Axios

Efforts to fight climate change, conserve nature and build clean energy have long unfolded on competing tracks. Now, they're colliding — and exposing tough trade-offs for environmentalists.

Why it matters: Congress' sweeping permitting debate is forcing those competing priorities into the same conversation, with major consequences for climate action and conservation.

President Trump defended Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Sunday night, even as the company's board launched an investigation into his affair with a suspected Chinese spy.

Why it matters: The blowback to Huang's relationship is only getting more intense by the hour, with multiple members of Congress calling for probes and investors saying the news could put a cloud over the entire AI trade.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani can't be president, so he's trying to be the next best thing: a progressive kingmaker for 2028.

• Mamdani has been meeting privately with union leaders, urgently talking up the need for a labor-aligned or leftist candidate to run for the White House, four people familiar with the talks told Axios.
• He's arguing that progressives can't afford to squander their midterm momentum.

Why it matters: Behind closed doors, Mamdani has made a striking admission that helps explain why he's so eager to huddle with allies about 2028: He's uncertain whether New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his close political partner, will launch a White House run, the sources said.