Axios

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a former top Boeing pilot who is accused of deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration when the company sought the regulator’s approval for its 737 MAX plane.

Why it matters: A malfunction with the jet's flight control software, known as Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), had a hand to play in two crashes that killed 346 people.

President Biden's bipartisan commission on the U.S. Supreme Court will hold a public meeting on Friday to discuss expanding the court, term limits and more, the White House announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The six-month commission will offer an analysis of the principal arguments surrounding the divisive subject. Progressives are pushing for more seats after former President Trump appointed three justices to the court.

The U.S. has been elected to rejoin on the UN Human Rights Council, the State Department announced Thursday, three years after former President Trump walked out on the panel citing bias against Israel.

Flashback: The Biden administration announced in February it planned to rejoin the council, acknowledging what it called an "unacceptable bias against Israel," but arguing that being a member would help the U.S. advance its own interests.

A U.S. military judge on Thursday accepted the guilty plea of a Marine who publicly criticized the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The latest: Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller faces the possibility of a letter of reprimand and forfeiture of two-thirds of one month’s pay for a year, according to The Washington Post.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it will meet on Nov. 30th to review Merck's experimental oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment

Why it matters: An oral antiviral drug designed to prevent or treat COVID-19 could be a key tool to combat the pandemic. Merck ended its vaccine development in January.

The Justice Department announced on Thursday that it is dismissing a lawsuit against Stafford County, Virginia, after it repealed ordinances that barred a Muslim cemetery from being built.

Driving the news: The announcement marks the end of a year-long religious discrimination lawsuit over a county ordinance that "imposed new requirements, unsupported by any legitimate health or safety concerns" and prevented the All Muslim Association of America (AMAA) from building a cemetery.

Members of the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine expert panel on Thursday endorsed boosters for Moderna recipients who are at high risk of severe COVID-19, occupational exposure to COVID-19 or are 65 years and older.

Why it matters: The unanimous decision mirrors the FDA conditions for those who qualify for a Pfizer booster.

President Biden will announce Thursday during a visit by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to the White House that the U.S. will donate an additional 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union.

Why it matters: Biden is belatedly seeking to bolster U.S. engagement with the region, which has been a low priority as the administration goes all in on countering China in the Indo-Pacific. But Biden's choice for the first African leader to visit his White House has raised some eyebrows.

Trump ally Steve Bannon failed to show up for a deposition before the Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday, paving the way for the House panel to seek criminal charges against him for defying a congressional subpoena.

Why it matters: It's the first major test for how the committee will respond to witnesses' refusal to cooperate, an obstacle that stalled countless Democratic investigations during the Trump era by triggering protracted legal battles.

The federal government needs to ensure that teachers in the U.S. get paid better wages to address teacher shortages in rural areas, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) said on Thursday during an Axios virtual event.

Why it matters: Teachers make 20% less in weekly wages than other college-educated people with non-teaching positions, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Wednesday that changes in the format of oral arguments were made in part after research showed that female justices were interrupted more by male justices and advocates, CNN reports.

Driving the news: Sotomayor said the studies, including one published in 2017, have had an "enormous impact" and caused Chief Justice John Roberts to be "much more sensitive" to people being interrupted on the court, per CNN.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $35.8 million in the third quarter, surpassing the National Republican Congressional Committee's haul of $25.8 million.

Why it matters: With just over a year until the 2022 midterms, and the lingering threat of redistricting in several House races, the amount each party's campaign can raise will be crucial to their success.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will testify before the House Judiciary Committee next Thursday, according to a notice of the oversight hearing obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: This will be the first time Garland has appeared before the panel. The hearing comes as the Justice Department faces a series of contentious issues, including enforcement of the Jan. 6 committee's subpoenas, the crackdown on Texas' new abortion law, the overflowing of migrants at the border, voting rights and more.

President Biden will meet with Pope Francis in Vatican City later this month, the White House said Thursday.

Why it matters: At the Oct. 29 meeting, the pair will discuss "ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, and caring for the poor," according to the White House.

