrection’ urging the removal of Cuba from the and then in 2017, on Morales’s Marx-
That’s in part because the 14th Amendment’s are virtually limitless.” state sponsor of terrorism list, they ist FALN comrades.
authors were mainly worried that Confederate Messrs. Rivkin and Casey make another cru- conveniently add the word “interna- JOE CONNOR
tional” before “terrorism” to change Glen Rock, N.J.
rebels would be elected to Congress, and that cial point, which concerns the uniformity
the nature of the list, thus dismissing
President Andrew Johnson would appoint them among states in qualifications for the Presi- Cuba’s sponsorship of Black Liberation Cuba has been training antidemoc-
to executive-branch offices. dency. If Colorado is upheld, and a handful of Army and FALN terrorists, Joanne racy terrorists since 1960. It has been
The Constitution’s Appointments, Commis- other states follow, the 2024 election will be a Chesimard and William Morales. well-documented that terrorist
sion and Impeachment Clauses separately refer patchwork electoral quilt. Mr. Trump will be on Contrary to their letter, Morales groups trained in Cuba have carried
to the President and “officers of the United some state ballots and not others. This would wasn’t merely accused but also con- out and are still carrying out insur-
States.” If the President were an officer, these be tremendously polarizing politically. But as victed of terrorism-related charges in rections in Colombia, Nicaragua, Ven-
clauses would be superfluous or illogical. Arti- a matter of law, the Supreme Court has ruled the U.S, including bomb making and ezuela, El Salvador, Bolivia, Peru and
cle II gives the President the power to appoint that while states can determine election proce- possession and transportation of ex- many other countries. Thousands of
“Officers of the United States” with the advice dures, they can’t change the qualifications for plosives. To casually refer to these un- lives have been lost in these internal
and consent of the Senate. The President federal office in the Constitution. repentant terrorists as “aging Ameri- wars. It is time that our politicians
can fugitives” and assert that “none understand the hatred that commu-
doesn’t nominate himself. i i i
of them have been accused of interna- nist Cuba has for the U.S. The Cuban
As Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized The best course for the country would be for tional terrorism” is disingenuous. regime would rather let its people go
in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Ac- the Justices to settle this case on the narrow It also dismisses the life of my fa- hungry than stop undermining the
counting Oversight Board (2010), “The people legal issues, and not to enter the political fight ther, Frank Connor, who was mur- U.S. and other countries in the region.
do not vote for the ‘Officers of the United over whether Jan. 6 was an insurrection. The dered by Morales’s FALN at New JORGE L. BLANCO
States.’” Justices don’t need to go there if they find that York’s Fraunces Tavern in 1975. In so Key Biscayne, Fla.
Mr. Trump and several friend-of-the-court Section 3 doesn’t cover the President. A 9-0 de-
briefs also make a compelling argument that cision would send a unified message to the
Section 3 isn’t self-executing—meaning that country that Colorado is wrong on the law. Why the Prosperous Also Want to Leave India
Sadanand Dhume’s column “In the ing between 5% and 10% a year lately,
A Spanking for the FBI ‘Asian Century,’ Indians and Chinese
Flee” (East Is East, Feb. 1), though
Indian industry and government don’t
create enough jobs that pay decent
I
well-written as always, stops short of wages to absorb an ever-expanding
n 2021 the FBI raided a private safe-de- drug dealers and other criminals. But that’s solving the puzzle: why some of the pool of labor. According to the Center
posit company and seized more than $86 still no excuse for the FBI to overstep its au- brightest and the wealthiest among For Monitoring Indian Economy, the
million in cash and valuables from people thority and then invoke civil forfeiture to keep the Indians and Chinese are so eager unemployment rate of youth ages
accused of no wrongdoing. At the time we everything it found worth more than $5,000, to migrate to the West. Allow me to 20-24 exceeded 40% in late 2023. Re-
called this a dangerous violation of their con- all without charging anyone with a crime. A provide some hints regarding the In- cent Indian government surveys
stitutional rights. It took three years, but a group of seven safe-deposit renters sued in dian situation. found that nearly 15% of those with
three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of what became a class action, represented by the First, even though India’s gross do- advanced education face joblessness
Appeals has agreed. Institute for Justice. mestic product GDP has been expand- after graduation.
Where would you go if you hap-
U.S. Private Vaults was a private business The district court found for the govern-
pened to be among the desperate job
in Beverly Hills the government was investi- ment, but the Ninth Circuit has now reversed. European-Style Regulation seekers?
gating for money laundering and other things. Judge Milan Smith Jr., said the government
The FBI had a warrant, but this didn’t autho- had opened the door to the “limitless searches For American Dynamism Second, what about the wealthy,
who actually live very well in upscale
rize a search of individual safe deposit boxes. of an individual’s personal belongings” that the Your editorial “Elizabeth Warren’s neighborhoods in India? Why do they
Agents were supposed to open the boxes only British used in colonial America. This, the Robot Gift to China” (Jan. 30) frames want to leave? Appropriately, Mr.
to identify owners and safeguard their prop- judge noted, “led to the adoption of the Fourth Amazon’s abandoned iRobot acquisi- Dhume lists some factors—polluted
erty until it could be returned. Amendment” and its protection against “un- tion as a win for China, but the true cities, tax harassment, poor public
But the FBI overstepped, seizing the prop- reasonable searches and seizures.” takeaway is the Europeanization of health and urban infrastructure—but
erty of innocents along with criminals. As the If the FBI has evidence of something illegal, U.S. competition policy and how it he misses others that are important.
Ninth Circuit noted, one of U.S. Private Vaults’s it can get a warrant. But the Ninth Circuit rul- will harm U.S. startups. The European Among them is easy access to the
Commission’s planned block killed the West’s world-leading medical facili-
selling points was not asking customers too ing is a welcome reminder that the govern-
deal, and U.S. antitrust enforcers ties and higher education, which offer
many questions—e.g., demanding a Social Se- ment can’t go on a fishing expedition that want those powers too. a better and brighter future, for the
curity number—which made it attractive to snares the innocent with the guilty. The Federal Trade Commission and immigrants and for their children.
