Former President George W. Bush confirmed on Twitter on Thursday that he'd had a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he praised as "the Winston Churchill of our time."
Why it matters: The meeting makes Bush the first known former U.S. president to speak with Zelensky since the start of the war.
Driving the news: Trump, concerned about drug cartels, asked at least twice in the summer of 2020 if the U.S. military could "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs," according to excerpts of the memoir quoted by the Times.
Why it matters: The USA Freedom Fund’s quick pivot signals a new cash infusion in the Pennsylvania contest, which is already poised to break spending records.
Chief Justice John Roberts called the leak of a Supreme Court draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade "absolutely appalling" during an appearance Thursday at a meeting of lawyers and judges at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference, CNN reported.
Why it matters: This was Roberts' first public appearance since news broke that the Supreme Court is prepared to potentially overturn federal abortion rights.
President Biden announced Thursday that Karine Jean-Pierre will replace Jen Psaki as White House press secretary when Psaki leaves the job on May 13.
Why it matters: Jean-Pierre, currently principal deputy press secretary, will be the first Black woman and first openly LGBTQ woman to hold the position.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Thursday new progress in the department's efforts to respond to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis amid calls for greater urgency.
Why it matters: Loved ones and advocates have raised alarm about the disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people for decades, often to no avail. Native American women experience higher rates of violence than most other women and are murdered at rates 10 times the national average.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned on Thursday that more rights could be at risk if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced the creation of a new Office of Environmental Justice along with a series of actions "to secure environmental justice for all Americans."
Why it matters: Environmental justice seeks to ensure that all people — regardless of race, class, or national origin — receive equal protection from environmental and health hazards, and are equally able to participate in the creation and implementation of environmental laws, per the Environmental Protection Agency.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that the Senate will vote next week to codify abortion rights into federal law even though Democrats lack the votes to ensure the bill's passage.
Georgia Democrats are planning to join a crowded field of states applying to hold an early presidential primary, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The news, first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and confirmed by a party spokesperson, puts Georgia in direct contention with South Carolina, which is bidding to keep its No. 3 spot.
Federal bank regulators released a proposal Thursday that would overhaul a decades-old law meant to address systemic inequities in banking and prevent the practice of redlining — where banks won't lend to lower-income, typically Black borrowers.
Why it matters: The aim is to modernize the historic Community Reinvestment Act, which evaluates banks on how much lending they're doing in the physical area situated around their branches. That's far less relevant in an era of online banking.
We've reverted to normal, and, all things considered, it's not so bad.
Why it matters: For the first time in well over a decade, it's hard to look at the stock market and declare that it's being artificially boosted by ultra-low interest rates.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he will withhold $3.5 million in state funds budgeted to train new abortion providers in the state, the Washington Post reports.
Driving the news: Hogan is rejecting a request from the state's comptroller to immediately make the money available as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to potentially overturn its precedents protecting abortion rights.
If former President Trump wants to run in the 2024 presidential election, he will become the Republican nominee, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told Politico on Thursday.
What he's saying: "I don’t delude myself into thinking I have a big swath of the Republican Party," Romney said. "It’s hard to imagine anything that would derail his support. So if he wants to become the nominee in '24, I think he’s very likely to achieve that."
Russian forces were pausing their assault on Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant on Thursday morning "to open a humanitarian corridor" as part of a three-day daytime ceasefire pledge, Russia's Defense Ministry announced.
The big picture: The United Nations said more than 300 civilians were evacuated on Wednesday from the Mariupol area to the city of Zaporizhzhia, also in southeastern Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials and their forces defending the port city plant reported intense, bloody battles at the facility.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade would threaten marriage equality.
Driving the news: Pelosi said at a news conference in Seattle that this week's leaked draft indicating the justices would overturn the landmark abortion ruling was "an assault on women, a lack of respect of women and their judgment," which mocked the 1973 decision and undermined privacy as a value in the Constitution.
President Biden on Wednesday approved a disaster declaration for New Mexico, which has been hit by a series of wildfires that have raged for weeks, razing hundreds of structures and causing thousands of people to evacuate.
Why it matters: The declaration orders federal aid to be made available for recovery efforts, per a White House statement — as six large wildfires burn across the northern and southwestern parts of the drought-ravaged state, driven by gusty, exceptionally dry conditions and low humidity.
What they're saying: "If they, people, come here and need access, certainly, you know, that's a service that would be provided," said Karina Gould, the minister of families, children and social development.
The big picture: Alito, one of the conservative justices on the court, authored the leaked document, which said that "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start," Politico reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News on Wednesday that Russia's attempts to smear him with comparisons to Adolf Hitler are a form of propaganda modeled after Joseph Goebbels' tactics, which indoctrinated German people in antisemitic Nazi ideologies.
Why it matters: Zelensky, who is Jewish, is a regulartarget of Russian disinformation campaigns. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attempted to justify the comparison to Hitler on Sunday by falsely claiming that Hitler had "Jewish blood" — prompting Israel's government to publicly rebuke him.
U.S. military officials overseeing the training of Ukrainian troops say the evolution of their mission since 2015 helps explain "to a significant degree" why Ukraine has had so much success against Russian forces on the battlefield.
Why it matters: The willingness of top Pentagon brass to speak — on the record — about training the Ukrainian military is the latest evidence of the sea change in how the U.S. views and discusses its role in the war.
President Biden is considering former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to replace Cedric Richmond as the head of the White House Office of Public Engagement, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
Why it matters: In Foxx, the Black former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, Biden would be ensuring he has someone from a vital minority group — and with a seasoned political antenna — in his inner circle ahead of this fall's midterms.
Abortion politics have begun to reshape the Democrats' campaign messaging and tactics only 48 hours after the epic leak previewing the end of Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: Arguments around protecting women's freedoms, privacy, health and safety are being weaponized — not just against Republicans for the midterm elections but against some fellow Democrats in primary fights.
The leader of Russia's Orthodox Church said Wednesday he regrets the "incorrect tone" Pope Francis used in addressing his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine, per multiple reports.
Driving the news: The pope addressed Putin loyalist Patriarch Kirill's support for the invasion as he called for an end to the war during an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is appointing a global food security envoy as the war in Ukraine continues to disrupt global grain supplies, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The appointment of Cary Fowler to the position — which has existed but not since 2016 — is meant to bring high-level political attention to the issue. The fighting in Ukraine has disrupted the world's cereal crop supply, for example.
