Bird flu is making a major comeback across the country this fall, reviving concerns about U.S. readiness to respond to outbreaks — especially during the government shutdown, Axios' Tina Reed writes.

• Why it matters: The most immediate concern is how the spread of the disease in commercial poultry flocks could drive up food prices.

A month before Thanksgiving, wholesale turkey prices are about 40% higher than last year.

• Influenza was found in 62 commercial and backyard flocks across 17 states in the past month, affecting an estimated 6.6 million birds, according to the USDA. Infections have also been identified in dairy cows, cats and other mammals in a half dozen states in recent months.

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Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios' Barak Ravid that President Trump's new sanctions will hurt the Russian war machine, but Ukraine still needs long-range missiles to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to make peace.

In a 35-minute phone interview yesterday, Zelensky told Barak the sanctions "will make a difference," but suggested Putin won't budge unless Trump piles on more pressure.

• "President Trump is concerned about escalation," Zelensky said. "But I think that if there are no negotiations, there will be an escalation anyway. I think that if Putin doesn't stop, we need something to stop him. Sanctions is one such weapon, but we also need long-range missiles."

More from the interview.

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang is bringing Silicon Valley to D.C. this week with the company's first-ever developers conference in the nation's capital, signaling how central Washington has become to the chip giant's ambitions, Axios' Maria Curi writes.

• Why it matters: The annual Nvidia GTC (GPU Technology Conference) in San Jose is known as the "Super Bowl of AI." The new Washington edition showcases Nvidia's deepening ties with the federal government.

🕶️ Axios got a sneak peek at themes of Huang's keynote tomorrow. "AI is the most transformative technology in human history — and the race is on," Huang says.

• "GTC D.C. brings together researchers, developers, business leaders and policymakers in the heart of our nation's capital to explore breakthroughs in AI, robotics, life sciences, energy, quantum, and 6G — advancing innovations vital to America's technological leadership."

The conference will be held today through Wednesday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, with live demos and 70+ sessions on chip design, superintelligence, quantum computing and more.

• More on Nvidia GTC ... Share this story.

President Trump, who arrived in Tokyo today for a royal welcome, says he expects to add a trade deal with China to a slew of pacts he has already struck during his five-day Asia swing, Reuters reports.

• "I've got a lot of respect for President Xi and I think we're going to come away with a deal," Trump said on Air Force One before landing in the Japanese capital and heading to a meeting with Emperor Naruhito.

Trump meets China's Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday.

• Also look for administration AI announcements this week.

In Malaysia, Trump's first stop on his five-day Asia swing, he showed off his moves for local ceremonial dancers yesterday during a red-carpet welcome ceremony for Air Force One at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

• The White House account on X called it: "TRUMP DANCE MALAYSIA VERSION 🕺🇺🇸🇲🇾."

📱Video: Trump's arrival dance (20 secs.)

Investing in AI infrastructure will result in significant GDP growth in the next few years, OpenAI predicts in a new regulatory filing shared first with Axios' Ashley Gold.

• Why it matters: OpenAI's big idea is that this isn't just about AI — it's America's big shot at reindustrialization.

In OpenAI's view, the race to secure computing power, modernize the grid and rebuild supply chains should supercharge U.S. manufacturing and energy production.

• A new OpenAI internal analysis finds that the first $1 trillion invested in AI infrastructure could add more than 5% to GDP growth over a three-year period.
• The company says the next five years will bring an immense need for electricians, mechanics and other construction trade workers — an estimated 20% of those existing workforces for OpenAI's purposes alone.

What's inside: Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, wrote in the filing that the White House should prioritize "closing the 'electron gap' between" the U.S. and China by "setting an ambitious national target of building 100 GW a year of new energy capacity."

• "We will also develop additional strategic partnerships and investments in American manufacturing to specifically advance our work in AI robotics and devices," Lehane writes.

Read the filing, "Sizing up the AI opportunity" ... Share this story.

Today is Day 27 of the shutdown, which has halted federal data tracking the job market, public health and crop production, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

• Why it matters: The numbers are critical to a full understanding of this period of rapid change in government policy and the job market.

💡 How it works: Businesses use gold-standard government data, including the monthly jobs report, to set pay, pricing, hiring and investment plans.

• Investors watch the numbers so closely that they can drive big stock reactions.

Since the shutdown began Oct. 1, agencies have stopped collecting or releasing information about:

• The labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics skipped its September employment report and hasn't collected any data in October.
• Public health. Weekly numbers that track how many Americans are coming down with the flu, RSV or COVID-19 haven't been updated.
• Agriculture. The USDA's weekly export sales report and daily sales announcements, and its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates aren't coming out. That leaves farmers and commodity traders with less information at the peak of the harvest season.

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President Trump has stunned Washington with his quick ballroom action. But it turns out he's been agitating for a White House ballroom for 15 years:

• The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2010, David Axelrod — then in the White House as a senior adviser to President Obama — "got a call from Trump, then a real-estate developer and reality television star."
• "He said, 'You have these state dinners in sh---y little tents,'" Axelrod told The Journal. "He said, 'I build ballrooms. I build the most beautiful ballrooms in the world. You can come to Florida and see for yourself.' ... I was thinking: We're in the middle of a recession. I'm not sure about this."

🗞️ Trump recounted his offer during a conversation with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in 2011 (14½ years ago!), resulting in a headline in Trump's beloved New York Post, "Trump's W. House ballroom."

• On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump said he told Axelrod he'd spend "at least $100 million. We'll make it the finest ballroom in the room. We'll put it someplace so it works contextually, magnificently." (Video)

💬 Axelrod gave me the backstory: "I gave it to the appropriate person and never followed up, which was wrong. I take responsibility for that. And I'm not disputing that he said he would pay for it, though I honestly don't recall him saying it."

• "But one thing I DO remember," Axe added, "is that he described this as a MODULAR ballroom, which you could assemble and disassemble. There was no talk of demolishing the East Wing."

👀 P.S. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised The Washington Post for the lead editorial in Sunday's paper, "In defense of the White House ballroom: Donald Trump vs. the NIMBYs."

• "First dose of common sense I've seen from the legacy media on this story!" she wrote on X.

Read the WSJ story ... Read the WP editorial (gift links).

Happy sports equinox! Today is the only time this year that all four major leagues — the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL — have games on the same day.

• ⚾ Go deeper: Who's playing tonight.