AI chatbots have made scam emails harder to spot and the tells we've all been trained to look for — clunky grammar, weird phrasing — utterly useless.

Why it matters: Scammers are raking in more than ever from basic email and impersonation schemes. Last year, the FBI estimates, they made off with a whopping $16.6 billion.

• Thwarting AI-written scams will require a new playbook that leans more on users verifying messages and companies detecting scams before they hit inboxes, experts say.

The big picture: ChatGPT and other chatbots are helping non-English-speaking scammers write typo-free messages that closely mimic trusted senders.

• Before, scammers relied on clunky tools like Google Translate, which often were too literal in their translations and couldn't capture grammar and tone.
• Now, AI can write fluently in most languages, making malicious messages far harder to flag.

What they're saying: "The idea that you're going to train people to not open [emails] that look fishy isn't going to work for anything anymore," Chester Wisniewski, global field CISO at Sophos, told Axios.

• "Real messages have some grammatical errors because people are bad at writing," he added. "ChatGPT never gets it wrong."

The big picture: Scammers are now training AI tools on real marketing emails from banks, retailers and service providers, Rachel Tobac, an ethical hacker and CEO of SocialProof Security, told Axios.

• "They even sound like they are in the voice of who you're used to working with," Tobac said.
• Tobac said one Icelandic client who had never before worried about employees falling for phishing emails was now concerned.
• "Previously, they've been so safe because only 350,000 people comfortably speak Icelandic," she said. "Now, it's a totally new paradigm for everybody."

Threat level: Beyond grammar, the real danger lies in how these tools scale precision and speed, Mike Britton, CISO at Abnormal Security, told Axios.

• Within minutes, scammers can use chatbots to create dossiers about the sales teams at every Fortune 500 company and then use those findings to write customized, believable emails, Britton said.
• Attackers now also embed themselves into existing email threads using lookalike domains, making their messages nearly indistinguishable from legitimate ones, he added.
• "Our brain plays tricks on us," Britton said. "If the domain has a W in it, and I'm a bad guy, and I set up a domain with two Vs, your brain is going to autocorrect."

Yes, but: Spotting scam emails isn't impossible. In Tobac's red team work, she typically gets caught when:

• Someone practices what she calls polite paranoia, or when they text or call the organization or person being impersonated to confirm if they sent a suspicious message.
• A target uses a password manager and has complex, long passwords.
• They have multifactor authentication enabled.

What to watch: Britton warned that low-cost generative AI tools for deepfakes and voice clones could soon take phishing to new extremes.

• "It's going to get to the point where we all have to have safe words, and you and I get on a Zoom and we have to have our secret pre-shared key," Britton said. "It's going to be here before you know it."

Go deeper: AI voice-cloning scams: A persistent threat with limited guardrails

President Trump cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call last week not to take any action that could jeopardize negotiations between the U.S. and Iran on a new nuclear deal, a White House official and a source familiar with the details tell Axios.

Why it matters: Trump and other senior U.S. officials have grown concerned in recent weeks that Israel might bomb Iran's nuclear facilities or take other steps that could undermine the talks, the official said.

Friction point: Israel has been making preparations to swiftly strike Iran's nuclear sites if U.S.-Iran nuclear talks break down in the coming weeks.

• One source told Axios that Israel believes its operational window for a successful strike could close soon.
• Some U.S. officials have worried Netanyahu might order a strike even without a green light from Trump.

Behind the scenes: Trump told Netanyahu in Thursday's call that "doesn't want anything to impede" a diplomatic solution with Iran, the White House official said.

• Trump's message was "he doesn't want him to antagonize at a time when he is trying to solve problems," the official said.
• Trump stressed to Netanyahu that the "other option" is on the table, but he wants to see first if a diplomatic solution is possible. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.
• The call took place after the shooting in Washington that killed two Israeli embassy staffers.

What they're saying: Secretary of Homeland Security Kristy Noem met Netanyahu on Sunday in Jerusalem and also conveyed Trump's message about the need to avoid steps that undermine the negotiations, an Israeli official said.

• Noem told Fox News on Monday that she had a "candid and direct" conversation with Netanyahu about the need to "stay united and let this process play out."
• Noem said Trump would not drag out the negotiations with Iran for weeks or months but would make a decision within days. The Israeli official said that Noem told Netanyahu to "give us a week."
• "I asked the prime minister to work with President Trump to make sure we are taking wise decisions together. He wants Benjamin Netanyahu to be on the same page with him," Noem said.
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said last Thursday that Trump had "made it very clear" to Netanyahu that he wants a deal with Iran, rather than "the more severe and negative option."

Driving the news: Netanyahu's top adviser Ron Dermer arrived in Washington on Monday, along with Mossad chief David Barnea, for talks on Iran.

• The two met Vice President Vance, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other officials.

State of play: Witkoff met Friday Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday in Rome for the latest round of talks.

