Generative AI is providing personal style tips, translating family conversations, analyzing diets and transforming lives in countless ways, Axios readers tell us.

Why it matters: AI isn't only a workplace tool, and as it seeps into our lives, many are using chatbots every day to diagnose illnesses, mourn the dead or seek comfort when human companionship isn't available.

What's next: As we enter year three of the generative AI revolution, we asked readers to tell us all the ways they've been using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and other genAI tools — not for work but for everything else.

By the numbers: Recent research from Anthropic shows that the most popular use cases for the Claude chatbot account for only a small slice of how people use the tool.

• The top three ways people use Claude are for mobile app development (10.4%), content creation and communication (9.2%) and academic research and writing (7.2%).
• That leaves a whole lot of people using it for a whole lot of other tasks.

Fun fact: Axios' Maxwell Millington reports that "couples are split on whether it's acceptable to write their wedding vows with AI."

• According to Zola's First Look report for 2025, 51% of respondents are OK with the idea.

Style counsel

Auggie from Columbus works in AI and data science and writes, "Over the past year, I've started using ChatGPT as a personal stylist to get the most out of my purchases."

• "I share photos of the pieces I'm considering and ask questions like, 'What kinds of items would pair well with this jacket?' or 'Could I wear these pants both formally and casually?'"

Brainstorm buddy

Evelyn, a college student from Hingham, Mass., writes, "I use it to validate my brainstorms. If I have an assignment I will think about what I want to do and then when I decide I ask ChatGPT if it's a good idea or not."

Emily, who works in marketing in San Francisco, says, "I think what's been most useful about GenAI is having a thought partner."

• She says she used it to create a Golden Gate Park scavenger hunt for her niece, helping her find things kids like that she's unfamiliar with.

Felice from Marin county, Calif. says she is a visual learner and regularly asks ChatGPT to turn spreadsheets of numbers into infographics.

• "The infographic gives me a "snapshot" of a 30,000 ft view and then I can strategize based on the visual ( rather than rows of numbers). This is a 'first draft' of my thought process, so it is nothing I would bet the farm on; it is just a helpful general idea."

Scheduling assistant

Julian from Columbus, Ohio takes handwritten lists from images or screenshots and converts them into text.

• He writes, "My sister shared a printed schedule for my niece's basketball team, and I asked ChatGPT to analyze it and turn it into an .ics file. I then shared the file with my family so they could add it to their smartphone calendars."

Kitchen companion

Meg from Toronto, Canada says, "I've been using ChatGPT to take pictures of my meals and tell me how much protein is in it."

• She says she previously used paid apps and weighed all her food, but now "AI can do this with the snap of a photo."

C Davis from Phoenix, Ariz., writes, "I recently consulted ChatGPT regarding three different acid options (lemon vs apple cider vinegar vs sherry vinegar) for a fall salad. The advice was surprisingly nuanced and spot on — as if I had a chef on the line."

Joe, who is 73 years old, uses Perplexity AI to "find any food dish from anywhere in the world and have Perplexity convert it for the number of people I want to serve and give it to me in [a] guided recipe format."

Translator

Fadi from Lebanon uses genAI for parenting help for his 8-year old.

• "My son likes to hammer me with existential or puzzling questions when we're alone in the car," Fadi writes.
• Because his son doesn't speak English, Fadi will ask Gemini the question in English and tell it to reply out loud in French.

Berta from Sonoma uses ChatGPT's voice mode. She says that on her recent travels, "I could ask such random things like, I'm standing at the corner of X and Y in Barcelona, and on the second floor I see a mural. Please tell me the history of this mural."

• "We were traveling with people who were not fluent in English and I could ask Fernando [her name for her bot] to explain the information in French for our friends."

The bottom line: Most genAI evangelists will tell you that the only way to find your best personal uses for chatbots is to keep trying different things.

Puerto Rico experienced an "island-wide" power outage starting Tuesday morning that could last up to two days in some places, per grid operator LUMA Energy.

The latest: President Biden discussed the widespread outages across the U.S. territory with Gov. Pedro Pierluisi during a Tuesday evening phone call during which he offered any federal assistance needed, per a White House pool report.

• Biden directed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over the phone to continue to offer any assistance the Biden administration can provide to speed power restoration for people on the Caribbean island, according to the pool report.

The big picture: Nearly 90% of 1.47 million clients across Puerto Rico were affected by the blackout at its peak, per AP.

• Early investigation shows the failure of an underground power line, LUMA said.

State of play: Power was restored to more than 336,000 customers by 6pm ET. If conditions allow, power will be fully restored by Thursday, the company said.

• Power was also restored to the Centro Médico and el Hospital Municipal de San Juan.
• The outage started about 5:30am.

Zoom in: Puerto Rico's Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said he is "demanding answers and solutions" from Luma and Genera, another energy company.

