Axios

The Pentagon announced plans on Friday to send Ukraine $150 million in military assistance that will include counter-artillery radar, counter-drone technology and electronic warfare equipment, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: The move comes as tensions continue to climb between Russia and Ukraine and days before a summit between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Biden will devote $46 million in additional funding to meet "unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs," the White House announced Friday.

Why it matters: The surge of migrants at the southern border is one of the most prominent crises facing the administration. Migrant apprehensions at the border remain near 20-year highs, Axios' Stef Kight writes.

Washington has been served up an unprecedented controversy, and now officials from two branches of government are rushing to get a piece of the scandal spoils.

Driving the news: In the spotlight... the Trump-era Justice Department, which seized records from journalists and House Democrats during a leaks investigation over stories about the Russia probe.

Iran regained its United Nations General Assembly vote on Friday after it made a minimum dues payment, while denouncing the United States for sanctions that had blocked billions in funds, AP reports.

The big picture: The Biden administration on Thursday lifted sanctions on former Iranian officials affiliated with the National Iranian Oil Co., signaling that it's willing to ease economic pressure on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) signed a law Friday that would give Nevada the first presidential primary in 2024, bouncing New Hampshire and Iowa from being the first stops in the presidential nomination process, according to the Associated Press.

Why it matters: The law, which still needs to be approved by the national political parties, will likely trigger a cascade of other states to scramble to move up their state's contests to be earlier in the process, or to retain their early status.

President Biden will tap Carlos Del Toro, a retired commander, to become secretary of the Navy, the White House announced Friday.

Why it matters: Del Toro, the CEO of a tech solutions company, has nearly 40 years of experience in national security, naval operations, budgeting and acquisition, per the White House. If confirmed by the Senate, Del Toro would be the second Latino to serve in the position.

The FBI is doubling down on sexual misconduct within its ranks and taking a harsher stance against agents found to be perpetrators, AP reports.

Why it matters: An AP investigation last year exposed a series of sexual assault and harassment allegations against senior officials who were allowed to "quietly avoid discipline and retire or transfer even after the claims were substantiated."

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Friday announced the opening of an internal probe into the department's Trump-era secret subpoenas against Apple for data belonging to House Democrats and its seizure of phone records of journalists working for major media companies.

The state of play: The move comes after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco requested that Horowitz open a review and calls from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for an investigation into the matter.

Attorneys general from 22 states on Friday asked the Supreme Court to uphold the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's temporary federal eviction moratorium, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Over 11 million people are behind on rent, putting them at risk of losing their homes, according to CNBC.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division will double the number of enforcement staff dedicated to protecting the right to vote in the next 30 days.

Why it matters: After an election fraught with baseless claims of fraud and a recent flurry of voter restriction bills in state legislatures, Garland underscored his dedication to protecting voting rights. He said the DOJ will "do everything in its power to prevent election fraud, and if found to vigorously prosecute" but will also scrutinize "new laws that seek to curb voter access."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said this week she does not "believe in evolution," adding, "I don't believe in that type of so-called science."

What she's saying: Greene leaned on religion to explain the origins of the coronavirus. "Why is there any need to create a virus that could spread rapidly to a population, to make people sick and kill them? That is a bioweapon," she said.

The Biden administration is returning more than $2 billion redirected from Department of Defense projects for Trump's border wall, and is again calling on Congress to cancel other remaining border wall funds.

Why it matters: Biden had promised not to build "another foot" of President Trump's infamous border wall if elected. One of his first executive actions paused construction of the wall, and called for a plan for the funds in 60 days — a deadline that passed in March.

Lawmakers who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear masks on the House floor, the Office of the Attending Physician, Brian Monahan, announced Friday, CNN reports.

Driving the news: A senior Democratic aide told CNN that the rule was changed due to the decrease in transmission and the increase in vaccination rates among lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill, which has reached 85%.

The 2021 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced Friday after one of the toughest years for journalism in recent memory. Many award recipients this year were recognized for their work covering the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder last year.

Of note: The Pulitzer Board awarded a special citation to Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed George Floyd's murder on her cell phone.

Darnella Frazier, who was 17 years old when she recorded the viral video of Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck, was awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize Friday for documenting the painful and pivotal moment.

Why it matters: Frazier said that witnessing and filming the incident — which culminated in Chauvin's conviction in what advocates called one of the most important civil rights cases in decades — changed her. "I'm not who I used to be," she wrote in a tribute posted in May.

A federal judge on Thursday paused a loan forgiveness program aimed at supporting farmers of color after a group of white Midwestern farmers sued the federal government, alleging discrimination, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Driving the news: The Midwestern farmers claim that the Biden administration's disadvantaged farmers fund is a violation of their constitutional rights.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on former Attorneys General Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions Friday to testify over the Trump Justice Department's secret subpoenas for data belonging to House Democrats.

Driving the news: At least a dozen people linked to the House Intelligence Committee had records seized between 2017 and early 2018, as part of the Justice Department's crackdown on media leaks related to the investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Biden administration said in a notice Friday that it will “repeal or replace” a rule change from former President Trump that opened up a large portion of Alaska's Tongass National Forest to road construction and other types of development.

Why it matters: The rule change was part of Republican efforts during the Trump administration to expand logging operations in the forest, which is one of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforests, according to the Washington Post.

The three-day G7 summit in the seaside village of Carbis Bay, England, kicked off on Friday, with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcoming his counterparts from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union.