• Trump said Sunday that the talks showed "real progress" and he might have "good news" about it later this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no longer recommending COVID shots for healthy kids and healthy pregnant women, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on X on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The CDC recommended immunization schedule influences how physicians advise their patients — and how insurers cover shots delivered to patients.

It's the latest move by Kennedy to cut back access to the COVID-19 vaccines after he announced earlier this month that drug manufacturers will be required to conduct more studies on the safety and efficacy of updated COVID-19 boosters for healthy adults under age 65.

• FDA officials have said they are looking to shift away from approving updated COVID-19 vaccines each year, especially since the virus is now mutating at a slower rate.

What he's saying: "Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children," Kennedy said in a video, accompanied by NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.

• "That ends today," Bhattacharya said. "It's common sense and it's good science."
• "There's no evidence healthy kids need it today and most countries have stopped recommending it for children," Makary said.

Yes, but: Public health officials have said the policy isn't based on the best available science and may make it harder to prevent the virus from spreading in vulnerable patients.

• For instance, pregnant individuals who contract COVID-19 are at an increased risk of developing severe complications, per the Mayo Clinic.

What to watch: A new variant of COVID-19 known as NB.1.8.1 which has caused a surge of illness in China, has been found in the U.S., CBS News reported.

• Officials have said it's not clear that the strain of the virus causes more severe disease, but it may be more transmissible.
• They are also keeping watch for a variant called LP.8.1, an offshoot of Omicron, NBC News reported.

The U.S. Steel saga is entering its ludicrous era, more than 17 months after the Pittsburgh-based company agreed to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel for around $15 billion.

Why it matters: None of this is working the way it's supposed to, and the chaos has opened the door for potential impropriety.

Catch up quick: President Trump on Friday announced via Truth Social that there "will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel."

• U.S. Steel followed that up with a statement praising Trump and mirroring his "partnership" language.
• The implication was that Trump had signed off on the merger — which had been blocked by former President Biden on national security grounds —shortly after the conclusion of a new CFIUS review into national security concerns.
• U.S. Steel shares shot higher, while shares of rival Cleveland Cliffs sank.

Zoom in: Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) put more meat on the bones this morning, telling CNBC that the agreement would include a U.S. CEO for U.S. Steel, a majority U.S. board and a "golden share" that would give the U.S. government approval of some board member appointments.

• Nippon Steel also committed to invest around $14 billion into U.S. Steel, as we discussed last week.

Yes, but: U.S. Steel hasn't disclosed any of those details to investors, with its last securities filing coming more than two weeks ago. Nor has it even confirmed that the "partnership" still includes the $55 per share takeover price.

• Yet U.S. Steel shares began trading this morning on the New York Stock Exchange, whose guidelines for listed companies include efforts to "ensure timely disclosure of information that may affect security values or influence investment decisions, and in which shareholders, the public and the Exchange have a warrantable interest."
• Public company mergers almost always present the opportunity for insider trading, but this one seems particularly prone.
• Axios has been unable to get comment from NYSE on why U.S. Steel shares haven't been halted.

Zoom in: One giant question mark is around that $14 billion investment commitment from Nippon.

• A source familiar with the situation says that Nippon's earlier (and smaller) investment promises were largely cancelable without cause, and it's hard to see how the board of a U.S. subsidiary would be able to demand money from the Japanese parent — with or without a "golden share."
• That means the agreement language is paramount. But, again, U.S. Steel is keeping its trap shut.

The bottom line: The rules for cross-border dealmaking are being rewritten in real time. And in the dark.

Americans upgraded their view on the economy for the first time in five months, helped by the Trump administration's agreement to ease tariffs on China, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The data shows how closely consumers tie their economic confidence to Trump's trade war, with concerns about personal finances, inflation and employment prospects receding when tariff tensions appear to be cooling.

What they're saying: "The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards," Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at the Conference Board, a nonprofit group, said in a release.

• "[C]onsumers continued to express concerns about tariffs increasing prices and having negative impacts on the economy, but some also expressed hopes that the announced and future trade deals could support economic activity," Guichard added.

Details: The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose more than 12 points in May, with improvements among all demographic groups and political affiliations — though the strongest improvement was among Republicans.

• Consumers had a more optimistic outlook on business conditions, the labor market and future income, while the share of consumers expecting a recession declined.
• Consumer inflation expectations for the year ahead fell a half-percentage point to 6.5%.

What to watch: The Conference Board said about half its responses were collected before Trump announced that the U.S. would slash tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% from 145% for the next 90 days.

• The survey ended before Trump's latest threat of 50% tariffs on European imports, which was later pushed off — a sign of the on-again, off-again trade tensions.

The intrigue: The volatility has spilled over into the economic data, where it has been difficult to get a read on how tariffs are weighing on demand.

