Axios

President Biden is infuriating critics in the twilight of his term, unburdened by optics as he resorts to raw instincts — and seemingly a bit of trolling — to write the final pages of his polarizing presidency.

Why it matters: Biden's legacy will be defined, in many ways, by Donald Trump's reelection. But the 82-year-old president appears too proud to allow MAGA's rising tide to sweep him into premature irrelevance.

President-elect Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will join negotiations over a Gaza hostage-release and ceasefire deal on Wednesday in Doha.

Why it matters: Witkoff's trip is part of a last-minute effort by the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration to reach a deal to release hostages held by Hamas and establish a ceasefire in Gaza before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

A rise in cases of human metapneumovirus in China is stoking fears of a new health crisis, though authorities and experts say prospects for a sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic are remote.

The big picture: HMPV is similar to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and thought to account for about 1 in 10 respiratory illnesses in children. Though most cases are mild, some patients can develop a lower respiratory tract infection like pneumonia, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

President-elect Trump confirmed his son Donald Trump Jr. is visiting Greenland in a Monday evening post that renewed his call for the U.S. to take ownership of the autonomous territory that's part of of Denmark.

The big picture: Greenland's government was told the president-elect's elder son was due to arrive Monday in the capital, Nuuk, per a statement from the territory's Ministry for Independence and Foreign Affairs that noted he wouldn't meet with anyone from the government because the "visit is not official."

Hill leaders are setting up the first votes of the 119th Congress this week — on a bill at the center of a heated political debate over illegal immigration.

Why it matters: The expected votes in both chambers on the Laken Riley Act make clear Republicans plan to keep hitting the border issue — putting pressure on vulnerable Democrats trying to find their post-election footing.

President Biden has signed a bill that renames the U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles after the Latino parents who helped end legal school segregation in California and set up the 1954 landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling.

The big picture: Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez U.S. Courthouse comes decades after Latino activists tried to draw attention to the pre-Brown case, which set the stage for racial desegregation nationwide.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned from party leadership Monday, leaving a vacancy at the top of the Liberal Party.

Why it matters: The future leader, who will also become prime minister, will navigate rising tensions between the U.S. and Canada.

A chorus of European leaders is pushing back against Tesla CEO Elon Musk's meddling after he suggested Britain's prime minister should be imprisoned and questioned whether the U.S. should "liberate" its ally.

The big picture: Musk's influence looms large over U.S. politics with his MAGA alignment. Now he's casting a shadow over elections overseas, lambasting world leaders in recent days with his social media megaphone.

The CIA monitored Mexican American and Puerto Rican civil rights activists fighting for equal education and to honor the late Martin Luther King, Jr., — and against police brutality and the Vietnam War, newly released CIA documents show.

Why it matters: The documents confirm Latino civil rights pioneers' long-held suspicions that the federal government was monitoring — even disrupting — their activities.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned from his position as the leader of the Liberal Party on Monday.

Why it matters: The world's leading democracies are facing growing instability. Look to Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament, or the unprecedented government collapse in France.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation from party leadership Monday has put a renewed spotlight on his Conservative rival, Pierre Poilievre.

Why it matters: Trudeau's resignation has ignited a search for his replacement in his Liberal Party, which polls show is lagging significantly behind the Conservative Party ahead of a general election slated to take place by October.

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel this morning sued the Biden administration for blocking their proposed tie-up, as expected.

Driving the news: They also filed a RICO complaint against rival Cleveland-Cliffs, the steelmaker's CEO, and the head of the United Steelworkers union. This was unexpected, and escalates the litigation from heated to nuclear.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Monday that Russia is close to sharing advanced satellite technology with North Korea, in a sign of the countries' increasingly close ties.

Why it matters: Supplying the technology to North Korea is a part of a broader exchange between the allies, after North Korea sent troops and supplied armaments to Russia to help the Kremlin's forces against Ukraine.

Ian Bremmer, in his closely watched annual risk forecast, warns that the world has entered "a uniquely dangerous period of world history, on par with only the 1930s and the early Cold War."

The big picture: "People everywhere are facing heightened geopolitical instability driven by a lack of global leadership," writes Bremmer, the president and founder of Eurasia Group, in its "Top Risks 2025" report.

Iran's recent nuclear advances give President-elect Trump a crucial decision to make in his first months in office: Try to neutralize the threat through negotiations and pressure, or order a military strike.

Why it matters: Trump's decision in 2018 to withdraw from an Obama-era nuclear deal prompted Tehran to accelerate its nuclear program, such that it's now a de facto "nuclear threshold state." Officials and diplomats from the U.S., EU and Israel all told Axios they expect Trump to face an Iran crisis in 2025.

"Flow," Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis' acclaimed movie, beat some heavy-hitters to win Best Motion Picture (Animated) at the 2025 Golden Globes.

The big picture: The 85-minute movie about a cat displaced by a flood won the award over two Disney films, the new "Wallace & Gromit" entry and "The Wild Robot."