Axios PM

March 20, 2026
🎉 It's Friday! We made it. Today's newsletter, edited by Herb Scribner, is 708 words, a 2½-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.
1 big thing: Trump's AI plan

The Trump administration released its highly anticipated recommendations for Congress on AI today.
- Why it matters: The National AI Legislative Framework marks a starting point from the White House. But it'll be incredibly hard for Congress to pass anything like it — even with Republicans in control, Axios' Ashley Gold, Maria Curi and Mackenzie Weinger write.
What's inside: As part of "winning the AI race," the four-page White House proposal calls on Congress to:
- 👭 Address the use of AI replicas that simulate someone's likeness or voice.
- 🔋 Codify President Trump's pledge to require tech companies to pay for their increased energy demands.
- 🛝 Establish "regulatory sandboxes" to allow developers to experiment with AI under relaxed rules.
- 🌐 Focus on kids' online safety.
🥊 Reality check: The plan isn't tied to specific bills, and it doesn't resolve long-standing issues around protecting kids and overriding state law.
▶️ What's next: A renewed clash with states and Congress over the future of AI regulation. Disagreements over AI policy go well beyond R vs. D.
- The push to preempt state laws will also continue to draw resistance from local politicians on both sides of the aisle.
- Debates over federal reach, copyright and kids' safety remain the same sticking points that have stalled action for years.
2. 📻 CBS shuts off the radio

CBS News is laying off 6% of its staff and shuttering CBS News Radio, which serves approximately 700 affiliate stations nationwide, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.
- It's the second round of layoffs under CBS' new ownership and management team. CBS News Radio will sign off forever on May 22.
🎙️ Why it matters: The radio cuts are especially notable given CBS News' legacy as a pioneer of news radio, dating back nearly a century.
🌐 CBS News Radio's flagship program, "World News Roundup," is the longest-running daily radio newscast in the country. Edward R. Murrow's historical reporting about WWII stemmed from that broadcast.
- The announcements were made to staff today through two separate memos from editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski.
🎙️ Historic clips from "World News Roundup" ... Read the memo.
3. ⚡️ Catch me up

- 🕯️ Actor Chuck Norris, 86, died suddenly yesterday, his family announced today. The legendary star was best known for his role in the '90s TV show "Walker, Texas Ranger," and became an iconic tough guy for the masses. Read the obit.
- 🏛️ The Justice Department sued Harvard, alleging the school's leadership "turned a blind eye" to the harassment of Jewish and Israeli students on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Go deeper.
- ⚾ Major League Baseball is entering a formal partnership with Polymarket, while also agreeing to collaborate with the federal commission overseeing prediction markets to discuss integrity concerns. Go deeper.
- 🏡 The International Energy Agency shared a list of things people can do to save energy amid the oil crisis spurred by the Iran war. The first one? Work from home. Go deeper.
- 🌹 ABC pulled the upcoming season of "The Bachelorette" after a video leaked appearing to show the star, influencer Taylor Frankie Paul, assaulting her ex-boyfriend. ABC will air an "American Idol" rerun on Sunday instead. Go deeper.
4. 🏀 Quote of the week: "Throw on the glass slipper!"

March Madness shining moments are already everywhere, including an ecstatic call by Jimmy Rosselli, one of the hosts of High Point University's student radio program, "The Jimmy and Griff Show."
- The 12th-seeded High Point Panthers of North Carolina stunned the fifth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers, 83-82, in the First Round yesterday, busting just about everyone's bracket.
🐆 Rosselli roared: "Throw on the glass slipper! It's a Cinderella story. ... We will see you in the Round of 32!"
5. 🎤 1 for the road: K-pop drone show

🎶 BTS, the South Korean boy band, is back with a new album after a four-year gap — and celebrated the return with a drone show over Seoul's Han River Park last night, AP reports.
- The drone show was a precursor to BTS' long-awaited comeback concert, scheduled for tomorrow night at Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square. All members will perform at the show, which will stream on Netflix at 7 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Above: Drones form an image of BTS member RM.
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