Axios PM

October 17, 2025
Good Friday afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 491 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.
1 big thing: Trump says Putin wants a deal

President Trump today did not commit to selling Ukraine the long-range Tomahawk missiles it has asked for, saying he believes the war can be ended without them.
- Trump has seemed more open to the idea recently, but was noncommittal today as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — and a day after speaking to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by phone.
- "If flexibility is shown, I think we have a very good chance bringing this war to conclusion," Trump said.
- "I think President Zelensky wants it done, and I think President Putin wants it done. Now all they have to do is get along a little bit," he said.
💡 Between the lines: There's been a months-long cycle of Trump declaring peace within reach after speaking with Putin, only to be disappointed, Axios' Barak Ravid writes.
- Trump acknowledged that Putin might be "playing for time," but said he thinks he's serious about getting a deal.
- "I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," Trump said, referring to the idea Putin might be bluffing.
2. 🤖 Big advance for U.S. chip manufacturing
Nvidia and TSMC today announced a major first step toward bringing critical chip production to the U.S., Axios' Megan Morrone reports.
- They announced their first completed U.S.-made wafer, a foundational piece of the chips that power AI.
- Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang is visiting TSMC's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix to announce the advance.
🦾 The big picture: This represents some of the first fruits of the Trump administration's push to build AI technology in the U.S.
- There's still a long way to go before the country's chip demand could be fully satisfied domestically.
3. Catch me up

- ⚖️ John Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him, which stem from accusations that he mishandled classified or sensitive documents. Go deeper.
- ⚓️ The U.S. is detaining two people who survived yesterday's strike against a boat off the coast of Venezuela. President Trump has said the vessel — and others the U.S. has recently bombed — was carrying drugs. Go deeper.
- 🪖 The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to let Trump deploy the National Guard in Illinois. Lower courts have blocked the deployment.
4. 🏎️ 1 for the track

Formula 1 races will stream in the U.S. exclusively on Apple TV, Axios' Sara Fischer reports from Austin, the site of F1's United States Grand Prix this weekend.
- The new five-year deal between F1 and Apple is reportedly valued at roughly $140 million annually — a major milestone in F1's American growth.
📺 F1's popularity is exploding, thanks in part to the Netflix series "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" and the "F1" movie, which Apple produced.
- And snagging the rights to an ascendant sport is a big get for Apple, as streaming services compete for more live programming.
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