Axios

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will face a recall election later this year, California's Secretary of State confirmed Wednesday.

Why it matters: This will be the second time in California's history that a gubernatorial recall campaign has succeeded in getting on the ballot, out of a total of 55 attempts, per Bloomberg.

Britney Spears asked a judge on Wednesday to end the conservatorship that has overseen her whereabouts and finances for the last 13 years, calling it "abusive," per AP.

Catch up quick: The singer has lived under a two-pronged conservatorship in California — covering her person and estate — since 2008 when she experienced a mental health episode. Her father, James Spears, then petitioned the court for authority over his daughter.

A grandmother from Indiana who participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation for her involvement in the riot, ABC News reports.

Why it matters: Anna Morgan-Lloyd — a 49-year-old hair salon owner who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building — is the first person to be sentenced in the attack.

California Gov. Newsom (D) misled the public about the progress his office had made in shoring up wildfire prevention according to an investigative report by CapRadio and NPR’s California Newsroom.

Why it matters: The revelations come just as drought-stricken California gears up for a devastating fire season that could prove to be the worst on record.

President Biden will nominate Cindy McCain to serve as U.S. representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, the White House announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: The move reflects Biden's emphasis on bipartisanship, according to the New York Times. McCain, the widow of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is a longtime Trump critic and one of Biden's Republican allies.

Vice President Kamala Harris' trip to the border on Friday will play out amid the Biden administration widening shake-up of U.S. border policy and leadership.

Driving the news: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) tells Axios that he's been advised by a border official that as soon as mid-July the Biden administration will end all use of Title 42, a Trump-era policy citing coronavirus as rationale to block migrants at the border.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation requiring state colleges and universities to annually survey their students, faculty and staff about their beliefs to ensure "viewpoint diversity and intellectual freedom."

Why it matters: The legislation doesn't specify for what the survey results will be used, but at a press conference on Tuesday DeSantis said that schools found to be "indoctrinating" students aren't "worth tax dollars" and are "not something we’re going to be supporting going forward."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said during a hearing before the House Committee on Armed Services on Wednesday that is important for members of the military to understand critical race theory.

Why it matters: Milley advocated for the teaching of the theory after several House Republicans questioned whether the Department of Defense is teaching courses involving it at military academies.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is delaying the confirmation of President Biden's pick to lead higher-education policy at the Education Department as she pushes for reforms of the federal student loans program, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The state of play: The negotiations have hampered the swift confirmation of James Kvaal as undersecretary of education, whose nomination to the position was advanced with bipartisan support by the Senate's education panel in April.

Vice President Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border while in El Paso, Texas, on Friday, Politico first reported and Axios confirmed.

Why it matters: Harris, who President Biden put in charge of solving the migrant surge at the southern border, has faced accusations of ignoring the crisis — primarily from Republicans — for not visiting the border.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, figuring out and affording child care was a "silent epidemic" for working parents, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said at an Axios event on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The pandemic has pushed the child care conversation into the forefront. In April, the White House announced that it would release $39 billion from the American Rescue Plan to address the child care crisis stemming from COVID-19.

Quanergy Systems, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based developer of solid-state lidar sensors, agreed to go public at an implied $1.4 billion equity value via CITIC Capital Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: CCAC).

Why it matters: There's likely to be political scrutiny on this one, given that the SPAC sponsor is backed by the Chinese government and the SPAC target once angled to have its technology integrated into Trump's border wall (although its current business appears focused on auto and IoT applications).

"In the battle for the soul of America today, John Warner is a reminder of what we can do when we come together as one nation," President Biden said in remarks Wednesday at the funeral of former GOP Sen. John Warner, who endorsed Biden during the 2020 election.

The big picture: Biden has long been an advocate of bipartisanship and forging consensus in the U.S. Senate, which has been at the center of debate in recent weeks due to the Republican filibusters of a Jan. 6 commission and a sweeping voting rights bill spearheaded by Democrats.

Graydon Young, 54, will plead guilty on Wednesday as part of a 16-person conspiracy case alleging members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia plotted to carry out the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, CNN reports.

Why it matters: It's the first guilty plea among defendants in any of major Jan. 6 conspiracy cases being prosecuted by the Justice Department, including those targeting the far-right Proud Boys and Three Percenters. It's unclear whether Young's plea signals that he will cooperate with prosecutors going forward.

The Government Accountability Office said in a new report this month that the Department of Defense should disclose to Congress how much it expects future "forever chemicals" cleanup efforts near military installations will cost because the price "will likely increase significantly."

Why it matters: Though the Pentagon has estimated that cleaning up the durable and toxic chemicals will require around $2.1 billion, it has never included the cost information in its annual environmental reports to Congress, the GAO said.

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Wednesday that a school district in Pennsylvania violated the First Amendment by punishing a cheerleader who used expletives in a Snapchat post sent while off campus.

Why it matters: The case pushed the boundaries of students' First Amendment rights and what schools can enforce outside school grounds, especially in the digital age.

Self-identified socialist India Walton has defeated four-term Democratic incumbent Byron Brown in Buffalo's mayoral primary, AP projected on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Walton's win is likely to precede a general election victory in a heavily Democratic city that hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1965. She would be Buffalo's first female and first Black female mayor, and the first socialist mayor of a major American city since 1960, per the New York Times.

An investigation by Michigan's Republican-led Senate Oversight Committee found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020, and recommended that Michigan's attorney general investigate individuals who made false claims "for their own ends."

