Axios World

Tennessee's top prison official turned in his resignation days after the failed attempt to execute death row inmate Christa Pike, the state announced Saturday.Gov. Bill Lee said Department of Correction commissioner Frank Strada would step down this month.Strada, who had served as commissioner since 2023, said he would cooperate with the independent investigation of the failed execution attempt. Pike, 50, survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital and was taken to a hospital f

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Saturday took a veiled shot at Anthropic and its work on the soul of AI, saying he was "very uncomfortable" with the idea of attributing some kind of religious power to models. Why it matters: It's yet another point of division between Altman and his former colleague Dario Amodei, whose company has reportedly pursued scholars across faiths to make the case for moral, conscious models.But some of the top voices in AI are starting to publicly line up against Anthropic's e

AI agents don't need to invent new ways to hack the internet to overwhelm its defenses. They just need to speed-run the ones humans already use.Why it matters: Agents are proving they can automate basic hacking techniques at a speed and scale that is turning the internet's long-standing security gaps into easy targets.Driving the news: OpenAI said late Thursday it had notified more than 100 organizations that its agents may have accessed their systems during pre-deployment testing. Researchers

President Trump late Friday night said the administration would send just under $100 to more than 20 million senior citizens to help pay for Medicare benefits.Why it matters: A month before the midterm, the president is adding another roughly $2 billion to a recent spate of promised refunds, rebates and dividends for various Americans. What he's saying: "I am pleased to announce that my Administration will, immediately, begin sending "Checks" of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors t

President Trump's top cabinet members huddled for hours at Camp David on Friday to discuss next steps in the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, three U.S. officials told Axios.Why it matters: The highly unusual meeting was not announced by the Trump administration. The last time a similar meeting took place was in June 2025, just days before Israel went to war against Iran. Behind the scenes: Vice President Vance chaired the meeting, the officials said.Among the other participant

Saudi Arabia and Yemeni government forces are planning a major counteroffensive against Iran-backed Houthis in the coming days — an effort to push them away from areas on the Red Sea coast that control the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, two U.S. officials say. Why it matters: For the second time in recent weeks, the U.S. rebuffed Saudi pleas to join the operation and conduct airstrikes. But U.S. officials say that could change if the operation runs into problems. The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is a vital ar

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from pursuing border wall construction in the Big Bend region in Texas on FridayThe big picture: The construction inside the national park sparked local outrage and environmental concerns, with Friday's decision handing the Department of Homeland Security a loss in its quest to rapidly expand the Southwestern border wall.Driving the news: The administration is barred, for now, from building border barrier or infrastructure — or engaging in any "co

Data: Death Penalty Information Center; Note: New Hampshire abolished the death penalty but retains one prisoner on death row; Map: Erin Davis/AxiosChrista Pike's survival after two lethal injection doses has put state execution protocols nationwide under new scrutiny.The big picture: How prisoners are executed varies by state, with lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and firing squads among the methods authorized.Lethal injections are the most common U.S. execution method, accounting fo

With one month until Election Day, some big GOP spenders are giving up on North Carolina and prioritizing other states. Why it matters: It's a sign that Republicans believe Michael Whatley can't win and that the seat will flip to Democrats, who need four pickups to regain control of the Senate.Driving the news: Several key Republican super PACs have canceled October ad campaigns in North Carolina as polls show Whatley several points behind former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.By the numbers: Last m

Source: Ballotpedia, Congressional Record; Chart: Stef Kight/AxiosThe Senate is well on its way to claiming the congressional attendance trophy this year, spending 32 more weekdays in session so far than the House.Why it matters: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have been torched by members for all the time off — not to mention Democrats, who taunt them for their truancy.The Senate left town late Wednesday — two weeks after its House counterparts

Democrats' dream election scenario risks becoming a nightmare as their candidates in Republican-leaning districts strain to assert their independence from party leadership.Why it matters: Add them to the sizable cohort of outspoken leftists promising to be a thorn in the side of House Democratic leaders, and you get all the ingredients for an unruly majority."When I see things that I don't think are right, whether they're within my own party or within another party, I'm going to call it out," Ja

Brazil votes Sunday in a presidential election that could reshape its relationship with President Trump, return the Bolsonaro movement to power and alter the future of the Amazon.Why it matters: The showdown between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro has turned into something bigger: a test of Trump's influence in Latin America's largest country, with stakes for the region and the global climate.The latest: Trump said Thursday he's following Brazil's election "very clo

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) was hit with a cease-and-desist letter this week over an AI deepfake he posted falsely depicting his Democratic opponent voicing positions her campaign says she rejects.Why it matters: Van Orden is the latest in a growing number of candidates and elected officials facing legal complaints and threats over AI deepfakes in campaign ads.Driving the news: Attorneys for Rebecca Cooke, Van Orden's Democratic opponent, sent him a cease-and-desist letter on Wednesday over

President Trump is expected to tap Jay Clayton, his director of national intelligence, for a new role as the White House's artificial intelligence — or in Trump's words, "super intelligence" — czar.Why it matters: Clayton, who Trump previously told Axios would be a good idea for AI czar, is expected to take on the second title, sources told Axios. Calls for government intervention into AI's rapid development are growing, but the president has repeatedly said he favors a light regulatory touch an

Pope Leo XIV called Friday for the church to form an alliance with artists to protect human creativity during an era of AI-generated content.Why it matters: Though he has acknowledged the technology's potential benefits, the pope continues to warn that AI progress cannot come at the expense of human dignity.The statement comes after the New York Times reported on Anthropic's efforts to confer with religious scholars to infuse religious morals into Claude.What he's saying: "In this era of artific

The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case that could determine the fate of state-court lawsuits nationwide seeking climate damages from oil giants.Why it matters: Billions and billions of dollars are at stake for the oil industry in dozens of cases brought by state and local governments. Governments face mounting costs from climate change that litigants link directly to the companies' products. The big picture: SCOTUS is considering whether federal law blocks damage claims under

No industry has ever documented its own foreseeable risks as loudly as AI.Imagine a plaintiff's lawyer reading the public warnings of Sam Altman and Dario Amodei: They told the world it was dangerous. They told the world it was moving too fast. Then they unleashed it and sold it to your kid.No industry has ever taken so much copyrighted work and left behind so much proof.Imagine a plaintiff's lawyer reading OpenAI's own files to a jury: They trained on a pirated library. They renamed it to somet

A small cadre of elite AI researchers is wielding extraordinary influence inside OpenAI and other leading companies, challenging executives, shaping policy and complicating negotiations with Washington.Why it matters: As a safety crisis has unfolded across the industry, it's an open question who is doing more to shape the national AI debate — top researchers or the executives they report to.The researchers, some of whom are among the most highly paid and sought-after scientists in the world, are

The Trump administration and the Iranian regime both say they prefer a diplomatic solution to the war, but a deal looks more elusive than ever. The root causes of the impasse may be irreconcilable. Why it matters: In the last 18 months, two failed rounds of negotiations have led to two wars. The June MOU collapsed within days and led to renewed escalation. If the current effort to reach a diplomatic breakthrough ends in a deadlock, another outbreak of fighting is likely within weeks.Here's a lo

MIAMI — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is sending the Florida Democratic Party $250,000. It's a relative pittance in the Sunshine State — but the check signals a big political shift.Why it matters: The state party's moderate leaders have resisted the rising tide of democratic socialists elevated by Sanders for years. But political changes and financial need have brought the two together like never before:The Florida Democratic Party is essentially broke after decades of being out of power, and nati