Jul 6, 2019 - Economy & Business

New job: "Screen consultants" help harried parents

Photo: Bill Hinton/Getty Images

A "screen-free parenting coach" economy has sprung up around the U.S. as parents try to figure out how to wrangle smartphones out of their kids' hands, reports the New York Times.

Why it matters: Concern over screen time and smartphone use is particularly "rampant" among well-off parents, per the Times. It remains unknown "what screens will make of society, good or bad."

Yes, but: Dr. Eric Reischer, a psychologist, says the new screen consultant economy and screen addiction are both "part of the mind-set that gets us stuck on our phones in the first place — the optimization efficiency mind-set. We want answers served up to us."

How it works: Screen consultants will meet with families at homes, schools, churches and synagogues, per the Times. They focus on getting kids active. Some parents are also taking the No-Phone Pledge — promising not to give their children smartphones until they are in the 8th grade, found the NYT.

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1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 32,390,204 — Total deaths: 985,302 — Total recoveries: 22,286,345 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m ET: 7,020,967 — Total deaths: 203,481 — Total recoveries: 2,710,183 — Total tests: 98,476,600 — Map.
States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.

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Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.