• There was a historic rush to stockpile goods earlier this year before tariffs took effect. Now that is rapidly unwinding.
• For instance, factory orders plunged by more than 6% in April after a near-8% surge the prior month, as businesses ordered ahead to avoid tariffs, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
• Non-defense capital goods orders — which includes machinery, construction equipment and more — fell 19% in April, one of the biggest drops in percentage terms since the pandemic.
• That followed a 27% surge in March, one of the largest monthly increases ever.

King Charles III will deliver a speech to Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, which is expected to support the country's sovereignty in the face of President Trump's annexation threats.

Why it matters: Charles' visit comes as American-Canadian relations have splintered because of Trump's repeated annexation threats and tariff policies.

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the speech would outline, among other subjects, Canada's economic and security relationship with the United States.
• It will also show the shared history between Canada and England — in contrast to the relationship with the country along its southern border.

State of play: This trip marks Charles' first visit to Canada as head of state. He'll deliver a "Speech from the Throne," which marks the start of a new session of Parliament.

• Though Charles will deliver the speech, it was actually written by the prime minister's office, as is tradition for commonwealth countries, per the New York Times.
• Charles' address will mark the third time that the British monarch has delivered the opening speech to Canada's Parliament. Queen Elizabeth II, Charles' mother and predecessor, gave the speech twice during her reign in 1957 and 1977.
• Trump's repeated threats to the U.S. prompted Carney to invite Charles to deliver the speech, per AP.

Context: Marking the start of Parliament with a speech is a longstanding tradition, but it's uncommon for the monarch to deliver it.

• Usually, the king's representative in Canada, the governor-general, would speak on his behalf.
• Canada's House of Commons and Senate can't conduct any public business before the "Speech from the Throne" is delivered.

What they're saying: "The Royal Visit is a reminder of the bond between Canada and the Crown – one forged over generations, shaped by shared histories, and grounded in common values," Carney said in a statement.

• "A bond that, over time, has evolved, just as Canada has, to reflect the strength, diversity, and confidence of our people."

Go deeper: Canada's "old relationship" with the U.S. is over, newly elected prime minister says

More than 2% of Americans are taking the blockbuster class of GLP-1 drugs for overweight or obesity, up nearly 600% over six years, according to a report from FAIR Health given to Axios first.

Why it matters: The data from FAIR Health's repository of over 51 billion commercial healthcare claim records shows the explosion in use of the drugs specifically for weight loss — roughly half of all users.

Details: In all, roughly 4% of Americans were taking GLP-1 drugs in 2024 for either overweight, obesity or Type 2 diabetes (their original approved use).

• The data shows Novo Nordisk's Ozempic is still by far the most commonly taken GLP-1, followed by Eli Lilly's Mounjaro.
• The percentage of adults who were prescribed a GLP-1 drug but did not have bariatric surgery increased from 2.5% in 2019 to 11.2% in 2024 while the the percentage of adult patients who had bariatric surgery decreased 41.8%.

Yes, but: The data still shows a dearth of treatment for patients with overweight or obesity.

• More than 80 percent of patients with an overweight or obesity diagnosis did not receive a GLP-1 prescription, bariatric surgery or behavioral health service in 2024.

One of the drug industry's biggest guardrails against President Trump's "most favored nation" drug pricing plan is the fact that it's less enforceable without the involvement of Congress.

Why it matters: Enshrining such a policy in law would be proof of GOP evolution on drug prices — or at least the party's willingness to break with its traditional aversion to government price-setting.

• It would also likely enable policy changes resulting in deeper reductions in what Americans pay for drugs, potentially slashing manufacturers' revenue and creating global disruption.
• But for now, Trump isn't asking much from the GOP on drug prices while lawmakers deal with a sweeping overhaul of Medicaid and government spending battles.

State of play: Trump issued an executive order this month calling for the U.S. to pay less for drugs than other comparable countries. Last week, Health and Human Services outlined targets manufacturers are expected to hit based on the lowest price in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations with a GDP per capita of at least 60% of the U.S. GDP per capita.

• Analysts have noted it isn't apparent how the plan would overcome legal hurdles.
• The EO "lacks a clear legal mechanism for implementation, a positive for the industry," Capstone analysts wrote. "Ultimately, any substantive price-setting beyond the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare negotiation will be tested in litigation."
• "To disrupt reimbursement within Medicaid, Medicare Part D, or outside government insurance programs, Capstone believes that the administration would be unable to implement policy without Congress," they added.
• "Notably, we expect the implementation of MFN to require legislation with Trump citing a roll up into an official bill where we believe the industry has more avenues to oppose and with noted internal GOP opposition," wrote a UBS Investment Bank analyst.

Flashback: Trump tried to enact a similar most favored nation policy during his first term, but it was halted by the courts after the drug industry sued. The idea was eventually abandoned by the Biden administration.

• The courts blocked Trump's plan based on how it was implemented, not on the merits itself — "something the administration could relatively easily fix," said Washington University law professor Rachel Sachs.
• But there were also legal challenges to the underlying policy, and there almost certainly would be again should the executive order ever translate into actual regulation. Going through Congress instead could help avoid at least some such pitfalls, as well as confront some of regulation's operational challenges, Sachs said.
• "Congress has more authority to legislate for the benefit of a much broader set of Americans, but there are also more veto points in place, including political realities, that would limit Congress' ability to do that," she added.