Justice Department have updated the If children of Indian descent in
The Self-Sabotaging GOP merger guidelines, jettisoning the con- America have risen to the top eche-
sumer-welfare standard. They’ve also
begun a rule-making to flip the pre-
lons of Microsoft, Alphabet, IBM, Citi-
bank, Mastercard, the World Bank, nu-
T
he Senate’s border deal collapsed on Trump makes it back to the White House. merger notification process on its merous Silicon Valley companies and
Wednesday, and the failed 49-50 vote The death of the border deal is at bottom a head, drastically expanding the infor- biotech firms, as well as the U.S. gov-
was a formality: The measure was hem- bloody-minded operation by Mr. Trump and his mation merging parties need to pro- ernment, why not their children? The
orrhaging Republican support allies to flog border chaos vide up front in their filings. Those lure of America is irresistable.
even before it emerged over After killing the border through November—and, if changes will bog down deals and
make us more like Europe.
MAHMOOD ISLAM
Greenwood, Ind.
the weekend. The silver lining
is that the Senate was also pre-
bill, will Trump also possible, bring down Sen.
McConnell as GOP Senate
The new rulebook would reduce
the number of acquisitions that hap-
paring to vote on an aid bill for kill aid to Ukraine? leader. Are they following the pen, which will harm the startup eco- MAGA Remains Aspirational
Ukraine and Israel without the House GOP? The war of all system by chilling investment. Acqui-
I would like to express my heart-
border provisions. We’ll soon against all that has followed its sitions constitute the overwhelming
felt thanks to John Cochrane for his
find out if Republicans in Congress will fold to coup against Kevin McCarthy means new Speaker majority of successful startup exits
op-ed “Incompetent Elites Make
Donald Trump on that too. Mike Johnson couldn’t even pass an Israeli aid bill and create dynamic flows of capital
Trump Look Appealing” (Feb. 3). He
The history of the border deal is being rewrit- this week. That revolution is eating its own. and talent throughout the ecosystem
describes eloquently and cogently
ten by opponents as the failure of chief negotia- Meanwhile, the U.S. asylum system is still that support innovation.
how I and many other conservatives
Europe is envious of our startup
tor James Lankford and GOP leader Mitch broken, and the border dysfunction will con- feel about the direction of our be-
ecosystem, and it can only hope we
McConnell. The truth is that Mr. McConnell pre- tinue, despite the manifest risks to U.S. security. hamstring ourselves by adopting
loved country. We aren’t incorrigible
ferred a vote on the supplemental aid bill for Few will remember details of the Lankford bill. or deplorable when we believe that
their playbook of limiting the acquisi-
Ukraine from the start. But the right of his cau- But voters in November may recall that the GOP Make America Great Again (MAGA) is
tions that create dynamism, spur in-
cus wanted cover for the Ukraine vote and de- campaigned for years on a crisis on the southern aspirational rather than a four-letter
vestment and promote innovation.
manded border reforms. border but did nothing about it. invective.
NATHAN LINDFORS
MADELINE BIZETTE
Mr. McConnell went along and appointed Mr. By our deadline Wednesday, the Senate was Policy director, Engine
Port Orange, Fla.
Lankford, who has an impeccable conservative gearing up to vote to begin debating President Washington
voting record, to dive into the details. Mr. Lank- Biden’s proposal on military aid to Ukraine, Is-
ford has visited the border a dozen times while rael and the Pacific. Sixty votes are needed to
in Congress, and he spent months looking under break a filibuster. If it clears that hurdle and the Cut Out the Middleman Pepper ...
the hood of the U.S. immigration system and try- Senate passes the bill after its recess, the burden Letter writer Marshal Greenblatt And Salt
ing to discern what improvements might be pos- will then be on the House GOP. has hit on a half-truth in arguing that
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
sible in divided government. As the politics of Ukraine’s military needs grow more urgent by the Federal Reserve should change in-
the border got worse for Democrats, he was able the day, as its supply of munitions dwindles. In a terest rates by very small increments
to negotiate the most conservative border bill conflict dominated by artillery, Russia is firing as frequently (“Are We Doing Monetary
Policy All Wrong?” Feb. 5). This is ex-
in decades, as we described Tuesday. many as 10 shells for every one by Ukraine. With-
actly what a free market unfettered
The mistake by Sens. Lankford and McConnell out more U.S. weapons, Ukraine’s supply of 155 by the Federal Reserve would do on
was assuming that Republicans who demanded mm shells could be gone before the summer. its own.
border provisions were sincere. But those Sena- Ukraine has been doing a brilliant job of makeshift NICHOLAS E. BEDNARSKI
tors ran for cover as soon as Mr. Trump handed arms production, but Russia is receiving a surge Camarillo, Calif.
down orders not to give Mr. Biden anything he of munitions from Iran and North Korea. Without
could take credit for. U.S. artillery and air defenses, U.S. officials believe
Letters intended for publication should
The bill’s details became irrelevant, as the Ukraine will lose the war this year. be emailed to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please
GOP cowered before Mr. Trump, who is now That would be a tragedy for brave Ukraine include your city, state and telephone
trashing Mr. Lankford. “This is a very bad bill for and a strategic catastrophe for free Europe and number. All letters are subject to
his career,” Mr. Trump said in an interview this the U.S. It would also make Republicans morally editing, and unpublished letters cannot
be acknowledged.
week. This retribution will be routine if Mr. complicit in an historic betrayal. “Remind me to tell you the rest later.”
P2JW039000-0-A01500-1--------XA
OPINION
T
chosen by popular vote after commit- to run for president. Abdul Karim
he case of Trump v. Ander- ting to a particular candidate. If no Hassan asserted an eccentric theory
son, in which Donald former Confederates (or more mod- that the 14th Amendment vitiated the
Trump asks the Supreme ern insurrectionists) could stand for requirement that the president be a
Court to reverse a ruling election as presidential electors, natural-born citizen. Judge Gorsuch
that bars him from Colo- there would be little chance of an in- ruled that “a state’s legitimate inter-
rado’s presidential ballot, raises surrectionist president. (As Mr. Mu- est in protecting the integrity and
many complicated legal and factual kasey also observed, if the president practical functioning of the political
questions. The justices should ignore were covered, there would be no rea- process permits it to exclude from
them and decide a simple one: Does son to cover presidential electors, the ballot candidates who are consti-
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, who wouldn’t be able to elect an in- tutionally prohibited from assuming
which disqualifies certain former of- surrectionist if they wanted to.) office”—not that state officials or
DAVID GOTHARD
ficeholders who have “engaged in in- Second, there was no way to judges could decide what the qualifi-
surrection,” apply to the presidency? cover the presidency without violat- cations for federal office are.
