The incoming Trump administration will give Silicon Valley moguls unprecedented federal power, with tech-friendly officials and policies intertwined throughout government, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write in a "Behind the Curtain" column.

• Why it matters: The tech economy's most aggressive disrupters want to apply their ethos and thinking to government. AI, crypto and move-fast, break-things thinking will be at the center of the new Washington agenda — with America's technological lead over China in the balance, and vast fortunes at stake.

A stunning alignment of people, power and momentum are all suddenly enlarging tech's tentacles:

• President-elect Trump tapped David Sacks — a member of the "PayPal Mafia" of early executives, who became famous as part of the "All-In" podcast ensemble — for the new position of White House AI & crypto czar, with a mandate of "making America the clear global leader in both areas."
• Elon Musk — who has been living at Mar-a-Lago and accompanied Trump to Paris for his return to the world stage — will be the second most powerful man in the world. He was this election cycle's biggest donor (and the biggest in at least the last four presidential cycles) — and is now co-architect with Trump of the new government, pushing relentlessly for "radical change" in government spending, mission and personnel.
• Trump's NASA will be headed by Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire who partnered with Musk's SpaceX to lead the first private spacewalk last September.

Musk will be joined by Vivek Ramaswamy, who became a billionaire as a biotech entrepreneur, in launching the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — an advisory body named for a cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

• Marc Andreessen, one of the original internet moguls, and other tech leaders have literally been in the Trump transition offices in West Palm Beach, interviewing potential top appointees for the Pentagon, State Department and HHS, The New York Times reports.
• Peter Thiel — the conservative venture capitalist and PayPal Mafia co-founder who was a mentor to Vice President-elect JD Vance — has allies in top Trump positions, including Jim O'Neill, former CEO of the Thiel Foundation, who has been named to be deputy HHS secretary.
• Vance is a former venture capitalist who began his career working for Thiel. 
• Even Jeff Bezos, Musk's rival in the race to Mars, is sounding Trumpy. Bezos said at last week's New York Times DealBook conference that he's "actually very optimistic" about Trump's plans: "He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. ... If I can help him do that, I'm gonna help him."

What they're saying: Joe Lonsdale — a venture capitalist and Palantir co-founder who advised the Trump transition on job candidates — told us: "This is a very optimistic administration, bringing in the talent that is willing to confront the waste, and figure out solutions — people who believe that despite the typical cynicism and nihilism of so many in D.C. that they can change things and that it matters."

• "[M]any of my friends — some who have exited companies after working hard for years and want to give back more — plan to serve and work hard for free to support the efforts," Lonsdale added.
• "I think a lot of people haven't properly understood that there's a huge difference between 'big tech' and 'the most competent builders in the innovation world.' The legacy [media] line is this is tech or Silicon Valley coming in. But most of these guys don't get along with [the] big tech crowd — these are many of our top builders."

Between the lines: Silicon Valley also had tons of influence in the Obama administration, particularly early. But it was a very different crowd, including legendary venture capitalist John Doerr.

• Now, a small but loud group of tech stars is coming to D.C. — with a libertarian ethos that doesn't always reflect the Valley as a whole.

👂 What we're hearing: Trump has promised a "golden age of America." So anything that stokes market metrics will appeal to him — including cryptocurrencies. Oil and gas, financial services, private prisons and crypto are all part of the booming "Trump trade" by investors bullish on the new administration.

• Trump took credit when the price of a single Bitcoin surged to a record high last week, with a Truth Social post saying: "CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU'RE WELCOME!!!"

We're told to expect him to promote crypto-friendly regulations — starting with his choice of a crypto advocate and industry adviser, Paul Atkins, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees U.S. markets.

• Part of Trump's charge to Sacks as emerging tech czar is to work on a "legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for."

The bottom line: Andreessen — co-founder of the iconic venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz — tweeted Sunday that "political power >> financial power every day of the week."

• Share this column ... Dan Primack contributed reporting.

The Syrian revolution has quietly played a seismic role in the trajectory of the 21st century, transforming global politics with shock waves still echoing 13 years after the Arab Spring, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

• Why it matters: The fall of Bashar al-Assad has ushered in an unpredictable new era not only for Syria and the Middle East, but for the great powers that have long treated the region as a battleground.

🖼️ The big picture: Syria's 2011 uprising marked an inflection point in the history of global conflict, wedged between the Iraq War in 2003 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

• What began as an anti-government protest movement devolved into one of the bloodiest civil wars of the modern era, with an estimated death toll of more than 500,000 people.
• More than 14 million Syrians were forced to flee their homes amid Assad's brutal crackdown, with many finding refuge in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
• Millions also sought asylum in Europe — exacerbating the 2015 migrant crisis and giving rise to far-right forces that have since gained a foothold in governments across the continent.

