National

Axios Finish Line

We often hear the American Dream is dead. But whatever you think of immigration, every year people come here from around the world in pursuit of that dream.

Why it matters: People across borders and oceans still view the U.S. as the place to come to build a better life for their children.

And 70% of U.S. adults — across race, gender, political party and income — say the American Dream is achievable, Gallup polling found.

Founder frenzy: 44% of Fortune 500 companies have at least one founder who is an immigrant or the child of immigrants, according to stats from New American Economy, founded by Michael Bloomberg. 

Upward mobility: Even the children of immigrants who fall in the poorest quarter of the U.S. end up in the middle class, Princeton researchers found.

Self-made wealth: 80% of America's millionaires — foreign- and U.S.-born — are first-generation.

The bottom line: The U.S. remains the leading destination for immigrants with big dreams. 20% of all the world’s immigrants are in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 10.

The American Dream is alive for immigrants

44% of Fortune 500 companies have an immigrant founder.

Illustration of a door made of an American flag opening with light pouring out.  

Immigration

Economy & Business

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Axios Capital

It hasn't been a great year for the 0.00001%. The fortunes of Russian oligarchs have been frozen; crypto fortunes have been destroyed; and five billionaires — Bernard Arnault, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Changpeng Zhao — have each lost more than $50 billion this year alone.

Why it matters: Even the most chipper tycoon might feel a pang of humility upon seeing an 11 (or 12)-figure sum evaporate from his personal balance sheet.

What we're watching: In good times, billionaires enter into a friendly (or not-so-friendly) competition over who can have the biggest and most expensive toys: yachts, castles, art, islands, jets, that kind of thing. But during times like these, such competition is replaced by a desire to preserve wealth, rather than spend it.

A $410 million Roman villa with an original Caravaggio ceiling goes unsold.

A Warhol that art dealer Richard Polsky suggested might sell for $500 million instead sells for less than $200 million.

Even the richest man in the world can start to feel constrained, after his wealth has fallen by an astonishing $124 billion since early November.

Musk has a legally binding obligation to buy Twitter for $44 billion, but the markets don't believe it's going to happen, with the price of Twitter stock implying a probability of only about 65% that the deal will go through at full price. (I went into the full details of the math involved here.)

It's not going to be easy for Musk to find the cash he needs to put down to buy Twitter — and he can't just walk away while paying a $1 billion break-up fee, either. Twitter's board would file suit, asking a court to require him to pay the agreed-upon $44 billion, and a judge would almost certainly side with them.

That explains Musk’s attempt to find co-investors in the deal. He clearly wants to lighten his personal financial burden, even if that means borrowing money at 14% interest or making an implicit promise to take Twitter public again.

The bottom line: The U.S. economy is still running hot — but the markets aren't. Those of us who work for a living are broadly fine. Those who don't need to, on the other hand, are feeling a bit of a pinch.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 12. 

It’s a bad year to be fantastically rich

Five billionaires — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos among them — have each lost more than $50 billion this year alone.

Billionaires

Axios Cities

In what CEO Brian Chesky calls "the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade," the home rental company introduced a sitewide makeover Wednesday that makes it easier to find offbeat and niche properties.

Why it matters: As travel companies gear up for the summer rush — which will be  intensified this year by pent-up post-COVID demand — Airbnb is trying to differentiate itself and give consumers fresh options.

Driving the news: The upgrades Airbnb released Wednesday are designed to get people to expand their travel horizons beyond choosing a destination city and travel dates:

A new set of 56 "categories" of lodging — from castles and tiny homes to domes, treehouses and lakefront properties — allows people to browse and fantasy shop for places they didn't know they could visit.

A new "split stay" feature will suggest you divide your time between two nearby Airbnb properties if you're planning to be away for a week or more.

New "AirCover" protections offer more generous guarantees, safeguarding you if a host cancels, a property isn't as advertised, or you feel unsafe.

Between the lines: Chesky says he wants to prevent "overtourism," or too many people all trying to visit the same places (like Paris, London and Disney World). 

