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National

Denver

Axios Denver

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert leads a pack of six candidates vying to replace Ken Buck in Congress' next term.

The big picture: The controversial lawmaker, known for her election denial and white Christian nationalist leanings, moved from the 3rd District on the Western Slope that she currently represents to the 4th District amid a tough re-election battle.

Her rivals are longtime district residents and conservative leaders, including current state Reps. Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf and former state Sen. Jerry Sonneberg.

The other two rivals are Deborah Flora, a conservative radio talk show host and activist, and Peter Yu, who works in the finance industry.

State of play: Boebert holds a significant financial and polling lead in the race, and the other candidates are struggling to emerge as her top challenger.

Most are blasting Boebert for her bombastic reputation and pledging to do the work rather than garner the spotlight.

Yes, but: A number of candidates in the race acknowledged they were once arrested, and at least two — Holtorf and Lynch — enter the race with their own baggage.

Holtorf said in public remarks he helped a girlfriend get an abortion. Lynch resigned his post as state House GOP leader after an undisclosed driving while intoxicated arrest.

Zoom in: On the topic of immigration, the candidates are split on how to handle migrants. Boebert and Lynch want all immigrants deported, while Holtorf and Sonneberg believe in a pathway to citizenship or jobs.

Yu wants tighter regulations around what qualifies as asylum to limit immigration.

Context: The 4th District is the most Republican-leaning in the state by voter registration but roughly half of voters are unaffiliated and a majority of the district is suburban, encompassing Douglas County in the Denver metro area.

1-minute voter guide: 4th District GOP primary features Lauren Boebert and 5 challengers

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Windsor) at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in March. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Lauren Boebert

Politics & Policy

Election

Latino

Axios Latino

A long-time jazz duo is tackling an often-overlooked episode in U.S. history — the destruction of Black communities thanks to the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.

The big picture: Greg Bryant and Paul Horton of the jazz duo Concurrence released Friday their ambitious "Indivisible" LP that tells the story of how highways like Interstate 40 upended vibrant communities of color in Nashville.

The President Eisenhower-era initiative displaced Black businesses and forced residents to leave homes, from the East Coast to the American South to the Southwest, without fair compensation.

Experts say the program erased generations of Black wealth in the name of progress and moving possible nuclear weapons during the Cold War.

Zoom in: Available for streaming on platforms like Spotify, "Indivisible" takes listeners on a journey through spoken word, joyful beats and reflective vibes to show what was lost and how communities fought back. 

New York-based la reserve records released the project.

Songs like "Groovin at the Del Morroco" elicit images of a busy street of Black businesses and happiness, while "I-40 Was a Razor" invokes terror, confusion and anger.

"The Steering Committee Blues (Ain't Lying Down)" is a call to action with a neo-soul tone and influences from the civil rights era of jazz.

The intrigue: Horton, a keyboardist, tells Axios the project came after conversations with Bryant, a bassist and a Nashville native, whose family was forced to relocate because of I-40's construction. 

"Before the interstate came through, roughly 80 to 85% of all black-owned businesses were concentrated in this area of North Nashville," said Horton, who grew up in North Alabama. 

Bryant tells Axios that growing up in Nashville during the 1980s, he saw boarded-up buildings and heard Black elders talk about the once-bustling Jefferson Street.

"Why was the Black side so rundown? What was the cause of that? I started asking myself these questions when I was 10 years old," Bryant said.

Zoom out: The pair conducted research, interviewed residents during other gigs and finally put it together: What happened in Nashville with I-40 happened to other Black, Latino and Native American communities.

The same highway split through Indigenous communities in Oklahoma and Arizona and Mexican American neighborhoods in New Mexico. 

Bryant played gigs on Jefferson in front of elders.

"It's a full circle moment to make this record because it honors our parents, our grandparents," he said. "This happened in so many different cities like Nashville."

Context: Jazz artists have a long history of addressing civil rights and protests through music.

"We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite" of 1960 focused on Black history from enslavement to the sit-in movement.

Charles Mingus's 1959 "Mingus Ah Um" album attacked Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus for defying the Supreme Court's desegregation orders and preventing nine Black students from integrating Little Rock Central High School.

Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" was a cry against lynching.

Go deeper: The $1 billion push to remove highways dividing communities

"We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite"

The $1 billion push to remove highways dividing communities

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Jazz duo takes on how US highways hurt Black communities

Greg Bryant and Paul Horton of the jazz duo Concurrence tell how I-40 upended Black Nashville communities.

Jazz duo Concurrence made up of Greg Bryant and Paul Horton

Greg Bryant and Paul Horton of the jazz duo Concurrence. Photo: Courtesy of la reserve records

African Americans

Greg Bryant and Paul Horton of the jazz duo Concurrence. 

