Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Sen. Marco Rubio when he leaves his office to become the next U.S. Secretary of State. Axios first reported his intentions to make the Moody appointment.
Why it matters: Moody is a DeSantis and Donald Trump loyalist. Her appointment will set off a chain-reaction of office-seeking and Florida political drama heading into 2026.
The announcement is scheduled for a press conference Thursday morning in Orlando.
Breaking it down: Picking Moody for Senate clears the way for DeSantis to name his chief of staff, James Uthmeier, to replace her as AG, according to the source who said that "it was always Ashley. And James is the obvious pick to replace her."
Rep. Byron Donalds is already filling out a political team to run for governor in 2026.
If Moody decides to run for reelection for her newly appointed Senate seat, she is on a crash course with Rep. Cory Mills, who announced recently that he would run for Rubio's seat.
The office of attorney general also comes open in 2026.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew intends to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration next week and is expected to sit on the dais alongside other prominent guests, a Trump transition source confirmed to Axios Thursday.
Why it matters: News of his invite comes as TikTok's fate hangs in the balance, with the U.S. ban of the popular platform set to take effect on Sunday, barring any eleventh-hour intervention.
Driving the news: The Trump Vance Inaugural Committee issued the invitation to Chew, the Trump transition source said.
Flashback: During his first term, Trump spearheaded the initial effort to ban TikTok, but appeared to flip-flop on the platform's future while campaigning for office last year.
Zoom out: It's not yet clear how Trump could intervene to save the popular Chinese-owned app from the ban, but he wants to try, according to Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Trump's pick for his national security adviser.
Trump is looking to craft a deal to "preserve" TikTok while protecting U.S. users' data, Waltz told Fox News Wednesday, though he did not offer specifics about the plan.
"I don't want to get ahead of our executive orders but we're going to create the space to — to put that deal in place," he added, calling Trump a "dealmaker."
In the months before driving a rented truck into a crowded Bourbon Street early on New Year's Day, the FBI says, the suspect left behind digital footprints that ultimately led to the attack that killed 14 people and injured nearly 60 others.
Why it matters: With the right technology, such difficult-to-trace online activity may one day provide enough warning that law enforcement could stop potential attacks before they happen.
Context: Despite initial concerns that the New Orleans attack suspect — Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who died in a shootout with police — may have had accomplices, the FBI quickly revised its statements after investigators began to believe Jabbar acted alone.
"Lone actors or small cells of individuals typically radicalized to violence online and who primarily use easily accessible weapons have posed the greatest terrorism threat to our homeland," said FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia on Feb. 5.
Raia said that's because lone actors are "difficult to identify, investigate and disrupt, especially when radicalization and communication with other like-minded individuals happens online."
"Guys like this," Wray said, "who radicalize not in years but in weeks, and whose method of attack is still very deadly but fairly crude … there are not a lot of dots out there to connect, and there's very little time in which to connect them."
Put another way,with lone actors, "there are no informers, no infiltration, no ongoing surveillance … no territory so you can monitor who moves in and out, [and] you don't know what their capability is until they strike," says Ramón Spaaij, an Australia-based researcher with expertise in the sociology of terrorism.
Yes, but: Everyone leaves breadcrumbs, and there are still signs that someone is planning an attack, as long as you know what you're looking for and you have the resources to even be looking in the first place, Spaaij tells Axios New Orleans.
So far, those identifiers — what Spaaij calls "pre-crime behaviors" — are most easily spotted after an attack. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.
Those behaviors, Spaaij says, include things like surveilling a potential target area, gathering weapons, researching other attacks, training with weapons and traveling suspiciously.
Zoom in: The New Orleans attacker did each of those things, FBI investigators have said.
"What is difficult about online activity is [separating] extremist talk and radical messaging from those [that] might be a precursor to violent action," Spaaij says.
And that's where machine learning might one day be helpful.
What we're watching: Defense and intelligence communities are investing heavily in predictive language models that can pick up on when people consistently use words indicating they might be planning an attack, Spaaij says.
In his research, a sense of urgency and the "broadcasting of intent" seem to be clear indicators that could help warn law enforcement of planned violence, he says.
In New Orleans, for example, Jabbar posted several videos on Facebook detailing his plans shortly before carrying them out, the FBI said early in its investigation. But it appears no one saw them quickly enough, let alone raised enough of an alarm, to stop what happened.
"How do you create systems to detect these kinds of things … very efficiently and quickly?" Spaaij says. "There's a role there for machine learning and AI."
Reality check: "Human behavior is really complex and notoriously difficult to predict. The Holy Grail in anything to do with human societies is to predict behavior," Spaaij says.
"It's a complete illusion to think we'd be able to prevent all terrorist attacks. That's the stuff of movies."
