As June's primary election nears, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and combat veteran Graham Platner are effectively engaged in a proxy battle between factions in their own party.
In Annapolis, Md., people gather each year to usher in the warmer weather by burning their socks. The springtime tradition is the unofficial start of the Chesapeake Bay sailing season.
Iran rejects U.S. peace proposal and lays out its own conditions, the Army's 82nd Airborne Division readies to deploy to Iran, jury finds Meta and Google liable in social media addiction trial.
ThePentagonis developing military options for a "final blow" in Iran that could include the use of ground forcesand a massive bombing campaign, according to two U.S. officials and two sources with knowledge.
Why it matters: A dramatic military escalation will grow more likely if no progress is made in diplomatic talks and, in particular, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Some U.S. officials think a crushing show of force to conclude the fighting would create more leverage in peace talks or simply give Trump something to point to and declare victory.
Between the lines: Iran also has a say in how the war ends, and many of the scenarios under discussion would risk prolonging and intensifying the fight rather than bringing it to a dramatic conclusion.
Zoom in: In interviews with Axios, officials and sources familiar with the internal discussions describe four major "final blow" options Trump could choose from:
Invading or blockading Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub.
Invading Larak, an island that helps Iran solidify its control of the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic outpost hosts Iranian bunkers, attack craft that can blow up cargo ships and radars that monitor movements in the strait.
Seizing the strategic island of Abu Musa and two smaller islands, which lie near the western entrance to the strait and are controlled by Iran but also claimed by the UAE.
Blocking or seizing ships that are exporting Iranian oil on the eastern side of the Hormuz Strait.
The intrigue: The U.S. military has also prepared plans for ground operations deep inside the interior of Iran to secure the highly enriched uranium buried within nuclear facilities.
Instead of conducting such a complicated and risky operation, the U.S. could instead carry out large-scale air strikes on the facilities to try to prevent Iran from ever accessing the material.
Reality check: Trump hasn't made a decision yet on pursuing any of these scenarios, and White House officials describe any potential ground operations as "hypothetical."
But sources say he's ready to escalate if talks with Iran don't yield tangible results soon.
Trump could first implement his threat to bomb power plants and energy facilities in Iran, for which Tehran has threatened massive retaliation across the Gulf.
Driving the news: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Iran on Wednesday that Trump is ready to strike "harder than ever before" if no deal can be reached.
"The President doesn't bluff and he is ready to unleash hell. Iran shouldn't miscalculate again... any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime... refuses to come to a deal," Leavitt said.
State of play: More reinforcements, including several fighter jet squadrons and thousands of troops, are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days and weeks.
One Marine expeditionary unit will arrive this week and another is now deploying.
The command element of the 82nd Airborne Division has been directed to deploy to the Middle East with an infantry brigade consisting of several thousand troops.
Speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X on Wednesday that Iranian intelligence suggests "Iran's enemies, with the support of a country in the region, are preparing an operation to occupy one of Iran's islands."
Ghalibaf was likely alluding to the UAE and its claim to Abu Musa.
"All enemy movements are under the surveillance of our armed forces. If they take any action, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will be targeted without limitation by relentless attacks," he added.
What to watch: A source involved in the efforts to launch negotiations between the U.S. and Iran said Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are still trying to organize a meeting between the parties.
"But mistrust is the problem. The commanders of the IRGC are very skeptical," the source said, referring to the powerful Iranian military force. "But the mediators haven't given up."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the idea that he and Kamala Harris don't like each other is "preposterous," but acknowledges the former vice president took a shot at him in her bestselling book last year.
"I think it created some color for the book," Newsom said on the latest episode of "The Axios Show," referring to Harris' claim that he didn't return her call when then-President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
"It certainly helped her book sales — not my component part, but that book has done unbelievably well," Newsom added.
Driving the news: Newsom and Harris are atop most polls of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028 after a multi-decade rivalry in California politics.
In his Axios interview Newsom — who said he texted Harris back after she called — tread carefully while discussing the former VP. He avoided direct criticism of her while also making his case for the Democratic Party to take a different, tougher approach to 2028.
Harris has argued that she didn't have enough time in 2024 to make her own case for the presidency after Biden's sudden exit.
Between the lines: Newsom noted his long history with Harris since they both won elections in 2003 in San Francisco — Newsom as mayor, Harris as district attorney.
"I also have known my relationship to that relationship — that when she goes, she goes first," he told Axios, an apparent reference to Harris running for U.S. Senate in 2016 and presidency in 2020, while Newsom waited until 2018 to run for governor.
But Newsom also seemed to imply that after Harris' 2024 campaign, 2028 could be his turn — though Harris pointedly hasn't ruled out a run in two years.
"She's lived an extraordinary life," Newsom said of Harris in the past tense.
"She's exceeded so many people's expectations — maybe not her own. And she may run for another office. She may run for school board," he said, adding that he'd support Harris whatever she does.
"Kamala is an incredibly talented person who can do anything," he said. "She doesn't have to be anything anymore."
A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to a request for comment.
Several leaders of Harris' 2020 presidential campaign have helped guide Newsom's national rise over the past year and are expected to stay with him if he runs in 2028.
Zoom in: Newsom told Axios he hadn't read "107 Days," Harris' book on her brief 2024 campaign.
"I did not fully read it. I've got it. I've read excerpts," he said, before turning to the camera and saying: "I admit, Kamala, I have not fully absorbed the book. I should, but I was more focused on getting [my book] out."
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) CEO Mike Nakornkhet explains how the airport's model has helped it avoid the TSA staffing crisis at other major US airports affected by the partial government shutdown. Speaking to CNBC's Monica Pitrelli at the Aviation Festival Asia in Singapore, he also talks about how SFO is well positioned as a gateway for international travel, with Asia a strong area of growth.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new payment skimmer that uses WebRTC data channels as a means to receive payloads and exfiltrate data, effectively bypassing security controls.
"Instead of the usual HTTP requests or image beacons, this malware uses WebRTC data channels to load its payload and exfiltrate stolen payment data," Sansec said in a report published this week.
The attack,
In an era of globalization and corporate consolidation, the “pick-and-shovel” ripple spreads very differently. It’s testing assumptions about who actually benefits when a mega-project arrives in town.
The verdict in a landmark lawsuit over addictive social media design—and a wave of similar cases against Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap—could force Silicon Valley to confront whether its most powerful and “sticky” products are behaving like hard-to-kick drugs.
The robot accompanied the first lady to the White House East Room for the final day of a summit she had convened with counterparts from around the world through her Fostering the Future Together global initiative.
Whether you’re shopping for a ThinkPad, Yoga laptop, or Legion gaming PC, these Lenovo discount codes and promotions can help you save big on your next tech upgrade.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans "the gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations.
The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 519.707 BTC on Wednesday, the latest in a series of increasingly large moves that have taken its holdings from a peak of roughly 13,000 BTC to 4,453.
