Axios

President Trump pledged raises for U.S. services members as he blamed Democrats for the government shutdown during a 250th anniversary celebration of the Navy on Sunday at Norfolk naval base in Virginia.

The big picture: "Despite the Democrat-induced shutdown, we will get our service members every last penny," Trump said at the event of the standoff that Democrats blame the president for. "It's all coming, and even more because I'm supporting the across-the-board pay raises for every sailor and service member in the United States armed forces."

A jazz vocalist from Mexico is giving a new romantic and modern spin to the Mexican folklore of La Llorona, a crying female spirit who is said to take children.

The big picture: The song's release on Friday, ahead of Día de los Muertos, comes at a time when Mexican families in the U.S. face anxiety of immigration raids and racial profiling.

President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he thinks the negotiations on the implementation of his plan to release all remaining hostages held by Hamas and end the war in Gaza will be successfully concluded within the next few days.

Why it matters: Trump and his team are pushing hard for both Israel and Hamas to move forward with the implementation of the deal without delay, U.S. officials say.

Bad Bunny responded to MAGA critics upset he'll be the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer during his Saturday Night Live monologue on Saturday by speaking in Spanish — then telling them they have four months to learn what he just said.

Why it matters: It was the first time Bad Bunny, one of the world's most popular performers, had responded to far-right commentators, and signals he has no intention of pulling back on a potentially provocative and political performance in February.

When Hamas came back with a "yes, but" to President Trump's Gaza peace proposal on Friday, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss what he saw as good news.

• Netanyahu felt differently. "Bibi told Trump this is nothing to celebrate, and that it doesn't mean anything," a U.S. official with knowledge of the call told Axios.
• Trump fired back: "I don't know why you're always so f***ing negative. This is a win. Take it."

Why it matters: The exchange, which a second U.S. official confirmed, reflects how determined Trump is to push through Netanyahu's reservations, and convince him to end the war if Hamas will make a deal.

President Trump told Axios on Saturday that "we are close" to a peace deal in Gaza, and said he'll push to finalize it in the next few days.

• "I said, 'Bibi, this is your chance for victory.' He was fine with it," Trump told me. "He's got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine."

Why it matters: Trump's public messaging and behind-the-scenes diplomacy on Friday brought Israel and Hamas closer than ever to ending a war that began almost exactly two years ago with Hamas' attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl pushback from MAGA influencers is the latest chapter in a long history of Latino artists facing heat on America's most significant sports events.

The big picture: These flashpoints underscore how Latino performers frequently bear the weight of cultural politics, identity debates, and representation battles on some of the country's most prominent stages.

U.S. sanctions and national security concerns have pushed China to double down on its own technology industry, while America continues to be heavily reliant on Chinese consumer apps.

Why it matters: Today, six of the top 100 most downloaded apps in the U.S. are based in China or Hong Kong, per Apptopia, up from three in 2021.

The majority of downloads for ByteDance-owned apps in the U.S. this year haven't been of the main TikTok app, according to data from Apptopia.

Why it matters: President Trump's latest executive order outlining an agreement to sell TikTok's U.S. arm does reference other ByteDance-owned apps, but it's unclear how data and content security measures would carry over for those entities.

In just over a decade, China has proven it can sustain its box office with domestic productions and compete with Hollywood globally.

Why it matters: The strategy has reshaped the global movie business and could grow even more complicated as the Trump administration threatens new tariffs on foreign films.

China's digital ad industry continues to expand globally, fueled by mobile platforms that are innovating in live shopping and short-form entertainment.

Why it matters: China is no longer just a massive domestic market, given how its platforms are shaping the future of global ad formats and retail media.

The surprise ascendance of DeepSeek is forcing the U.S. to reckon with a narrowing tech advantage over China.

Why it matters: "We are in a new form of Cold War, and that war will be won by the country that can develop and maintain the greatest lead in artificial intelligence," Robin Feldman, director of the AI Law and Innovation Institute at UC Law, tells Axios.

The Israeli military has shifted to defensive operations in Gaza after President Trump called on Israel to halt its strikes in the enclave, the IDF said in a statement on Saturday morning local time.

Why it matters: This is the closest that Israel and Hamas have come to ending the war since the October 7 attacks almost exactly two years ago.