Scott Bessent,President-elect Trump's pick for Treasury, will tell the Senate Finance Committee at his confirmation hearing Thursday that he sees "a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans."
Why it matters: The South Carolina billionaire is respected on Wall Street and has been called the "quiet killer" for his finesse with massive trades.
What he's saying: "I was born and raised in the South Carolina Low Country," Bessent is planning to tell the committee in his opening statement, shared with Axios. "My father fell into extreme financial difficulty when I was young. When I was 9 years old, I started working two summer jobs and I haven't stopped working since."
"My life has been the 'only in America' story that I am determined to preserve for future generations."
Zoom in: Bessent will saythe U.S. "must secure supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to address our national security requirements. And critically, we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world's reserve currency."
"[W]e can usher in a new, more balanced era of prosperity that will lift up all Americans and rebuild communities and families across the country."
What to watch: Bessent is scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance committee at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Several of America's largest companies have buckled to the pressures of political and shareholder activists by rolling back their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Why it matters: Calls for ending these corporate initiatives have become more fervent in the past year and are expected to intensify in President-elect Trump's second term.
The big picture: Companies have been talking about DEI less, and reframing the narrative when they do.
Mentions of DEI and "diversity equity and inclusion" in earnings calls have dropped roughly 82% since Q2 of 2021.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) dropped the word "equity" from its strategy, while corporate communicators have started to lean more heavily on terms like "belonging" and "diversity of thoughts and perspectives."
Zoom in: Brown-Forman, Lowe's, Meta and McDonald's have publicly cited the legal environment — due to the Supreme Court's 2023 decision to strike down affirmative action at colleges — as the basis for their DEI policy changes.
Meanwhile, anti-DEI activist and Trump ally Robby Starbuck has taken credit for the reversal of many corporate diversity commitments.
What they're saying: "Of course, the Supreme Court decision was one of the sparks that made movement in terms of having companies reconsider DEI," says Ann O'Leary, partner and co-chair of government controversies and public policy litigation practice at Jenner & Block.
Yes, but: "If you take it from a purely legal perspective, I think that the legal risk mitigation is low in terms of continuing to be able to do DEI practices," she added.
"What we're seeing is companies looking at the holistic picture— like social media campaigns that have been run against companies and the political environment in which you have not only Trump, but his closest advisors, such as Elon Musk, going after particular companies around DEI. But we're also seeing companies really taking a close look at why they're doing what they're doing."
Companies that have abandoned or rolled back their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion include:
Amazon
In a December memo to employees, Amazon said it was "winding down outdated programs and materials" related to its efforts around DEI.
Boeing
Boeing dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion department in October 2023.
Brown-Forman
The Jack Daniels maker sent an internal note announcing an end to several diversity, equity and inclusion programs in response to a shifting "legal and external landscape."
Caterpillar
Caterpillar will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign equality index and has new guidelines for donations and sponsorships. The manufacturer also requires senior management approval for external speakers and all training programs should focus on ""fostering high performance."
Ford
The automaker will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign surveys and has rescoped its employee resource groups.
Harley-Davidson
The company dismantled its DEI team prior to April 2024, does not have hiring quotas or supplier goals and has rescoped its employee resource groups, trainings and sponsorships.
John Deere
In response to "feedback," Deere said it "will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events," would not include "socially motivated messages" in training materials and will ensure it's not using "diversity quotas" in hiring.
Lowe's
Lowe's told employees it would revise its resource groups, stop participating in Human Rights Campaign surveys and stop sponsoring or participating in festivals and parades.
Molson Coors
The beverage wholesaler put an end to supplier diversity quotas and DEI-based training programs. It will no longer participate in Human Rights Campaign surveys.
McDonald's
In a letter to franchise owners, suppliers and current employees, McDonald's said it would modify some practices after conducting a "civil rights audit," including an end to "aspirational representation goals." — like hiring targets — and "external surveys," which could include participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.
Meta
Citing "the legal and policy landscape," Meta is cutting its DEI team, ending equity and inclusion programs, sunset supplier diversity efforts, ending the "Diverse Slate Approach" to hiring, and ending representation goals.
Nissan
The automaker scaled back its U.S. commitments by no longer participating in LGBTQ+ surveys and events and ending mandates for diversity-related trainings.
Stanley Black & Decker
The company scrubbed references to diversity, equity and inclusion from its website.A rep for the company did not return Axios' request for comment.
Tractor Supply
Tractor Supply eliminated DEI roles and abolished its DEI goals, stopped submitting data to the Human Rights Campaign, stopped sponsoring Pride festivals and withdrew carbon emission goals.
Toyota
Toyota told employees it would not participate in external DEI measurements or surveys.
