New voices and previously hidden stories have been reinterpreting U.S. history and reshaping museums for the last 20 years, drawing conservative criticism that President Trump is now wielding against the Smithsonian.
Senior White House officials believe some European leaders are publicly supporting President Trump's effort to end the war in Ukraine, while quietly trying to undo behind-the-scenes progress since the Alaska summit, Axios has learned.
The White House has asked the Treasury Department to compile a list of sanctions that could plausibly be imposed by Europe against Russia.
Why it matters: Two weeks after the summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, there has been little clear progress toward ending the war. Frustrated Trump aides contend the blame should fall on European allies, not on Trump or even Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As Democrats nationwide blast President Trump's National Guard-backed policing crackdown in Washington, D.C., one Democratic governor who called in the National Guard is seeing violent crime decline in her state's largest city.
Why it matters: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's move in April helped cut homicides in Albuquerque by 24% in the first half of the year — but she rejects comparisons to what Trump is doing in D.C.
Royal Caribbean's newest mega-ship, the Star of the Seas, is more than the world's largest cruise ship — it's a floating city where a flying DeLorean features in a full-scale Back to the Future musical.
Why it matters: The cruise industry is in an arms race of scale and destinations that shows no signs of letting up.
The Trump administration announced Friday that it won't issue visas to senior Palestinian officials who wish to travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in September, and will revoke visas that were previously granted.
A State Department official confirmed that applied to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and around 80 additional officials.
Why it matters: The U.S. move comes in response to a planned initiative by severalWesterncountries to recognize a Palestinian state during the annual global gathering. It underscores that on policy toward Gaza and the Palestinians more generally, it is the U.S. and Israel vs. nearly all the rest of the world.
President Trump wants to cancel roughly $5 billion in foreign aid through a process known as a pocket rescission, the White House budget office confirmed to Axios on Friday.
Why it matters: The government's internal watchdog reiterated this month that pocket rescissions are illegal because they undermine Congress' power of the purse, further eroding the systems of checks and balances that govern American democracy.
The U.S. has never been closer to armed conflict with Venezuela, with a fully loaded U.S. flotilla sitting off its coast and dictator Nicolás Maduro living under a $50 million bounty.
The intrigue: Even close Trump advisers aren't entirely sure whether the gunboat diplomacy is a drug trafficking operation with undertones of regime change, or a Caracas coup operation masquerading as drug enforcement.
Nvidia's otherwise stellar earnings were clouded by one thing: export controls, which were overturned only after the company agreed to give a 15% cut of China chip sales back to Uncle Sam.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of President Trump inserting himself into the private sector as chairman of all boards, regardless of the impact that has on free markets.
Nvidia closed the door on the Magnificent 7's earnings season with a whimper. But the results in total left investors overly bullish.
Why it matters: Nvidia's earnings results may not have been good enough for its own shareholders. But billions of dollars in AI spending commitments will be enough to sustain the broader tech rally, strategists say.
