View in browser   PRESENTED BY GOOGLE   Axios AM By Mike Allen · Nov 29, 2023 Happy Wednesday! Smart Brevity™ count: 1,660 words ... 6½ mins. Edited by Emma Loop and Bryan McBournie.     1 big thing: Arab American voters could sink Biden Women gather to pray at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., on Oct. 31. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Arab American and Muslim American anger over President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war could endanger his re-election in the majority of 2024 swing states, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.  Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Virginia all have notable pockets of these populations. There aren't reliable statistics on how many are registered voters — but even tiny shifts could be decisive in any of these super-tight states Biden won in 2020. Why it matters: It's another case of Biden facing possible defections from heavily Democratic groups that in 2020 helped him take down Donald Trump, Biden's likely opponent again next year. Like with young voters, Biden faces the prospect of having to devote time to saving part of his base in addition to courting swing voters. The Arab American Institute estimates from its own polling that about 59% of Arab American voters supported Biden in 2020, but says its polling indicates that percentage has dropped dramatically in recent weeks. "Unless Biden turns into Jesus Christ and brings some Palestinians back from the dead, we're not supporting him," Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, the largest and oldest Arab American newspaper in the U.S., based in Dearborn, Mich., told Axios. 🧮 By the numbers: An Axios review of 2020 results in these crucial states shows that if even a sliver of the Arab American and Muslim American vote stay home or defect to Republicans, Biden could be in a hole: In Michigan, Biden won in 2020 by 154,000 votes. Census estimates put the state's Arab American population at least 278,000. Biden won Arizona by 10,500 votes. The Arab American population in the Grand Canyon State is estimated to be at least 55,000. Biden took Georgia by 11,800 votes. The Arab American population there is at least 57,000. What's happening: Arab Americans criticize Biden for his strong support of Israel since Hamas' terrorist attack. Many say he hasn't shown enough sensitivity to the deaths of innocent Palestinians. State of play: The angst comes even after the Biden administration released a plan to combat Islamophobia, and after Biden appointed several Arab Americans to his staff. As the fighting escalated in Gaza, White House senior staff hosted a listening session with Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian staff members, a senior White House official told Axios. Share this story.          2. 🦾 Axios AI+ summit: Exotic tech as everyday tool Axios' Ashley Gold interviews Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Washington yesterday. Photo: Eric Lee/Axios Speakers at Axios' AI+ Summit in D.C. gave a range of prescriptions for tipping AI's looming social impact in a positive direction, Axios managing editor Scott Rosenberg writes:  Both Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, said legislators' priority should be preventing AI from disrupting elections. "If there's one thing we better get done soon, I think it's that," Klobuchar said. Eric Schmidt, Google's former CEO, urged the creation of an international organization of experts — like the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — to feed global leaders AI advice. Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said regulators should use existing and new laws to ensure that the financial fruits of AI are widely distributed rather than concentrated. Tom Graham, CEO of Metaphysic, said U.S. law should recognize individuals' right to own their AI likenesses: We have the right to control our physical bodies and should have a similar interest in our digital representations, he argued. AI expert Rumman Chowdhury said the ethical dimension is so important because if people end up distrusting AI, they won't adopt it. Watch the video ... More coverage.         3. 🇨🇳 Axios investigates: China tests U.S. in Pacific Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Dave Lawler/Axios, Noel Celis/AFP, Mark Schiefelbein/Pool, Pete McKenzie/The Washington Post via Getty Images   This story by Axios' Dave Lawler is part of a series supported by the Pulitzer Center. POHNPEI, Federated States of Micronesia — Beijing is persistently courting one of America's closest partners in the Pacific — giving Micronesia the benefit of two superpower benefactors, but prompting fears among local leaders that the island nation could be caught in a superpower brawl. Why it matters: As U.S.-China competition grows and tensions intensify over Taiwan, China is pulling new partners into its Pacific orbit. Beijing's focus on a country with deep ties to the U.S. comes as Washington urgently seeks to upgrade its military footprint in the region and remain the preeminent power. The U.S. controls Micronesia's vast expanse of ocean, and funds much of the country's budget. Micronesians attend U.S.-built schools, use U.S. dollars and serve in the U.S. military at a higher rate than any U.S. state. But allegations earlier this year by then-President David Panuelo that the Chinese government was engaging in "political warfare" put the unlikeliest of countries in the international spotlight and posed deeper questions about the durability of U.S. power in the Pacific. 🇫🇲 Axios traveled to Micronesia and interviewed the country's four current and previous leaders — including President Wesley Simina, marking his first interview with an international reporter since taking office. They described how China has long been courting Micronesia's political elite — from providing small gifts like cellphones and envelopes of cash to constructing state government buildings and residences for the president and other top officials. Beijing has built roads, schools and government offices. Go deeper.         