• Restoration work was underway at the San Juan and Palo Seco plants, per Pierluisi.

Context: Puerto Rico's energy was privatized after Hurricane Maria in 2017 massively damaged the grid. Continuous grid failures have led to protests.

• In 2021, operational control of the grid was transferred to LUMA. In 2023, Genera PR was selected for private electricity production.

Editor's note: The story has been updated with the latest restoration information and details of President Biden's action.

U.S. cities joined millions of people around the world in New Year's celebrations ringing in 2025 on Wednesday.

The big picture: Countries in the Asia-Pacific region were the first to mark New Year's Day, with Auckland, New Zealand, the first major city to see Jan. 1, 2025.

Go deeper: Paid prenatal leave, child influencer protections, no taxes on rent: New 2025 laws

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more photos and details of New Year's celebrations around the world.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned Tuesday of "illegitimate activity" that he said threatened the independence of judges.

The big picture: Roberts outlined in his annual year-end report areas of concern including violence, intimidation, disinformation and "threats to defy lawfully entered judgments."

• The chief justice wrote that within the past few years "elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard" for federal court rulings.
• "These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving," he added.

The intrigue: Roberts did not name anyone as an example.

• However, the Reagan-appointed U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth spoke out against public figures who've tried to "rewrite history" by describing imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as "hostages" after President-elect Trump and some of his allies described them as such.
• Meanwhile, President Biden criticized a Supreme Court majority decision that Roberts wrote, which ruled in Trump's Jan. 6 case that presidents have immunity for "official acts." The case was dismissed after the Republican leader won the election.

State of play: Roberts in his report raised concern about violence against judges across the U.S., noting that in 2005 and 2020, "close relatives of federal judges were shot to death by assailants intent on harming the judges who had handled their cases."

• He noted that in 2022 and 2023, state judges in Wisconsin and Maryland were murdered at their homes.
• "These tragic events highlight the vulnerability of judges who sign their names to the decisions they render each day and return home each night to communities, where they remain involved as neighbors, volunteers, and concerned citizens," Roberts wrote.

Zoom in: "Public officials, too, regrettably have engaged in recent attempts to intimidate judges — for example, suggesting political bias in the judge's adverse rulings without a credible basis for such allegations," Roberts said

• "Within the past year we also have seen the need for state and federal bar associations to come to the defense of a federal district judge whose decisions in a high-profile case prompted an elected official to call for her impeachment," he wrote.
• "Attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed," Roberts added.
• "Public officials certainly have a right to criticize the work of the judiciary, but they should be mindful that intemperance in their statements when it comes to judges may prompt dangerous reactions by others."

Read the 2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary in full, via DocumentCloud:

Flashback: Chief Justice John Roberts urges "humility" on AI

It was a good year for AI-linked companies in 2024, as they led the stock market with eye-watering returns.

• Execution problems plagued some well-known businesses, though, causing their shares to sink.

Why it matters: Those AI names helped the S&P 500 to its best two-year gain since the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.

By the numbers: Nine S&P 500 stocks doubled in value (or more) this year, while four lost at least half their value.

• Three AI-linked stocks topped the list: Software company Palantir gained more than 340%; Vistra, a power producer that serves data centers, rose almost 260%; and chipmaker Nvidia gained more than 170%.
• If the bottom of the list has a theme, it's execution. Walgreens Boots Alliance (closing stores, heavily indebted, possibly for sale) lost more than 64% of its value. Intel (sinking AI market share, heavy layoffs) shed more than 60%, and Moderna (pulling back on new vaccines as COVID revenue tails off) dropped almost 60%.

Yes, but: Past performance does not guarantee future results.

• While AI names led the market this year, tech stocks have pulled back of late, with the Nasdaq down about 4% in just the last two weeks.
• The vast majority of the year's top gainers were down on the last trading day of 2024.

Several photographers spoke with Axios to reflect on a year full of stunning photos.

Why it matters: News photographers capture key moments and emotions that enhance the storytelling and provide insight into the larger context of an event.

Anna Moneymaker's photo from the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, shown above, made headlines around the world earlier this year.

• "I think what is interesting from the whole historic event is how I was one of four photographers in the buffer for his rally and not one photographer got the same picture as the other. We all had different angles, and that shows the importance of multiple visual journalists being present for campaign events so that every angle can be documented," says Moneymaker.

"Most photographers had no idea what was happening as they were focused on the trophy celebration. Swift quickly moved to a restricted access portion behind the stage. I thought this could be bad for visuals, but still forced my way as close to the barricade as I could," says Patrick Smith.

• "Not long after, Travis Kelce had made his way to her. Then it happened. A hug. A whisper. A snuggle. A kiss. A lot of smiles."
• "It was more than a kiss or embrace — it was a moment that humanized these larger-than-life celebrities and something the world had been waiting to see."

