YouTube has agreed to pay President Trump $22 million to settle his 2021 lawsuit, which he filed after the company suspended his account following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.
Driving the news: In addition, YouTube will pay $2.5 million to the other plaintiffs on the case, which include the American Conservative Union and writer Naomi Wolf.
Far-right commentators are lashing out online over Bad Bunny headlining the 2026 Super Bowl.
Why it matters: The Puerto Rican artist is increasingly becoming a political talking point after he decided to skip the continental U.S. over concerns that ICE would raid his concerts.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed legislation that would mandate transparency measures from frontier AI companies.
Why it matters: The law will have major implications for the country's biggest AI players — and shows the appetite to regulate AI at the state level.
Video game maker Electronic Arts is poised to go private in a massive deal that could fundamentally change one of the world's leading video game companies.
Why it matters: EA Games produces some of the most popular video games worldwide, and has a slate of highly anticipated releases due out in the next several years.
Instacart's corporate affairs team is treating AI like a strategic partner, and identifying some of the biggest time sucks and configuring a modern comms playbook in the process.
Why it matters: Being AI-powered allows for the team to work smarter, work faster and focus on "higher impact and more rewarding work," says Instacart chief corporate affairs officer Dani Dudeck.
The No. 1 question I get from readers is "how are communicators thinking about AI?"
Why it matters: AI will not only totally change the way communicators work, but it will also impact their ability to promote and protect corporate reputation.
Video game maker Electronic Arts on Monday agreed to taken private in what would be the largest leveraged buyout ever, by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.
Why it matters: This might be just as much about geopolitics as it is about cashflow from the next iteration of Madden NFL.
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are introducing an AI risk evaluation bill on Monday, per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: There's still bipartisan appetite on Capitol Hill to address the biggest risks of AI — even as the White House warns regulation could hamper innovation and U.S. competition with China.
Power industry investmentsamid rising demand — from AI and beyond — create openings for clean tech startups despite policy headwinds, Energy Impact Partners founder Hans Kobler said.
Why it matters: EIP is a prominent backer of energy and climate tech companies via venture capital and other support, and works with utilities.
For the first time in nearly a decade, McDonald's is reviving its Monopoly game, with both physical peel-off stickers and new app-based digital pieces.
Why it matters: The promo is a nostalgia play, but one that comes with baggage.
Feeling more anxious? More unsure? Unless you're heavily sedated, you should be: We've never witnessed so many population-wide shifts simultaneously in our lifetime.
Three titanic tectonic plates are shifting at once: our technology, our governing and our reality-shaping. Washington, D.C., is the epicenter of all three.
Why it matters: You can't navigate business, politics, social media or life generally without understanding the speed, consequence and interconnectedness of these shifts.
Think of this as a wide-angle lens on the world unfolding before you in real time.
The Trump administration's ambition to lead in high-tech manufacturing and AI won't succeed if it ignores foundational blue-collar industries, Ford CEO Jim Farley tells Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: For all the talk about how AI will wipe out white-collar jobs (including from Farley himself), he says not enough attention is paid to the "essential economy" — industries like construction, maintenance and skilled trades.
Bad Bunny is the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show headline performer, per social media posts from the singer, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation on Sunday night.
What he's saying: "What I'm feeling goes beyond myself. It's for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown," the 31-year-old Puerto Rican singer said in a media statement.