The intrigue: While testifying on the Hill earlier this month, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that he "absolutely" would work with him on legislation to lower U.S. drug prices so they're better aligned with what other countries pay, Axios Pro reported.

• Sanders said Trump's executive order is likely to be thrown out in court, necessitating legislation for lower prices. He and other Democrats recently introduced such legislation.
• A similar bill was introduced earlier this month — but this one by a bipartisan duo, including GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

Reality check: Hawley is the exception among congressional Republicans, not the rule. Though many of pharma's fiercest defenders have retired from Congress, the GOP is still generally hardwired to avoid anything that could be considered price-setting within health care.

• Recent chatter about including an MFN-for-Medicaid policy in the GOP's reconciliation bill ended up going nowhere.
• And the Trump administration itself has already passed on the chance to include some kind of MFN-like policy within Medicare drug price negotiation guidance, which also came out last week (but to much less fanfare).
• The guidance doesn't include any kind of international reference pricing component for negotiated prices that will take effect in 2028.

What we're watching: Yes, there's a very strong case for why MFN is going nowhere on the Hill. And yet, stranger things have already happened during Trump's tenure, as the GOP's populist streak overtakes traditional free-market conservatism.

• "Before the end of this Congress, I feel pretty confident betting that MFN will end up as the law of the land. And as a human consumer of pharma, do I think that's a disaster? Yes," said one former senior GOP Senate aide. "But politically it's a no-brainer."

The current version of President Trump's tax bill could profoundly transform the world of university endowments, and incentivizes some deep structural changes.

Why it matters: Those changes would not necessarily achieve the bill's stated aim of holding "woke, elite universities" accountable for purportedly abusing their nonprofit status — but they could significantly reduce the degree to which the provisions raise extra tax revenue.

The big picture: One of the driving forces behind the bill is the argument that if large universities behave like hedge funds with educational institutions attached, then they should start being taxed more like hedge funds and less like educational nonprofits.

How it works: The chosen metric is endowment per student, with richer colleges on that basis facing higher taxes.

• On its face, that incentivizes universities with bigger endowments to enroll more students — although there's also an incentive for smaller colleges to enroll fewer students, since institutions with fewer than 500 students are exempt.
• The denominator also now excludes foreign students, which is likely to push some schools up a tax bracket, per a TIFF analysis — the University of Pennsylvania being one example.
• Crucially, these aren't marginal tax rates, either. Counting UPenn's full roster of 24,219 students, its $1.1 billion of investment income would face a tax bill of $77 million. Because only its 17,316 domestic students are counted, however, that bill doubles to $154 million — enough to pay full tuition for 2,500 individuals.

Between the lines: Recent high-profile philanthropic gifts have been designed to create a tuition-free experience for all students, in the longstanding tradition of colleges like Curtis Institute of Music, Rockefeller University, Scripps Research Institute, and the Webb Institute.

• The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx has now joined those ranks, thanks to a gift from Ruth Gottesman, joining two medical schools associated with NYU. The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY plans to become fully tuition-free in 2026, while Cooper Union is eyeing 2028 to do the same thing.
• Because the endowment tax only applies to schools with more than 500 tuition-paying students, even schools like Cooper Union that still charge some students should find themselves exempt.
• Smaller schools therefore now have a big tax incentive to use their endowment to bring the number of tuition-paying students below 500, rather than reducing tuition across the board.

Where it stands: When an endowment pays no tax, it can invest wherever it thinks it can achieve the highest long-term return. When investment income is taxed, however, that creates an incentive to move away from income-generating assets.

• Instead, endowments might shift their asset allocation to assets that don't throw off income, writes Anne Duggan of TIFF Investment Management.
• Alternative assets like private equity, as well as stocks like Berkshire Hathaway and many ETFs, don't pay dividends and therefore wouldn't be taxable under the new regime.

The bottom line: The big question facing universities is how permanent they consider these tax-code changes to be.

• If they think a future Congress will reverse them, they might just pay the tax for a year or two before making big structural changes.
• If they think the taxes are here for the medium term, however, then the tax code could end up causing significant changes to how they operate.

President Trump's team has launched an early and aggressive behind-the-scenes effort to maintain the GOP's tenuous grip on the House in 2026 — and avoid his third impeachment.

Why it matters: Trump allies believe — with good reason — that a Democrat-controlled House would launch investigations of the president and move to impeach him. That's exactly what happened after Democrats seized the chamber during Trump's first term.

• Midterm elections are historically tough for the party occupying the White House, and senior Republicans privately acknowledge that retaining the speaker's gavel won't be easy.

The twice-impeached Trump "knows the stakes firsthand. He saw what can happen. It's clear he doesn't want that again," said Matt Gorman, a top official for House Republicans' campaign arm in the 2018 midterms.

