Axios

An axis of disinformation — ranging from hackers to fake websites to a dose of AI — has emerged ahead of November, with the U.S. government stepping up its warnings on foreign election interference.

• Why it matters: Three of America's most potent adversaries — Russia, China and Iran — make the list.

1) Russia paid nearly $10 million to hire U.S. influencers — some with millions of followers — to "amplify divisions in the United States," the Justice Department said in an indictment today.

• The Justice Department seized 32 domains, some including "cybersquatted" sites publishing disinformation meant to resemble legitimate news outlets, like the Washington Post and Fox News, reports Axios' Avery Lotz.

Vice President Harris used a trip to the "Live Free or Die" state of New Hampshire to call for a top tax rate on capital gains that's nearly 10 points lower than President Biden's proposal.

• Biden has proposed taxing capital gains as regular income, taking the rate from 20% to 39.6% for Americans making more than $1 million a year.
• Congress would have to approve all changes to the tax code.

Between the lines: Harris wants to rebut charges — and the "Comrade Kamala" name-calling — from the Trump campaign that she's not fully committed to American capitalism.

• Go deeper.

Democrats are pumping huge sums of cash into Omaha in case they need Nebraska's 2nd congressional district to get Harris to 270 electoral votes.

• The Harris campaign and its outside allies have already spent more than $1 million in the Omaha media market with another $8 million in future bookings, CNN reports from AdImpact data.
• The House GOP-leadership linked Congressional Leadership Fund announced $1.5 million in Omaha spending today, taking them to $4.3 million for the cycle.

An axis of disinformation — ranging from hackers to fake websites to a dose of AI — has emerged ahead of November, with the U.S. government stepping up its warnings on foreign election interference.

Why it matters: Three of America's most potent adversaries — Russia, China and Iran — make the list.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Wednesday that she will vote for Vice President Harris in the 2024 election.

Why it matters: Cheney, one of the most high-profile critics of former President Trump, had not yet thrown her support behind the VP, despite efforts to court her by Democrats, per the New York Times.

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it is seizing 32 domains tied to a Russian influence campaign accused of spreading propaganda to influence voters in U.S. and foreign elections.

Why it matters: Members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle directed Russian companies to promote disinformation as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 election, the Justice Department alleged.

Vice President Kamala Harris wants to tax long term capital gains at 28% for wealthy Americans, calling for a top rate that's more than ten points lower than what President Biden has proposed.

Why it matters: Harris' new capital gains policy marks her clearest break yet with Biden as she fleshes out her policy positions as the Democrats' presidential nominee.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) outlined plans to move quickly next week to pass a six-month stopgap spending bill that includes the crackdown on non-citizen voting that hardliners are demanding.

Why it matters: With less than a month to go before federal funding lapses, Johnson can spare little time on a proposal that would be dead-on-arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate without opening his party up to charges they're risking a government shutdown ahead of Election Day.

Former Republican presidential candidate and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley will join public relations firm Edelman.

Why it matters: It's a surprising move for a once-rumored vice presidential contender and someone who former President Trump has said will be on his team "in some form" should he win the election.

Barron Trump, former President Trump's youngest child, is attending New York University this fall.

The big picture: The 18-year-old, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight, is straying from the family's tradition of attending the University of Pennsylvania — an Ivy League his father and three of four siblings attended.

A nonpartisan watchdog group called for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to remove Judge Aileen Cannon from former President Trump's classified documents case, arguing she undertook "many efforts to undermine and derail" the case.

Why it matters: Cannon, who dismissed the GOP nominee's federal case in July citing the "unlawful appointment" of special counsel Jack Smith, has been the target of intense scrutiny for how she is handling the case. Critics have contended she has intentionally slow-walked.

Look for House Democratic leaders to lean hard on their members not to break ranks and vote for Republicans' planned bill to keep the government funded past September, top Democratic sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Democrats are keeping a close eye on Republicans' own defectors and want to deny Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) votes from their side that he might need to keep the measure from going down.

Seven states filed a new lawsuit in an attempt to block the Biden-Harris administration's latest student loan forgiveness proposal for millions of borrowers.

Why it matters: It's the latest Republican-backed push to undercut the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plans — a key campaign promise the president made that has been hampered by repeated legal challenges.

In private, top advisers to Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump agree on three things:

1. Harris had a phenomenal month: record fundraising, little serious scrutiny, plus enthusiasm and party unity that few expected.
2. Trump had a rough month: a lackluster, at best, vice presidential rollout, and no lasting change in tone after surviving an on-camera assassination attempt.
3. Yet the race is within the polling margins of error in all seven swing states — Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign won't say whether she supports requiring automakers to build only electric or hydrogen vehicles by 2035 — a position she took during her 2020 campaign for president.

Why it matters: Since taking over President Biden's campaign in July, Harris has been light on policy details.

Donald Trump has been barnstorming the country pledging "no taxes on tips" for waiters, bartenders and others in the service industry as he tries to rally working-class voters to his side.

Why it matters: The former president's plan has been praised by some culinary workers. That's a change for Trump, whose administration twice proposed tip rules that many of those workers opposed.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee chair subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to provide further testimony on the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The big picture: Rep. Michael McCaul's (R-Texas) office said in a statement that Blinken "must appear before the committee" on Sept. 19, 2024, "or face contempt" charges.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name must remain on the Michigan 2024 ballot despite suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Trump, a state judge ruled.

Why it matters: Kennedy filed a lawsuit asking to remove his name from the ballot in the battleground state after Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said it wasn't possible for minor party candidates to withdraw.

A new gun rights group is launching a six-figure ad buy in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, focusing on the millions of Americans who became gun owners during and after the COVID pandemic.

Why it matters: The NRA — the longtime premier gun-rights group in the U.S. — cut its political spending from $54 million in 2016 to $29 million in 2020, according to OpenSecrets data. It has reserved $1.3 million in ad spending in 2024, according to AdImpact.

U.S. prosecutors charged Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and five other leading figures in the Palestinian militant group with offenses including terrorism over the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

The big picture: The indictment that was unsealed Tuesday marks the first step in the U.S. trying to hold Hamas accountable for the killing and kidnapping of hundreds of civilians, including U.S. citizens, but it's largely symbolic as Sinwar is believed to be hiding in Gaza and the DOJ notes in a statement that three of those charged are believed to be dead.