Axios

The U.S. is scaling back threatened tariffs on Italian pasta that could have pushed duties as high as 107%, easing pressure on grocery shoppers and stepping back from a trade dispute.

Why it matters: For U.S. consumers who feared that their favorite box of spaghetti would spike in price, the news will be a relief — and it comes as the Trump administration faces political pressure over affordability issues.

Tesla vehicle sales declined for a second consecutive year in 2025, hitting their lowest point since 2022.

• The results mean that Chinese automaker BYD sold more EVs in 2025 than Tesla for the first time in a full year: 2.26 million for BYD vs. 1.64 million for Tesla.

Why it matters: Tesla vehicle sales are critical to funding CEO Elon Musk's AI ambitions, including humanoid robots and self-driving cars.

A host of changes impacting Americans' money go live in 2026, including President Trump's bid for infant 401(k)s.

The big picture: Parents of children can start contributing to "Trump accounts" starting this summer.

• Kids who are U.S. citizens born between 2025 and 2028 will be eligible for $1,000 in seed money from the U.S. Treasury.

Retail investors had the chance in 2025 to put their money directly on Donald Trump, in a way unlike any American presidency in history.

• A couple of those bets didn't work out so well.

The big picture: Trump's vast, burgeoning business empire includes multiple tradable assets linked to him and his family — but two of those assets underperformed peers and broader markets in 2025.

Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro said U.S. and Venezuelan officials should "start talking seriously" on drug trafficking and oil, per an interview published Thursday.

The big picture: Maduro acknowledged during the interview the months-long U.S. militarized pressure campaign targeting suspected "narco-terrorists" and was asked directly about President Trump's comments that the U.S. military had "knocked out" a dock that Venezuelan drug boats allegedly used.

U.S. adults surveyed in 1999 correctly predicted major shifts for the half-century ahead: the election of a Black U.S. president, civilian travel to space and a warming planet.

The big picture: The turn of the millennium marked a cultural, technological and political inflection point, with Americans anticipating some of the changes that have come to define the 21st century so far.

The Supreme Court has many pivotal cases lined up for the coming year, many revolving around President Trump's policies.

The big picture: Trump has relied heavily on the court's emergency docket during his second term, using it to block lower court rulings while cases play out.

There are 271,000 fewer federal employees than there were at the start of 2025 — about a 9% drop, per the latest tally from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Why it matters: The sharp decline is a result of President Trump's efforts — initially spearheaded by Elon Musk's DOGE — to drastically reduce the size of the federal government.

New tax brackets, higher standard deductions and expanded credits are now in effect — changes that could boost paychecks and lower income taxes for many Americans in 2026 and beyond.

Why it matters: The IRS updates reflect annual inflation adjustments and sweeping tax changes signed into law last summer in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), making several provisions from the 2017 tax overhaul permanent.