Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called Vice President Kamala Harris' criticism of controversial Black history standards — recently adopted by the state Board of Education — "absolutely ridiculous" during a Friday campaign stop in Utah.
Driving the news: The standards, approved this week, include instruction for public school students in Florida that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."
Republicans are hammering “Joe Biden’s America” as a land of rising violent crime, surging immigration and out of control inflation, but there’s just one problem: the numbers are starting to move in the opposite direction.
The big picture: With 2024 around the corner, the U.S. is making measurable progress in the areas where Biden has been most vulnerable to GOP attacks.
Congressional staffers are scrambling to save family vacations, destination weddings, mission trips and more as desperate constituents flood Capitol Hill with pleas for help in dealing with unprecedented passport delays.
Why it matters: Many U.S. Senate and House offices that typically help a couple dozen Americans expedite passports each year have juggled hundreds to thousands of cases this year — and appeals for help have soared in the summer travel season.
Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday set the trial date in the classified documents case against former President Trump for May 20, 2024, per a court filing.
Why it matters: The trial will likely begin after the Republican nominee in the crowded GOP field is crowned, and as the general election is heating up.
Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Florida's new Black history standards on Friday, saying "extremists" in the state are pushing "propaganda to our children."
Why it matters: Harris' speech sharply contrasts the Biden administration with several Republican presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who have made fights over education central to their platforms.
Dozens of rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and other military equipment donated to Ukraine in the early months of Russia's invasion were stolen last year, according to a Pentagon report.
Why it matters: The thefts by crime groups and volunteer fighters were ultimately disrupted by Ukraine's security service and the military hardware was recovered, the Defense Department initially struggled to track and monitor all the equipment it donated to Ukraine, as required by law.
President Biden nominated Adm. Lisa Franchetti on Friday to become the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. Navy, the White House announced.
Why it matters: If Franchetti is confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first woman to serve as the chief of naval operations and to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Michael Cohen settled a lawsuit Friday with the Trump Organization over claims that the business owed him over $1 million in unpaid legal fees, New York State court spokesperson Lucian Chalfen confirmed to Axios.
Driving the news: The details of the agreement are not public, but it comes just before the 2019 lawsuit was set to go to trial on Monday in New York state court.
J. Robert Oppenheimer's shadow still looms over New Mexico — as a scientific hero who helped reshape one of the nation's poorest states, and as a villain who generated a trail of human destruction still felt there today.
Why it matters: The U.S. legal system has withstood concerted attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Many of those involved — including President Trump, his lawyers and his media allies — are facing consequences.
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told Axios in an interview that President Biden will push Congress for more authority and resources to monitor and regulate the mushrooming AI industry.
A former Trump-appointed State Department official was found guilty Thursday over a Jan. 6 assault on police during the U.S. Capitol riot, per multiple reports.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden convicted Federico Klein, who also worked on Trump's 2016 campaign, after prosecutors alleged surveillance showed him trying to breach a police line to enter a Capitol tunnel with a mob of rioters.
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