Driving the news: The leaders of the world's wealthiest democracies, as well as the presidents of the European Union, announced a pledge to provide the world with 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Friday that it has been unable to contact a U.S. citizen detained in Russia and is gravely concerned about his health.

Why it matters: Trevor Reed is a former U.S. Marine who was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Moscow court in 2020 after being charged with assaulting two police officers — accusations that his family and other advocates say are politically motivated and false, per the New York Times.

Oregon lawmakers voted 59-1 late Thursday to expel GOP state Rep. Mike Nearman from office after a video emerged that appeared to show him coaching protesters on how to breach a closed state Capitol last year, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: It is the first time in state history that a sitting lawmaker has been ejected from office. Nearman was the only one to vote against the resolution.

Vice President Kamala Harris this week went on her first foreign trip since taking office, visiting Guatemala and Mexico to address what she refers to as the root causes of mass migration, after the U.S. saw the largest number of border apprehensions in 20 years.

Axios Re:Cap speaks with Juan Gonzalez, special assistant to President Biden and the National Security Council's senior director for the Western Hemisphere, about what Harris accomplished, criticisms of her trip and what happens next in U.S. immigration policy.

Attorney General Merrick Garland will give a policy address on voting rights at 2 p.m., promising "concrete steps ... to secure the fundamental right to vote for all Americans," the Justice Department says.

Why it matters: President Biden said last week that he's prioritizing fights for federal voting-rights protection, as Republicans in legislatures across the country pass their own election laws. Democrats' efforts were set back Sunday when Sen. Joe Manchin said he wouldn't support a centerpiece bill passed by the House.

President Biden will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on July 15, press secretary Jen Psaki announced Friday.

Why it matters: The announcement comes as Biden is on his first overseas trip as president, which he is using to attempt to reinvigorate ties between the U.S. and European allies that had been strained under former President Trump. He will meet Merkel in person at the G7 summit on Friday.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), a member of the committee, were notified last month that the Trump Justice Department secretly obtained Apple records about them in 2017-18, in what Schiff called "a body blow to our democracy."

Driving the news: Schiff and Swalwell spoke on CNN after the N.Y. Times revealed that as part of a leak investigation, the Justice Department subpoenaed, and received, Apple metadata (records but not actual content) for at least a dozen House Intelligence Committee members, aides and family members. One was a minor.

Amazon and peers eBay and Etsy are waging a lobbying war to scuttle bills pushed by brick-and-mortar retailers who want to require their online rivals to disclose more information about third-party sellers.

Why it matters: Online shopping became a lifeline for consumers and businesses during the pandemic, and lawmakers say that makes fighting online fraud and theft even more important.

500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. Jill Biden's "Love" jacket. And an updating of the Atlantic Charter that briefly let President Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson channel FDR and Winston Churchill.

The big picture: Joe Biden's first foreign trip as U.S. president is a carefully-managed mix of multilateralism and message discipline so far — and a deliberate contrast to his predecessor's M.O. on the international stage.

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called for an inspector general investigation into Donald Trump's "weaponization of law enforcement," after the New York Times reported the Justice Department subpoenaed Apple for data from the congressman's account.

Driving the news: At least a dozen people linked to the Intelligence Committee had records seized between 2017 and early 2018, including Schiff, who at the time was the panel's top Democrat and now serves as its chairman, The Times reported, citing people briefed on the inquiry.

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power in Puerto Rico Thursday night after a large fire broke out at a main substation of Luma energy, a private company that took over the island's Electric Power Authority earlier this month, AP reports.

The state of play: The cause of the fire in the capital San Juan remains unknown. Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said local and federal authorities are investigating the blaze and taking the necessary precautions to reestablish electricity. "Every government resource is active and available to work on this emergency," he said.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names on Thursday unanimously approved several requests to remove "Negro" from the names of 16 sites in Texas, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The federal board in 1991 denied a similar request after Texas lawmakers passed legislation to rename the sites after Black people who made notable contributions to the state, per the Texas Tribune.

While a 5% increase in the Consumer Price Index grabbed headlines on Thursday, a third of it was driven by higher prices for used cars and trucks, which jumped 29.7% from a year ago. And the gas index was up 56.2%.

Why it matters: Underneath the hood of the CPI numbers, it's clear that not all items moved in tandem.

Days before the first Republican candidate jumped into next year's Arizona Senate race, he poured millions into an ostensibly nonpartisan voter registration operation affiliated with prominent election fraud conspiracy theorists.

Why it matters: GOP candidate Jim Lamon embraces many of these theories, and a drive to register voters with the same inclination has the potential to benefit his candidacy. Lamon also stands to get a substantial tax break from his $2 million effort to turn out conservative voters.

Though restaurants are bustling and signs of life are returning across a nearly post-pandemic United States, swing voters in Axios’ latest Engagious/Schlesinger focus group say they feel anxious about the current state of the economy.

Why it matters: Main Street is living a debate being fought in the ivory tower and among economists. Only 3 of 13 voters said they felt the U.S. economy is “booming.” The rest expressed fear of an impending crash following the injection of federal stimulus money during the pandemic.

The infrastructure deal announced Thursday night by a group of 10 Democratic and Republican senators is likely the best bipartisan bill President Biden is going to get.

Why it matters: It has the backing of Democrats' most rebellious party members — Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — as well as the support of key Republican senators. The question now is whether the group can convince progressives and the broader GOP conference to get on board, too.