President Trump said on Thursday he made no progress in his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: The call took place amid a stalemate in Trump's efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and two days after the U.S. paused weapons shipments to the Ukrainian Army.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it arrested Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr., and he's being processed for expedited removal from the U.S. due to an active arrest warrant in Mexico.
Why it matters: Chávez is the son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez and just lost against Jake Paul by unanimous decision in a 10-round cruiserweight subpar bout this weekend.
The Big, Beautiful Bill, passed Thursday by Congress, dramatically increases funding for immigration enforcement in accordance with President Trump's policy priorities.
Why it matters: The funding will allow the Trump administration to approximately double immigrant detention capacity, significantly bolster immigration enforcement personnel and potentially exacerbate backlogs in the court system.
The EPA said Thursday it has placed 139 employees on leave after they signed a "declaration of dissent" accusing the agency of "unraveling" health and environmental protections for political reasons.
Why it matters: The letter and EPA pushback escalates internal and public disputes over the agency's deregulatory moves under President Trump.
House Republicans' campaign arm is going on the offensive in the battle for public opinion over President Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Why it matters:Democrats have hammered Republicans over the legislation's deep cuts to Medicaid, but the National Republican Congressional Committee thinks they have the winning message to expand their numbers in the 2026 midterms.
The House passed President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" Thursday, clearing the way for Trump to sign it by his July 4 deadline.
Why it matters: It's a massive victory for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was able to flip dozens of members who had initially threatened to vote "no" — as well as for Trump and Senate Republicans.
President Trump's massive tax and spending bill, which is advancing through the House after surviving its Republican push through the Senate, would slash food benefits for thousands.
The big picture: It would mark a historic cut to the social safety net that Republicans claim weeds out waste, fraud and abuse — but experts say the restructuring of assistance programs could leave more people hungry and uninsured.
The overwhelming consensus on Capitol Hill was that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) would only delay President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" by about an hour. By midday Thursday, he had broken the record for the longest House speech in history.
Why it matters: For months, the Democratic base has been demanding their party's leaders "fight harder" and use every tool at their disposal to stymie the GOP agenda. In the eyes of many lawmakers, this is Jeffries delivering.
The Supreme Court will hear two cases over state laws barring transgender athletes from participating in women's sports in its fall term, the court announced Thursday.
Why it matters: The cases have the potential to enshrine that Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education programs, does not mean transgender athletes can compete in sports that align with their gender expression.
The trade association representing U.S. restaurants is asking President Trump for "targeted relief" from his immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: The president recently signaled a willingness to cut some slack for farms and hotels, saying "our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them."
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo next week to restart nuclear talks, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
President Trump is ramping up his attacks on one of the GOP's newest targets, New York City's progressive mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
The big picture: The 33-year-old Democratic primary winner in the NYC mayoral primary has been hit with a barrage of attacks from the right ever since his win, with Trump and others attempting to frame him as a new face of "radical" Democrats.
Bond investors are supposed to wag their fingers at runaway government spending, so a megabill set to increase the deficit by over $3 trillion would typically send them into a tailspin.
That's not happening. In fact, bonds just had their best first half of the year in five years.
Why it matters: Following its role in President Trump's reversal on tariff policy, the bond market has been viewed as a check on the administration.
President Trump wants to "drill baby drill." But many producers in the heart of the oil patch have other plans — and some say Trump's trade policies are discouraging drilling.
Why it matters: Many things affect gasoline prices. But producers' caution about growing output could limit how much prices at the pump might fall by helping avoid a large market glut of oil.
Ken Burns told Axios that his forthcoming six-part series — "The American Revolution" — has been in the works since December 2015 and required "years and years and years" of filming war reenactors across the 13 original colonies.
The 12-hour film — directed by Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt — will premiere Nov. 16 on PBS and run for six consecutive nights at 8 p.m. ET.
Why it matters: "It's about really big ideas, the biggest ideas in humankind, and it's also an incredibly violent struggle," the legendary filmmaker tells us.
The demise of a controversial proposal in Republicans' budget bill that blocked state-level regulation of artificial intelligence is fueling fresh pressure for federal action, advocates told Axios Wednesday.
Why it matters: Congress' reluctance to set national AI rules for privacy, safety and intellectual property rights has left states to forge ahead with their own rules.
Press freedom advocates are sounding the alarm following Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Trump, arguing the deal sets a dangerous new precedent, particularly for smaller outlets with fewer legal resources.
Why it matters: A steady decline in media trust, coupled with enormous financial challenges, has made the press more vulnerable to political pressure campaigns than ever before.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said early Thursday morning he believes he has the votes to get President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" across the finish line in the coming hours, "right when everyone is waking up to have their coffee."
Why it matters: Johnson is racing against the clock to meet Republicans' self-imposed deadline to pass the marquee tax and spending bill, which they hope will get to the president's desk by July 4.
President Trump's asylum ban at the U.S.-Mexico border enacted in an emergency immigration proclamation on his first day in office is "unlawful," a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Why it matters: Although U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss postponed his order from taking effect for 14 days to allow for appeal, the processing of asylum claims at the border would resume immediately if the ruling is not overturned.
House Republicans broke the record Wednesday for the lower chamber's longest vote in history after more than seven hours of grueling negotiations over President Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Why it matters: The extended vote time reflects the severe reluctance among some on the House GOP's right flank to support the marquee tax and spending package.
The Trump administration plans to breed and sterilize billions of flies to airdrop over Mexico and southern Texas in an effort to stamp out the New World screwworm (NWS).
Why it matters: This highly destructive, parasitic flesh-eating maggot "is a devastating pest that causes serious and often deadly damage to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, humans," per a U.S. Department of Agriculture post on the plan to sterilize the flies using radiation technology.
Kilmar Ábrego García alleged in an amended complaint Wednesday that he "was subjected to severe mistreatment" while detained in the El Salvador mega-prison CECOT after being mistakenly deported to the country.
The big picture: The U.S. resident who spent nearly three months in CECOT is now detained in Tennessee after being returned to the U.S. and is awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
