Axios

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday ordered a moratorium on federal executions while the Department of Justice reviews its death penalty policies and procedures.

Driving the news: Garland said in a memo that "serious concerns" have been raised about the use of the death penalty, "including arbitrariness in its application, disparate impact on people of color, and the troubling number of exonerations in capital and other serious cases."

Daniel Perry was indicted on charges of murder and deadly conduct Thursday in the July 2020 shooting of an armed protestor in Austin, Texas, AP reports.

Driving the news: Perry, an active-duty former Fort Hood Army sergeant, drove into a crowd gathered to protest police violence, and later fatally shot demonstrator Garrett Foster, an Air Force veteran.

President Biden spoke Thursday evening after meeting with the families of Surfside victims, who he said are "going through hell," as search efforts continue at the site of the condo collapse.

Driving the news: Biden said the families are "realistic" and understand the chances of their loved ones being found alive are increasingly slim.

California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis on Thursday set Sept. 14 for Gov. Gavin Newsom recall election.

Why it matters: The election will be only the second time in the state's history that a gubernatorial recall campaign has succeeded in getting on the ballot.

2020 was California's deadliest year since 2007, as homicides increased by 31%, according to AP.

By the numbers: The state recorded 2,202 homicides last year — 523 more than in 2019 — and its homicides per 100,000 people rate rose to 5.5 from 4.2.

An annual report released by the White House on Thursday reveals that roughly 56% of the senior staff is made up of women, and 36% come from racially and-or ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Why it matters: In an accompanying fact sheet the Biden administration said the data showed it to be the "most diverse Administration in history" while narrowing the White House staff's gender pay gap to near parity.

Any infrastructure plan passed by Congress should address broadband access for telemedicine, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif) said at Axios event Thursday.

Why it matters: Virtual doctor's appointments and therapy sessions could be the norm, even as more people get vaccinated, and offices open to patients. But many communities, like Native American tribes, lack access to high-speed internet.

Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that prohibiting the recreational use of marijuana and THC is unconstitutional because it violates the right to a “free development of personality.”

What they’re saying: “Criminal organizations are currently the ones who determine when and how one can have access to the active substance,” drug policy lawyer Frida Ibarra tells Axios. “And that can only be changed if the government builds on the court’s decision and Congress votes to regulate the legal who, when and where.”

Longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and lawyers for the company pleaded not guilty to tax-related charges on Thursday.

The latest: Weisselberg was arraigned one day after a grand jury returned an indictment, charging him and the Trump family company with grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

The collapse of a 12-story condominium near Miami Beach a week ago has reverberated throughout Latin America.

Why it matters: Miami is more than 70% Latino and has historically offered refuge from some trying to escape the hemisphere’s turmoils.

Jason Miller, an aide and close advisor to Donald Trump, is launching a new social app called “Gettr” in coming days, sources tell Axios.

Details: The app, which is in beta testing, appears in the Apple App Store and is described as “a non-bias social network for people all over the world.” News of the app was first broken by Politico Thursday.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he was "deeply disappointed" in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a pair of voting restrictions in Arizona.

The big picture: The Supreme Court said Thursday that neither of Arizona's rules amounts to racial discrimination. The 6-3 ruling will likely pave the way for new limitations across the country.

Unrest in Nicaragua and Colombia is generating concern from Latino members of Congress who worry about violent crackdowns to curb continuing protests.

Why it matters: After 20 years of focus on the Middle East, Latino lawmakers are reaching across the aisle and helping shift some of the nation's foreign policy spotlight to Latin America, which continues to battle COVID-19 and pockets of political turmoil.

Search efforts have paused at the site of the condo collapse in Surfside due to "structural concerns about the standing structure," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference Thursday.

Driving the news: The halt in rescue efforts began at approximately 2 a.m. Thursday morning due to concerns that the remaining portion of the residential building could fall, per Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky.

Concrete construction no longer lasts thousands of years, like the Pantheon in Rome. Instead, its lifespan is roughly 50-100 years, thanks to the way in which modern concrete is reinforced.

Why it matters: That means a multi-trillion-dollar bill is coming due right around now, in the form of concrete construction that needs noisy, dirty, expensive repair.

