Axios

Rep. Abigail Spanberger's (D-Va.) visit this week to a union training facility for workers learning skills to become electricians illustrated the nuances of campaigning for the blue-collar vote in swing districts this year.

Why it matters: Democrats have lost significant ground with blue-collar workers, even as trade union leadership has remained aligned with the party. President Biden has tried to revitalize Democrats' historic ties to labor, making two Labor Day campaign appearances last week in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

Voters will decide the legality of abortion in Michigan after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday to put a proposal to enshrine abortion rights on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Driving the news: The Michigan Supreme Court, which holds a Democratic majority, ruled 5-2 to direct the Board of State Canvassers to certify the ballot initiative making the Nov. 8 ballot.

SPRINGFIELD, Pa. — Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania Senate, continued to press the issue of debates against his opponent John Fetterman, one day after the Democrat said he'd agree to participate in a single October debate.

Driving the news: "The first debate has to be in September so we can allow voters to know who their candidates are right now," Oz told Axios. "Pick one of the debates in the next two, three weeks. So we can get this ball rolling." Oz said he wouldn't accept a mid-October debate until Fetterman agrees to one sooner.

The Department of Justice on Thursday filed a motion to appeal a federal judge's ruling to allow a special master to review evidence seized from former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence last month.

State of play: The notice of appeal comes three days after Judge Aileen Cannon ruled on Monday that a special master should be appointed "to review the seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege," per the filing.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday touted the economic impact of the Biden administration’s agenda, while acknowledging the blow soaring inflation has delivered to households.

Why it matters: The remarks, delivered in a speech outside of Detroit, mark the beginning of a weekslong effort to sell President Joe Biden’s policies ahead of the midterm elections. With decades-high inflation, the economy remains an issue front-and-center for voters.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday issued its final rule to rescind a Trump-era immigration policy that limited benefits for immigrants who used public assistance benefits, such as housing vouchers or Medicaid.

Driving the news: The DHS law rolls back Trump's "public charge" immigration rule, which restricted immigration benefits for foreigners who "are likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence," per the DHS.

Latinas in and around Aspen, Colorado, are increasingly running for — and winning — elected office, a notable trend in the affluent and traditionally white-dominated mountain communities of this battleground state.

Why it matters: Latinos help build and run this area's famous ski resorts. But they've traditionally held little political power.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was charged by prosecutors in New York on Thursday with money laundering and conspiracy in connection with allegations that he defrauded donors to a group aimed at building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Driving the news: Bannon surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney's office and pleaded not guilty to six charges, which include two counts of money laundering and stem from his work with We Build the Wall.

The Pentagon's acting inspector general told two Republican senators he'll conduct a review regarding a whistleblower's allegations that the Biden administration evacuated and brought to the U.S. hundreds of individuals whose names appeared on a Defense Department watch list, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The nonpartisan watchdog's evaluation could provide new ammunition for GOP lawmakers who have already signaled plans to hold hearings on the administration's controversial Afghanistan exit if they win control of Congress in November.

The Miami-Dade School Board late Wednesday rejected a measure recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month, fearing that doing so would violate the state's Parental Rights in Education Bill, dubbed by critics as "Don't Say Gay," Politico reports.

Why it matters: The meeting lasted hours and drew protests from parents, teachers and students. It's the latest example of how school boards have emerged as ground zero for culture wars, particularly in the Sunshine State.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during a visit to Kyiv Thursday that the U.S. will provide $2.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine and 18 other European countries that are "potentially at risk of future Russian aggression."

Why it matters: The new aid comes after Ukraine launched its first major counter-offensive at the end of last month to retake Russian-occupied Kherson in the country's south.

Ben Smith, former editor of BuzzFeed News, will be out May 2 with "Traffic," a history of clickbait culture, and its consequences for democracy — the "origin story of the Age of Disinformation."

• "I was surprised at all the things we hadn't seen coming — the forces we hadn't realized we were playing with, the illusion that we had control over them," Ben told me.

For the second election cycle in a row, a Republican-appointed federal judge in Texas has given Democrats an opening to campaign on saving the Affordable Care Act — an opportunity they relish.

Why it matters: Weaponizing the GOP's 2017 attempt to repeal and replace the ACA was hugely successful for Democrats in the 2018 midterms. Republicans have been eager to talk about anything but the ACA since then, but Judge Reed O'Connor has twice now issued decisions that put key tenets of the law at risk.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to bring the border crisis to Democratic mayors' doorsteps has city hall officials across the country huddling about what to do the moment a bus pulls up.

Why it matters: Critics, including Abbott's Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke, call it a political stunt, but the migrant busing effort will test the values of so-called sanctuary cities as their mayors grapple with social safety-net issues.

MIXCO, GUATEMALA — Two wide-eyed schoolgirls in uniforms watched in silence from their doorway early one morning last week as armed national police, working in partnership with U.S. officials, raided a neighbor's cinder block home to seize evidence of a fraudulent visa-making operation.

Why it matters: The suspect, working under the alias “Robocop,” was the target of a special group of Guatemala's national police who are trained by U.S. Homeland Security officials to crack down on migrant and drug smuggling, human trafficking, fraud and other crimes that impact American security.

Police in Memphis, Tennessee, have arrested a suspect after four people were killed and three others wounded in a series of shootings on Wednesday.

The latest: Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis said at a briefing early Thursday at least one of the shootings was broadcast on Facebook live. In another broadcast, the suspect was "threatening to cause harm to citizens," Davis said.

Police said Wednesday evening they arrested a suspect in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.

Driving the news: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a short statement that a suspect had been taken into custody. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the Review-Journal the arrested suspect was Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, a Democrat.

Colorado county clerk Tina Peters pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to tampering with voting equipment, CPR News reports.

Why it matters: The prominent Trump-supporting election denier is accused of violating security protocols and allowing an unauthorized breach of her county's election system. Sensitive information from the machines was later shared online.

A pair of Latino consultants — one Democrat and one Republican — is launching a new website focused specifically on curating news about Latino voters.

The big picture: Latino.vote aims to be a RealClearPolitics or Drudge Report-like aggregation source for any news about Hispanic voters, a growing bloc whose political power is being closely tracked amid recent shifts in voting behavior.

Senators spearheading a bill to codify marriage equality rights are eyeing fixes to the legislation that would clarify it does not protect polygamous relationships or marriage between more than two individuals.

Why it matters: It's one of the steps being taken to secure the 10 Republican votes needed to break a filibuster and send the House-passed bill to President Biden's desk.

In one of the most competitive House races in the country, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is focusing on the economy and her independent brand — not abortion — to try to win in a district with a +2 Republican advantage.

Why it matters: The former Pentagon official, who rode suburban outrage over then-President Donald Trump to victory in 2018, has shown she can win a tight race. Her approach this year suggests campaigning on women's reproductive rights may not be a silver bullet for Democrats in every race in the country.

A slip-up by social media giant Snap allowed leading Democratic campaigns and party committees to unwittingly tap into a vast repository of Republican voter data to hone their midterm ads, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: There's no indication Snap was aware of or facilitated that data sharing, and the company said it's taking steps to rectify the oversight. But the blunder underscores the sensitivities surrounding reams of voter data that have become a highly valuable political commodity.