"By February 2024, scenes like this were a near-daily occurrence at Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah," says Ahmad Hasaballah.

• "This man is mourning his daughter, Kenzi Abdel Rahman Jumah, who was killed in a house hit by an Israeli strike. More than half of Gaza's population were clustered in Rafah at this point in the war, as Israel's campaign against Hamas pushed farther south. The experience of covering such farewell moments was very moving as a photographer living in Gaza."
• "I expected that one day I would photograph my family in this situation, which happened when I photographed the farewell of my cousin, who was killed near Khan Yunis. I later lost my father in this war, although I did not get to see him and say goodbye to him. I knew the meaning of loss."

"When I'm covering hurricanes, I am always trying to show the people who are affected by the storms," says Joe Raedle.

• "This moment came when I was driving through a neighborhood after Hurricane Helene had passed through, and I was looking to capture images that showed the power of the winds. The jumble of power lines and the lone figure walking near them was a juxtaposition that I felt showed this. The images we capture and transmit in real time during and after natural disasters can, hopefully, help bring the needed emergency relief for the areas and the people affected by the disasters."

"I live almost two hours from Altoona, where Luigi Mangione was recognized and captured at a McDonald's," says Jeff Swensen.

• "A defining moment can be a facial expression or even body language, and Luigi has captivated an audience and attracted attention to the health care system in America. The perp walk in NYC on Dec. 19 was diametrically different than the brief second in a garage behind a courthouse in the middle of Pennsylvania. This image here with just his eyes and eyebrows shown was reminiscent of what we had all seen while they were searching for him."

The National Football League's biggest rule change in 2024 was about ownership, not kickoffs, as it allowed private equity into the ranks.

The big picture: NFL clubs have become too valuable for most billionaires to buy on their own.

• Adding private equity could cause more teams to change hands by expanding the pool of potential buyers and prompting some owners to hang "for sale" signs.

By the numbers: The average NFL franchise is worth $5.7 billion, according to Forbes. And teams typically sell for more than the Forbes valuation.

• There are fewer than 200 Americans with net worths of at least $5.7 billion — around a dozen of whom already are NFL owners, per Forbes.
• Now subtract those whose wealth is mostly illiquid or who have no interest in the NFL (e.g., Robert Smith). The universe of viable NFL owners gets very small, very fast.
• For context, only two NBA teams and one Major League Baseball team are valued above $5.7 billion by Forbes.

Zoom in: Enter private equity, which now can own up to 10% of each club.

• That's a significant chunk, on top of other financing alternatives like bank loans and cobbling together groups of other wealthy individuals (e.g., how Josh Harris bought the Washington Commanders).
• In the meantime, private equity's two initial forays into NFL ownership have provided partial liquidity for existing owners, who can use that money for everything from refurbishing stadiums to buying new yachts. Expect many more of those deals.

The bottom line: NFL ownership has long been dominated by individuals and their families. Times are changing.

Major energy companies doubled down on oil and gas in 2024, slowing down — and at times reversing — climate commitments, in a shift they're likely to stick with in 2025.

Why it matters: Big European energy companies that invested heavily in the clean energy transition found their stocks lagging U.S. rivals Exxon and Chevron, which kept their focus on oil and gas, Reuters reports.

• BP and Shell this year sharply slowed their plans to spend billions on wind and solar power projects and shifted spending to higher-margin oil and gas projects.

Between the lines: The big oil companies are focused on meeting customer demand and maximizing shareholder value, per Axios' Andrew Freedman. That has led them to focus more on their core fossil fuel businesses at a time of geopolitical strife.

• They haven't abandoned their forays into cleaner fuels, including through investments in climate tech companies.
• But some of their investments, including bets on hydrogen fuels, haven't panned out — reinforcing their pivot back to what they do best.

Reality check: Doubling down on fossil fuels complicates global efforts to meet the Paris climate targets, which the oil majors have committed to.

The bottom line: Oil companies this year were profitable — but not as profitable as in recent record years, when there were higher oil prices.

U.S. immigration courts are on pace to decide record numbers of deportation cases — and order the most removals in five years — under President Biden's push to fast-track asylum decisions.

Why it matters: The increases in the first two months of fiscal 2025, if they continue, will help reduce a backlog of 3.7 million immigration cases that could take four years to resolve.

• But Biden's fast-track system — in which immigration judges are hearing and ruling on asylum requests in a matter of minutes — stands to be overrun by President-elect Trump's plan for mass deportations.
• Without significant increases in immigration court personnel and other resources for asylum claims, Trump's plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants could create decades-long backlogs in immigration courts.

By the numbers: Immigration courts are on pace to rule on 852,000 deportation cases from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, according to an analysis of case data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.

• That analysis reviewed the pace of court rulings in October and November, the first two months of the government's fiscal 2025.
• If that pace continues, immigration judges will rule on more deportation cases in 2025 than in any previous year.

