The number of people in federal solitary confinement has jumped 12% since the start of the Biden administration, according to an Axios review of new Federal Bureau of Prisons data.
Why it matters: President Biden campaigned on dramatically reducing solitary confinement in federal prisons, but the agency says numbers keep rising. Biden signed an executive order in May that called for reducing solitary confinement and required the attorney general to report on progress within 180 days.
Republicans and anti-abortion movement leaders doubled down on their support for embattled Georgia Senate nominee Herschel Walker, one day after a detailed report he's denied that alleges Walker paid for a then-girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009.
Why it matters: Without a Walker victory, Republicans' path to the Senate majority depends largely on Mehmet Oz's campaign in Pennsylvania.
A judge said Tuesday that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's trial for allegedly defrauding donors to build a southern border wall is expected late next year, the AP reports.
Driving the news: Bannon has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include two counts of money laundering stemming from his work with Trump's "We Build the Wall" campaign, as well as fraud and conspiracy charges.
Former President Trump and other influential Republicans on Tuesday pledged support for Herschel Walker after a report alleged the Georgia candidate paid for a girlfriend's abortion in 2009.
The big picture: Walker's race against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is viewed as one of GOP's best chances to pick up a Senate seat this November and win back control of the chamber.
The Biden administration announced a new $625 million security assistance package for Ukraine on Tuesday that will include key weapons, ammunition and equipment.
Why it matters: This is the U.S.' first military aid package to Ukraine since Russia took the escalatory step of annexing four regions of the country. The package includes advanced mobile rocket launcher systems that have been crucial to Ukrainian forces.
Republican firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert is dangerously close to being upset by a little-known Democratic rival, a new poll in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District shows.
By the numbers: Boebert received support from 47% of likely voters, while Democrat Adam Frisch landed at 45% — making the race a statistical tie within the ±4.4 percentage point margin of error.
A reported explosion at Northeastern University last month was a hoax perpetrated by a former employee, who has been arrested and charged for orchestrating the hoax and lying to federal authorities about it.
Driving the news: The FBI announced at a news conference Tuesday that it had arrested Jason Duhaime, 45, a former Northeastern employee from Texas, in connection with the case.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday is hearing arguments in an Alabama redistricting case that could further erode the landmark Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting.
Why it matters: It puts on the chopping block a portion of the act that civil rights groups and minority voters have relied on for decades to challenge racially discriminatory redistricting maps.
The son of Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, accused his father of "lying" and "making a mockery" of his family after a report alleged Walker had paid for his then-girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009.
Why it matters: The abortion allegations and stunning series of tweets from Christian Walker, a 23-year-old conservative TikTok influencer, could hurt Republicans' chances of winning in Georgia — one of the most important Senate battlegrounds in the country.
More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona swept across Puerto Rico and caused severe flooding, mudslides and loss of running water, Puerto Ricans are still picking up the pieces, and many are making clear what changes they want to see — starting with the local government.
State of play: President Biden announced Monday a new $60 million investment for flood protections on the island, where over 100,000 Puerto Ricans remain without power. But grassroots groups say they've had to fill in gaping holes in the government’s response and recovery effort.
Republican Mehmet Oz's Senate campaign in Pennsylvania raised $17.2 million between July and September — including $7 million from Oz's own money — a campaign official tells Axios. These are big numbers and reflect a high-stakes race that may be narrowing by the minute.
Ukrainian forces are making key counteroffensive gains in southern and eastern Ukraine — including in regions Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed, according to multiple reports.
The big picture: Russia's lower house of Parliament voted Monday to ratify the annexation of Ukraine's Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the upper house was set to follow suit Tuesday. But Russian forces no longer have full control of any of those regions.
The Supreme Court’s new term began this week with several major cases that could impact environmental regulations, voting rights, affirmative action and free speech.
The big picture: The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, saw widespread criticism following June’s overturning of Roe v. Wade — ending nearly 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion rights.
Three major medical groups sent a letter to the Justice Department Monday asking it to investigate increasing threats of violence against children's hospitals and physicians that provide gender-affirming care to trans youth.
Why it matters: Several hospitals have scaled back services and ramped up security in recent months due to threats and harassment, as a wave of laws targeting transgender youth has entered several Republican states.
Eleven House Republican challengers raised more than $1 million in the third quarter of 2022, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Money alone doesn't win races, but the margins are so thin — both in competitive individual races and the partisan makeup of the House — that last-minute fundraising could help sway control of the lower chamber.
Tucked between uber-famous Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on the list of top 10 House fundraisers this cycle is a candidate most voters have probably never heard of: Marcus Flowers.
Why it matters: Flowers has raised a staggering $10.8 million — despite being all but certain to lose. He's the Democrat challenging the right-wing firebrand Greene, whose district voted for former President Trump by nearly 40 points in 2020.
