Axios

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Thursday pardoned a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in Austin in 2020.

The big picture: Daniel Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year for fatally shooting U.S. Air Force veteran Garrett Foster.

House Republicans along with more than a dozen Democrats voted on Thursday to pass legislation that would force President Biden to provide arms shipments to Israel.

Why it matters: The White House and Democrats have pushed hard against the bill, casting it as an unprecedented infringement on Biden's foreign policy prerogatives as chief executive.

Brown v. Board plaintiffs and their family members were invited to the White House Thursday to meet with President Biden in honor of the landmark school desegregation ruling's 70th anniversary.

Why it matters: It was one of several events this week where Biden will appear before mostly Black voters. This group has historically backed him as a candidate — but could be less supportive of him this year.

The Biden administration is launching Thursday a new, fast-tracked asylum system for people who have recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and are headed to any one of five major cities in the U.S.

Why it matters: It's the latest in what's expected to be a series of moves by the White House and congressional Democrats on the border, which has become one of their most vulnerable issues in the 2024 election cycle.

House Democrats quietly helped propel a GOP-led discharge petition to success, marking the first time in nearly a decade the maneuver has worked.

Why it matters: Democratic leaders made a concerted effort to get their members to sign on, according to several senior Democratic sources. It comes after several efforts to force votes on their own bills fell short.

Nearly a dozen House Republicans flocked to former President Trump's criminal trial in New York City on Thursday, the largest attendance yet by GOP lawmakers.

Why it matters: The trial is rapidly becoming the essential Trump loyalty test for Republican members of Congress to the point where it appears to have actively interfered with official business.

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it has taken the next step to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug under federal law.

Why it matters: Initiating the process to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to a less dangerous Schedule III drug is the first step to make the major policy change President Biden announced last month a reality.

1. Brazil's government announced a huge aid package yesterday for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by floods in the south of the country.

• Authorities said they'll help people who have lost their homes purchase a new one and give each family 5,000 reais in cash (about $980).
• At least 149 people have died in the last two weeks from the floods and heavy rains.

2. Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, who had been in jail for almost two years, was ordered released last night after a panel of judges deemed his detention too onerous.

• Zamora will now be under house arrest as the trial against him continues. He's accused of money laundering and obstructing justice in a case that advocates say is unfounded and an attempt to silence the press.
• Zamora was the publisher of elPeriódico, which regularly ran stories about previous government corruption and which had to shut down last year.

He needs no introduction ... but today we celebrate the legendary Emilio Estefan, who was recently appointed to the Aspen Institute Latinos & Society Program's advisory board.

• The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit that seeks to make the world a better place.
• Emilio Estefan is ... Emilio Estefan. Legend.

Days before the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, another landmark Supreme Court decision granted Mexican Americans in Texas the right to serve on a jury — and opened doors to more civil rights battles.

Why it matters: The Hernandez v. Texas ruling in May 1954 affirmed that Mexican Americans were protected under the 14th Amendment and couldn't be excluded from jury duty under Jim Crow laws and practices in Texas.

The share of Latino students attending intensely segregated schools has skyrocketed over the last three decades, according to two new reports and an Axios review of federal data.

Why it matters: Intensely segregated schools, defined as schools with a student population that is more than 90% nonwhite, have fewer resources, more teacher shortages, higher student-to-school counselor ratios, and fewer AP class options.

The Biden-Harris campaign said Thursday that it has accepted an invitation from CBS News to participate in a vice presidential debate in July or August.

The big picture: The VP debate invitation comes after both President Biden and former President Trump agreed to presidential debates on June 27 and Sept. 10, hosted by CNN and ABC News.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and other top House Democrats are holding a fundraiser on Thursday for Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-N.J.), Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The son of indicted Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is trying to fend off a tough primary challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

The New York courthouse hosting Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial has become a Manhattan Mar-a-Lago as the former president's allies have flocked to the trial to show their allegiance.

Why it matters: Earlier in the trial, Trump reportedly sulked about not having supporters by his side and how it's impeded his ability to court donors and campaign for a second presidential term.

President Biden has asserted executive privilege to deny House Republicans audio recordings of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur, the Justice Department revealed on Thursday.

Why it matters: The disclosure comes just before a pair of House committees plan to vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the audio.

Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in his historic hush money trial have filed a flurry of legal requests that a New York judge has shot down. But whether they succeeded or not wasn't really the point, experts say.

Why it matters: The aggressive legal strategy, meant to both keep Trump happy and win in the court of public opinion, is a product of the unprecedented criminal trial of a former president as he campaigns for reelection.

At 81, President Biden is betting big on his ability to square off with a rival who regularly questions his mental acuity and physical stamina.

Why it matters: Behind Biden's presidential debate gambit are a series of calculated hedges to minimize potential damage.

In public remarks about plans for a second term, former President Trump often talks about banning mask and vaccine mandates, and deporting undocumented immigrants — while spending only about 11% of his time on policy plans, an Axios analysis found.

Why it matters: The analysis reveals the extent to which Trump's talking points reflect MAGA conservatives' lingering anger about COVID restrictions, their focus on tying immigrants to the nation's problems, and their push to regulate education.

Pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Irvine, were arrested as police moved in to clear an encampment on campus Wednesday evening.

The big picture: The arrests came hours after the union representing some 48,000 University of California graduate students and other academic workers voted to authorize a strike over college crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests on campuses in recent weeks, citing free speech and student safety concerns.

The CEO of former President Carter's nonprofit said Wednesday there's been no major change in the 99-year-old's condition and he's "at home, enjoying peanut butter ice cream" during his hospice care.

The big picture: Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander made the comments during an interview with the AJC's "Politically Georgia" podcast a day after Carter's grandson was quoted as saying the oldest living U.S. president was "coming to the end," but "he's still there."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared on X Wednesday that a bill he signed that removes climate change as a priority in state energy policy would restore "sanity" and reject "the agenda of the radical green zealots."

Why it matters: The bill that would also ban offshore wind turbines and bolster natural gas expansion after taking effect on July 1 comes as climate change's effects are already impacting Florida — notably a dangerous heat wave threatening the state's south this week that's already broken temperature records.

Israel's defense chief warned in a dramatic speech Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inaction on a post-war plan for Gaza is pushing Israel toward having to impose military and civilian rule over the enclave.

Why it matters: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's remarks were a public indictment of Netanyahu's war policy, exposing some officials' frustration that he hasn't set a clear strategy for Gaza's future.

Beyoncé gifted Kamala Harris tickets to a concert tour in 2023, per financial records of the vice president and President Biden that the White House released on Wednesday.

The big picture: Neither Biden nor Harris reported any conflicts of interest in the disclosures that are required to be made public annually under the Ethics in Government Act, which was introduced to prevent such issues.