Zoom in: So far in fiscal 2025, immigration judges have ordered removals or voluntary departures in 45% of the cases that came before them — up from 39% in 2024 and the highest rate since 2020.

• That means immigration courts are on pace to issue 383,400 orders for removals or voluntary departures in FY 2025.
• According to court records, only 0.7% of the most recent cases sought deportation orders based on any alleged crimes by an immigrant, apart from allegedly entering the U.S. illegally.

At the end of November, about 1.7 million out of the 3.7 million cases in the immigration courts' backlog were for asylum applicants awaiting hearings or decisions.

Zoom out: Immigration courts ruled in nearly 850,000 deportation cases in fiscal 2024, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

• In those cases, 331,500 people were ordered to be deported or leave the U.S. voluntarily.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 271,000 people last fiscal year — the most in nearly a decade, according to an annual report released this month.

• The report marked a 90% increase in deportations from 2023, even as Republicans assailed Biden as weak on the border during the presidential campaign.

Between the lines: The Biden administration launched a series of initiatives to speed up the pace of immigration court rulings.

• The administration in May unveiled its fast-tracked asylum system for people who recently had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and were headed to any one of five major cities in the U.S.
• The plan allowed judges to more quickly reject some asylum candidates who were considered a threat to public safety or national security.
• The administration also adopted visa restrictions for Colombians and Nicaraguans in an attempt to target those who profit from migrant smuggling.

Illegal border crossings declined steadily in 2024 after a sharp drop at the start of the year, according to Department of Homeland Security data obtained by USA Today and CBS News.

What we're watching: Most of the nation's 734 immigration judges are seeking to reinstate their union ahead of the expected boom in cases once Trump launches his plan for mass deportations.

• The Trump-controlled Federal Labor Relations Authority stripped away the judges' union in 2020. The two sides could be headed for another legal showdown in the coming months.
• A federal appeals court said immigration judges were entitled to union representation.

This year's epic, relentless news cycles were driven by months of near-unprecedented political violence and uncertainty — plus the Olympics, according to Axios' annual analysis of Google Trends data.

Why it matters: Even in a wild election year, America's short attention span for news led to dramatic ups and downs in search trends as the media pivoted from one major story to the next.

The big picture: The Paris Games were the news event that saw the largest spike in interest compared to the others analyzed by Axios.

• The election itself — peaking on Nov. 5 — and the Pennsylvania assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump were runners-up.
• On the lighter side, the next two biggest peaks were for the total solar eclipse in April and Mike Tyson's return to boxing against YouTuber Jake Paul.

Zoom in: Only a small handful of people and news events managed to hold public attention over long-term periods.

• Trump, of course, was one of them. He became the first former president convicted of felony crimes, survived two assassination attempts and was the first Republican to win the popular vote in two decades.
• Attention on President Biden shot up after his catastrophic debate performance in June and peaked around July 21, when he dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Harris after weeks of not-so-private pushing from a prominent group of Democrats.
• Elon Musk attracted search interest all year — but it boomed in October and early November as he unleashed unprecedented sums of cash to get Trump elected and personally campaigned in Pennsylvania.
• Israel and Gaza received consistent attention year-round but was rarely the top search at any given moment.

Among celebrities and athletes, Taylor Swift once again commanded an outsize share of attention.

• The deaths of O.J. Simpson and former One Direction singer Liam Payne made them two of the most searched people of the year.
• Search interest in Sean "Diddy" Combs peaked twice, once when federal agents raided his home in March and again after federal prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking and racketeering in September.

What we're watching: Trump-driven news cycles — backed by the power of the White House bully pulpit — could be like nothing we've seen in the last four years.

Go deeper: Revisit the moments that shaped the election.

We know Elon Musk dominated the headlines in 2024, but the scale by which he overshadowed other CEOs is stunning.

Why it matters: It's a self-sustaining cycle — stories about Musk get clicks, and so publishers write more about Musk, who provides plenty of raw material.

• This year, however, the effect has become exponential.

By the numbers: Taboola, which powers advertising for thousands of websites, tracks views on news articles in its publisher network.

• Taboola's data, shared exclusively with Axios, shows Musk has outpaced his closest peers — Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — for years, but the gap widened dramatically in 2024.
• Articles about Musk had 1.03 billion page views from Jan. 1 to Nov. 12 this year, up 120% from 2023 and 528% from 2022.
• Other CEOs are getting written about more, too, but their rates of annual growth (e.g. 85% for Bezos and 44% for Zuckerberg) don't come close.
• This year, traffic on Musk stories is almost 3x the total traffic on stories about the next nine most-read-about CEOs combined, per the Taboola data.

The bottom line: Don't expect anything to change anytime soon, as Musk's personal megaphones get louder by the day.

