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

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

National

Immigrant groups and volunteers in El Paso, Texas, are working overtime this Christmas season to help a massive wave of migrants and asylum-seekers endure the historic arctic freeze that's sweeping the United States. 

Why it matters: "Everybody's working as quickly as possible to make sure that those facilities are available," said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who represents El Paso. 

The arctic front is catching some migrants off guard.

Homeless shelters and nongovernment organizations have been stretched thin, with multiple reports of migrants forced to sleep on the streets. 

Driving the news: This year already looks like a record December for border crossings in El Paso, fueled in part by the potentially imminent end of Title 42, the Trump-era pandemic policy that allowed border officials to quickly expel migrants.

There have been roughly 12,800 Border Patrol encounters in El Paso in just the past seven days, according to city data.

The mayor of El Paso declared a state of emergency on Saturday, and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) sent the National Guard to the El Paso border area.

Zoom out: U.S. immigration and emergency agencies have long relied on a network of nongovernment organizations across the border — often with religious ties — to provide initial housing, resources and services to migrants awaiting asylum and immigration court hearings.

The Red Cross is currently on the hunt for facilities to set up emergency shelter operations that could sleep up to 10,000 people, Escobar told Axios.

The local Catholic diocese is also set to open up additional space in the city to hold roughly 800 migrants and asylum-seekers.

HOPE Border Institute staff had planned to take a few weeks at the end of the year to recharge. "Now, that's not possible," Dylan Corbett, the founding executive director of the group, told Axios.

One site in a network of shelters has been working with two local hotels to host the overflow of migrants, especially those waiting to travel given the holiday transportation rush, Border Servant Corps executive director Kari Lenander told Axios.

Some hospitality sites are preparing holiday meals and religious services to offer to migrants in their care during the Christmas season, said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House, which coordinates a network of shelters in the El Paso area holding hundreds of migrants and asylum-seekers.

At a Border Servant Corps site in Las Cruces, New Mexico, team members have volunteered to be "bilingual Santa" for the roughly 100 migrant kids they receive every day, Lenander said.

They are celebrating on Christmas Day, as well as the days before and after, so more kids can take part and receive gifts sponsored by Save the Children for their first Christmas in America.

What they're saying: Some see migrants and asylum-seekers offering Americans a lesson about hope for the holiday season.

"I worry that we in the United States, we don’t really know what hope is because many of us have not really experienced desperation," Garcia told Axios.

"When people in the shelters get together, they are absolutely wanting to join in prayer services," Garcia added. "They want to talk about how they feel safe. ... 'God has allowed me to be safe and it’s Christmas.'"

Corbett sees no alternative to giving up his break to continue helping migrants and asylum-seekers. "That's what Christmas is about," Corbett said. "It's about God interrupting, and it's about God coming as the stranger and disrupting plans."

El Paso scrambles to help migrants in Christmas border crisis

Migrants outside the Greyhound bus station near the U.S. and Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Immigration

Politics & Policy

A nonprofit is teaming up with health care providers, insurance companies and community-based organizations to give food-insecure U.S. households a reprieve this holiday season. 

Driving the news: The nonprofit About Fresh is offering financial relief to thousands of Americans in need through a prepaid debit card program — a new safety net as higher food costs and extreme winter weather conditions exacerbate a nationwide hunger crisis.

The big picture: Food is a critical expense during the holidays, according to Josh Trautwein, CEO and c0-founder of About Fresh. 

"We think a lot about the erosion of culture and heritage that results from food insecurity. And we feel that the most acutely during the holidays,” says Trautwein. 

"You're not doing family dinners, you're definitely not doing cookouts, you're definitely not having dinners with neighbors, you're probably not having people over for the holidays if you're food insecure, because you can't afford it.”

How it works: In 2018, About Fresh launched Fresh Connect, a produce prescription program that provides a stipend through a prepaid debit card for participants to purchase fresh food items at local grocery stores.

As of late, 3,250 people across Massachusetts, Oregon, West Virginia and D.C. are enrolled in Fresh Connect, while over $200,000 in transactions are authorized per month.