The "categories" approach, which lets people check out properties by activity (golfing, skiing) or type of location (beachfront, vineyard, the Arctic) or physical features (A-frames, chef's kitchens, treehouses), is meant to guide people off the beaten path.

"We want to redistribute travel," Chesky said at a news conference Tuesday describing the changes.

Details: Each "category" tells you approximately how many properties are listed in it, no matter where they are geographically or when they're available.

The "amazing pools" category has more than a million listings, for instance, while "caves" has 600, "mansions" has 1,000 and "national parks" has 600,000.

"We don't just have castles — we have a lot of them," said Chesky, noting that the 3,000 properties in the "castles" category are available at all different price points.

His favorite categories are "design," which has 20,000 properties that have been deemed architecturally interesting, and "OMG!" which has 500 weird and eclectic dwellings.

What's next: "We're going to keep adding a lot of categories," Chesky said. "This is just the beginning."

Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 11.

Want to rent a castle? Airbnb has an upgrade for that

New "categories" let you find an offbeat property

Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, at a press conference.

Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, at a press conference announcing the company's latest site changes. His dog, Sophie, was on hand to mingle with reporters. Photo: Jennifer A. Kingson 

Airbnb

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.

Technology

A new report on the future of travel envisions that biometrics could eliminate airport security hassles, making the days of removing your shoes and belt before you board obsolete.

Why it matters: Flying was a far more pleasant experience before today's onerous passenger screenings became necessary. If facial recognition and other technology can handle security checks invisibly, airports can one day become enjoyable social and retail hubs.

Driving the news: The airport of 2038 will be a "place of encounter," where passengers arrive "ready to fly," thanks to ubiquitous scanners and cameras that evaluate security threats "multiple times a minute, all as you go about your day," according to a report on the future by Delaware North.

There won't be a need to differentiate "sterile" and "non-sterile" areas of the airport — everyone will be free to go straight to their flight.

"We’ll even be allowed to walk loved ones to their gates again," according to the vision laid out by Delaware North, which operates retail stores and restaurants in airports.

"We’ll be able to order food from our favorite eatery to be delivered gateside rather than relying on sterileside airport concessionaires, since every person in the terminal will be checked by cameras and sensors at all times and processed remotely, regardless of whether they have a plane ticket," the report said.

Reality check: Privacy concerns are likely to accompany the continued rollout of biometric monitoring, but, let's face it — the horse is already out of the barn. 

Systems like CLEAR and TSA pre-check already pre-screen passengers to some extent — and Delta debuted its first "biometric terminal" at Atlanta-Hartsfield in 2018. 

"Sixty-four percent of airports globally plan to roll out self-boarding gates using biometrics and ID documentation by 2023, three times as many as in 2020," per the Delaware North report.

"In five years, ubiquitous tech and security protocols will blend biometrics with wearable technology such as watches, rings and other jewelry to expedite access even more."

What they're saying: Under the scenario outlined in the report, "people would go to the airport and have a meal," Todd Merry, the chief marketing officer of Delaware North, tells Axios. "It becomes much more of a destination than just a transit point for people getting on a flight."

Merry acknowledged that the projection was a rosy one that would benefit his company. But he noted that everyone would gain if "we could transform travel from a necessary chore to something that people again look forward to."

Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 10. 

All airport security hassles could eventually become obsolete

Biometrics could eliminate airport security hassles

Illustration of an airport check-in sign with a happy face

Airports

How late into pregnancy abortion is allowed

Data: Guttmacher Institute, Axios research; Cartogram: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Abortion at later stages in pregnancy is still legal in most states across the U.S., but that's expected to change if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. 

The big picture: If Roe is struck down, states would be allowed to individually regulate abortion — or even ban it completely — before viability, known as the point when a fetus can survive outside the womb.

Under Roe, states have the authority to regulate abortion after viability, which is generally considered to be between 24 to 28 weeks after a patient’s last menstrual period.

Despite Roe, some states have successfully implemented bans before the 24-week mark largely based on the "unfounded assertion" that a fetus can feel pain at 22 weeks after the patient's last menstrual period (LMP), according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

Six weeks LMP: Texas and Oklahoma are the only states that have laws in effect banning abortions when cardiac activity has been detected in an embryo, which is at around six weeks.

