President Biden is scrambling to finalize new business regulations, including rules affecting ticket sellers, automakers and banks, Axios Closer co-author Nathan Bomey writes.

• Why it matters: With only about a month left to go, the administration is aiming to follow through on a litany of policy promises — and to shield what it can from the incoming Trump administration.

⚡️ The latest: The FTC finalized a new rule today banning junk fees.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set new seatbelt rules for automakers.
• And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week finalized a new rule capping overdraft fees at large banks.

📨 By the numbers: The Biden administration had published 292 "economically significant" rules by the end of October, according to George Washington University's Regulatory Studies Center.

• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have vowed to undo scores of regulations. But once these rules are finalized, they're cumbersome to repeal.

News organizations are on high alert after President-elect Trump vowed yesterday to continue suing new outlets and influencers over their coverage, Sara Fischer writes in Axios Media Trends.

• 📊 Trump sued the Des Moines Register late yesterday for defamation, over a pre-election poll that showed him behind in the state. The Register's parent, Gannett Co., today called the lawsuit meritless and vowed to vigorously defend the paper's First Amendment rights.
• That followed ABC's $15 million defamation settlement with Trump, in a case that some legal experts say the network could've won.
• Trump has also filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS over a "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Harris.

🥊 Reality check: While Trump has a long history of filing lawsuits against media companies, he doesn't have a winning track record.

• But even a losing lawsuit drains the defendant's time and resources — and can damage their reputations no matter the outcome.

Go deeper.

1. 💉 RFK Jr. told senators today that he supports polio vaccination, Reuters reports. He has criticized many immunizations, and one of his allies petitioned the FDA to withdraw the polio vaccine specifically.
2. ⚖️ A San Francisco jury convicted tech consultant Nima Momen of murder in the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee last year. Go deeper.
3. 📉 Just 35% of Americans in a new Gallup poll said they have confidence in the U.S. legal system. Go deeper.

The U.S. Navy awarded Tom Cruise its top civilian honor today.

• His roles — most notably in "Top Gun" — have "increased public awareness and appreciation for our highly trained personnel and the sacrifices they make while in uniform," the Navy said.