🔎 Zoom in: Into Syria's power vacuum stepped the Islamic State, whose barbaric brand of jihad terrorized the world as it conquered vast amounts of territory in both Syria and Iraq.

• Go deeper: Assad joins list of toppled leaders 13 years after Arab Spring ... Share this story.

Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges late last night against Luigi Mangione — an Ivy League grad who is the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

• Thompson's killing sparked a nationwide manhunt and triggered an outpouring of online vitriol toward the insurance industry.

Mangione was arrested yesterday in Altoona, Pa., where he faces separate charges stemming from possession of a gun and a fake ID.

• When an officer approached Mangione, 26, at a McDonald's and asked if he'd been to New York recently, he "became quiet and started to shake," court documents say.

🧠 What to know: Mangione was born and raised in a prominent real estate family in the Baltimore area and holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

• Social media accounts that appeared to belong to Mangione show posts about tech, AI and health. He had an active Goodreads account that included a review of the Unabomber's manifesto.

Friends of Mangione said he was often in pain from a chronic back problem — which one described as a pinched nerve — and dropped out of contact earlier this year.

• "Nobody has heard from you in months, and apparently your family is looking for you," one friend posted on X just over a month ago in a since-deleted tweet.

Go deeper.

Confidence among America's top chief executives is soaring after Trump's re-election, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes from the Business Roundtable's latest economic outlook index.

• Why it matters: CEOs have high hopes the former president will usher in an era of low taxes and regulations.

Mainstream economists warn the economy will take a hit from some of Trump's proposals, but CEOs see a brighter outlook for their industries in the months ahead.

• The index — first seen by Axios — jumped 12 points from last quarter to the highest level in more than two years.

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, who chairs the Business Roundtable, said in a statement that top executives feel "energized," with Washington set to "consider measures that can protect and strengthen tax reform, enable a sensible regulatory environment, and drive investment and job creation."

• Go deeper with Axios Macro, out daily at noon.

OpenAI is putting its powerful video creation tool, Sora, in the hands of basically every one of the millions of people who pay for ChatGPT, Axios managing editor for tech Scott Rosenberg writes.

• Why it matters: We're about to witness an at-scale experiment in what it means for people to create and consume large quantities of video content that is photorealistic but fake.

🎨 The big picture: OpenAI released Sora precisely because it wants the results of that experiment.

• "We're introducing our video generation technology now to give society time to explore its possibilities and co-develop norms and safeguards that ensure it's used responsibly as the field advances," the company wrote in a post introducing the new product.

OpenAI said that the latest version of Sora, which will be offered as a standalone product to ChatGPT Plus and Pro customers, is "significantly faster" than the version the firm previewed. It lets users generate videos up to 20 seconds long.

• Keep reading ... Get Axios AI+.

Gas prices haven't been this low since spring 2021, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

• The average gallon of gas cost $2.98 yesterday — and has been under $3 since Saturday, according to GasBuddy data.

Why it matters: Displayed prominently on big signs everywhere you drive, prices at the pump are a key economic indicator for the general public.

• Share this story.

A Nevada official rejected Rupert Murdoch's legal attempt to alter his family trust so that his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, will control the family's media and business empire when he dies, the N.Y. Times reports.

• Why it matters: Barring a successful appeal, the decision ensures Murdoch's media empire will be left equally to his four oldest children, who are not all ideologically aligned with the conservative views of Rupert and Lachlan, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

The intrigue: Murdoch's children started doing secret PR planning for how to handle their father's death last year after an episode of "Succession," the HBO series that draws on the Murdoch family drama, according to The Times.

• In that episode, the patriarch dies and chaos ensues for the family and the business.

Keep reading.

New York Mets owner and hedge-fund titan Steve Cohen just shocked the sports world, agreeing to pay outfielder Juan Soto $765 million to play baseball for him over the next 15 years.

• Why it matters: The nearly 10-figure deal, the biggest contract in the history of pro sports, is huge for Juan Soto — but it might end up being a winner for Cohen too, Axios' Pete Gannon writes.

The average $51 million a year the Mets will pay Soto (potentially $55 million after five years), will likely be offset to a degree by the money he'll bring to the Mets, which reportedly pulled in just under $400 million in revenue in 2023.

• "The Mets probably have more room to grow," a Major League Baseball executive told the New York Post, referencing the indirect financial benefits Soto could bring compared to other teams.

Keep reading.