The program's health care, insurance and community-based partners determine who is eligible and how much they will be allocated monthly — typically between $50 to $200 per cardholder, organizers say. 

Among those partners is Boston Medical Center, which has been conducting a USDA NIFA-funded study of Fresh Connect's effectiveness in addressing food insecurity among low-income families with young children during the pandemic.

Yes, but: In order to be enrolled, a person needs to go through a participating organization partnered with the program, like a health care provider.

About 26 million Americans, or 8% of the country, didn't have health insurance as of the first quarter of 2022, per an HHS report. 

What they're saying: "Our health care system has been primarily oriented towards taking care of people only after they're sick," says Trautwein. "Everything that we are trying to do is to keep people from not getting sick by making sure that they have access to healthy food."

People living with food insecurity can experience adverse, lasting impacts on health, including an increased risk of chronic diseases as well as impacts on child development and mental health.  

Of the roughly 10% of U.S. households that are food insecure, people of color are disproportionately affected, which can worsen existing health inequities.  

Zoom out: Food banks, a major resource for those who are food insecure, typically experience an increase in demand during the holidays. 

This year, that's compounding with extreme weather, inflation and both food pantry supply and funding shortages across the country. 

The bottom line: "Our ability to increase healthy food purchasing power for the community of households we serve who are experiencing food insecurity has a cascading economic impact on the ability to afford the rest of the holidays,” Trautwein tells Axios.

Teaming up for holiday hunger relief

It's providing healthy food purchasing power for thousands of low-income Americans.

Illustration of a hands holding a fork and knife next to an empty plate sitting on an American dollar

Food security

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Breaking climate science and policy coverage as extreme weather events reshape communities. Keep tabs on the race to a low carbon economy, which may be bumpy as governments, climate tech startups and major oil and gas companies race to find their niche amid the changing energy landscape.

Energy & Climate

Axios AM

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and media mogul, is interested in acquiring either Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones or the Washington Post, a source familiar with his thinking told Axios.

Why it matters: Bloomberg wants to expand his media empire and sees Dow Jones as his ideal fit, but he would buy the Post if Jeff Bezos were interested in selling, the source said. 

The combination of Bloomberg and Dow Jones would create an unparalleled business news behemoth. 

Details: Bloomberg, the source notes, would be interested in a potential acquisition of either property, but Dow Jones — the publisher of financial titles such as the Wall Street Journal, Barron's and MarketWatch — would be a stronger target. 

Bloomberg is close to Dow Jones parent News Corp's owner, Rupert Murdoch, and believes efforts to merge News Corp and its sister company Fox Corporation will fail, creating a possible opening.

At least one activist investor has said that they would rather News Corp spin off parts of its business — either its real estate platform or Dow Jones — to unlock value for investors.

Still, Bloomberg has not yet approached Murdoch about his interest, nor has he begun to engage any official third parties, like bankers, to evaluate the opportunity. 

Bloomberg is friendly with, but not close to, Bezos, the source said. He sees the Post combined with Bloomberg as a formidable potential competitor to the New York Times.

A Dow Jones deal would give Bloomberg access to a premiere business title that could be leveraged to sell more subscriptions to the Bloomberg Terminal, a real-time data, news and analysis platform for financial professionals. 

Subscriptions to the Terminal make up the vast majority of Bloomberg LP's revenue, which surpassed $10 billion for the first time in 2018. 

Bloomberg's news offering, powered by Bloomberg Media — a separate division within Bloomberg LP — has helped the Terminal differentiate itself from other data and analysis platforms on Wall Street. 

Bloomberg would plan to integrate any title he acquired with Bloomberg Media, creating a formidable business news empire, the source said. 

Between the lines: The Post, while less of an obvious fit, could help amplify Bloomberg's federal government coverage, which includes Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Government.

The Post is on track to lose money this year and has lost digital subscribers following the Trump-era subscription bump. 

The company, which was purchased by Jeff Bezos in 2013 for $250 million, said last week that layoffs are coming in the first quarter of 2023. The Post's two big software bets under Bezos are being sidelined and potentially sold, leading some to wonder how invested Bezos continues to be in the property. 

A Post spokesperson told Axios, "The Post is not for sale."

