Axios

The Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday requested an interview with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) about his involvement in events leading up to the Capitol riot.

Why it matters: The request indicates the panel is still pursuing new investigative avenues even as they prepare to hold more hearings and put out a comprehensive report in the coming months.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) does not support the most recent federal data privacy bill in its current form, she announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The proposal has won bipartisan support and is farther along than any other recent privacy legislation, but without Pelosi's backing, lawmakers working to pass such a law face a much more uphill battle.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano is suing the Jan. 6 select committee, Politico reports.

Why it matters: The lawsuit will set up a legal battle between Mastriano, who has been endorsed by former President Trump, and the Jan. 6 committee investigating Trump's actions on Jan. 6.

About a fifth of U.S. adults say they or someone close to them has had an experience with gun violence in the past five years, a new poll found.

The big picture: There are significant racial and ethnic disparities in experiences with gun violence, per the poll done by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

A judge sentenced Thomas Webster, a 20-year NYPD veteran, to 10 years in prison on Thursday for assaulting an officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot with a metal flagpole, AP reports.

Why it matters: It is the longest sentence given out so far over charges related to the 2021 assault, surpassing the previous sentence of 87 months shared by two other Jan. 6 rioters.

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter says a Republican takeover of the House is "no longer a foregone conclusion," as concern over protecting abortion rights fuels Democratic voter engagement and lower gas prices ease the party's deficit with independent voters.

Driving the news: The publication’s House editor Dave Wasserman on Thursday moved the ratings of five more House seats in Democrats’ direction.

• The rating changes include the Alaska House seat that Democrat Mary Peltola won in a special election over Trump-backed Republican Sarah Palin. Wasserman rates the Alaska seat a "toss-up" for November.
• Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, representing a bellwether suburban district that backed President Biden by 6 points, is now rated as the favorite to win re-election against Republican Yesli Vega. "Vega's Todd Akin-like 'hot mic' comments about the likelihood of pregnancy following rape are a godsend to Spanberger," Wasserman writes.
• Wasserman also points out that "Republican primaries pulling candidates to the right" have been a factor in the improved forecast for Democrats.

Why it matters: While Republicans are still favored to win back a House majority, it's now likelier their margins will be narrower than once expected. And the fact that there's now a path for Democrats to hold their majority, however narrow, is a sea change from expectations just a couple of months ago.

Zoom out: A new Wall Street Journal poll, conducted by Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and Biden pollster John Anzalone, shows clear Democratic momentum over the summer.

• Democrats now hold a 3-point edge (47%-44%) on the generic congressional ballot, a significant swing since the pollsters' March 2022 survey. Back then, Republicans held a 5-point advantage.
• Among political independents, more voters now favor a Democratic candidate for Congress than a Republican (38%-35%). In March, Republicans led among independents by 12 percentage points.
• President Biden's job approval rating has jumped to 45%, a 4-point bounce since March. He would comfortably defeat former President Trump in a 2024 rematch, 50%-44%. In March, the two candidates were tied.

But, but, but: There are still plenty of warning signs for overconfident Democrats. Only 23% of respondents believe the country is headed in the right direction, and 35% have a favorable view of the economy. Republicans hold a 12-point advantage over Democrats on who's better to get inflation under control.

• And another Fabrizio and Anzalone poll of Nevada voters (commissioned by AARP) shows Democrats in rough shape. The Nevada survey finds Biden with just a 40% job approval rating, while Democratic incumbents for governor and Senate are statistically tied with their GOP challengers.

The bottom line: Democrats are in the best political position they've been in all year. But campaigns are just beginning to ramp up after the Labor Day weekend, and the party in power is typically more vulnerable to a fickle American electorate.

A Somerset, New Jersey, man pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting police officers with pepper spray during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Why it matters: One of the law enforcement officials assaulted was U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer Brian Sicknick, who suffered two strokes and died of natural causes the day after the Capitol attack.

A federal judge ruled Thursday Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) must comply with a subpoena and testify before the Atlanta special grand jury investigating possible criminal efforts to overturn the 2020 election, rejecting his appeal to quash the subpoena.

Why it matters: Prosecutors have argued that Graham, the highest profile figure to be subpoenaed by the Fulton County District Attorney as part of the investigation, must testify because his actions around the election "certainly appear" linked to former President Trump's effort to pressure Georgia election officials into helping him with the state.

