Axios

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego gave a boost to embattled Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin on Friday at a private fundraiser in Salt Lake City, people familiar with the senator's remarks told Axios.

Why it matters: Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential contender, praised Martin at a time when many Democrats are worried about Martin's leadership — and as others eyeing the White House have spurned requests to give more help to the DNC.

Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey backs the Pentagon's decision to blacklist Anthropic — and says if it were up to him, he would have reacted even more forcefully.

• He made the comments in an interview with Colin Demarest on "The Axios Show," our series featuring top Axios reporters interviewing newsmakers shaping politics, business, tech, and culture.

Why it matters: The Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk is a move historically reserved for foreign adversaries. It means that other companies who do business with the Pentagon may have to cut ties with the AI giant.

If you predicted the U.S. would fall into recession due to the latest headlines, the last few years have made you look dumb. Through interest rate increases, armed conflict in Europe and a trade war, it has proven stunningly resilient.

The big picture: America's economic superpower has been its scale, diversity and adaptability that have allowed it to continue chugging along whenever crises arise.

• Now, the Iran war will test again how much the U.S. economy can absorb without a meaningful downturn.

President Trump, already at odds with many MAGA leaders over Iran, is getting pressured hard by MAGA activists not to endorse Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for reelection.

Why it matters: This is the most unified, intense, in-his-face MAGA campaign yet to push Trump into picking sides in a pivotal fight — the GOP establishment or his base. Trump was leaning toward backing Cornyn before MAGA went ballistic, officials tell Axios.

Democrats must commit to tailored, economically focused messaging to win back Latino voters in the 2026 midterms, Univision executive Ignacio Meyer said Saturday at Axios House at SXSW.

Why it matters: Latinos — the up-for-grabs voting force that could decide 2026's razor-thin congressional battles — propelled President Trump's 2024 victory with record GOP support, about 48% nationally.

President Trump claimed on Saturday the U.S. and several other countries will send war ships to the Gulf to reopen commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz.

Why it matters: The attacks in the strait of Hormuz brought commercial shipping to and from the Gulf to an almost complete halt, dramatically disrupted oil exports from the region and destabilized global energy markets.

The U.S. government is treating strikes on Iran like a video game, inviting the country to watch as memes and montages subsume the human cost of war.

Why it matters: The Trump administration didn't invent the gamification of war, nor did it invent wartime propaganda — a tool of statecraft as old as armed conflict itself.

Colleges besieged by AI-generated writing brought back blue-book exams to deter cheating, but some educators say hand-written tests don't showcase students' best work and disadvantage swaths of learners.

Why it matters: Educators say AI cheating is real — if sometimes overstated — but reverting to pen-and-paper tests sidesteps the reality that many employers want graduates who are comfortable using AI tools.

President Trump said the U.S. military conducted a massive strike on Kharg Island in Iran - the center of the country's oil exports.

Why it matters: The strategic Island hosts Iran key oil export facilities. 80-90 percent of Iranian oil is exported from the Island.

President Trump on Friday invoked a Cold War-era law in a bid to boost oil production off Southern California's coast and meet demand in the wake of the Iran war.

Why it matters: The president's signing of an executive order allowing use of the Defense Production Act shows he's trying to employ a variety of tools to try to tamp down the oil price shocks set off by the war.