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National

The Wall Street Journal has a good catch on Democrats' promises during the 2018 midterms: they've quietly backed away from proposing free college, an idea that caught fire with progressive voters when Sen. Bernie Sanders ran on it in his 2016 presidential campaign.

Between the lines: The idea has faded away because Democratic strategists concluded it wouldn't help them win back white blue-collar voters, per the WSJ. As Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said, "“People don’t think it should just be free. People think there should be some responsibility." (Sanders says he's sticking with his plan.)

Remember free college? Here's why you're hearing less about it

Since 2016, Democrats have decided it's less helpful with blue-collar voters than other issues.

Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally in Nevada in October

Sanders speaks at a rally for then-Senate candidate Jacky Rosen in October. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty

Politics

College

Education

Online shoppers spent $6.22 billion during this year’s Black Friday alone — a record high and a 23.6% jump from last year, CNBC reports. It cited Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions at 80 of the top 100 U.S. internet retailers like Amazon.

The details: The sales are being driven by the purchasing of big-ticket items from shoppers’ smartphones, including appliances, electronics and furnitures. Meanwhile, retailers like Target, Kohl's and Walmart are allowing customers to purchase items online and hoping that when they arrive to pick up their items, they'll buy more at the stores. 

Black Friday online sales top $6 billion

It's a record high and a 23.6% jump from last year.

Business

Online shopping

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Government facilities for immigrant youth are struggling to deal with threats to their safety, including a young woman who cut herself with a sewing needle, a fight in which one boy repeatedly kicked another in the head, and a 6-year-old who tried to run away, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.

Why it matters: These facilities are holding about 14,000 immigrant children throughout the country. Those numbers are likely to increase, since it's taking longer to reunite them with relatives who are afraid of being deported.

"Amid the global uproar over family separation, the Trump administration presented the facilities as caring, safe places for immigrant children."

"But as records obtained by the AP show, the child detention system is already overtaxed. Children are acting out, sometimes hitting each other and trying to escape, and staff members struggle to deal with escalating problems."

"Many crossed the border without their parents and are having to wait longer in detention to be placed with relatives or sponsors, who are being dissuaded to come forward out of fear they’ll be arrested and deported."

The bottom line, according to Dr. Alan Shapiro, a pediatrician who works with y0ung immigrants: “We can’t treat children for trauma while we’re traumatizing them at the same time.”

Young immigrant centers are plagued by safety threats

Child detention centers are overtaxed, and staff members are struggling to deal with the problems.

A detention camp for immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas

A detention camp for immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

U.S. News

Immigration

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Alabama police said a 21-year-old who was shot and killed by an officer at a mall in Thanksgiving night "likely did not fire" the shots that wounded two people, retracting an earlier statement, AL.com reports. 

The details: Hoover police spokesman Capt. Gregg Rector said in a press release late Friday that Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. was mistakenly identified as the suspect who wounded an 18-year-old and 12-year-old. Rector, citing new evidence, said that while Bradford “may have been involved in some aspect of the altercation, he likely did not fire the rounds that injured the 18-year-old victim.” 

Investigators now believe that two individuals were involved in the shooting and that at least one gunman is still at large, according to the statement. 

AL.com reports that a relative of the victim said Bradford was in the Army. He was reportedly on leave of absence when he visited Birmingham for Thanksgiving, AL.com reports, but the publication said it has not independently confirmed Bradford’s military status.

Alabama police say man killed by officer "likely did not fire" shots

The man was mistakenly identified as the suspect who wounded an 18-year-old and 12-year-old.

Police car and crime scene tape on a city street

Officer-involved shootings

More than 50 million people traveled for Thanksgiving this year, which may account for the more than $1 billion spent in mobile transactions alone on Black Friday-related deals — the most spent via smartphones in the history of the holiday.

Catch up quick: Here are 5 more tech stories you may have missed this week. Stories range from Amazon staff in 3 European countries protesting on Black Friday to Apple trying to make veterans' health records available online to a behind-the-scenes look at products pushed by Instagram influencers.

Amazon staff in three European countries protest during Black Friday (CNBC)

Why it matters: A lot of money was moved this week by consumers who were prompted by sales, even before the retail holiday. But packages from Europe purchased in the U.K., Spain and Germany may hit a snag from workers who protested Amazon for having what they claimed are unfair working conditions. 

90% of workers at a logistics depot near Madrid also joined a walkout Friday. 

Report: Apple in talks to make vets' health records available online

Why it matters, per Axios' Ina Fried: Apple is looking to provide patients with better access to their health records, and a deal with the Veterans' Affairs Department would give that effort a significant boost. 

Apple first approached the VA about a potential deal back in 2017, a source told the Wall Street Journal. 

An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment.

Amazon is teaching Alexa to speak like a newscaster

Why it matters: News consumption on smart speakers isn't picking up in the U.S., even though purchases and overall usage of smart speakers is increasing overall.

Amazon company is hoping Alexa's new voice, trained to detect patterns in recordings of broadcasters’ speech, will make it more pleasant for consumers to listen to news read out loud by a computer.

LinkedIn is testing its own "Stories" feature for college students 

Why it matters, per Ina: LinkedIn wants to appeal to the 46 million college students and new grads on its network by giving them tools they're familiar with. 