Walmart
Walmart will phase out the term "diversity, equity and inclusion" and the term "Latinx," stop participating in Human Right Campaign surveys , re-evaluate supplier diversity programs and wrap up its commitment to the Center for Racial Equity.
Companies that have publicly defended their diversity, equity and inclusion policies include:
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines
American First Legal filed complaints against the airline carriers in 2023 and 2024. Following a compliance conference, the Department of Labor did not name any policies that violated the law or needed to change.
Apple
The tech giant says it remains committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and has urged shareholders to reject anti-DEI proposal put forth by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank.
Costco
Costco also maintains its commitment and urged shareholders to reject National Center for Public Policy Research's anti-DEI proposals. The wholesaler also pushed back on some of the conservative group's claims, calling them "misleading, at best."
Delta
In a recent earnings call, Delta's Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary Peter Carter said the airline remains committed to DEI and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies because "they are critical to our business."
Anduril Industries will build Arsenal-1 in Columbus, Ohio, propelling its plans to pump out tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles, sensors and weapons.
The production lines could go hot as soon as July 2026, according to the company.
Why it matters: This is a make-or-break moment for the $14 billion neo-prime, as it's promised the Pentagon and investors alike an overhaul of defense manufacturing.
Speculation ran wild after it hinted at an initial stateside megafactory and future copycats abroad in August.
The latest: The 5 million-square-foot Arsenal-1 will be erected near Rickenbacker International Airport, which has ties to the Ohio Air National Guard.
A 700,000-square-foot facility already on the plot will be renovated.
Barracuda cruise missiles and Roadrunner interceptors are early contenders for production. Energetics — materials found in ammo, warheads and more — aren't on the menu, period.
The location grants Anduril access to a pair of 12,000-foot runways. Testing nearby is an option.
What we're watching: How Anduril taps a Rust Belt workforce amid louder and louder chatter of American reindustrialization.
Chief executive Brian Schimpf told Axios in November available labor and state government enthusiasm were big factors.
Context: Ohio is home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
Anduril is working closely with the service on collaborative combat aircraft. General Atomics is also on the drone wingmen project.
Catch up quick: Anduril secured $1.5 billion in funding over the summer. The money will be used in part for the facility.
The company has other footprints in Rhode Island (focused on robo-subs), Mississippi (focused on solid rocket motors), Texas (where jammers and air autonomy are assessed) and Australia.
No existing plants will be shuttered, Chief Strategy Officer Chris Brose told reporters.
The bottom line: "This is a massive milestone for Anduril on its journey as a company," Brose said.
"We will be creating, with our partners in Ohio, something that does not currently exist in the American defense industrial base."
President-elect Trump swiftly claimed the victory for himself on Wednesday, while President Biden retorted sharply when a reporter asked if he or Trump really deserved the credit: "Is that a joke?"
Why it matters: Officials from the U.S., Israel and Qatar tell Axios the deal to free the hostages and end 15 months of war wouldn't have been possible without unprecedented coordination between their administrations.
While Biden laid out the parameters of this deal all the way back in May and spent months pushing the parties to agree to it, Trump's public and private involvement "was the 10 cents missing for the dollar," one U.S. official told Axios.
Both Israel and Hamas had far more incentive to sign on once they knew it was a deal with the incoming president, not just the outgoing one, another official acknowledged.
Flashback: After Trump's election victory, Biden and his team set a Gaza deal as their key foreign policy goal for the remaining 10 weeks in the White House.
When Biden met Trump in the Oval Office a few days later, he proposed that they work together on a deal.
Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk started meeting with their successors on the Trump team, Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff, to coordinate their efforts.
The ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah in late November also provided new hope for a Gaza deal, and left Hamas more isolated than ever. "The ceasefire agreement in Lebanon was where the hostage deal really started," an Israeli official said.
Palestinians in Gaza City celebrate news of a ceasefire and hostage deal. Photo: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images
The intrigue: On Dec. 2, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) went to Mar-a-Lago for a round of golf with Trump. "I told him that if he issues a statement about the hostages in Gaza it will be a big deal," Graham told Axios.
Trump agreed and started dictating to his press team. The resulting Truth Social post said that if the hostages were not freed by Jan. 20, "There will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge."
That created a sense of urgency for the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, but also for Netanyahu, sources familiar with the talks say.
Several days later, Sullivan and McGurk travelled to Israel and met Netanyahu. The Prime Minister told them he wanted a deal on Trump's timeline.
Sullivan, McGurk and CIA director Bill Burns all traveled to Doha to launch a final push for a deal.
But Mohammad Sinwar, who succeeded his brother as Hamas' military leader in Gaza, refused to budge, and the gaps remained wide. U.S. officials also remained skeptical of Netanyahu's willingness to deal after he walked back promises and moved goalposts at previous points in the talks.
