1 big thing

During the pandemic, self-employed, gig and freelance workers were eligible for unemployment benefits. Now as states start cutting back on those pandemic-era programs, that subset of workers is about to get shut out of those benefits. Plus, the latest from the Florida building collapse. And, reparations via Venmo. Guests: Axios' Courtenay Brown, Erin Doherty and Hope King. Credits: Axios Today is...

A massive heat dome -- an atmospheric trap of hot ocean air -- has had temperatures soaring in the Pacific Northwest for days. Plus, Republicans consider taxing big tech to close the digital divide. And, movies in theaters are back...fast and furious. Guests: Amy Harder, Vice President at Breakthrough Energy and Axios' Margaret Harding McGill and Sara Fischer. Credits: Axios Today is produced in p...

Last week, the Cowessess First Nation said it found 751 unmarked graves of children at the site of a former residential school in Saskatchewan. This comes just weeks after the remains of 215 other children were found at a similar school site in British Columbia. Plus, new questions about building integrity in Florida and beyond. And, restaurants and hotels welcome the work-from-home crowd. Guests:...

President Biden took a preemptive victory lap yesterday over his massive $1 trillion+ infrastructure package, touting a bipartisan agreement he says he’s brokered. Plus, Minneapolis prepares for Derek Chauvin’s sentencing. And, why many Pride parades have banned uniformed police officers. Guests: Axios' Mike Allen, Nick Halter, and Seattle-based freelance journalist Mark Van Streefkerk. Credits: A...

This morning we’re bringing you the stories of how a labor shortage is affecting two industries: airlines and small, long-standing businesses. Plus, President Biden’s executive orders on gun violence. And, Ibram X. Kendi on voting rights. Guests: Axios' Joann Muller, Emma Way and Marisa Fernandez and How to Be an Antiracist's Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with...

According to a speech scheduled to be delivered today, the Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, will say the economic disruption of the pandemic shows that America needs an industrial policy that invests in more manufacturing jobs. Plus, the Biden administration says it won’t meet its July 4th COVID vaccination goal. And, what you need to know one month ahead of the Tokyo Olympi...

The Senate is voting today on whether or not to move forward with the For the People Act, a sweeping election reform bill that’s been at the top of the Democratic wish list for months. But the vote likely will not go their way. Plus, ranked-choice voting, explained. And, remote hiring gets complicated in Colorado. Guests: Axios' Stef Kight, Glen Johnson and John Frank. Credits: Axios Today is prod...

Axios Political Reporter Jonathan Swan sat down this week with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan for the latest episode of Axios on HBO, and their conversation raised questions about the future of U.S. counterterrorism in that region. Plus, U.S. Bishops and their vote to deny communion to President Biden. And, why we’re dreading more of our social obligations. Guests: Steve Millies, director of...

The latest episode of our Hard Truths series examining systemic racism in America takes a look at the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry. Today: the obstacles that two Black Latinas had to overcome when they chose to start their own businesses in the overwhelmingly white marijuana industry. Guest: Chanda Macias, CEO of Ilera Holistic Healthcare, and Women Grow and Gia Morón, CEO of GVM Commun...

Let’s go back to a moment earlier this week when President Biden was talking to the press in Geneva about his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin had done a lot of lying to reporters in his presser. But when it was Biden’s turn to face the media, things got a little testy... Plus, how TV is embracing queer people and stories. And, a Western heat wave intensifies. Guests: Culture cr...

The House voted yesterday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, after the Senate unanimously did so on Tuesday. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., falling on the day in 1865 that enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas learned they were free - more than two years after emancipation was announced. Plus, culture clash at the Southern Baptist Convention. And, the FAA gets...

Later today, President Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This will be the first meeting between the two since Biden took office. What’s it going to be like inside that room? Plus, more evidence of COVID’s long term effects. And, the new corporate must-have? The company retreat. Guests: Axios' Margaret Talev, Glen Johnson, Marisa Fernandez, and Bryan Walsh. Credits: Axios Today...

