Democrats concerned about an independent "No Labels" presidential bid are pressing elected officials to publicly denounce a potential third-party campaign.
Why it matters: In a closely divided country, many Democrats fear a third party campaign will siphon more votes from President Biden, their likely nominee, and tilt the Electoral College to former President Trump.
Former President Trump's legal team is teasing a risky defense to his historic third indictment: that Trump genuinely believed his own lies about election fraud — despite being told by dozens of his closest advisers, allies and agencies that they were baseless.
Why it matters: If they proceed to trial, Trump's lawyers effectively could be asking a jury to believe that the former president was delusional — undermining special counsel Jack Smith's core thesis that Trump "knowingly" sought to defraud the country.
Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered one of his harshest rebukes yet of his former boss Wednesday, telling Fox News that former President Trump and "his gaggle of crackpot lawyers" asked him to "literally reject votes" on Jan. 6.
Why it matters: Pence, who is running for the 2024 GOP nomination, had refrained from overtly criticizing Trump on the campaign trail. That appears to have changed after Trump was indicted Tuesday for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The chief of the Capitol Police told reporters on Wednesday that law enforcement again plans to bolster security at the Capitol in preparation for former President Trump's arraignment.
Former President Trump's four-count indictment on Tuesday as part of special counsel Jack Smith's criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 attack adds yet another challenge to Trump's growing stack of legal woes.
Why it matters: This is Trump's third indictment and comes as he strives to clinch the GOP presidential nomination for 2024.
Former President Trump will have his mugshot taken if he's indicted over Fulton County's investigation into alleged criminal efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, county Sheriff Pat Labat said to local media.
Why it matters: Though Trump has been indicted three times and arraigned twice, he has not yet had a booking photo taken.
Former President Trump's bombshell, four-count indictment over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election monopolized media and political attention Tuesday evening— overshadowing a string of not-so-great stories for President Biden.
Why it matters: As hismost-likely 2024 challenger faces a growing list of serious, criminal charges, Biden faces his own political battles over his son's business dealings, the border and the U.S. economy.
The gunman who was found guilty of killing 11 people and injuring six others during a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 will be sentenced to death, AP and other outlets report.
Why it matters: The Tree of Life synagogue shooting carried out by Robert Bowers, 50, was the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
Former President Trump is set to appear in court this week after being indicted for a historic third time on Tuesday, further complicating his 2024 bid for the White House.
The big picture: Special counsel Jack Smith investigated Trump's efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, and a federal grand jury indicted him for his actions on and leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Medical device makers and health care providers want to move away from using a likely carcinogenic gas to sterilize devices — but they say it's not that simple.
Why it matters: Because eliminating ethylene oxide is expected to take so long, federal regulators must weigh the risks and benefits of using the chemical, also known as EtO, at its current scale — and stakeholder groups are at odds over the right path forward.
FDA has launched other initiatives to reduce EtO reliance, including one program that has allowed some facilities to cut emissions as much as 35%, the agency said.
But no alternatives can sterilize devices at the scale of EtO at this point, according to the agency.
The process of finding new sterilization methods shouldn't be rushed, said AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker.
"We're better off taking our time and getting the science right rather than rushing to something," Whitaker told Axios.
Industry groups feel there's a clear path forward. "EPA's estimated health risks are based on maximum emission levels for hypothetical and unlikely exposure scenarios; permanent and fatal outcomes to actual people can happen in minutes without adequate medical supplies," the Medical Device Manufacturers Association wrote in a comment letter to EPA.
The other side: Consumer and environmental advocates say industry should've expected EPA's regulations, and the rules provide more than enough time to come into compliance with new standards.
In fact, EPA should shorten its proposed 18-month compliance timeline in final EtO regulations, a group of Democratic lawmakers wrote to the agency last month.
Illinois passed a law in 2019 requiring sterilization facilities to greatly reduce their EtO emissions. Facilities that fail emissions tests must close and get state approval before reopening.
The state "has demonstrated that there are steps companies can take to make sure to continue operating and make sure that the air their employees and their neighbors are breathing is safe," Rep. Brad Schneider told Axios.
Illinois temporarily shut down a sterilization facility in 2019 over EtO emissions concerns, resulting in the shortage of a particular breathing tube for children. But that's after FDA had warned that 594 types of medical equipment could be in short supply because of the shutdown. The facility permanently closed later that year.
The bottom line: EtO regulation highlights the importance — and difficulty — of solving one public health issue without creating another one.
The trade-offs presented by EtO are "not unusual in the complex nature of delivering health care," said Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety policy at the American Hospital Association.
"You have to take what you've got now, think about how to make it safer as is, and think about what alternative might be developed that would be even safer beyond that," she added.
Former President Trump was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury convened by special counsel Jack Smith on four counts over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Why it matters: Trump, who has now been indicted three times since launching his 2024 campaign, has been the consistent frontrunner in the crowded GOP primary despite numerous legal woes.
Former President Trump's indictment alleges that six unidentified co-conspirators helped him carry out his plot to overturn the 2020 election — and multiplemedia outlets quickly zeroed in on five of Trump's close advisers and lawyers whose roles matched prosecutors' very detailed descriptions.
Why it matters: None of the six has been indicted by special counsel Jack Smith, but they are all on notice that they face potential criminal liability.
American approval of the U.S. Supreme Court is tied for a record low, with the second-lowest support from Democrats ever recorded by Gallup.
Why it matters: Just 40% of the American public now approves of the court, a sharp decline from the 51% average since data was first collected in 2000.
Anti-Defamation League director Jonathan Greenblatt denounced former President Trump's 2024 campaign Tuesday evening after it said the indictments he faces are "reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes."
What they're saying: "Comparing this indictment to Nazi Germany in the 1930s is factually incorrect, completely inappropriate and flat out offensive," Greenblatt said in an online post.
The reaction to Donald Trump being indicted for a third time was swift on Capitol Hill and among the former president's Republican rivals on Tuesday.
The big picture: The reaction among lawmakers mostly followed party lines, with Democratic leaders calling Trump's Jan. 6 indictment "the most serious and most consequential" so far, and Republicans largely rushing to the defense of the former president. It was more divided among Trump's 2024 presidential rivals.
Why it matters: The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, is the latest legal peril faced by Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, and forces Republicans to reengage with Jan. 6.
More than a dozen officials in former President Trump's inner circle and beyond repeatedly told him that his claims the 2020 election were false — but he continued to carry out his conspiracy to reverse the election, according to Tuesday's 45-page indictment.
Why it matters: Proving that Trump pushed theories of voter fraud that he knew were false will be key to prosecutors' efforts to convict Trump on three conspiracy counts and an obstruction of justice charge related to the Jan. 6 plot.
The 45-page federal indictment charging former President Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election details the ex-president's communications with members of Congress during and after the Jan. 6 riot.
Why it matters: It illustrates how the Trump team plowed ahead with its attempts to press lawmakers to decertify the election despite the scenes of violence that played out in the backdrop.
Democratic lawmakers responded with uncharacteristic intensity to the third indictment of former President Trump over his actions in the run-up to, and during, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Why it matters: Most Democrats carefully avoided weighing in too heavily on Trump's other indictments – but, as Axios previously reported, this time it's personal.
Former President Trump and six unnamed co-conspirators followed a five-part plan to cling to power after losing the 2020 presidential election, special counsel Jack Smith alleged in a criminal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Why it matters: The indictment alleges that Trump conspired to "impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government," including by "knowingly" using false claims of election fraud "to subvert the legitimate election results."
