topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

charlotte

detroit

columbus

austin

kansas-city

dallas

atlanta

washington-dc

nw-arkansas

boulder

chicago

indianapolis

nashville

richmond

houston

san-francisco

seattle

colorado-springs

boston

des-moines

salt-lake-city

philadelphia

denver

phoenix

new-orleans

miami

twin-cities

huntsville

raleigh

san-antonio

portland

san-diego

tampa-bay

cleveland

pittsburgh

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

National

The latest trend to take over your minifeed is the personalized fundraiser, and it's thanks to the "Donate" button, the NYT's Matt Stevens notes.

Be smart: This is another aspect of Facebook trying to bring aspects of real-life community to the internet. But growing pains accompanied prior effort to load up the minifeed with news and video. This could bring the same.

"When Facebook rolled out the new button in 2013, it allowed people to contribute directly to nonprofits through the social media platform for the first time... About two years later, officials began testing another new tool: Fund-raisers."

"[B]y June 2016, Facebook announced it would expand its Fund-raisers tool to allow users themselves to raise money for more than 100 nonprofits in the United States."

"[I]n August, the company announced that users in the United States would be able to create Fund-raisers in honor of their birthdays."

"In interviews, some Facebook users worried that it would take too long for nonprofits to get their donations."

"Others groused that inviting friends to donate one by one was time consuming."

"And a few said they were confused about whether they would be charged a service fee."

"Still, users overwhelmingly said they were amazed by the ease, simplicity and effectiveness of fund-raising on Facebook."

Public relations: "In its news releases and presentations, Facebook has framed the development of its Fund-raisers as part of a broader effort to do 'social good.'"

Business: Platforms like GoFundMe have used Facebook to make fundraising campaigns go viral. Facebook has a motivation in keeping those campaigns directly on Facebook.

Fundraisers take over Facebook

Illustration: Greg Ruben / Axios; Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

Technology

Business

The AP dives deep into a two week stretch from July that saw John Kelly take the reins as chief of staff, the FBI raid Paul Manafort's home and Anthony Scaramucci arrive, and then almost immediately depart, as communications director.

The report flashes back to Trump's attacks on Jeff Sessions at that time, and includes this bit of news: "Recently, Trump bemoaned the Republicans' loss in a special election in Alabama and in part blamed Sessions, whose departure from the Senate to head to Justice necessitated the election." It was Trump, of course, who nominated Sessions in the first place.

Trump attacks Jeff Sessions in an interview with the New York Times and later on Twitter.

Contentious national security meeting, in which Trump questions why the U.S. needs "so many people" in foreign posts, and after which Rex Tillerson reportedly calls him a "moron."

Anthony Scaramucci named communications director.

Sean Spicer announces resignation as press secretary.

In a vulgar call with the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, Scaramucci savages his fellow senior White House officials.

John McCain tanks "skinny repeal" of the Affordable Care Act with an unexpected "no" vote.

Departure of Reince Priebus is announced, Trump taps John Kelly to replace him as chief of staff.

Trump blames Sessions in part for Alabama Senate loss

According to an AP report on two crucial weeks in July

Trump and Sessions in August. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Politics

China exported no oil products to North Korea in November, according to Reuters, citing Chinese customs data related on Tuesday. This came in response to UN trade sanctions imposed earlier this year on North Korea over its ongoing nuclear and missile programs.

Why it matters: China is main source of North Korea's fuel, per Reuters. November was the second straight month the country didn't export diesel or gasoline to North Korea. Last week, the U.N. Security Council imposed new caps on trade with the isolated country, including limiting oil product shipments to 500,000 barrels per year, according to Reuters.

China didn't export any oil to North Korea last month

This came in response to sanctions imposed on the country by the UN

World

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

New York City, San Francisco and Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against the Department of Defense, arguing that an inadequate background check system has allowed many military members who should be barred from buying guns to obtain them, and was partially to blame for the mass shooting in Texas that left 26 people dead, the AP reports.

