Data: FactSet; Chart: Matt Phillips/Axios Who cares about war, oil prices, interest rates or an AI bubble? Investors apparently do not — for now at least — sending stocks back to record highs. Why it matters: High stock prices are critical to keeping funds flowing to the AI buildout. - A significant erosion of investors' confidence in stocks would be a big risk to the AI flywheel of financial flows, capital expenditures and industrial activity driving the U.S. economy. Catch up quick: Some analysts and investors had worried that the markets were beginning to deflate, as the S&P 500 failed to advance in June or July. - Previously high-flying chip stocks hit an air pocket in early June. - The slump then spread to hyperscalers, with…
This will be the first election cycle where AI is both a dominant policy debate — and a widely deployed political weapon. Why it matters: AI allows both candidates and bad actors to persuade and perplex with unprecedented speed, scale and precision in our elections. Watch what works, as those same techniques will likely be used against YOU. What to watch: - Persuasion bots. Campaigns are training text bots to hold back-and-forth conversations in their candidate's voice. Some voters engage for HOURS, granting precise knowledge of what ideas and language move them most. Yale researchers found a bot that admits it's a bot is just as persuasive to people as one posing as a human. - Simulated voters. Political operatives are running AI…
The Trump administration's rosy promises of a new "golden age" with 6% economic growth have fizzled on the realities of slower-than-anticipated growth and souring consumer sentiment. Why it matters: President Trump's roller coaster economy has risen with consumer spending and AI investment but also tumbled on tariff uncertainty, stubborn inflation and his Iran war, muddling the economic picture. - Trump preaches a golden future, but many voters aren't buying it . - That's a warning sign for the midterms: Reuters-Ipsos polling out this week found that Americans favored Democrats over Republicans on economic policy for the first time in nearly a decade. The big picture: Roughly 18 months into Trump's second term, the economy has proved…
Senate Republicans' planned vote this week on whether to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress is the latest escalation in their attempt to right perceived COVID-era wrongs and further disempower the federal health care bureaucracy. Why it matters: Critics fear the Senate Homeland Security Committee's efforts will deter scientific talent from taking government jobs, weakening America's public health infrastructure and ceding its dominance in biomedical innovation. Driving the news: The panel is expected to vote Thursday to hold the nation's former top infectious disease official in contempt for refusing to answer the committee's questions on the coronavirus during a hearing last week. - Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment…
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 on Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general to the full Senate, ending weeks of delay caused […] Source
The Trump administration has expanded U.S. intelligence operations in Cuba in recent months, according to two people familiar with the effort, as Washington intensifies pressure […] Source
Federal and Pennsylvania prosecutors have charged 19 defendants in connection with a $4 million scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid, the latest sign of the […] Source
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) dropped his re-election bid early Wednesday after the House Ethics Committee recommended his censure over sexual harassment issues. Why it matters: Pressure has been mounting on Edwards to step aside since the Monday decision from the panel. - Axios has previously reported that Edwards faced heavy scrutiny for his treatment of young female staffers. What they're saying: "After much prayer and reflection, I've decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign. I will complete my current term," Edwards wrote in a 3:32 a.m. ET post on X. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.