Axios

As the first-ever former or sitting U.S. president to be a convicted felon, former President Trump faces many unprecedented questions — including whether he is barred from traveling.

The big picture: Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, and the result may determine if he's allowed to leave the U.S. and enter other countries as a convicted felon.

An Italian appeals court reconvicted Amanda Knox of slander Wednesday, finding she wrongfully blamed an innocent man for the 2007 murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher while she was a suspect in the case, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: After a highly publicized trial and conviction in Kercher's murder, Knox was ultimately acquitted of any involvement. But the slander charge remained, despite Knox's stance that the confession, which she later tried to retract, was coerced.

The dramatic and unexpected demise of a plan to charge $15-a-car to drive in Manhattan below 60th Street ultimately came down to two red-hot electoral issues: inflation and crime.

• Some New Yorkers and New Jerseyans rebelled at the idea of yet another ungodly fee for the privilege of going to work — and they don't trust the subways and other public transit to keep them safe.

The Colorado Republican Party called for pride flags to be burned this week, while its chair sent gay slurs in fundraising emails just days after the start of Pride Month.

Why it matters: The Colorado GOP's attacks on LGBTQ+ people come as Republicans in other states have attempted to restrict LGBTQ+ expression.

Georgia's Court of Appeals paused court proceedings Wednesday in former President Trump's state 2020 election subversion case while it reviews appeals, including whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on the case.

Why it matters: Proceedings in the case are now likely paused until at least October, when the appeals court is set to hear oral arguments on Trump's bid to disqualify Willis.

Senate Republicans blocked a bill that protects access to contraception from moving forward on Wednesday afternoon.

Why it matters: The vote is part of a reproductive rights blitz planned by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Democrats around the 2-year anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade — intended to put pressure on the GOP on one of their most vulnerable election issues.

Columbia University agreed to increase safety measures in a Tuesday lawsuit settlement with a Jewish student who felt threatened and their education disrupted by campus protests earlier this year.

Why it matters: The settlement is one of the first legal agreements the university has made as related to campus protests as it faces investigation over alleged antisemitic and anti-Palestinian discrimination.

Republican senators are starting to demand a new strategy to counter the string of politically tough votes being forced on them by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

Why it matters: Republicans have bashed votes on the border and reproductive rights as partisan moves by Democrats in a hotly-contested election year. But some want to fight back, harder.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) traded barbs on Wednesday over inflammatory comments Donalds made regarding Black families' quality of life during Jim Crow-era racial segregation.

Why it matters: Donalds is seen as a potential running mate for Donald Trump in an election year when both parties are forcefully courting Black voters as polling suggests softening support for Democrats. 

Senate Democratic campaigns are launching a month-long blitz on reproductive rights, pressing Republicans on abortion as the second anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade approaches, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Republicans have suffered at the ballot box since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion rights case, and Democrats will elevate it as a top election issue this year.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday paused indefinitely the implementation of congestion pricing for drivers in New York City, weeks before the controversial initiative was set to take effect.

Why it matters: The first-in-the nation policy aimed to boost public transit use and improve air quality, but Hochul said it risked "unintended consequences" for New Yorkers' wallets and visits into Manhattan.

President Biden's long-anticipated move to issue a sweeping executive order cracking down illegal border crossings has managed to anger both Democrats and Republicans.

Why it matters: It is the Biden administration's most aggressive effort thus far to tackle the immigration issues that have become a key focus of Republican attacks.

Vulnerable congressional Democrats, led by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), are calling on the Biden administration to investigate Chinese solar companies for allegedly skirting U.S. tariffs, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Trade with China has emerged as a flashpoint in the 2024 election, with Biden and former President Trump competing with each other on whose approach is stronger or more strategic.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argued in a letter made public Wednesday that former President Trump's partial gag order in his New York criminal case should stay in effect at least through sentencing and the completion of post-trial motions.

The big picture: Lawyers for Trump, who was convicted last week in the hush money trial, argued earlier this week that the gag order should be lifted immediately because the trial has concluded.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding answers from the Biden administration about the illegal flow of firearms to Haiti.

Why it matters: Armed gangs killed thousands of people in Haiti earlier this year and compounded the country's severe humanitarian crises. Lawmakers said in a new letter sent Wednesday that the flow of weapons to the nation is "fueling catastrophic gang violence."

Vice President Kamala Harris disavowed former President Trump's response to his recent criminal conviction and expressed support for the jury in a Tuesday "Jimmy Kimmel Live" interview.

The big picture: Trump is the first former or sitting U.S. president to become a convicted felon as he campaigns to return to the White House.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg became the first prosecutor to ever convict a former U.S. president after a New York jury found former President Donald Trump guilty in his hush money case.

Why it matters: Bragg, 50, now faces a rising tide of attacks from elected Republicans and threats of prosecution and imprisonment from Trump's MAGA allies for his role in the case.

Former President Trump suggested Tuesday that his enemies could face similar prosecution to what he's faced if he wins in November, saying "it's a terrible path that they're leading us to," referring to his Manhattan conviction.

Why it matters: Trump, convicted last week of 34 felony counts, has suggested that he will go after his political enemies, including President Biden if he wins back the White House.

In a 3,000-word story headlined "Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping," The Wall Street Journal reports that in meetings with congressional leaders, President Biden "appears slower" and "has both good moments and bad ones."

Why it matters: Biden's age and acuity are among the GOP's top attack lines. Poll after poll shows Biden's age, 81, is a major concern among voters.

If former President Trump wins in November, top supporters will push him to investigate, prosecute — and even try to imprison — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who won Trump's conviction in the hush-money case.

• "Of course [Bragg] should be — and will be — jailed," Steve Bannon, one of the top voices of the MAGA movement, told us — saying for the record what many Trump supporters are privately plotting.

Democratic groups are launching a multimillion-dollar effort this week to flip or hold state legislative chambers in Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Democrats are hoping to leverage potent issues like abortion rights and voting rights — as well as their significant fundraising advantages — to turn around more than a decade of the GOP's grip on state governments.

WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden's legal team signaled Tuesday that his federal trial on three gun charges won't just be the U.S. v. Biden — it'll also be Biden v. Biden.

Why it matters: With Bidens likely to testify for both the prosecution and the defense, the trial is set to further divide parts of the family that fractured after the death of President Biden's other son, Beau, in 2015.

Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-N.J.) defeated Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla in a hotly contested Democratic primary, according to AP.

Why it matters: The son of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) faced difficult political headwinds after his father was indicted on explosive federal bribery charges, with prosecutors accusing him of taking payments in the form of gold bars.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) won New Jersey's Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, bringing him one step closer to taking indicted Sen. Bob Menendez's (D-N.J.) seat, per AP.

Why it matters: It comes a day after Menendez, who's on trial on federal bribery charges, filed to run for re-election as an independent for the New Jersey seat that's typically been for Democrats.