As McGurk returned home for Christmas, it looked like the window for getting a deal before Trump assumed office was closing.
Trump and Witkoff at the White House in 2018. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty
Trump decided to dispatch Witkoffto the region after talks picked back up in the New Year and began to show some momentum.
"The president is exasperated," Witkoff, a real estate investor and Trump confidante, said at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago two days before he travelled to Doha.
"If these hostages aren't back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East — it will not be good for Hamas or anybody else," Trump warned once again.
McGurk later told Trump's envoy the time was ripe and his push was needed.
Zoom in: In meetings after his arrival last Friday,Witkoff stressed to the Qatari prime minister that Trump wanted a deal and expected the mediators to push Hamas to make one.
He told Netanyahu: "Trump is serious about this deal, don't ruin this," according to a source briefed on their conversation.
Witkoff also asked Netanyahu to send in more senior officials to negotiate, with a mandate to close the deal, the source said. Netanyahu agreed.
Later that evening, Witkoff joined a meeting between Netanyahu and his chief negotiators. McGurk also dialed in. Over the next hour, the envoys from the two administrations probed the areas on which the Israelis were willing to be flexible.
What they're saying: An Israeli official told Axios that was an unprecedented moment in the U.S.-Israel relationship, and credited Witkoff for injecting "Trump momentum" into the meeting.
"Witkoff played a crucial role in the negotiations over the last few days, applying pressure from Trump. It was an X-factor," another Israeli official said.
Graham told Axios that all the players involved understood that Witkoff speaks for Trump. "People in the region don't want to start on a bad foot with Trump," he said.
Behind the scenes: From Israel, Witkoff traveled back to Doha and joined McGurk for 96 hours of intense diplomacy.
In another unusual step for representatives of successive administrations, the two met together with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Protesters in Tel Aviv celebrate after news of the agreement. Photo: Amir Levy/Getty Images
Behind the scenes: The final sprint in the negotiations took place at a Qatari government official residence. Hamas representatives were on the first floor with the Israelis on the second and the Qatari and Egyptian mediators shuttling between them.
Negotiations dragged on until 3am each night and resumed in the morning after a few hours of sleep, a U.S. official said.
Issue after issue was closed: The redeployment of Israeli forces; what Hamas must do during the ceasefire; the delivery of humanitarian aid; the sequencing of hostage and prisoner releases.
On Wednesday morning, Hamas raised three new demands, according to a U.S. official. "We had to flex a muscle to get them to back off, and we did," the official said.
That afternoon local time, Hamas came back for a meeting with the Qatari and Egyptian mediators and gave its official positive response. "Only then we were sure we have a deal," the U.S. official said.
The Qatari prime minister made the announcement: "We saw two U.S. administrations working together... what the U.S. did led to this moment."
Next, Netanyahu called Trump and thanked him for his help in getting the deal. Only then did he call to thank Biden.
Big corporate donors to President-elect Trump's inaugural committee could soon find themselves in the crosshairs of his trade policy.
Why it matters: Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Stanley Black & Decker and Apple's Tim Cook all have written seven-figure checks for Trump's inauguration, which is on track to outraise his first ceremony in 2017 and President Biden's in 2021.
They've done so even though Trump's plan for new tariffs could seriously disrupt their bottom lines.
Zoom in: It's not clear what tariffs Trump will apply, on what goods, and when.
But he's made a range of proposals that he says would protect U.S. businesses and create jobs — even as economists, businesses and others warn that new tariffs would make goods more expensive for consumers, juicing inflation.
In one campaign rally, Trump proposed tariffs on Mexico of 100% to 400%. More recently he's touted a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada. He's also floated tariffs of up to 60% on products from China and a 10% or 20% universal tariff.
Trump recently posted on Truth Social that he believes new tariffs will help pay for the corporate tax cuts he wants and his popular campaign pledge to eliminate taxes on tips.
What they're saying: Some companies that gave to Trump's inauguration and have manufacturing plants abroad aren't so sure.
In an earnings call before the November election, Stanley Black & Decker CEO Donald Allen said it's "unlikely" that tariffs would bring more manufacturing back to the U.S.
"It's just not cost-effective to do," said Allen, whose company has plants in the U.S., Mexico, China, Brazil and the U.K.
Allen added that the company has been planning for potential new U.S. tariffs, and has plans to move production out of China.
Automakers are navigating the possibility of being hit on multiple fronts: Tariffs on parts and products from Asia were an expected burden, but Trump's talk of tariffs on Mexico could hinder plans for new manufacturing plants there.
The "Big Three" — General Motors, Ford, Stellantis — and Toyota are donating $1 million each to Trump's inauguration. All have plants in Mexico.