• "Investigations, impeachment — he knows it's all on the table with a Speaker [Hakeem] Jeffries."
• Already, some Democrats have signaled they want to investigate Trump's overhaul of the U.S. government, whether he manipulated markets and fostered insider trading with his tariff announcements, and whether he's helped Elon Musk secure deals for Starlink.
• Then there's that $400 million jet from Qatar. Democrats and other critics say Trump violated the Constitution by accepting the gift.

Zoom in: Here are five steps Trump's taking to try to keep Republican control of the House, where the GOP has an eight-seat majority — including vacancies created this year by the deaths of three Democrats.

1. Trying to prevent retirements

The White House is targeting several Republicans in politically divided swing districts and urging them to not ditch their seats or run for higher office.

• It has sent a clear message to New York Rep. Mike Lawler that Trump wants him to stay in the House rather than run for governor. This month Trump made a point of endorsing Lawler for re-election to his southern New York district, which Kamala Harris won in the presidential election last November.
• Trump's team also has expressed concern about Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga weighing a run for the Senate.

Incumbent lawmakers with established fundraising and campaigning networks are almost always better positioned to win than any challengers.

• Vacant seats also cost the party big bucks. Trump's allies have been passing around a spreadsheet with cost estimates to compete in the seats of 16 members if they depart. Among the estimated price tags: As much as $14 million for Lawler's seat and $3.7 million for Huizenga's.

Trump's team hasn't been totally successful in dissuading ambitious lawmakers from jumping ship.

• Michigan Rep. John James opted to run for governor. Trump is worried about the GOP's chances of keeping James' seat on the state's eastern shore, according to a person familiar with the president's thinking.
• The White House also is worried about retaining the central Kentucky seat held by Rep. Andy Barr, who's running for Senate. Trump won Barr's district by 15 points in November, but Democrats hold an edge in registered voters there.

2. Spending big

Trump has built a $500 million-plus political apparatus, and he's already unloading some of it with 2026 in mind.

• Securing American Greatness, a pro-Trump group that works with the White House, has launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign touting his economic agenda in the districts of eight vulnerable House Republicans.
• The commercials also are airing in 13 districts where Trump won in November, but House GOP candidates lost.
• Trump also has a leadership PAC, Never Surrender, planning to give directly to Republican candidates.

3. Taking primary challengers off the table

Besides Lawler, Trump has endorsed a slate of swing-district GOP incumbents in a series of moves aimed at shutting down would-be primary challengers before they get off the ground, people close to the president tell Axios.

• Top Republicans are worried that competitive primaries could drain the party's resources and weaken lawmakers in next year's general election.

The endorsements by Trump followed a recent meeting involving the president, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chair Richard Hudson, and Georgia Rep. Brian Jack, a former Trump aide.

• Trump proposed endorsing vulnerable Republicans early to ward off primary challenges and Johnson agreed, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
• Corry Bliss, who formerly led a pro-House GOP super PAC, said Trump's popularity among Republican voters is likely to stop many potential primary challengers in their tracks.

4. Raising gobs more money

Trump is the GOP's most powerful fundraiser, and he's begun helping the party fill its coffers.

• He headlined an April dinner benefiting the NRCC that raked in more than $35 million.
• Trump expects to hold more events for House Republicans ahead of the midterms, according to a person close to the president.

5. Ramping up recruiting

Trump's political operation and the NRCC are seeking out candidates in swing-district contests with no incumbents. Their goal is to get the party to coalesce around a Trump-and-GOP-backed candidate to avoid a bloody primary, a Trump ally said.

• Trump will play the role of "closer" in getting prospects off the fence and into contests.
• "A promise of Trump's help and an endorsement can be key in getting a wanted recruit to make the leap," Gorman said.

Advanced robots don't necessarily need to look like C3PO from Star Wars or George Jetson's maid Rosie, despite all the hype over humanoids from Wall Street and Big Tech.

• In fact, some of the biggest skeptics about human-shaped robots come from within the robotics industry itself.

Why it matters: Robots are meant to take over dirty, dangerous and dull tasks — not to replace humans, who are still the most sophisticated machines of all.

The big picture: Morgan Stanley believes there's a $4.7 trillion market for humanoids like Tesla's Optimus over the next 25 years — most of them in industrial settings, but also as companions or housekeepers for the wealthy.

Yes, but: The most productive — and profitable — bots are the ones that can do single tasks cheaply and efficiently.

• "If you look at where robots are really bringing value in a manufacturing environment, it is combining industrial or collaborative robots with mobility," ABB Managing Director Ali Raja tells Axios.
• "I don't see that there are any real practical applications where humanoids are bringing in a lot of value."

What they're saying: "The reason we have two legs is because whether Darwin or God or whoever made us, we have to figure out how to traverse an infinite number of things," like climbing a mountain or riding a bike, explains Michael Cicco, president and CEO of Fanuc America Corporation.

