🚚 Axios AM: We're staying put

🎒 Happy Sunday, and welcome to September! Two more days before we're back to reality, as my mom used to say.

• Smart Brevity™ count: 1,585 words ... 6 mins. Editor: Donica Phifer

The share of Americans moving has reached its lowest point in history — and doesn't look like it's climbing back up anytime soon, Axios' Erica Pandey reports.

• Why it matters: Moving — across town, across the state or across the country — for new jobs and better lives was once a common part of American life. Now, staying put longer is the norm.

🧮 By the numbers: In the 1960s, around 20% of Americans moved each year, according to the Brookings Institution.

• As of 2022, that's fallen to 8.7% — even with all the pandemic-era moves out of big coastal cities into the Sun Belt.

Breaking it down: A collision of key demographic, social and economic trends is driving the decline, William Frey, senior demographer at Brookings, tells Axios.

1. Younger people, who are responsible for the bulk of local, inter-county moves, are living with their parents for longer and delaying marriage and starting families.
2. America as a whole is aging. The population is older and less likely to move.
3. Labor markets have become less segmented by region and, in some cases, more remote. So techies don't necessarily have to move to Silicon Valley, and autoworkers don't necessarily have to move to Detroit.
4. The typical household no longer has one earner. Looking for two or more new jobs in new places is harder than looking for one.
5. Sky-high housing prices are keeping people from moving into new homes or buying their first homes.

Explore the data ... Share this story.

Israel Defense Forces said they recovered the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including a U.S. citizen — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, whose parents appealed for the hostages' release during the Democratic National Convention.

• After the operation, 101 hostages remain in Gaza, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.

Five of the hostages were kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The sixth, Carmel Gat, was taken from the community of Be'eri.

• IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the hostages were murdered by Hamas guards "shortly before IDF forces reached them."
• President Biden said the bodies of the hostages were recovered from a tunnel under the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin became the symbol of the American hostages held by Hamas.

• Goldberg-Polin was last seen in a video released by Hamas in April.
• When his parents spoke at the DNC, thousands in the audience chanted: "Bring them back!"

Biden said in a statement last night that Goldberg-Polin's parents "have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions."

• "Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes," Biden continued. "And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages."
• Vice President Harris said: "The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel — and American citizens in Israel — must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza. The Palestinian people too have suffered under Hamas' rule for nearly two decades."

Keep reading ... Biden statement. ... Harris statement.

Despite gaining a post-convention edge in polls, Jen O'Malley Dillon, chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, says today in a memo — "The State of the Race 65 Days Out" — that her candidate is the underdog.

• Why it matters: Top Democrats are wary of the party's exuberance outrunning electoral reality in what is still a 50-50 nation.

"Since Vice President Harris entered the race in late July, our campaign has seen record fundraising numbers, a surge in volunteer interest, and a spike in enthusiasm to participate in this November's election," O'Malley Dillon writes.

• "However, make no mistake: we head into the final stretch of this race as the clear underdogs. Donald Trump has a motivated base of support, with more support and higher favorability than he has had at any point since 2020."
• In nine days, "Vice President Harris will face Trump on the debate stage, where we expect him to be a formidable opponent. In 2020, the election came down to about 40,000 votes across the battleground states. This November, we anticipate margins to be similarly razor-thin."

🔎 Between the lines: Both sides try to lower expectations. The Trump campaign correctly said Harris would likely get a polling bounce after her convention.

🐘 The other side: Chris LaCivita, co-manager of the Trump campaign, told me that no matter "how the national media and Harris campaign phrase it, the working middle class of America needs help."

• "They need help from a real leader committed and with a plan to eliminate the inflationary stranglehold that is making ends meet harder by the day — food costs, energy costs and the death of the American dream," LaCivita added.
• "They want a leader focused on them ... That's the focus of Donald Trump, and that's what the next 65 days will show. Who is fighting for us?"

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Increasing numbers of older Americans are putting off retirement, creating career-ladder gridlock for younger workers, Axios' Ivana Saric reports.

• Why it matters: As older workers stay in their jobs longer, their Gen Z and Millennial colleagues are often locked into lower-paying, junior-level roles.

State of play: The share of U.S. adults aged 65+ in the labor market has steadily increased since the late 1980s.

• A retirement confidence survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found 33% of workers planned to retire at 70 or older — or never. That's up from EBRI's 2021 survey, in which 26% of workers said the same thing.
• With fewer jobs offering pension plans, fewer Americans are financially on track for retirement.
• People are living longer and staying healthier as they age. Both play a role in how older workers remain on the job.

"If you're not moving up in the corporate ladder because there's no space for you to move, then your earning potential is actually stalled," Jasmine Escalera, a career expert, told Axios.

• This can cause workers stress and anxiety, and also fuel job hopping.

Share this story.

Vice President Harris said former President Trump "disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt" with his visit to Arlington National Cemetery on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members amid the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

• Why it matters: The escalation ensures the visit, which drew an unusual rebuke from the Army, will be part of the Harris-Trump debate in nine days.

Above: Trump flexed back by tweeting harsh video responses to Harris by Gold Star family members who supported his visit.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) — a former Army officer who, while serving with The Old Guard, led funerals at Arlington National Cemetery between combat tours, and author of "Sacred Duty: A Soldier's Tour at Arlington National Cemetery" — said in a statement released by the Trump campaign:

The presidential campaign seems to be everywhere. But candidates stick to places rich in donors — and votes that count (seven swing states).

• This AP tracker shows where the Democratic and Republican tickets have campaigned since March 2024, when President Biden and former President Trump had won enough delegates to clinch the nominations.
• It includes stops by Vice President Harris after Biden dropped out, and events by JD Vance and Tim Walz after they joined their tickets.

Interactive version of the map, showing how many R and D visits for each city.

$2.9 trillion: Total market value for chipmaker Nvidia, which has soared amid demand for AI infrastructure.

• Why it matters: Nvidia chips have become the processors of choice for AI systems — and made Nvidia one of the world's most valuable companies, Axios' Ina Fried and Hope King report.

A year ago, Nvidia was worth half as much — $1.15 trillion.

• It's behind Apple and Microsoft, but ahead of Alphabet (Google) and Amazon.

🔮 A top tech investor — James Anderson, an early Tesla and Amazon backer — told the Financial Times that Nvidia has a 10-15% chance of reaching a $50 trillion market cap in a decade.

• That's a bit more than the combined market value of today's entire S&P 500.

Go deeper: Nvidia earnings show AI spending boom continues.

The NCAA blocked Oklahoma State from placing QR codes on its players' helmets — a move that would have allowed fans to link to a team fund and donate to the program's name, image and likeness (NIL) money pool, AP reports.

• Why it matters: It's a vivid new sign of ways schools are pushing boundaries in the NIL era.

Coach Mike Gundy had called the QR codes "a revolutionary step forward to help keep Oklahoma State football ahead of the game."

• The QR codes are 1½-inch decals featuring each player's name and number. They weren't expected to be visible from the stands. But they'd be noticeable on close shots during broadcasts, and postgame photos posted to social media.

Week 1: Longhorns' Arch Manning throws first career TD pass.

• 🎬 Watch the trailer for "The Money Game," a docuseries about LSU athletic stars, premiering Sept. 10 on Prime Video (debut series for Axios Entertainment and Campfire Studios)

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