Student Voices could also become yet another spot where LinkedIn can place ads (a spokesperson says the company is currently focused on understanding how people use the features).

Behind the products that Instagram influencers push on your feeds (Wired)

Why it matters: Brands are fully embracing the power of advertising through Instagram influencers, who are part of a multibillion-dollar industry. 

And it works — many users see those influencers as experts and authentic friends rather than advertisers who are being paid by the companies they feature. 

Editor’s note: This piece was corrected to show that more than 50 million people traveled for Thanksgiving (not half a billion people). 

Amazon's Black Friday walkout and other tech news this week

Black Friday record: More than $1 billion spent in mobile transactions.

Black Friday sign in flashing lights in New York City

Black Friday sales in New York City. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images. 

Technology

Amazon

Big Tech

Axios Pro: Deals

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

The cultural phenomenon of Black Friday is radically changing as brick-and-mortar department store giants die off and online shopping becomes increasingly convenient and popular, the New York Times' Tiffany Hsu reports. 

Why it matters: "The retail bonanza is increasingly met with indifference or disapproval by Americans who want to spend time with their families, sleep in and give underpaid retail employees a break," Hsu writes. 

The big stores that used to be the main attractions on Black Friday — such as Sears and Toys 'R Us — are closing their doors.

Big-ticket items with the most tantalizing discounts are more likely to be bought online now instead of in stores. 

Free shipping deals on Cyber Monday and Black Friday have resulted in most consumers choosing to order online instead of waiting in long lines in the cold to be the first to take advantage of in-store sales. 

The extended time frame for Black Friday deals has led to calmer lines as well. 

Free shipping and floundering department stores are changing Black Friday

"The retail bonanza is increasingly met with indifference or disapproval by Americans”

Photo: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Retail

Future

About three-quarters of the burden of President Trump’s tariffs imposed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods will fall on Chinese exporters while U.S. consumers and companies will only see an average 4.5% price increase on the affected goods, according to a new analysis by EconPol Europe. 

Why it matters: The paper indicates that Trump's trade war against China might be working, in that some calibrations indicate the bilateral trade deficit between the U.S. and China may fall by 17% and Trump's efforts could reduce American imports of certain Chinese goods.

Editor's note: This piece was clarified to add further information from the brief and to show more clearly how the tariff burden may be distributed.

Analysis: Trump's trade war with China might be working

China is paying for most of it, according to a new report.

Donald Trump in the bottom right corner of the photograph with an American flag behind him. 

Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Trump trade war

World

A state judge ruled late Friday that a lawsuit brought by New York's attorney general against the Trump Foundation for alleged violations of campaign finance law can proceed, according to Reuters, despite President Trump's request that the suit be dismissed on the grounds that the state's AG is "biased."

Why it matters: This is the second time this year that a New York judge has ruled that Trump can still face civil lawsuits, even as president, according to the New York Times. The lawsuit claims that Trump wrongfully gave $2.8 million worth of foundation donations to his campaign, used $100,000 to settle a dispute involving his Mar-a-Lago resort, and spent $10,000 on a portrait of himself to hang in one of his golf clubs. New York seeks to dissolve the Trump foundation with the lawsuit. 

Lawsuit against Trump's alleged campaign finance violations to proceed

Despite Trump's request that the suit be dismissed.

Donald Trump looking serious on the phone. 

Donald Trump

Data: Survey Monkey online poll conducted Nov. 13-15, 2018 among 2,798 U.S. adults. Total margin of error is ±2.5 percentage points; Poll methodology; Chart: Chris Canipe/Axios

Most Americans are worried about the effects of a lawsuit that could gut the Affordable Care Act's protections for pre-existing conditions — probably because most people have a family member with a pre-existing condition, according to an Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.

Why it matters: A ruling in this case is expected any day, and could immediately turn the campaign-season back-and-forth over pre-existing conditions into an acute crisis for millions of people.

By the numbers: A whopping 88% of those surveyed said it's very important or somewhat important to them that the ACA's protections for pre-existing conditions remain law.

74% — including a majority of Republicans — said they're at least somewhat worried about being able to afford health insurance if those protections vanish.

And 67% said someone in their household has a pre-existing condition.

Where it stands: A federal judge in Texas is expected to rule soon in the lawsuit. 

Texas and the Republican attorneys general who brought the suit want the judge to throw out the entire health care law.

The Justice Department says three provisions need to fall: the individual mandate, the requirement that insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions, and the ban on charging higher premiums because of a pre-existing condition.

Although President Trump has pledged to restore those protections if they're struck down, neither he nor his party has ever come up with a comprehensive plan to do so.

Methodology: This analysis is based on a SurveyMonkey online poll conducted among adults ages 18 and older in the United States. Respondents were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.

The survey was conducted Nov. 13-15 among 2,798 adults. The modeled error estimate  for the full sample is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points and full crosstabs are available here. 

Trump's pre-existing conditions promise clashes with ACA lawsuit

Texas lawsuit throws the ACA's future into uncertainty

Exclusive poll: Public fears lawsuit over pre-existing conditions

Most people say a family member has a pre-existing condition.

Axios

Saturday's top stories