White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her first press briefing that the National Security Council was "looking into" the potential security implications of AI breakthroughs from China's DeepSeek, which have rocked Silicon Valley and Wall Street this week.
Why it matters: DeepSeek's low-cost but highly advanced models have shaken the consensus that the U.S. had a strong lead in the AI race with China. Responding to a question from Axios' Mike Allen, Leavitt said President Trump saw this as a "wake-up call" for the U.S. AI industry, but remained confident "we'll restore American dominance."
The U.S. military transferred around 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland this week in order to deliver them to Ukraine, three sources with knowledge of the operation tell Axios.
Why it matters: Getting more Patriot missiles to Ukraine has been a top priority for the Pentagon to help Kyiv defend against Russia's attacks on its critical infrastructure.
Southern California continues to reel from the devastating wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles County earlier this month, prompting questions about whether it will be ready to host the 2028 Olympics as planned.
Why it matters: It could take several years for the Los Angeles area to recover from the blazes, creating a potential clash of timing and resources needed to prepare for the Games.
President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met on Tuesday in Riyadh with a senior adviser to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.
Why it matters: This was the first meeting between a Trump administration official and a Palestinian official since November's election.
Silicon Valley's overnight obsession with DeepSeek has renewed questions about whether it's safe for U.S. companies to even interact with China-linked technology.
Why it matters: Security concerns alone are enough for the biggest U.S. companies to pump the brakes on using DeepSeek's models right now.
President Trump yesterday said that Microsoft is among those in talks to acquire TikTok, or at least enough of TikTok that it would be allowed to continue operating in the U.S.
Why it matters: This new divestiture dance is beginning to feel like an imitation of what we saw five years ago.
President Trump has been threatening friend and foe alike with the foreign policy equivalent of a two-by-four. Colombia's president found that out the hard way over the weekend when he tried to stop U.S. military flights carrying deportees back to Colombia.
"F--k around and find out," one top White House official summed up Monday.
Why it matters: Trump's world view revolves around showing strength, a carrot-and-stick approach that usually is short on rewards and long on threats. But it's showing some results — at least in Latin America, where Trump is determined to boost U.S. influence.
A coalition of U.S. and Canadian Jewish groups say they will leave X, the social media formerly known as Twitter, after seeing a rise in "toxic speech" on the platform and owner Elon Musk reposting antisemitic and xenophobic content.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday called Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's R1 an "impressive model" and pledged his company would "deliver much better models" in the future.
ICE announced Monday a multi-agency immigration clampdown resulted in 1,179 arrests in a single day — the biggest number since President Trump took office a week ago.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is stepping up efforts targeting undocumented immigrants in cities across the U.S. — and it's resulted in at least 3,552 arrests since Thursday, per figures posted to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's X account.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and President Trump appeared to take different stances Monday on China's artificial intelligence developments.
Why it matters: Interest in Chinese company DeepSeek's rapid advancements in AI sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling on Monday, as the mobile app climbed to no.1 on Apple's rankings of free iPhone apps.
