1 big thing: "Digital humans" for city hall

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2. 📊 Political trust hits low point

3. First medical + AI degree program

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4. Xbox plans leaked

Microsoft's Brooklin console, as seen in a presentation released by U.S. federal court. 

Cities are turning to "digital humans" to help residents — especially newcomers — access the municipal services they need, Jennifer reports today.

🏆 We're celebrating the best business leaders in Charlotte, Chicago and Denver in this year's Axios Local Power Players list. Submit a nomination here.

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Big thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern.

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Whats Next

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The next decade of big, sweeping changes will unfold in cities and communities where new technologies like 5G, AI and drones are transforming how we work, live and play together.  What’s Next will guide you through the revolution.

Axios What's Next

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1 big thing: UAW's tactics, explained

2. The AI pause that wasn't

3. Climate split screen

Illustration of a shattered map of the world.

4. Brightline launches Miami-Orlando trains

Brightline trains at Orlando International Airport. Photo: Courtesy of Brightline

The autoworkers strike is only getting more complex, Joann and Axios' Emily Peck report today.

Today's newsletter is 996 words ... 4 minutes.

1 big thing: Airport lounges go premium

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2. No quick end for auto strike

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3. 📈 Japanese car imports surge

4. Southwest CEO: We're ready for winter

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Flying any time soon? You might have a harder time getting into the airport lounge.

🌍 Axios House is heading to COP28 in Dubai! Are you or someone from your company attending? Register to stay in the know about programming and more. 

Today's newsletter is 1,079 words ... 4 minutes.

1 big thing: Airbnb's redemption plan

Illustration of a lightbulb with the filament in the shape of Airbnb's logo.

2. Where's mom? At the office

3. "American Climate Corps" launches

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4. Restaurant robot reality check

Illustration of a robotic hand dipping a chicken nugget in sauce.

Airbnb is catching flack lately for high prices and checkout chores — but the CEO has a product-driven plan to address those complaints, Alex reports today.

Today's newsletter is 1,096 words ... 4 minutes.

1 big thing: Satellite-powered adventuring

Illustration of a satellite with outdoors stickers all over the panels

2. Drone delivery superfans

Paul and Susie Sensmeier have had more than 1,200 orders delivered to their front yard in Christiansburg, Virginia via Wing's drone delivery service.

3. AI mental health screenings

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4. Now trending: Playground design

Super high-resolution satellite imagery is getting more accessible than ever, Alex reports today.

Today's newsletter is 1,206 words ... 4½ minutes.

National

The Federal Aviation Administration has opened up a multimillion dollar grant program intended to accelerate the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) rollout.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is trying to reach net-zero aviation emissions by 2050 — but we're a long way off from zero-emissions aircraft, if they ever arrive.

That's left airlines and others pouring tons of money and resources into SAFs, which are made from used cooking oil, municipal waste, and other similar sources.

Details: The FAA is now accepting applications for $245 million in SAF infrastructure project grants, the agency announced Monday.

Such projects "will focus on producing, transporting and blending" SAFs, and "build up regional SAF supply chains and increase SAF use," the FAA said in a press release.

The money comes by way of the Inflation Reduction Act, which also included SAF production credits.

State of play: SAF production is steadily increasing, thanks in part to investment from airlines and others.

Yet production needs to be dramatically increased for SAFs to have a meaningful impact on overall aviation emissions, as Axios' Andrew Freedman has reported.

One big constraint: There's only so much raw material available that can be turned into SAFs in the first place — and plenty of competition for those limited resources.

There's also a need for SAF-specific infrastructure — the target of the FAA's new grant program.

Plus: The FAA is also offering up another $47 million in grants for other low-emissions aviation projects, such as efforts to boost aircraft fuel efficiency.

FAA offers millions for sustainable fuel rollout

The Biden Administration is trying to reach net-zero aviation emissions by 2050.

Illustration of a gloved hand scrubbing an airplane contrail with a sponge

Aviation

The Federal Aviation Administration has opened up a multimillion dollar grant program intended to accelerate the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) rollout" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/31/sustainable-jet-fuel-startup-cleanjoule-50-million" data-vars-content-id="0b6d0d56-bcfe-4747-8e89-70edef22152f" data-vars-headline="FAA offers millions for sustainable fuel rollout" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/31/sustainable-jet-fuel-startup-cleanjoule-50-million" target="_self">sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) rollout</a>.Why it matters: The Biden administration is trying to reach net-zero aviation emissions by 2050 — but we&#x27;re a long way off from zero-emissions aircraft, if they ever arrive.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

NW Arkansas

Data: U.S. Census; Note: Includes women ages 16 to 50; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

The percentage of Northwest Arkansas women who recently gave birth and remain part of the workforce grew in 2022 after dropping for the previous three years, per new census data.

Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force — at least temporarily — slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.

