Axios

The Texas Senate voted 18-4 Tuesday to approve a Republican-backed voting bill, sending it to the House, which is at a standstill after 51 Texas Democrats fled the state to stop the legislation, the Texas Tribune reports.

Catch up quick: Texas Democrats flew to Washington, D.C., Monday night in a bid to prevent quorum and block Republicans from passing the voting restrictions.

California will spend $7.5 million to find and pay reparations to people forcibly sterilized under the state's old eugenics law, as part of a budget agreement signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Reuters reports.

Catch up quick: California's eugenics law, enacted between 1909 and 1979, led to the forced sterilization of more than 20,000 people, many of them poor, disabled or people of color, per the New York Times.

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed failed GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore's $95 million lawsuit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, AP reports.

Why it matters: Moore argued he had been tricked into an interview that played on sexual misconduct allegations against him. In 2017, while running for U.S. Senate, Moore was accused of having pursued sexual and romantic relationships with teens while in his 30s.

A suspect arrested in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was "at times" a confidential source for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, a spokesman for the agency confirmed Tuesday.

What they're saying: The DEA did not identify the suspect, but said that after the attack, the individual reached out to his DEA contacts, who "urged the suspect to surrender to local [Haitian] authorities."

The city of Miami ordered residents of an area apartment building to evacuate on Monday due to concrete deterioration concerns, NBC News reports.

Why it matters: The evacuation notice comes just weeks after Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered an audit of all buildings over 40 years old in the area, following the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida.

One of the world's biggest cruise companies filed a federal lawsuit in Florida on Tuesday over a law that bans vaccine passports, Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: Norwegian Cruise Line had threatened to pull its ships from Florida ports after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill in May barring businesses from requiring customers' proof of vaccination.

Tennessee's top vaccine official told CNN she had been fired after sharing a memo citing state law about whether adolescents can seek medical care without their parents' permission.

Why it matters: The news comes amid an alleged push by Republican lawmakers in the state to halt vaccine outreach for teens for all diseases, including COVID-19, the Tennessean reports.

June's jump in consumer prices was the biggest year-over-year increase for any month since 2008 — a surprising 5.4%, with used cars and trucks responsible for one-third of the surge.

Why it matters: The White House was counting on fleeting inflation. Now, it's starting to look like it could last.

More than 160 “undocumented and unmarked graves” have been discovered near the site of a former residential school in British Columbia, Canada, the Penelakut Tribe announced Monday.

Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of grim discoveries announced by other Indigenous groups across Canada in recent months.

The NAACP plans to offer to pay bail for a group of Texas Democrats who fled the state to block GOP-led voting restrictions after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened they would be arrested upon their return, CNN reports.

What they're saying: "War has been declared on democracy, and we will support anyone who stands up to defend it," NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement, per CNN. "We are fully invested in good trouble."

Federal laws imposing a minimum age of 21 to purchase handguns from licensed dealers violate the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Why it matters: The ruling could have implications for efforts to restrict gun sales nationally in the future, the Washington Post reports.

President Biden will nominate former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake as his ambassador to Turkey, bringing in a senior Republican to help emphasize his bipartisan instincts on foreign policy.

Why it matters: In picking Flake, Biden is putting his trust in a former politician to handle one of America’s most challenging relationships in NATO.

President Biden delivered remarks on Tuesday addressing efforts to curb voting rights in GOP-led states, saying the "21st century Jim Crow assault is real."

Why it matters: Biden noted Republican lawmakers across the United States have introduced nearly 400 bills in the past year in attempts to restrict voting rights. State lawmakers have enacted nearly 30 laws since the 2020 election aimed at restricting ballot access, per a June 21 tally by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

Abortion rights advocates and providers filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday to block a new Texas law that incentivizes private citizens to help enforce the state's ban on abortions at six weeks of pregnancy.

Why it matters: Several states have signed into law restrictive abortion bans. But the Texas law, which is set to take effect in September, also empowers individuals to sue anyone who helps a person get an abortion and awards at least $10,000 to those with successful court challenges.

President Biden will nominate former West Virginia health commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta to be the administration's drug czar, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: If confirmed, Gupta will be the first physician to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as the nation grapples with surging deaths from drug overdoses.

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo will visit the White House on Wednesday to meet with President Biden and Anthony Fauci and to record videos to encourage young people to get vaccinated, the White House announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: Vaccination rates for young Americans are lagging behind those of older adults. Young people's reluctance to get inoculated "is impeding efforts to develop the communitywide immunity sought to move past the pandemic and fend off Delta and other variants," the Wall Street Journal writes.

Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers held a press conference in D.C. on Tuesday to urge Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, one day after they fled Texas to block the Republican-led legislature from passing restrictive new voting laws.

The latest: The Texas House of Representatives voted Tuesday to track down and force the Democrats to return to the legislature "under warrant of arrest if necessary," though it's unclear how that could be accomplished since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction in D.C., according to the Texas Tribune.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told Axios on Tuesday that he hopes the Senate will pass a bipartisan police reform bill by the end of the month — setting a new deadline in the broader fight to massively overhaul the nation's policing.

Why it matters: Scott has been leading negotiations on a bipartisan deal for months, with the effort getting new legs in the wake of Derek Chauvin's murder trial. But the pressure to turn talks into legislation that can pass both chambers of Congress continues to be an uphill battle — and time is of the essence if lawmakers want to get a deal done before August recess.

Cornel West, a prominent Black philosopher and activist, announced Monday that he has resigned from his position at Harvard University’s Divinity School, citing a tenure dispute and saying the institution is in "decline and decay."