As Michael Mukasey has argued in ing the Constitution’s established The meaning of “natural-born citi-
these pages, the answer is no. Those federalism principles, which require zen” is open to dispute in certain un-
who are covered by the Insurrection states to act uniformly when dealing usual cases involving would-be candi-
Clause are specifically disqualified with federal laws and institutions. dates born overseas to American
from serving as members of Con- These principles are at the root of parents or in unincorporated U.S. ter-
gress or the Electoral College—not as several constitutional provisions, in- federal power, clashed with moderate the choice of persons for the tempo- ritories (where the Constitution
president or vice president. They are cluding the equal representation of Republicans determined to preserve rary and sole purpose of making the doesn’t fully apply). If such a dispute
states in the Senate, the Supremacy states’ rights under the Constitution’s appointment”—members of the Elec- arose and states responded to it dif-
Clause and the Full Faith and Credit original Madisonian federalism archi- toral College. ferently, the federal courts would
Applying the Insurrection Clause. These provisions are indis- tecture. It is implausible that they The Constitution authorizes state have to intervene quickly to impose
pensable in making the federal re- would have fought hard to protect legislatures to determine how presi- uniformity. To avoid precisely that
Clause to the presidency public functional. federalism while permitting each dential electors are selected—and sort of situation, the drafters of the
would have given rogue Applying Section 3’s disqualification state to determine presidential dis- even to appoint them directly, as Col- 14th Amendment left the presidency
to the presidency would create exactly qualification for itself. orado did in 1876—and the qualifica- out of Section 3.
states too much power. the uniformity problem the Supreme In U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton tions for serving as president are A Supreme Court decision to that
Court now faces—different states (1995), the Supreme Court held that stated in the constitutional text. effect would be consistent with the
reaching different conclusions about states couldn’t impose their own There is no indication that the states doctrine that judges should avoid de-
also barred from state office and what is and isn’t an insurrection in the qualifications on members of Con- may interpret these for themselves. ciding constitutional issues unneces-
from “any office, civil or military, un- context of a national election. gress. Justice John Paul Stevens’s Stevens wrote that while states can sarily. Was the riot of Jan. 6, 2021, an
der the United States.” But “any of- There is ample evidence that the majority opinion discussed at length adopt “election procedures” (his em- “insurrection”? If so, what does it
fice” refers to appointive posts such 14th Amendment’s drafters paid great how elections to the national legisla- phasis) that govern access to the bal- mean to have “engaged” in it? Does
as judges, generals and cabinet secre- attention to federalism concerns. ture involved the people of the U.S. lot—such as signature requirements disqualifying someone from office re-
taries, and “officers of the United This is particularly true regarding the rather than citizens of each state, re- for independent candidates or “sore quire an act of Congress or a criminal
States” are appointed, not elected. amendment’s first two sections, quiring that qualifications be nation- loser” provisions that bar a third- conviction? These questions may be
This raises an obvious question: which dramatically reshaped the rela- ally uniform. This logic is even more party run by a former candidate for pertinent in future cases, but not in
Why would the authors of the 14th tionship between U.S. citizens and compelling when it comes to the a major-party nomination—they Trump v. Anderson.
Amendment exclude the presidency? the federal and state governments by president, who is elected by the en- can’t set or revise qualifications for
For two compelling and practical rea- requiring states to respect federal tire nation. As Alexander Hamilton federal office. Messrs. Rivkin and Casey practice
sons, which reinforce Section 3’s constitutional rights. As legal scholar wrote in Federalist No. 68, the Fram- Some of Mr. Trump’s opponents appellate and constitutional law in
plain meaning. Kurt T. Lash recounted in “Federal- ers made the “appointment of the have pointed hopefully to Hassan v. Washington. They served at the Jus-
First, by the time the amendment ism and the Original Fourteenth president” depend “in the first in- Colorado, a 2012 decision of the 10th tice Department and the White House
was ratified in 1868, the states had Amendment,” a 2019 article, radical stance to an immediate act of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in which Counsel’s Office in the Reagan and
largely adopted a system whereby Republicans, who favored stronger people of America, to be exerted in then-Judge Neil Gorsuch upheld the George H.W. Bush administrations.
M
ake no mistake: A Russian it’s also a result of the West’s fiscal soon face serious shortages in arms the U.S. and others, Germany stands Third, we don’t see ourselves at
victory in Ukraine would not and humanitarian support and the and ammunition. Some financial ready to provide Kyiv with long-term war with Russia and don’t seek con-
only be the end of Ukraine as delivery of weapons and ammunition commitments have already run out, security commitments and arrange- frontation with Russia. We will resist
a free, democratic and independent to Ukraine. and others need to be extended. The ments so that Ukraine can deter and any attempt to drag the North Atlan-
state, it would also dramatically The European Union and its mem- long-term consequences and costs of defend itself against future Russian tic Treaty Organization into Russia’s
change the face of Europe. It would ber states have been Ukraine’s larg- failing to stop Mr. Putin’s aggression attacks. As a highly industrialized war of aggression against Ukraine.
deal a severe blow to the liberal est financial supporter, having con- would dwarf any of the investments country and prospective EU member, Fourth, the collective deterrence
world order. Russia’s brutal attempt tributed more than $91 billion since that we are making now. Ukraine will be able to support a and defense of NATO must be credi-
to steal territory by force could serve the beginning of the war, followed by well-equipped modern army if it can ble. Since I took office, Germany has
as a blueprint for other authoritarian the U.S. and Germany. Germany’s mil- repel Russia’s aggression. That pros- massively ramped up its defense
leaders around the globe. More coun- itary support is second only to Amer- The West must sustain pect increases the security of us all. spending to 2% of its gross domestic
tries would run the risk of falling ica’s. Since the war began, my gov- Second, we must continue to product. We launched the European
prey to a nearby predator. ernment has earmarked, procured support for Kyiv, keep move in a strategic lockstep on both Sky Shield Initiative to boost Euro-
This possibility is why the U.S. and delivered military equipment, in- NATO solid, and spurn sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Putin is try- pean air-defense capabilities and will
and Europe support Ukraine’s fight cluding tanks, artillery and high- ing to undermine our unity and turn base a full German combat brigade in
for freedom. President Biden’s lead- value air-defense systems, worth Putin’s effort to divide us. our citizens against supporting Lithuania, on NATO’s eastern flank.
