Axios

Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) revealed he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and blasted former President Trump in a statement first shared with Axios.

Why it matters: Dent is part of a growing army of Republican former members of Congress who have thrown their weight behind Harris rather than Trump.

President Biden said after his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that it's time to "move on" and end the war in Gaza after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Why it matters: Biden has been personally pushing for months for a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza, and he hopes to reach a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations before he leaves office on Jan. 20.

Republican nominee Bernie Moreno is leading Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) by 3 percentage points in his campaign's latest internal polling, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Moreno has been closing a significant polling gap since the summer. A win in Ohio would likely eliminate Democrats' chances of keeping the Senate.

House Democrats are already twisting colleagues' arms in hopes of securing leadership positions if their party wins the majority on Nov. 5.

Why it matters: Openings for ambitious Democrats could become scarce after a relatively young leadership cohort led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) took over in 2022.

Federal authorities have arrested a man in Athens, Alabama who allegedly helped hack the Securities and Exchange Commission's account on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this year.

Why it matters: The arrest is the first indication of who was actually behind the incident, which sent shockwaves through the financial and crypto world.

The campaign arm of House Democrats is suing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over a controversial campaign finance loophole, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Republicans have resorted to legally-contested tactics to get around their cash crunch, with Democrats hammering the GOP in fundraising this year.

NewsNation's Chris Cuomo will moderate a town hall with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in Detroit on Oct. 24, broadcast on the network and live-streamed exclusively on X.

• The network has extended a similar invitation to Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Why it matters: Harris' clearest path to victory runs through the Rust Belt, where former President Trump and Vance have spent significant time campaigning in hopes of peeling away blue-collar voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Google will block election ads across all of its platforms after the last polls close on Nov. 5, according to a memo sent to its advertising partners Thursday and obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The policy, first introduced during the 2020 election, is meant to prevent misinformation about voting, including candidates prematurely claiming victory before a race is called.

Less than a month before the presidential election, campaigns are finally reaching out to the Latino voters who will play a key role in determining the outcome of the tight contest, a new poll indicates.

Why it matters: A record number of Latinos are eligible to vote this year and could especially have an impact in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada and other swing states where their numbers have been increasing.

The former chief marketing officer of NBC apologized to the country in a Wednesday op-ed for helping craft and sell "a false narrative" on "The Apprentice" that former President Trump was a "a super-successful businessman."

Why it matters: The NBC reality competition show hosted by Trump depicted him as a tough, business-savvy boss and made him a household name long before his political ambitions led him to Washington.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will deliver a speech Thursday assailing broad-based tariffs. While her words implicitly target former President Trump, they also signify shifting intellectual currents within the Democratic Party.

Why it matters: If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency next month, it's unclear whether she will share the inclination toward trade barriers of Trump and President Biden or listen more to the views of those in her orbit who advocate for using them sparingly.

Without "fundamental" changes within the Secret Service, "another Butler can and will happen again," an independent, bipartisan panel investigating the July assassination attempt of former President Trump warned.

The big picture: The attempted assassination, which left one rally-goer dead and two others injured, prompted intense scrutiny of the embattled agency, revealing a plethora of communication, technology and planning breakdowns leading up to the shooting.

The Biden administration will cancel another $4.5 billion in student debt for over 60,000 public service employees, the White House announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The latest round of student debt forgiveness through the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSFL) program brings the total loan forgiveness that the administration has approved to over $175 billion.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lambasted former President Trump as "despicable" and a "narcissist" after the 2020 election, according to a soon-to-be-released biography drawing on McConnell's diaries and private remarks.

Why it matters: The comments shed further light on McConnell's acrimonious relationship with Trump, whom he previously accused of provoking the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

After having its hottest summer on record, Phoenix saw an unprecedented and sustained heat wave during parts of September through mid-October.

Why it matters: The latest stretch prolonged heat-related health threats and pointed to the growing challenge of how to be resilient in the face of scorching temperatures.

The hottest climate policy news this week is something the Supreme Court didn't do: freeze Joe Biden's big carbon emissions rules for power plants.

Why it matters: The rules target a huge CO2 source — existing coal plants and future gas plants — and avoided being quickly forced into hibernation.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay a record $880 million to settle more than 1,300 claims of clergy sexual abuse spanning decades.

Why it matters: The settlement is the largest single child sexual abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese, according to the survivors' attorney.

Fourth in a series

If Vice President Kamala Harris takes the White House but not Congress, Washington would face much of the same gridlock and dysfunction it does today — except with an ambitious new president facing off against an oppositional but decapitated GOP.

Why it matters: Harris, handcuffed by Republicans in Congress, would be forced to govern like a more moderate version of President Biden.

Several state Medicaid programs will soon cover Indigenous healing practices used by American Indians and Alaska Natives under waivers granted Wednesday by the Biden administration.

Why it matters: Native patients are likelier to trust traditional healing that's been used for generations, and may experience better outcomes if they're incorporated into their care.

An effort to get doctors to register their patients to vote during office visits is drawing the ire of national Republicans as Election Day nears and threatening to again make health care facilities partisan battlegrounds.

The big picture: Vot-ER, a nonprofit spearheading health care-related voting efforts, likens the initiatives to nonpartisan voter registration at local motor vehicle departments. Conservatives contend they're exploitive and stretch the boundaries of physician freedom.

Vice President Harris ventured into the lion's den Wednesday to deliver a message that many Americans — including anxious Democrats — have been waiting to hear:

• "My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency," Harris told Fox News' Bret Baier.

Why it matters: In the highest-risk interview of her campaign, Harris took the rare step of distancing herself from the unpopular, aging president she serves — touting a "new generation of leadership" to millions of skeptical Fox News viewers.

Democrats running in battleground House districts clobbered their Republican opponents in fundraising between July and September, an Axios analysis has found.

Why it matters: It gives Democrats both a signal of grassroots enthusiasm and a much-needed cash advantage going into the final stretch of the battle for the House ahead of Nov. 5.

Politics is spilling into dating as young people say how someone else votes will affect their feelings.

Why it matters: The consequences are steeper for those supporting former President Trump.

Former President Trump said in August he'd "gladly" release his medical records. But with less than three weeks to go until Election Day, his campaign has yet to release any basic health data.

Why it matters: Vice President Kamala Harris has released detailed health records and called for the 78-year-old who'd be the oldest president inaugurated if he wins in November to do the same, as questions about his physical and cognitive health mount.

A Georgia judge called seven new rules that the State Election Board passed "illegal, unconstitutional and void" as he struck them down on Wednesday, as record numbers of people in the battleground state cast early votes.

Why it matters: In a blow for Trump-aligned activists, the judge invalidated rules including one mandating counties to hand-count ballots in November's election and two that would require officials to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" before certifying election results.