Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her team are positioning her to run for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028, people familiar with her operation tell Axios' Alex Thompson.

• Why it matters: Ocasio-Cortez's 2028 decision could shake up the presidential race or the Senate's leadership. A fellow New Yorker, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, 74, is up for reelection in 2028.

A Senate race between Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez, 35, would be a generational clash pitting the Democratic Party's leading traditionalist against an unapologetic liberal star.

🍎 State of play: This year, Ocasio-Cortez — widely known as AOC — has campaigned across the country and in parts of New York State far from her Bronx and Queens district, all while investing millions to grow her already formidable online presence.

• She has also brought in some former senior advisers to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to bolster her operation.
• Ocasio-Cortez hasn't made any decisions about her future. But her team is working to give her choices.

Her team has done events across the nation, joining Sanders on his national "Fighting Oligarchy" tour earlier this year.

• Some close allies believe that even if Ocasio-Cortez doesn't think she could win, she may want to run for the White House to ensure that the Democratic Party's progressive wing is represented in the primary — just as Sanders did in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.
• She also held a series of town halls in Upstate New York this summer that could help her expand her appeal for a statewide Senate campaign.

🔭 Zoom out: Ocasio-Cortez has had one of the fastest rises in modern American politics, after topping an incumbent Democrat in 2018 while running as an unapologetic progressive.

• She has supported Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — and has drawn enthusiastic Democratic crowds this year in part by picking fights with the Trump administration.

Between the lines: Some former aides to Sanders see Ocasio-Cortez as an heir apparent who could expand his appeal beyond the party's left wing and immediately raise tens of millions of dollars in a presidential race.

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A five-alarm fire ripped through the entertainment industry after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show, and President Trump suggested regulators should consider revoking licenses for networks that "give me only bad publicity."

• Why it matters: Trump's push to rapidly reshape the media landscape — combined with Disney's programming decision — has ignited a firestorm over censorship and free speech.

🔎 Zoom in: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon opened their late-night shows using a mix of humor and solidarity with Kimmel. (AP)

• In a rare Thursday night appearance on "The Daily Show," Stewart addressed the Kimmel suspension with an over-the-top portrayal of a sycophantic television host from a set decorated with Mar-a-Lago-style gold.
• A disclaimer at the beginning of the episode called it a "fun, hilarious administration-compliant show."

On his CBS show, Colbert called the Kimmel decision "blatant censorship" and said: "With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch."

• David Letterman, Colbert's predecessor, told Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic Festival in Manhattan yesterday: "We all see where this is going, correct? ... It's managed media. And it's no good, it's silly, it's ridiculous, and you can't go around firing somebody because you're fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian ... That's just not how this works."

🖼️ The big picture: FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been vocal in pressuring broadcasters with threats of investigations.

• Carr told CNBC that the U.S. is in the middle of "a massive shift in dynamics in the media ecosystem ... and I would simply say we're not done yet with seeing the consequences of that."
• He also suggested the FCC could investigate "The View," which Trump has repeatedly railed against.

Go deeper: Trump suggests pulling TV licenses from critics.

President Biden had difficulty remembering names and dates, and often required extra meetings to make decisions in the final years of his presidency, his former chief of staff Jeff Zients told congressional investigators yesterday, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.

• Why it matters: Zients is one of the highest-ranking Biden officials to acknowledge that the 81-year-old president's age affected his abilities.

In a closed hearing, Zients told the GOP-led House Oversight Committee that over the course of the presidency, Biden began asking for more meetings.

• Instead of having three meetings before making a decision, for example, Biden would want four.
• Zients said Biden had long had trouble with names and dates, but acknowledged to investigators that the president's memory of such facts got worse in the final years of his term.

👀 The intrigue: Zients also said that former First Lady Jill Biden spoke with him about managing Biden as Zients was preparing to take on the role of chief of staff in early 2023.

• She urged Zients to adjust Biden's schedule so he could get more rest and return to the White House residence area earlier in the evening to have time with family members or by himself.
• Longtime Biden aide and deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini also talked with Zients about limiting Biden's schedule and shortening distances and stairs he had to walk, according to Zients.

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ESPN would consider more equity deals with sports leagues it covers if those transactions boost its standing with fans, the network's chairman Jimmy Pitaro told Axios' Sara Fischer at our Media Trends Live event yesterday.

• Why it matters: ESPN's recent deal for media assets owned by the NFL included the league taking a 10% stake in the broadcaster.

The company also took a minority stake in the Premier Lacrosse League when it renewed that media rights deal.

• When asked if he would consider other deals like those, Pitaro said: "The answer is yes, if it makes sense, if we believe that it would help us advance our place with sports fans."

⚡ More top moments from the summit: Top N.Y. Times editor's Trump response ... Condé Nast's Wintour plan ... Charlamagne tha God on interviewing Trump.

Betting on Nvidia's chosen partners has been a winning trade, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes.

• Stocks like CoreWeave, Nebius Group, and now Intel have soared anywhere from 47% to 370% in the past year.

Why it matters: It pays to follow the money — in this case, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's money.

🔬 Zoom in: Nvidia will invest $5 billion in struggling rival Intel, subject to regulatory approval.

• Intel soared over 20% off the news, leaving it up more than 50% year-to-date. Nvidia and Intel will collaborate on developing chips for data centers and PCs.

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With the midterms just over a year away, Democrats are sharpening an AI message focused on how the technology could widen economic divides and harm workers, Axios AI+ Government co-author Maria Curi writes.

• Why it matters: Democrats did little to put guardrails on AI when they had control of Congress. They're now decrying Republicans' hands-off approach to regulation and coming up with messaging of their own.

Zoom in: Democrats are zeroing in on how to help workers displaced by AI, though the details are still being fleshed out.

• Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) this week released his "AI for America" plan, laying out his idea for what he calls the AI Horizon Fund. The trust fund — paid for by tech companies — would support union-led apprenticeships and coordinate state and federal efforts for workers' development.
• At our AI+ DC Summit this week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said AI should benefit everyone, not just companies. "The Democrats should say our vision is AI that actually helps tackle the economic divides."

Keep reading ... Get Axios AI+ Government, our new Friday edition of Axios AI+ with a focus on how governments are encouraging, regulating and using AI.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisers approved limiting the availability of a combined shot for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella — the virus that causes chicken pox, Axios Vitals author Tina Reed writes.

• The 12-member panel also appeared poised to do away with the recommendation that all newborns receive the Hepatitis B vaccine, but delayed a vote until today.

Why it matters: The deliberations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices marked the most significant moves yet to carry out Kennedy's goal of revising childhood immunizations and immediately drew harsh criticism from public health officials.

• The recommendations still must be approved by the CDC, an agency under Kennedy that currently does not have a full-time political leader.

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An interactive museum about the American dream is opening this weekend around the corner from the White House, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil writes.

• The entry "Hall of Generations" is located in the spacious main hall of a 19th-century bank, leading to galleries that celebrate artists, entrepreneurs, the American financial system, and innovators in health and education.

A word cloud chandelier, made up of 64 six-foot OLED panels, features constantly updated phrases describing the American dream, contributed by visitors.

• Keep reading.