By the numbers: 65.7% of Northwest Arkansas women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were in the labor force as of 2022, per the latest American Community Survey data.

That's compared to 51.4% in 2021 and 63.1% in 2010.

The big picture: Nationally, the percentage of women who recently gave birth and remained in the workforce reached a decade-plus, high-water mark last year.

66.6% of U.S. women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were in the labor force as of 2022.

That number was 66.5% in 2021 and 61.6% in 2010.

Driving the news: Remote and flexible work is helping new moms juggle both parenting and their careers, Axios' Emily Peck has reported. (In fact, the workplace gender gap is at a record low.)

That's true for new dads, too, although women tend to take on more of the work/life priority changes brought on by parenthood.

Between the lines: One complicating factor in all of this: the skyrocketing cost of child care, which is driven in part by a lack of supply and low caretaker pay.

As care grows more expensive, more and more families find themselves deciding if it makes sense for both parents to work or for one to stay home with the kids.

Often, it's mothers who wind up staying home — in part because they likely earn less.

Yes, and: Vital pandemic-era federal funding for child-care centers is about expired, likely deepening the affordability crisis as supply is further outstripped by demand.

70,000 child-care centers — looking after 3.2 million children — may close when that funding runs out, according to one widely cited estimate from The Century Foundation, Emily reports.

What we're watching: Whether this trend continues into the fully post-pandemic years.

Some employers are desperately trying to get workers back to the office but are finding mixed success, as many employees embrace a lifestyle that affords better flexibility — whether to raise a family, pursue a hobby or simply avoid a stressful commute.

More new moms are working in Northwest Arkansas

65.7% of Northwest Arkansas women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were in the labor force as of 2022.

Northwest Arkansas

The percentage of Northwest Arkansas women who recently gave birth and remain part of the workforce grew in 2022 after dropping for the previous three years, per new census data.Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force — at least temporarily — slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.

News

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Northwest Arkansas, written by local reporters.

Axios Northwest Arkansas

Indianapolis

Axios Indianapolis

Data: Yelp; Note: Openings are for the core-based statistical area (the population center and surrounding communities) and are measured by new business listings on Yelp, added by businesses or Yelp users; Chart: Axios Visuals

Indianapolis seems to be a good place for new businesses lately.

Driving the news: 500 new businesses were registered on Yelp across the Indianapolis metro area in July 2023, per the company, up 29% year over year.

Among major U.S. metros, Indianapolis saw one of the largest increases in business openings during the first half of 2023 versus the same period in 2019, at about 77.5%.

Why it matters: New business openings are a good measure of economic sentiment — people generally don't take the risk of spinning up a new venture if they foresee economic peril ahead.

What they're saying: "A strong business climate is something we're definitely seeing," said Taylor Hughes, vice president of policy and strategy at the Indy Chamber. "Though there have been concerns about a recession, we haven't seen that in the way that some have predicted.

"There's still a lot of investment and a lot of business happening in central Indiana."

The big picture: Business openings nationwide have exceeded 2019 levels every month this year, thanks to a surge in travel, events and get-togethers, Axios Closer's Hope King reports.

The intrigue: Dan Drexler, director of the Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, said they're seeing a lot of people starting new businesses as a side gig, looking to bring in extra income as their wages fail to keep up with rising prices.

Drexler said the center has worked with roughly 900 clients so far this year, helping them either start a business or scale up an existing small operation, and has another 160 waiting to meet with an adviser. 

"We're positioned really well for this growth, and I think we're going to continue seeing it," he said. 

By the numbers: New listings of shops and services on Yelp are on track to beat 2022's all-time high, according to a recent company report.

Nearly 484,000 new businesses popped up on the platform from January through July this year, compared with about 389,000 over the same time period last year.

That's a roughly 25% increase year over year, and a 46% increase from the same period in 2019.

Openings increased across every category, driven by hotels and travel (up 39% over 2022), home services (up 37%), auto (up 27%), event services (up 27%) and local services (up 23%).

Zoom out: California, Florida, Texas, New York and Georgia have seen the largest total number of new business openings so far this year.

Meanwhile, there have been more business openings from underrepresented communities every month compared with the same month last year.

From January through July, LGBTQ-owned (+33%), Black-owned (+28%) and Latin-owned (+28%) businesses opened at a higher rate than the national average (+25%), and when compared with the same time period last year.

Women-owned businesses saw an increase of 19% in openings, and Asian-owned businesses saw a 13% increase.

What to watch: How long economic optimism lasts, and whether momentum continues as banking conditions tighten for small businesses.

Of note: Yelp business openings refer to new business listings on the platform in a given time frame.

Business owners or Yelp users can add listings.

New business data may lag due to the time taken to report and verify openings, Yelp says.

Indianapolis sees high new business activity

Indy saw one of the largest increases in business openings compared to 2019.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis seems to be a good place for new businesses lately.Driving the news: 500 new businesses were registered on Yelp across the Indianapolis metro area in July 2023, per the company, up 29% year over year.