The U.S. is sending Ukraine $5.9 billion in military aid and budget support, the Biden administration announced on Monday.

Why it matters: It's part of President Biden's pledge for a "surge" in aid for Kyiv before he's succeeded by President-elect Trump, who's criticized the U.S. givingUkraine military assistance.

• "At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine's position in this war over the remainder of my time in office," Biden said in a statement announcing $2.5 billion in security assistance for Kyiv on Monday.

Driving the news: The aid will include an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package, per Biden's statement.

• Elsewhere, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced the U.S. has made available $3.4 billion in direct budget support for Ukraine, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.

What he's saying: "I've directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible — including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons," Biden said in his statement.

Go deeper: Biden pledges more U.S. arms to Ukraine after Russia's Christmas attack

A South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Tuesday morning local time, Yonhap News Agency first reported.

Why it matters: The warrant related to Yoon's brief martial law declaration this month that sparked widespread protests and shocked allies would mark the first time one has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, per local media.

Driving the news: The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials confirmed in a media statement that Seoul Western District Court had approved the warrant.

The big picture: Yoon was impeached and suspended from presidential duties for his actions earlier this month that sparked mass protests and stunned global allies, but he maintains he acted out of concerns about "pro-North Korean" elements when he made the emergency declaration.

• South Korean police announced earlier this month they were investigating Yoon for possible insurrection and he has through his lawyers denied the allegations.
• Yoon could face life in prison or the death penalty if he were charged and convicted of such offenses because presidential immunity doesn't extend to insurrection or treason in South Korea.

Go deeper: South Korean president hit with travel ban after martial law mayhem

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is not out of the woods in his fight to retain his gavel, even after receiving a crucial endorsement from President-elect Trump.

Why it matters: The Jan. 3 speaker election will now be an early test not only of Johnson's ability to lead his conference into the coming legislative battle — but of Trump's as well.

Driving the news: Trump said Monday in a post on Truth Social that Johnson is a "good, hard working, religious man" who has his "Complete & Total Endorsement."

• The endorsement came after weeks of right-wing anger toward Johnson for passing a government funding bill with bipartisan support.
• Trump himself was reportedly frustrated with Johnson for failing to tack on a debt limit increase — something he is still demanding before Jan. 20.

State of play: Johnson is set to have just a 219-215 majority when the House returns on Jan. 3, meaning he will likely only be able to lose one vote.

• Trump's endorsement pushed some uncommitted members, like Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), to back Johnson.
• But it hasn't swayed Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the one House Republican who has said he plans to vote against Johnson.
• "I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan," Massie said in a post on X.

Zoom in: Several other undecideds said Monday they, too, are unconvinced by Trump's support for Johnson.

• Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who has a list of demands for Johnson on reducing government spending, said on X that "we still need to get assurances that [Johnson] won't sell us out to the swamp."
• Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) "still has not made any public or private commitments on Speaker Johnson," his spokesperson told Axios.
• "I'm undecided," said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who has stressed that Trump's endorsement would be decisive for Johnson's chances.
• House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.), who has pushed Johnson to eschew dealmaking with Democrats, is "still undecided," his spokesperson said.

Zoom out: The incoming president maintains the strict loyalty of his party, but he has at times struggled to work his will on the legislative process.

• His backing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2023 did little to dislodge the Californian's right-wing detractors, who only relented after 15 grueling ballots.
• And just this month, 38 Republicans broke with their party and voted against a combined spending and debt limit bill that Trump had demanded — despite the threat of primary challenges.

What's next: Johnson will spend the four days trying to whip his last few holdouts as they demand spending and process-related concessions.

• He is making calls and reaching out to GOP lawmakers who have not yet committed to supporting him, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Hackers connected to China's government successfully breached several Treasury Department workstations and accessed unclassified documents, according to a letter to Congress on Monday.

Why it matters: The U.S. government is already scrambling to respond to an ongoing China-backed hack of American telecom networks that targeted several high-profile officials.

Zoom in: Aditi Hardikar, Treasury's assistant secretary for management, wrote in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee that the department was notified of a "major" cyber incident on Dec. 8.

• The hackers, which Treasury has linked to an unspecified Chinese state-sponsored hacking group, gained access to Treasury's networks via software service provider BeyondTrust, according to the letter.
• Chinese hackers stole a key that BeyondTrust uses to "secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support" for several Treasury Department users.
• The hackers were able to leverage that access to override BeyondTrust's security controls and access unclassified documents.
• A Treasury spokesperson said in a statement to Axios that the "compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline" and there is "no evidence indicating a threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information."

Catch up quick: Several BeyondTrust customers are responding to breaches involving the cybersecurity vendor's tools.

• BeyondTrust has said that hackers targeted a "limited number" of customers using its Remote Support SaaS tool.
• The company has revoked the stolen key and notified all known impacted customers.