ership has been critical to ensure more than $30 billion. This has come Ukraine. Others around the world are The sooner Mr. Putin understands
that Vladimir Putin’s aggression is on top of Germany’s nonmilitary sup- watching closely to see whether that we are in this for the long haul,
met with a united and successful re- port, including welcoming over one So, what needs to be done? these divisions can be exploited and the sooner the war in Ukraine will
sponse. So far, Mr. Putin hasn’t million Ukrainian refugees, and our First, we must sustain our sup- whether disinformation campaigns end. The only way that we can con-
achieved any of his war goals. He share of the EU’s support. port. On Feb. 1, the European Council can take hold. We must prove them tribute to a lasting peace is by keep-
thought that he could take the Ukrai- Our message is clear: We have to decided to commit an additional $54 wrong by convincing citizens on ing up our support, unity and re-
nian capital, Kyiv, within two weeks. do our utmost to prevent Russia billion in fiscal aid to Ukraine over both sides of the Atlantic that a Rus- solve. We must stand with Ukraine
After two years, he still is far from from winning. If we don’t, we might the coming four years. This must be sian victory would make the world a for as long as it takes.
accomplishing this, and Ukraine is soon wake up in a world even more complemented by additional military far more dangerous place. It would
bravely withstanding the Russian on- unstable, threatening and unpredict- assistance, and I have called on my also strain our budgets while putting Mr. Scholz is Germany’s chancellor.
P
resident Biden has created a di- disputes or “maladministration” con- peachment. The Treasury and State That isn’t true. The courts have sig- ing ridiculous Biden administration
saster at our southern border. stitute grounds for impeachment. They departments’ nonenforcement of naled that through the legislative priorities and regulations until he
In his first 100 days in office, argue instead that Mr. Mayorkas’s un- sanctions against Iran has embold- process, Congress can authorize changes his border policies.
Mr. Biden halted border-wall con- derenforcement goes beyond malad- ened a regime that is killing Ameri- states to sue. The second article of impeach-
struction, ended President Trump’s ministration, even though it doesn’t cans in the Middle East. The defense ment accuses Mr. Mayorkas of failing
successful Remain in Mexico policy, reach the level of a criminal offense. secretary is clearly violating the Hyde to comply with multiple subpoenas
and implemented a catch-and-release Their primary evidence is a 2021 Amendment by allowing defense Ousting a secretary for and obstructing certain oversight ef-
regime. Homeland Security Secretary memo signed by Mr. Mayorkas order- travel funds to be used to facilitate forts, actions that are shameful but
Alejandro Mayorkas is faithfully im- ing immigration officials to consider abortions. These decisions—however ‘maladministration’ would not outside the norm for cabinet sec-
plementing the president’s ruinous more than illegal aliens’ criminal his- reprehensible—aren’t high crimes or have opened Pandora’s retaries. House Democrats impeached
policies, which are contributing to tory when determining which ones misdemeanors but would be im- Mr. Trump for the same actions. Un-
immense human suffering, placing a should be detained and removed. peachable under the new standard. box. The problem is Biden. like Democrats’ rushed process
massive financial burden on states They cite district and circuit court Perhaps this is why we have never against Mr. Trump, we should take
and cities, and threatening our na- decisions that the order contained in impeached a cabinet secretary except Mr. Mayorkas to court to produce any
tional security. His performance has this memo was against the law, even for criminal behavior. The person The articles of impeachment even information he is withholding and
been a disgrace. though the Supreme Court reversed chiefly responsible for the chaos and tacitly admit there are other options hold him in criminal contempt of
But I disagree with my Republican those rulings in U.S. v. Texas (2023). devastation that has unfolded at the available to Congress. The first arti- Congress if he further stonewalls le-
colleagues who voted on Tuesday to They cite Justice Samuel Alito’s dis- border is Mr. Biden, not Mr. Mayor- cle quotes Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s gitimate oversight. If he continues to
impeach Mr. Mayorkas. Impeachment sent in that case to claim Mr. Mayor- kas. If Mr. Mayorkas were removed, majority opinion, which says there obstruct, we should reconsider im-
not only would fail to resolve Mr. Bi- kas broke the law. his replacement would also imple- are political checks on the executive. peachment under a more tailored
den’s border crisis but would also set But overturned and dissenting de- ment Mr. Biden’s disastrous border Justice Kavanaugh conspicuously version of the second article.
a dangerous new precedent that cisions have no legal force. Further, policies. If anything, impeaching Mr. doesn’t list impeachment. Instead, he In 2019 and 2021, then-Speaker
would be used against future Repub- the majority in Texas affirms the Mayorkas would absolve Mr. Biden of outlines other tools Congress has—a Nancy Pelosi and congressional Demo-
lican administrations. longstanding precedent that the pres- blame for his own policies. list the impeachment articles elide crats used impeachment as a weapon
The first article of impeachment ident and homeland security secre- Proponents argue that impeach- when quoting the opinion. Justice against Mr. Trump, though they
lays out in grueling detail Mr. Mayor- tary have great discretion in enforc- ment is the only option Congress has Kavanaugh’s list includes oversight, couldn’t produce evidence he had
kas’s manifest incompetence. But in- ing border laws. And if we are to left to hold the Biden administration appropriations, lawmaking, Senate committed a crime. It was a rushed,
competence doesn’t rise to the level of make underenforcement of the law, accountable after U.S. v. Texas estab- confirmations and the biggest politi- hyperpartisan process that lowered
high crimes or misdemeanors. Propo- even egregious underenforcement, lished that states don’t have standing cal check of all: elections. Congress the bar for what constitutes an im-
peachable offense. Republicans rightly
railed against this effort and the dan-
WORLD NEWS
Tunnels Conceal
Hostages, House
Militant Leaders
BY DOV LIEBER out carcasses of buildings.
