Axios

The former West Virginia legislator who filmed himself storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder on Friday, prosecutors said.

Why it matters: Derrick Evans recorded himself breaching the Capitol with a mob of Trump supporters and filmed himself saying, "We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!" according to charging documents.

The campsite in Granada, Colorado, that imprisoned over 7,000 Japanese Americans during World War II is now a national historic site after President Biden signed the designation into law on Friday.

Why it matters: Friday's action moves ownership of the Amache grounds, currently managed by volunteers, to the National Park Service and guarantees that the stories of those who were incarcerated there are honored and preserved for future generations.

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general on Friday released a report calling for the "immediate removal" of all detainees from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in New Mexico due to "egregious" living conditions.

Driving the news: Inspector General Joseph Cuffari issued a "management alert" directing ICE to address "the critical staffing shortages that have led to safety risks and unsanitary living conditions at the Torrance County Detention Facility."

The House on Friday passed a legislation aimed at banning racial discrimination related to hairstyles with a 235-189 vote.

Driving the news: Introduced by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act prohibits "discrimination based on a person's hair texture or hairstyle if that style or texture is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin."

Latinos in the U.S. experienced a 40% spike in drug overdose death rates in 2020, according to a new study.

Why it matters: The large percentage increase for Latinos shows how the pandemic and isolation may have affected Hispanics, who experienced higher rates of COVID-19 deaths.

The United Nations has recorded some 1,900 civilian casualties during Russia's invasion of Ukraine — with 52 children among 726 confirmed dead, a UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.

Driving the news: UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the actual number of civilians killed from Feb. 24 to March 15 was "likely much higher."

Arnold Schwarzenegger debunked disinformation regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a now-viral video on Thursday, and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the war.

Why it matters: The actor and former California governor has long had an immense following in Russia, per the New York Times. His is one of 22 Twitter accounts that Putin's presidential Twitter account follows.

Mark Meadows, who previously served as former President Trump's chief of staff, is under investigation for alleged voter fraud, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) confirmed to Axios Thursday.

Why it matters: The probe comes after the New Yorker reported that Meadows, also a former U.S. congressman, registered to vote in September 2020 using an address he allegedly never visited.

Seeking to protect veterans from cyberattacks and to teach kids about disinformation, lawmakers are introducing legislation to address heightened homeland security concerns after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Why it matters: Since the start of the war, much of the attention has been on how to supply humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Now, lawmakers are thinking about nonmilitary attacks Russia could unleash on the United States.

The U.S. government needs to contract with coronavirus vaccine makers by the end of the month in order to have enough booster shots for most Americans this fall but can't proceed until Congress approves more money, according to two senior Biden administration officials.

Why it matters: The debate over another round of booster shots is already heating up, and some experts are skeptical that they'll even be needed soon. But there's no telling what will happen between now and September, when the administration wants to have doses on-hand in case they're needed.

Fox News is suing the voting machine company Smartmatic in a bid to counter the latter's defamation suit against the network.

Background: Smartmatic brought a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox and several Trump allies last year, accusing Fox of knowingly airing conspiracy theories to convince the public that Smartmatic rigged the 2020 election against former President Trump.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Thursday signed a new bill prohibiting legal action against people seeking an abortion or anyone who aids them, the Associated Press reported.

Why it matters: The bill bars abortion bans like the one in Texas, which allows citizens to receive as much as $10,000 for successfully suing a medical provider or person who aids someone seeking an abortion.

Activists are rushing to preserve a Texas school that educated Mexican American students during desegregation efforts and later became one of the models for the federal Head Start program.

The big picture: The property that's home to the Stephen F. Austin/Minnie Mae Hopper Elementary School — one of the last remaining "Little Schools of the 400" — is slated to be redeveloped into a housing complex in Wharton, Texas.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, less than a day before he was expected to meet with President Biden for St. Patrick's Day.

Driving the news: Martin learned of his positive test while at the Ireland Funds Gala, where President Biden was in attendance, according to a White House pool report. Biden instead met virtually with the taoiseach on Thursday.

Jeff Zients is set to leave his position as the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator in April, President Biden announced Thursday.

State of play: Zients will be replaced by Ashish Jha, who currently serves as dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Biden called Jha "one of the leading public health experts in America."

U.S. intelligence officials are privately bracing for a massive influx of more than 170,000 migrants at the Mexico border if COVID-era policies that allow instant expulsions during the public health emergency are ended, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.

• The response under way includes a newly created — and previously unreported — Southwest Border Coordination Center (SBCC), essentially a war room to coordinate an interagency response.

State legislatures more than doubled the money appropriated to arts agencies this fiscal year, setting aside $820.8 million for 2022 versus $402.8 million in 2021, according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA).

Why it matters: Artists have the power to lift people's spirits — an important role as we recover from the pandemic — and state arts agencies help pay for artists' work and make it more accessible to the public.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is marshaling support for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on what's expected to be a top issue at her confirmation hearings, which begin Monday.

The big picture: As a public defender, and later in private practice, Jackson represented several Guantanamo Bay detainees between 2005 and 2009.

Honduras' former President Juan Orlando Hernández can be extradited to the U.S. to face drug trafficking and weapons charges, a judge in the Central American country ruled on Wednesday night.

Why it matters: Hernández, who denies any wrongdoing, has since 2017 been accused of electoral fraud and was named as a co-conspirator in a New York drug trafficking case last year.

The Ohio Supreme Court has for a third time rejected a pair of state legislative maps for unconstitutional gerrymandering.

Why it matters: Wednesday evening's 4-3 ruling puts the state's upcoming May 3 primary election date in doubt.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday lifted a ban that blocked a Biden administration policy of calculating climate change costs in government decisions.

Why it matters: The court's stay in a lawsuit brought by several Republican-led states means that, for now, federal officials can factor in the economic cost of climate change in projects and rulemakings — which could help the Biden administration reach its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.

California authorities have released a video of a 38-year-old man who died after screaming "I can't breathe" while being restrained by multiple police officers who were trying to take a blood sample.

The big picture: Edward Bronstein died on March 31, 2020, after a California Highway Patrol (CHP) traffic stop less than two months before George Floyd told Minneapolis police officers that he couldn't breathe before they killed him, AP notes.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is prompting American CEOs anew to build their own mini-State Departments as they navigate the uncertainties of a war and world increasingly unbound by norms and institutions.

Why it matters: Executives traditionally rise to power by creating successful products and business lines, managing expectations and turning profits — not mastering foreign policy. With little margin for error, many are turning to D.C. experts with heightened urgency.

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are further apart ideologically than at any point during the past five decades — and Republicans are more to blame than Democrats, according to analysis by Pew Research Center.

Why it matters: The growing polarization makes it even more difficult for Congress to find bipartisan compromise for important legislation.

People across the U.S. commemorated one year since the Atlanta spa shootings on Wednesday, gathering in rallies and holding vigils in cities including Chicago, D.C., Dallas and Detroit.

Why it matters: A white gunman killed eight people, six of them Asian women, in Atlanta-area spas on March 16, 2021. The mass shooting renewed calls for action against anti-Asian violence amid a yearslong spike in hate crimes targeting Asians in the U.S.