An Indiana man who allegedly fatally shot a Dutch soldier and wounded two others in downtown Indianapolis was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder and disorderly conduct, prosecutors said Thursday.

Driving the news: Shamar Duncan, 22, was arrested Tuesday and is in custody, police said. The three Dutch soldiers he allegedly shot were in Indiana for urban combat training at a nearby base.

Spending is ramping up for one of the closest House races in the U.S., a California contest that pits a Republican incumbent against a Hispanic Democratic challenger.

Why it matters: Republican Rep. David Valadao's seat is one of a handful of contests that could decide which party controls Congress.

An attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers militia was arrested in Texas Thursday on charges related to the Capitol riot, the Washington Post reports.

Driving the news: According to a court filing Wednesday, Kellye SoRelle was indicted on four counts — conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, trespassing on restricted grounds and tampering with documents.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed an executive order Wednesday setting aside $10 million to develop a new reproductive health care clinic near the state's Texas border.

Why it matters: The new clinic will expand access in the state to the "full spectrum of reproductive health care" and help it prepare for a potential increase in people seeking abortions from other states that have restricted or banned access to the procedure in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The House Oversight Committee reached a deal with former President Trump to obtain "key financial documents" from his accounting firm as part of its investigation into his potential conflicts of interest and foreign financial ties, committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Thursday.

Why it matters: The deal appears to end Trump's yearslong effort to prevent Congress, and specifically the House Oversight Committee, from obtaining his private financial records from Mazars USA, a tax and accounting firm.

San Francisco voters will decide in November if Brooke Jenkins, the mayor-appointed district attorney, will retain her role as the city's top prosecutor.

Why it matters: San Franciscans are divided over crime and policing in the city, and the role of the DA is to decide whether to file criminal charges and the severity of those indictments.

Reading scores for elementary school students plunged to their lowest levels since 1990 during the first two years of the pandemic — and math scores dropped for the first time in the history of a nationally representative test dating back to the 1970s.

Why it matters: The national test results out Thursday lay out the extent to which the pandemic devastated learning outcomes for America's students, particularly for those who were most vulnerable even before the pandemic.

Most people trust their employers, despite falling confidence in government and media, the Edelman Trust Barometer finds in a new special report on "Trust in the Workplace" shared first with Axios.

Why it matters: That creates both an opportunity and an obligation for employers. They need to communicate clearly and consistently with workers, who are ready to listen.

Top Republicans' biggest private fear — that November's midterms will turn on public opinion about former President Trump, not inflation and crime — is unfolding across the political landscape.

Why it matters: Trump is dominating the news, picking Trump-like candidates in primaries — and shaping the views and rhetoric of elected officials, and those hoping to become one.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will deliver a major economic speech in Detroit next week as part of a month-long push to sell President Biden's signature legislative achievements before the midterms, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Deploying Yellen, an economist who has been reluctant to lend her name to arguments she doesn’t buy, is the administration's attempt to seize on a spate of positive headlines and make a broader intellectual argument for Biden's efforts to re-engineer large sections of the economy.

Graphics-chip maker Nvidia announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that the U.S. government is restricting sales to China, "effective immediately."

Driving the news: The U.S. government has imposed a new license requirement "for any future export to China (including Hong Kong) and Russia" in order to "address the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a 'military end use,'" per the filing.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Wednesday night the arrival of a bus of migrants from his state to Chicago for the first time.

The big picture: Texas has spent over $12 million bussing migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C., which, like Chicago, have Democrat mayors, per Axios' Herb Scribner.

Ocean heat content, global sea levels and greenhouse gas concentrations all reached record highs in 2021, according to the State of the Climate report published Wednesday.

The big picture: The annual report showcases compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing, said Rick Spinrad of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which led the study.

Former President Trump issued a defiant response Wednesday evening to the Department of Justice's filing indicating it has evidence classified documents were "likely concealed and removed."

Driving the news: Trump's legal team in a filing accused the government of twisting the framework of his request for a "special master" to review the evidence the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago home, after the DOJ cited "national security interests" to the court as it outlined its opposition to such an appointment.

Democrat Mary Peltola on Wednesday won the special election to represent Alaska's lone U.S. House seat, per the Alaska Division of Elections.

Why it matters: Peltola's victory is a major upset in a state that voted for former President Trump by 10 points in 2020, and it makes her the first Alaska Native elected to Congress.