Axios

The U.K.'s first flight deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda was grounded on Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) intervened at the last minute.

Why it matters: Immigrant rights groups and the United Nations refugee agency have criticized the controversial policy as "irresponsible," saying it sets a "catastrophic" precedent for those fleeing conflict and persecution.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Thursday's Jan. 6 hearing will focus on former President Trump's efforts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence into overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Driving the news: Cheney, the vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee, said in a newly released video that the hearing will spotlight Trump's "relentless efforts" to convince Pence to refuse to count the electoral votes.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the House Jan. 6 committee and a constitutional law expert, said Tuesday there's been "semantic confusion from the beginning" about the panel's authority to issue criminal referrals.

Why it matters: The committee has already laid out its view in court filings that former President Trump engaged in a "criminal conspiracy" to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden's election victory.

A Russian court extended American basketball star Brittney Griner's detention for a second time on Tuesday, meaning she will remain in custody until at least July 2, according to Russian state media.

Why it matters: Griner has been in pre-trial detention since she was detained at a Moscow-area airport in February after authorities claimed that they found vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) said Tuesday he's "comfortable" with the gun safety outline a bipartisan group of senators reached this week and will support the bill if it "ends up reflecting what the framework indicated."

Why it matters: McConnell's support for the gun safety deal makes it more likely to get over the 60-vote threshold needed to pass what would be the most significant legislative reform to gun laws in decades.

The House passed a bill Tuesday to expand Supreme Court Police protection to justices' families, one week after a man was charged for attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Why it matters: After the leak of the Supreme Court draft document indicating the court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, protests outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices have prompted calls for increased security.

The Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering Latino communities, pledged $1 million on Tuesday to LGBTQ+ groups through a new initiative called Advance Change Together.

Why it matters: More young people of Latino origins identify as LGBTQ+ than any other demographic at a time when conservatives are making a concerted push against gay and transgender rights.

Conservative Cuban American lawmakers have launched a battle over the purchase of 18 influential Hispanic radio stations by a group with progressive ties.

Why it matters: The Latino Media Network’s deal for the TelevisaUnivision stations could transform a large portion of the U.S. Latino media landscape.

Republican members of Congress are introducing legislation to bar foreign nationals and entities from obtaining government records under the Freedom of Information Act, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The bill's sponsors say it would prevent potentially adversarial foreign actors from accessing sensitive government records. FOIA lawyers are writing it off as a solution in search of a problem.

Amid mounting U.S.-China tensions and spikes in anti-Asian hate, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Axios in an interview she is keenly aware of the heightened scrutiny she faces as a Chinese American leading the U.S.'s trade policy.

Why it matters: Besides Vice President Harris, Tai is the only Asian American to serve in a Cabinet-level position in the Biden administration. Her job requires her to navigate the U.S.'s complicated relationship with China even as Americans grow increasingly distrustful of people of Asian descent.

The Capitol Police told Congress in a letter Monday they didn’t observe anything “suspicious” about a Jan. 5, 2021 tour led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) that’s been the subject of scrutiny from the Jan. 6 select committee.

Why it matters: The letter is a boon to House Republicans who have accused the panel of overstating the significance of a constituent tour that took place shortly before the Capitol was assaulted by Trump supporters.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told CNN he will not challenge President Biden in a 2024 presidential primary and will instead support the incumbent.

Driving the news: The comment comes as Democrats worry about Biden, who is the oldest person to assume the presidency, seeking a second term in office due to his age. The president will be 81 years old in 2024.

Happy, an Asian elephant that has lived in the Bronx Zoo for more than 40 years, will remain there after New York state's highest court ruled Tuesday that she isn't a person, in a legal sense, and therefore wasn't being illegally detained.

Why it matters: It was the first time the highest court in any English-speaking jurisdiction heard such a case brought on behalf of a nonhuman animal.

The Jan. 6 committee public hearing originally scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed to give the panel's video team more time to compile exhibits, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) told MSNBC on Tuesday.

Driving the news: "Putting together the video and the exhibits is an exhausting exercise for our very small video staff ... so we're trying to give them a little room to do their technical work," Lofgren said.

President Biden, in an Oval Office meeting last week with key members of his Cabinet, indicated he's leaning toward removing some products from the Trump administration's China tariffs list, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: With inflation at a 40-year high of 8.6%, Biden and his top officials are desperate to show action on bringing down prices, even if it makes them appear weak on China.

The Trump era drew many eyeballs around a slew of high-drama political hearings, but last week's Jan. 6 hearing has nearly topped them all.

The big picture: The Jan. 6 committee tried hard to grab America's fleeting attention by holding the hearing in prime time and by enlisting a former network news executive in the production.

Nearly 40% of law enforcement agencies nationwide, including the New York City Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, failed to report their 2021 crime data to the FBI, according to data provided to Axios Local from a partnership with The Marshall Project.

Why it matters: That will result in a data gap that experts say makes it harder to analyze crime trends and fact check claims politicians make about crime, reports The Marshall Project's Weihua Li.

One-third of Americans say most everyone they know except themselves seems to be moving past the pandemic, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Why it matters: Black, Democratic and urban respondents are the most likely to express this dichotomy. It's the latest measure of U.S. society fracturing over how to deal with rising case rates and hospitalizations in a post-mandate world.

Four Supreme Court justices (including the recently confirmed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson), Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey, Twitter's Jack Dorsey, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and multiple U.S. presidents all have something in common: They were high school debaters.

Why it matters: Most parents want their kids to put a sock in it and stop arguing. Turns out, we should encourage them to do more of it — more systematically.

Noted scholar and author Eddie S. Glaude is launching a new podcast examining American history and the country's troubled legacy on race, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Several states have passed or are pushing laws that limit the discussion of Black and Latino history in schools, while once-fringe neo-Nazi beliefs like white replacement theory have gone mainstream.

In the last four midterm cycles, the president's approval rating by June was at or slightly above where it ultimately landed in early November.

Driving the news: President Biden's average approval has hovered for months in the low 40s, but hit a new low of 39.7% on Monday — worse than former President Trump's was at this point in 2018, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Democratic groups are buying ads touting some of the most extreme pro-Trump candidates in Republican primaries around the country — meddling in GOP contests to set up more favorable matchups in November.

Why it matters: The risky gambit assumes general-election voters will reject candidates who embrace conspiracy theories or lies about the 2020 election. But it could dramatically backfire by vaulting fringe Republicans into national office.

The House Jan. 6 committee made its clearest attempt yet at Monday's hearing to establish potential criminal liability by people in former President Trump's inner circle.

Driving the news: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Amanda Wick, the committee's chief investigative counsel, zeroed in on what the Trump campaign's fundraising emails described as its "Official Election Defense Fund."