The big picture: China has been escalating its cyberattacks against the United States.

• Last week, a Biden administration official said the number of U.S. telcos hacked in the Salt Typhoon breach had increased to nine.
• U.S. officials have also been working with critical infrastructure organizations to kick out the Volt Typhoon group — which officials say has spent at least five years exploring vulnerabilities in routers, firewalls and VPNs to target water, transportation, energy and communications systems across the country.

What's next: Treasury said in the letter that it is actively working with the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the intelligence community to investigate the breach.

What they're saying: The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., issued a media statement accusing the U.S. of "smear attacks."

• CISA referred all questions to the Treasury Department.

More from Axios:

• Telcos struggle to boot Chinese hackers from networks
• Chinese hacking "typhoons" threaten U.S. infrastructure
• U.S. sanctions, charges Chinese hacker for infecting firewalls

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Financial markets will be largely — but not entirely — closed for the National Day of Mourning for Jimmy Carter on Thursday, Jan. 9.

State of play: Markets typically close on such days, as they did in December 2018 for the funeral of President George H.W. Bush.

The big picture: Carter died Sunday at age 100, and President Biden declared a day of mourning, usually treated as a federal holiday, to mark his passing.

• Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq tell Axios they will close for the full day.
• SIFMA, the trade association for investment banks and asset managers, is recommending bond markets close early at 2pm ET, in line with a 2019 policy change. (In 2018 it recommended a full closure for Bush's funeral.)
• Banks might be closed. For Bush, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said banks could close offices in any state where the day had been declared a holiday.
• President Biden issued an executive order closing federal agencies and offices on Jan. 9 as well.

Go deeper: How Jimmy Carter rebuilt his reputation post-presidency

Editor's note: The story has been updated with government closure plans.

The new year will bring new regulations on health care, social media use, schools and rent across the country.

Why it matters: Many of the new laws are aimed at expanding protections of workers, children and consumers.

Flashback: New laws in 2024 targeted contentious, often-cultural issues, including wider access to birth control, a diversity, equity and inclusion ban in Texas and anti-book ban law in Illinois.

Among the most significant in 2025:

Paid prenatal time leave

New York will become the first state in the U.S. to offer paid time off for prenatal care or medical care related to a pregnancy.

• Privately employed pregnant New Yorkers will receive an additional 20 hours of paid sick time for prenatal care in addition to existing sick time, per Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.
• An employer cannot require an employee to choose one type of leave over another or require them to exhaust a different category before using the paid prenatal leave.

Zoom in: The benefit can apply to physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing and discussion with a health care provider related to the pregnancy.

• Employers can provide more than 20 hours, per the governor's office.

Digital replica protections

California performers' and actors' digital likeness will be protected under legislation that counters the misuse of artificial intelligence and other digital media technologies.

• Their likeness will be protected in audio and visual productions.

Child and teen influencer financial security

California children and teenagers who perform in online content will be protected from financial abuse under new legislation.

• One bill establishes financial and legal protections for minors featured in monetized online content by requiring parents or guardians to set aside a percentage of their earnings in trust accounts.
• Another expands the Coogan Law, created for actors, to include content creators on platforms like YouTube. Employers of child performers are required to place at least 15% of their gross earnings in trust until they reach adulthood.

Districts can't make teachers disclose students' gender or sexual identities

"Forced outings" will be banned in California — now the first state to bar school districts from requiring teachers and school staff from disclosing a student's gender identity or sexual orientation to anyone else without permission.

• The bill provides resources for parents, guardians and families of LGBTQ+ students to navigate conversations around gender and identity.
• Teachers and staff are protected from retaliation for refusing to forcibly out a student.

Between the lines: The act doesn't limit a parent's ability to request school records.

Eliminating taxes on rent

Arizona rental real estate taxes will be eliminated under a new law.

• The legal burden of proof falls on the landlords if they're sued for failing to comply, Axios Phoenix's Jeremy Duda reported.

Context: The bill was initially vetoed by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) who was concerned about the financial impact on cities and concerns that landlords wouldn't actually pass savings on to their tenants.

• Changes were made to alleviate her concerns.

No social media for kids under 14

Florida children younger than 14 won't be allowed to have a social media accounts under a new bill.

• Civil liabilities will be imposed on platforms that refuse to terminate accounts of anyone under the age limit.

Yes, but: Two internet industry groups filed a federal lawsuit against the law, Axios Tampa Bay's Yacob Reyes noted.

Banned junk fees

A Minnesota junk fees law will prevent businesses from tacking on charges at the end of a transaction.

• Minnesota restaurants have been grappling with how to adapt to the new law, which will bar up-charges like a health and wellness fee from receipts, per Axios Twin Cities' Nick Halter.
• Automatic gratuity is allowed, but it must be clearly labeled and go to the wait staff. Taxes, shipping and delivery charges can be added to bills.