The backdrop: The Sutherland Springs shooter was convicted of domestic violence and should not have been allowed to buy a gun, but the Air Force failed to enter his name into a federal database. After the massacre, military officials acknowledged problems with the system.

The suit seeks an injunction and judicial oversight to ensure the department is in compliance in updating the federal database.

Philadelphia has been plagued by gun violence and "relies on this reporting when making the crucial decision whether a license-to-carry applicant should be permitted to carry a firearm," said Mayor Jim Kenney.

Three cities sue Pentagon over gun-check failures

 The suit seeks to have the department do up-to-date reporting to the FBI database.

Stuffed animals sit at the base of a cross at a makeshift memorial for victims near the scene of the Texas shooting. Photo: Eric Gay / AP

A U.S. appeals court judge on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit against President Trump's controversial voter fraud commission, ruling that The Electronic Privacy Information Center does not have legal standing to challenge the panel for allegedly breaching the 2002 E-Government Act, The Hill reports.

Why it matters: The group had been seeking to block the panel, formally known as the President's Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, from its planned collection of millions of voter records from 50 states and the District of Columbia, including political affiliations, birth dates and partial social security numbers.

In a D.C. circuit court opinion, per The Hill, Judge Stephen Williams wrote that the EPIC is "not a voter" and therefore had no standing to sue. He also said the EPIC "has suffered no informational or organizational injury from the defendants' attempt to collect voter data without first producing an assessment."

Background: The commission was created to probe unsubstantiated and largely debunked claims of widespread voter fraud, which Trump has claimed cost him the popular vote in 2016 presidential election.

Go deeper: Some states worry Trump launching "voter suppression" efforts; Judge orders Trump's voter fraud commission to turn over internal documents

Appeals court rejects challenge to Trump voter fraud commission

A U.S. appeals court judge on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit against President Trump's controversial voter fraud commission, ruling that The Electronic Privacy Information Center does not have legal standing to challenge the panel for allegedly breaching the 2002 E-Government Act, The Hill reports. 

Finish Line

Axios Finish Line

Bitcoin recovered more than 50% from its crash on Friday, reaching $16,100 at one point Tuesday morning, CNBC reports. The cryptocurrency hit a low of $10,400 on Friday.

The latest: Bitcoin climbed 12.5% on Tuesday alone. And the price of bitcoin is up more than 1,500% percent this year.

Bitcoin shoots back up to $16,000

The White House plans to cut down the historic Jackson Magnolia, which has stood on the grounds since the 1800s but has decayed beyond repair, CNN reports. Offshoots from the tree will be planted in its place.

The context: The tree is the oldest on the White House grounds and extends beyond the second floor. Per specialists at the National Arboretum, "The overall architecture and structure of the tree is greatly compromised and the tree is completely dependent on the artificial support. Without the extensive cabling system, the tree would have fallen years ago."

White House plans to cut down and replace 200-year-old tree

The Jackson Magnolia. Photo: Horst P. Horst / Conde Nast via Getty Images

Jesus M. Montijo, who said his home was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, holds his 1-year-old son, Damian Kaleb, on Christmas in a shelter for hurricane victims in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.

Go deeper ... The N.Y. Times asks officials why it's taking so long: It was "an already outdated and poorly maintained grid," and "lines went down, poles snapped, towers fell and substations flooded."

Around 600 Hurricane Maria victims remain in shelters across Puerto Rico. Barely three months after Hurricane Maria made landfall, 35% of the devastated island is reported to be without electricity.

Per Military.com, Brig. Gen. Diana Holland, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers' South Atlantic Division, said last week that figure may be misleading, but admitted: "There is a long way to go."

"Holland estimated that 95% of the island could have power by late February or early March but 'the folks at the end of the line in remote areas' might not have electricity until May."

Parts of Puerto Rico could be without power until May

Around 600 Hurricane Maria victims remain in shelters.

Energy

You already knew this if you eat at Sweetgreen, but cash is losing currency, according to a N.Y. Times front-pager by Andy Newman:

"In Midtown and some other neighborhoods across New York City, cashless is fast on its way to becoming normal."

