Axios

Oil prices are heading back toward $100 a barrel, and, perhaps more crucially, the price of diesel fuel futures is now sitting at an all-time high. 

Why it matters: Investors are starting to recognize that higher oil prices from the Iran war aren't something they can continue to ignore.

EXIT GLACIER, Alaska — America's 49th state is a study in contrasts: Rapidly melting glaciers like this one attract tourists, while the oil industry underpinning its economy is getting a fresh boost from Washington after decades of decline.

Why it matters: Few places put the causes and consequences of global warming in such proximity, making Alaska a vivid window into the world's reliance on fossil fuels as climate impacts mount.

There is a $100 billion question hanging over the Trump administration's deal to effectively gain control of more than a dozen large oilfields in Venezuela.

Why it matters: This could become a big opportunity for private equity and private credit, albeit one fraught with pallets of political risk.

AI is already helping detect and monitor wildfires. Now, researchers are exploring how it could help fire officials decide where to deploy crews across multiple fires.

Why it matters: Studies show climate change is contributing to longer, more intense wildfire seasons, forcing officials to make high-stakes decisions about how to prioritize limited resources. AI could help them process information to make those decisions faster.

U.S. officials are defending their work with Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt in the unprecedented White House move to effectively gain control over huge oilfields in the country.

• They're also confirming the Trump administration's support for Venezuela's elections.

Why it matters: Betancourt is the colorful and controversial figure who heads North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the oil company partnering with the administration in the agreement that gives the U.S. preferential access to output from 17 major fields.

Light, a Texas startup that enables businesses to offer customers bespoke, branded retail electricity plans, raised $46 million in Series A funding, the company told Axios.

Why it matters: It will support Light's expansion outside Texas into the massive PJM market and beyond as it challenges incumbent power giants.

President Trump's historic Venezuelan oil deal revolves around a colorful and controversial man from Caracas with a long history of supporting U.S. interests — including the operation to remove former strongman Nicolas Maduro.

Why it matters: Alejandro Betancourt, 46, runs the oil company that's entering into an unprecedented partnership with the Pentagon. It gives America access to some of Venezuela's vast oil fields at a time when U.S. reserves are low.

The Trump administration debuted a new pilot program Monday to bring free cybersecurity and AI tools to under-resourced water systems, starting in Texas.

Why it matters: Water systems have long been considered among the country's most vulnerable critical infrastructure, and the program arrives as at least 12 states respond to suspected Iranian cyberattacks.

The globe's top economic policymakers gather in the mountains at a shaky period for the global economy, with the Iran conflict driving up energy prices, trade tensions running high and governments facing huge debt loads.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's message to the world: The way through is stronger growth.

Fuel price increases in the first six months of the Iran conflict are costing U.S. drivers far more than the same stretch after Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed up costs.

Why it matters: Trump administration officials have emphasized — correctly — that gasoline hit an all-time high under Biden of over $5 per gallon, well above May's $4.56 high during the Iran war.