On an earnings call in late October, Apple's Cook was asked about the impact of tariffs on his company, which does most of its manufacturing in China.
"I'm going to punt on that one," Cook said.
Cook is personally donating to the inauguration — not Apple.
During Trump's first administration, Cook leveraged his relationship with the president to successfully make the case for tariff exemptions for Apple's iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2019.
Between the lines: Trump won the 2024 election without much help from many corporate donors, though he did ride a wave of donations from several billionaires, including Elon Musk.
Trump's campaign featured a mix of pro-business proposals and government-skeptical populism.
"You can't ignore the symbolism of wanting to be engaged with Trump" by donating to the inauguration, said Republican strategistAlex Conant, a partner at Firehouse Strategies. But how these companies could be affected by new tariffs is "definitely" top of mind, he added.
"There's going to be winners and losers," Conant said.
Michael Glassner, a former Trump senior adviser who's opening an "America First"-aligned lobbying firm, said the inauguration donations themselves won't impact Trump's policies.
"Creating American jobs, that's the number-one factor," he said. "That's going to get you a seat at the table."
We're halfway through the first month of the year, which means that many of us are already on our way to breaking our New Year's resolutions.
The big picture: You can use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and other generative AI tools to help you keep those promises you made to yourself at least a little bit longer.
Why it matters: In the near term, at least, you're probably less likely to lose your job to AI than to lose it to someone who understands how to use AI, so you might as well experiment with it.
If you diligently set resolutions to do more of something, you can use ChatGPT to track and remind you to do those things.
You can ask Google Gemini to create events in your Google Calendar to block off time for your resolutions.
If you want to do less of something and feel tempted to do it anyway, you can message or use voice chat with any of the big bots for support.
Between the lines: Many psychologists and productivity experts suggest that an effective way to keep resolutions is to make them "SMART": specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
I tried this prompt: "I would like to eat better. Turn this into a SMART goal," and ChatGPT responded:
To turn "I would like to eat better" into a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), here's a suggestion:
SMART Goal: "I will eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day and replace sugary snacks with healthier options (like nuts or yogurt) at least five days a week for the next three months to improve my overall diet and well-being."
Breakdown:
Specific: Focuses on fruits, vegetables, and reducing sugary snacks.
Measurable: Five servings and five days per week are clear targets.
Achievable: Practical changes rather than an extreme diet.
Relevant: Tied to your desire to eat better and improve health.
Time-bound: A three-month timeline sets a clear endpoint for evaluation.
Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini gave similar results, but both suggested a 30-day timeline instead of three months, and Gemini added a warning that it did not provide medical advice.
One of the biggest differences between searching the web and prompting a chatbot is that you can have a conversation with the chatbot.
I prompted ChatGPT to give me a weekly meal plan to help me achieve this goal. I added that I was a pescatarian.
The pescatarian meal plan it gave me was good, but one recipe contained lentils, and I am not a fan. So I asked for another recipe.
It offered a replacement and updated its memory so it will (I hope) never suggest another lentil again.
Zoom in: Chatbots are like endlessly patient, eager-to-please personal assistants.
Once you have a meal plan you can ask most chatbots to alter it for more protein, less fat, more affordable ingredients, and so on.
Then you can ask the chatbot to give you a grocery list and it will even tell you which aisle to find each item.
Then you can ask it for 10 or 1,000 different meal plans. The chatbot will not get overwhelmed (but you might).
Zoom out: You can use similar prompts to help you exercise more, drink less alcohol, drink more water, spend less time mindlessly scrolling, read more books, or do more or less of just about anything you've resolved to do more or less of.
Most chatbots speak multiple languages so they're ideal if your resolution is to learn a new one.
A spokesperson for OpenAI suggested this prompt: "I want to learn [specific skill or language], and I'd like you to act as my personal coach. Please help me create a structured learning plan with weekly goals and daily exercises tailored to a beginner level. Include explanations, examples, and practice activities for each step. "
If you're having trouble keeping this goal use this prompt: "Provide tips for staying motivated and recommend external resources or tools that complement your guidance. At the end of each week, assess my progress and adjust the plan as needed. Let's start with an overview of [the skill or language] and the first week's plan."
A spokesperson for Anthropic offered this set of prompts for keeping language learning goals: "Hi Claude! I want to learn Spanish this year. I can practice for about 30 minutes each day, usually in the evenings. I'm a complete beginner and my goal is to order food in Spanish when I visit Mexico next year. Can you help me make a learning plan?"
Once a week, tell Claude how you're doing. For example: "Hey Claude! This week I learned the Spanish words for different foods, but I'm having trouble remembering them. Can you suggest some fun ways to practice these words?"
You can also ask Claude to create simple practice dialogues for real situations, 15-minute daily exercises, ways to practice while doing everyday tasks and creative ways to keep at it.
