A former U.S. Capitol Police officer was found guilty of one count of obstruction Friday for helping hide evidence of a participant's involvement in the Jan. 6 riot, per NBC.
Driving the news: Michael A. Riley, who pled not guilty to the obstruction charges, was found guilty after deleting his own Facebook message warning another user to remove parts of their post about entering the Capitol during the insurrection.
Why it matters: The activists claim they are doing so to prevent purported voter fraud, but voting rights groups have called the move a voter intimidation tactic. Election officials have reported people in tactical gear and masks — and allegedly armed with weapons — watching over a drop box for mail-in ballots.
A Pennsylvania man pled guilty Friday to making threats to kill a member of Congress, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said.
Driving the news: Joshua Hall, 22, was accused of making a series of calls from New York to the California office of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and making threats to kill the congressman to at least three different staffers.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on an Iranian group that put a bounty on British-American author Salman Rushdie's life, the Department of Treasury announced Friday.
The big picture: Rushdie was violently attacked in August at a literary event in western New York, and the author has lost sight in one eye and the ability to use a hand as a result, according to his agent.
President Biden was in Syracuse, New York, on Thursday to tout his party’s economic accomplishments — and to send a warning about what he says Republican control of Congress could mean by comparison. It’s part of Democrats’ final dash before Election Day. Meanwhile, over 15 million ballots have already been cast in early voting around the country.
Plus, states gear up to spend billions on broadband access.
And, Afro Latinos are playing a bigger role in baseball.
Guest: Axios' Mike Allen, Emma Hurt, Margaret Harding McGill and Keldy Ortiz.
Credits: Axios Today is produced by Emily Peck, Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alexandra Botti, Fonda Mwangi, Robin Linn and Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.
A super PAC affiliated with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is making a rare play for a Republican-held Trump district in Washington with an ad that targets GOP candidate Joe Kent as "too extreme" for the seat.
Why it matters: The ad buy highlights how Democrats are still working to compete in districts that — while far-from-reach on paper — are competitive due to the nomination of MAGA-aligned fringe candidates.
U.S. election officials are anticipating unprecedented efforts to disrupt the 2022 election, and putting battleground states on heightened alert.
Why it matters: Efforts to intimidate voters and spread misinformation can erode the public's trust in the democratic process, and safety concerns are making it hard to recruit election workers in some states.
Arizona's near total ban on abortions won't be enforced until at least 2023 after the state's attorney general reached an agreement with abortion rights groups, allowing for abortions to resume in the state Thursday, per Bloomberg Law.
Driving the news: Brittany Fonteno, who heads Planned Parenthood Arizona, said at a news conference that abortion services would restart at the group's clinics across the state following the agreement in response to an appeals court ruling earlier this month blocking the enforcement of a 158-year-old abortion ban
The office of Arizona's secretary of state Katie Hobbs was burglarized this week, per a statement from the Democrat's gubernatorial campaign Wednesday.
The latest: The Phoenix Police Department said in a statement Thursday officers had arrested Daniel Mota Dos Reis in connection with Tuesday's break-in and the 36-year-old was charged with one count of third-degree burglary.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNN Thursday that she does not see any signs of recession in the U.S. economy in the near future.
Why it matters: Her comments come in the wake of a GDP report from the Commerce Department that found the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter, ending the streak of back-to-back contractions that raised fears of a recession.
Initial paperwork was filed Thursday in an effort to recall embroiled Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin de León, per CBS News.
The big picture: The recall effort comes amid calls for de León and fellow councilmember Gil Cedillo to resign, a day after they were censured for making racist comments in leaked audio along with former member Nury Martinez.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield slammed Russia on Thursday for convening a UN Security Council meeting "for the sole purpose of spreading disinformation."
Driving the news: Russia had called the meeting to advance allegations that the U.S. and Ukraine are partnering to develop biological weapons.
Of the seven members of the Jan. 6 select committee who ran for reelection this cycle, five already raised more money as of Sept. 30 than they did in the last cycle — in some cases by staggering margins.
Why it matters: The data highlights what will likely be one of the lasting impacts of the panel even after it disbands at the end of the year: significantly enhancing the political star power of some of its members.
Republicans and Democrats battling for Pennsylvania's toss-up Senate seat are preparing their 9th inning pitches to undecided Phillies fans in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.
Why it matters: Finding undecided voters this late in the game is always a challenge. But a televised World Series kicking off in a swing state 10 days before Election Day gives both camps a prime — and expensive — opportunity to make their closing arguments.
Democrat Stacey Abrams is again raising concerns about voter suppression in Georgia, rejecting claims that record early turnout has undermined her criticism of the state's new Republican-crafted election law.
Why it matters: Abrams, who became a national voting rights advocate after her narrow 2018 defeat, is trailing GOP Gov. Brian Kemp in public polling averages. Her renewed warnings have drawn speculation that she is laying the groundwork to again question the fairness of the election.
Special climate envoy John Kerry is actively considering leaving the Biden administration after next month's COP27 summit, soliciting advice from friends and colleagues on how to stay involved in climate efforts from the private sector, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: President Biden has relied on Kerry, a former secretary of state, long-time senator and the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, to corral more multilateral buy-in for emissions cuts and keep climate on the radar despite economic headwinds and the Russia crisis.