Race and Equity

Major League Baseball's move to include the stats of Negro League players in its historic record could aid perseverance activists in saving the aging Kansas City home of Satchel Paige.

Why it matters: For decades, sites connected to Negro League legends like Paige sat forgotten or in disrepair but MLB's recent decision is giving new life to efforts to save the historic sites of Black players during segregation.

MLB announced last week that it would add statistics from the Negro Leagues to the Major League historical record.

The move reshapes MLB's record books and places Paige third all-time for a single season ERA.

Zoom in: Architectural firm Multistudio has undertaken the restoration of Paige's family home in Kansas City, which is in severe need of repair following a 2018 fire and decades of neglect. 

Robert Riccardi at Multistudio tells Axios that the firm is waiting on a $750,000 grant to start restoration work and will need to raise around $5  million to make it into a museum, a community center and private office space for lease.

Multistudio helped ignite Pitch Perfect KC, a development team of local professionals and activists whose singular mission is restoring the home.

The restoration is part of a large goal to revive Kansas City's historic Black Santa Fe Neighborhood.

"This is not just a baseball story. It's a civil rights story," Riccardi said.

An artist reimagining of the Satchel Paige home.

An artist reimagining of the Satchel Paige home. Photo: Courtesy of Multistudio

The intrigue: Paige and his family lived in the Kansas City home from the 1940s until the time of his death in 1982.

Located in the heart of one of the nation's then-strongest Black middle-class communities, the Paige home is said to have attracted notable guests such as Nina Simone, Joe Louis and Duke Ellington.

Paige lived there while he played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League and later Cleveland Indians after Jackie Robinson broke MLB's modern-day color line.

Context: Born in Mobile, Alabama, to a family of 12 siblings, Paige made a name for himself for his legendary exploits on the mound with an explosive fastball and later pinpoint control. 

He became a popular name among Black and white baseball fans and would barnstorm with white players during the off-season as some MLB executives fretted about not being able to sign him because of segregation.

He later signed with the Indians, now the Guardians, and became the first player who had played in the Negro Leagues to pitch in the MLB World Series. 

Paige would play professional baseball until he was 59.

By the numbers: The Negro Leagues were made up of around 2,300 supremely talented Black and Latino players who were barred from the segregated American and National Leagues.

Not only did Negro League players have to face fierce competition on the field, but refusal of hotel, dining and restroom services because of racial segregation. They also experienced death threats.

The Negro Leagues combined to produce 35 National Baseball Hall of Famers. Paige was the first during his landmark election to the Class of 1971.

Go deeper: The Negro League players now topping MLB records

The Negro League players now topping MLB records

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New hope to save KC home of Negro League legend Satchel Paige

MLB's decision is giving new life to efforts to save historic sites of Black players during segregation.

Satchel Paige, pitcher for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs, stands at the top of the dugout with baseball in hand in 1942.

Satchel Paige, pitcher for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs, stands at the top of the dugout with baseball in hand. 1942. Photo: Bettmann/Contributor via Getty Images.

Baseball

Satchel Paige, pitcher for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs, stands at the top of the dugout with baseball in hand. 1942. 

Shifts in technology and media are changing the way we play, watch and understand sports. Business models are adapting and social change is forcing those in charge of teams and leagues to reconsider decades-old practices.

Sports

Young people are increasingly seeking out in-person events to meet partners, per a June report from event management platform Eventbrite. 

Why it matters: The shifting dating landscape follows diminished interest in dating apps and a recent boom in speed dating events. 

"This ongoing trend speaks to a broader societal shift where people are craving genuine connections and meaningful experiences tailored to their interests," Eventbrite said in the report released on Thursday. 

By the numbers: Attendance at dating and singles events on Eventbrite increased 42% from 2022 to 2023.

From May 2023 to April 2024, the platform saw more than 1.5 million searches for dating and singles events. 

Swiping right in real life: Young singles seek offline dating

Attendance at dating and singles events on Eventbrite increased 42% from 2022 to 2023.

Axios

Saturday's top stories

1-minute voter guide: 4th District GOP primary features Lauren Boebert and 5 challengers

Jazz duo takes on how US highways hurt Black communities

New hope to save KC home of Negro League legend Satchel Paige

Swiping right in real life: Young singles seek offline dating

Israel rescues four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza

The Texas Stock Exchange has its work cut out for it

Biden's Cabinet moonlights for campaign cash

Streaming is the new cable

School's out, apartments are in

Daughter's testimony rocks Hunter Biden trial