Axios

The Food and Drug Administration fulfilled a key part of President Trump's recent federal green light on psychedelics research on Friday by granting expedited review for three companies studying psychedelic treatment for mental conditions.

The big picture: A significant challenge to combating mental health issues is resistance to treatment — a hurdle that research suggests psychedelic therapy could help patients clear.

Economists and analysts say that AI in the long term will make the economy more productive — we'll get more done in less time, and that might even keep inflation in check.

Why it matters: It's a long complicated road to get to that fairy-tale ending. In the short term, AI is actually increasing inflation modestly at a time of more urgent inflationary pressures like war.

Persian Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates have plenty of dollars, yet they're asking the U.S. for access to more — via what's called swap lines — and the Trump administration seems open to the idea.

Why it matters: The asks are less about finances and more about politics — a sign of how the U.S. is trying to maintain dollar dominance amid a changing geopolitical backdrop.

The push to block ICE's plans to expand detention centers is fueling a coordinated national day of protests on Saturday.

Why it matters: No Kings protests have shown an appetite among Americans to unify against some Trump administration policies, and the latest effort — organized by the Disappeared in America campaign — is building on that momentum.

The Vatican is racing to build digital defenses for the artificial intelligence era — and quietly positioning itself as a global referee of what's real.

Why it matters: The Holy See is moving faster than most other legacy institutions to shape rules and guardrails in verifying reality, with urgency that's unfolding amid unusual geopolitical and digital clashes.

Florida bans lawmakers from intentionally creating congressional seats to give their party an advantage. But Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly has launched a three-tiered power play to evade the ban — and create more GOP-friendly seats — in November.

Why it matters: Partisan control of Congress could hinge on how — or whether — Florida legislators approve DeSantis' new map of U.S. House districts in a special session next Tuesday.

Breakfast meetings, happy hours and group chats across Washington are abuzz with the same question: Who gets axed next?

The big picture: The ousters this month of U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, alongside two other service leaders, have intensified Pentagon palace intrigue.

• The nerves are particularly charged inside the building.

A cohort of resistance-minded House Democrats is pushing their colleagues to begin building the case against President Trump now in anticipation of a Day 1 impeachment vote if they retake the House.

Why it matters: The mere existence of this movement demonstrates just how much pressure lawmakers who have not yet gotten on board with impeachment will face in January of 2027.

Key deadlines set out in President Trump's executive order targeting state AI laws have passed, with agencies failing to deliver on major steps that were due more than a month ago.

Why it matters: The missed deadlines are raising doubts about how forcefully the administration can follow through on its push to rein in states on AI regulation.

A U.S. special forces soldier was arrested and charged with using classified information about the raid to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to profit from prediction market bets, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The case lands as regulators and lawmakers intensify scrutiny of prediction markets — offering a real-world test of how aggressively authorities pursue insider trading tied to sensitive government information.

• This is the first time the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed charges of insider trading in connection with event contracts, per a CFTC statement.