On Wednesday’s episode of “Elizabeth Vargas Reports”: The war in Iran enters a new phase on day five. As more American bombers and fighter jets head to the region, the conflict expands further across the globe. Plus, a look at Mojtaba Khameini, the son of the dead ayatollah and a front-runner for Iran's next leader. Would Khameini’s rule mean more of the same in Iran? And why did President Trump choose to strike Iran now? Axios reporter Marc Caputo breaks down his exclusive reporting on the phone call made to Trump, which he says led to war.
Security researchers used relatively simple jailbreaking techniques to trick the AI system powering Utah's new prescription refill bot. - Researchers were able to make the bot spread vaccine conspiracy theories, triple a patient's prescribed pain medication dosage, and recommend methamphetamine as treatment. Why it matters: Critics warned this pilot could create safety risks — and researchers say the flaws persist, despite alerting the company in January. Driving the news: In a report shared first with Axios, AI red-teaming firm Mindgard said it manipulated health tech startup Doctronic's system into tripling an OxyContin dose, mislabeling methamphetamine, and spreading false vaccine claims. - Doing this didn't require much effort,…
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, once a Manhattan neighbor of Jeffrey Epstein , voluntarily agreed to an interview with the House Oversight Committee over past ties to the convicted sex offender, Axios has learned. - Lutnick told Axios: "I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight." Why it matters: Lutnick's past association with Epstein has been under growing scrutiny since the Cabinet secretary appeared in Justice Department files. - White House spokesman Kush Desai told Axios: "Secretary Lutnick continues to be a critical asset for President Trump, having played a key role in securing major trade and investment deals. The entire Trump administration, including…
President Trump has made a scattershot case for Israel and America's joint attacks on Iran through a series of one-on-one interviews with various media outlets. The big picture: The mission's timelines and goals vary depending on when and to whom Trump is speaking as the administration tries to assure the American public the operation will not be another prolonged war in the Middle East . State of play: Trump has not delivered a live address to the nation with the specific intent of laying out his goals for the mission, but at a Medal of Honor ceremony Monday he said the objectives are "clear." - The U.S. wants to destroy Iran's missile capabilities and its Navy, as well as stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and prevent it from…
Data: Freddie Mac via Fred ; Chart: Axios Visuals The average rate on the 30-year mortgage dipped below 6% for the first time since 2022, per closely watched Freddie Mac data released Thursday. Why it matters: Lower home loan rates may help juice the housing market, which has been in the dumps since interest rates first spiked four years ago. Between the lines: It's also a boost for President Trump, who boasted about mortgage rates coming down in his State of the Union's address Tuesday. Yes, but: Higher home costs and widespread economic uncertainty is also holding back the real estate market.
Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday, an Axios headcount found. Why it matters: The massive boycott represents a shift in American political norms as the party's grassroots have pressed lawmakers to be more partisan and less conciliatory towards Republicans. - Several members of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) senior leadership team were among the lawmakers who boycotted the speech, most notably Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.). - "Rather than listen to Donald Trump lie to the American people, I will be hearing from the people of my district," Clark said in a statement ahead of the speech. By the numbers: Axios counted 20 Senate Democrats and…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is making one final push to shut down any flashy displays of protest inside the chamber during President Trump's State of the Union address, sources tell Axios. Why it matters: Frustrations are still lingering among House Democrats over last year's speech, which was repeatedly disrupted by heckling, signs and walkouts. - Even some House progressives who participated in those demonstrations have acknowledged they were not highly effective. - Several lawmakers have indicated that they still want to find a way to register dissent from inside the chamber, but Jeffries has worked to shut down those impulses. Driving the news: At a closed-door caucus meeting held at the Democratic National…
OpenAI ; Chart: Axios Visuals OpenAI released new data Friday showing people are using the consumer version of ChatGPT for more personal tasks and fewer work tasks. Why it matters: That shift toward personal use could bolster OpenAI's emerging ad business, even as it keeps pursuing lucrative business customers. State of play: OpenAI's usage data shows a steady decline in the amount of work-related messaging happening on consumer ChatGPT from July 2024 through December 2025. - The data comes from 100,000 "de-identified" conversations on free and paid consumer accounts, meaning OpenAI researchers looked at anonymized messages to understand broad themes. Friction point: Since ChatGPT's launch, evangelists who used free and paid consumer…
Stephen Colbert criticized CBS and parent company Paramount during his Tuesday night over the posting on YouTube only of his interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico, who's running for a U.S. Senate seat. The big picture: "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" interview segment didn't air on CBS because the comedian said the network barred him from broadcasting it due to concerns about a recent Trump administration directive to give equal time to candidates in an election. - Colbert said on his Tuesday night show that CBS didn't inform him of the statement it put out saying he it didn't prohibit the show from airing the interview, but it did provide legal guidance "that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two…