In the middle of a devas-
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza tated residential neighbor-
Strip—Beneath the rubble of a hood, inside the hefty cement
bombed-out residential neigh- foundations of a destroyed
borhood in Khan Younis lies a house, was a narrow-arch
sprawling, subterranean com- structure—the gateway to an
plex built to shelter senior underground compound. The
Hamas leaders and, for a time, entire block had to be laid to
used to hold Israeli hostages rubble to get to it, said Brig.
grabbed by the militant group, Gen. Dan Goldfus, who com-
Israeli officers said. mands Israel’s 98th Paratroop-
An access shaft hidden in an ers Division and is leading Is-
IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS
kitchen scissors to cut it. Israeli forces have carried means there is no comprehen- a British obstetrician who re-
There were more than out operations in and around sive data on the impact the cently spent two weeks at Al
50,000 pregnant women in hospitals as part of their war monthslong war has had on Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza,
Gaza when the war began on against Hamas. Israel blames stillbirths and maternal and who knows a senior nurse re-
Oct. 7, according to United Na- Hamas for embedding itself in neonatal mortality rates. The lated to the victims. “The baby
tions estimates. Gaza has one of the facilities, and says it does expectation is that they have hadn’t even been registered as
the region’s highest birthrates. what it can to limit civilian gone up significantly, health- born,” she said. “There is
Some 180 women in the en- suffering in Gaza. care workers and the U.N. say. something deeply wrong about
clave give birth each day on av- The northern part of the Lack of pre- and postnatal having a death certificate be-
erage, many now with little or enclave is largely cut off from care means women and their fore a birth certificate.” Underground living quarters were used by Hamas militants.
WORLDWATCH
PAKISTAN ment official. CONGO of civilian population will be CHINA Street Journal poll of econo-
Shortly after, another dealt with at their source.” mists had tipped a 0.6% decline
Blasts Kill at Least bombing killed at least 12 peo-
Fears Rise of Rebel The group rose to promi-
Prices Decline for the first month of the year.
30 Before Election ple at the Jamiat Ulema Islam Takeover of City nence a decade ago by seiz- On Weak Demand The reading was the low-
Bombs ripped through two party office in Qilla Saifullah, One of eastern Congo’s ing Goma, a base for Congo- China’s consumer-price in- est since September 2009,
separate political offices in about 80 miles away, said a most active rebel groups is at- lese forces and aid workers. dex posted its biggest annual when CPI fell 0.8% from a
southwestern Pakistan’s Bal- spokesman for the provincial tacking a community consid- The M23 detonated blasts decline in over a decade, un- year earlier.
ochistan province Wednes- government. ered the last line of defense in North Kivu’s Sake city 16 derlining continued weakness On a monthly basis, China’s
day, killing at least 30 people, The Islamic State group’s before the region’s largest city miles from Goma, residents in domestic demand as the CPI increased 0.3% in January,
officials said, a day before branch in Pakistan claimed of Goma, fleeing residents said as they hurried from fight- economy struggles to regain accelerating from the 0.1% in-
parliamentary elections. the second attack. He said the said Wednesday, even as the ing between the rebels and se- momentum. crease seen in December.
At least 18 people were elections wouldn’t be delayed. rebels claimed they had no in- curity forces. “Bombs are being The consumer-price index Meanwhile, the country’s
killed in the first attack at in- The attacks, which left tention to seize it again. dropped in the city,” said resi- fell 0.8% in January from a year producer-price index dropped
dependent candidate Asfan- more than two dozen people The M23 rebels, however, dent, Alain Bauma. “We are earlier, accelerating from the 2.5% in January from a year
dyar Khan’s election office in wounded, drew condemnation warned in a statement that fleeing but we don’t know 0.3% drop seen in December, earlier, compared with Decem-
the Pashin district, said Ju- from nearly all political parties. “attacks targeting our forces where we are going to live.” the National Bureau of Statis- ber’s 2.7% fall.
madad Mandokhel, a govern- —Associated Press and/or indiscriminate shelling —Associated Press tics said Thursday. A Wall —Grace Zhu
P2JW039000-4-B00100-1--------XA
INSIDE The NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and Lions was shown on Fox, part of the new streaming venture.
Sports
today’s edition. Articles on regional page inserts aren’t cited in these indexes.
What is in the new ESPN
sports-streaming
A G Nordstrom..................................B12 service ESPN2
Streaming
Alibaba............................................B4 General Motors........................B3 Nvidia.......................................B1,B11 ESPNU
Alphabet.......................................B11 H P
ESPNNews
Amazon.com..............................B11 Palantir Technologies.........A2 Disney
To Change
Humana...........................................B1
Apple.........................................B1,B11 ESPN+
I R
B ABC
Intermountain Health........B6 Redrow............................................B6
Barratt Developments.......B6
BP........................................................B3 K S SEC Network
BYD.....................................................B3 Kohl’s...............................................B12 Shell...................................................B3 Continued from page B1 ACC Network
ByteDance....................................B4 Kuaishou Technology.........B4 Snap.......................................B11,B12 cable networks; and Warner’s
C L Synchrony Financial..........B12 TNT, TBS and truTV. FOX
Caesars Entertainment.....B5 T These networks have con-
LG Chem........................................B3 FOX Sports 1
Carlyle............................................B10 Tesla..................................................B3
tracts for some of the highest-
Li Auto.............................................B3 Fox
Guidance
$350 billion 30%
ciation were kept in the dark streaming service,” said NFL analysts on FactSet. CVS said
about the new sports stream- spokesman Alex Reithmiller. earnings were helped by its
ing service being launched by The NBA is in negotiations 300 20 S&P 500 pharmacy business, driven by
Walt Disney, Fox and Warner
Bros. Discovery, people famil-
iar with the matter said.
on new rights deals with War-
ner Bros. Discovery and Dis-
ney’s ESPN.
Over Costs 250
10
vaccinations, higher prescrip-
tion volume and lower ex-
penses, among other things.
The companies involved in “While we look forward to 200 CVS said it has begun dis-
the effort are media partners learning more about this new Continued from page B1 0 cussions with pharmacy-bene-
of both leagues. Pro basketball venture, we’re encouraged by the new members were ex- 150 fit managers about its planned
and football programming will the opportunity to make pre- pected to have a neutral effect new pharmacy payment
be among the significant driv- mier sports content more ac- on earnings. At the end of -10 model, and has received posi-
100 CVS Health
ers of the new service. cessible,” an NBA spokes- 2023, CVS had 3.46 million tive feedback so far.
