Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday — again — questioned former President Trump's fitness to serve in the White House after his spate of campaign trail cancellations.
North Carolinians turned out in record numbers for the first day of in-person early voting Thursday, as the state continues to grapple with the destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene.
The big picture: The key battleground state in the 2024 presidential race is still reeling from the storm's devastation, which prompted massive hurdles for voters and election officials in the weeks before the Nov. 5 election.
Some of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in this election are using the closing stretch to boast about their ties to former President Trump.
Why it matters: Even candidates in presidential battlegrounds are now featuring Trump cameos in campaign ads — as Democrats up and down the ballot run to the middle.
A D.C. federal courton Friday released heavily redacted volumes of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 case against former President Trump.
The big picture: The evidence, much of which was already public information, was dropped weeks after a more damaging dump in the same case. Trump's legal team has pushed to keep these files sealed as he seeks another term.
A report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released Friday accuses former President Trump of using the Secret Service as his "personal government ATM" by overcharging the agency at his hotels.
Why it matters: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has made Trump's finances a particular focus since becoming Oversight's ranking member, and has said he will likely pursue the topic further if Democrats retake the House.
The Department of Justice has charged and arrested two Sudanese brothers with operating Anonymous Sudan, a hacker group known for destructive website takedowns.
Why it matters: The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, paints the clearest picture of who was running the mysterious Anonymous Sudan hacking group — which has launched more than 35,000 attacks in the last year against hospitals, government offices and other major organizations.
Former President Trump's planned appearance at a National Rifle Association event next week was cancelled Thursday, the latest in a slew of scuttled public appearances and interviews by the former president in recent weeks.
Why it matters: With only 17 days to go until Election Day, the spate of cancellations gives voters fewer chances to hear from Trump before heading to the polls in a coin toss race.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $30.3 million in September, leaving House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) with nearly $50 million in cash on hand on Oct. 1 to capture the majority.
Why it matters: The DCCC's strong number is yet another indication that Democrats are swimming in cash in the campaign's final weeks.
Barack and Michelle Obama will join Kamala Harris on the trail at get-out-the-vote events for the Democratic presidential candidate in swing states Georgia and Michigan next week, a senior campaign official said.
Why it matters: This will be the first time Vice President Harris campaigns with either of the Obamas, and polls show both the ex-president and former first lady remain popular figures in U.S. politics.
If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the White House, one of her first fights may be over the future of Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan.
Why it matters: FTC chairs aren't usually well-known outside the Beltway, but Khan has become a trustbusting hero to progressive Democrats and even some MAGA Republicans like JD Vance.
The slow ripple of Black male voters from the Democratic Party to the GOP has been two decades in the making — and now Kamala Harris is scrambling to stem the tide before it grows in key battleground states.
Why it matters: An Axios analysis of states with sizable numbers of Black voters indicates that any significant shift to Donald Trump and the GOP would spell trouble for Democrats in crucial states such as Georgia and North Carolina.
Why it matters: The results suggest that in a nation of immigrants, many Americans have bought into the historically racist rhetoric that Donald Trump has used to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment while promising mass deportations if he's re-elected president.
The Texas Supreme Court halted the execution of Robert Leslie Roberson III late Thursday, hours before he was scheduled to be given a lethal injection.
The big picture: Roberson, who has maintained his innocence in the death of his daughter, was due to become the first person in the U.S. to be executed for a murder conviction based on shaken baby syndrome, per the Innocence Project, which has campaigned against the execution.
Why it matters: The two billionaires are stepping up to back the candidates they want to win in the final stretch of a 2024 presidential race that's too close to call.
Former President Trump told indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams "you're gonna win" during a roasting of the Democrat at the Al Smith charity dinner that the Republican presidential nominee headlined on Thursday night.
Context: The first sitting NYC mayor to be criminally charged pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and fraud charges in relation to allegations that Adams denies of accepting illegal campaign contributions and receiving travel perks from Turkish officials and others.
A father and son were indicted on murder charges Thursday in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, last month.
The big picture: Accused shooter Colt Gray, 14, was formally charged with 55 counts in connection with the shooting that killed four people and injured nine others, and his father, Colin Gray, was indicted on 29 counts by a grand jury in Barrow County, Georgia.
A Florida judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday prohibiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration from threatening to prosecute TV stations that carry ads promoting the state's abortion rights referendum on November's ballot.
The big picture: A six-week ban took effect in Florida earlier this year, but if voters aprove the amendment next month it would guarantee abortion access until fetal viability — around 24–28 weeks of pregnancy.
The judge in former President Trump's federal Jan. 6 case on Thursday evening rejected his lawyers' request to delay the court-ordered release of a redacted appendix of new evidence from special counsel Jack Smith.
Why it matters: Trump's lawyers said delaying the case until after the election would allow them to submit a counter to the appendix that the special counsel's office filed, but U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan denied their request and ordered Smith's dossier be unsealed with redactions on Friday.