• "When you get into the factory, even if it's a million things, it's still a finite number of things that you need to do."
• Human-shaped robots are over-engineered solutions to most factory chores that could be better solved by putting a robot arm on a wheeled base, he said.

The other side: "The thing about humanoids is not that it's a human factor. It's that it's more dynamically stable," counters Melonee Wise, chief product officer at Agility Robotics, which is developing a humanoid robot called Digit.

• When humans grab something heavy, they can shift their weight for better balance. The same is true for a humanoid, she said.
• Using a robotic arm on a mobile base to pick up something heavy, "it's like I'm a little teapot and you become very unstable," she said, bending at the waist.

The bottom line: General-purpose humanoids are still grappling with technical challenges, and it will years before they can safely roam around factories doing meaningful work.

While the tech industry floors the pedal on AI, the U.S. public would be happy to hit the brakes.

Stunning stat: More than three-quarters of Americans (77%) want companies to create AI slowly and get it right the first time, even if that delays breakthroughs, the 2025 Axios Harris 100 poll found.

• Only 23% of Americans want companies to develop AI quickly to speed breakthroughs, even at the price of mistakes along the way.

Why it matters: CEOs, investors and tech companies have pushed the narrative of a do-or-die AI race — but most people would rather get AI right than get it first.

Between the lines: This finding is consistent across generational lines, but the margins vary.

• 91% of boomers and 77% of Gen X favor slower AI.
• That number drops to 63% for millennials — but rises again to 74% for Gen Z, the youngest and most "digital native."

The big picture: The notion of an AI "race" has shaped the new technology's development at every level.

• The leading "frontier developers" of AI — notably OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, with xAI and Meta also in the game — believe they are racing toward "artificial general intelligence" or AGI, a level of AI that surpasses human capabilities.
• AI makers broadly see themselves in a race with one another to build faster, more reliable and more efficient models.
• Every other company sees itself in a race to put AI to work in different industries.
• Nations — chiefly the U.S. and China — also imagine a race for global AI dominance.

Yes, but: All this racing has spurred investment and development, but the public hasn't yet bought into the narrative.

• For many users, AI remains a solution in search of a problem.
• Others doubt AI's world-changing promises and instead see an innovation that will kill jobs and flood the world with bad information.

💭 Our thought bubble: Sometimes public awareness of new technology simply lags reality, and AI boosters believe that's the case here.

• But the public has also now had many chances to learn from each new wave of the digital revolution of the last half-century.
• The Axios-Harris poll respondents may simply have drawn an important lesson from bitter experience with the rise of smartphones and social media over the last two decades.

That lesson is... Business-model driven mistakes in the early phase of technology adoption are almost impossible to correct once a new platform's cement hardens.

• Moving more slowly in the early days may be the only way not to lock in choices that we regret.

Go deeper: The Axios Harris Poll 100's methodology

The FBI is stepping up efforts to investigate two high-profile cases that occurred during the Biden era, Bureau deputy director Dan Bongino announced on Sunday.

The big picture: The cases concern the 2023 discovery of cocaine at the White House and a 2022 leaked draft on the Supreme Court's landmark Dobbs ruling ahead of its overturning of Roe v. Wade abortion protections, per Bongino's post to X.

• Conservatives took issue with both of these cases, with then-MAGA podcaster Bongino raising questions on his podcast in 2023 about the cocaine found at the White House.
• The FBI is also escalating its investigation into undetonated pipe bombs that were planted outside the Democratic and Republican parties' headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the eve of Jan. 6, according to Bongino.

Driving the news: Bongino said on X that shortly after swearing in, he and FBI director Kash Patel "evaluated a number of cases of potential public corruption that, understandably, have garnered public interest."

• They "made the decision to either re-open, or push additional resources and investigative attention, to these cases," he said.

State of play: The cocaine was found in "the lobby area of the West Executive Avenue entrance to the White House" in July 2023, per a U.S. Secret Service statement announcing it was closing its investigation into the incident "due to a lack of physical evidence."

• The Supreme Court announced in January 2023 that an investigation into the leaking to Politico of its draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson had failed to identify the responsible party — prompting President Trump to call the leaker "slime" and demand the arrest of journalists involved in the story.
• The FBI on Jan. 2 released footage of the suspect and new information in the pipe bombs case, but it remains unsolved even after the Bureau assessed more than 600 tips and conducted over 1,000 interviews.
• Bongino said they're "making progress" and urged anyone with information on the cases to contact the FBI.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with further context.

President Trump said Sunday he's considering stripping Harvard University of $3 billion in federal funding and redistributing it to trade schools.

The big picture: The latest threat against the Ivy League institution comes days after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to ban foreign students from attending Harvard as part of a wider crackdown on colleges it considers to have liberal biases.

Details: "I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land," Trump said on Truth Social.

