Axios

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD on Monday announced new charging technology that it claims could "fill up" cars in just five minutes, comparable to gas station visits.

Why it matters: This could be a sort of DeepSeek moment for electric vehicles, in terms of a Chinese company lowering adoption barriers by developing much more efficient tech.

The growth of China's oil thirst is slowing, and whether it's a brief downshift or something deeper will influence the future of global petro-demand.

Why it matters: China's economy, stumbling in recent years, and its commodity markets have outsize sway.

Editor's note: Read the latest on the astronauts' splashdown and see photos here.

Two NASA astronauts who spent more than 280 days aboard the International Space Station undocked from the ISS early on Tuesday, kicking off their long-awaited return journey.

The big picture: Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams have been in a galactic holding pattern hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface after boarding the ISS in June 2024 as part of the Boeing Starliner's first crewed test flight.

China continues to raise the bar on electric vehicles, with BYD unveiling a new EV platform that can be recharged about as fast as it takes refuel a gasoline car.

Why it matters: Making EV charging as painless as visiting a gas station is one less hurdle for consumers, and could help spur widespread EV adoption.

The Energy Department, along with EPA and NOAA, hired back many probationary employees who had been laid off in a round of cuts last month.

Why it matters: The step taken Monday is being done to comply with recent court rulings that held the workers' firings were illegally carried out.

HOUSTON — Maxim Timchenko has a warning for any European politicians weighing a return of Russian pipelined gas: the true costs vastly exceed the sticker price.

Threat level: "People shouldn't be naive that Russian gas can be cheap. Absolutely not. The price can be paid in different forms," the CEO of DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, tells Axios.

NOAA and the Air Force are struggling to meet growing demand for their specialized Hurricane Hunter fleets, a new federal report finds.

Why it matters: The Government Accountability Office study floats ways that the agencies can maintain the accuracy of extreme weather forecasts.

Wind-driven wildfires in Oklahoma have killed at least four people and resulted in 142 others being taken to local hospitals with fire-related injuries, the state's Department of Emergency Management said Sunday.

The big picture: The fires that have razed at least 170,000 acres after igniting Friday are tied to the same giant storm system that brought tornadoes to the U.S. South, per Axios' Andrew Freedman.

At least 40 people are dead after tornadoes, high winds and wildfires hit more than a half-dozen states since Thursday.

Threat level: Although the Sunday outlook was less dire, more severe thunderstorms with potential tornadoes were expected from Pennsylvania to Florida.