Axios

President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday sanctioning another law firm, Jenner & Block, with stripped security clearances and contract reviews.

Why it matters: Trump is again retaliating against law firms he views as political opponents, this time targeting a lawyer who was involved with ex-special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Trump's first election.

The winner of the AI race will make decisions that could set industry norms and influence global AI policy for years to come, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, told Axios' Ina Fried on Tuesday at the Axios What's Next Summit in Washington, D.C.

Why it matters: Lehane says beating China in the AI race is so important that we should not tie the hands of AI makers by limiting their use of data under copyright laws that China won't observe.

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday he's joining his wife, Usha Vance, on a trip to Greenland later this week, though the White House changed the course of the visit.

The big picture: The second lady's trip, which was scheduled as President Trump made clear his desire to take over the island, set U.S. allies on edge and drew repeated rebukes from Greenlandic and Danish officials.

Ilan Goldenberg, a former senior adviser Vice President Harris who served as director for Jewish outreach during her 2024 presidential campaign, is joining liberal pro-Israel Jewish organization J Street, according to a statement shared with Axios.

Why it matters: Goldenberg's appointment as senior vice president and chief policy officer, along with the hires of several other former Obama and Biden staffers, is aimed at boosting J Street's policy expertise and making it the leading organization shaping Democratic Party policy on the Middle East, especially on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a J Street official.

Pope Francis' condition during his recent hospitalization was so grave that doctors considered ending his treatment, his lead doctor said in an interview published Tuesday.

Why it matters: Francis' five-week-long hospital stay sparked fears of a possible papal resignation. Since returning to the Vatican last week, he has been prescribed two months of rest and recovery.

President Trump downplayed on Tuesday the scandal over the discussion of plans to strike Yemen by the most senior officials in the administration on an unclassified commercial chat app.

Why it matters: Trump made clear he does not plan to fire his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who established the Signal group and inadvertently added Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

The Trump administration's push to cast pro-Palestinian protesters as Hamas supporters — and then use anti-terror and immigration laws to quiet campus demonstrations — was forecast in a little-known plan last year from the creators of Project 2025.

Why it matters: That plan — dubbed "Project Esther" and based on months of chatter among some GOP leaders — was reflected in the White House's moves to arrest Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil and pull universities' funding over antisemitism allegations.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent President Trump a "personal gift" during a meeting with administration special envoy Steve Witkoff last week, the Kremlin said Monday after it emerged he gave him a portrait.

The big picture: While Trump's criticism of one portrait of himself at the Colorado State Capitol prompted its removal on Monday, Witkoff described the gifted portrait — one by a "leading Russian artist" — as "beautiful" during an interview with Tucker Carlson that was broadcast over the weekend.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied an explosive report Monday that he accidentally texted highly sensitive "war plans" to a journalist as part of a Signal group chat with more than a dozen top Trump officials.

Why it matters: The White House National Security Council confirmed Monday that the group text, mistakenly revealed to The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, "appears to be authentic."

President Trump's national security adviser accidentally invited the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to a group text in which top officials debated highly sensitive plans for bombing Yemen, the magazine reported Monday.

Why it matters: The extraordinary breach exposed classified information and private deliberations among the highest-ranking officials in the U.S. government, and raised serious questions about the lax handling of America's secrets by Trump's Cabinet.

The alleged Venezuelan gang members deported by the Trump administration earlier this month are likely to suffer "significant harm" in El Salvador, a federal judge asserted Monday.

Why it matters: The Trump administration's decision to deport the alleged gang members in defiance of a court order has set up a high-stakes legal battle that could test the limits of President Trump's power.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the enclave's Hamas-run health ministry said Sunday.

The big picture: The grim milestone comes after Israel launched a series of massive airstrikes on Gaza, shattering a roughly two-month ceasefire.

The White House plans to spare specific sectors from wide-ranging tariffs expected early next month, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Why it matters: Stocks jumped in early trading after reports that suggested the much-hyped "Liberation Day" might not be as harsh or broad as previously expected.

Greenland's prime minister slammed an upcoming trip to the island by Second Lady Usha Vance and other U.S. officials as "aggressive" and a clear show of power.

Why it matters: President Trump's desire to take over the island has set U.S. allies on edge and drawn repeated rebukes from Greenlandic and Danish officials.