• "What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!" added Trump, who did not immediately provide further details on the plan.
• Representatives for Harvard did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Go deeper: How the Trump administration has hammered Harvard

President Trump said he'll issue a "FULL and Unconditional Pardon" to a former Virginia sheriff whom a jury convicted of federal fraud and bribery charges.

The big picture: Scott Howard Jenkins, of Culpeper, Virginia, was due to report to jail on Tuesday, but Trump said on Truth Social he "will NOT be going to jail tomorrow" and said the former Culpeper County sheriff was "a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice."

Details: A jury found Jenkins guilty of "accepting over $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing numerous Northern Virginia businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department," per a March Justice Department statement.

• Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary Lee in a statement at the time accused Jenkins of violating his oath of office by engaging in a "cash-for-badges scheme."
• He added: "We hold our elected law enforcement officials to a higher standard of conduct and this case proves that when those officials use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable."
• A GoFundMe page for Jenkins blamed the previous administration for his prosecution, saying: "We've seen how political operatives have treated Donald Trump and those close to him, like Scott."

What they're saying: "Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ," Trump said in his Sunday Truth Social post.

• Jenkins "doesn't deserve to spend a single day in jail," Trump added. "He is a wonderful person."

Zoom out: Trump has made several presidential pardons since taking office for a second time. These include most people convicted in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a former associate of Hunter Biden and Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the unlawful Silk Road marketplace who was convicted of drug trafficking charges.

• During his first term, the president pardoned his longtime associate Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump's then-senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Flashback: Trump pardons Rod Blagojevich

Editor's note: This article has been updated with further context.

Police arrested a man after a car hit a crowd attending Liverpool's victory parade that drew thousands of fans of the Premier League-winning soccer club to the city in northwest England on Sunday.

The latest: Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said at a Sunday briefing the incident was not being treated as terrorism following the arrest of a "53-year-old white British man" whom investigators believe was the driver. They aren't looking for any other suspects.

The big picture: Authorities said four children were among dozens injured in what police declared as a "major incident."

• Thousands of people had lined the streets of Liverpool when a large, dark-colored vehicle suddenly veered into the crowd, video from the scene showed.

Zoom in: North West Ambulance Service said its teams took 27 patients to the hospital by ambulance "and we believe two of those, including one of the children, have sustained injuries deemed to be serious."

• The service's teams treated 20 people at the scene for minor injuries, per its statement.
• Merseyside Police said in the statement posted to X that officers were undertaking extensive enquiries "to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision."

What they're saying: "The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected," said U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X. "I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident."

• Liverpool F.C. released a brief statement to its social media accounts offering thoughts and prayers to those affected by the incident in Water Street, a road in Liverpool city center that's a short drive from the club's stadium.

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

On Memorial Day, the U.S. honors and mourns service members who died defending the country.

The big picture: From the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery to the Hawaiian islands, Americans gather in remembrance on a day that represents more than just cookouts, travel and sales.

Driving the news: President Trump marked the day with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and delivered remarks honoring the fallen and Gold Star families.

• Throughout the cemetery, others placed flowers at gravesites.

Go deeper: Memorial Day travel set to break record

• The meaning behind the Memorial Day federal holiday

President Trump's Memorial Day remarks Monday at times offered a traditional, somber tone — but in other moments, the speech strayed into attacks against his predecessor and personal boasts.

The big picture: After starting the day with a string of political jabs in a Memorial Day message on Truth Social, the president honored Gold Star families and fallen soldiers during his remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, as past presidents did.

Yes, but: Trump, whose holiday rhetoric has often deviated from his predecessors, occasionally slipped into his campaign-trail style during the remarks.

• "That was a hard four years we went through," Trump said. "Who would let that happen? People pouring through our borders, unchecked, people doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss."
• The nation, he said, is "doing so very well ... considering the circumstances" and vowed the U.S. "will do better than we've ever done as a nation."

Context: Trump's Memorial Day speech and laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier mark annual and historically solemn presidential traditions.

• But Trump struck a harsh tone on social media earlier in the day, returning to his habit of using holiday messages to take aim at his political rivals.

Zoom out: In another moment of juxtaposing tones during the speech, Trump spoke of the "infinite grace we have received from all who laid down their lives for America over the past 250 years" — before somewhat abruptly turning to the celebration of America's 250th anniversary and the upcoming World Cup and Olympics.

• "We're going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years," he said. "In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term, where it was, because I wouldn't be your president."
• Trump continued, "In addition, we have the World Cup and we have the Olympics. Can you imagine? I missed that four years, and now look what I have. I have everything."
• "Amazing the way things work out. God did that," he said.

Zoom in: He ended the speech by honoring the "incredible legacy" of fallen service members, saying, "We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory, and we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny, as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer and greater than ever before."

Flashback: Former President Biden, in his final Memorial Day address as president last year, applauded the resiliency of American democracy, saying, "Our democracy is more than just a system of government, it's the very soul of America."

