Apr 13, 2018

EU antitrust enforcer on Facebook: "Well, they are big"

European competition regulator Margrethe Vestager. Photo: JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images

European Union antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager emphasized Facebook's size when asked Friday whether she viewed the company as a monopoly, although she added that the bloc has no "official position" on that question:

“Well, they are big. I think in a lot of European states it is very tricky to find someone who is not on Facebook.”

Why it matters: Vestager's comments came in response to Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony at a Tuesday Senate hearing that he doesn’t view Facebook as a monopoly. Vestager said that a German antitrust investigation into the company and new data rules could limit Facebook's power.

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Caitlin Owens, Marisa Fernandez
3 hours ago - Health

How Trump's push to reopen schools could backfire

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The Trump administration’s full-steam-ahead push to fully reopen schools this fall is on a collision course with the U.S.' skyrocketing coronavirus caseload and its decades-long neglect of public education.

Why it matters: Getting kids back to school is of paramount importance for children and families, especially low-income ones. But the administration isn’t doing much to make this safer or more feasible.

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Kim Hart
3 hours ago - Economy & Business

Coronavirus squeezes the "sandwich generation"

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

As the coronavirus poses risks and concerns for the youngest and oldest Americans, the generations in the middle are buckling under the increasing strain of having to take care of both.

Why it matters: People that make up the so-called sandwich generations are typically in their 30s, 40s and 50s, and in their prime working years. The increasing family and financial pressures on these workers means complications for employers, too.

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Shane Savitsky
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Why Scranton matters again in 2020

Biden and Clinton visit Biden's childhood home in Scranton in 2016. Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The hometown of Joe Biden and "The Office" is polishing its perennial status as a guidepost for the nation's political mood.

Driving the news: Biden returns to Scranton, Pa., today with a campaign stop just outside the city limits at a metalworking plant, where he'll deliver remarks on a plan to create jobs and "help America build back better."

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