Axios

A Waymo robotaxi picking up a passenger near Sunday morning's mass shooting in Austin blocked an ambulance from reaching the scene, according to a bystander video. Waymo and EMS officials confirmed the video shows the company's vehicle blocking the ambulance.

Why it matters: The incident raises fresh questions about how autonomous vehicles operate near chaotic emergency scenes — and whether the technology is fully prepared for unpredictable, high-stakes situations.

The overnight military strikes on Iran will likely push up oil prices by creating new risks to supplies from the region that's home to a large chunk of global output and transit.

Why it matters: Americans are about to feel the impact of the joint military operation by the U.S. and Israel.

Republicans want the upcoming surface transportation bill to require EV owners to pay more. Democrats want it to address climate change. And businesses see it as a way to overhaul how federal permits are awarded.

Why it matters: With that many competing interests, there's a higher risk that Congress won't be able to pass a bill quickly — and a lapse could create funding gaps or uncertainties for fixing roads and other projects.

Even with rising costs, power is a small slice of what Big Tech spends on data centers.

Why it matters: This is why deep-pocketed tech companies are voluntarily offering up pledges to pay for their own power. To them, it's just not that much money.

The New York, Boston and Portland, Oregon, metros have the country's safest roadways, per StreetLight Data's new "U.S. Safe Streets Index."

• That's based on five key factors among the 100 biggest U.S. metros: vehicle miles traveled, different speeds between vehicles, speed-based pedestrian risk, speeding in residential zones, and truck activity.

The big picture: "Larger metros tend to perform better overall for roadway safety, despite popular misconceptions that big cities are more dangerous," said the transportation analytics firm.

Big Tech's coming vow to pay for its own power amid the data center boom may be light on policy specifics. But it could still pack a political punch.

Why it matters: Electricity markets are largely regulated at the state and regional levels, limiting Washington's direct sway.

Tech giants are expected to join President Trump at the White House next week to sign a pledge that they will build or buy their own electricity supplies for data centers.

Why it matters: It's the Trump administration's latest response to election-year voter angst over data centers' AI-driven electricity demands and their potential effects on rates.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff told a private gathering on Tuesday that the Trump administration is demanding that Iran agree any future nuclear deal will remain in effect indefinitely, according to a U.S. official and two other sources with knowledge of his remarks.

Why it matters: President Trump and other critics of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration seized on the "sunset provisions" as one of its main flaws.

This winter has been brutally cold, snowy and icy for millions of Americans — yet winters are getting shorter across most U.S. cities amid climate change.

• That's per a new analysis based on temperatures rather than calendar dates from Climate Central, a climate research group.

AI may be siphoning off investment dollars that once flowed to energy startups, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

Why it matters: The global shift is a stark, data-driven sign of the times — climate ambition is collapsing just as the AI race accelerates.