Business

Houston

Axios Houston

Data: Climate Central; Note: A CSI of 3 or higher means human-caused climate change made the average daily temperature at least three times more likely; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Texas' record-breaking heat this summer would have been "virtually impossible without human-caused climate change," per recent climate analyses.

Driving the news: The Houston area experienced 63 days — 69% of the summer — with hot temperatures made three times more likely by climate change, according to a new Climate Central report.

Since June, Houston has had 45 days with 100° weather, making this summer Houston's hottest and besting 2011's record, per Space City Weather's Matt Lanza.

Zoom out: Houston was one of 17 Texas cities that experienced hot temperatures made at least twice as likely by climate change.

How it works: Climate Central's analysis is based on the group's Climate Shift Index (CSI), which compares observed or forecast temperatures with simulations of the same weather conditions minus excess atmospheric greenhouse gasses.

A CSI of 3, for example, means human-caused climate change made a daily average temperature three times more likely.

Of note: While the analysis itself wasn't peer reviewed, the methodology has been.

The big picture: In 45 of the 244 U.S. cities the group analyzed, at least half of all summer days had temperatures made at least twice as likely by climate change.

Victoria, southeast of San Antonio, had the second-most hot summer days driven by climate change, with 80 days made twice as likely by climate change.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, had the most with 90.

Meanwhile: As Axios' Andrew Freedman has reported, Earth just experienced what was likely its hottest summer on record.

The bottom line: Rapid-attribution analyses like this one drive home a key point: Climate change is having a significant present-day impact on millions across the country and the planet.

Climate change made Houston's summer hotter

69% of the summer had hot temperatures worsened by climate change

Climate change

Texas&#x27; record-breaking heat this summer would have been &quot;virtually impossible without human-caused climate change,&quot; per recent <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="climate analyses" data-vars-click-url="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-heat-in-north-america-europe-and-china-in-july-2023-made-much-more-likely-by-climate-change/" data-vars-content-id="cdc938f9-dfa9-4e7e-9fee-427584992403" data-vars-headline="Climate change made Houston&#x27;s summer hotter" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-heat-in-north-america-europe-and-china-in-july-2023-made-much-more-likely-by-climate-change/" target="_blank">climate analyses</a>.Driving the news: The Houston area experienced 63 days — 69% of the summer — with hot temperatures made three times more likely by climate change, according to a new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Climate Central report" data-vars-click-url="https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/us-summer-2023-in-review" data-vars-content-id="cdc938f9-dfa9-4e7e-9fee-427584992403" data-vars-headline="Climate change made Houston&#x27;s summer hotter" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/us-summer-2023-in-review" target="_blank">Climate Central report</a>.

Climate

Boston

Axios Boston

Data: Census Bureau; Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios

One-fifth of Boston metro area residents worked from home in 2022, down from a peak of nearly 27% a year earlier, new census figures show.

What's happening: Boston remains a remote work hub, like many other major U.S. cities, but remote tech workers joined the exodus of people leaving Massachusetts in 2022, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao told state lawmakers earlier this year.

Hao and others have cited cost of living as a major driver for outmigration.

Zoom out: Boston's share of remote workers fell above last year's national average of 15%, but the numbers were even higher across the East and West coasts and in other major cities.

Boulder, Colorado, had the highest share of remote workers of any metro area last year, at 32%. Denver wasn't far behind.

Austin, Texas, San Francisco and San Jose also reported higher shares than Boston.

The big picture: Workers in America's biggest, most competitive cities aren't giving up the flexibility and savings — in both time and gas money — of working from home, Axios' Sam Baker and Simran Parwani report.

What we're watching: The work-from-home revolution is front and center in big cities with large concentrations of office buildings, and downtown economies that once relied on those office buildings being full.

A range of industries have tried to get their employees back to the office, with varying levels of success.

State Street bank sent a memo to employees this month requiring managers back in the office four days a week in early October and calling other employees back in November.

The law firm Ropes & Gray ordered its workers to return to the office four days a week starting on Nov. 6.

Boston's still a remote work hub, for now

The city's share of remote workers fell above last year's national average of 15%, but lower than other cities.

A line graph showing 20.8% of Boston-area people work from home, lower than 2021 but higher than 2019. It's also higher than the national share, 15.2%

One-fifth of Boston metro area residents worked from home in 2022, down from a peak of nearly 27% a year earlier, new census figures show.What&#x27;s happening: Boston remains a remote work hub, like many other major U.S. cities, but remote tech workers joined the exodus of people leaving Massachusetts in 2022, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao told state lawmakers earlier this year.

Alex Fitzpatrick

Stories

FAA offers millions for sustainable fuel rollout

Climate change made Houston's summer hotter

Boston's still a remote work hub, for now

Indianapolis sees high new business activity

More new moms are working in Northwest Arkansas

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