Higher minimum wage

Workers in 21 states and 48 cities and counties will get a raise on Jan. 1 when minimum wage increases go into effect, according to Axios' Emily Peck.

• In two states, the minimum wage will rise later in the year.
• By 2027, nearly half of U.S. workers will live in states with at least a $15 minimum wage.

Go deeper:

• These Florida laws go into effect Jan. 1
• Where the minimum wage will rise in 2025
• Medicare $2,000 prescription drug cap starts Jan. 1

A state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter will take place on Jan. 9 at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the White House announced.

The big picture: President Biden has called for a national day of mourning that same day for his longtime "dear friend," who died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday at age 100, per a White House statement.

• Funeral proceedings for the Democrat are set to be held in Georgia and Washington, D.C., in the leadup to the national state funeral, which the cathedral said will be invitation-only and closed to members of the public but broadcast live on its YouTube channel.
• The Carter Center has set up a website detailing the funeral plans.

What to expect: A motorcade will bring Carter's body from Plains to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where he'll lie in repose during the weekend before being flown to D.C. on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

• Biden said last year that Carter had asked him to deliver his eulogy.
• The U.S. Northern Command commander will be the combatant commander responsible for the conduct of the funeral, per a statement from the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.
• The task force has posted a full breakdown of the funeral schedule:

Saturday, Jan. 4: The state funeral begins with the arrival of the Carter family at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Ga., at 10:15am, per the JTF-NCR.

• A hearse carrying Carter's remains will travel in a motorcade from the medical center, through Plains, to his boyhood home for a brief pause in front of his family's farm at 10:50am, where the National Park Service will render a salute and ring the farm bell 39 times.
• The procession will continue to Atlanta at 10:55am, where it will stop at Georgia's State Capitol for a moment of silence with Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, other officials and Georgia State Patrol troopers at 3pm.
• Carter's remains will be transported to the Carter Presidential Center for a service at 4pm, after which he'll lie in repose so mourners can "pay their respects" from 7pm to 6am daily until the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 7, per the JTF-NCR post.

Jan. 7: "Carter departs the Carter Presidential Center one last time" at 9:30am to fly with family from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., at 10:40am to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, arriving at 12:45pm, according to the JTF-NCR.

• Carter's body will be transferred with ceremony to the hearse upon arrival before the parties will travel by motorcade at 1:15pm to the U.S. Navy Memorial. There, his remains will transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for a funeral procession to the U.S. Capitol at 2pm.
• "Upon arrival at the U.S. Capitol, the late president is carried by military body bearers into the Rotunda where members of Congress will pay their respects during a service at 3pm," per the JTF-NCR. "Carter will then lie in state while the military maintains a guard of honor. The public is invited to pay their respects as he lies in state from 7 p.m. to midnight."

Jan. 8: The late president will lie in state and members of the public can pay their respects from 7am until 7pm on Jan. 9.

Jan. 9: "Carter departs the U.S. Capitol with ceremony for his last time" at 9am, according to the JTF-NCR.

• The motorcade then travels to Washington National Cathedral "for a brief arrival ceremony" at 9:30am, followed by the National Funeral Service at 10am.
• Carter and his family will travel at 11:15am after the service to Joint Base Andrews, Md., for his final journey home to Georgia, arriving at Fort Moore at 2pm.
• A motorcade including Carter's hearse will then travel to Maranatha Baptist Church, Plains, arriving at 3:30pm, with a private funeral service at held at 3:45pm.
• After the service, there will be a private interment at the Carter residence at 5:20pm.
• "The public is invited to line the motorcade route as Carter and his family travel through his beloved hometown of Plains, Georgia to the late president's final resting place," the JTF-NCR post says.
• "Prior to interment, the U.S. Navy will conduct a missing man formation flyover in honor of former President Carter's naval service and time as commander-in-chief shortly after the motorcade's arrival at the residence."

What else is happening: U.S. flags will fly at half-staff on all federal buildings, grounds and naval vessels for 30 days.

• Biden issued an executive order Monday to close all executive departments and federal agencies on Jan. 9 "as a mark of respect" for Carter.
• Financial markets will be largely closed for the national day of mourning.

Flashback: The last state funeral for a U.S. president was for George H.W. Bush in 2018, which Carter attended with the five other living presidents.

Go deeper: White House solar panels still power Carter's environmental legacy

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

The Justice Department said its tenth and final distribution of funds to eligible victims of Bernie Madoff would bring their total recovery to 93.7% of their losses.

Why it matters: The fraud was the largest Ponzi scheme in history, with nearly 41,000 recipients ultimately qualified for payments from the Madoff Victim Fund.

How it works: The funds were recovered by the Justice Department's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, which pursues the profits made by criminal enterprises in order to recover them return them to victims.

