In paid posts on the world's largest social media platform, the country's two political parties are speaking to two separate and distinct Americas.
Why it matters: Detailed targeting data from social media giant Meta offer a glimpse into America's deep political divide — and how political operatives are working to exploit and adapt to it.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announced Wednesday that his office will launch an investigation into Los Angeles redistricting after a recently leaked recording revealed L.A. City Council members made racist remarks during a conversation last year about redistricting.
Why it matters: The audio, which featured three Latino council members using derogatory language as they discussed the need to consolidate Latino power in Los Angeles, raises new questions about the city's once-in-a-decade redistricting process and its adopted map.
A Connecticut jury on Wednesday ordered far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company to pay the families of eight victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting $965 million in damages for falsely claiming the massacre was a hoax.
Why it matters: Theat least $965 million award comes on top of the $49.3 million in damages a separate Texas jury in August ordered Jones to pay to the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the school shooting.
Why it matters: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City reversed the previous decision, allowing the full Concealed Carry Improvement Act to stay in effect until a three-judge panel decides on the motion to stay, per the New York Attorney General's office.
Why it matters: The award is seen as one of the most coveted and distinguished honors in academia, arts and science, and it includes a massive cash prize.
A federal watchdog has launched an investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) transport of undocumented migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard.
Driving the news: DeSantis appears to have pulled "interest earned on his state’s federal coronavirus aid" to charter flights for the roughly 50 asylum seekers, the Washington Post reports. Several Democrats have since called on the Treasury Department to audit DeSantis for possible misuse of taxpayer money.
Federal funds "helped save American cities" after the COVID-19 pandemic sapped their tax revenue, but inflation is tempering their financial health, the National League of Cities (NLC) said in a Wednesday report.
Why it matters: The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the new infrastructure law have been political footballs, but U.S. cities would be in a recession without them, according to the prominent lobby group.
Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel has told the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund he is willing to make a multimillion-dollar investment in the Arizona race on the condition the super PAC finds matching funds, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: With less than a month until the midterms, a late cash injection of this scale could prove decisive in one of 2022's key Senate battlegrounds. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) team has said they are open to the idea but haven't yet raised the funds.
The Biden administration is imposing visa restrictions on Haitian officials and others it says are involved in gangs and other criminal organizations that have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, two senior administration officials told reporters Wednesday
Why it matters: The Haitian government recently requested armed intervention and aid to help stabilize the country, which has been rocked by widespread violence, fuel access blockaded by gangs, and a cholera outbreak. A U.S. interagency delegation, including officials from the State Department and Pentagon, will travel this week to Port au Prince.
The average ACT test score for students in the class of 2022 dropped to its lowest level in more than three decades, according to data out Wednesday.
Why it matters: The decline in scores is the latest indicator of the pandemic's detrimental effects on the nation's students — and underscores the extent to which graduating high school students are ill-prepared for college.
Thursday's consumer price index data is more important than most for millions of retirees and other Social Security recipients. That's because, under federal law, it will determine how large a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) they will receive at the start of 2023.
Why it matters: The adjustments were created to ensure that Social Security beneficiaries don't see their monthly checks eaten away by inflation. But in the past year, that hasn't happened: Prices have risen at a blistering pace since the last COLA — a huge blow for recipients facing rising costs for food, medical care and other expenses.
President Biden traveled to Colorado on Wednesday and designated Camp Hale, a World War II-era training ground, as a new national monument, the first such designation of his presidency.
Why it matters: Camp Hale was the initial training ground for the 10th Mountain Division, the U.S. Army's first and only mountain infantry division. The division played a pivotal role in the liberation of Italy in WWII.
Half of all voters say that they are more motivated to cast a ballot in the midterms because of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Three-quarters of those who say the decision is motivating them say they intend to back candidates who support abortion rights, compared to 17% who plan to vote for candidates who want to limit access.
Republican Herschel Walker's standing with female, Black and independent voters was slipping even before damaging allegations from an ex-girlfriend, according to new polling from the University of Georgia for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other members of the Georgia News Collaborative.
But, but, but: The Senate race was still neck-and-neck. Undecided voters and a third-party candidate could force it to a runoff, according to the findings, which were shared with Axios.
An angry crowd confronted the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday following the release of a racist conversation among councilmembers, as President Biden joins calls for resignations.
Why it matters: The nation's second-largest city is in the midst of a mayoral election in which rising crime, growing homelessness and the economy have dominated. A new mayor will have to tackle those issues — and heal a new fallout.
President Biden will "continue to re-evaluate" the U.S.' relationship with Saudi Arabia after a group of international oil exporters and Russia decided to significantly cut oil production in response to falling fuel prices, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday.
The latest: Biden told CNN in an interview broadcast Tuesday there would be "consequences" for Saudi Arabia over the decision to cut oil output, declining to elaborate further.
President Biden said during a CNN interview broadcast Tuesday night "a very slight recession" is possible for the U.S., but he doesn't think it will happen.
Why it matters: With fewer than 30 days until the midterm elections, Biden and the Democrats have a shrinking window of time to assure Americans that the economy remains healthy.
At least 14 frontline House Democrats raised more than $1 million in the third quarter of 2022, all but three of whom were first elected in 2018, Axios has learned. Nearly half of those raised more than $2 million.
Why it matters: These members — elected on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment in 2018 — are among the Democrats most vulnerable to being unseated by Republican challengers in the Nov. 8 midterms.
Don't hold your breath for surprise appearances from former Vice President Mike Pence, Justice Clarence Thomas' wife Ginni or self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" Roger Stone when the House Jan. 6 committee takes the stage again on Thursday.
The big picture: The committee's last hearing before the midterms, and perhaps ever, will focus overwhelmingly on one central antagonist — former President Trump — and won't feature live testimony, people familiar with the plans tell Axios.