20 weeks: Mississippi is the only state that currently bans abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court is currently considering the state's 15-week ban, which has been blocked by lower courts since 2018. That case could determine the future of Roe.

22 weeks: Fifteen states ban abortions at 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Over half of states have restrictions in place only at or after viability, or have no limit at all.

24 weeks: Five states ban abortions at 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Viability: Twenty states ban abortions after the fetus is considered viable. Some laws that don't specify a limit say it's up to the abortion provider's "judgment" to determine whether a fetus is viable.

Third trimester: Virginia is the only state that prohibits abortions in the pregnancy's third trimester, which starts at around 25 weeks, per Guttmacher.

No limit: Six states and Washington, D.C., do not impose any term restrictions.

Of note: Many states with restrictions have exceptions, including to preserve a pregnant person's life or health, though they are often narrowly defined. 

About 93% of reported abortions in 2019 were performed at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy, 6% were conducted between 14 and 20 weeks and 1% were performed at or after 21 weeks, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People who tend to have abortions later in a pregnancy do so because of "medical concerns such as fetal anomalies or maternal life endangerment, as well as barriers to care that cause delays in obtaining an abortion," per the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Abortion at any stage is still difficult to access for many people.

In 2017, Guttmacher reported that there are no abortion clinics in around 89% of counties across the U.S. There are even fewer clinics that provide abortions past the 24th week of pregnancy. 

Plus, several states have requirements for patients and providers that Planned Parenthood calls “unreasonable” and “medically unnecessary.”

Providers who perform abortions near a state's time limit face additional hurdles. They must be "really good at ultrasound" to determine the exact gestational age of the pregnancy to avoid violating the law, Hanna Peterson, an abortion provider in Kentucky, told Axios.

Arizona, Florida and Louisiana have enacted laws that ban abortions at 15 weeks that have yet to take effect. Mississippi and Kentucky attempted to enact similar laws, but were temporarily blocked by the courts.

Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina and Idaho's six-week bans have been temporarily blocked by federal judges. Missouri's eight-week ban has also been blocked. 

13 states have "trigger" laws in place that would prohibit abortion shortly after Roe is overturned. 

Meanwhile, 16 states have codified abortion protections into their laws. 

Red states race to enact new abortion restrictions

Blue states move to protect abortion access without Roe

What abortion access would look like if Roe v. Wade is overturned

How late in pregnancy each state allows abortions

Abortion at later stages in the pregnancy is largely still legal in most states.

Abortion

Axios Explains: Abortion

Map showing the limits at which abortions are allowed in each state.

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday at an event in Dallas that the Supreme Court has been changed by the leak of a draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this month, calling it "tremendously bad," according to audio obtained by Reason Magazine.

Why it matters: Thomas, a conservative, said he believes the leak has damaged trust in the court and said that "we are in danger of destroying the institutions that are required for a free society."

The unprecedented leaked draft, first published by Politico, insinuated that the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision that would make abortion immediately illegal in several states.

What they're saying: "You can't have a civil society, a free society, without a stable legal system. You can't have one without stability and things like property or interpretation and impartial judiciary," he added.

"And the institution that I'm a part of, if someone said that one line of one opinion would be leaked by anyone, you would say that, 'Oh, that's impossible. No one would ever do that.'"

"There was such a belief in the rule of law, belief in the court, a belief in what we were doing, that that was verboten. It was beyond anyone's understanding, or at least anyone's imagination, that someone would do that. And look where we are, where now that trust or that belief is gone forever."

"When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I'm in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. It's like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can't undo it."

"I wonder how long we're going to have these institutions at the rate we're undermining them. And then I wonder when they're gone, or they are destabilized, what we will have as a country. And I don't think that the prospects are good if we continue to lose them."

Thomas also criticized recent peaceful pro-abortion rights protests outside of justices' homes, saying he believes conservatives would have never done the same.

