Two aging nationalist leaders, presiding over the world's most dangerous rivalry, spent the week performing a friendship neither of their governments seems willing to sustain.

Congressional leaders are straining to get their absentee members to return to Capitol Hill as the House's vote margins on major legislation grow ever more precarious.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba today to meet intelligence officials and Raulito Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former leader Raúl Castro.

JUST IN: Supreme Court keeps freeze on abortion pill restrictions

NEW: Judge allows Tennessee map favoring Republicans to move ahead

Rep. Frederica Wilson has told allies in her Florida district that she plans to run for reelection despite her nearly month-long absence from the Hill, Axios has learned.

Trump allies want to smash the Guinness World Record for the world's biggest fireworks show, planning over 30 minutes of pyrotechnics in D.C. this July 4.

Attorneys for Elon Musk wrapped up their case against OpenAI today, asserting in closing arguments that they've proven the AI giant misused the millions of dollars Musk donated and violated their duty to uphold OpenAI's founding ethos.

President Trump's remark that "I don't think about Americans' financial situation" as he weighs his next moves in Iran may have inadvertently captured his fundamental bind: How to pressure Iran without spooking markets and sending oil prices soaring

EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of 29 major health care players is coming together to simplify the prior authorization process for medical treatments, Mehmet Oz said at Axios' Future of Health Summit today.

House Democrats today secured the necessary signatures to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on a package of Russia sanctions and billions of dollars in Ukraine aid.

Mike Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries are forming a bipartisan "partnership" between the Republican and Democratic women's caucuses to combat sexual misconduct in Congress.

BREAKING: Kevin Warsh confirmed to lead Federal Reserve

Rep. Kevin Kiley introduced a discharge petition today to force a House vote on his bill banning mid-cycle redistricting, Axios has learned.

In 2012, 51% of young Americans regularly engaged with neighbors, according to a new AEI report. Today, that number has plummeted to 25%.

The bottom is falling out on Trump's economic credibility — the central promise of his return to power. The inflation crisis that doomed his predecessor suggests he may not recover.

Virginia Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans is facing growing calls from Democrats to resign over what they say is her agreement with a radio host's derogatory comments about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

With President Trump's proposal to suspend the gas tax facing headwinds on Capitol Hill, some Democratic lawmakers are offering alternative approaches to get fuel costs under control.

A holy site home to a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ is in the crosshairs of President Trump's border wall construction plans.

EXCLUSIVE: The chief U.S. regulator of prediction markets says he'll treat them as financial products — separate from sports gambling — arguing that most people aren't using prediction markets for "entertainment."

NEW: Makary out as FDA chief

Inflation hits three-year high in April as Iran war impacts consumer prices

SCALING SIN: Once-forbidden vices — weed, gambling and porn — are no longer confined to back alleys or the desert. They're ubiquitous, digital and spreading at a pace that has outstripped the country's social and regulatory guardrails.

Health program cuts hit home, fueling blame game www.axios.com/2026/05/12/a...

Virginia Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans is facing calls to resign from Democratic colleagues who say she expressed agreement with a radio host's remark that Hakeem Jeffries should get his "cotton-picking hands off of Virginia."

Senate Republican leaders plan to turn the political fight over the $1 billion request for security upgrades tied to the new White House ballroom into a referendum on President Trump's safety.

Expect to see much more of President Trump, Zohran Mamdani and AOC in midterm ads this year than Mike Johnson or Hakeem Jeffries, strategists in both parties tell Axios.

NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court has paved the way for Alabama to change congressional maps for this year's midterm elections.

JUST IN: Supreme Court extends freeze on abortion pill restrictions

The House Ethics Committee released a rare public statement today on its investigation into Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), describing the allegations against him as "serious and complex."

NEW: Take a look at this #KY04 ad called "LGBTQ Mafia" from a PAC affiliated w/ Jan. 6 rioter Derrick Evans. It depicts Jewish donor Paul Singer with an unexplained rainbow Star of David. More on this insane, now record-breaking $25 million primary: www.axios.com/2026/05/11/t...

BREAKING: Trump backs federal gas tax suspension

President Trump’s coming days carry stakes measured in decades: war and peace in the Middle East, the trajectory of the U.S.-China relationship, and the rules governing the AI revolution.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is quietly trying to derail a left-wing congressional candidate championed by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Axios has learned.

The day that launched Gavin Newsom as a presidential frontrunner also brought an unwelcome surprise that could haunt the California governor's potential 2028 campaign.

NEW: Trump tells Axios “I don’t like” Iran’s peace plan response

Nearly a decade after #MeToo, when lawmakers instituted reforms around sexual harassment, new allegations are exposing what members and staffers say remains an open secret: a culture of bad behavior on Capitol Hill.

As the pastor role becomes lower-paid, higher-risk and less trusted, the U.S. isn't just losing clergy — it's losing a key layer of local leadership, especially in rural and Black communities.

Republican chances of keeping the House are surging, as panicked Democrats scramble to offset back-to-back-to-back redistricting blows.

House Dems to @axios.com on Virginia redistricting: "Damn, California and Virginia were supposed to be our bigger ones" "F*****ck!!" "Sickening" "Deflating" "How many millions are we spending on this when the DNC is in debt and we have 40 frontline races to win?" www.axios.com/2026/05/08/v...

BREAKING: Virginia Supreme Court throws out redistricting referendum results

NEW: Pentagon begins to release UFO files

The two most consequential races in California have devolved into twin spectacles, with years of visible dysfunction hollowing out Democrats' case for competent leadership.

Chuck Schumer's headaches may only just be getting started after the Senate minority leader's handpicked candidate to take down Sen. Susan Collins was forced to drop out early in Maine's Democratic primary.

President Trump's declaration that hostilities with Iran are "terminated" has thrown Democrats' strategy around congressional war powers into turmoil, Axios has learned.

NEW: Trade court strikes down Trump 10% universal tariffs

A man accused of firebombing demonstrators calling for Israeli hostages' release last summer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Colorado today.

NEW: Iran and U.S. exchange fire in Strait of Hormuz

ICE is in talks to buy turnkey immigration detention facilities from its biggest vendors as local backlash derails its plan to rapidly renovate warehouses into large-scale detention spaces.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Anthropic is claiming "early signs" of AI not just coding its own products but building itself. Co-founder Jack Clark predicted this week that there's a 60%+ chance of an AI model fully training its successor by the end of 2028.