Why it matters: The ban is part of conservatives' campaign to force the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade. Arkansas is one of 14 states where legislators introduced near-total abortion bans this year, according to AP.
As the U.S. economy stared into the pandemic abyss in March 2020, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that included the Paycheck Protection Program to quickly get forgivable loans to small businesses to keep workers on payrolls.
Axios Re:Capdigs into the formation and roll out of the PPP, from multi-day negotiations and late-night phone calls to estimates of how many businesses the program helped, with former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Plus, a conversation about pandemic survival with Dayna Frank, CEO of legendary Minneapolis music club First Avenue.
President Biden announced Wednesday he has asked the U.S. intelligence community to "redouble their efforts" to investigate the origins of the coronavirus and provide a report within 90 days that "could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion."
Why it matters: The debate over the origins of COVID-19 has been reinvigorated in recent days by previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill enough to be hospitalized in November 2019.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on Wednesday asked for public input on how to craft a "federally administered public option that provides quality, affordable health coverage throughout the United States."
Why it matters: The push for a public option comes days before PresidentBiden’s first full budget, which reports show will endorse the idea of a public option, but actually falls short of including such a proposal or any kind of analysis of cost.
The mother of the late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who suffered two strokes and died the day after responding to rioters on Jan. 6, is requesting sit-downs with Republican senators this week to push for an investigation into the Capitol attack, Politico reports.
Why it matters: Republicans are set to filibuster the proposal to create a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) brings it for a vote this week, despite some GOP support in the House and initial bipartisan agreement that an investigation is needed.
U.S. diplomats and other government staffers experiencing symptoms consistent with "Havana Syndrome" sent a letter to the State Department on Tuesday raising concerns that some injured workers are still being denied proper care, according to NBC News.
Context: Havana Syndrome is used to describe mysterious brain injuries suffered by embassy staff in Cuba in late 2016 and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, in early 2017.
A group of Jewish Democratic members of Congress led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) sent a letter to President Biden Tuesday criticizing both conservatives and progressives for "reckless" and antisemitic remarks.
Driving the news: The letter comes ahead of a virtual meeting Wednesday between Biden administration officials and Jewish advocacy groups seeking a more forceful response to the rise in antisemitic attacks in the U.S.
Bills aimed at trapping industrial carbon emissions or pulling CO2 directly from the atmosphere are piling up in Congress — and instead of the usual gridlock, some of them may actually gain momentum.
Why it matters: Scientists say that these emerging technologies, neither of which is economically available at scale, are going to be needed in potentially large amounts in order for the U.S. to go from the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, to a nation that absorbs more carbon than it releases.
Republicans in at least nine states are moving to limit students' exposure to critical race theory — a concept that links racial discrimination to the nation's foundations and legal system.
Why it matters: A year after George Floyd's killing, how systemic racism is — or is not — taught in public schools has become a new fault line in the culture wars, with implications for how the next generation of Americans understands U.S. history.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's federal fraud charges were dismissed by a federal judge in New York City on Tuesday because of his presidential pardon from former President Trump.
Why it matters: U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres' decision to dismiss the criminal charges over a scheme to privately finance a southern border wall follows a months-long legal fight over how to deal with Bannon's pardon when related cases are ongoing.
WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against India's government in the Delhi High Court Wednesday over new rules requiring the company to make users' messages traceable.
Why it matters: The Facebook-owned encrypted messaging service says the regulations that take effect Wednesday violate users' privacy, which it argues is in breach of the country's constitution.
Suburban cities saw a higher arrest rate than urban cities, despite having substantially fewer violent crime arrests, according to a new finding from a policy group that monitors criminal justice and racial disparities.
Why it matters: The findings released Wednesday by the Vera Institute of Justice suggest suburban cities are making less progress around policing while bigger cities adopt reforms.
People rallied in the U.S. and across the world to mark the first anniversary of George Floyd's death.
The big picture: Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, was last month convicted of Floyd's May 25, 2020, murder. Floyd's killing triggered huge protests against police brutality and racism in the U.S. and around the world. Now, his family and civil rights leaders are calling on senators to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told a virtual World Health Assembly meeting Tuesday there needs to be a "transparent, science-based" follow-up investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why it matters: The original investigation by a team of scientists assembled by the World Health Organization and China's government returned inconclusive findings in March and was criticized by top officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
New York prosecutors have convened a grand jury to consider whether to indict former President Trump and Trump Organization executives as part of a criminal investigation into the company, the Washington Post first reported Tuesday.
Why it matters: The reported development signals an escalation in the two-year investigations into the Trump Organization's finances by the Manhattan district attorney's office and the New York attorney general's office, which last week announced a joint criminal probe into the former president and his company.
President Biden is ready to nominate Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as his ambassador to India, sending a trusted political ally to the world's biggest democracy, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
Driving the news: Biden is planning to name his first slate of political ambassadors as soon as next week, rewarding political allies like Garcetti, as well as big-dollar donors, many of whom covet postings in elegant European capitals.
More than a dozen Republican state treasurers are threatening to pull assets from large financial institutions if they agree to decarbonize their lending and investment portfolios, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The Biden administration — led by special presidential climate envoy John Kerry — has leaned on the banks to help reduce U.S. carbon emissions. That's prompted GOP lawmakers to criticize efforts to "de-bank" fossil fuel firms. The treasurers collectively control hundreds of billions worth of assets.
President Biden’s focus on creating more manufacturing and union jobs is propelled by the steady and persistent decline in lifetime earnings for American men since he graduated from law school in the late 1960s.
The big picture: The lifetime earnings of the median male worker declined by at least 10% for those who entered the workforce at age 25 in 1967, compared to those who entered the workforce at the same age in 1983.
The White House is calling a second meeting this week between administration officials and Jewish advocacy groups amid pressure to respond more forcefully after a spike in antisemitic attacks in the U.S.
Driving the news: The virtual meeting set for Wednesday follows a session Monday with representatives from within the White House and other parts of the administration after some criticism for a slow initial response.
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