Yes, but: If your resolutions involve spending less time immersed in your digital devices, using AI to keep you on goal could be tricky.
Also, generative AI is a notorious energy hog, and all of our prompts have a significant impact on the environment.
President-elect Trump is pledging his full support for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, telling organizers in a meeting late Wednesday that he wants to help the area recover from the devastating wildfires.
Why it matters: The fires that have destroyed more than 10,000 homes have left Los Angeles County with a massive rebuild. Trump told the local Olympic organizing committee, LA28, that he wants to ensure the games go on without a hitch, according to a source briefed on his meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Casey Wasserman, LA28's president and chairman.
"These are America's Olympics," Trump told Wasserman. "These are more important than ever to L.A. and I'm going to be supportive in every way possible and make them the greatest games."
Zoom in: Trump is a huge sports fan. Los Angeles was awarded the 2028 Summer Games during his first term in 2017, and he'll be in the final months of his second term when L.A. will host the Olympics for the first time since 1984.
Trump plans to visit areas ravaged by the fires soon after he's sworn in on Monday, which Wasserman said he appreciated.
"As a lifelong Angeleno, I shared our sentiments for President-elect Trump's continued support in Los Angeles amid the devastation in our region," Wasserman said in a statement to Axios.
The L.A. Olympics are scheduled to begin July 14, 2028.
The Paralympics will follow, starting Aug. 15, 2028.
Between the lines: Joining Trump in his meeting with Wasserman were Melania Trump and film director Brett Ratner, who's shooting an Amazon documentary on the once and future first lady.
President Biden in his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday took aim at Big Tech and warned of "dangerous consequences" if a "concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people" goes unchecked.
What he's saying: In his address, Biden pointed to President Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address in which he warned of "military-industrial complex" and "'the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power."
Six decades later, Biden said he's "equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex."
Americans "are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power," Biden said.
"The free press is crumbling. Errors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking," added Biden, in reference to Meta's move to replace checking facts with X-style community notes.
"The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit."
Of note: Biden called artificial intelligence the "most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time."
He added: "AI could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life to our privacy, how we work and how we protect our nation."
President-elect Trump will move to "preserve" TikTok, said his pick for national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), on Wednesday — as a potential nationwide ban looms.
The big picture: It's not immediately clear what action Trump could take if the U.S. Supreme Court were to uphold a bipartisan law that would, unless sold to a U.S. firm, ban the popular video app that's owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Driving the news: Fox News' Bret Baier asked Waltz in an interview Wednesday about how true a Washington Post report headlined "Trump considers executive order hoping to 'save TikTok' from ban or sale in U.S. law" was.
"If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear," Waltz said on Fox News' "Special Report."
"Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use, and was great for his campaign in getting his message out. But, number two, he is going to protect their data," he said.
"We're going to find a way to preserve it but protect people's data. And that's the deal that will be in front of us."
Zoom in: Waltz acknowledged there are "people out there who don't want the U.S. government seeing all their data and passwords" and "we certainly don't want the Chinese government seeing all their data and passwords."
But he said that Trump "is a dealmaker," adding: "I don't want to get ahead of our executive orders but we're going to create the space to — to put that deal in place."
Between the lines: University of Minnesota law professor Alan Rozenshtein told the Washington Post Wednesday that executive orders were "not magical documents" that would stop a ban from going into effect.
"TikTok will still be banned, and it will still be illegal for Apple and Google to do business with them," said Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department.
"But it will make the president's intention not to enforce the law that much more official."
State of play: President Biden signed into law a bill that passed last year requiring ByteDance to either sell TikTok to an American. company or shut down operations in the U.S. by Jan. 19.
During oral arguments last week, most of the justices focused on the fact that under the law, TikTok could continue operations if it used an algorithm other than ByteDance's and that as a Chinese company it doesn't have First Amendment rights, per Axios' Sam Baker.
What we're watching: Biden could push the ban's deadline by 90 days if ByteDance makes progress toward divestiture in the U.S. by Sunday, the day before Trump's inauguration.
Rozenshtein noted on X Wednesday that the Supreme Court's website suggests it will release an order list on Tuesday, two days after the law is due to take effect.
"So they might let the law go into effect without actually saying anything either way," he added.
Hundreds of staffers at The Washington Post sent a letter to the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, on Wednesday urging him to meet with newsroom leaders amid a confidence crisis with the leadership.
Why it matters: It's the most drastic step staffers have taken to address the myriad challenges facing The Post over the past year.
Zoom in: The letter makes it clear that The Post staffers believe Bezos is aligned with their mission, despite his decision last year to spike a presidential endorsement for Vice President Harris. It argues too much trust has been lost with readers as a result of recent leadership decisions.