The Senate will vote next week on a new voting rights bill backed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced in a letter to colleagues on Thursday.

Why it matters: The Freedom To Vote Act is the latest attempt by Democrats to counter Republican-led measures at the state level to restrict voting access. Democrats still face the same roadblock to enacting it: the filibuster.

Richard W. Spinrad is the first Senate-confirmed administrator of NOAA in five years, which has its advantages in Washington.

What they're saying: “That immediately gets doors open and gets me access,” Spinrad told Axios in an interview following an interagency climate and equity roundtable in Detroit on Tuesday.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry says COP26 may not get all the results he has been working toward, in part because Congress has yet to act on President Biden's ambitious climate agenda.

Driving the news: In an interview with the AP, Kerry says the negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, may fall short of securing commitments from major emitters to stop burning coal and commit to aggressive near-term emissions cuts.

Decades after Pacific Islanders first raised the alarm, the rest of the world is finally catching up: The climate crisis is here, and it's accelerating.

Why it matters: Pacific Islanders, whose nations face an existential threat from climate change, were a major force behind the Paris Agreement. Heading into November's UN climate summit, they are calling for greater urgency in meeting the goals of the accord, and more direct action from world leaders — especially President Biden.

Amazon must decide whether to go it alone in the fight against a bill meant to deter online sales of counterfeit and stolen goods, after its e-commerce peers Etsy and eBay threw their support behind updated House legislation set for a Thursday hearing.

Between the lines: The fierce and unanimous opposition from online marketplaces has splintered, potentially easing the path forward for the latest legislation.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) unveiled a bill Thursday banning companies like Amazon and Google from favoring their own services.

Why it matters: The Senate legislation, which is similar to a bipartisan House bill, shows Republicans and Democrats in both chambers are eager to pass new regulations on the country's biggest technology companies.

Moderna is under fire for not doing enough to vaccinate the world, particularly low-income countries — and the Biden administration is being criticized for not doing enough to force Moderna's hand.

Why it matters: Low-income countries are desperate for more vaccine, and experts warn that higher levels of global spread will increase the likelihood of a vaccine-resistant variant emerging.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved the lower house of the country's Parliament on Thursday, clearing the way for elections on Oct. 31, per Reuters.

Why it matters: Kishida is seeking a mandate to govern 10 days after he was elected as prime minister by Japan's Parliament. The country faces the threat of a potential COVID-19 resurgence while trying to revive the world's third-largest economy and working with the U.S. and other allies to address security threats.

Some 10,000 unionized Deere & Company workers went on strike early Thursday after rejecting a contract proposal from the agriculture equipment manufacturer.

The big picture: The John Deere tractors maker and negotiators for the United Automobile Workers (UAW) reached a deal on the proposal earlier this month. 90% of union members voted against the agreement, per Reuters.

Los Angeles City councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas and a former dean at the University of Southern California's School of Social Work were indicted Wednesday on federal corruption charges over an alleged bribery scheme.

Why it matters: The longtime politician is accused of "supporting county contracts and lucrative contract amendments" in exchange for a relative receiving "substantial benefits" in his previous role as an L.A. County supervisor, per a Department of Justice statement.

The White House is hosting a forum Thursday on how Latinos are portrayed in media and Hispanics' lack of representation in film and television.

The big picture: The scheduled panel discussions during Hispanic Heritage Month comes after a recent preliminary U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that Latinos are severely underrepresented in the media industry.

Chicago's police union is threatening to "file a temporary restraining order" in an attempt to stop the city's COVID-19 vaccination mandate from taking effect, per Fox 32.

The big picture: Under the requirement that's due to take effect on Friday, city of Chicago staff who aren't vaccinated against the coronavirus must be tested semiweekly. They will be placed on unpaid leave if they refuse. Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara is urging union members to defy the mandate.

Four American gymnasts asked Congress to dissolve the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors on Wednesday over its handling of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, per the Wall Street Journal.

The big picture: Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols allege in a letter to Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) that the USOPC learned of the Nassar abuse reports in 2015, around the same time as USA Gymnastics, but "took no investigative action," according to WSJ.