Now that North Carolina is officially the first major Senate race with both parties' top candidates locked in, the GOP apparatus is quickly circling the wagons.
Why it matters: North Carolina will likely be the priciest and most competitive Senate contest of the cycle, with Georgia and Michigan seats as other top contenders.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is in discussions to move tens of millions of emergency food packages sitting in U.S. warehouses to Gaza and other needy areas, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Democrats are mobilizing to try to address the humanitarian void they say the Israeli government is leaving behind in Gaza, where starvation is worsening.
Why it matters: Just before the Senate bolts town, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced new legislation to provide Ukraine with an additional $54.6 billion, mostly in arms and ammunition from US manufacturers.
Former President Biden's top political aide Mike Donilon told congressional investigators Thursday that he was paid $4 million for his work on Biden's 2024 re-election campaign and would have made an additional $4 million if Biden had won, according to a person familiar with his testimony.
Why it matters: Donilon's testimony shows he had a financial incentive for Biden to run for re-election even as the majority of voters expressed doubts about the president's ability to do the job another four years.
President Trump said on Thursday that White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia in the coming days ahead of the sanctions the U.S. plans to impose on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: Trump's deadline to Russian President Vladimir Putin will expire in eight days. If Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine by then, the U.S. will impose new sanctions on Russia for the first time since Trump assumed office.
President Trump is building a ballroom at the White House, with a projected $200 million price tag, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday.
The big picture: The real estate developer-turned-president is checking off a decade-old passion project from his to-do list, after completing other personal goals like hosting the country's largest military parade in decades and securing a $400 million jet.
President Trump suggested early Thursday that he won't make a trade deal with Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intends to recognize the State of Palestine, subject to certain commitments.
Why it matters: The threat comes one day before Trump's Aug. 1 deadline for countries to make a trade deal with the U.S. or face tariffs — in Canada's case, a 35% levy on goods imported from the North American neighbor and significant trading partner.
Vaccination coverage among American kindergartners decreased for all reported vaccines during the 2024-2025 school year, according to data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: The drop coincides with measles cases hitting a 33-year high in the U.S., while Trump's Health Department secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., upends long-standing vaccine norms.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have introduced new legislation to provide Ukraine with an additional $54.6 billion in foreign aid.
Why it matters: It's the first formal attempt to convince President Trump to send fresh military assistance for Ukraine in his second term.
President Trump on Thursday said he demanded commitments from 17 big drugmakers to lower their U.S. prices by committing to a "most favored nation" policy he laid out in a May executive order.
Why it matters: The move raises the stakes for pharmaceutical manufacturers as they brace for threatened tariffs on the sector.
Initial coin offerings are poised to make a big return, as new SEC chair Paul Atkins declared Thursday that the agency is all in on President Trump's push to make America the "crypto capital of the world."
Why it matters: The country's top financial markets regulator is moving fast to enact the policy recommendations made Wednesday by the White House's working group on crypto assets.
Ahead of the fall semester, the Trump administration is continuing to reach settlements with universities over frozen federal funds.
Why it matters: The string of settlements shows how higher education institutions are trying to avoid protracted fights — and sets the stage for more deals to come.
Jen Easterly, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Biden administration, said Thursday that her rescinded offer to teach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point was "a casualty of casually manufactured outrage."
Why it matters: These are Easterly's first public comments since the Army decided to revoke her teaching role amid pressure from far-right activist Laura Loomer.
President Trump is expected to approve a new Gaza humanitarian aid plan on Friday after his envoy Steve Witkoff visits the enclave and briefs him about the situation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Thursday.
Why it matters: Trump has made clear in recent days that he thinks there is starvation in Gaza and has committed to increasing U.S. aid. At the same time, he said he expects other Western countries and Israel to do their share.
Texas Republicans scored a little-known win in Trump's "big beautiful bill": the transfer of the iconic Space Shuttle Discovery housed in the Washington D.C. suburbs to a National Aeronautics and Space Administrationfacility in Houston.