"We believe you take as much pride in the Washington Post as we do," it reads.
"We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave with more departures imminent."
"This goes far beyond the issue of the presidential endorsement, which we recognize as the owner's prerogative. This is about retaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and re-establishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication."
Signed by top newsroom leaders, the letter represented non-unionized staffers, as well as staffers within The Washington Post Guild.
A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment.
Lewis announced sweeping plans to divide The Post's editorial side into three newsrooms, each with a different editor. The delivery of that strategy was met with skepticism.
There was an internal meltdown over an aborted plan to appoint Robert Winnett, the top editor of The Telegraph in London, as the editor of the main newsroom.
In recent weeks, a slew of top newsroom stars defected from The Post to rival publications. Last week, The Post informed staff that it would be cutting 4% of its staff, impacting fewer than 100 roles across business functions.
The bottom line: Once the most respected publication in the Beltway, the Washington Post now faces serious competition. Mounting anxiety from within threatens its reputation as ahead of a historic second term for President-elect Trump.
Top Senate negotiators are privately warning that talks about a government spending deal are way behind schedule.
Why it matters: Without significant progress, the GOP trifecta will need another spending stopgap or a much-despised omnibus spending package.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — the top two Senate appropriators — told colleagues they're worried spending talks have taken a back seat to reconciliation planning, sources tell Axios.
Collins, for her part, has warned colleagues to not lose sight of the 2025 appropriations process, with the March deadline speeding nearer.
Talks between the House and Senate over a spending deal only recently began.
Zoom in: The current spending deal expires on March 14.
The GOP's worst-case scenario: A shutdown when Republicans control the whole government.
The bottom line:The House and Senate need to bridge a $30-plus billion gap in their spending wishes. They aren't close.
Southwest Airlines is being sued and Frontier Airlines fined over chronic flight delays by the Department of Transportation, the DOT announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: Wednesday's announcement by the outgoing Biden administration's Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, comes days after the DOT fined JetBlue $2 million for chronic flight delays — the first time such a penalty had been imposed on an airline.
What we're watching: When asked for comment Wednesday evening on whether Southwest would petition the incoming Trump administration to withdraw the lawsuit, company spokesperson Lynn Lunsford said the airline "has kept an open dialogue with DOT and continues to invite the agency to engage in discussions about a reasonable settlement."
Driving the news: The U.S. Government and Buttigieg are seeking maximum penalties against Southwest for allegedly illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights, per the lawsuit that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday.
DOT alleges an investigation found that Southwest operated two "chronically delayed" services between April and August 2022 that resulted in 180 flight disruptions for passengers.
Each flight involving the trips Chicago Midway International Airport and Oakland, Calif, and between Baltimore, Md. and Cleveland, Ohio, was chronically delayed for five straight months, per the suit.
Separately, DOT issued Frontier Airlines with a fine for "operating multiple chronically delayed flights."
The airline faces $650,000 in civil penalties with $325,000 to be paid to the U.S. Treasury, per a DOT statement.
The remaining $325,000 to be suspended if the carrier does not operate any chronically delayed flights in the next three years.
What they're saying: "Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travelers with realistic departure and arrival times. Today's action sends a message to all airlines that the Department is prepared to go to court in order to enforce passenger protections," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
Lunsford said via email the airline was "disappointed that DOT chose to file a lawsuit over two flights that occurred more than two years ago" and noted there had been no other violations of the department's Chronically Delayed Flight policy since it was issued in 2009.
"Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply not credible when compared with our performance over the past 15 years," she said. "In 2024, Southwest led the industry by completing more than 99% of its flights without cancellation."
Representatives for Frontier declined to comment and representatives for President-elect Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
A handful of potential buyers have emerged, as the deadline for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. is a few days away.
Why it matters: A sale is an option that ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, could exercise if it wants the app to be a part of the U.S. media landscape.
Biden could push the ban's deadline by 90 days if he learns that ByteDance is making progress toward a divestiture.
If the company chooses not to sell, TikTok will be banned as early as Jan. 19 if the Supreme Court upholds a bipartisan law.
Zoom in: YouTuber James "Jimmy" Donaldson, famously known as MrBeast, announced on Wednesday in an Instagram post that he had a meeting with several billionaires and has "an offer ready" for TikTok.
Donaldson did not share further information about who the billionaires are or what the plan looks like.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Billionaire Frank McCourt in December pulled together participants for a consortium of investors interested in pursuing a "peoples bid" for TikTok, Axios' Sara Fischer reported.
McCourt believes Project Liberty, an internet advocacy group, "is uniquely positioned to assume stewardship of TikTok" because of the tech and governance protocols it has built to prioritize user privacy and safety.