The House voted 221-201 on Thursday to pass a $715 billion transportation and infrastucture package, while the Senate continues work on whether and how to pass President Biden's own multitrillion-dollar infrastructure proposal.

Why it matters: House Democrats hope the legislation will be used in negotiations between the Senate and the Biden administration to determine what specific policies can be included in the bipartisan deal announced last week.

Former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker announced Thursday he will run to challenge incumbent Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for his seat in 2022.

Why it matters: Booker became a rising star in Kentucky politics last year when he ran as a progressive in the race to challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell. He narrowly lost a primary to Democrat Amy McGrath, who was backed by establishment Democrats and was later resoundingly defeated by McConnell.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is one of eight members she has selected to serve on the select committee that will investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Why it matters: The former GOP conference chair was ousted from leadership for her opposition to Donald Trump's election lies. She is the only Republican hand-picked by Pelosi to serve on the 13-member committee.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a California law that required nonprofits to hand over a list of their biggest donors.

Why it matters: Some campaign-finance advocates have feared the court will begin chipping away at disclosure rules more broadly, making it harder and harder to figure out who’s funding major political causes.

The Supreme Court today upheld a pair of voting restrictions in Arizona, likely paving the way for new limitations across the country.

Why it matters: It's the court’s biggest voting rights decision in several years. Conservatives’ victory in the 6-3 ruling, authored by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, is a sign of what’s to come.

A majority of New Yorkers say Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) should not run for office again, a Siena College poll out Thursday indicates.

The big picture: Cuomo is gearing up to run for a fourth term amid sexual misconduct allegations by current and former aides. But more than 60% of New Yorkers surveyed said they would rather see the governor resign immediately or not seek office again.

Congress's infrastructure framework includes $65 billion for broadband, and now the real fight for internet dollars begins.

Why it matters: That record infusion of funding, spurred by the pandemic's spotlight on the digital divide, has the potential to make the White House's goal of connecting all Americans a reality — unless it gets mired in squabbling.

Nearly half of college Republicans support public schools teaching about institutional racism — and six in 10 don't think state legislatures should be able to stop it —according to a new Generation Lab/Axios poll.

Why it matters: The findings suggest that younger, educated Republicans think much differently about racism and academic freedom than GOP-led state legislatures seeking to censor the teaching of critical race theory.

Republican senators are rallying against one of the main ways President Biden wants to pay for his infrastructure deal — a $40 billion infusion to help the Internal Revenue Service collect $100 billion more in taxes.

Why it matters: If this partisan sentiment is as widespread as several Axios interviews suggest, it raises doubts about whether the IRS funding proposal can make it into law. That makes the math even fuzzier for how to pay for the $1.2 trillion deal.

Mark Gallogly, a private-equity titan who's been working for John Kerry to line up private-sector financing to combat climate change and serve as a liaison to the business community, is leaving the administration, Axios has learned.

The big picture: Gallogly is departing almost as quietly as he joined, with one difference: Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate, is publicly acknowledging his role — and his contributions.

A House committee is trying to force the White House to disclose its virtual visitors, using the power of the purse to push the West Wing to retroactively reveal who's been Zooming-in since January.

Why it matters: President Biden's team has begun disclosing in-person visitors, resuming a practice abandoned by Donald Trump. But the pandemic has forced huge segments of its work into cyberspace, and transparency advocates say the continued refusal to disclose virtual visitors is keeping the public in the dark.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) recently worked from home and voted by proxy after having knee replacement surgery, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says she will extend the practice for all members into August.

Why it matters: Congress instituted the system — allowing members to assign someone else to vote for them — as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus. Since then, its use in the House has vacillated, according to data from the House Clerk collected by the Brookings Institution.

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a controversial Indiana law that would require doctors to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a disputed treatment for "reversing" the abortion process, AP reports.

Why it matters: U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon's temporary injunction puts the law on hold just one day before it was set to take effect, per the Indy Star.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Florida law that would have forced social media companies to carry speech even if it violated their rules.

Why it matters: The law, which many experts expected to be declared unconstitutional, was set to go into effect Thursday.

Children are "bearing the brunt" of Lebanon's economic collapse, one of the worst in the world, according to a new UNICEF report.

Why it matters: Lebanon was already struggling with instability when a deadly explosion in Beirut killed more than 211 people, injured 6,000 and left roughly 250,000 homeless last year.