An effort to notify the woman said. Medicare Advantage members. 50 -20 The insurance unit’s medi-
leagues wasn’t made until Given the high financial CVS said that it believes cal loss ratio, or the share of
Tuesday before a planned an- stakes—networks pay billions that Medicare Advantage rates premiums spent on medical
nouncement. Many learned of of dollars a year for the most proposed for 2025 by the fed- 0 -30 expenses, was 88.5% in the
it when The Wall Street Jour- valuable sports rights—the re- eral Medicare agency aren’t 2015 ’20 ’23 March 2023 '24 fourth quarter. Analysts had
nal broke the news. lationships between the two adequate, and that it will push Sources: S&P Capital IQ, the company (revenue); FactSet (performance) expected 88.2%, according to
Silence was maintained to sides are delicate. Some for a higher final result. The FactSet.
keep the plans from leaking leagues often want to be asked company said it would aim for that year. lion, down from $2.3 billion a Revenue for the fourth
during the months the compa- to give their blessing on any higher margins on its Medi- For the fourth quarter, CVS year ago. quarter of 2023 was $93.8 bil-
nies were settling the details, shift in business strategy. care business in its bids for reported net income of $2 bil- On an adjusted basis, earn- lion, up from $83.8 billion.
Uber Posts Uber’s quarterly operating profit Share performance, past year ADVERTISEMENT
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ANNOUNCEMENTS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
BUSINESS NEWS
wind energy development, has take time,” they said. nies made in 2022 for the long-
recently hit major headwinds as The measures were outlined term supply of cathode materi-
it pushed aggressively to ex- alongside the company’s earn- als.
pand into new markets, partic- ings. It reported fourth-quarter GM didn’t immediately re-
ularly in a push in the U.S. earnings before interest, taxes, spond to a request for com-
After betting big on offshore depreciation and amortization ment.
wind development on the U.S. excluding new partnerships— The Detroit automaker has
East Coast, it has pared back the company’s preferred met- been working to ramp up its
dramatically, and seen its stock- Orsted has said it would ditch two big wind projects off the coast of New Jersey due to costs. ric—of DKK8.62 billion com- budding EV business in recent
market valuation—at one point pared with DKK6.62 billion a years. In 2021, it said it planned
eclipsing that of some of its energy company at the time of another project to become home, including Norway, Spain, year earlier, beating a FactSet to phase out nearly all gasoline-
more traditional oil and natural booked a 26.8 billion Danish sole owner, subject to securing and Portugal, deprioritizing de- consensus of DKK6.08 billion. and diesel-powered vehicles by
gas peers—crater. kroner, equivalent to $3.86 bil- higher tariffs for its output. velopment activities in Japan, The company sees 2024 2035, making it among the first
It has struggled with supply- lion, impairment charge and Orsted said Wednesday that and planning for leaner devel- Ebitda excluding new partner- automakers to vow a full switch
chain bottlenecks in the U.S., has also taken a DKK9.6 billion it will now implement further opment costs for projects, in- ship agreements and provisions to electric.
higher interest rates and trou- provision in 2023. measures to bolster its balance cluding its floating offshore of between DKK23 billion and Its EV business remains un-
ble getting tax credits there. As it continues to shuffle its sheet and support long-term wind projects. DKK26 billion, before rising to profitable, although last week it
Late last year, it said it would portfolio, Orsted last month growth. It said it will also pause divi- between DKK39 billion and said that it would trim losses
pull out of two high-profile canceled a deal to supply power To reduce development costs dends for the financial years DKK43 billion in 2030. on EVs this year after manufac-
wind projects off the coast of from another U.S. offshore proj- and create further strategic 2023-25 and aims to reinstate Gross investments in 2024 turing issues tripped up launch
New Jersey due to spiraling ect due to unfavorable terms market focus, it is exiting sev- dividends from the financial are seen at DKK48 billion to plans for several models last
costs. The Danish renewable- and said it would purchase 50% eral offshore markets closer to year 2026. DKK52 billion. year.
Wednesday.
The ministry said it would
optimize credit support by
encouraging banks to support
EV supply-chain companies
domestically and overseas.
Banks will also be encouraged BYD recently overtook Tesla in electric-vehicle sales.
to expand the scale of cross-
border settlements in yuan. is expanding showrooms trade potential, consumption
The moves are part of Bei- across Europe as it targets structure, and country risks,
jing’s efforts to strengthen its more sales there this year. the ministry said.
EV and automobile industry Industry organizations are Chinese electric-vehicle
market share by increasing also encouraged to shares were mixed in trading
exports of its EV and hybrid strengthen research on over- on Wednesday, after an over-
vehicles. China’s BYD, the seas markets and guide new night rebound in the U.S.
Warren Buffett-backed com- energy vehicles and their American depositary receipts
pany, had recently surpassed supply chain companies to of Li Auto retreated 2% while
Tesla to become the world’s optimize international coop- Xpeng closed down 1% in
largest EV maker by sales. It eration based on market size, Hong Kong.
P2JW039000-0-B00400-165DF63078D
TECHNOLOGY WSJ.com/Tech
Meta Payout
Worries
Everyone Investors
should be Continued from page B1
500 is at around 20.
DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
welcome at
Meta’s gains will be much
more subdued. The average
12-month price target is
$502.90, or 7.1% higher than
the table.
Wednesday’s closing price of
$469.59, according to fore-
casts compiled by FactSet.
Last year, Meta shares
nearly tripled, while the S&P Some see the dividend as another part of ‘Year of Efficiency.’
We’re on a mission to provide a billion meals by 500 climbed 24%.
2030. Because over 30 million Americans don’t “One of the reasons they according to a Dow Jones “The historical view of tech
know where their next meal is coming from. It could have declared a dividend is Market Data analysis of the stocks was once you pay a
that they may be foreseeing a current shares outstanding. dividend, it becomes a bad
be anyone, even your neighbors. Let’s break the significant deceleration in Apple, which paid its first thing. It signals less growth,”
cycle of hunger, together. top-line growth,” said Ali dividend in 1987, offers one said Dan Ives, analyst at Wed-
Mogharabi, senior equity ana- with the yearly payout of 96 bush Securities. “But as we’ve
lyst at Morningstar. cents a share. Microsoft began seen from Microsoft, Apple
Short interest in Meta dividends in 2003,and gives and others, it’s about striking
since right before the com- shareholders about $3 a share a balance.”
pany’s earnings results last a year. Nvidia paid its first While Meta’s dividend is
week has risen $1.67 billion, dividend in 2013, with the modest for now, Ives said
or 16%, according to Ihor Du- current annual rate equal to there is potential for it to
saniwsky, managing director 16 cents a share. Over the past grow. As of the fourth quarter,
of predictive analytics at S3 decade, Apple and Microsoft the company had $41.86 bil-
Partners. Short sellers borrow have paid about $135 billion lion in cash on its balance
shares and sell them with the and $144 billion in dividends, sheet.