"You would never visit Supreme Court Justices' houses when things didn't go our way. We didn't throw temper tantrums. It is incumbent on us to always act appropriately and not to repay tit for tat."

The big picture: Chief Justice John Roberts, after confirming the authenticity of the draft document, called the leak "absolutely appalling" and that he hopes "one bad apple" doesn't change "people's perception" of the Supreme Court.

He said it did not represent the court's final decision and directed the court's marshal to open an investigation into the leaked draft.

Go deeper: Texts show Ginni Thomas pushed Meadows to help overturn 2020 election

Clarence Thomas: “Tremendously bad” Supreme Court leak shatters public trust

"When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I'm in, it changes the institution fundamentally."

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaking in October 2021 in Washington, D.C.

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaking in October 2021 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Supreme Court

Never have so many kids reported being so sad and stressed.

Why it matters: The American Academy of Pediatrics declared the mental health crisis among children and teens a national emergency.

Zoom out: Consider these troubling stats, reported by Axios health care editor Tina Reed.

Mental distress: More than 40% of teens said they persistently felt sad or hopeless during 2021, a CDC survey found.

Risky behavior: The same survey found increased use of alcohol and drugs during the shutdown.

Abuse: 55% reported emotional abuse from a parent or other adult in the home. Over 10% reported physical abuse.

Here's how all of us — parents, relatives, friends, mentors — can help:

Look for outward signs that something's wrong — rapid weight gain or loss, falling grades, mood swings, frequent headaches and fatigue. Don't avert your gaze. 

Don't just watch — ask. Young people want attention and questions, even if they act otherwise.

Read between the lines. "We look at kids who are irritable or angry, and we say they're bad or mad," says Ken Ginsburg, a pediatrician and founder of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication. "That's how they show they're sad."

Call in professionals. If the price is steep, start with cheap or free resources at the child's pediatrician's office, school or house of worship. All those places have adults trained to counsel. Here's a guide for broaching therapy with teens. 

Insist on answers. Don't assume specialists are omniscient. Seek second opinions. If they prescribe medication, follow up with them on why and the side effects. Alcohol often causes problems when mixed with meds. Help teens understand this." 

Here are two common pitfalls when helping teens, Emily Pluhar, an adolescent psychologist at Harvard, tells us:

Tiptoeing when worried: "People are so afraid to ask about things like self-harm and suicide because they’re afraid they’ll suggest it," she says. "No data shows that that’s true. So be as direct as possible."

Fearing you're endorsing: "If a teen says, 'My life sucks,' you can say: 'I can see how you feel that way with what's been going on' — without agreeing."

The bottom line: "You don’t need to have the perfect words," Ginsburg says. "You just need to show up."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 9.

The state of the teen mental health crisis — and how to help

Kids want attention and questions, even if they act otherwise.

Illustration of a young man walking under a thought bubble shaped raincloud

Mental health

Coronavirus

Maple-flavored foods are trending these days — as are snacks made from cauliflower and burgers made from anything but meat, judging from a list of the Specialty Food Association's favorite new products.

Why it matters: The winning products — which include a breadfruit pancake and waffle mix, a salted caramel hot chocolate and a vegan cheese made from carrots — point to the flavors and products that will be on the menu in mainstream restaurants and in home kitchens. 

A taste: Winners of the Specialty Food Association's "sofi Awards" include Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream’s Maple Soaked Pancakes, Rick’s Picks Savory Snacking Cauliflower Florets and Gathered Food Corp.’s Plant-Based Salmon Burgers.

Gold prizes were awarded to a dark chocolate balsamic vinegar, a chili lime seaweed seasoning and a ready-to-eat chicken soup called Pho-in-One, among others.

New product winners include: beer brittle, cassava chips and an "everything bagel"-flavored goat cheese.

Methodology: The judges, who hailed from the Food Innovation Center at Rutgers University, used "flavor, appearance, texture, aroma, ingredient quality and innovation" as their criteria.

Of note: Weird ice cream flavors — including "everything bagel" and "mac 'n' cheese" — are a new trend, per The Wall Street Journal.

What's next: Some of these products could be showing up in your neighborhood 7-Eleven. 

