Axios

The House will vote next week on a new $17.6 billion Israel aid package that excludes the IRS cuts in their original bill, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Saturday.

Why it matters: The announcement comes as Senate negotiators are preparing to roll out a deal on a comprehensive package to fund Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and border security that House Republicans have already declared “dead on arrival.”

House Democrats found themselves squeezed on Saturday by Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) plans to hold a vote on an Israel aid package that excludes the IRS cuts they protested last fall.

Why it matters: The bill is still poised to pick up new Democratic votes in the House, which may put pressure on the Senate to vote on it rather than pursue their bill to also fund Ukraine, Taiwan and border security.

The year 1974 gave the world monumental moments in Black history, from Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record to the Boston busing riots to historic protests in London.

Through the lens: For Black History Month this year, Axios is looking back at 1974 to highlight moments that changed civil rights and the sports world.

AI has made it easy to generate realistic-looking fake porn, and the targets of malicious deepfakes are finding they have little recourse.

Why it matters: When everyone with a computer can create a convincing and harmful image, anyone from high school teens to the world's biggest pop star could fall victim to these potentially damaging deepfakes.

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will be among the speakers at House Democrats' annual retreat next week, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Democratic lawmakers will use the event, known formally as an "issues conference," to craft their case for retaking the House majority ahead of the 2024 election season.

Student loan borrowers who had a loan forgiven under President Biden may be off the hook for paying taxes on the erased debt.

The big picture: The Biden administration has been looking for ways to provide student loan borrowers with relief after the Supreme Court blocked his signature forgiveness plan.

The federal judge overseeing former President Trump's federal 2020 election trial officially postponed its March 4 start date indefinitely while his claim of presidential immunity remains on appeal.

Why it matters: It's now likely that the first of Trump's four criminal trials will be over New York's charges related to 2016 hush money payments, which is slated for March 25.

An increasing proportion of U.S. adults believe that Israel's military response in Gaza has "gone too far," according to a new AP/Norc poll published Friday.

Why it matters: The findings underscore how divided Americans are over the Israel-Hamas war, which has become a lightening rod everywhere from college campuses to workplaces across the U.S.

The highly anticipated verdict in former President Trump's civil fraud trial may not come until mid-February, the court said Friday.

Why it matters: The decision could have sweeping implications for the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner's campaign. Trump and his family's business empire could also face steep financial penalties and major restrictions on their ability to operate in New York.

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Friday issued a subpoena for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over allegations that her office misused federal grant funding.

Why it matters: The subpoena is part of a systematic effort by House Republicans to undermine probes into and prosecutions of former President Trump.

Former President Trump told Fox Business on Friday that if re-elected in November, he would not reappoint Jerome Powell to a third term as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Why it matters: Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, has a checkered relationship with Powell, routinely criticizing the central bank on its rate decisions while in the White House.

The U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%, the Labor Department said Friday.

Why it matters: The first look at the 2024 labor market shows it's on fire — not slowing down as previously thought.

Gov. Ron DeSantis' failed presidential campaign and political committees spent about $160 million, according to campaign finance paperwork filed Wednesday and reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Why it matters: The amount underscores the high expectations the governor's supporters and donors had for the campaign, according to the Times.

Former President Trump is breezing to the GOP nomination — but, in private, is bracing for the genuine possibility that he'll be the first convicted felon in U.S. history to represent a major party.

Why it matters: Sources tell us Trump believes he'd likely be convicted if the Jan. 6 case comes to trial later this spring in Washington. If that's delayed, he could face a guilty verdict in the Manhattan hush-money case.

When White House aides appear on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," they're often booked between 7 and 7:40 a.m. ET. That's so they'll reach one crucial and loyal viewer: President Biden.

Why it matters: Biden's years-long love of MSNBC's staple morning show affects how the White House runs — and who Biden listens to.

Former President Trump's privacy lawsuit against former spy Christopher Steele and his consultancy firm was dismissed by a British High Court judge in London on Thursday.

The big picture: Trump's lawyers argued the controversial 2017 "Steele dossier," authored by the former MI6 agent that included salacious but unverified claims about the 2024 Republican primary front-runner, violated data protection laws.

A former CIA software engineer who was convicted of carrying out the largest data breach in the agency's history was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday, the Department of Justice announced.

The big picture: Joshua Adam Schulte's "transmission of that stolen information to WikiLeaks is one of the largest unauthorized disclosures of classified information in the history of the United States," the DOJ noted in a statement.