The White House is preparing for Tuesday's debt ceiling showdown with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) by fortifying its red lines, isolating vulnerable Republicans and staffing up for a war of attrition.
Why it matters: McCarthy believed that passing his debt ceiling bill against the odds would force President Biden to come to the negotiating table. After briefly regrouping, the White House opted to grant the coveted face-to-face meeting — while pairing it with a sharp escalation in rhetoric.
The New York judge in the hush-money criminal case against Donald Trump issued a protective order Monday that limits what evidence the former president can share publicly.
Why it matters: Trump, who's running for president again, is barred from posting on social media about the case after his previous comments led prosecutors to demand limits.
Why it matters: The now-habitual dynamic illustrates how GOP obstinance on the issue, combined with procedural hurdles, have frustrated gun control advocates' efforts and made even piecemeal reform seemingly out of reach.
A Texas House committee advanced a bill that would raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy certain semi-automatic rifles.
State of play:House Bill 2744, which still faces several hurdles before becoming state law, was pushed by relatives of the victims of the Uvalde elementary school shooting. The gunman in that shooting was 18.
Police in Texas have charged a Brownsville resident with eight counts of manslaughter after a car crashed into a crowd at a bus stop in the border town, killing eight people and injuring several others.
Driving the news: A spokesperson for the Brownsville Police Department said Monday that 34-year-old George Alvarez was also charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is vowing to have a heavier hand in the 2024 Republican Senate primaries, per a new CNN interview out Monday.
Why it matters: The 81-year-old GOP Senate leader said he isn't certain that his party will take back the majority in 2024, despite a map heavily favoring his party.
President Biden announced on Monday that the Department of Transportation is launching an effort aimed at compensating passengers for cancelled flights and delays within the airline's control.
The big picture: The announcement comes amid months of finger pointing between Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the airline industry over persistent travel woes.
The Federal Communication Commission is facing an 11th-hour pressure campaign from civil rights leaders to vote on whether a New York hedge fund's proposed purchase of a local TV broadcaster should be approved.
Why it matters: President Biden's FCC is caught between two competing agendas within the Democratic Party: Increasing minority ownership of media companies, and preventing consolidated ownership of local TV stations — in this case, at the hands of a hedge fund.
The far-right populism of Hungary’s prime minister is helping to inspire U.S. Republicans' agenda for 2024, a game plan that targets immigration, LGBTQ rights and — at least for some — the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: Hungary's Viktor Orbán is something of a godfather to the most conservative elements of the GOP, as his harsh policies on immigrants, transgender people, voting rights and other issues have encouraged U.S. conservatives to push for similar laws.
There's a delicious (surf and) turf battle inside the Biden White House — over the president's plate.
The food fight has pitted Joe Biden — who prefers carbs over greens — against First Lady Jill Biden, who has been pushing the commander-in-chief to eat more fish and veggies whether he likes them or not (he doesn't).
Why it matters: The internal tug-of-war over Joe Biden's diet is just one of many public and private steps being taken by close aides and the first lady to keep the 80-year-old president healthy as he prepares to run for a second term.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) is threatening to pursue legal action against Secretary of State Antony Blinken if the State Department doesn't comply with a subpoena for an internal cable about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Why it matters: McCaul's threat escalates an unprecedented effort by House Republicans to obtain sensitive information as part of their probe into the chaotic U.S. exit in the summer of 2021.
The man accused of killing eight people and injuring seven others in a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday was identified as a 33-year-old who had been living in a motel, per AP.
Driving the news: Authorities identified the suspect as Mauricio Garcia, from Dallas. He was one of seven people who died at the scene. Two others died at the hospital.
Vigils were held Sunday evening outside a mall in Allen, Texas, where a mass shooting occurred a day earlier, and inside a packed-out Dallas-area church to honor the eight victims killed in the massacre.
The big picture: As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) joined thousands of people at the Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church's prayer vigil, a group of protesters gathered outside to demand reforms to gun laws.
Why it matters:At least 26 women, including Carroll, have made public allegations of sexual misconduct or assault against Trump over the years, but only a few resulted in litigation and none have gone to trial. Trump has denied the allegations against him.