• These funds were recovered from major investors in Madoff's scheme, his family and from a deferred prosecution agreement and civil action against JPMorgan Chase Bank, according to a release by the Department of Justice.
• Most of the people paid by the Victim Fund had relatively smaller losses, under $500,000.

Catch up fast: Madoff pled guilty to 11 federal crimes in 2009, acknowledging that he had turned his company into a massive fraudulent scheme.

• He was sentenced to 150 years in prison later that year, and died in prison in 2021.

Victims were lured into believing his returns were legitimate because his staff prepared statements about profitable trades it had made on their behalf, backdating the transactions to line them up with the high and low points of various assets.

• Notable victims of the scheme included Hollywood power couple Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, the late Nobel prize-winning author Elie Wiesel and the late broadcasting legend Larry King.
• Madoff also took in numerous notable charitable organizations.

The bottom line: Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX fraud trumped Madoff as the top financial fraud of all time, and — thanks to a large amount of luck with crypto prices and the AI boom — a similar recovery looks likely, in much less time.

The U.S. expressed concern to the new foreign minister of the transitional administration in Syria, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, about reports of violent attacks by militant groups around the country in recent days, U.S. officials said.

The big picture: The Assad regime's fall after five decades in power and 13 years of civil war left behind many armed groups, and many more grievances. The U.S. is concerned that violent reprisals by militants affiliated with the victorious rebels — targeting minority groups or members of the ousted regime — will undermine efforts to stabilize the country.

Catch up quick: Al-Shibani is the right-hand man to Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is both the de facto ruler of Syria and the leader of the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the strongest armed group in Syria today.

• HTS is a Sunni Islamist organization that was affiliated in the past with al-Qaeda.
• Al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has assured U.S. and Western leaders that he and HTS are now more moderate, and he appealed for sanctions imposed on Syria under Bashar al-Assad to be revoked.
• Last week, U.S. diplomats met al-Sharaa for the first time and told him a $10 million bounty on his head had been canceled.

Driving the news: Armed clashes between militants affiliated with the Assad regime and policemen affiliated with the new administration took place last week in the city of Tartus. Fourteen policemen and several militants were killed, according to the Syrian Interior Ministry.

• Tartus and the wider coastal region are predominantly Alawite. The minority Islamic sect makes up around 10% of Syria's population, but much of the now-ousted ruling elite, including the Assad family.
• Some Alawites and members of the Kurdish and Druze minority groups have expressed concerns they will become targets.

Several videos circulating on social media purport to show armed militants — allegedly affiliated with HTS or the security forces of the new government— beating, cursing and humiliating Alawite men while arresting them, or otherwise making threats toward Alawites.

• Axios obtained several such videos, including some showing graphic violence, but has not been able to confirm their authenticity.
• A U.S. official told Axios the State Department is aware of such videos and has been looking into reports of such incidents.

Behind the scenes: On Sunday, State Department envoy Daniel Rubinstein visited Damascus and met al-Shibani, two U.S. officials tell Axios.

• Rubinstein told al-Shibani the U.S. is concerned about the reports of violence, retribution and intimidation against minorities, and that such attacks must stop.
• Al-Shibani said the transitional administration opposes such violence and claimed it was mostly done by other armed groups, not HTS.
• A U.S. official told Axios that al-Sharaa and the transitional administration are trying to get things under control by demobilizing militias and integrating them under a new and united Syrian army.
• The official stressed the new Syrian administration needs to get the situation under control because if these violent incidents continue it could increase internal tensions and allow elements affiliated with the Assad regime or even ISIS to inflame a new conflict in the country.

State of play: Al-Sharaa has made several recent appointments to key positions in the transitional government, many of whom were close confidantes drawn from his administration in the HTS-controlled city of Idlib.

• One of the conditions the U.S. and Arab countries have laid out for the new Syrian government to get international recognition was that the government be inclusive.
• Al-Sharaa was asked about this during an interview with Al Arabiya on Sunday and claimed he made the appointments just for the immediate term to get the country functioning again as soon as possible.
• While al-Sharaa stressed he wants to start a national dialogue as soon as possible to form a new government in March, he also made clear that it needs to be a technocratic government, which is not based on political parties or sectarian quotas.

What to watch: Al-Sharaa surprised many when he said the process of drafting a new constitution could last up to three years and that elections could be held only four years from now.

• U.S. envoy Rubinstein asked the new Syrian foreign minister for more details of those plans during their meeting on Sunday, a U.S. official said.

What they're saying: A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. is in an ongoing dialogue with HTS. The spokesperson said he can't discuss private diplomatic conversations in public, but stressed the discussions so far have been "productive" and have covered both domestic and international issues.

• "We believe HTS should respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Syrians, including members of minority groups and women. We will be continuing to watch and see that actions match words," the spokesperson said.