Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Axios that she's betting big on AI as a fix for American classrooms as she carries out President Trump's directive to dismantle her department.
Why it matters: McMahon said she sees AI as a useful tool to both return control of education to the states and engage students, arguing she's already seen evidence that it works.
A dangerous and highly contagious measles outbreak that began in October has ignited a fierce new round of cases across South Carolina, and there's no immediate end in sight.
Why it matters: Over 100 people have been infected and hundreds more quarantined in the recent S.C. outbreak, which follows a wave of widespread measles cases nationwide.
Residents in the Pacific Northwest face "catastrophic" and potentially life-threatening flood threats after days of heavy rains, the National Weather Service warns.
The big picture: Washington's governor declared a statewide emergency Wednesday to respond to the flooding that's already prompted water rescues, closed roads, caused power outages and left tens of thousands under evacuation orders in the state and across the border in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Disney has entered the AI age — but under a new agreement between Walt Disney Company and OpenAI, there are guardrails on how Sora users can get creative with the entertainment giant's classic characters.
Why it matters: Disney's move to solidify itself as thefirst major content licensing partner on Sora marks a stunning endorsement of AI-generated content — and signals Disney's openness to "responsible" use of the emerging tech.
Axios Publisher Nicholas Johnston sat down with Ron Ash, Accenture Federal Services CEO, and Mike Gallagher, former U.S. Congressman and Palantir Technologies' Head of Defense. The conversation unpacked how the federal government can move faster to adopt AI to solve their problems — and why the human element may be the key to unlocking AI's full potential.
OpenAI on Thursday announced GPT-5.2, just a month after its last ChatGPT update and amid intense competition from Google's Gemini 3.
Why it matters: The update follows reports of a "Code Red" scramble inside OpenAI and highlights the intensely competitive nature of the chatbot market.
The story: As the saying should go: Viva Las Rovo.
At the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Atlassian Williams Racing didn't just show up with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alex Albon — they brought their AI-powered teammate Rovo, built to think fast, surface insights faster and keep teams firing on all cylinders.
Three out of four U.S. companies in AI, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing report that they struggle to find qualified talent.
Why it's important: There's an urgent need to strengthen the talent pipeline for these industries as labor shortages grow. Without a strong talent pipeline, the country risks falling behind on AI innovation, energy independence and more.
Economic growth in the U.S. is expected to decline over the next decade, but there's a bright spot: AI, according to new projections from The Conference Board out Thursday morning.
Why it matters: While fears of AI causing sweeping job loss are driving mass anxiety at the moment, the report offers a more nuanced perspective.
A growing economy is important for a raft of reasons — it creates jobs, raises living standards and brings innovation.
Elon Musk on Wednesday evening suggested that SpaceX will go public in 2026.
Why it matters: Axios' Dan Primack reported earlier that SpaceX had told investors about the planned initial public offering and that it could be the largest IPO ever, topping Saudi Aramco's $25.6 billion raise in 2019.