hope of profiting by buying respectively. Nvidia has paid —Charley Grant contributed
the stock back at a lower out about $3.3 billion. to this article.
price later. Roughly 1.19% of
Meta’s publicly available
shares are currently sold Listen to a Podcast: The Day
short. The Music Died on TikTok
Meta has proved its doubt-
ers wrong before. In 2022, the
company’s shares sank after it
spent exorbitant sums on the
metaverse and gave a dim
outlook for its advertising
business. To shore up investor
confidence, Chief Executive
Mark Zuckerberg subse-
quently embarked on steep
cost cutting that he dubbed
the “Year of Efficiency.” Some
MAIRO CINQUETTI/SOPA IMAGES/ZUMA PRESS
TECHNOLOGY WSJ.com/Tech
BUSINESS NEWS
MARKETS DIGEST
EQUITIES
Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index Nasdaq Composite Index
Last Year ago Last Year ago Last Year ago
38677.36 s 156.00, or 0.40% Trailing P/E ratio 25.72 22.61 4995.06 s 40.83, or 0.82% Trailing P/E ratio * 22.85 18.65 15756.64 s 147.65, or 0.95% Trailing P/E ratio *† 30.87 24.34
High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate * 18.53 17.92 High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate * 22.15 18.52 High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate *† 29.65 24.92
trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield 1.90 2.03 trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield * 1.49 1.65 trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield *† 0.88 0.88
All-time high 38677.36, 02/07/24 All-time high 4995.06, 02/07/24 All-time high: 16057.44, 11/19/21
Close Open
t
COMMODITIES wsj.com/market-data/commodities
$692M
ported a higher profit margin s to c k h o l d e r s its peers, in fundraising target for 2024 of The Boston-based firm,
on fees, and its profit that can and the inves- part by mod- $40 billion. Carlyle raised $16.9 which advises institutional in-
MARKETS
Commission, is being replaced country’s top government Chinese stocks rose on Yi was chairman of the Indus-
by Wu Qing, deputy party sec- body, last month called for Wednesday before Yi’s re- trial & Commercial Bank of
retary of Shanghai—one of the more to be done to stabilize moval was announced. The China, the biggest bank in the
city’s highest-ranking offi- the stock market and boost CSI 300 closed up 1%, while world. After he had left the
cials—according to a state confidence, and the CSRC has the Shanghai Composite Index CSRC, Liu was charged with
news agency. since issued several state- ended the day 1.4% higher. corruption.
The move came after in- ments attempting to calm in- But the recent jumps ha- Wu, the next CSRC head,
creasing attempts by regulators Yi Huiman became head of the CSRC in 2019. vestors’ nerves. ven’t made up for last month’s has years of experience work-
and government officials to end Yi chaired a meeting of the slide in Chinese stocks. The ing at the regulator, as well as
China’s prolonged stock-market angry individual investors The decision to replace Yi CSRC on Sunday, during which country’s benchmark CSI 300 at the Shanghai Stock Ex-
decline, which has badly flooded social-media posts has echoes of the ouster of an- the regulator vowed to protect index is down 2.5% this year, change.
knocked confidence among in- from the embassies of the U.S., other former CSRC head eight the stability of the capital despite rising for three days
dividual investors in the coun- India, and Japan in China and years ago. Xiao Gang oversaw market, according to official in a row. It is now in its fourth Heard on the Street: Bailout
try. Last weekend, thousands of aired their frustrations. the regulator during a sharp statements. year of decline. The CSI 300 won’t help China stocks....B12
A DV E RT I SE ME N T
Member Voices
The Wall Street Journal CMO Network connects the decision-makers behind the world’s most influential
brands to discuss what — and who — is driving today’s trends and chart the path forward.
What priorities rise to the top What does authentic marketing company does it differently —
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during times like this? mistake you think brands make stake in the ground, aim up and
during times of instability? to the right, and continuously
Value creation is a top priority that measure progress.
never goes out of vogue. It can One common mistake brands make
manifest in different forms depending is veering away from authenticity, Tell us about a milestone that
on the stakeholder group and market giving in to external pressures and shaped your career path.
segment you target. At Akamai, we losing sight of their company’s
focus on safeguarding our brand, ethos. Authentic marketing is For me, it’s less about a specific
driving growth and leveraging next- about speaking in one’s genuine milestone and more about my
generation technologies like AI to voice. At Akamai, authenticity is ongoing commitment to being
Kim Salem-Jackson anticipate and better serve customer not just a branding exercise; it’s a uncomfortable until you are
needs. This focus enables us to commitment to staying true to our comfortable. Throughout my
EVP and navigate and drive value through brand identity while reflecting the career, I made a habit of saying yes
Chief Marketing Officer, unpredictable times. essence of our company’s DNA. It’s to opportunities for which I wasn’t
Akamai Technologies about acculturation and bringing necessarily qualified. Through
In the past two years, what’s the in inclusive perspectives that align these experiences, I encountered
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about marketing through each instance, I learned and grew.
economic uncertainty? What are the biggest challenges My career milestones were defined
around ROI, and what do you by a continuum of experiences that
To prepare for the unknown, CMOs consider the most effective have shaped my journey and will
should lean into their company’s ways of measuring it? continue to do so in the years
Membership is by invitation: core strengths. Valuing customers, to come.
embracing our purpose and delivering ROI is the lifeblood of marketing.
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world-class experiences remain A strong ROI model starts with a What are you most proud
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membervoicesakamaitechnologies make life better for billions of people, to macroeconomic factors, corporate strategy, technology or
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Upholding our commitment to demands. Recognize that even I am humbled every day to work
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P2JW039000-0-B01200-1--------XA
of mass production expects an ad- Mixed messaging reflects their ing an ugly housing downturn. But
justed operating profit of $11 bil- ambivalence. On Ford’s earnings there are crucial differences.
lion this year. call Tuesday, Chief Executive Jim The stock market then was a big
Before the report, released after Farley stressed he would only source of instability: Leveraged bets
hours, analysts expected $9.6 bil- launch next-generation EVs that on stocks skyrocketed in early 2015
lion, according to FactSet. Last will be profitable within a year, as individual investors, and listed
year, Ford made $10.4 billion. meaning some products are being companies, rushed into the market.