A new Axios Special Report, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, sheds some light on the predatory practices American hospitals are using to collect on patients' debt. Medical debt makes up 58% of all debt collections in the U.S. and has caused hundreds of thousands of Americans to file for bankruptcy. Plus, the overlooked role of Latinos in the LGBTQ civil rights movement. And, the home...

The G7 Summit, a meeting of some of the world's wealthiest democracies, wrapped up yesterday in Cornwall, England. What are the takeaways from President Biden's first foreign trip? Plus, a new government in Israel. And forecasting the short-term future for work, life and play. Guests: Axios' Dave Lawler, Barak Ravid and Erica Pandey. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Ind...

The Consumer Price Index released yesterday shows that prices for food, energy and products like used cars increased 5 percent compared to May of 2020. It’s the biggest year-over-year increase in almost 13 years. Plus, President Biden strikes a different tone on the world stage. And, brace yourself for cold and flu season this year. Guests: Axios' Felix Salmon, Marisa Fernandez, and Margaret Talev...

During the pandemic, ridership of mass transit pretty much collapsed. Now as the county reopens transportation experts are hoping that commuters will come back. But what if they don’t? Plus, the uptick in trans murders in the U.S. And, President Biden reverses the ban on TikTok. Guests: Axios' Joann Muller, Orion Rummler, and Ashley Gold. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushki...

You’ve probably heard the term critical race theory recently. Republican lawmakers in at least 9 states have come out strongly against it, claiming the theory is divisive, and are trying to ban its teaching in schools. Most Democrats strongly disagree. What is this decades-old academic concept that’s become a key fight in America’s culture wars? Plus, new intelligence on the Capitol insurrection....

The FDA has approved a new Alzheimer’s drug for the first time in almost 20 years. The hope is it would treat the more than 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease. But the effectiveness of the drug is up for question. Plus, the Biden administration’s split stance on Puerto Ricans and benefits. And, the upside to online concerts. Guests: Jose Delgado, Washington correspondent of El Nue...

The western US is in the middle of one of the worst droughts in at least the past 1,200 years. And as soon as this week, Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country, could reach its lowest point since it was first created in the 1930s. Plus, Secretary of State Tony Blinken talks China with Mike Allen. And, Jonathan Swan takes us inside the progressive fight over voting rights. Guests: Axios' A...

It's Friday and we're doing a global edition of our weekly politics roundup, with Axios world editor Dave Lawler. Plus, what to expect from the housing market. And, how pandemic gaming is changing the media landscape. Guests: Axios' Dave Lawler, Felix Salmon, and Sara Fischer. Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani G...

Every week for the past year, Axios has published a map of where Covid cases are rising and falling in the U.S. Today, we retire our map because cases are decreasing nationwide, and have been for a while now. But Covid isn’t disappearing. So what will this next phase of the pandemic look like? Plus, the big question mark hanging over the summer Olympics. And, our skeptical space reporter explains...

Yesterday, the Biden administration was in Tulsa, Oklahoma to mark 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre. While there, he announced a plan to tackle the racial wealth gap in the US, aimed at increasing home and small business ownership in communities of color. Plus, why some American visa holders are stranded in India. And, CDC vaccine cards become de facto passports. Guests: Andre Perry, senior...

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka abruptly dropped out of the French Open yesterday, two days into the tournament. That’s after she was fined and threatened with expulsion for declining to do media interviews at the tournament, citing her mental health. Plus, bogus QAnon theories have U.S. pastors worried. And, the Chinese Communist Party at 100. Guests: Axios' Jeff Tracy, Bethany Allen-Ebra...

When George Floyd was killed, the protests for racial justice put pressure on news organizations to do what many people had been calling for for years: hire and promote more journalists of color, listen to them, let them cover stories relevant to their communities. Like the killings of Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. Or, more recently, the Atlanta spa shootings. Guests: Toulouse Olurunnipa, repo...

Yesterday a court in The Hague ordered oil giant Royal Dutch Shell to reduce its carbon emissions. In a first-of-its kind ruling, Shell was ordered to cut emissions by 45% by 2030, 25% more than their previous 2030 goal. It’s just one of the latest moves to hold big oil accountable on climate change. Plus, Haitian migrants in the U.S. react to renewed deportation protection. And, U.S. intelligence...