The big picture: Bloomberg has a history of acquiring professional news companies and folding them into its media strategy. 

Bloomberg LP bought what was then a professional services news and research group called the Bureau of National Affairs, or BNA, for around $990 million in 2011. Bloomberg BNA is now called Bloomberg Industry Group and includes subdivisions focused on topics like legal reporting.

The company acquired a portfolio benchmark and strategy indices business from Barclays in 2016 and eventually rebranded it as Bloomberg Indices after a five-year co-branding agreement with Barclays expired. 

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say that Bloomberg LP bought BNA in 2011, not 2021.

Exclusive: Bloomberg eyes WSJ-parent Dow Jones, WaPo

The combination of Bloomberg and Dow Jones would create an unparalleled business news behemoth.

Michael Bloomberg

Dealmaking

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

Macro

Axios Macro

A measure of inflation watched closely by the Federal Reserve showed yet another month of cooling price increases, the Commerce Department said on Friday. 

Why it matters: It's the latest data to point to a slowing of still-high inflation — alongside moderating consumer spending — as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates aggressively to slow the economy in an effort to get inflation down to its 2% target. 

By the numbers: The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 5.5% in the 12 months through November, down from 6.1% in the prior month.

Core PCE, which excludes food and fuel costs, rose 4.7%, slowing from the 5% in October.

The report also offered details about consumer spending, savings and income in November. After-tax incomes rose 0.4%, outpacing the 0.1% monthly rise in the PCE index (and the 0.2% monthly rise in core PCE). 

Still, consumer spending slowed notably from the prior month. It rose just 0.1% in November as consumers spent more on housing and less on new trucks. That is down from 0.9% in October, which was revised 0.1 percentage point higher.

The personal saving rate rose slightly to 2.4%, 0.2 percentage points higher than in October; though still among the lowest levels on record.

In recent months, consumers have saved a much smaller portion of their income relative to the early days of the pandemic, amid lockdowns and government stimulus payments.

Key inflation gauge shows price increases cooled again in November

It's the latest data to point to slowing of still-high inflation.

Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Inflation

Jobs

Stock market

Federal Reserve

Hill Leaders

Axios Hill Leaders

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is broadcasting in public what she hears in private from top CEOs: The economy can avoid a recession.

Why it matters: After defying political expectations in 2022, team Biden is taking a victory lap on the economy — and wants to drown out any recessionary chatter in 2023. 

The goal is to focus on the positive: Avoid any self-fulfilling chatter about a recession, and help the economy stick a soft landing. 

What they're saying: “By and large, people are reasonably optimistic,” Raimondo told Axios in an interview. "I talk to CEOs every week, across industries, across sizes ... little, big industrials, retail, banks.”

“I talk to airline CEOs, and they will say: If I just did my business every day — and didn't read the newspaper — I would never be using the word 'recession.'"

"No one's gearing up for a bad year. And some people, depending on what they sell, are gearing up for a great year," she said. 

The backstory: After the economy contracted in the first two quarters of the year, talk of a recession bubbled up on financial networks all summer, with the White House getting roped into discussing the technical definition of a recession. 

In October, President Biden allowed that "a very slight recession" was possible, but downplayed the likelihood. 

Later that month, the Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter.  On Thursday, those figures were revised upward, with growth at 3.2%.

Job growth has stayed strong, for an average monthly gain of 272,00 jobs over the last three months. 

Raimondo channels CEOs' case for holiday cheer

In an interview with Axios, she says CEOs are "reasonably optimistic" about the economy.

Axios

Friday's top stories

El Paso scrambles to help migrants in Christmas border crisis

Teaming up for holiday hunger relief

Exclusive: Bloomberg eyes WSJ-parent Dow Jones, WaPo

Key inflation gauge shows price increases cooled again in November

Raimondo channels CEOs' case for holiday cheer

Monster winter storm and Arctic blast disrupt holiday travel across U.S.

Jan. 6 final report alleges Trump engaged in "multi-part conspiracy"

Microsoft and Activision press FTC to approve merger

Musk says he's "definitely" not selling more Tesla stock next year

Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250 million bond