The bid has been joined by Kevin O'Leary, one of the hosts of "Shark Tank."
Project Liberty announced last week that it submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance.
Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, expressed interest to ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming about buying TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported last year.
Kotick floated the idea to a table of people that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Kotick has not commented publicly on the offer.
By the numbers: TikTok has a stunning 170 million users in the U.S., and just 32% of Americans support a ban, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
The bottom line: All of TikTok's interested buyers may want to purchase the platform, with its price tag estimated in the billions, but ultimately, the Chinese government will effectively hold veto power over any sale.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has ousted Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, multiple GOP sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: Turner, who was tapped to lead Republicans on the panel by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2022, has at times broken with party leadership in a way that angered his GOP colleagues.
One former House Republican said there is a feeling that Turner is "way too intel establishment."
Zoom out: It's the second time in as many days Johnson has removed a Republican from a key panel.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the lone House Republican to vote against reelecting Johnson as speaker on Jan. 3, was taken off the Rules Committee — though he left voluntarily.
President Biden took swipes at President-elect Trump during his farewell address Wednesday as he reflected on his legacy from the Oval Office.
The big picture: The 82-year-old, one-term president who has spent five decades in politics will hand over the White House keys to 78-year-old Trump next week, after initially running to rid him from Washington.
Driving the news: Biden in his speech took aim at Trump and the U.S. Supreme Court majority ruling that presidents have immunity for "official acts" in the Republican's since-dismissed federal Jan. 6 case.
"We need to amend the Constitution to make clear that no president is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office," Biden said.
In another prodat the incoming Trump administration, Biden said: "Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms."
He added that the tax code must be reformed, "not by giving the biggest tax cuts to billionaires, but by making them begin to pay their fair share."
Yes, but: Biden wished the incoming administration "success," saying he wants the U.S. to succeed, and pledged "to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power."
What he's saying: "I've kept my commitment to be president for all Americans through one of the toughest periods in our nation's history," Biden said in his first speech from the Oval Office since announcing he wasn't running for re-election.
He called Vice President Harris a great partner in that effort, and said she and husband Doug Emhoff have become "like family."
Zoom in: In a letter to the public Wednesday, Biden praised his administration's accomplishments and called on Americans to continue building on its progress.
"It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years ... I have given my heart and my soul to our nation," Biden wrote.
Zoom out: Rather than focusing on policy successes, Biden reflected on American values and on the importance of the institutions that "govern a free society."
He said: "After 50 years of public service, I give you my word I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands, a nation where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure."
Addressing the American people, he added, "Now it's your turn to stand guard."
Flashback: Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in July after a poor performance in a debate against Trump.
He quickly endorsed Vice President Harris to be the party's nominee, though she ultimately lost.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has a "fairly lengthy list" of last-minute Biden regulations that Republicans may try to undo in the coming weeks, he told Axios.
Why it matters: The Congressional Review Act (CRA) gives Congress until mid-May to reverse what Republicans are calling the "midnight rules" of the Biden administration.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will kick things off next week by introducing three resolutions to erase Biden moves on crypto, energy and internet access.
"We are scrubbing right now to determine what is eligible," Thune said at an event at the American Petroleum Institute earlier on Tuesday.
How it works: CRA resolutions have to pass with majority votes in both chambers of Congress.
Those votes can only happen 15 legislative days into a new Congress — the power won't be available until late January or early February.
The window for action closes 60 sessions into the new Congress.
Flashback: In early 2017, Trump and congressional Republicans used CRA resolutions to erase 16 Obama administration rules.
In 2021, Biden and congressional Democrats returned the favor and repealed three Trump rules.
What they're saying: Cruz, who chairs the Commerce committee, told Axios that he is confident that his three resolutions will pass. He expects the process to move "expeditiously" after he files next week.
One resolution would rescind a December regulation by the Energy Department that regulated gas water heaters.
Another would undo an IRS rule — finalized last month — that has sparked outrage in crypto circles. The rule requires more reporting on income earned in cryptocurrencies. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) — who chairs the new crypto subcommittee— Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) are cosponsors.
Cruz's final target is a FCC regulation that allow schools and libraries to lend Wifi hotspots to students through the E-Rate program. Cruz argued it violates the Communications Act, increases taxes and "opens up children to real risks of abuse" with no limits on their broadband usage.
What to watch: The lawdoesn't give a new Congress blanket authority to undo all of the previous administration's final rules and regulations.
But Thune's teamis trying to convince the Senate parliamentarian how they can use the CRA to undo California's tailpipe standard, which would require 100% of new cars sold by 2035 to be zero emission.
"We are looking for lots of opportunities in that space and trying to argue with the parliamentarian," Thune said at the API event. "The whole California waiver issue … was such a radical regulatory overreach."
