Sign up .🇺🇸 1 big thing: New immigrant frontiers Data: George W.Bush Institute.Map: Alice Feng/Axios Immigrants already in the U.S.who decide to move are disproportionately heading for Sun Belt metros, Axios’ Stef Kight writes from a new study by the George W.Bush Institute.
Why it matters: Immigrants in the U.S.have increasingly chosen to live in smaller cities and more suburban areas — spreading demographic and social change across the country.
Of the top 25 metro areas for this kind of secondary migration, 15 are in the Sun Belt, according to the report, which analyzed foreign-born populations in the U.S.
between 2010-2020.
Six are in Florida and three are in South Carolina, with two each in Texas, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.The top 10 metro areas for immigrants’ well-being:
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, Calif.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C./Md./Va.St.Louis, Mo./Ill.
Pittsburgh, Pa.Raleigh-Cary, N.C.Jackson, Miss.Cincinnati, Ohio/Ky./Ind.Share this story .2.New trend: Free bus rides Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
D.C.may soon become the biggest city to let residents ride buses for free — a jolt of momentum for a burgeoning nationwide trend.
Why it matters: A healthy, well-used public transit system can be the beating heart of a city’s economy, even if it’s not itself a big moneymaker, Alex Fitzpatrick writes for Axios What’s Next .
💡 What’s happening: Waiving bus fares helps low-income people, at a relatively minor cost to local governments.
For cities still struggling to revitalize their business districts, that can start to look like a pretty good deal.
Ⓜ️ In D.C., Metrobus rides within the District will be free starting next summer, The Washington Post reports — as long as Mayor Muriel Bowser approves a measure passed by the D.C.Council on Tuesday.
That’s not guaranteed — she has been skeptical of the potential cost.Washington would follow neighbor Alexandria, Va., where the bus network introduced free service last year, and Kansas City, Mo., which began “Zero Fare” bus travel in 2020.
Denver has long offered free service on MallRide, a downtown shuttle.
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3.🛢️ Lowest price of the year Data: FactSet.Chart: Axios Visuals Crude oil futures hit their lowest level of the year yesterday, Matt Phillips writes for Axios Markets .
Why it matters: The oil market is a tell on the global economy, which looks like it could be in trouble.Gas prices — which lag behind crude oil — have already fallen to $3.33 per gallon, according to AAA .
4.
📷 1,000 words Photo: Libkos/AP Police officers behold a mound of remains of Russian rockets that have hit Kharkiv, Ukraine.
5.🗞️ N.Y.Times strike today Via Twitter
More than 1,100 union members at The New York Times are expected to strike this morning, after more than a year and a half of stalled contract negotiations with management, Axios’ Sara Fischer writes.
Why it matters: Tensions between labor unions and news management teams have grown more palpable in the wake of the pandemic , resulting in more walk-outs, strikes and work stoppages.The Times union, which is represented by the NewsGuild of New York, includes more than 1,400 business and editorial staffers.
80% of the union members work in the newsroom, according to Bill Baker, unit chair for the union at The Times.
A Times spokesperson said talks are ongoing and the sides aren’t deadlocked: “It is disappointing that they are taking such an extreme action when we are not at an impasse.”
The company remains “committed to continuing to serve our readers and are prepared to do so without disruption,” the spokesperson added.Times executive editor Joe Kahn said in an email to staff that the company “will produce a robust report on Thursday,” although “it will be harder than usual.”
Share this story .6.”Trump would prevail”: Dems’ third-party alarm Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Democrats are trying to stop outside groups from forming a bipartisan presidential ticket in 2024, warning voters that the effort is political malpractice, Axios’ Alexi McCammond writes.
Why it matters: A third party could hand the presidency to Donald Trump, warns a new report from Third Way , shared first with Axios.
The report from Third Way, the center-left think tank, details epic failures from past political efforts — and warns about the unique dangers of an emerging outsider candidate.
“If a third-party candidate blew past historic precedent and managed to win enough Electoral Votes to keep any candidate from getting to 270,” the report says, “then the outcome would be decided in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans and where Donald Trump would prevail.” 🖼️ The big picture: Voters’ growing dissatisfaction with both parties — and with candidates considered too extreme on either side — has reenergized a quiet campaign to recruit and fund an alternative presidential ticket.
The bipartisan group No Labels has been working to build a $70 million operation supporting a third-party option in 2024.No Labels didn’t rule out boosting an alternative to Biden if he runs, but told Axios they won’t offer a presidential ticket “if that choice isn’t needed,” per spokesman Ryan Clancy.The bottom line: Third Way’s analysis found that Trump voters are stickier — they like him more than Biden voters like Biden.So they’re not as likely to jump around.
Read the report …Share this story .Editor’s note: This item was clarified to include the full Quote: : from No Labels spokesman Ryan Clancy in the original story.
7.📚 First look: Jon Karl’s new book President Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago on Election Night last month.Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Jonathan Karl of ABC News, after writing two bestselling books on the Trump presidency, will be out in fall 2023 with Volume III, focusing on the aftermath of Jan.
6 and the future of the Republican Party.
Jon tells me he’ll trace Trump’s journey from losing president to Republican primary kingmaker — to the biggest loser of the 2022 midterms.The book will explore how party leaders aided Trump’s attempted political comeback — and what could break his hold on the party in the run-up to ’24.
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Go deeper : Excerpt from Volume II, “Betrayal.” 8.🎞️ 1 film thing: Sundance diversifies Data: Sundance, USC Annenberg School.
Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios A majority of U.S.films in this winter’s Sundance Film Festival dramatic and documentary competitions are directed by women and by people of color — a first since it began releasing demographic data in 2019.
Why it matters: Sundance has been accused of helping “cement the stereotype of an indie film director as a white boy genius with a baseball cap,” as film critic Sean Burns put it in 2019 .Of the directors behind the U.S.Dramatic film category — arguably the festival’s main event — 61% are women and 61% are directors of color, writes Erin Alberty of Axios Salt Lake City .
The festival will run Jan.
19–29 in person in Park City, Utah, in Salt Lake City and at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort, with a selection of films available online Jan.24–29.🧮 By the numbers: Before 2019, women consistently made up fewer than a third of the directors behind U.S.dramatic features.
Fewer than half were directors of color, according to research by Sundance and USC’s Annenberg School .
Of all 101 feature-length films in this year’s festival, 53% have a female director and 45% have a director of color — the highest numbers on record.Go deeper : Sundance feature-film lineup, out yesterday …22-page printable program .
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