🦾 Axios PM: China's AI breakthrough

Happy Friday! Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 597 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Carlos Cunha for copy editing.

Chinese AI makers have learned to build powerful models that perform almost as well as the best ones in the U.S. — for less money and with much less demand for energy, Axios' Scott Rosenberg and Alison Snyder report.

• V3, an open-source model developed by Chinese firm DeepSeek, performs about as well on various benchmark tests as OpenAI and Anthropic's most advanced models.
• DeepSeek says it cost just $5.6 million to train V3 — compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars American companies have spent to build and train their models.

🤖 Between the lines: The Biden administration has done a lot to advance AI in the U.S. and keep those advancements out of the Chinese government's hands.

• It has invested heavily in domestic manufacturing for powerful chips and new energy sources. And it has imposed tight export controls to prevent those chips from reaching China, including through third countries.
• That seems to have worked in the short term, while spurring China to compete just as aggressively to develop its own tools.

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Most Americans — 53% — are already giving President-elect Trump credit for improving the economy, Axios' Sam Baker writes from a new survey by Axios and The Harris Poll.

• That's mainly driven by Republicans. 47% of independents and 34% of Democrats also give Trump some preemptive credit.

💡 Reality check: Trump hasn't made any economic policy since Election Day. And the quantifiable signs that the economy is good — low unemployment, inflation well below its peak and strong consumer spending — haven't materially changed since before Election Day.

The 3M Young Scientist Challenge inspires students in grades 5-8 to develop creative solutions for real-world problems.

The idea: Nurture scientific thinking, collaboration and innovation among America's youth to help shape the next generation of problem-solvers.

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1. 🥶 President-elect Trump's inauguration will move inside the Capitol Rotunda, due to Monday's frigid forecast. Capital One Arena will open for spectators to watch the ceremony, and Trump said he will join the crowd there afterward. Ronald Reagan's 1985 swearing-in was the last to move indoors. Go deeper.
2. ⚖️ The Supreme Court upheld the law that could ban TikTok, saying it doesn't violate the First Amendment. The ruling puts more pressure on Trump's administration to figure out a long-term solution. Go deeper.
3. 📜 President Biden said today he believes the Equal Rights Amendment should be part of the Constitution. The amendment, which guarantees equal rights regardless of sex, has met the requirement to be ratified by 38 states. But it hasn't been added to the Constitution because a 1982 ratification deadline was missed. Go deeper.
4. 📖 Biden plans to write a book after leaving office, giving him a chance to shape the narrative around his presidency and his decision to drop out of the '24 race. Go deeper.

A new 3-on-3 league that could revolutionize women's basketball launches today in Miami, Axios' Everett Cook writes.

• Unrivaled — founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier— is part of the explosive growth of women's sports.

⛹️‍♀️ Between the lines: WNBA players have long played overseas in the off-season to supplement their meager league salaries. Unrivaled gives them a chance to earn extra cash in the U.S., while growing the American fan base.

• Unrivaled says it has the highest average salary in women's sports history, at $222,222 per season — higher than the WNBA's maximum salary.

📺 Most of the WNBA's biggest stars, including Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese and Brittney Griner, are playing in Unrivaled. The glaring exception is Caitlin Clark.

• The season tips off tonight at 7pm ET on TNT.

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3M recently highlighted some of its latest innovations across mobility, data centers, climate tech and more at CES 2025.

The goal: 3M aims to take on today's big, complex challenges and create uncomplicated solutions.

Learn more.

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