Axios

Former Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will advance to the special general election to replace deceased Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), according to the Associated Press.

Why it matters: Palin is attempting her political comeback after more than a decade out of politics with support from former President Trump.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officer who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya after a traffic stop in April has been fired, City Manager Mark Washington said in a statement Wednesday.

Details: The termination took place on June 10 after the former officer, Christopher Schurr, waived his right to a discharge hearing, per the statement. The incident drew national attention after videos of Lyoya's final moments were made public.

• The videos showed Schurr lying on the back of Lyoya, 26, before Schurr fatally shot him in the head.

Driving the news: Schurr was charged with second-degree murder in Kent County last week.

Two U.S. veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia are missing, the Associated Press reports.

Driving the news: Family members of both Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, have been in contact with Senate and House offices about their missing relatives, AP reports.

The Jan. 6 select committee will break down a scheme to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to reject electors into four parts at its hearing on Thursday, committee aides say.

Why it matters: The committee has honed in on former President Trump's pressure campaign as a pivotal element of his broader efforts to overturn the 2020 election — and a potentially illegal one.

A federal grand jury indicted a California man on federal charges of attempting to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: The man, identified as Nicholas Roske, 26, was arrested near Kavanaugh's Maryland home with a handgun and burglary tools last week after he allegedly told law enforcement authorities that he traveled to Maryland intending to kill the justice.

Ten years after then-President Obama established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shields over 600,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation, many remain uncertain of their future.

Why it matters: A 2020 Pew Research Center survey found that roughly 75% of U.S. adults say they are in favor of granting permanent legal status in these cases, yet the program dangles in peril. As President Biden on Wednesday commemorated the program's 10-year anniversary, DACA recipients — and their allies — are still pushing for immediate action on a pathway to citizenship.

Elon Musk said Wednesday that he is leaning toward backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if he decides to run for president in 2024, one month after the Tesla founder said that he can "no longer support Democrats."

Driving the news: Musk on Wednesday was asked on Twitter who he was "leaning towards" in the 2024 presidential election. "DeSantis," he responded.

The New Mexico State Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Republican-led Otero County Commission to certify the 2022 primary election results no later than Friday, The Guardian reports.

Why it matters: The New Mexico secretary of state sued the commission Tuesday over its refusal to certify election results. The commission's decision, which cited concerns over Dominion voting machines, underscores the extent to which former President Trump's illegitimate claims of election fraud have manifested in distrust in elections on all levels, including locally.

The recent streak of mass shootings in the U.S. has renewed calls for stricter gun control laws, and put the National Rifle Association back in the spotlight.

Why it matters: The NRA for decades has been one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country, but it may not hold the sway it once did.

President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to strengthen protections for people in the LGBTQ community as states attempt to pass a raft of controversial anti-LGBTQ measures.

Driving the news: Biden signed the order to commemorate Pride Month, while hosting families, advocates and allies who have been impacted by these restrictive state measures.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with an additional $1 billion in military aid to help the country defend itself from Russia.

Driving the news: The aid comes as Ukraine and Russia engage in a fierce battle for control of Severodonetsk, the last remaining major city still under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas.

The Jan. 6 select committee on Wednesday released new information about a Jan. 5 tour of the Capitol complex led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), alleging one of the tour group members later filmed videos threatening lawmakers.

Why it matters: The panel is renewing a request for Loudermilk to testify as part of a deep dive into alleged "surveillance" tours — even as they execute blockbuster hearings to showcase the evidence they've already gathered.

The 18-year-old white man who is believed to have killed 10 people in a mass shooting in Buffalo last month, most of whom were Black, was charged with 26 counts of federal hate crimes on Wednesday.

Driving the news: "[Payton] Gendron's motive for the mass shooting was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks," prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York wrote in a court filing.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a new health advisory Wednesday for pervasive industrial "forever chemicals" in drinking water.

Why it matters: The EPA now believes, based on newly available science, that certain types of these chemicals are more dangerous than previously thought.

The U.S. Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions on Wednesday against members of the white supremacist Russian Imperial Movement, which the State Department designated a terrorist group in 2020.

What they're saying: "RIM and its supporters continue to exacerbate Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine through their fundraising efforts," Brian Nelson, the undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

President Biden has tapped former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to replace Cedric Richmond as one of his most senior aides, bringing a Democratic rising star and former VP contender into the White House at a critical juncture, Axios was first to report.

Why it matters: As director of the White House Office of Public Engagement beginning in the coming weeks, Bottoms will immediately have access to some of the most high-level planning and strategy sessions in the West Wing — and to the president himself.

The U.S. asked Israel to refrain from any actions in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem that could create tensions ahead of President Biden’s visit next month, four Israeli, U.S. and Palestinian officials told Axios.

Why it matters: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is frustrated over recent contentious Israeli moves in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and furious about the U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a briefing with reporters Wednesday that President Biden’s trip to the Middle East next month could lead to a warming of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which don't have official ties.

Why it matters: Saudi Arabia wasn’t part of the Abraham Accords that were brokered by the Trump administration and led to normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

"Immediate action" is needed to avoid a water supply crisis next year because of the Colorado River's depleted reservoirs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's chief, Camille Calimlim Touton.

Driving the news: The West's climate-change driven megadrought has plunged the nation's two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, to historic lows. "Between 2 million acre-feet and 4 million acre-feet of additional conservation is needed just to protect critical levels in 2023," Touton said Tuesday.

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt won the state's Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, holding off a primary challenge by former Army veteran Sam Brown, per AP.

Why it matters: Laxalt, who was endorsed by former President Trump, will now take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in a race the GOP sees as a prime opportunity to flip a seat in their quest to take back control of the Senate.

Republican Mayra Flores comfortably won a Democrat-held U.S. House seat in South Texas on Tuesday, according to AP.

Why it matters: Flores' victory is a boon to Republicans in a region where they have made substantial gains in recent years and are aiming to pick up more seats in November.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Tuesday beat back a primary challenge from former state legislator and Pentagon official Katie Arrington, according to AP.

Why it matters: Former President Trump endorsed Arrington as part of his crusade to stamp out perceived disloyalty within the Republican Party, and her loss adds to a growing list of failed Trump-backed candidacies.

Senators are aiming to pass gun legislation by the July Fourth recess, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Wednesday. That's despite "red flag laws" remaining a sticking point, CNN reports.

The big picture: Murphy is among a bipartisan group of senators convened after the deadly mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that reached an agreement on gun safety over the weekend. The legislative text is still being written.

Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) lost his re-election bid to Trump-endorsed challenger Russell Fry on Tuesday night, according to AP.

Why it matters: Rice is the first House Republican to lose his or her re-election bid to a Republican primary challenger after voting to impeach former President Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

• Several others, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, are also at risk of losing to Trump-endorsed challengers.

The Southern Baptist Convention passed two reforms to address sexual abuse at its annual convention on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The reforms follow a report that found SBC leaders mishandled sexual abuse claims and survivors were "met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility" from some within the SBC's Executive Committee.

New York's highest court rejected former President Trump's attempt to avoid testifying in state Attorney General Letitia James' civil investigation into his business.

Why it matters: James has alleged that the Trump Organization "used fraudulent and misleading asset valuations on multiple properties to obtain economic benefits." The former president and his two elder children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are scheduled to testify under oath on July 15.