President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed during their meeting at the White House on Wednesday that the U.S. will increase the economic pressure on Iran, mostly when it comes to oil sales to China, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the issue.
Why it matters: More than 80% of Iranian oil exports go to China. If China reduces its purchases of oil from Iran, the economic pressure on Iran would increase significantly.
Consultants and pollsters tell Axios that after moving toward Donald Trump in 2024, the nation's fastest-growing electorate is splintering into competing political identities, with no single partisan anchor after decades as a reliably Democratic bloc.
Why it matters: This fracture helped reshape the 2024 election map — and it's one of the biggest wildcards in 2026 and 2028, even as the economy and Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement have given tailwinds to Democrats.
The U.S. military used Anthropic's Claude AI model during the operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Axios.
Now, the blowback may threaten the company's business with the Pentagon.
The latest: After reports on the use of Claude in the raid, a senior administration official told Axios that the Pentagon would be reevaluating its partnership with Anthropic.
The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold a second round of nuclear talks in Geneva next Tuesday in an effort to reach a deal that prevents war, according to a U.S. official and three sources with knowledge.
Why it matters: While President Trump said he prefers a diplomatic solution and wants to reach a deal with Iran, he has also ordered a massive military buildup in the Gulf, including sending a second aircraft carrier strike group.
Four Cuban American members of Congress on Friday wrote to President Trump calling for the indictment of Cuba's de facto dictator, Raul Castro, for allegedly ordering the 1996 downing of a plane that was dropping supplies to people who were fleeing to the U.S. on rafts.
Four members of an aid group were killed in the incident.
Why it matters: If Trump's Justice Department acts on the request and secures an indictment, it would be the latest move by his administration aimed at pressuring Cuba's struggling government to change its communist leadership.
President Trump ordered the Pentagon to send the USS Gerald R.Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group to the Middle East to boost U.S. forces in the region amid tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials confirmed.
Why it matters: The move will increase the pressure on Tehran during the nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration, making the U.S. military threat even more menacing.
Chinese AI models that are gaining adoption around the world are spreading Beijing-friendly narratives, two reports out this week suggest.
The big picture: Models from firms like DeepSeek and Alibaba are making inroads globally, in part because they're cheaper than U.S. rivals while also highly capable.
Goldman Sachs' top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler resigned Thursday night after her name appeared in Epstein files documents the Department of Justice recently released.
The big picture: The ex-White House counsel to former President Obama and co-chair of Goldman's reputational risk committee is the latest high-profile figure to resign or be ousted following the DOJ's Jan. 30 release of 3 million documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A Trump-appointed federal judge said immigration enforcement agencies "violated noncitizen detainees' constitutional" rights at a Minnesota facility in a scathing ruling on Thursday.
Why it matters: U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel's ruling that "policies and practices" at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building "all but extinguish a detainee's access to counsel" marked the 45th time that a judge nominated by President Trump had ruled against his mass detention agenda, per a Politico review.
