Why it matters: DOGE has forced out tens of thousands of employees, shuttered agencies, canceled grants and contracts and upended how the U.S. does business — changes the publictellspollsters they don't generally like.
In a stunning reversal, U.S. Agency for Global Media special adviser Kari Lake on Wednesday evening withdrew an order to terminate the 2025 funding grant for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, one of the five broadcast agencies that sits under USAGM.
Why it matters: It's an important victory for RFE/RL, which would have otherwise been forced to shutter without its funding.
The state of Wyoming is testing its stablecoin on multiple blockchains, state officials confirmed Wednesday.
Why it matters: As the U.S. government gets closer to passing laws establishing a legal framework for stablecoins, more entities are seeking to launch these instruments.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday introduced a new Facebook "Friends" tab that allows users to see exclusively what their friends are posting in one distinct place.
Why it matters: It's part of a broader effort to bring back products and features from Facebook's early days, as the company looks to attract users to the app that got them hooked on social media in the first place.
Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions has raised a new financing round from former Endeavor executive chairman Patrick Whitesell, who is leading a new, yet-to-be named sports, media and entertainment investment platform with private equity giant Silver Lake.
Why it matters: Omaha Productions has been profitable since it launched in 2020. Manning still controls the company, but has been bringing on strategic investors to help grow the business faster.
Why it matters: Hosting Sundance — the largest independent film festival in the U.S. — will be a majormoneymaker and tourism attraction for Boulder and the state.
Why it matters: That report by the Penn Wharton Budget Model — seen first by Axios — finds faster economic growth, less federal debt and higher wages for all income groups if more visas are allocated to college-educated immigrants and those working in STEM-related fields.
Pat Gelsinger has joined VC firm Playground Global as a general partner, just three months after abruptly retiring as CEO of chipmaker Intel. He'll also become exec chair of Playground portfolio company xLight, a developer of free electron lasers.
Axios spoke with Gelsinger on Thursday about his decision. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation:
Hillendale Farms, one of America's largest egg producers, on Thursday agreed to be acquired for $1.1 billion by Global Eggs, a company controlled by Brazil's Ricardo Faria.
The big picture: This comes as U.S. egg prices are finally falling, at least on the wholesale side, and could receive regulatory scrutiny.
OpenAI is closing in on a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank at a $300 billion post-money valuation, according to Bloomberg.
Why it matters: This would be the largest venture capital round ever, which is the same thing we wrote last fall when OpenAI raised a measly $6.6 billion.
Executives in heart of the U.S. oil patch offered a brutal — if anonymous — verdict on Trump 2.0 trade policies and uncertainty they create for producers.
Why it matters: The Dallas Fed's latest survey highlights problems facing the White House's simultaneous push for a drilling surge, new tariffs, and lower costs.
Why it matters: That financial distress has sparked a big question for some of the more than 15 million customers who have used the company's services: What does a sale mean for the genetic data 23andMe stores?
Driving the news: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson urged North Carolinians Tuesday to delete their accounts and health information from the site as soon as possible.
Jackson's announcement came as the state has been investigating 23andMe since October 2023, Jackson said in a release, over concerns about the possibility that it hadn't done enough to protect customers' information and data.
President Trump's increased tariffs on imported vehicles will hit foreign automakers the hardest, though domestic automakers General Motors and Ford will also face a significant impact.
Why it matters: Experts expect automakers to raise prices to make up for at least part of the cost.
The Senate voted Wednesday 70-28 on a House resolution to repeal a rule promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service last year, extending the definition of a "broker," for purposes of tax reporting.
Why it matters: The move fits into the larger Republican strategy of acting as the party moving to support the blockchain industry's contribution to the U.S. economy.
Canadian politicians and industrial leaders blasted President Trump's new auto tariffs on Wednesday and vowed a swift response, including a backstop for Canada's largest companies.
Why it matters: One of America's closest allies three months ago is now preparing for an all-out trade war, with profound implications for both economies.
