Axios

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law Tuesday a pair of bills aimed at addressing harassment and hate in public spaces after Asian Americans pushed for action.

Why it matters: Two in three of the nearly 11,500 incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate in the last two years involved harassment such as verbal hate speech or inappropriate gestures — but verbal harassment often doesn't meet the legal definition of a hate crime. Advocates say the new laws are a first step toward developing better policy recommendations to address that gap.

Democrat Mary Peltola was sworn in Tuesday to represent Alaska in the House, becoming the first Alaska Native Congress member in U.S. history and the first woman to hold the seat.

Why it matters: It's the first time Alaska Natives, who make up 16% of the state's population, will have a voice in national office. Peltola, who is Yup’ik, will serve out the rest of the late Rep. Don Young's (R-Alaska) term after defeating Sarah Palin in the special election.

A woman whose rape kit DNA was used to arrest her for an unrelated crime filed a lawsuit Monday against the city of San Francisco.

Driving the news: The sexual assault victim, identified only as Jane Doe, is suing for unspecified damages and is hoping to hold the city accountable, her attorney, Adante Pointer, told the New York Times.

Ken Starr, the prolific prosecutor in the Whitewater probe during former President Bill Clinton's term, has died. He was 76.

Driving the news: Starr died from complications related to surgery at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, according to a statement from his family.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Tuesday that the state has launched a website to help people both inside and outside of the state access information about abortions, their legal rights and where to find providers.

Why it matters: The launch comes on the heels of Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) proposal of a bill that would ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday filed a state ethics complaint against New York Attorney General Letitia James, the New York Times reports.

Driving the news: Cuomo is accusing James of deliberately mishandling the investigation that found that he sexually harassed multiple former and current government employees.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a bill on Tuesday that would ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks.

Driving the news: "We will introduce legislation ... to get America in a position at the federal level I think is fairly consistent with the rest of the world," Graham said Tuesday in announcing the legislation.

King Charles III received a warm welcome in Belfast on Tuesday while pledging to continue his mother's work of "healing of long-held hurts" within Northern Ireland.

Why it matters: Queen Elizabeth II, who died late last week, became a symbol of reconciliation toward the end of a three-decade-long period of sectarian violence known as "the Troubles."

The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Tuesday asked the National Archives and Records Administration to determine whether any presidential records suspected to have been taken by former President Trump when he left office remain unrecovered by the government.

Why it matters: Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to the Archives that her investigation is aimed at ascertaining the full scope of Trump’s actions and potentially crafting legislative reforms.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, a top White House aide, said Tuesday that the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision will be the biggest motivating factor for voter turnout during the midterm elections.

Driving the news: "I think across the country, especially for women ... of course it will be the Dobbs decision," Bottoms said during Tuesday's Axios event.

Former Vice President Mike Pence writes in a memoir — "So Help Me God," out Nov. 15 — that when the Capitol was attacked while he was presiding over a joint session to certify the 2020 election results, "I was not afraid, but I was angry."

What he's saying: "I was angry at what I saw, how it desecrated the seat of our democracy and dishonored the patriotism of millions of our supporters, who would never do such a thing here or anywhere else," Pence writes on the book's back cover, seen here for the first time.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will soon transfer $15 million from his re-election campaign to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, as well as Senate incumbents and candidates in battleground states, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The cash infusion, less than two months until the November midterm elections, is the most money Schumer has ever transferred to other candidates in an election cycle, a source familiar tells Axios.

Above is the program for this afternoon's South Lawn event celebrating last month's signing of the Inflation Reduction Act — the green-energy-and-more package that passed with Congress on the way out of town for the summer.

• "The Inflation Reduction Act is one of the most significant laws in our Nation's history," Biden says on the card, striking an optimistic tone two months from the midterms. "It is further proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright, and the promise of America is real."

Two-thirds of U.S. public school superintendents say overall vacancies — including teachers and non-instructional staffers — are higher this year than last, a survey by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, found.

• About 15% report a lot more openings, saying vacancy rates are 11%-30% higher than last year.

President Biden and Democrats have ridden a wave of good news all summer — on an improving economy, big legislative wins, even unlikely gains by Ukraine.

Why it matters: Democrats spent the first half of the year looking for a way to break the momentum working against them. Now, they're praying they can keep their positive momentum — and GOP missteps — going with enough force to hold the Senate and maybe the House.

The Department of Justice signaled in a filing Monday that it would accept a special master candidate proposed by former President Trump's legal team for overseeing a review of the documents the FBI retrieved from Mar-a-Lago.

Why it matters: The selection of a special master has been a point of contention between Trump and the DOJ.

Angelica Ross, the actress and star of FX's "Pose," made her debut Monday evening as Roxie Hart in the long-running musical "Chicago." In doing so, she became the first openly transgender woman to star on Broadway, per the show's producers.

Why it matters: Ross' groundbreaking role comes amid an unprecedented legislative attack on transgender civil rights in states around the country.

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Monday night it will investigate allegations that the Trump Justice Department sought to use the U.S. attorney's office to support the-then president and pursue his critics.

Driving the news: Committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting documents related to allegations outlined in a new book by former top Manhattan federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman, whom Trump fired in June 2020.

A U.S. appeals court on Monday heard arguments on minimum airplane seat size rules that a flyer advocacy group says is necessary for passenger safety, per Reuters.

Driving the news: The Justice Department said the Federal Aviation Administration's "examination of existing evidence has not yet demonstrated a safety need for minimum seat dimensions" but that the agency is continuing to examine the issue, Reuters reported.

BLUE BELL, Pa. — As the hulking man tossed pink T-shirts into the crowd and roared, "I am John Fetterwoman," he drew conservative commentators' ire but screams of approval from a heavily female abortion-rights crowd.

Why it matters: Since his stroke, Lt. Gov. Fetterman, this swing state's Democratic nominee for Senate, has gingerly returned to the trail.

GUATEMALA CITY — The Biden administration could begin forcing more human smugglers arrested in other countries to face the U.S. justice system in an effort to crack down on the illegal networks booming throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Why it matters: The border crisis is both a humanitarian challenge and a sensitive political issue that Republicans have aggressively campaigned on, sometimes prompting Democrats in close midterm contests to criticize their own president.

Deep-pocketed Republican groups are pouring millions into efforts to knock off hard-right GOP primary candidates — while ensuring the source of the cash stays shrouded until after voters select their nominees, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Through "pop-up" super PACs, frequently branded with local-sounding or vaguely ideological names, Republican operatives in Washington can try to tip the scales of key intra-party fights without leaving any fingerprints.