Why it matters: The 68-year-old's resignation comes amid a broader discussion about the treatment of Black scholars at universities, after Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones rejected a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, following her own tenure controversy.

A group of Texas House Democrats who fled the state to block a Republican-led effort to pass a new voting law will be arrested "as soon as they come back," Gov. Greg Abbott (R) told Fox News late Monday.

Driving the news: Abbott's warning comes after the Democratic lawmakers left the state for Washington, D.C., Monday night to block the legislation via a lack of quorum in the chamber.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) set a second straight fundraising record last quarter, bringing in $1.88 million from April to June, Fox News reports.

Why it matters: The impressive haul, an increase from the record-setting $1.5 million Cheney brought in during the first three months of the year, came during the period in which she was ousted as House GOP conference chair for her criticism of former President Trump.

First lady Jill Biden will travel to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 23, the White House announced Tuesday.

Driving the news: The White House's announcement comes a week after Japan's Olympics minister said that the Games — which are scheduled to run until Aug. 8 — will be held without spectators after Japan declared a COVID-19 state of emergency in its capital.

Former President Donald Trump, in a book out Tuesday by Michael Wolff, says he is "very disappointed" in votes by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, his own hard-won nominee, and that he "hasn’t had the courage you need to be a great justice."

Driving the news: "There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to," Trump told Wolff in an interview for the cheekily titled "Landslide."

More Americans have embraced bicycling since the pandemic, but in terms of bike-friendliness, the United States lags far behind Europe.

Why it matters: The best cities for bicycling have safe, comfortable and well-connected bike networks, according to People for Bikes, an advocacy group based in Boulder, Colorado. And its new international ranking of bike-friendly cities shows U.S. cities have a lot to learn from their European counterparts.

Dozens of Texas House Democrats vowed after fleeing to D.C. Monday night they would stay away from the state until they had achieved their goal of blocking Republicans from passing new voting restrictions.

Why it matters: Instead of attending a special legislative session, the Texas House Democrats headed to D.C. Breaking quorum to prevent legislation from advancing is rare, and the representatives risk being arrested and forced to return to the Capitol.

Venezuelan prosecutors charged opposition politician Freddy Guevara, a close ally of National Assembly president Juan Guaidó, with offenses including terrorism and treason following his arrest on a Caracas highway Monday, per Reuters.

Of note: Guaidó, recognized by the U.S. and other countries as Venezuela's interim president, said "armed groups" seeking his arrest had visited his home soon after.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom can't identify himself as a Democrat on the ballot in the upcoming recall election, a judge ruled on Monday.

Driving the news: Newsom filed a lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber last month after he missed a deadline for the Sept. 14 election to state his political affiliation following a paperwork oversight.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has unblocked critics on his Twitter account and agreed not to take such action again after reaching an agreement in a First Amendment lawsuit filed against him.

Of note: The agreement, filed in Austin on Friday but announced Monday, follows similar First Amendment cases against former President Trump and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

House Democrats on Monday advanced a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services excluding the Hyde Amendment, a provision that bans federal funding for most abortions.

Why it matters: The bill follows President Biden's proposed 2022 budget that would see the lifting of the ban. This is the first time since it became law in 1976 that the Hyde Amendment has been excluded from the spending bill.

The Department of Justice said Monday it will assist in the Haiti police investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and examine whether "there were any violations of U.S. criminal law" concerning the case.

Why it matters: Since Haiti's government requested American assistance in the investigation, three Haitian-born suspects with U.S. ties have been arrested — including the Florida-based Christian Emmanuel Sanon, whom police allege is a key suspect who wanted to become president of Haiti.

Senate Democrats plan to offset some of their “soft” infrastructure spending by using dynamic scoring — a budgetary practice many of them called a gimmick just a few years ago.

Why it matters: The total size of the Democrat-only reconciliation bill will depend in large part on how much of it can be offset with new revenues. Using budgetary smoke and mirrors shows how hard Democrats are working to pass a big bill.

White House efforts to avoid dealing with the Cuba issue have blown up amid protests on the island, congressional backlash and political pressure from the South Florida Cuban community.

Why it matters: Joe Biden's performance in South Florida during the 2020 election explains his wariness — he was crushed by Donald Trump. Democrats are worried they'll hurt themselves in Florida — and more broadly in the midterms — if they mishandle the situation.

An obscure progressive nonprofit called the North Fund has scaled up operations during the last two years, allowing the group to quietly work in high-profile legislative fights in Washington and state capitals.

Why it matters: The North Fund's structure — and its refusal to reveal financial contributors — make it the latest progressive nonprofit to operate in ways that obscure key financial information from the public, even as it pushes for legislation to limit the role of so-called dark money in politics.

Texas, Georgia, Florida and Arizona have been at the center of a partisan war over voting rules that could impact voters of color — they're also among the top 10 states with the lowest percentage of white residents.

The big picture: Every state has seen its non-Hispanic, white population decline during the past decade, according to an analysis of census data by the Brookings Institution's William Frey. The census is also expected to show the first overall decline in the U.S. white population.

Lawsuits filed Monday are seeking damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a bug killer that allegedly causes brain damage in children, AP reports.

Why it matters: Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on over 80 crops, per AP. But studies show the pesticide damages the brains of fetuses and children. It was banned for household use in 2001.

The Trump Organization has removed chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg from leadership positions in its subsidiary firms following his indictment on tax-related charges, the Wall Street Journal first reported Monday.

Why it matters: New York prosecutors have been pushing to press the longtime Trump associate, who's pleaded not guilty to charges including grand larceny, to cooperate in their investigation into the Trump organization.