The Trump-endorsed, election-denying candidate for Arizona secretary of state has raised more money than any of his competitors — including hundreds of thousands from out of state, according to a new analysis from the Brennan Center.
Why it matters: Arizona has become ground zero for election denialism, a phenomenon that will be put to the test in Tuesday's GOP primaries for governor, secretary of state and key down-ballot races.
Corporate America has launched a two-pronged, eleventh-hour assault on Democrats' reconciliation package by targeting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), the one person that big business hopes can stop — or modify — the $740 billion bill.
Why it matters: If successful, the barrage of paid media and personal phone calls will knock out the main provision that terrifies the business community: a 15% minimum book tax that will cost the biggest 150 U.S. companies some $313 billion over 10 years.
A bipartisan group of senators is leading a second attempt to codify federal abortion protections formerly provided by Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: Support across parties sets this effort apart from Democrats' last push on the issue, which didn't even win over all of the party's members.
The parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim who are suing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have gone into isolation and hired security after a series of "encounters" in Texas, the News Times reported.
The big picture: Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis, are suing Jones for defamation.
Jones, founder of the conspiracy website Infowars, repeatedly claimed the shooting never happened and that Jesse, 19 other children and six adults did not die at the elementary school.
A federal judge on Monday sentenced Guy Reffitt, a Texas man who brought a handgun to the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, to 87 months in prison, NBC News reports.
Why it matters: At just over 7 years, Reffitt's sentence is so far the longest related to the 2021 assault. Federal prosecutors were seeking a longer punishment by classifying his actions as domestic terrorism.
It's a tale as old as congressional reapportionment — an incumbent must court new voters after the decennial shifting of district lines. But this time, there's a twist: the incumbent has never represented an inch of the district.
Why it matters: This dynamic could cost one of Congress' most prominent new progressives, Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), his seat — just two years after he made history as one of the first two openly gay Black members of Congress.
The U.S. unveiled a fresh spate of sanctions against six entities that have facilitated the international sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.
Driving the news: The development — which follows other sanctions levied in June and July against the international networks supporting Iranian petrochemical sales — comes as formal talks over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal remain stalled.
Nicholas Kristof is returning to the New York Times after a court in February disqualified him from running for governor in Oregon, the newspaper announced Monday.
Catch up quick: The star columnist stepped down from the Times in October and subsequently announced his run for office, which was ultimately cut short after the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that he was ineligible because he didn't meet residency requirements.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken pressed Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in a phone call Saturday to publish the final conclusions of the Israeli military operational investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as soon as possible, two Israeli sources briefed on the call told Axios.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is under pressure from Democratic lawmakers to do more on the issue. In a meeting with Blinken last week, Abu Akleh's family called for a U.S. investigation that "leads to real accountability."
Ahead of the Israeli election in March 2020, then-President Trump wanted to publicly endorse former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political rival Benny Gantz, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and then-senior adviser at the White House, writes in his new book.
Why it matters: Kushner's remarks are further evidence of how bad the relationship between the former U.S. president and the former Israeli prime minister was at the time.
Schools are intensely focused this year on trying to regroup after two-plus years of interrupted learning — including helping students catch up, both socially and academically.
Why it matters: Students of all ages suffered steep declines in academic achievement during the pandemic. And with classes resuming soon, schools are facing a daunting challenge as they try to make up for that lost time.
A ship carrying grain left Ukraine's port of Odesa on the Black Sea on Monday.
Why it matters: The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship the Razoni is the first vessel to leave a Ukrainian port under an agreement between Ukraine and Russia, which was brokered by the United Nations with the help of Turkey.
Mike Pompeo criticized the Biden administration for warning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) against traveling to Taiwan during the congressional visit she's leading to Asia.
What he's saying: The Trump administration secretary of state told WABC 77 AM's "Cats Roundtable" to "allow America to be bullied by Chinese propaganda" following Biden's phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping "would send a really bad message to our friends in the region: the Australians, the South Koreans, the Japanese."
