Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen was among seven people arrested during Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, police confirmed.
The big picture: Cohen, who along with the ice cream company has long engaged incorporate political activism, indicated he was protesting the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
An AI chatbot integrated into X (formerly Twitter) has begun to respond to users with unrelated, misleading claims about violence against white people in South Africa, users noticed this week.
Why it matters: The findings about Grok come as President Trump welcomes white South Africans into the U.S. as refugees and as Elon Musk has slammed his home country for what he's called a "genocide of white farmers."
Award-winning journalist Katie Couric said it's "chilling" what's happening to scientific research under the Trump administration.
Why it matters: Couric, whoencouraged health screenings well before wellness influencers rose to fame on social media, spoke about what changes could mean for the future of medical advancements at Axios' Future of Health Summit in D.C. on Wednesday.
ChargeScape is one way automakers are trying to smooth the transition to electric vehicles by shoring up the nation's power grid and saving drivers money on charging.
Why it matters: As electric vehicle ownership grows, charging risks putting an extra strain on the grid at certain times of the day. Imagine turning that problem around by using EVs to support the grid during peak demand instead.
Tesla's Supercharger network has long been the gold standard for EV charging, but Ionna, a new network backed by eight major automakers, is raising the stakes.
Why it matters: With Ionna, the carmakers' goal is to build a rival charging network that offers faster charging and unique amenities.
Electric vehicle charging has been a mess for years — with inconvenient, inoperable and isolated stations holding back EV adoption.
Now, the industry is experiencing a rare do-over, with a greater focus on amenities, safety, reliability and brand loyalty. Call it Charging 2.0.
Why it matters: Automakers have invested $130 billion since 2019 to electrify their fleets, overhaul their factories and establish new battery supply chains in the U.S.
But it could all be wasted if they can't reassure potential EV buyers that they'll have someplace to plug in.
It's in their interest to get charging right, so they're spending more, despite disappearing government incentives under the Trump administration.
Tesla's Supercharger network has long been the gold standard for EV charging, but automaker-backed Ionna is raising the stakes.
Why it matters: With Ionna, the carmakers' goal is to build a rival charging network that offers faster charging and unique amenities.
That means reliable, 400 kW charging under lighted canopies, along with coffee, bathrooms, food, and spaces to hang out or take meetings. Think gas station, only better — and electric.
Catch up quick: Less than two years old, Ionna is a joint venture between BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Toyota.
It's modeled after a similar pan-European network called Ionity that was created by some of the same players.
🚖 Waymo is recalling more than 1,200 robotaxis to update software after a series of minor collisions with chains, gates and other barriers. (Reuters)
🚚 GM poached Sterling Anderson, co-founder of autonomous trucking company Aurora, to be its chief product officer, giving him broad responsibilities to develop its high-tech cars of the future. (Axios)
🔋 Speaking of GM, it announced a breakthrough battery for its next-generation electric trucks and SUVs.
⚡️ A new global EV outlook shows how badly the U.S. is falling behind China as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans reverse Biden-era subsidies and rules. (Axios)
Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday announced that this summer it plans to change the name of its streaming service "Max" to "HBO Max," a name that was previously used to describe Warner Media's direct-to-consumer service before it merged with Discovery+ to form Max.
Why it matters: Highlighting the HBO branding sends a signal to consumers that the streaming service will lean into high-quality programming, instead of focusing mostly on its breadth of shows.
Microsoft is laying off about 6,000 workers across the company, it announced yesterday, with nearly a third of those job cuts expected to occur in Washington state.
Zoom in: The Redmond-based company will lay off 1,985 workers in Washington effective July 12, multiple outlets reported.
It's the tech giant's second round of layoffs this year.
By the numbers: The planned layoffs make up under 3% of the company's total staff, a spokesperson told Bloomberg.
Microsoft reported employing 228,000 as of June 2024, the last time it made its staff numbers public.
The most recent cuts represent Microsoft's largest round of layoffs since slashing 10,000 roles in 2023.
EVs are slated to reach one-fourth of global car sales this year despite trade and policy question marks, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The growth in cars — and, to a lesser extent, big trucks and other heavy vehicles — is affecting oil demand, the new report finds.
The Trump administration is cracking down on ultra-cheap goods sold on Chinese e-commerce sites hugely popular among Americans, new scrutiny that is spreading across the globe.
Why it matters: For the first time in more than 80 years, U.S. bound low-value packages from China are subject to tariffs.
Zeno Power secured $50 millionin its latest funding round. The nuclear-battery maker now plans to roughly double its workforce and do full-scale system demonstrations next year.
Why it matters: Energy is the chokepoint for so many national-security competitions. Persistent surveillance. Artificial intelligence. Troop wellbeing.
Software specialist TurbineOne plans to expand into the U.S. intelligence community and build an overseas footprint on the heels of a $36 million funding round, CEO Ian Kalin told Axios.
The big picture: The company is already working with the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in the Indo-Pacific.
A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general is suing President Trump's administration over threats to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding if they don't follow his immigration enforcement polices.
The big picture: California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who's leading the two lawsuits, said at a Tuesday briefing that threats to cut funds for emergency services and infrastructure maintenance represented "a blatantly illegal attempt to bully states" into enacting Trump's agenda.
