Robert Smith captivated America in May 2019, pledging to pay off student debt for Morehouse College's graduating class. It was Smith's introduction to the national stage, after decades of private equity success that made him the richest Black American and a philanthropic force.
Axios Re:Cap focuses on Smith and recent reporting that he's under criminal investigation by the IRS, which could dent both his reputation and his political ambitions.
In what Department of Justice prosecutors have called the biggest admissions scam in U.S. history, parents allegedly bribed coaches and paid for forged standardized tests in a conspiracy to get their children into elite American colleges.
Driving the news: "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin, one of the biggest names ensnared in the scandal, pleaded guilty on Thursday to related charges and now faces two months in prison.
In one of his first interviews since ride-sharing companies won its court order delay in California, Lyft's Chief Policy Officer Anthony Foxx tells Axios that drivers "don't want to be employees and want more flexibility."
The big picture: An appeals court in California Thursday granted Uber and Lyft a stay on an injunction that would have forced the companies to reclassify drivers as employees.
The federal government must prioritize local and state transportation for the economy to recover from the pandemic, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) stressed on Friday, calling the alternative "unthinkable" during an Axios virtual event on The Future of Transportation & COVID-19.
The big picture: Many cities have introduced funding cuts to their public transit systems after the pandemic shut down economies. Ridership is still down in many regions, and those cuts affect essential workers the most, Butterfield said.
Hoboken, N.J., Mayor Ravinder Bhalla said at an Axios virtual event Friday that the city is ramping up its bike-share program with Citi Bike to make commuting to Manhattan and Jersey City easier.
Why it matters: Hoboken is the fifth-most densely populated city in the country and many of its residents use public transit. Fear of using public transit is still high during the coronavirus pandemic.
Consumers want more camera views in their vehicles, but don't care for gesture controls, according to the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study.
Why it matters: New technology can be a big factor in deciding which vehicle to buy, but high-tech features need to be intuitive and reliable — or consumers will get frustrated and feel they've wasted their money, the study found.
Last week I got to ride shotgun in the hotly anticipated 2021 Ford Bronco at a thrilling off-road vehicle playground in Michigan.
The big picture: The original Ford Bronco SUV was introduced in 1966, inspired by the military vehicles Ford built during World War II, and later built a cult following for off-road racing after it won the brutal Baja 1000 in 1969.
The TikTok shot clock is down to just 25 days, by which time it either has a deal for its U.S. business or has a presidential shutdown notice pinned to its back.
The state of play: Everyone is taking this timeline very seriously. It's possible that President Trump would give an extension, or find another rhetorical wriggle to save millennial face, but those close to the situation say it's a risk they have no intention of taking.
The state of play: "Without the foil of President Trump, ... CEOs will have to back specific policy proposals, build coalitions, and put real political muscle behind their principles."
The exponential growth of claims for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program are worrying economists and previewing a weakening U.S. labor market in the coming months.
What's happening: The PEUC is a CARES Act program for unemployed Americans who have exhausted the 26 weeks of unemployment benefits they get from their state. It has grown from 27,000 people on April 11 to 1.3 million as of Aug. 1.
The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators increased for the third straight month in July but at a far slower pace than in the previous two months.
Why it matters: "Despite the recent gains in the LEI, which remain fairly broad-based, the initial post-pandemic recovery appears to be losing steam," Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economic research at The Conference Board, said in a statement accompanying the index's release.
Loaded with debt and cutting back on coronavirus safety precautions, American Airlines has attracted a lot of attention from short sellers who may be betting on a bankruptcy.
Driving the news: American’s stock fell 1.4% Thursday after it announced plans to suspend service to 15 small U.S. cities in October after the terms of its CARES Act aid requiring the flights expires.
Newsrooms around the U.S. are adding dozens of positions that involve covering race and social justice. They're also publishing statistics about their own staffs for the first time, in an effort to better address their decades-long shortcomings around diversity and inclusion.
Why it matters: A national awakening surrounding systemic racism in America ahead of an historic election is awakening newsrooms to the fact that they can't adequately cover the current state of affairs if their editorial teams don't reflect the changing dynamics of their readership and the nation.
The peak leisure travel season — such as it is — is almost over, and without conferences or events to woo business travelers this fall, the airline industry's modest recovery could quickly lose altitude.
Why it matters: Investors have been snapping up airlines as bargain stocks lately — encouraged, in part, by reports of potential progress toward a coronavirus vaccine that could boost depressed air travel.
A widely available coronavirus vaccine would go a long way toward rebuilding public confidence in air travel, but until it arrives, Delta Air Lines believes widespread, proactive COVID-19 testing for employees will help win passengers' trust.
What's happening: In partnership with the Mayo Clinic and Quest Diagnostics, Delta plans to test every one of its 75,000 employees for both active COVID-19 and antibodies by the end of the month.
