As national Democrats pour millions of dollars into Virginia's legislative races, Republicans in the state are growing increasingly frustrated when they ask a simple question: Where is the RNC?
Why it matters: With all 140 seats up in Virginia's General Assembly, both parties are using November's election as a proving ground to test competing messages on abortion.
New tensionsare colliding with old feuds in the Republican race to become House speaker, intensifying the GOP's paralysis and raising serious questions about whether any candidate is capable of governing the conference.
Why it matters: The internal chaos has major implications for government funding, aid to Ukraine, the 2024 election and other issues that extend far beyond the walls of Congress. Old wounds reopened by the removal of Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker will only exacerbate those challenges.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was remembered Thursday at a funeral service in San Francisco by people gathered to honor her decades of trailblazing public service.
Driving the news: Feinstein, the longest-serving woman senator in U.S. history, died last week at age 90.
The Biden administration plans to resume deportation flights to Venezuela in the coming days after the government in Caracas agreed to cooperate for the first time in years, senior administration officials told reporters on Thursday.
Why it matters: A surge in Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has created a significant challenge for the Biden administration in recent months because of its inability to deport them back to their home country.
Why it matters: Biden's going forward with a border wall in South Texas, striking deals with Mexico, expediting family deportation, restricting asylum and paying Panama to remove people as historic migration continues.
Frank James, the mass shooter behind the Brooklyn subway station attack last year, received 10 life sentences on Thursday, according to the FBI.
Driving the news: James, 64, pleaded guilty to 10 federal counts of terrorism and additional charges earlier this year after initially pleading not guilty.
Former President Trump's legal team filed a motion on Thursday seeking to dismiss the federal charges in his Jan. 6 criminal case, citing "presidential immunity."
Driving the news: Trump's lawyers argue that he has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions that were performed within the "outer perimeter" of the president's official duties.
Confidants of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are advocating against Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) in the upcoming House speaker race, three lawmakers familiar with discussions told Axios.
Driving the news: Consultants and staff have been making calls advising members to hold off on endorsing the Louisiana Republican, according to sources familiar with the outreach.
A federal court on Thursday approved a new Alabama congressional map that expands the voting power of Black residents in the state.
Why it matters: The new map punctuates a lengthy legal battle and puts Democrats in a position to pick up a House seat next November as they vie to reclaim the majority in the closely divided chamber.
Cornel West, a 2024 presidential candidate, will now be running as an independent, he and his campaign announced Thursday.
Why it matters: The prominent progressive scholar and activist has changed his party affiliation twice since his June campaign launch under the People's Party. He previously switched to the Green Party.
A man in Wisconsin has been arrested after illegally bringing a gun into the state Capitol seeking Democratic Gov. Tony Evers twice in one day.
Driving the news: The man had demanded to see Evers, who was not in the Madison, Wisc., building at the time, Tatyana Warrick, a spokesperson for the state's Department of Administration, told Axios on Thursday.
The big picture: It's the latest attempt by Trump to postpone the criminal trial, set for May 20, 2024, in Florida. He previously asked that it be put off indefinitely, which was denied by the presiding judge.
In a major reversal, the Biden administration on Wednesday cleared the way for new border wall construction in Texas to slow immigration.
Why it matters: The plan conflicts with Biden's promise that his administration would not build "another foot" of the wall that former President Trump erected along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Joan Baez, a Mexican American counterculture folk singer who participated in some of the most critical moments of the Civil Rights Movement, is the subject of a personal and revealing newdocumentary.
The big picture: Baez, 82, has rarely opened up about her family, her tumultuous relationship with Bob Dylan, or mental health challenges. The film is scheduled to be released in select New York theaters Friday and elsewhere on Oct. 13.
Crowds of mourners paid their respects to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) as she lay in state at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday.
The big picture: Feinstein died at 90 at the end of September as the oldest serving member of the U.S. Senate and longest serving woman senator in history.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R–Iowa) will travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel in the next few days heading a bipartisan congressional delegation, her office told Axios.
Why it matters: Ernst's trip to the Middle East comes amid a push by the White House to get a mega-deal with Saudi Arabia and Israel in the next few months before the presidential elections consume President Biden's agenda.
Expectations are at rock-bottom among House Republicans that their civil war will be resolved by the speaker vote on Wednesday, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: There are way too many potential blowup points for this leadership vacuum to be easily resolved, thanks to a rump caucus of Republicans who proved they'll break with the overwhelming majority of their colleagues.
Former President Trump's campaign said Wednesday that it raised more than $45.5 million during the third quarter, a blitz that his campaign attributed to "overwhelming grassroots support."
By the numbers: The campaign said that it has more than $37.5 million cash on hand entering October, with $36 million designated for use in the primary.
The Biden family's German shepherd dogs have repeatedly bitten or nipped members of the White House residence staff in addition to Secret Service agents, according to people familiar with the matter.
Biden's dog Major — who eventually was banished to the family's home in Delaware — was so aggressive that residence officials warned the first lady's office the Biden's could face a lawsuit for injuries unless there were changes.
