Axios

The White House is convening groups of mayors from red and blue states to strategize on how to provide access to abortions after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Why it matters: President Biden has come under fire from some Democratic lawmakers and progressives for not moving quickly or forcefully enough to use his executive authority to ensure women maintain access to abortions.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are introducing legislation to set up a federal family planning website called life.gov to educate and provide family resources to pregnant women.

Why it matters: It's a glimpse into how the Republican Party wishes to move forward with federal legislation in the post-Roe era, as anti-abortion lawmakers and activists remain divided on the movement's next steps.

Editor's note: Due to an editing and transcript error, the headline, photos, url and article have been corrected to note that the proposed bill and quotes are from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to Axios' Alayna Treene.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is set to introduce legislation that would create a government website providing access to family planning services, along with information for pregnant women, she told Axios' Alayna Treene at an event Thursday.

Why it matters: The legislation is aimed "especially in places and states that are going to ban abortion" in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Mace said.

The Federal Reserve's government watchdog on Thursday cleared two top officials of any wrongdoing in a financial market trading scandal that rocked the central bank last year.

Why it matters: It was the biggest ethical scandal in the Fed's history, which drew ire from lawmakers and raised questions about how top economic policymakers can benefit from the policy they set.

The gunman accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket in May was indicted Thursday of dozens of charges, including 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The big picture: Payton Gendron, 19, is accused of killing 10 people and injuring three at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York on May 14.

Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of former President Trump, has died at the age of 73, per a statement from the Trump family.

Driving the news: "I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City," Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.

Muhammad A. Aziz, who last year was exonerated for the murder of civil rights leader Malcolm X, on Thursday sued New York City over the "official misconduct that caused him to spend over 20 years in prison."

The big picture: Aziz and Khalil Islam both spent decades in prison after they were wrongfully convicted in 1966 in the killing of Malcolm X. The two men were exonerated in November 2021.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is preparing to hold a vote on a narrow version of the Senate's expansive China competitiveness bill, focusing solely on emergency funding and a new tax credit for the semiconductor industry, a source familiar with his plans tells Axios.

Why it matters: Schumer is cutting bait — at least for now — on the broader U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act (USICA), with a compromise on the sweeping package becoming increasingly unlikely before Congress breaks for its August recess.

Just 28% of Americans say they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in public schools, the second lowest figure on record, a new Gallup poll revealed Thursday.

Why it matters: The poll illustrates a growing national divide over public education, which emerged as a political battleground during the pandemic, with debates over masking, openings and teachings about race dividing parents and triggering intense debates and school board meetings.

The Israeli government on Thursday approved the parameters of a deal around two strategic Red Sea islands that would pave the way for Saudi Arabia to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel.

Why it matters: The deal, which the U.S. has been quietly negotiating for months, would be a significant foreign policy achievement for the Biden administration in the Middle East.

Nearly 20 Senate Democrats are urging President Biden to "immediately" declare a public health emergency on abortion following the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Driving the news: "Millions of American women have been endangered by the Supreme Court’s reckless decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate the constitutional right to an abortion," the senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote in the letter.

President Biden said in Jerusalem Thursday that the U.S. won't "wait forever" for Iran to respond to its proposal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Driving the news: The last round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran in Qatar two weeks ago ended with no progress and no date for another round of talks.

The Republican Party is launching a program to help immigrants — and prospective voters — prepare for the civics portion of the naturalization test.

Why it matters: It's a part of a concerted move by the Republican Party to reach out to immigrants and build a multiracial coalition of working-class voters — a particularly notable move for a party that had a singular focus on restricting immigration under former President Trump.

Shifts in the demographics of the two parties' supporters — taking place before our eyes — are arguably the biggest political story of our time.

The big picture: Republicans are becoming more working class and a little more multiracial. Democrats are becoming more elite and a little more white.

Donald Trump is returning to Washington later this month for the first time since the end of his presidency, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Trump's planned July 26 visit — to headline an event for the America First Policy Institute — comes as the Jan. 6 committee's blockbuster hearings contribute to speculation his grip on the Republican Party may be weakening.

Republicans are taking a renewed interest in paid family leave — traditionally a Democratic priority — in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Why it matters: Republicans urgently want to establish themselves as pro-woman and pro-family, as critics accuse the party of caring about children only before they're born.

The FDA said it has issued warnings to two manufacturers for marketing synthetic vaping products without authorization and sent 107 other warning letters to retailers for illegally selling such products to underage buyers in recent days.

Driving the news: The Food and Drug Administration has moved to crack down on vaping companies that use non-tobacco nicotine products since a law designed to close a loophole that companies had exploited to avoid oversight of devices like e-cigarettes took effect in April.

Pope Francis appointed three women to the Vatican office that advises the pontiff in the selection of bishops worldwide on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Nuns Raffaella Petrini and Yvonne Reungoat and laywoman Maria Lia Zervino are the first women to join the previously exclusively male Dicastery for Bishops, per the Vatican News.

The House passed a bill on Wednesday to expand health care access for veterans who became ill after being exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in the military.

Driving the news: The bill, which passed 342 votes to 88, would make it easier for more than 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic burn pits since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to obtain health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, per a statement from House Veterans' Affairs Chair Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

A statue of Black educator Mary McLeod Bethune replaced the statue of a Confederate general in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Mary McLeod Bethune is the first Black American to have a state statue in the hall. She replaces Edmund Kirby Smith, who was among the last to surrender at the end of the Civil War in 1865.

The House approved legislation on Wednesday to create an active shooter alert network.

Driving the news: The bill would create the Active Shooter Alert Communications Network to issue AMBER-style alerts to make people aware of active shooter situations in their area.

A Secret Service employee was sent back to the U.S. after being briefly detained in Israel following an alleged "physical encounter," the federal agency said Wednesday.

Driving the news: Secret Service agents went to Israel ahead of President Biden's visit to the country this week, and the employee was "detained and questioned by Israeli police" last Monday, a spokesperson said.

17 former swing districts — out of a total of 90 in 2021 — are now more favorable for Republicans after lines were redrawn through redistricting, according to the new 2022 Cook Partisan Voter Index and analysis from Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman.

Why it matters: Republicans had the power to draw maps in more states than Democrats, helping them solidify seats they already hold and potentially pick up more in November.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will run out of money before October unless the Department of Homeland Security pulls millions of dollars from other programs, as the surge of migrants at the border drives up costs, three sources familiar with the details tell Axios.

Why it matters: ICE is one of the most controversial government agencies and a target for progressives because of its role in arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants. But under President Biden, it's poised to spend more taxpayer funds than ever as it closes an estimated $345 million shortfall for the current fiscal year.

Still reeling from the Supreme Court's decision to end Roe v. Wade, congressional Democrats are readying legislation to codify nationwide contraceptive access, LGBTQ marriage and parenting rights — and even potentially long-settled precedent on interracial marriage. The question: Will Republicans go along, or block them?

Driving the news: In interviews Wednesday with Axios, more than 20 Senate Republicans — including several seen as moderates or bipartisan dealmakers — declined to commit to a position.