U.S. border officials have quietly deployed a new surveillance app to collect and store information on asylum seekers before they enter the United States, the Los Angeles Times was the first to report.
Why it matters: The kind of technology used in the app, which relies on facial recognition, geolocation and cloud computing, remains controversial and has raised alarms about unchecked surveillance and data collection, experts told the newspaper.
Today’s jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 577,000 jobs in May, which was a very strong number but below what many had been expecting.
Axios Re:Cap unpacks the report with Axios business reporters Courtenay Brown and Felix Salmon, who go below the headline numbers and explain what it all means for President Biden’s big spending plans. Plus, we discuss Facebook's decision to ban former President Trump for two years.
JPMorgan Chase will restart its political donations but will not give to Republican members of congress who objected to certifying the Electoral College victory of President-elect Biden, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.
Why it matters: 147 congressional Republicans, the majority of whom hold seats in the House, objected to state election results over baseless claims of widespread election fraud fueled by former President Trump.
The GOP of Paul Ryan, Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney is gone for good — replaced by Trumpers, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday.
Why it matters: "The Republican Party has spoken," VandeHei declared, adding that anybody who does not believe Trump's iron grip over the GOP has been institutionalized is living in a "fantasy."
Facebook on Friday said it will ban former President Trump from its platform for two years, and announced new policies for how it will handle speech from prominent politicians moving forward.
Why it matters: The decision will bar Trump from using the platform for the next two years as he prepares to launch a potential 2024 presidential campaign.
President Biden said Friday he remains confident that his economic plans are working and that the U.S. is on the path to a full recovery, following the release of the May jobs report that came in slightly below expectations.
Driving the news: The U.S. economy added 559,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic-low 5.8%. Biden touted the report as "great news for our economy," while cautioning that "we're going to hit some bumps" along the path to a full recovery.
The House Judiciary Committee on Friday will interview former White House counsel Don McGahn about former President Trump's alleged attempts to obstruct the Russia investigation.
Driving the news: The interview comes two years after House Democrats requested the testimony of McGahn, who was extensively quoted in special counsel Robert Mueller's final Russia report. McGahn originally defied a 2019 congressional subpoena — resulting in the matter being taken to court.
Democrats and Republicans are preparing to seize on today’s jobs numbers to argue for — or against — Biden’s proposal for $4 trillion in infrastructure and social safety net spending.
Why it matters: Like early in the Obama administration, the job report is serving as a monthly assessment of the president's economic policies.
President Trump plansto make Anthony Fauci a top target at upcoming rallies, using increased attention to the Wuhan lab-leak theory as a weapon against an official long viewed as more trustworthy.
Why it matters: Trump and conservative media have made Fauci an improbable face of the opposition, trying to give him the cartoon-villain status once accorded to former Sen. Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or — in Trump’s case — Hillary Clinton.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that the bureau is currently investigating around 100 different types of ransomware that have been used to targeted between a dozen and 100 organizations.
Driving the news: Wray said the malware attacks were similar to the challenges posed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he called on Russia's government to do more to crack down on cyber criminal groups based in the country.
Eight states this year have banned transgender kids from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity, per data from the ACLU and bipartisan LGBTQ advocacy group Freedom For All Americans.
Why it matters: So far, almost all of the record number of bills targeting trans youth that have actually passed are focused on sports, suggesting that more laws of this kind could be incoming.
The blog from former President Trump — originally touted as his own social media 'platform' — generated engagement roughly on par with the top posts from mid-market local newspapers, according to exclusive data from NewsWhip.
Why it matters: Even with his considerable base of support, Trump was unable to defy the laws of social media physics by getting political followers to change their habits.
Former Treasury official Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards was sentenced to six months in prison on Thursday for leaking thousands of pages of confidential financial reports to multiple media organizations, Politico reports.
Why it matters: "Edwards’ sentencing ... comes amid renewed scrutiny of the Justice Department’s policies in leak cases," Politico writes. The documents were used by media organizations, including BuzzFeed News, to report stories related to former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of then-President Trump's ties to Russia and global banking institutions' business with suspicious clients.
