The fallout from former President Trump's CNN town hall has been swift, sweeping and contentious — delighting his most loyal supporters but horrifying those hoping to slow his runaway train to the GOP nomination.
Why it matters: The chaotic performance, which produced a firehose of lies, was a reminder of Trump's staggering gravitational pull. With him at the center of the political and media universe, there's virtually nowhere to hide.
Some Georgia swing voters who backed Biden in 2020 are disillusioned and clamoring for a third-party alternative — and think he should debate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to prove his fitness for office, according to our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups.
Why it matters: Biden's age (80) is a concern even among those who are "disgusted" by former President Trump and don't want to see him running for office again, either.
Former President Trump's call for Republicans to let the U.S. default before agreeing to a compromise on government spending cuts has divided the right-wing House Freedom Caucus.
Why it matters: These GOP hardliners have considerable leverage over House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) – including the power to remove him if he bypasses them on a debt ceiling deal.
A federal judge in Virginia on Wednesday ruled that laws barring federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to 18-to-20-year olds are unconstitutional.
Driving the news: "Because the statutes and regulations in question are not consistent with our Nation’s history and tradition, they, therefore, cannot stand," U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne wrote in a 71-page opinion.
Former President Trump on Thursday appealed a New York jury's decision this week to hold him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in writer E. Jean Carroll's civil suit against him.
Why it matters: Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, had been expected to appeal after the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, and he has publicly mocked her since the lawsuit loss.
A White House meeting between President Biden and congressional leaders on the debt ceiling originally scheduled for Friday has been postponed, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Sources tell Axios the development is a sign that staff-level negotiations throughout the week have made progress towards an eventual deal to raise the debt ceiling.
House Republicans passed a big, hawkish border package on Thursday evening — ahead of the end of a pandemic policy allowing the rapid expulsion of migrants and asylum seekers.
Why it matters: It's unlikely to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But the politics are clear — holding up a wishlist of harsh policies as federal law enforcement, humanitarian groups and local officials across the country grapple with a surge in migrants and asylum seekers.
Conservative senators on Thursday broke with the cavalier approach to a potential U.S. debt ceiling default laid out by former President Trump.
Why it matters: It’s a rare moment in which Trump’s congressional allies, spooked by the possible economic fallout of a default, are out of step with the former president who still dominates their party.
Most flight delays in recent years have been caused by issues within the control of airlines, updated federal data shows.
Why it matters: The data released from the U.S. Department of Transportation contextualizes months of tensions between the department and the airline industry over recent travel headaches and a looming summer travel season that's expected to be hectic.
Buses carrying migrants from New York City arrived in a nearby suburb on Thursday, marking the start of a new effort by NYC Mayor Eric Adams to send migrant families elsewhere ahead of an expected influx of new arrivals.
Why it matters: The decision comes as Title 42 is set to expire Thursday. The pandemic-erapublic health policy permitted authorities to rapidly expel migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border without allowing them to seek asylum.
A leading proxy for Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the House GOP’s debt ceiling bill senses that Democrats are open to negotiating big chunks of the proposal, pointing to four areas as “a really good foundation for negotiations."
A mass shooter at a mall in Allen, Texas, with purported neo-Nazi views is the latest in what experts say is a growing number of Hispanics pushing the doctrine of white supremacy.
The big picture: Advocates warn that racist organizations and websites are evolving to pull in more recruits, including Hispanics.
AI-generated content is emerging as a disruptive political force just as nations around the world are gearing up for a rare convergence of election cycles in 2024.
Why it matters: Around one billion voters will head to polls in 2024 across the U.S., India, the European Union, the U.K. and Indonesia, plus Russia — but neither AI companies nor governments have put matching election protections in place.
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. officials are embracing a tougher image on the southwest border, as a surge of people crossing the border from Mexico tops 10,000 a day and pandemic-era policies that have allowed for quick expulsions are winding down.
Why it matters: President Biden came into office distancing himself from former President Trump's harsh immigration policies and rhetoric. But facing the end of the restrictive migration rules and surging border crossings, the harsher side of immigration policy has been on display.
Forget the theatrics in former President Trump’s falsehood-filled town hall on CNN and the Twitter-bubble hysterics; Trump actually made lots of news at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, N.H., last night.
Driving the news: The primetime town hall moderated by Kaitlin Collins was Trump’s first reentry with CNN since the 2016 campaign, and the start of a more combative stage of the 2024 Republican primary.
Two groups whose membership accounts for nearly 1/3 of the House of Representatives have been quietly meeting to explore potential areas of bipartisan cooperation, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The combined muscle of the center-left New Democrat Coalition and center-right Republican Governance Group gives them greater leverage for joint initiatives than the 61-member Problem Solvers Caucus.
The California Attorney General's Office is launching a civil rights investigation into the Antioch Police Department following a federal probe into allegations of bigoted text messages.
Driving the news: Attorney General Rob Bonta's announcement Wednesday follows a joint investigation by the FBI and the Contra Costa that uncovered evidence alleging that 17 Antioch officers sent racist, sexist and homophobic messages largely in 2020 and 2021 that almost half the police department was included in.
Former President Trump mocked writer E. Jean Carroll as a "whack job" Wednesday evening in his first TV appearance since a jury found him liable of sexual abuse and defamation in a civil lawsuit she brought against him.
Why it matters: Trump is appealing the jury's verdict after it found him liable for sexually abusing and then defaming Carroll when he denied her accusations, and awarded her $5 million in damages.
Fox News is facing a defamation lawsuit from former Biden administration disinformation chief Nina Jankowicz, who accuses the network of telling "destructive" lies that harmed her career and threatened her safety.
Driving the news: Jankowicz alleges in the suit that she resigned from the since-dissolved DHS unit, the Disinformation Governance Board, last year "due to harassment arising from Fox's defamation."
