🚗 Axios PM: Trump's road rules

Halfway to the weekend. Today's newsletter, edited by Alex Fitzpatrick, is 712 words, a 2.5-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.

🚨 Situational awareness: House Democrats released never-before-seen images of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private island.

• "We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein's horrific crimes," Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said in a statement.
• Go deeper.

President Trump's new fuel economy standards would roll back tougher Biden-era rules meant to cut emissions and promote electric cars, Axios' Joann Muller reports.

• Trump's proposal would require automakers to hit an average of 34.5 mpg across their fleets by 2031.
• That's significantly lower than the Biden-era target of 50 mpg, which would require lots of EV sales.

🔌 The big picture: Trump has been tearing up Biden-era policies he believes were intended to force EVs on Americans.

• "Today, we're taking one more step to kill the green new scam," Trump said at a White House event this afternoon, referencing the Green New Deal.
• "It's a quest to end the gasoline-powered car. This is what they wanted to do. Even though we have more gasoline than any other country by far, and people want the gasoline car."

💵 Trump's plan would slash the average price of a new car by $1,000 compared to the Biden-era rules, the White House claims.

• 🚙 The average new vehicle now costs over $50,000, a record amount.
• ⛽️ Yet better fuel efficiency also means less money spent on gas.

👨‍💼 Automakers praised Trump's policies as more realistic than Biden's.

• "We appreciate President Trump's leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities," said Ford CEO Jim Farley, who appeared alongside Trump today with other auto execs.

🌱 Environmental and clean-energy groups condemned the move.

• "The only thing this does is make it easier for manufacturers to sell us less efficient cars that require more gas — and more money to fill up," Bob Keefe, executive director of the environmental business group E2, said in a statement.

Go deeper.

Not only is China winning the clean energy race, but it's picking up the pace as most other countries slow down, Axios' Amy Harder writes from new McKinsey data.

• 🥇The energy transition is changing geopolitical alliances and power centers, and China is solidifying its lead while the U.S. backtracks.

The global clean energy transition is slowing for several reasons, including the end of key incentives for businesses under President Trump.

• 🦕 Fossil fuels are likely to dominate worldwide energy systems for decades.
• ⛽️ That will deepen the geopolitical power of the U.S. — the world's largest oil and gas producer.

Go deeper.

Career journey: "I started as a picker, and then I learned about skills training programs through Amazon Career Choice. After the program, I doubled my income."

Best benefit: "With free skills training, there's no limit to what you can achieve with it."

See the impact.

1. ⚜️ DHS is aiming for 5,000 arrests in "Operation Catahoula Crunch," its new immigration blitz in New Orleans. It's the Trump administration's latest crackdown in Democratic-led cities. Go deeper.
2. 🤳 President Trump is granting a "full and unconditional PARDON" to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who was indicted last year on conspiracy and bribery charges, which he denied. Go deeper.
3. ✈️ Texas-based marine robotics company Ocean Infinity is resuming the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The airliner disappeared with 227 passengers and 12 crew over a decade ago. Go deeper.
4. 🌎 A headline-grabbing study predicting climate change would cost $38 trillion annually by 2049 was retracted amid questions about the researchers' data and methodology. Go deeper.
5. 🎭 "Hamilton" grossed a record $4.9 million last week, fueled by big Thanksgiving crowds on Broadway and the brief return of original star Leslie Odom Jr. Go deeper.

Bad Bunny was Spotify's top global artist this year, breaking Taylor Swift's two-year streak, Axios' Maxwell Millington reports.

• 💿 Album release dates played a part in the Puerto Rican star's rise to the top.
• 🐇 Bad Bunny's "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" dropped in January, while Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" came out in October — giving it less time to rack up listens.

Also topping Spotify's charts...

• 🎵 Top U.S. songs of 2025: "Luther (with sza)" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, and "Ordinary" by Alex Warren.
• 🆘 Top U.S. albums of 2025: "I'm the Problem" by Morgan Wallen, "SOS Deluxe: Lana" by SZA, and "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" by Bad Bunny.

Get your Spotify Wrapped.

Favorite part about Amazon: "It's amazing how many hourly employees have used the free skills training. Stories like mine are one of the many things Amazon is known for."

Since 2012, more than 250,000 employees like Kathy have used Amazon Career Choice to learn and earn more.

Read more.

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