Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) was unable to garner enough votes Monday to convene a special legislative session for the state to consider stricter abortion laws.
Driving the news: Ricketts said previously that he would take action against abortion if Roe v. Wade were overturned. But his plan to prohibit abortions starting at 12 weeks fell three votes short, according to a statement from his office.
Parents Defending Education, a conservative parental rights group, filed a lawsuit against an Iowa school district last week, contesting the district's new policy regarding transgender and gender-nonconforming students, the Iowa Torch reported.
The big picture: Schools have become a battleground across the country, as parents and teachers vehemently disagree over what content should taught in schools, particularly when it comes to race, gender and sexuality.
More than 28% of drivers stopped in 2021 by sheriff’s deputies in one California county were Asian American even though Asians make up about 2% of its adult population, according to a new lawsuit filed by four Asian Americans.
Driving the news: The class-action suit, which comes as the U.S. struggles to confront a sustained surge in anti-Asian hate and discrimination, alleges that Siskiyou County officials and law enforcement have threatened, targeted and intimidated Hmong Americans and other Asian Americans in an effort to drive them out of the area.
A federal judge handed down another life sentence to Travis and Greg McMichael, two of three white men already in prison after being convicted in a state court for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Driving the news: The McMichaels, who are father and son, and their former neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan were found guilty of federal hate crimes earlier this year. On Monday, Bryan received an additional 35-year federal sentence, after also already being sentenced to life in state prison, albeit with the chance for parole.
A judge has authorized U.S. prosecutors to seize a $90 million Airbus plane owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Why it matters: The move is part of the U.S. effort to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by freezing and seizing assets belonging to Russian oligarchs.
President Joe Biden on Monday touted recent bipartisan legislation as a tool to help eastern Kentucky rebuild from the devastating floods that killed 38 people.
Why it matters: The winners advance to the November midterm ballot, when everything from control of the Congress and the state Legislature to Hennepin County's top prosecutor are on the line.
Police departments across the country are facing severe staffing shortages as they struggle to recruit and retain officers, and many departments have been forced to find new ways to fill the gaps.
Why it matters: The shortages have coincided with a spike in crime across the nation. The rate of violent crimes in the U.S. in 2020 rose for the first time in years, while the murder rate spiked 30%, the biggest increase since record-keeping began in 1960.
Former President Trump told his top White House aide that he wanted his generals to be more loyal, like the generals who had reported to Adolf Hitler, per an excerpt from Susan Glasser and Peter Baker's forthcoming book.
Why it matters: The exchange underscores the growing contentious relationship between the former president and his top military officials toward the end of his presidency.
Senate Democrats passed a $740 billion reconciliation package on Sunday that includes previsions that increase taxes on large corporations, address climate change and lower prescription drug costs.
Why it matters: The bill, though much smaller and less ambitious than what many Democrats wanted, has cleared its tallest hurdle and is expected to pass the House before heading to President Biden's desk for his signature.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is boosting state police presence after four Muslim men were shot and killed in recent months, including three in the last two weeks, the Albuquerque Journal reports.
Driving the news: The fourth murder occurred on Friday and police are investigating whether the shootings are connected, per Lujan Grisham's office.
Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley wrote former President Trump was "doing great and irreparable harm" to the country in a never-sent draft resignation letter in June 2020, per an excerpt from Susan Glasser and Peter Baker's forthcoming book.
Why it matters: Milley's letter, drafted in the days after police used tear gas and batons to clear protesters and journalists out of Trump's way for a photo op at Lafayette Square in Washington, shows the stark divide between Trump and the country's military leadership toward the end of his term.
Joe Biden has defied expectations, earning a legacy as a president who got big things done with a deeply divided Congress.
The big question for Democrats: Can the same man whose dismal approval ratings have dragged them down all year now rescue their House and Senate majorities?
Firefighters in Denver rescued multiple people from their vehicles Sunday night, as the National Weather Service warned monsoonal showers and thunderstorms could trigger flash flooding and "debris flows" from the Four Corners region into the Southwest.
The big picture: Flood-ravaged Kentucky was still under threat from another deluge, as President Biden and first lady Jill Biden prepared to visit the state, in response to at least 37 people being killed in last week's catastrophic flooding in the Appalachia.
Former President Trump remains the favorite to be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee among the most active conservatives.
Driving the news: Trump got 69% of the vote in a straw poll conducted at the weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, affirming the ex-president's continuing popularity since he left the White House.
Remember our toilet scoop in Axios AM earlier this year? Maggie Haberman's forthcoming book about former President Trump will report that White House residence staff periodically found wads of paper clogging a toilet — and believed the former president, a notorious destroyer of Oval Office documents, was the flusher.
Why it matters: Destroying records that should be preserved is potentially illegal.
Democrats thinking about moving to another state are about twice as likely to consider blue states than red or swing states — and Republicans' preference for red states over the alternatives is even more pronounced — according to the latest findings from our Axios-Ipsos Two Americas Index.
Why it matters: Ideological self-segregation may only be accelerating in these inflationary, post-Roe times.
Michigan's attorney general is requesting a special prosecutor to investigate alleged election breaches concerning her Trump-endorsed challenger, Matthew DePerno, Reuters first reported Sunday.
Why it matters: DePerno was previously accused of profiting off 2020 election conspiracies by Republican state senators, per Axios Detroit's Samuel Robinson.
Mayor Eric Adams of New York called for federal assistance Sunday as he criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending charter buses of migrants to the city.
Driving the news: The Republican governor has expanded to New York City a program that has bussed migrants to Washington as part of a protest against the Biden Administration's border policies.
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