Axios

Like a fox guarding the henhouse, a top Colorado official allowed election conspiracy theorists to access confidential voter records, prosecutors told the jury in the trial against former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

State of play: "She pretty much opened the door and said, 'Come on in,'" special prosecutor Robert Shapiro said in his closing arguments Monday.

Former President Trump is back on X just in time for next week's Democratic National Convention.

• He's already at eight posts, up from one over the past three years.

Why it matters: Trump's Truth Social posts never landed with the impact of his old tweets. Now he's returned to the platform that helped him dominate America's headlines for 6+ years.

• This fits the strategy Axios' Sophia Cai identified last year of using a Trump return to help offset a bad news cycle.

At least three top Senate Democratic candidates are hopping on the Harris-Walz wave after skipping appearances with President Biden, Axios' Stephen Neukam reports.

Why it matters: Senate Democratic hopefuls had quietly resigned themselves to having to win by overcoming Biden. Now, they see a chance for a boost from the top of the ticket.

1. Sen. Tammy Baldwin spoke on stage at a Harris-Walz rally in Wisconsin last week, after not appearing with Biden in the state last month.

Three presidents — Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — are expected to speak in support of Vice President Harris at next week's DNC, Axios' Hans Nichols has confirmed.

• At last month's RNC, former president George W. Bush and former vice presidents Dick Cheney and Mike Pence were not in attendance.

The nuclear football, carried by a military aide, arrives with President Biden back at the White House today.

The FBI confirmed Monday that it is has launched an investigation into allegations that the Trump campaign was hacked.

The big picture: The campaign accused Iran-backed hackers of gaining access to sensitive documents, and alleged the intention was to "interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process."

Democrats running for Senate are cozying up to the party's presidential ticket, after avoiding any connection to the Biden campaign.

Why it matters: Senate Democratic hopefuls had quietly resigned themselves to having to win by overcoming Biden. Now, they see a chance for a boost from the top of the ticket.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) on Monday took a step closer to running for New Jersey governor in 2025, telling Axios he is "strongly considering" a bid.

Why it matters: The high-profile centrist and prodigious fundraiser could prove highly competitive in the crowded Democratic primary field with his nearly $20 million war chest.

Former President Trump posted multiple times Monday on the social media platform X for the first time in nearly a year, hours before he's set to sit for an interview with the platform's owner, Elon Musk.

Why it matters: Trump and Musk have forged an alliance, with the Tesla CEO throwing his formal support behind the former president.

It's been a tumultuous year for college campuses as they reckon with protests that put free speech in the spotlight. Knight Foundation recently released a new study in partnership with Ipsos that analyzed free speech views among college students.

For the first time this election cycle, voters trust the Democratic candidate more than former President Trump on the economy, according to new polling released by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan.

Why it matters: The share of voters who say they don't trust either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris fell by nearly half — another example of the disappearing "double hater."

The Biden administration on Monday outlined new proposals to make it easier for Americans to cancel unwanted subscriptions.

Why it matters: The initiatives are a part of a broader effort by the administration to eliminate the "unnecessary headaches and hassles" that consumers face, including by getting rid of junk fees.

The Democratic National Committee on Monday is launching its first ad blitz since Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.) officially became the party's presidential and VP nominees.

Why it matters: One of those ads is a billboard on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, a splashy reminder that Democrats are making a play for the state that Republicans thought they had in the bag.

New preliminary data from major U.S. cities shows a sharp drop in violent crime in the first half of the year — more than 25% in some communities — as the COVID-era crime wave recedes.

Why it matters: The drop in violent crime puts a serious dent in one of the most frequently used lines of attack by former President Trump and his allies, who have sought to tie Democrats to the issue since 2020.