Former President Trump is strongly considering picking a female running mate — and sees Kari Lake as a model for his vice-presidential pick, according to people who discussed the topic with him.

• Why it matters: Trump is already gaming out the general election in November 2024 — and knows he has a massive weakness with the white suburban women he would need to beat President Biden.

Lake, a former TV anchor who lost her race for Arizona governor in November, meets Trump's most important qualification for a No. 2:

• She has shown she's willing to defend him vociferously, no matter the issue or controversy.
• But Trump friends say Lake carries a big downside: He wants no risk that his running mate could outshine him. Lake would be assumed to be angling for president from the day she entered the White House. She made a political trip to Iowa last month.
• And of course losing her winnable governor's race (which she challenged) hurts her mojo.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said: "Anyone who thinks they know what President Trump is going to do is seriously misinformed and trying to curry favor with 'potential' V.P. candidates."

• "President Trump will choose his running mate on his own time, and those who are playing the media game are doing so at their own peril."

Between the lines: I'm told the characteristics Trump is most looking for are, ironically, quite like former Vice President Pence, with whom he's no longer on speaking terms.

• Trump wants someone who is unfailingly loyal — and bland enough that they don't steal any spotlight.

Some close to Trump think Nikki Haley — former South Carolina governor, and his ambassador to the UN — might be the best fit.

• She's his best-known declared opponent for the GOP nomination. He calculates she doesn't take a single vote from him.

Another strong fit might be Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was Trump's White House press secretary.

• Trump recently asked her for an endorsement in the presidential race and she demurred, as the N.Y. Times' Maggie Haberman reported.
• But I'm told Sanders left an opening to embrace Trump if he looks like a winner.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem also is frequently mentioned by Trump confidants as having strong veep potential.

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Teachers and students are using ChatGPT regularly — and see it as a positive force in education, Axios' Jennifer A. Kingson writes from a national survey of academic attitudes toward the breakthrough generative AI platform.

• Why it matters: Some school districts quickly banned ChatGPT, fearing rampant plagiarism. But attitudes among educators are changing rapidly.

🧮 By the numbers: The Feb. 2–7 survey of 1,000 teachers (grades K–12) and 1,000 students (ages 12–17) found high levels of adoption, with teachers relying more heavily on ChatGPT than students.

• 51% of teachers reported using ChatGPT — with higher use among Black (69%) and Latino (69%) educators.
• Teachers say they're using the chatbot for lesson planning (30%) ... coming up with creative ideas for classes (30%) ... and building background knowledge for lessons (27%).

🎒 A third of students 12–17 say they've used ChatGPT for school (33%), including 47% of those 12–14.

Go deeper: Read the poll, which was commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation and conducted by Impact Research.

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Five years ago, the Pentagon started tackling a new era of great-power competition with China and Russia after decades of fighting insurgencies in the Middle East and Central Asia. But the U.S. still isn't ready, Michael R. Gordon writes in a major spread in The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

• Why it matters: A four-star Air Force general warned in January that the U.S. could be at war with China in two years. "My gut tells me will fight in 2025," wrote Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command.

🪖 What's happening: "Corporate consolidation across the American defense industry has left the Pentagon with fewer arms manufacturers," The Journal reports.

• During "a wargame last year that simulated a Chinese amphibious attack on Taiwan, the U.S. side ran out of long-range anti-ship cruise missiles within a week."
• "The military is struggling to meet recruitment goals."

🔮 What's next: "Action could extend to the Arctic," Gordon writes, "where the U.S. lags behind Russia in icebreakers and ports as Moscow appears ready to welcome Beijing's help in the region.

Women leaders now run more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies, a milestone in the list's 68-year history, Axios Closer co-author Hope King writes.

• But further progress is in danger, as burnout rises among senior-level women, shrinking the C-suite pipeline.

Amazon and Goldman Sachs are among the employers trying to combat an exodus of female executives with "returnships," focused on making jobs more appealing to people who left the workforce, Bloomberg reports.

🧠 What's happening: During the pandemic, women leaders left companies at the highest rate in years.

• Being overworked and under-recognized are top reasons, research from McKinsey and Lean In found.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says the state will no longer do business with Walgreens over the company's decision not to sell abortion medication in 20 states.

• The state will cut ties with "any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk," Newsom tweeted yesterday. "We're done."

Why it matters: It's California's latest attempt to use the state's massive economy in support of abortion rights nationwide.

Catch up quick: Walgreens said last week it wouldn't dispense abortion pills in 20 states after Republican attorneys general warned it could be against the law.

• Walgreens clarified yesterday that it plans to distribute the pills in "any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so."

Go deeper.

JPMorgan Chase is expanding in Florida and Texas because they "like business, they want you to come," CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg TV yesterday in an interview in Miami Beach.

• "We love Florida: We're growing in Florida left and right," including new branches, Dimon said.
• "We now have more employees in Texas than in New York State. It shouldn't have been that way. But Texas loves you being there."

Watch the video.

Public health officials at all levels have been examining how to restore public trust that was lost amid COVID chaos.

• Why it matters: As you see from the data above, published yesterday in the journal Health Affairs, they have a long way to go.

Dinosaurs — very realistic-looking ones — still walk among us.

• You can even then rent them for your next birthday, bar mitzvah or bachelorette party, Axios Atlanta co-author Thomas Wheatley writes.

Mike and Justin Brabson, both former insurance adjusters, run Atlanta-based Prehistoric Nation.

• The dinosaurs play games — kids dance, freeze in place and try not to giggle when Tulsa the T. Rex comes near — and tricks (including beer pong).

Keep reading ... Get Axios Local — now in 26 cities, with 4 more soon.