The big picture: Forcing the relocation of the Discovery with questionable legal authority reflects the political and cultural pressure America's museums have been under regarding how to display, tell, and manage the country's history.
The investigation into Jeffrey Epstein has become a centerpiece for documentaries.
The big picture: Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Peacock offer multi-part series about the disgraced financier and his notoriety. Many of them include interviews with his accusers, like Virginia Giuffre, while also sharing information about the conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death.
Scott Bessent kicked a hornet's nest Wednesday when he said that new Trump accounts for children were "in a way, a backdoor for privatizing Social Security."
Why it matters: TheTreasury secretary is just the latest member of the Trump administration to touch the third rail of American politics, making comments that give political opponents fuel for criticism and worry advocates for Social Security.
President Trump said on Thursday that Mexico will get at least an additional 90 days to come to an agreement with the White House on tariffs.
Why it matters: Mexico would have been subject to 35% tariffs as of Aug. 1 without a trade deal. Now the nation will continue to face 25% on certain goods until it notches a deal with Trump.
President Trump will revive the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools, which was phased out more than a decade ago, a White House officialconfirmed to Axios on Thursday.
The big picture: The test — featuring challenges like a one-mile run, pull-ups and the sit-and-reach — was once a rite of passage for America's youth.
Kamala Harris is set to release her book on Sept. 23, detailing her historic presidential run, she announced on her social media.
Why it matters: The book titled "107 Days" looks back on the shortest presidential campaign in modern history, which Harris said was "intense" and "deeply personal."
Trade could be an impetusbehind President Trump's threat to impose some kind of penalty on India over its imports of Russian energy.
Why it matters: It would mark the first tangible carry-through from Trump's threats to hit Russian buyers to create leverage for a cease-fire in Ukraine.
President Trump on Thursday unleashed a fiery reaction after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, blasting Fed chair Jerome Powell with a stream of insults and suggesting corruption in the renovation of the central bank's headquarters.
Why it matters: Trump's rage at the Fed's resistance to cut rates has twice taken him to the verge of trying to fire Powell, both times scaring markets and raising concerns about the central bank's independence.
Why it matters: More litigation means there is more need for policy and litigation communications, because it's about winning in the court of public opinion as well as in court.
President Trump said on Thursday that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will end if Hamas releases the hostages and surrenders.
Why it matters: The comment from the president marks a change in tone from others he made in recent days that put the onus on Israel to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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The major sports leagues are confronting a potentially costly reality in sports gambling: If you embrace it, problems will come.
Why it matters: Recent investigations of pro baseball and basketball stars have raised fears about the integrity of sports, and whether certain plays, or even whole games, are being manipulated.
The big picture: The nation has dodged the worst-case scenarios predicted by Wall Street economists just months ago, an easy bragging point for the administration.
The reliably pro-Israel Republican Party is scrambling to contain a generational revolt over foreign aid, antisemitism and the true meaning of "America First."
Why it matters: Amid scenes of starvation in Gaza, the MAGA movement has become an unlikely epicenter of the national reckoning over America's relationship with Israel.
Federal immigration raids across the U.S. are leaving many immigrants no choice but to abandon their vehicles, work tools and even cherished family dogs and cats.
Why it matters: The forsaken pets and property can pose safety problems for cities and towns, along with ramping up the stress for family members who also fear being detained.
President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. has struck a trade deal with South Korea, matching the structure of pacts with Japan and the EU.
Why it matters: The deal brings clarity to the U.S. relationship with a major trading partner, and will be a relief to automakers and other heavily exposed industries.
The Senate on Wednesday rejected two measures to block over $675 million in arms sales to Israel — but a growing number of Democrats supported the embargo.
Why it matters: Israel's bipartisan coalition in Congress hasn't quite crumbled, but more Democrats are disillusioned by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
