The Trump administration is harnessing military purchase power insome of its most aggressive attempts to stem or even reverse coal-fired electricity's decline.
Why it matters: Surging electricity demand and fresh White House support could provide a lifeline to the most CO2-heavy power source.
The counter-drone weapon that caused a shutdown of El Paso's airspace on Wednesday was AeroVironment's LOCUST, a 20-kilowatt laser system, Axios has confirmed.
Why it matters: The Army sees the cutting-edge weapon as a way to combat drones without firing expensive interceptors. But the Federal Aviation Administration was so concerned about its use that it shut down the airspace around a major city for nearly eight hours.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Pentagon from punishing U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) by reducing his rank and pension for his participation in a video urging servicemembers not to obey illegal orders.
State of play: U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction in Kelly's lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Bad Bunny's streaming catalogue soared after his multicultural halftime show on Sunday, jumping 175% Monday when compared to the previous Monday, according to multipleoutlets.
Why it matters: The Puerto Rican artist's surge comes despite backlash from some MAGA figures who call him anti-American and anti-ICE.
Lawmakers are departing Washington on Thursday without a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security — all but ensuring a partial government shutdown at the end of the day Friday.
Why it matters: It would be the third shutdown of President Trump's second term, with Democrats again seizing on government funding as one of their only points of leverage to confront the White House over its mass deportation program.
The Justice Department is coming under intense scrutiny from members of Congress in both parties for allegedly cataloguing the search history of lawmakers who have gone to review the unredacted Epstein files.
Why it matters: It's a fresh and high-octane scandal for Attorney General Pam Bondi at a time when she is already facing bipartisan heat over her handling of the Epstein matter.
Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) used video of the shooting death of Alex Pretti to grill top immigration officials about the use of force in a rare show of bipartisan oversight.
The big picture: The deaths of Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of federal agents catalyzed opposition to the Trump administration's heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics.
The International Olympic Committee's protest guidelines are reigniting debate over how far Olympians can go in making political statements at the Games after a Ukrainian athlete was disqualified for wearing a helmet honoring athletes killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Why it matters: The IOC's decision underscores the balancing act the organization must strike between enforcing political neutrality and navigating athletes' freedom of expression about global conflicts and politics.
The EPA has overturned a formal 2009 scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to human health and welfare, President Trump said Thursday.
Why it matters: It's the Trump administration's most direct effort yet to rip out climate regulations root and branch — and make it harder for a successor to impose new ones.
The looming partial government shutdown could disrupt airport travel, disaster response and cyber monitoring starting Friday.
The big picture: The Department of Homeland Security is the only department facing a funding lapse, putting immigration enforcement and border operations at the center of the standoff.
Growing recreational cannabis at home is illegal in Washington state — but lawmakers in Olympia are considering a bill this year to legalize it.
The big picture: Of the 24 states that have legalized recreational cannabis, only four — including Washington — ban home growing for nonmedical use, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
The Federation of American Scientists is launching an initiative that aims to promote creative thinking for how government can tackle climate change and other challenges.
Why it matters: The effort is intended to "complement" the center-left "Abundance" movement that some Democrats are embracing, said Hannah Safford, FAS' associate director of climate and environment.
Alex Bores, the Democratic New York assembly member running for Congress, is making AI safety central to his campaign with a new policy platform released on Thursday.
Why it matters: Bores is banking that backing AI guardrails will help, not hurt, his bid for Congress — even as pro-AI super PACs spend big against him.
Senate Democrats on Thursday are reviving a Biden-era effort to set the first-ever national minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The Trump administration last year rescinded a policy that would have created baseline staffing rules for long-term care settings in response to widespread reports of patient harm due to understaffing.
The Trump administration's surprise decision to freeze payments to private Medicare plans is likely to supercharge tensions between physicians and insurers and create new barriers to senior care.
Why it matters: Limiting revenue in a core business for major health insurers will set off a chain reaction that ultimately affects the more than 34 million beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans.
President Trump has become so politically toxic that voters now say Joe Biden — whose unpopularity forced him into early retirement — did a better job as president, according to three new polls.
Why it matters: One year in, Trump has squandered virtually every advantage that won him the presidency. The White House has nine months to turn the ship around before a potential midterm wipeout for Republicans.
Some House Democrats say they plan to defy instructions from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) not to protest President Trump during his State of the Union address on Feb. 24.
President Trump was awarded the "Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal" trophy during a White House event on his latest fossil fuel drive Wednesday.
The big picture: The award that Peabody Energy executive Jim Grech gave Trump at the event celebrating Trump's signing of an order directing the Pentagon to procure electricity from coal-fired power plants is the latest in a series of prizes bestowed on the president during his second term.
Senate Democrats are preparing to grillJeremy Carl, President Trump's nominee to be assistant secretary of state for international organizations, over controversial social media comments — including posts he has since deleted.
Why it matters: With Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expected to be unanimously opposed, Carl will need to win over every Republican on the panel to be reported favorably to the floor.
Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) willingness to buck the party line has become so routine that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) doesn't even factor him into the equation for tough votes.
Why it matters: Johnson's majority now stands at 218-214, meaning he can lose only one GOP member on party-line issues. Massie is rarely part of the majority.
