Axios

Leading the Future, the pro-AI super PAC backed by major tech names, is endorsing three more Democrats in upcoming primaries, the group told Axios exclusively.

• The latest Democratic candidates to get the group's endorsement are Val Hoyle (OR-4), Rob Menendez (NJ-8) and Richie Torres (NY-15).

Why it matters: The pro-AI super PAC is continuing to spend big on candidates it thinks will boost their preferred policies, even as policy fights over AI in Washington get more complicated.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is staring down three messy fights when Congress returns next week.

Why it matters: Johnson may have survived "hell week" and ended the politically painful Department of Homeland Security shutdown just before Congress left town, but the speaker will return to Washington with a long to-do list.

Uber is acknowledging the risks of driverless cars — from jobs to congestion to safety — while launching a new public policy push to break the logjams slowing the transition to autonomy.

Why it matters: After years of battling cities and labor groups over ridesharing, Uber — with up to $10 billion in potential autonomous vehicle bets at stake — is trying a new tack.

The Department of Defense began the initial release of government files on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), colloquially known as UFOs, Friday.

The big picture: While there are no clear photos of little green men or flying saucers, the release fulfills an order from President Trump to release government documents related to aliens and UFOs, feeding Americans' fascination with conspiracies.

The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate held at 4.3%, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Why it matters: Employers kept hiring through the Iran war's energy shock, a sign of labor market resilience that complicates the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee in Maine's Senate race, on Friday called for ending federal taxes on gasoline and diesel.

• Platner is also proposing a national freeze on electricity rates.

Why it matters: His race is likely among the nation's tightest — and critical for Democrats' uphill climb to regain control of the chamber in November's elections.

At a conference earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that the new Trump accounts, the "401(k)s for babies" that launched this year, could be a way to push forward the Social Security privatization effort that failed during the Bush administration.

Why it matters: Social Security advocates have worried about this, and while Trump accounts were not described that way when the program was announced, Cruz's remarks suggest a long-term roadmap.

James VandeHei Jr., 21, is a rising senior at High Point University and a Division I soccer player. He brings us the backstory of an app that launched Thursday (and is moving up the news chart):

My dad's letter on AI, which dropped in Axios Finish Line in January, came right as I was starting to go deep into the technology myself. Along with two buddies — Charlie Stallmer at Holy Cross and Chris Brophy at the University of Denver, also college juniors — I was already thinking about building an app.

The idea: After a summer on the Hill, the three of us had the same realization. Voting records, campaign finance and legislative activity are technically public — but practically buried. Even on the official Congress.gov, breaking down a single bill means sifting through legislative language no normal person should have to translate.

Chuck Schumer's headaches may only just be getting started after the Senate minority leader's handpicked candidate to take down Sen. Susan Collins was forced to drop out early in Maine's Democratic primary.

Why it matters: Progressive candidates are mounting serious, well-funded campaigns against more traditional Democrats in Senate primaries across the country.

President Trump's declaration that hostilities with Iran are "terminated" has thrown Democrats' strategy around congressional war powers into turmoil, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: House Democrats, led by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had been planning to force a war powers vote every day. It is now unclear whether that will — or even can — happen.