Axios

The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear Republicans' arguments for reinstating controversial rules that would've changed how voters' ballots are tabulated in the 2024 election.

Why it matters: The three-sentence, unanimous ruling is a win for critics who said the rules could sow distrust in the election in this important swing state.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), when asked about her former boss ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's potential bid for New York City's top job as its mayor has been engulfed in scandal, said New Yorkers deserve "people with integrity" to lead the city.

The big picture: Hochul has gotten drawn into the Mayor Eric Adams chaos given her power to remove him, after he became the first indicted sitting mayor of New York in late September. She served as lieutenant governor under Cuomo until he resigned in 2021 over sexual harassment allegations.

A slew of states put abortion on the ballot for voters in November — a winning issue for Democrats in the post-Roe era.

The big picture: Ten states green-lit abortion-related ballot questions, while others — like Arkansas, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Maine — faced significant hurdles that ultimately prevented voters from weighing in on proposed measures.

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his partner Matt Smith and another man, Jim Jacobson, were arrested Tuesday as part of a criminal sex trafficking investigation, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York confirmed.

The big picture: Their arrest comes nearly a year after a former model sued the fashion brand, accusing Jeffries of leading a "widespread sex-trafficking operation."

Vice President Harris and some of her campaign's top surrogates are fanning out beyond the battleground states this week, with stops planned in Texas, Kentucky and Florida.

Why it matters: None of these red states are seriously in play. But in the final two weeks before the election, the Harris campaign is using these detours to spotlight one of Democrats' strongest issue: abortion rights.

Heightened regulation is a major stumbling block for innovation and dealmaking, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told Axios on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The FTC and DOJ have ramped up enforcement actions in response to the growing number of large transactions, leading to nearly a dozen mergers abandoned or restructured last year alone.

In the final stretch of the 2024 campaign, former President Trump is returning to a culture war refrain with a series of anti-trans attacks.

The big picture: The Trump-Vance campaign's strategy is to paint Vice President Kamala Harris as a radical on trans issues as the fight to access gender-affirming care is playing out in courtrooms and state legislatures nationwide.

Russia was behind recent social media posts making baseless and salacious claims about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday.

Why it matters: It's the latest example of foreign actors trying to shape the outcome of U.S. elections by promoting false narratives online.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin, who challenged his 2022 conviction for trespassing inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.

Why it matters: The long-awaited decision reaffirms the approach taken by the Department of Justice in prosecuting hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters, many of whom faced the same charge as Griffin.

The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) official and several others over an alleged plot to assassinate Iranian American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad.

Why it matters: The charges are prosecutors' first attempt to implicate a high-ranking Iranian official in the Revolutionary Guard in the murder-for-hire plot, the New York Times reported.

Former President Trump plans to tape an interview on Friday with Joe Rogan for his podcast, which has the biggest audience of any podcast in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the plans.

Why it matters: Trump is trying to court young male voters — seeing the demographic as key to his path to the White House — and Rogan's podcast is particularly popular among male listeners.

A policy proposed by former President Trump to round up and deport undocumented immigrants — even if it requires using military-guarded encampments — has Americans divided, per a new survey.

Why it matters: The survey results come as Trump is promising to carry out mass deportations using a 226-year-old law that allows the federal government to detain "enemy aliens" in times of war.

The number of abortions performed in the U.S. continued to climb in 2024, increasing 11% in April to June this year, compared to the same period last year, according to a national report released Tuesday.

The big picture: In the first half of the year, there were nearly 98,000 abortions per month on average — up from 88,000 on average in 2023 and 81,400 in 2022, per the quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning nonprofit.

The race to succeed Joe Biden as the 47th president remains close, but a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia poll shows former President Trump with a slight edge over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Peach State.

Why it matters: Trump leads Harris 47% to 43%, outside the margin of error of 3.1%, among the 1,000 likely voters in Georgia who participated in the poll.

This year is all but certain to be the planet's warmest on record — narrowly beating 2023 as the hottest since at least the 19th century.

Why it matters: NASA's top climate scientist, Gavin Schmidt, estimates that the chance of a new annual record being set in 2024 is greater than 99%.

AI-powered election disinformation is lurking in the shadows of social media, and many might not spot it before they cast their votes this year.

Why it matters: Margins for several major U.S. elections — including the presidential race — are razor thin.

Elon Musk, Tesla and Warner Brothers Discovery are being sued by "Blade Runner 2049" production firm Alcon Entertainment for alleged copyright infringement, which accused them on Monday of "a massive economic theft."

The big picture: Alcon alleges the defendants used an AI-generated image like the one from "Blade Runner 2049" to promote Tesla's robotaxi concept at Warner Bros. Discovery's studio lot in Burbank, California, earlier this month after it denied their request to use "an iconic still" from the 2017 movie at the event.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during an event with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday criticized GOP-led states' moves to curtail women's rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections.

Why it matters: Anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America gave Cheney an A rating for her congressional voting record, saying she had "stood up against the pro-abortion agenda of the Biden-Harris administration."

A House Republican on Monday accused a Democratic colleague of refusing to let him cosponsor a pro-contraception bill that would pad his credentials on reproductive rights in his hotly contested reelection battle.

Why it matters: It is rare for lawmakers to prevent colleagues from signing onto their legislation – a sign of how bitter the partisan fight over abortion has become.

DETROIT — Some of House Speaker Mike Johnson's top House Republicans are privately wondering why he barnstormed Michigan over the weekend with Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Why it matters: Jordan's next moves are a mini-obsession among some House Republicans.

Former President Trump admitted Monday he has seen no evidence to suggest there has been any election fraud in 2024, but raised doubts about "the other side."

Why it matters: The Republican presidential nominee's admission stands in stark contrast to his typical rhetoric on election integrity that has seen him make baseless claims about "rigged" polling places since 2016.