House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) drew a clear line in the sand Wednesday on what a deal to stop a government shutdown must look like, telling reporters he will not accept any type of unwritten agreement.
Why it matters: It's the latest stumbling block in the tense and largely fruitless cross-party posturing over the need to extend federal funding past September.
Michaels is trying to remake itself into North America's largest specialty retailer for party supplies and fabric — just as tariffs threaten to raise the cost of both.
Why it matters: The Texas-based retailer wants fuel for its turnaround, even as it contends with trade risks and the same retail headwinds that sank Party City and Joann.
Waymo is rolling out a new service that will allow employers to include robotaxis in their corporate transportation programs.
Why it matters: It's another way that Waymo is broadening commercial uses for its driverless taxis, following partnerships with Uber and Lyft in select cities.
There's a shakeout coming in the EV charging industry as financial challenges mount for some of the early players, according to analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Why it matters: Companies that dominated the charging business to date aren't the ones that will lead the next phase of growth, per their 2026 EV charging outlook.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to plummet after tax credits disappear Sept. 30, but there could be a silver lining: It's an opportunity for charging infrastructure to catch up with demand.
Why it matters: Worries about where to charge have long been a hindrance to EV adoption.
Podcast studio QCODE has launched Daylight Media to provide creator services and closed a new growth round from Eldridge Industries, CEO and founder Rob Herting exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: The move underscores the growing consumer interest in video podcasts and talent's need for ad sales and marketing support.
The nuclear renaissance in the U.S. will need to be financed by a combination of the federal government, private investors and hyperscalers paying premiums for power, TerraPower's CEO Chris Levesque said Wednesday at an Axios House event at Climate Week NYC.
Why it matters: The U.S. needs new power for soaring electricity demand, but traditional nuclear plants have been prohibitively expensive.
Zoom in: Levesque said the first U.S. nuclear facilities were paid for by his parent's generation with raised rates, but "we can't do that again."
In new nuclear deals, hyperscalers — data center companies that deliver large amounts of computing power to customers — will draft a 20 or 25-year power purchase agreement and pay a premium for the first 20 years of plant output, said Levesque.
That kind of premium "alleviates the burden on the ratepayer. That's going to be the new structure we're looking at in these deals," said Levesque.
"It's great that nuclear energy is getting so much attention now, but we don't worry about the technology being ready or the demand being there. It's a very capital intensive business to deploy these first plants," said Levesque.
Catch up quick: TerraPower has developed a nuclear reactor design that uses liquid sodium as a coolant instead of water, which the company says lowers costs.
This summer, the company closed $650 million from investors including Nvidia's VC arm, Bill Gates and HD Hyundai, and before that raised over $1 billion.
Driving the news: On Tuesday, TerraPower announced an agreement with Evergy and the state of Kansas to explore deploying TerraPower's reactors in Evergy's territory.
"The key part of the story there is an advanced reactor being embraced by traditional nuclear energy companies," said Levesque on stage.
"More and more mainstream utilities . . . are seeing that if we're going to get back into nuclear energy, we're going to have to get into new technology," said Levesque.
The bottom line: Nuclear is expensive, and advanced reactors need a novel combination of partners to get it deployed.
Aldi is rolling out its biggest packaging refresh yet, stamping its name on nearly every private-label product, the discount grocer said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The refresh comes as Aldi faces a lawsuit from Mondelēz International alleging its packaging "blatantly copies" Oreos, Wheat Thins and Ritz.
Voltpost, a startup that specializes in turning street lights into electric vehicle charging stations, is launching a sleeker, more flexible charger Wednesday in Brooklyn during Climate Week.
Why it matters: The new charging platform, Voltpost Air, allows cities to repurpose existing infrastructure to quickly expand EV access without disruptive construction or costly grid upgrades.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returned to television in some parts of the country last night, but the show was still sidelined in Nashville.
The latest: Nexstar, which oversees Nashville's ABC affiliate WKRN, said it would continue replacing the talk show with other programming on its stations.
The big picture: The broadcast group first pulled Kimmel's show from its affiliates last week amid vocal criticism of the late night host from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr.
Carr warned ABC of potential repercussions for Kimmel's comments in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's killing. He also applauded broadcasters that pre-empted the show.
The Trump administration threw Argentina a financial life raft this week, and Argentina promptly responded by offering China an enticement in the form of untaxed soybeans.
Why it matters: It's a harsh blow to already struggling U.S. soybean farmers, and illustrates the complex implications of rescuing a close ally.
An index that measures the confidence of small-business owners surged to its highest level since 2017.
Why it matters: The index, published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, is somewhat surprising given that other indicators are showing the labor market is deteriorating and inflation is worsening.
The Justice Department's criminal probe of ex-spy chief John Brennan hit a big roadblock after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard withdrew the security clearances of potential witnesses who could have testified against him, four Trump administration officials tell Axios.
AI is supposed to make work easier, but instead it has generated a new problem: "workslop."
Why it matters: The term, coined by researchers in the latest Harvard Business Review, describes low-quality AI-generated content — memos, reports, emails — that's clogging up employees' lives and wasting their time.
Jimmy Kimmel addressed ABC suspending his show over the late-night host's comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing, as it returned to air on Tuesday night.
The big picture: Just before "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" aired, President Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that ABC told his officials the show had been canceled and he thinks he'll "test" the network, noting it settled his lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos' comments for $16 million.
Jimmy Kimmel spoke publicly for the first time since his show was briefly suspended ahead of its Tuesday night return, with a post remembering the late TV writer and producer Norman Lear.
The big picture: "Missing this guy today," he wrote in a Tuesday Instagram post featuring a photo of the late-night host with Lear ahead of the return of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
