Axios

UnitedHealth Group's $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare will proceed, after a federal judge on Monday denied the Justice Department's efforts to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

Why it matters: This is a huge win for UnitedHealth and perhaps an even bigger loss for the Biden administration.

Workers are being tricked into giving up their digital credentials through their most trusted device — their cellphones.

Why it matters: Companies are now more vulnerable than ever for large scale hacks as employees work from home and use their personal devices.

A Baltimore City judge on Monday vacated Adnan Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee following prosecutors' request for a new trial based on new evidence discovered after the case became the subject of the first season of the hit podcast "Serial."

Why it matters: The podcast — and a 2019 HBO docuseries — cast doubt on the original prosecution and key pieces of evidence. Baltimore prosecutors' investigation further identified concerns with the reliability of cellphone records and data used in prosecution, as well as a key witness' testimony.

The supply chain crisis and an extinct volcano are spurring a new beer shortage.

• "We've been running delivery to delivery for the past few weeks, and we are certainly concerned about the supply," Aeronaut Brewing's co-founder Ronn Friedlander told Axios Boston's Mike Deehan.

The Treasury and Justice departments intend to act as nail and hammer to the dark side of the crypto industry — one working to identify cyber criminals and their exploits and the other, prosecuting and bringing those baddies to account.

Driving the news: Friday's slate of reports from the Biden administration on a framework for digital assets development home in on matters that threaten national security and the U.S. financial ecosystem, listing priorities and making recommendations per the president's March imperative.

The number of deaths from traffic accidents declined during the second quarter of 2022 — after seven consecutive quarters of year-to-year increases, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.

Why it matters: Motor vehicle traffic deaths have surged during the pandemic, and Monday's figures indicate that the trend may be cooling — but levels remain higher than before the pandemic.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking the U.S. Department of Transportation to block JetBlue's $3.8 billion takeover of budget carrier Spirit Airways.

Why it matters: Antitrust is normally the purview of the DOJ or FTC, but this is a reminder that DOT has special authority to block airline mergers that it finds aren't in the public interest. No court case required.

The PayPal Mafia has had a good run, but it may be time to shift focus to alumni of a less fashionable Internet pioneer: LinkedIn.

Driving the news: Dylan Field was a data analytics intern at LinkedIn in 2010. He later founded Figma, which last week agreed to sell to Adobe for $20 billion.

Some users of Figma's design software reacted with dismay on Thursday when they found out the company was going to be acquired by Adobe, the unloved giant in the space. Other observers immediately concluded that the acquisition looks downright illegal under antitrust laws.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is on the record as wanting to beef up antitrust enforcement. The Figma deal, at $20 billion, is certainly large enough to grab the attention of regulators. The big question is whether they'll conclude that suing to block it is a case they can win.