Axios

Fortune 500 companies are retaining major law firms with GOP relationships in anticipation of a Republican-controlled House eager for retribution against corporations it views as abetting left-wing forces.

Why it matters: Once the allies of big business, the modern Republican Party is preparing to accelerate a political realignment by wielding Congress' subpoena power against key segments of corporate America.

A Washington, D.C., appeals court on Tuesday scheduled oral arguments for the defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump filed by E. Jean Carroll, a writer who has alleged he raped her in the mid-1990s.

Driving the news: The court agreed to take up the issue of whether the U.S. government should be substituted for Trump as the defendant in the case since he was a federal employee when he labeled Carroll a liar following her public accusation.

Black and Latino Americans saw surges in enrollment in the federal government's health care marketplace between 2020 and 2022, according to a new report released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Why it matters: Black and Latino communities have historically had higher uninsured rates despite facing greater risks of worse health outcomes.

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said in an interview with Fox News Tuesday that "anybody not named Trump" could win the White House for Republicans in 2024.

Why it matters: The former House speaker is doubling down on his earlier prediction that Republicans won't nominate Trump for the 2024 presidential election.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus on Tuesday announced it is withdrawing a letter to President Biden calling on him to couple military aid to Ukraine with a "proactive diplomatic push" to end hostilities with Russia.

Why it matters: The letter appeared to indicate that some on the Democratic Party’s left flank were advocating a softening of U.S. policy towards the war in Ukraine, though several members who signed on now say that’s not their position.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is recommitting resources into the New Hampshire Senate race, according to an NRSC official, just days after the Senate GOP's top super PAC cancelled its spending on behalf of nominee Don Bolduc.

Why it matters: The strategic shift comes as new public polling shows Bolduc, a far-right, MAGA-aligned candidate, is within striking distance of Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) despite being dramatically outspent. An Emerson College poll released Monday showed Hassan leading Bolduc 48%-45% — within the margin of error.

President Biden on Tuesday received an updated COVID-19 booster shot while calling on all Americans to do the same ahead of a potentially troubling COVID winter.

Why it matters: Over 20 million Americans received the updated COVID vaccine so far, but the White House is pushing more Americans to get their boosters.

The U.S. government is for the first time ever giving flu vaccines to people detained for illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a top health official at the Department of Homeland Security.

Driving the news: Pritesh Gandhi, the department's chief medical officer, told CBS News that more than 24,000 migrants in federal custody have received the vaccine since last month, reversing a longtime policy.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is urging a judge to reject an effort to subpoena him as part of a 2020 election probe in Georgia, Politico reports.

Why it matters: Meadows, who was on the line for a January 2021 phone call during which former President Trump told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes," would serve as a key witness in the Fulton County investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Hope Hicks, a former top aide in the Trump White House, is interviewing with the Jan. 6 select committee on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.

Why it matters: Hicks, who was a close confidante of former President Donald Trump, served as a counselor to the president during key periods in the investigation's scope, including after the 2020 election and on Jan. 6, 2021.

Poynter's digital literacy project MediaWise is broadening its training to battle online misinformation in Spanish.

Why it matters: Per a Nielsen report last year, Latinos spend more time than other groups on most social media apps and messaging, where poorly sourced information can go viral and Spanish-language misinformation often sits unchallenged.

Inflation, gas prices, abortion rights and Donald Trump are among the key drivers of this midterm election.

Why it matters: Democrats control the House of Representatives by a thin margin and the Senate by the barest of votes — 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker.

Climate change is among Latinos' leading concerns heading into next month’s midterm elections, according to an Axios-Ipsos Latino poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo.

Why it matters: Latinos in the U.S. are especially affected by the consequences of climate change, with many living in areas prone to heat waves, floods and air pollution.

Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter died Monday after suffering a heart attack, the dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government said in a statement. He was 68.

The big picture: Carter, who served as defense secretary under former President Barack Obama, was involved in national security, technology and innovation — both from within government and in academia for more than three decades.

Two weeks from Election Day, Democrats are reallocating resources and retooling their messages as polling gives Republicans the momentum in congressional races.

The big picture: Republicans — bullish they can score a big House takeover and flip the Senate — are zeroing in on more Democratic strongholds.

Students' reading scores fell to 1992 levels, and math scores dropped by the largest amount ever recorded, according to new test results out Monday — laying bare the pandemic's devastating toll on the nation's students.

Zoom out: No state posted improvements in math, per the results, known as the Nation's Report Card.

A Delaware man who, with his father, was among the first people in the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection and was part of a mob that confronted police officers, was sentenced to two years in prison Monday.

Driving the news: Prosecutors said Hunter Seefried, 24, and his 53-year-old Confederate flag-wielding father, Kevin Seefried, entered the Capitol building through a window broken by other rioters with a police shield, per a Department of Justice statement.

A former student killed two people and wounded seven others in a St Louis high school before police fatally shot him in a gunfire exchange Monday, authorities said.

The big picture: The Central Visual and Performing Arts High School tragedy in the Missouri city was one of 581 mass shootings in 2022 where at least four people have been shot, not including the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Two right-wing activists each pleaded guilty in a Cleveland court Monday to single felony counts of telecommunications fraud over false robocalls in Ohio ahead of the 2020 election, prosecutors announced.

Driving the news: Jacob Wohl, 24, and Jack Burkman, 56, were indicted in October 2020 in connection with a scheme that Cuyahoga County prosecutors said targeted thousands of minority voters with pre-recorded messages that falsely claimed they could face mandatory vaccines or be tracked by law enforcement if they voted by mail.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola endorsed each other in their Alaska races ahead of next month's midterm elections.

The big picture: The longtime friends' announcement that they'll vote for each other in the state's ranked choice voting system comes as both face Trump-backed candidates in tight races.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) repeatedly refused to reply to former Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) at Monday's debate when asked whether he'd run for president in 2024.

Why it matters: Monday night was the only debate in the Florida governor race, considered a likely Republican win this midterms elections cycle by the Cook Political Report.

The Biden administration is in early, quiet discussions with key Senate offices about raising the debt ceiling in the lame-duck session of Congress, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The preliminary conversations reveal two political near-certainties gripping Washington: Republicans are likely to win control of the House, and a potential Speaker Kevin McCarthy would use the debt ceiling to extract painful spending cuts from the White House — even if it threatens to crash the economy.