The company has started a contest for rising food makers who want to be featured next to the Slurpee machine (and elsewhere in the stores).

"Sevs" (as 7-Eleven is known in Jennifer's household) has said that it wants "to expand its product offerings past those of a typical convenience store."

Make way for breadfruit waffles and maple pancake ice cream

Salmon burgers and cassava chips won food awards.

Food

Axios Media Trends

Percentage change in price of DWAC,<br> Twitter and Tesla

Data: Yahoo Finance; Chart: Axios Visuals

There’s no better proof of Twitter’s impact on public conversation and markets than one tweet moving billions of dollars in market cap across three different companies in a matter of minutes. 

Driving the news: Elon Musk’s tweet that his pending Twitter takeover deal was “temporarily on hold” sent Wall Street on a wild ride Friday. Investors were already beginning to grow skeptical of Musk’s bid, but the possibility that he could walk sent Twitter’s shares tumbling more than 20% before the market opened.

Musk's tweeted clarification two hours later that he was still “committed” to the acquisition gave the stock a pop, but shares still closed down nearly 10% at market close.

Be smart: Musk’s tweet set off a ripple effect across a slew of companies, including Tesla, which saw shares jump nearly 6% on the possibility that Musk wouldn’t become a part-time CEO.

Shares in DWAC, the blank check company that plans to take former President Trump’s social media company Truth Social, also gained on the possibility that Elon might bail on the deal.

How one Elon Musk tweet showed Twitter's impact on the stock market

Musk’s tweet set off a ripple effect across a slew of companies.

Elon Musk

Big Tech

Media

It's going to be a pricy summer for American travelers as increased demand and rising prices have driven up costs for travel and summer activities.

Driving the news: “Definitely every single category is more expensive now than it was this time last year,” Sally French, a travel rewards expert at NerdWallet, told The Washington Post.

What's happening: Executives in the travel and hospitality industry have noticed that American consumers are planning to hit the road this summer, especially as pandemic restrictions have lifted.

A survey from Bankrate.com found that 69% of Americans said they would take a vacation this summer.

What they're saying: “We think this summer is going to be gangbusters for travel,” Marriott CEO Tony Capuano told CNBC.

Expedia said in an earnings report that gross bookings jumped 58% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year.

Yes, but: Traveling won't be easy on your wallet. Higher costs for lodging, airline tickets and expenses may spoil summer plans, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Gas prices: The national average price for regular gasoline jumped to $4.37 a gallon Tuesday, which is a new record high price, Axios' Jacob Knutson writes.

Diesel prices hit a new record at $5.50 per gallon, too.

Prices have been high since Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused a disruption of the energy market, which drove up the costs.

Airline fares rose 12.7% in February 2022 compared to last year, even though they're still down 14 percent compared to 2019, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Data from the Airlines Reporting Corp. found the average ticket price for a roundtrip ticket jumped to $464 in February 2022 -- up from $409 in January.

Hopper's Summer 2022 Travel Guide said prices are higher due to increased demand, fewer flights and jet fuel prices.

Hotel prices are up 40 percent since March 2021, per The Washington Post.

New data from travel research company STR found the average daily hotel price was $147.15 from March 1 to 26, The Washington Post reported.

This is a jump from 2021 when prices were roughly $105 a night on average.

And it's higher than pre-pandemic prices. Average prices for a nightly stay were $132.56 in 2019.

Labor shortages and higher wages for workers have led to price increased, Carter Wilson, STR’s senior vice president of consulting, told The Washington Post.

Rental car prices will be on the rise, too, as there will be a shortage of vehicles to rent out, per The Wall Street Journal.

A global chip shortage and supply-chain issues will lead to higher demand and increased costs for what rental cars are available.

Summer camp prices will also be on the rise for 2022.

Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association, told CNN that camp fees could jump 10% to 15% for summer 2021 compared to last year.

Rosenberg said the rise in prices is slightly due to demand since the COVID-19 pandemic forced some camps to close.

Summer vacation is going to be expensive

Airline fares, gas prices and summer camp costs are all on the rise.

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