Axios

President Biden on Wednesday commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the abduction of American journalist and Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice, reiterating calls for the Syrian government to release him.

Why it matters: Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, is one of the longest-held and most high-profile American hostages.

A Dallas grand jury has indicted a 37-year-old man for committing aggravated assault after he allegedly shot three Asian women in a Dallas Koreatown hair salon in what police have labeled a hate crime.

Driving the news: Jeremy Smith intentionally targeted the women "because of his bias or prejudice against Asian Americans," according to the Dallas County district attorney’s office.

Attorneys for former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao filed Wednesday their intent to appeal the federal prison sentences handed down for their roles in the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, the Star Tribune reports.

Why it matters: Kueng and Thao were sentenced to three and 3 1/2 years in prison, respectively, after they were convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights by not intervening as Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are preparing an investigation into the National Archives and Records Administration in response to the FBI’s search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.

Why it matters: The probe adds to an already sprawling array of investigations into the Biden administration planned by Republicans if they retake the House next year.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced new school safety protocols for the Uvalde school district Wednesday, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School took the lives of 19 children and two adults.

Why it matters: As the new academic year approaches, the measures are intended to ensure students, parents and faculty feel secure as they return to school following the May shooting, Abbott said in a news release.

Seven in 10 Americans, regardless of party affiliation, want to be able to vote on an abortion measure on their state ballot, according to a new Ipsos/USA Today poll released Wednesday.

Driving the news: The poll was conducted after Kansas became the first state in the post-Roe era in which U.S. voters cast a ballot on abortion — they decided last week to reject an amendment that would have gotten rid of abortion protections in the state's Constitution.

Ahmaud Arbery's hometown of Brunswick, Georgia, this week dedicated a street in honor of his legacy.

The big picture: The dedication occurred after 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 Arbery's murder.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was told by the Justice Department that he was a second target of a plot, revealed Wednesday, by an Iranian operative to murder former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton.

Driving the news: A source close to Pompeo told Axios that DOJ "has confirmed directly to Secretary Pompeo that he is one of the individuals who has been targeted by those who are [charged] in the announced DOJ [documents]."

California has become the first in the nation to require state agencies to include a separate category for descendants of enslaved people in its collection of employee data.

Why it matters: Advocates say the data disaggregation will help identify and address long-held inequities within Black communities. Many descendants see it as a model for other states — and the federal government — to follow.

The Justice Department unsealed charges Wednesday against a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate former Trump national security adviser John Bolton.

Why it matters: Bolton has for decades been a fierce critic of the Iranian regime, which has threatened retaliation against him and other top Trump administration officials over the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

President Biden signed the PACT Act into law Wednesday, expanding health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.

Driving the news: The bipartisan bill is the biggest expansion to veterans' health care and benefits in the last three decades, the White House said.

Former President Trump said Wednesday that he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer any questions from New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) during a deposition for her office's civil investigation into his business' financial dealings.

Why it matters: The deposition comes as Trump has faced a new level of legal scrutiny and just days after the FBI executed a search warrant at the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence in an unrelated investigation.

Republican Brad Finstad won a special election to fill the remainder of late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn's term in southern Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, the Associated Press reports.

The big picture: Finstad, a former legislator and USDA rural development director, defeated Democratic nominee and former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger.

Nearly half of all principals said that political issues were job-related stressors last year, according to a RAND Corporation report out Wednesday.

Why it matters: Public education emerged as a political flashpoint during the pandemic, with intense debates over masking and teachings about race splitting parents and prompting increased threats against school employees.

House Democrats' campaign arm is going on the air with a six-figure, abortion-focused ad buy in the special election in New York's 19th District, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The Aug. 23 race is an early test of whether Democrats' focus on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will be enough to counter Republicans' attacks on inflation.

Democrats call it "the most important climate legislation in the world."

• Republicans label it a tax hike.

Trumpworld is abuzz with speculation about which close aide or aides has "flipped" and provided additional sensitive information to the FBI about what former President Trump was keeping at Mar-a-Lago, sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Trump's orbit is always an environment rife with mistrust and paranoia. Now, that's intensified.

CFR President Richard Haass writes in a preface to his forthcoming book, "The Bill of Obligations," out Jan. 24, that he's often asked: "Richard, what keeps you up at night?"

• Questioners usually suggest possible answers: Is it China? Russia? North Korea? Iran? Terrorism? Climate change? Cyberattacks? Another pandemic?

Jim Schultz has won the Republican nomination to challenge Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in November, AP reports.

The big picture: Schultz, an attorney and political newcomer who was endorsed by the state Republican Party, defeated 2018 GOP attorney general nominee Doug Wardlow, a lawyer for MyPillow founder and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, in Tuesday's primary.

A former Twitter employee was convicted Tuesday of charges related to spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia by obtaining information on dissidents who used the platform.

Driving the news: A federal jury in San Francisco found Ahmad Abouammo, a 44-year-old dual U.S.-Lebanese citizen, guilty on six of 11 criminal counts, including acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying U.S. officials.

Tim Michels, who was endorsed by former President Trump in Wisconsin's gubernatorial primary, clinched the nomination on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Michels will go on to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in what is expected to be one of the most contentious elections of the cycle — with implications for the 2024 election.

Trump-endorsed House candidate Derrick Van Orden on Tuesday became the latest candidate who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 to secure a Republican nomination.

Why it matters: Van Orden is running in Wisconsin's 3rd District, which voted for Trump by nearly 5 points in 2020 and is seen as one of Republicans’ top pickup opportunities this year after Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) announced his retirement.

Scott Jensen won Tuesday's Republican primary for Minnesota governor and is now the challenger to incumbent Democrat Gov. Tim Walz in the November election.

Driving the news: Jensen and Walz both sailed to victory in their respective primary bids, the Associated Press projects.

Wisconsin's Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is looking ahead to November's Senate election against Sen. Ron Johnson (R) after clinching the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: Barnes' victory tees up a battle between a true-blue progressive and a hard-right conservative in one of the most pivotal battleground states, Axios' Josh Kraushaar notes.

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), one of the 10 House Republicans who voted for former President Trump’s impeachment, conceded in her primary election on Tuesday, one week after ballots were cast.

Why it matters: The upset result is a major victory for Trump, who targeted Herrera Beutler as part of his effort to purge perceived disloyalty within the GOP, particularly by going after Republicans who voted for impeachment.

Top Republicans in Congress have coalesced around a call for the Justice Department to provide more information on its search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

Why it matters: The demands stop short of the fiery denunciations of some Trump allies, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) call to "defund the FBI," but still signal a combative posture in response to the search.

Two U.S. House Democrats proposed a measure Tuesday that would make it illegal for airlines to offer flights when they know they don't have enough staff.

Why it matters: After two years of pandemic-related travel frustrations and a summer of canceled flights, the measure is the latest push by lawmakers to regulate the aviation industry.