With more merchants accepting only credit or debit cards, a Visa exec calls it "freedom from carrying cash."

New retail trend: no cash allowed

You already knew this if you eat at Sweetgreen

Internet users are complaining more about net neutrality-related issues since the FCC voted to repeal the existing net neutrality rules earlier this month, according to the FCC's consumer complaint data.

Why it matters: The FCC allows consumers to submit complaints about a variety of telecom-related problems, from receiving unwanted phone calls to billing fraud. After adopting net neutrality rules in 2015, the FCC added net neutrality to the list of possible gripes, such as slowed-down internet service or content being blocked. The FCC can use those complaints to spot trends or even launch investigations.

Note: Data includes all consumer complaint tickets related to "Open internet/net-neutrality"; Data: Federal Communications Commission; Chart: Chris Canipe / Axios

The details: According to the data (via the FCC's Consumer Complaint Center), people appear to file more net neutrality complaints when the topic is in the news and people are paying more attention to their internet performance. For example:

The complaints spiked to around 11,000 in May 2016, shortly before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the FCC's rules that the telecom industry had sued to stop.

Consumers filed more than 6,400 complaints in October 2016, shortly before the 2016 election. Republicans had made clear they would weaken the rules if they took office.

A small uptick of complaints took place in April, the same month FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released an initial proposal to roll back the rules.

As of Friday, consumers filed 2,388 in December, a sharp increase over the 157 complaints filed in October. The FCC voted to reverse the net neutrality rules on Dec. 14.

How it works: When a consumer files a complaint, the FCC serves the complaint to the telecom provider in question. That company is required to respond to the consumer within 30 days, and must provide the FCC a copy of that response.

The FCC is not obligated to act on "informal" complaints (which can be filed for free online), but can choose to look into issues as they arise.

The FCC has a separate process for "formal" complaints, which usually involve lawyers, filing fees and specific procedural rules. (More details on the process can be found here.)

Between the lines: It's often difficult for consumers to pinpoint the cause of internet connection issues. Net neutrality supporters will say a rise in informal complaints indicates bad behavior by internet providers without the rules. While the FCC isn't required to investigate such complaints, the agency's new transparency requirements could encourage companies to be forthcoming in their responses to them.

Net neutrality complaints rise amid FCC repeal

The FCC can use those complaints to spot trends or even launch investigations.

Net neutrality

Among the top 10 Christmas Day downloads from Apple's App Store are Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Fitbit, Snapchat and Instagram.

The backdrop: People likely gifted and received Amazon Echos, Google Homes, Fitbits and iPhones this Christmas, based on their App Store activity, Quartz's Mike Murphy reports.

Adapted from a May 2017 eMarketer chart; Chart: Axios Visuals

The devices people likely got for Christmas

President Trump has spent a third of his days in office at Trump Organization properties around the country, per a Wall Street Journal analysis, including about 40 days each at Mar-a-Lago — his Palm Beach resort — and Bedminster — his New Jersey golf course. When in Washington, the president spent nearly two dozen days golfing at the Trump-owned course in Potomac Falls, Virginia.

The numbers, according to the Journal: In total, Trump spent over 100 days at one of his properties since he took the office of president. His flights to Mar-a-Lago alone have cost the government $6 million this year, not including Secret Service and Coast Guard protection at the resort. For context, the Obama family's travel — both flights and Secret Service protection — cost the government about $97 million over eight years, which is about $1 million a month.

Trump has spent 1/3 of his time in office at his own properties

A view of the golf course at Mar-a-Lago. Photo: Davidoff Studios / Getty Images

The president this morning, rehashing his claim from last week that tax cuts "essentially" end the Affordable Care Act:

Why it matters: The Trump administration has used regulations to expand access to inexpensive, short-term plans that cover less. That could increase the effects from getting rid of the mandate.

But, but, but: Left intact from the ACA are subsidies for millions of Americans on the exchanges, essential health benefits that mandate what plans must cover, Medicaid expansion and the rules that let parents keep children on their plans until the age of 26. [Go deeper]

Axios

Tuesday's top stories