President Trump escalated his threats to seize Cuba this week — raising questions about whether he might seek to topple the Communist Caribbean island's leader Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The big picture: As Cuba's totalitarian government faces a deepening energy crisis that saw an island-wide blackout amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade, Trump told reporters Monday he believes he'll be "having the honor of taking" the island.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company is in the process of restarting manufacturing of its H200 chips for shipments to China.
Why it matters: Nvidia is eager to re-enter the crucial Chinese market, but its efforts have been hampered by U.S. export restrictions and Beijing's push to build a domestic chip industry.
British philanthropist and investor Lynn Forester de Rothschild has sold her family's entire 26.9% stake in The Economist to Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith and his family holding company, Axios has confirmed.
Why it matters: It marks the biggest ownership shake-up for the 183-year-old publication in a decade.
Smaller web publishers, with 1,000–10,000 daily page views, are experiencing the most precipitous traffic declines in the AI era, according to new Chartbeat data provided exclusively to Axios.
Why it matters: The data suggests larger publishers with better brand recognition and stronger direct-to-consumer products are more insulated from declines in traditional search traffic.
Andy Lack, former chair of NBC News and MSNBC and co-founder and executive chair of Deep South Today, a network of local nonprofit newsrooms in Louisiana and Mississippi, is committing $7 million to support nonprofit journalism, he told Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: The new funds, in addition to the $5 million that Lack says he invested over the past decade, amount to one of the largest contributions to nonprofit local journalism made by a single individual in recent memory.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is pressing the Energy Department for details on plans to provide oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as pump prices rise.
Why it matters: Gallego's new letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, viewed first by Axios, shows how the energy effects of the Iran war are spilling into Capitol Hill — and politics more broadly.
NBC News is teaming up with veteran tech journalist Joanna Stern to bring exclusive reporting and analysis from her new independent venture, New Things, to its TV and digital channels, Stern and NBC News president of editorial Rebecca Blumenstein told Axios in a joint interview Tuesday.
Why it matters: The partnership will strengthen NBC News' tech coverage, while also serving as a blueprint for further collaborations between the storied network and independent journalists and creators.
Arizona's attorney general filed criminal charges against Kalshi on Tuesday in a dramatic escalation of the legal battle over prediction markets.
Why it matters: Kalshi allows users in all 50 states to risk money on event contracts — including what it calls "100% legal sports trading" — but detractors say it usurps state gambling regulations.
AUSTIN, Texas — Even as Hollywood has made progress with representation in casting and developing characters, some things continue to go wrong, actor and philanthropist RJ Mitte said during a virtual interview at SXSW.
Axios' Sara Fischer and Eleanor Hawkins spoke to Mitte and Texas Oncology executive vice president Debra Patt for the event, which was sponsored by Harmony Biosciences.
The big picture: Inaccurately or one-dimensionally portraying characters with disabilities has "a huge negative impact" on people who actually have those conditions, said Mitte, who has cerebral palsy.
"When you feel misrepresented … it hurts to your soul, so much stronger than just a bad show."
"We have an obligation as filmmakers … for the story's sake, for the community's sake and for making a better piece of art."
Yes, but: Bad examples can push us forward, Mitte added.
It's an opportunity to look at something that was handled wrong and say, "We don't want that anymore."
The context: Mitte rose to fame for his role as Walter White Jr. in the TV show "Breaking Bad."
What's next: With artificial intelligence and misinformation on the rise, distortion in media is "everywhere," Mitte says.
"People need to close the loop and go and talk to their health care provider about the information that they've found" about a condition they may think they have, Patt told Hawkins.
Content from the sponsor's segment:
In a View From the Top conversation, Project Sleep president and CEO Julie Flygare lamented the challenges of poor representation in entertainment.
"Have you ever seen 'Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'? 'SNL'? 'Modern Family'?" Flygare, who has been diagnosed with narcolepsy, asked the audience and Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston. "There are particular episodes of those shows that feature caricatures of narcolepsy."
"What if the only person you know [with a condition] is a character? Those characters become really important."
That's the emerging consensus among private equity firms, which are building consortiums to work alongside the AI giants that are threatening to gut their portfolios.
Driving the news: OpenAI and Anthropic each are in talks with different PE groups to create something akin to enterprise AI consulting arms.
Mastercard has agreed to acquire London-based stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million of contingent payments.
Why it matters: Legacy payment providers are seeking to retain control over how money moves, even if the rails themselves change.
A building boom across the Mountain West has cooled rents — but that relief could fade as new construction slows.
Why it matters: Housing is unaffordable for many. Although the median U.S. rent for new leases is down 1.5% from a year ago, it's still roughly20% above pre-pandemic levels, at about $1,400 a month, per Apartment List.
Taco Bell is expanding its chicken lineup this spring as the fast-food brand pushes deeper into one of the industry's hottest proteins, the company exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: Chicken has been fast food's fiercest battleground for years — from the 2019 chicken sandwich wars to last summer's wrap battle.
Josh Parker didn't intend to work at Nvidia or even in sustainability — and yet finds himself at this precise intersection at a pivotal moment.
Why he matters: As head of Nvidia's sustainability efforts, Parker oversees the behemoth's efforts to contain its environmental footprint despite explosive growth.
Protein is coming for your comfort food — from tortilla chips to mac and cheese, ice cream and cereal.
Why it matters: Food companies across categories are racing to meet demand for higher-protein diets — without asking shoppers to give up the foods they already love.
Corporate executives in charge of human resources, legal operations and technology are increasingly among the highest-paid employees inside public companies, according to an analysis out Tuesday from The Conference Board.
The big picture: Researchers looked at the five highest-paid job functions inside publicly traded companies — named executive officers in public filings — a useful way of understanding what roles companies most value.
These days there's more emphasis inside companies on risks associated with technology, talent and regulation, the group said in its report. These are no longer simply viewed as support functions.
Countries across South Asia are imposing emergency measures like rationing energy, closing universities, cutting short workweeks and even changing the way crematoriums work to deal with the fallout from the Iran war.
Why it matters: Yes, the war is raising gas prices for Americans and causing a political headache for President Donald Trump — but it's also creating a deeper crisis abroad that governments and businesses are scrambling to manage.
Nvidia's chips are improving at such a staggering pace that it defies any historical comparison.
Why it matters: Without these gains — which are drawing increased attention as AI transforms society — physics would slam the brakes on the data center boom.
Tech companies aren't pulling back from Anthropic even after the Pentagon labeled the AI lab a supply chain risk, with major partners and enterprise customers telling Axios they aren't changing their contracts.
Why it matters: The Trump administration tried to kneecap one of the world's most powerful AI companies. So far, it's just giving it a leg up.
Americans view prediction market trading as more like gambling than investing, according to a new poll by Ipsos and the American Institute for Boys and Men.
Why it matters: Prediction markets have emerged as an increasingly popular — and controversial — way to bet on everything from sports and politics to business, news and entertainment.
A Utah jury convicted Kouri Richins of murdering her husband by slipping fentanyl into his drink in 2022.
The big picture: The domestic violence allegations against Richins — who later authored a children's book about her kids' grief — drew national attention.
