President Trump on Tuesday touted $25 billion in initial funding for the "Golden Dome" and put Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein in charge of realizing the hemispheric missile shield.
The big picture: Golden Dome — previously dubbed Iron Dome, but separate from Israel's missile defense program — is a mammoth undertaking with enthusiastic backing from the president but many doubters in the national security community.
Google's AI shopping tools will now let you virtually try on clothes using your own photo, the tech giant announced Tuesday at its I/O developer conference.
Why it matters: AI is reshaping how we shop. It's going beyond recommending products and helping consumers visualize and buy products.
Security contractors are adapting to DOGE's brutal cost-cutting regime — by pitching their tech as essential to its mission.
Why it matters: As federal workforce cuts deepen, DOGE is expected to lean more heavily on third-party security vendors to help dismantle longstanding information silos — despite the national security risks that could come from its quest.
Google used this week's I/O developer conference to announce a slew of new AI features and experiences, along with a new $250-a-month subscription service for those who want to access the company's latest tools.
Why it matters: Google is aiming to prove that it can make its core products better through AI without displacing its highly lucrative advertising and search businesses.
Hackers who have been wreaking havoc on British retailers in recent weeks are now targeting this side of the pond, Google and other security firmsstarted warning last week.
Why it matters: The notorious cybercriminal gang behind the attacks, Scattered Spider, has a history of successfully stealing reams of data and prompting business disruptions at several major companies.
Driving the news: Google started warning on Wednesday that Scattered Spider was now starting to go after major American retailers.
This warning followed a wave of cyberattacks targeting at least three major British retailers in the last month, including Marks & Spencer, Harrods and Co-op.
A print supplement to the Chicago Sun-Times published a "summer reading list for 2025" Sunday citing multiple nonexistent titles by real authors — a goof that readers on social media quickly attributed to AI.
Why it matters: Today's AI models continue to make things up in ways that AI makers still haven't figured out how to detect or stop, and human users keep failing to check their output.
Applied Intuition is unveiling new products that, according to one executive, will enable swarms of autonomous military ground vehicles, vessels and drones.
Why it matters: The Pentagon is bullish on smart machinery — but a lack of physical and digital infrastructure hamstrings the grand vision.
U.S. electricity needs are slated to rise 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050 compared to 2023, sinus-clearing estimates from the consulting firm ICF seen first by Axios show.
Why it matters: The projections are higher than a number of other studies. It also estimates sharply rising demand peaks where grid strains are most acute, as the chart above shows.
The House Homeland Security Committee is planning a field hearing on cybersecurity issues in Silicon Valley during the congressional recess next week, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Tensions between Washington and the cybersecurity industry have been high amid DOGE-led cuts at the nation's top cyber agency and growing concerns about nation-state cyber threats against critical infrastructure, particularly during a global trade war.
AI makers are flooding the market with a new wave of coding agents promising to relieve human programmers of busy work.
The big picture: Automating the routine aspects of technical labor will almost certainly transform and downsize the tech industry workforce — but there's no guarantee it will alleviate software development's biggest headaches.
I've spoken with scores of CEOs and hundreds of students in recent weeks. They agree on one big thing: There's growing confusion about what constitutes strong, smart leadership in the transition to an AI world.
Why it matters: We run two companies (Axios + Axios HQ), oversee 500+ employees and spend an inordinate amount of time talking with the architects of the leading AI companies. So I wanted to share how we're approaching leadership in this volatile, hinge moment.
Former FBI director James Comey accused President Trump and his administration on Monday of using theirpowers "to aim at individuals, eroding the rule of law," as he addressed his "8647" Instagram post that incensed Trump world.
The bit picture: In his first interview since an investigation was launched into the since-deleted Instagram post that Trump said "meant assassination," Comey told MSNBC he thought the formation of shells on a beach into the number "8647" was a "clever way to express a political viewpoint" and didn't know of a violent meaning behind the number "86."
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