The House of Representatives followed the Senate on Tuesday, voting 219-206 along party lines to raise the federal debt ceiling and officially avert a potential default.
Why it matters: WhileCongress has pushed off the debt limit issue for now, the fight over a final resolution will be even uglier come December — when lawmakers need to address the problem once again.
The family of slain journalist Alison Parker, who died in 2015, is asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against Facebook for not removing a video of her death, the Associated Press reports.
Why it matters: Facebook has faced mounting widespread scrutiny in recent weeks from lawmakers and the public, initially spurred by whistleblower accounts by former employee Frances Haugen.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, both based in Texas, will still require employees to get vaccinated despite the state's new ban on vaccine mandates by private businesses, Politico reports.
Why it matters: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a sweeping executive order Monday night banning vaccine mandates by any "entity," including private employers.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof formed a political action committee on Tuesday called "Nick for Oregon" ahead of a potential run for Oregon governor.
Why it matters: The move would allow Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, to raise money and hire staff for a potential gubernatorial campaign.
A pro-Trump political group has agreed to pay $25,000 to settle allegations it illegally solicited $2 million from reporters posing as intermediaries for a Chinese national.
Why it matters: A key player in the scheme, a veteran Republican operative, is facing criminal charges over allegedly funneling tens of thousands of dollars in foreign cash to Trump's re-election effort, making news of the fine the latest in an emerging pattern of conduct.
The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday fined Leon County $3.5 million for requiring its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying it violated the state's ban on "vaccine passports."
Why it matters: This is Florida's latest move to penalize local officials who have attempted to implement mask or vaccine mandates to contain the spread of the virus.
House Budget Chair John Yarmuth, the lone Democrat representative in Kentucky, announced on Tuesday he will not run for re-election in 2022.
Why it matters: Yarmuth, a senior Democrat who runs one of the House's most powerful committees, has been a key negotiator for President Biden's roughly $2 trillion social spending package and other economic priorities.
The campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is launching an aggressive effort to recruit more Hispanic and Latino candidates to compete next year in swing districts with open seats or Republican incumbents.
Why it matters: U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who chairs the CHC BOLD PAC, told Axios he believes running more Hispanic Democratic candidates could increase Latino voter engagement and the prospects for a midterm blue wall keeping Democratic control of the House of Representatives.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday issued a memo ordering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop mass worksite raids.
Driving the news: Mayorkas said the Biden administration would instead focus on pursuing employers who hire and take advantage of immigrants without work authorizations, rather than the employees.
The phaseout of internet tracking cookies is fundamentally changing political campaigns, which have for years relied on them to narrowly target potential voters across the web.
Why it matters: Ad buyers expect the 2022 midterm elections to be the first campaign cycle where connected television (CTV) ads will take a meaningful market share of political spend, in part due to the fact that cookies are being scrapped.
The messiness of international politics is on full display this week in Washington, D.C., at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. That's inevitably going to make it harder for the storied institutions to help the world's poorest countries recover from the pandemic.
Why it matters: The IMF's leadership has never been weaker — managing director Kristalina Georgieva is weakened by scandal, while her #2, Trump nominee Geoffrey Okamoto, is generally regarded as inexperienced and otiose.
The Department of Justice asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Monday to suspend Texas' new law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, or roughly six weeks — before many people know they are pregnant.
Why it matters: Medical providers in the statebriefly resumed performing abortions last week after a federal judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional, though it was temporarily reinstated by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A new global agreement to levy a near-universal 15% minimum tax on large corporations' profits could cost tech giants billions each year. Yet lobbies representing the companies have rallied behind the plan, largely because it phases out a different kind of tax that tech dislikes even more.
The big picture: The minimum tax passed a crucial hurdle last week when more than 130 nations reached agreement at an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meeting. It still awaits final approval from many stakeholders, including the U.S. Congress.
Internet freedom around the world has dropped for the 11th consecutive year, according to an annual report from Freedom House, a non-profit focused on expanding freedom and democracy.
Why it matters: The findings suggest that a broader shift in power from tech companies to nation states over the past year has resulted in "a record-breaking crackdown" on freedom of expression online.
Americans' trust in President Biden has eroded as they've slowed their expectations for how quickly they can get back to their pre-pandemic lives, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Why it matters: Two trends we've been watching for a while — drawn-out timelines for returning to normal, and declining trust — are not a coincidence but cause-and-effect, these findings suggest. That's hurting Biden with Democrats as well as independents.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared while attending a weapons exhibition that the country had "invincible" defense capabilities as he accused the U.S. of being the source of regional tensions, state media reported Tuesday.
Why it matters: Kim said in a speech at Monday's event that the country was strengthening its weapons arsenal but didn't want a war, per the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Jon Gruden announced Monday that he had resigned as Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
Why it matters: The New York Times reported earlier Monday that Gruden used homophobic and misogynistic language in emails over a roughly seven-year period that ended in 2018 before he joined the Raiders, in addition to racist remarks that emerged last week.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday that the state's Justice Department is investigating the massive oil spill off Orange County's Huntington Beach coastline.
Why it matters: It's "an environmental disaster with far-reaching consequences for our fish and wildlife, for our communities, and for our economy," Bonita said in a statement.
Miami City Manager Art Noriega has suspended Police Chief Art Acevedo “with the intent to terminate his employment," Miami Herald reports.
The big picture: Noriega wrote that Acevedo's relationship with his department "has become untenable and needed to be resolved promptly. In particular, the relationship between the Chief and the Police Department he leads — as well as with the community — has deteriorated beyond repair."