A MESSAGE FROM GOOGLE American Airlines uses Google AI to reduce contrail warming     A collaboration between American Airlines, Google Research and Breakthrough Energy is demonstrating that AI can be used to help avoid forming contrails, which account for roughly 35% of aviation’s global warming impact. Learn more.     4. 🧐 Why anti-Trump group runs pro-Trump ads Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   Well-funded groups connected to the conservative Club for Growth have been spending millions this year to attack former President Trump — while simultaneously running ads touting their endorsed GOP candidates' ties to him, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.  Why it matters: The pro-Trump ads funded by a group that opposes him show the former president's deep appeal among Republican voters. Through a PAC named Win It Back, the Club for Growth helped fund more than $6 million in ads in Iowa and South Carolina this year. The ads blasted Trump as a "three-time loser" and accused him of costing the GOP in the 2022 midterms, saying that his endorsements "make you lose." At the same time, the Club for Growth and its PAC have funded ads in Kentucky and West Virginia's gubernatorial races touting their preferred candidates' ties to Trump. In Kentucky, the super PAC known as Club for Growth Action ran a TV ad in the final weeks of the campaign saying: "Trump backs Daniel Cameron. If you stand with Trump, vote Cameron for governor." Cameron, Kentucky's attorney general, lost to Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in November. In West Virginia, the Club for Growth funded a PAC that sent mailers this fall featuring Trump standing with 2024 gubernatorial candidate Patrick Morrisey (R). The mailer quoted Trump — who hasn't endorsed anyone in that race yet — as saying that Morrisey has "got energy and a lot of talent." Share this story.          5. 🎓 House GOP summons colleges on antisemitism A woman prays outside Harvard Divinity School, beside a Palestinian solidarity rally last month. Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images The House Education Committee said the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT will appear at a Dec. 5 hearing titled "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism." The chair, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said: "Over the past several weeks, we've seen countless examples of antisemitic demonstrations on college campuses. Meanwhile, college administrators have largely stood by ... By holding this hearing, we are shining the spotlight on these campus leaders and demanding they take the appropriate action." The Education Department is investigating a growing list of colleges for an alarming rise in incidents of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate. Today is the UN's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.         6. 🏀 Mark Cuban selling big stake in Dallas Mavs Mark Cuban at last night's Maverick's game in Dallas. Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, AP reports. The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal.  🎲 The company controlled by Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, announced earlier Tuesday that it was selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team. Cuban said almost a year ago he was interested in partnering with Sands, and has been a proponent of legalizing gambling in Texas. The 65-year-old Cuban, who just announced he was leaving the popular business TV program "Shark Tank" after a 16th season next year, rose to fame quickly after buying the Mavericks in 2000. Dallas was one of the worst franchises in pro sports in the 1990s, but turned into one of the best under Cuban, with a lot of help from star forward Dirk Nowitzki. Keep reading.         7. Remembering Charlie Munger, 99 Charlies Munger (left) and Warren Buffett in Omaha in 2018. Photo: Nati Harnik/AP Investment giant Charlie Munger — Warren Buffett's longtime lieutenant, and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway — died at 99 at a California hospital yesterday, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports. Buffett said in a statement: "Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation." Munger grew up a few hundred feet from Buffett's family grocery store, where the Oracle of Omaha worked as a kid — but didn't meet until Munger was in his mid-30s. "I'm not exactly wishy-washy myself, and we sometimes don't agree," Buffett said in a 2014 letter to shareholders. "In 56 years, however, we've never had an argument." Munger had a passion for architecture, a hatred of cryptocurrency and a love of capitalism. "Charlie's most important architectural feat was the design of today's Berkshire," Buffett wrote. "The blueprint he gave me was simple: Forget what you know about buying fair businesses at wonderful prices; instead, buy wonderful businesses at fair prices." Share this story.         8. 🕯️ Farewell to a first lady  Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former First Lady Laura Bush and former First Lady Michelle Obama attend a memorial service in Atlanta yesterday for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died at 96. Former President Carter, 99, arrived in a wheelchair. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Former President Clinton — along with Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama — flew to Georgia with President Biden and Jill Biden aboard Air Force One. Rosalynn Carter will be buried today in Plains, Ga. More photos.         A MESSAGE FROM GOOGLE John Jay College is using AI to help more students graduate     DataKind, a Google.org grantee, built an AI model with John Jay College to identify college students most at risk of dropping out and help advisors identify and proactively intervene with those students. Since using the AI model, senior graduation rates have increased from 54% to 86%. Learn more.