Axios

The dollar weakened against other major currencies Tuesday afternoon after President Trump told reporters in Iowa that he was not concerned about the recent decline in the dollar and wanted the currency to "seek its own level," per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: U.S. presidents historically talk up the dollar's strength whenever asked.

Team USA's roster for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games blends comeback veterans, rising stars and historic firsts — a mix that could decide medals and redefine who takes center stage.

Why it matters: The Games, featuring more than 100 medal events over more than two weeks, will mark historic firsts and expanded representation across sports while showcasing a diverse field of athletes.

Sweethearts conversation hearts — the chalky Valentine's Day staple — are debuting new phrases in 2026 to reflect how inflation and high living costs are reshaping romance.

The big picture: "Being practical is having a moment," said Evan Brock, vice president of marketing for Spangler Candy Company, the maker of Sweethearts.

We scrambled the debut of our "Behind the Curtain" video series: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wanted to chat Monday after he dropped a 38-page essay warning of escalating risks from the AI technology he's helping pioneer.

• We asked Amodei, in San Francisco, what Congress should do now, and what lawmakers should tell their constituents. His three-part prescription:

1. Transparency legislation to require AI companies to disclose their models' risks and bad behavior, and the defenses that are built in.
2. Cut off sales of Nvidia chips and other U.S. products that help China.
3. Get ready to tax future AI trillionaires and redistribute wealth. He said he'd tell his fellow future trillionaires: "You're going to get a mob coming for you if you don't do this in the right way."

The bottom line: "We always assume that everything that can go wrong does go wrong," Amodei said. "That's how you build things that are reliable."

👉 Share the YouTube ... Executive producer: Axios' Jimmy Shelton.

DAVOS, Switzerland — Australian mining executive Andrew Forrest is emerging as one of the world's few top business leaders willing to publicly and loudly buck President Trump on climate change.

Why it matters: The broader business community is largely staying quiet in the face of Trump's aggressive moves in a number of areas, including on clean energy.

President Trump told Axios in an interview on Monday that the situation with Iran is "in flux" because he sent a "big armada" to the region but thinks Tehran genuinely wants to cut a deal.

Why it matters: Trump came close to ordering a strike on regime targets in Iran earlier this month over the killing of thousands of protesters. Instead he delayed the decision while also moving military assets to the region. White House officials say an attack is still on the table, though the protests have largely been suppressed.

President Trump told Axios in an interview on Monday that Hamas had helped locate the remains of the last Israeli hostage. He called on the group to now follow through on its commitment to disarm.

Why it matters: With the recovery of Ran Gvili's body, every Israeli hostage — living and dead — has now been returned. The return of his body is a critical moment for Trump's peace deal.

Peacock will introduce major upgrades on Feb. 8, the same day NBCUniversal will broadcast both the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, executives exclusively tell Axios.

Why it matters: The effort underscores NBCUniversal's ambitious streaming strategy as it looks to capitalize on live sports viewing during what it's calling "Legendary February," the convergence of three tentpole events.

The Trump administration plans to provide USA Rare Earth with $1.6 billion in mostly loan financing to extract and process the materials and manufacture rare earth magnets.

• The agreement will provide the U.S. government a stake somewhere between 8% and 16%, depending on how the agreement is executed, a filing states. The company announced a separate $1.5 billion in private finance.