🏡 Axios PM: America goes solo

🍽️ Plus: TikTok's dining king | Thursday, December 28, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By ExxonMobil   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Dec 28, 2023 🕶️ It's Thursday! Today's PM — edited by Erica Pandey — is 688 words, a 2½-min. read. Thanks to Carlos Cunha for the copy edit.     1 big thing: Living solo is on the rise Data: IPUMS via Our World in Data. Chart: Axios Visuals The overall share of people living alone in the U.S. has been inching up, Axios' Erica Pandey reports. Why it matters: Living alone can be tough in a country built for families. And it can have consequences for mental and physical health — especially among older Americans. 💡 What's happening: Several social and demographic trends are converging to give rise to isolation. Over the past 50 years, the marriage rate in the U.S. has dropped by nearly 60%. Many people are also delaying marriage into their late 30s, early 40s or beyond. That means more people in their 20s and 30s are living alone. Among adults 60 and older, kinlessness (no living partner, children or siblings) is on the rise. That trend will likely continue for younger generations as more people opt not to start families. The Census Bureau says "solitaries" made up 8% of all households in 1940. Solo households doubled to 18% in 1970 — and more than tripled to an estimated 29% by 2022. 🔎 Between the lines: Although more people are living alone, cities and towns are still primarily set up for families. Housing is increasingly expensive in cities, where many younger single people might like to live to find community, CNN reports. And housing in more suburban areas is usually parceled into homes built for a family of four. Go deeper.     2. 🗳️ Election officials see new threats Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   Election officials see a growing list of security threats — foreign and domestic — ahead of the 2024 election. Why it matters: Among what is giving rise to fears are the potential for cyberattacks, and the possibility of equipment problems or human errors being amplified by activists trying to undermine the outcome, AP reports. New risks have developed since the 2020 election: Former President Trump and allies are making fraud claims a central part of their message. Election interference from Russia, China and Iran is likely, Microsoft said last month. Election offices are also facing a staffing shortage: The turmoil of the past several years has contributed to a wave of retirements and resignations. Go deeper: Read Microsoft's report.     A message from ExxonMobil Let's deliver carbon capture for American industry     ExxonMobil is working on solutions to reduce carbon emissions in its own operations — like carbon capture — that could help industries in manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation deliver lower emissions, too. Learn more.     3. Catch me up Photo: Xu Hongxing/VCG via Getty Images) 🏮 Above: Villagers in Jiaozuo — a city in Henan province, China — make red lanterns ahead of New Year's Day and the Lunar New Year 🐘 Nikki Haley said this morning that she believes slavery was the cause of the Civil War, after failing to say so yesterday when asked at a town hall. She also told a New Hampshire radio show that she believes the person who asked the question was a Democratic plant. Go deeper with NH Journal. 📺 Nearly every major streamer has bumped up subscription fees for 2024. The latest is Amazon Prime Video, which will charge an extra $2.99 per month for an ad-free version. Read on.     4. 🍽️ TikTok's restaurant reviver Lee at a basketball game in Las Vegas this past summer. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images TikTok star Keith Lee's presence is enough to put a city's entire food scene on high alert. Lee's ability to boost business at restaurants through his viral reviews has been dubbed the "Keith Lee Effect" — and make his visits highly sought after for local food scenes around the country, Axios Cleveland's Troy Smith writes. Case in point: Guiliano Raso's Las Vegas food truck, 303 In the Cut, went from two to 21 employees — and from 50,000 followers on TikTok to more than 350,000 — after Lee's review in November 2022. "His review blew us into a different category," Raso tells Axios. "The next day we had 140 people waiting in line when we opened." In January, Lee gave Frankensons, a Las Vegas pizzeria on the verge of closing, a 10 out of 10 in a review that generated more than 50 million views on TikTok. Frankensons went from almost no customers to selling out night after night. In Atlanta this fall, Lee's tough critiques drew backlash and even threats against his family. But New Orleanians urged him to return after a summer visit: Restaurants he visited were packed after he posted. Share this story ... Get Axios Cleveland ... 30 Axios Local cities.     A message from ExxonMobil Let's deliver carbon capture for American industry     ExxonMobil is working on solutions to reduce carbon emissions in its own operations — like carbon capture — that could help industries in manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation deliver lower emissions, too. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. 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