Why it matters: A 35-page report released by the committee debunks election falsehoods and conspiracy theories spread by former President Trump and his supporters in the aftermath of November's election.

Several dozen House Republicans led by Utah Rep. John Curtis will on Wednesday launch the Conservative Climate Caucus.

How it works: Via the Washington Examiner, Curtis' office says it will look to "educate House Republicans on climate policies and legislation consistent with conservative values."

The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker will be out July 20 with "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year," Penguin Press announced.

Breaking: Axios has learned that The Wall Street Journal's Michael Bender is moving "Frankly, We Did Win the Election" up to July 20, matching Leonnig-Rucker, from his earlier pub date of Aug. 10.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez announced Tuesday that he's running for governor of Maryland.

Why it matters: The longtime Democratic official brings name-recognition, a high capacity to fundraise and coveted endorsements to the crowded field of candidates, notes NBC News.

"Nightmare Scenario," a book out next week on President Trump's handling of COVID, reports that he said he hoped it would take out his former national security adviser, John Bolton, who had just written an explosive tell-all about his time in the White House.

When asked about the quote, Bolton gave Axios' Jonathan Swan this classic reply: "Fooled me — I thought he was relying on his lawyers."

Democrats, in private and public, are warning that rising crime — and the old and new progressive calls to defund the police — represent the single biggest threat to their electoral chances in 2022.

Why it matters: There has been a big spike in big-city crime, a dynamic increasingly captured in local coverage and nationally on CNN and Fox News.

President Biden on Wednesday will announce new strategies to prevent and respond to gun violence, according to senior administration officials.

Why it matters: Officials say the pandemic has seen a surge in gun violence, with the U.S. witnessing mass shootings on a weekly basis this year, per the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive. Homicides jumped 30% in large cities in 2020, officials said.

The 50-50 Senate, GOP-controlled state legislatures, gerrymandering and a conservative Supreme Court are blunting Democrats' ability to fight back against historic efforts to restrict voting in states across the U.S.

Why it matters: Voting rights advocates say the moves could artificially prop up conservative, white power structures for a decade or longer by installing hurdles that disproportionally hit people of color. Democrats increasingly see this as an existential threat.

Apple Daily, Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy newspaper, announced Wednesday that it will close at the weekend following the freezing of its assets under China's national security law.

Why it matters: It's the latest blow to the Asian financial hub's democracy movement and to free speech. Authorities have used the law that gives the government broad power to limit people's political freedom to arrest several journalists at the news outlet, founded by imprisoned tycoon Jimmy Lai.

New Zealand's capital Wellington had its COVID-19 alert level raised on Wednesday after an Australian contracted a highly infectious strain in Sydney before traveling to NZ and testing positive upon his return.

Why it matters: This is the first positive case related to the Australia-New Zealand quarantine-free "travel bubble" since it opened in April. NZ last confirmed a COVID infection in the community on Feb. 28.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) on Tuesday vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have banned transgender women from participating in girl's and women's school and college sports.

Details: "As I have said repeatedly when asked about this bill, discrimination is not a Louisiana value, and this bill was a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana," Edwards said in a statement countering the bill's supporters who say they're trying to protect female athletes from unfair competition.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday that he supports changes to the military justice system in cases of sexual assault.

Why it matters: This is the first time Austin has publicly commented on a proposed overhaul of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which would see independent military prosecutors replace commanders in deciding whether to try serious criminal cases in court.

Andrew Yang announced Tuesday night that he's dropping out of the New York City mayoral race.

Why it matters: The 46-year-old Democrat gained a following during his 2020 presidential campaign and was an early front-runner in the Democratic mayoral primary, which is for the first time taking place under a ranked choice voting system.

American officials seized 36 news website domains linked to Iran's government for spreading disinformation as part of a propaganda campaign, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Why it matters: The action comes at a time of heightened tension between the two countries, with Iran's hardline President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Monday ruling out negotiating over missiles or meeting with President Biden as the two nations hold talks on returning Tehran to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Several Saudis who took part in the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi had paramilitary training in the U.S. under a State Department contract a year before his 2018 death, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Why it matters: While there's no evidence the department knew that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sanctioned Saudi officials to detain, kidnap and torture dissidents in 2017, the approval of such training underscores how "intensely intertwined" the U.S. has become with a nation known for human rights abuses, per the NYT.

A finalist for U.S. attorney in Boston is publicly trashing the city's former mayor — Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

Why it matters: Rachael Rollins’ approach is perpetuating scrutiny of a troubled Cabinet secretary and fellow Democrat — and hints at the independence she may exhibit if tapped for top federal prosecutor for Massachusetts.

Democrats and Republicans in purple states are already leaning into U.S. competition with China as a key issue in the fight to control the Senate in 2022.

Why it matters: American voters hold increasingly negative feelings toward the Chinese government, particularly around bilateral economic relations and following the nation’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

National Economic Council director Brian Deese will label the coronavirus pandemic a "wake-up call" to bring manufacturing jobs back to America in a speech Wednesday unveiling the Biden administration’s industrial policy, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: President Biden’s campaign was predicated on providing well-paying jobs for millions of Americans who've seen the country’s industrial heartland hollowed out by automation and competition for lower-cost labor from other countries.

As the White House moves closer to endorsing the G20's bipartisan infrastructure deal, progressive Democrats are making clear they won't get on board without a guarantee.

Why it matters: Left-leaning Democrats want a commitment the Senate will also act on a reconciliation bill — and some are insisting they vote on one first. They fear getting left behind as lawmakers from both parties increasingly sign on to the G20 framework.