Why it matters: The technology may be ready — but the economics aren't. High costs are still preventing these new mobility platforms from reaching the scale needed to become durable, profitable businesses.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday was grilled for past statements about his company's role in child safety and knowledge of alleged harms.
Why it matters: This is the first time Zuckerberg has faced a jury in a courtroom alongside families who say that Meta's products harmed their children.
Stephen Colbert alleged that President Trump's talk show directive kept his interview with a Texas Democratic Senate candidate off CBS airwaves, but it didn't stop him from reaching millions online.
Why it matters: Colbert bypassed the late-night TV restrictions by posting his interview with Texas Rep. James Talarico on YouTube — exposing how FCC rules built for broadcast don't apply to today's digital platforms.
RICHMOND, Virginia — How the state deals with its uniquely large proliferation of data centers plays a significant role in its economy going forward, according to three environmental professionals at a Feb. 12 Axios Live event.
Why it matters: Virginia, particularly the northern part of the state, has become known as the world's "data center capital," with estimates that the area processes up to 70% of global digital traffic.
Axios' Chuck McCutcheon and Sabrina Moreno spoke with Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Josephus Allmond; Glenn Davis, principal at Davis Energy & Infrastructure Strategy Group; and Virginia Mercury energy columnist Ivy Main.
Zoom in: Making it too easy for data centers to set up shop in Virginia could increase residential electricity bills and negatively affect lower-income communities. Making it too difficult potentially eliminates jobs and the tax revenue the centers could contribute to local communities.
By the numbers: Virginia has "localities where 40% of their property taxes come from data centers," said Davis, the former Virginia director of energy.
"Imagine a locality in southwest Virginia or central Virginia, where … one data center would change quality of life overnight — new schools, new roads, what it would do."
Yes, but: "We want to make sure that these data centers come here and that they're benefiting the grid and that they're benefiting the local communities, not harming them," Allmond told McCutcheon.
Friction point: Virginia Gov.Abigail Spanberger has moved to reinstate the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). However, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright contends tax credits for it andother clean energy programs should end, in favor of traditional energy sources to support technological growth like data centers.
What's next: "Gov. Spanberger's got a Democratic majority for two years," Main told McCutcheon, "so it is reasonable for her to look at the first year as, 'Let's do the things that are achievable without great pain and see how far we can get.'"
Content from the sponsor's segment:
In a View from the Top conversation, Shell Energy Solutions' David Black told Axios Live moderator Eugene Scott that Virginia faces a clear dilemma.
"You have this massive opportunity of growth, and that growth can bring tax dollars. It can bring jobs." However, he added, "if you don't get this right, you will crowd out investment."
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be grilled on Wednesday on the addictive nature of social media for youth, though scientists have not reached a consensus on whether "addiction" is the right label for compulsive use.
Why it matters: Regardless of the classification, researchers have found that excessive social media use has negative effects on youth mental health.
Economic policymakersare bracing for a range of potential AI outcomes, from widespread adoption that causes job market wreckage to the technology's uptake completely stalling.
Why it matters: The path that unfolds will shape the future of employment, productivity and inflation trends. Each outcome comes with its own consequences — and challenges — for investment, the financial markets, and monetary policy.
CFTC chairman Mike Selig came out swinging in the fight against state regulations of prediction markets, declaring they aren't gambling, and that his agency has "exclusive jurisdiction" to regulate the space.
The big question: Is the CFTC prepared or equipped to take on the full scope of prediction markets in the age of retail trading?
Environmental and health groups filed suit Tuesday against EPA over the "endangerment finding" repeal and withdrawal of any CO2 standards for vehicles.
Why it matters: The litigation — which analysts expect to reach the Supreme Court — will help decide how much future presidents can crack down on emissions.
Even in the deepest of woods or bogs, ICEYE US CEO Eric Jensen stays caffeinated.
"I love to hike, hunt, explore the wilderness, camp. I would prefer always to do it with my single serve manual espresso maker," he told Axios in a recent interview.
"What's something I believe that no one else does? You can make a barista-quality shot of espresso on your own — off grid — without any steam or anything like that."
Why he matters: ICEYE is part of the remote-sensing boom, as it designs, builds and operates a fleet of satellites that collects information about the Earth.
CenCore Group will build up to eight modular, relocatable SCIFs at Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic sites under a contract with the U.S. Navy.
Why it matters: The deal gets the service "mission ready literally five to seven years faster than they would have if they had done a traditional stick build and gone through the" military construction process, CEO Adam Fife told Axios.
The first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, the District of Columbia, is 66% complete and is now expected to be delivered in 2028, according to a U.S. Navy official.
The second, the Wisconsin, is 35% complete. The third, the Groton, is 10% complete.
Why it matters: Columbia-class subs have long ranked as the service's No. 1 priority. They will be armed with nuclear weapons, like the aging Ohio-class they succeed.
The American Center for Manufacturing and Innovation will break ground Thursday on a 1,100-acre defense-tech development and manufacturing hub in Indiana.
Why it matters: The venture is backed by a $75 million Defense Department munitions campus investment. It also neighbors Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division, one of the largest naval installations in the world.
The Gauntlet kicks off at Fort Benning, Georgia, this week.
The trials run through early March, putting small, inexpensive drones and their makers through the wringer as the U.S. attempts to learn the lessons of war in Ukraine.
The big picture: The tests, announced earlier this month, are part of the Defense Department's Drone Dominance push, which seeks to arm American troops with hundreds of thousands of expendable drones in a few short years.
An obscure, two-year-old company has emerged as a quiet power broker — literally — in the AI boom.
Why it matters: Houston-based Cloverleaf Infrastructure is lining up massive deals securing land and city-scale electricity to fuel data centers — the single biggest bottleneck in AI expansion.
This year's Winter Olympics are doubling as a proving ground for how artificial intelligence can help athletes train, organizers shuffle events, and fans experience a centuries-old celebration of what humans can physically do.
Why it matters: The same technology reshaping the world is also transforming an event that brings the world together.
