For the first time, the Justice Department has confirmed that they took possession of a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden from a computer shop.
Why it matters: The new filing by special counsel David Weiss, which includes several embarrassing revelations, is the latest example of the increasingly antagonistic relationship between Hunter's team and his father's Justice Department in the months after a proposed plea deal unraveled last summer.
Florida House Republicans introduced new legislation Wednesday that would restrict certain flags in government buildings and schools, bringing the state one step closer to banning emblems like the LGBTQ+ pride flag.
Why it matters: The bill comes as Florida has proposed and implemented a series of controversial initiatives regarding LGBTQ+ people in the state.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.) is now paying the price for his decision to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis instead of former President Trump in the presidential primaries.
Why it matters: The Trump team's decision to get involved changes the dynamics of the race, and a quirky primary format that helped Good in 2020 isn't available in 2024.
The Biden administration wants to reverse the trend of declining test scores and dropping student attendance that accelerated during the pandemic.
Driving the news: The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday a plan for states to provide more tutoring, after-school and summer programs and funding to tackle chronic absenteeism.
LITTLETON, N.H. — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supports Joe Biden's re-election, but the senator's longtime senior aide and former campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, is working for Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and his long-shot effort to stop Biden from being the Democratic nominee.
Why it matters: To make any splash in the Democratic race, Phillips' campaign must do well next week in New Hampshire — where Weaver guided Sanders victories in 2016 and 2020, but where Biden is not on the ballot this time
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election to Congress after more than a decade in office, marking the latest in a series of GOP retirement announcements this month.
Why it matters: The 118th Congress is seeing an unprecedented number of retirements and resignations, with lawmakers citing burnout, dysfunction and the long-term degradation of the institution.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken couldn't fly back to the U.S. from Davos as planned Wednesday because of a mechanical issue with his airplane, a State Department spokesperson said.
The big picture: The planeBlinken was flying on is a modified Boeing C-40, a U.S. Air Force aircraft assigned to Joint Base Andrews, Rose Riley, a spokesperson for the Air Force said.
The federal judge presiding over former President Trump's defamation trial involving author E. Jean Carroll threatened to remove the former president from the courtroom Wednesday for his disruptive remarks during the proceedings, multipleoutlets reported.
Why it matters: The trial is set to determine how much Trump — who has already been found liable for defaming Carroll — must pay in damages to her.
Driving the news: The U.S. Supreme Court said earlier this month that it would consider whether the former president can appear on Colorado's primary ballot.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday unveiled a resolution to censure House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for her defenses of Jan. 6 riot defendants and former President Trump.
CNN is no longer hosting a New Hampshire Republican primary debate, as "only one qualifying candidate accepted" the invitation to take the stage, a spokesperson for the network said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The decision comes after ABC News also canceled its New Hampshire debate, following former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley saying that she would only participate in debates if former President Trump is on the stage, too.
Ambassador Sarah Bianchi, President Biden's deputy U.S. trade representative, is leaving the administration, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Bianchi, who also worked for Biden as his top economic adviser as vice president, has a deep understanding of the president's plans to transition the economy toward renewable energy.
The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed reining in big banks' overdraft fees, in a move that could lower them to as little as $3.
Why it matters: If enacted, the introduced rule from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) could eliminate billions of dollars of annual revenue that banks rake in from fees charged to consumers who overdraft their accounts.
House Republicans are asking for written testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for Thursday's impeachment hearing, after the secretary offered to appear on a different date.
Why it matters: The Homeland Security Committee is plowing ahead on what would be an historic impeachment of a Cabinet official as soon as this month — as the party seeks to keep the border issue front and center in 2024.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday morning in a case that could bring fresh constraints on federal agencies' running room to craft energy and climate regulations.
Driving the news: The justices will dive into caseschallenging "Chevron deference" — a longstanding precedent that gives departments broad leeway when underlying statutes are vague or silent on a topic.
The Torridon Group — a law and consulting firm founded by former Attorney General William Barr and former Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot — is adding a team of new lawyers, including former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former deputy White House counsels Pat Philbin and Kate Todd.
Driving the news: Barr told Axios the firm, based in Virginia, will add a Washington office now that it's equipped to take on "every facet of litigation, regulatory and enforcement proceedings, investigations, crisis management, and strategic counseling."
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case that could significantly roll back the federal government's regulatory power.
Why it matters: It may not be as sexy as cases involving former President Trump, but this one has major implications for all future presidents' ability to advance their agenda through executive action.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), a member of the progressive "Squad," is getting a boost from House Democratic leadership in her contested primary.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) supporting Democratic incumbents even as pro-Israel groups wage a massive push to unseat progressive lawmakers.
Arctic temperatures hitting cities like New York, Chicago and Denver are endangering newly arrived migrants and complicating cities' efforts to manage limited shelter space.
Why it matters: It is anothercrisis point for strained official and non-governmentnetworks trying to care for migrants across the country.
Americans overall have a surprising degree of satisfaction with their economic situation, according to findings from the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
Why it matters: That's in spite of dour views among certain subsets of the country — and in contrast to consumer sentiment polls that remain stubbornly weak, partly because of the lingering effects of 2022's inflation.
The Colorado shooter who killed five people at LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in 2022 intends to plead guilty to 74 new federal hate crimes and firearms charges, according to court filings made public Tuesday.
The big picture: The agreement would mean that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty for Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, formerly of Colorado Springs, who would serve "multiple concurrent life sentences plus additional consecutive sentences totaling 190 years imprisonment," per the filings that the U.S. District Court in the District of Colorado unsealed.
The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to reject a resolution forced to a vote by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) aimed at tying U.S. military assistance for Israel to the country's treatment of Palestinian human rights.
Why it matters: It's a demonstration of the bipartisan support Israel still enjoys in Congress despite pockets of opposition among Democratic lawmakers.
Beneath the top lines of the Iowa caucuses are a stack of insights about a Republican Party whose transformation under Donald Trump seems bound to end in two ways come November: coronation or self-immolation.
Why it matters: There are limits to what we can glean from a low-turnout, snowy contest in one of the least diverse states in the country. But what we did learn will shape expectations for both the general election and a GOP primary that may end in historically short order.