The stock was up nearly 6% on pushed back. The CSI 300 more than doubled in
Wednesday. A Ford Mustang Mach-E at an auto show in Washington, D.C., in January. But Ford is planning to devote less than a year before peaking in
Investors had been worried 40% of its capital expenditures to June 2015. Outstanding margin
about falling vehicle prices as pan- introduced by Ford last year puts Meanwhile, EVs lost $4.7 billion the technology in 2024—same as loans more than quintupled to 2.3
demic shortages ease, higher labor eye-opening numbers on some of last year and the company sees last year. And Farley still has trillion yuan. When the bubble de-
costs after the United Auto Work- the parts moving under the hood. the losses deepening to between sights on the EV growth opportu- flated, that risked creating a vicious
ers strike and, above all, the con- Ford’s “Pro” business, which $5 billion and $5.5 billion this nity. cycle as investors sold stocks—or
tinuing challenge of making EVs comprises its sales to companies, year. “The ultimate competition is other assets—to repay debts.
profitable. is the engine behind Ford’s results. To put this another way, if Ford going to be the affordable Tesla These days, outstanding margin
Yet Ford noted tailwinds that It made $7.2 billion of operating weren’t selling its Mustang Mach- and the Chinese OEMs,” he said. loans are nearly 40% below their
would tip the scale toward profit last year, and the company E and F-150 Lightning models and A messy transition is keeping a peak and have been drifting lower.
growth: resilient U.S. sales, the ab- expects that to rise to at least $8 investing in a new generation of lid on Ford and GM shares, which Rather than a deflating margin bub-
sence of last year’s strike costs, billion in 2024. products to replace them, its ad- trade at less than seven and five ble threatening financial stability,
the impact of last year’s cost-cut- The supersize Super Duty, justed operating profit would be times earnings respectively. the market collapse this time is an-
ting program and a full year of which is mainly a professional 50% higher. Delaying investments helps chored in reality. It reflects worries
profit from the new Super Duty F- product, is a key reason. It is also Ford and GM are in a similarly profit, but it also postpones the about a structural growth slow-
Series truck. easier to sell software to busi- confusing strategic position. The day when investors can stop wor- down, the implosion of the real-es-
GM said something similar last nesses than consumers, who can strength of their core businesses rying about their future. tate market and policy uncertainty.
week. But the new business split get a lot for free. and the limited scope of Tesla’s —Stephen Wilmot The money that would be
needed to shock the market back to
life would be better put to work in
the real-estate sector. Property in-
Snap Doesn’t Get Its Meta Moment vestment dropped nearly 10% year
on year in 2023 while home sales
by value fell 6%. Sales from the
country’s top 100 largest develop-
ers fell 34% in January from a year
It seems a rising tide doesn’t Share-price and index performance, Snap’s quarterly revenue, midpoint—the fastest pace it has earlier, making it the worst month
lift all boats equally—especially past six months change from a year earlier* seen in nearly two years. since at least July 2020, according
when they are very different. 80%
The company continues to cut to China Real Estate Information.
125%
Meta and Snap operate social- costs aggressively, having unveiled Ensuring the timely delivery of
network platforms that saw their plans Monday to lay off 10% of its unbuilt apartments that households
Meta 100
growth rates hit hard in 2022 by a 60 workforce after cutting its head bought is the key to reviving con-
Nasdaq Composite
variety of factors, including a count by about 18% over the past 18 sumer confidence. That would prob-
Snap
slowdown in spending by advertis- 75 months. Snap’s revenue per em- ably mean directly recapitalizing
ers and changes made by Apple to 40 ployee jumped 24% over that time. some larger, healthier property de-
its mobile operating system. Those But the disappointing report af- velopers—giving them the where-
50
changes made it harder to track ter Meta’s blowout is yet another withal to complete the languishing
user behavior to better target ads. 20 reminder that not all social net- projects of their peers, and giving
But the two have been showing 25 works are created equal. Meta’s banks and households the confi-
signs of recovery of late, which heft as the second-largest digital dence to trust them with their cash.
helped make their stocks among the 0 0 ad platform in the U.S. next to The sums involved would be
hottest over the past few months. Google gives it a scale that is hard large: A November note from re-
Meta’s surge put the Facebook par- for advertisers to resist, even with search firm Gavekal Dragonomics
–20 –25
ent back into the Trillion Dollar the platform’s controversies con- estimated that even in 2022, deliver-
Club, while Snap’s three-month gain Sept. 2023 Jan. ’24 2020 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 cerning misinformation, privacy ing all those apartments would have
of 62% before its fourth-quarter re- Sources: FactSet (performance); the company (revenue) *First quarter of 2024 is midpoint of company’s projection and user safety. required a backstop of around one
sults Tuesday afternoon exceeded That scale allows Meta to have trillion yuan. But the idea that
that of every stock on the S&P 500 $1.36 billion—more than 1% short proving business is of its industry. its own networking backbone, households will have the confidence
save for one, according to FactSet. of analysts’ targets. The com- Snap has some bright spots. while Snap has to rely on cloud- to spend and invest while the value
The similarities end there. Meta pany’s revenue projection for the User growth is strong; the com- service providers Google and Ama- and safety of their main asset re-
last week reported that ad reve- current quarter also under- pany added eight million average zon to power its services. Snap mains so murky is questionable at
nue grew 24% year over year to whelmed. Snap’s shares plunged daily active users during the paid 84 cents per daily active user best: The stock market and floor-
$38.7 billion in the fourth quarter, nearly 35% on Wednesday. fourth quarter and projected six in infrastructure costs in the space sales have moved down more
beating Wall Street’s lofty expec- The Snapchat parent’s stock has million more during the first quar- fourth quarter, up 47% from a year or less in tandem since mid-2021.
tations and giving the stock a 20% sold off after its past six quarterly ter—both ahead of analysts’ esti- earlier. The fact that Snapchat Throwing billions into the stock
boost the following trading ses- reports, with five of those being mates. And Snap’s slightly disap- isn’t Facebook is a major appeal market may arrest its decline, at
sion. Snap said Tuesday that reve- double-digit percentage declines. pointing revenue forecast for the for its users. It is something least for a while. But that would
nue for the same period grew less The results raise questions about first quarter projects year-over- Snap’s investors need to keep in be treating the symptoms, not the
than 5% year over year to about just how representative Meta’s im- year growth of nearly 13% at the mind. —Dan Gallagher disease. —Jacky Wong