Axios

President Trump will address the nation on Wednesday evening on the war in Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Why it matters: Leavitt's Tuesday evening announcement on X came soon after Trump told reporters at the White House that U.S. forces could leave the Middle East in "two or three weeks."

A group linked to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is deploying America First-ish rhetoric against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the GOP's most vulnerable incumbent in 2026, for backing the Iran war.

• "We need that money in Maine, not the Middle East," say a pair of new ads paid for by a 501(c)(4) that's affiliated with the Schumer-linked Senate Majority PAC.

Why it matters: Public support for the Iran war is wavering, and Democrats are trying to turn Collins' support for it into a political liability.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is urging federal safety officials to investigate the remote assistance practices of autonomous vehicle companies, accusing them of "a stunning lack of transparency."

Why it matters: Robotaxis and self-driving trucks are beginning to roll out across America, typically with a small army of human overseers working remotely behind the scenes to help them navigate complex scenarios.

President Trump on Tuesday attacked European allies for not doing more to support the U.S. in its war with Iran and signaled they will have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on their own.

Why it matters: This was the third time in recent days that Trump signaled publicly he could end the war in Iran without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The oil shortage brought on by the Iran war will spread throughout the world, much as COVID-19 did, moving from east to west and leaving a path of destruction in its wake, a new analysis says.

Why it matters: If the oil shock plays out along those lines, it would mean the global economy has only just begun to feel the pain of the war's impact.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management who is one of the nation's premier CEO whisperers, is out Tuesday with "Trump's Ten Commandments: Strategic Lessons from the Trump Leadership Toolbox," including: "Reducing Complexity to Simplicity" and "The Role of Grandeur, Image, and Heroic Aura."

Why it matters: "Like him, loathe him, or try in vain to look past him, President Trump is the most consequential leader on the planet right now," Sonnenfeld told Axios' Mike Allen. The professor calls his book an "objective leadership analysis by [someone] who has known him for a quarter century."

Rahm Emanuel wants to shift billions of dollars from building new ICE facilities to funding community colleges — arguing they'll become more critical as AI disrupts the job market.

Why it matters: It's Emanuel's latest attempt to get ahead of other potential 2028 candidates with early policy proposals, especially on AI, tech and education.

U.S. average gas prices have hit $4 per gallon nationwide, per AAA.

Why it matters: It's a 35% increase at the pump since the war in Iran began last month, and there's little hope that costs will ease as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to most ships, straining supplies worldwide.

President Trump's threat to bomb Iran's water supply would constitute his most dramatic breach of the laws and norms designed to protect civilians in wartime.

Why it matters: The Iran war is the biggest test of what Trump's contempt for "politically correct" war-fighting looks like in practice.

Heavy social media users are less likely to think democracy is the best form of government and more likely to stray from democratic norms, according to a newly released study from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup.

The big picture: New research suggests social media is reshaping how people engage with democracy, expanding access to ideas while also contributing to a more fractured media environment.