• He also reflected on bipartisan legislation passed under his term to support service members and veterans.
• Biden praised the fallen as having been "bound by a common commitment — not to a place, not to a person, not to a president, but to an idea…the idea of the United States of America."

Go deeper: The meaning behind the Memorial Day federal holiday

White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios on Monday he is "disappointed" that Hamas has so far failed to accept his proposal for a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Why it matters: Witkoff has been speaking directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top adviser, Ron Dermer, and with Hamas leadership through a backchannel facilitated by Palestinian American businessman Bishara Bahbah.

What they're saying: "What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable," Witkoff told Axios.

Driving the news: Negotiations have shown little progress. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces are proceeding with an operation to displace all 2 million Palestinians in Gaza to a "humanitarian zone" and flatten most of the enclave.

• President Trump said Sunday he wants to end the war in Gaza "as quickly as possible," stating publicly what he's been saying privately since his trip to the Middle East this month.

Zoom out: Hamas officials briefed Arab media on Monday that the U.S. has presented a new proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal.

• According to the reports, the proposal includes a 60-day ceasefire with the release of five live hostages on its first day and another five living hostages on its last day.
• Hamas officials described the proposal as one that includes a boost in humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, and the withdrawal of IDF forces to the lines they were in last March before the war resumed.
• According to Hamas' claims, the U.S. proposal says that during the ceasefire negotiations, the U.S. has guaranteed that Israel will negotiate seriously and will not unilaterally resume the war like it did in the previous ceasefire.
• Hamas then said in a statement that it accepts the new U.S. proposal.

The alleged U.S. proposal Hamas identified Monday differs from Witkoff's latest proposal in the number of live and dead hostages that would be released during the ceasefire and the timing and sequence of their release.

• Witkoff's latest proposal includes the release of 10 live hostages and 19 dead hostages in return for 45 to 60 days of ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Behind the scenes: Witkoff said Monday that Hamas was given no new proposal, despite their claims.

• He added that Israel will agree to his latest proposal for a temporary ceasefire and hostage deal.
• Witkoff said the proposal Israel agreed to would "lead to substantive negotiations to find a path to a permanent ceasefire, which I agreed to preside over."
• "That deal is on the table. Hamas should take it," he said.

A senior Israeli official with direct knowledge of the issue said Bahbah has been in Doha in recent days and negotiated with Hamas leaders.

• The Israeli official said Bahbah negotiated according to a set of general guidelines he got from Witkoff and claimed that Bahbah potentially went further than he was instructed, or interpreted the guidelines more broadly than they were intended.
• Israel opposes Hamas' proposal, the official said, as they believe it would mean that only five hostages would be released since Hamas could violate the deal and refuse to release the remaining hostages.
• Bahbah also agreed with Hamas on language that can be interpreted as saying a permanent ceasefire will start right after the 60-day ceasefire and isn't subject to negotiations. Israel rejected that, the official said.
• "The deal Bahbah reached with Hamas was totally rejected by Israel, and it seems that when Witkoff realized that, he pulled the brakes on it," the Israeli official said.

The other side: The Israeli prime minister's office rejected the proposal Hamas described as "a U.S. proposal" and said "no responsible Israeli government could accept it."

• Netanyahu said later in a video he posted on social media that he hoped to have news on the hostage issue: "If we can't say something about it today, we will say something about it tomorrow," he added.

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

The Kremlin dismissed President Trump's criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin as "emotional overload" on Monday.

Why it matters: Trump called Putin "crazy" on Sunday after Russia launched a record-setting drone and missile attack on Ukraine over the weekend as efforts continue to broker a ceasefire.

• "I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
• "He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever," the message continued.

What they're saying: "We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organizing and launching this negotiation process," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said when asked about Trump's remarks, per Reuters.

• "This is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions."

Context: Russia overnight launched the biggest drone attack on Ukraine in the three-year war, AP reported.

• Sunday night's bombardment included 355 drones. The previous night, Russia fired 298 drones and 69 missiles.
• The attack comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Turkey this month to engage with Putin directly in peace talks after the Russian president called for the meeting.
• Putin ultimately did not attend, instead sending proxies for the talks.

Zoom in: While Trump had harsh words for Putin on Sunday, he also criticized Zelensky in another sign the president's patience is wearing thin with the two leaders and the ongoing war.

• "Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don't like it, and it better stop," Trump said of the Ukrainian president.

Yes, but: European leaders were surprised last week at Trump's deference to Putin during a call days after the first round of talks were held in Turkey.

• They hoped to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire or that the U.S. would impose penalties on him for refusing to do so, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler previously reported.
• Instead, Trump told them Putin had agreed to negotiate, pushed back on imposing sanctions on Russia and said the U.S. would no longer be involved in any ceasefire negotiations, sources said.

Go deeper: Trump shows unusual patience as Putin stalls on Ukraine

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to change the attribution of a quote from President Trump ("Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don't like it, and it better stop."). He was speaking about Zelensky, not Putin.