California officials announced that the state will revoke 17,000 commercial driver's licenses given to immigrants, stoking Gov. Gavin Newsom's ongoing fight with the Trump administration.
Why it matters: President Trump's restrictive immigration policies are projected to have a dramatic impact on the American economy over the next few years.
The U.S. has struck trade deals with a group of Latin American countries that will include tariff relief on some coffee and fruit exports, senior administration officials said Thursday.
Why it matters: Coffee has become for the Trump administration what eggs were to the Biden administration: The emblem of an affordability crisis that has weighed on public perception of President Trump's economic policies.
The BBC formally apologized to President Trump after criticism over how a documentary edited his Jan. 6 speech, and said it does not plan to rebroadcast the program.
Why it matters: Though it apologized, the BBC disagreed that the edit merited a defamation claim, and it did not indicate that it would compensate Trump, as he had demanded.
A Trump administration official referred Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) to the Justice Department for a potential criminal investigation into alleged mortgage and tax fraud tied to his D.C. home, multipleoutlets reported.
The big picture: Swalwell is the latest Democrat to face a DOJ referral for mortgage fraud allegations, as President Trump pushes to prosecute his political enemies.
The Justice Department is suing California over the redistricting measure voters overwhelmingly approved last week that could grant Democrats up to five new seats in Congress.
The big picture: The suit ignites a major showdown between the Trump administration and the liberal state, triggered by the president's push to redraw maps in Texas in Republicans' favor.
Visa applicants can be rejected for health conditions like obesity, cancer or diabetes under guidelines issued earlier this month by the Trump administration and reviewed by multipleoutlets.
Why it matters: The broadened restrictions give the Trump administration more justifications to deny entry to immigrants at the same time that the president is narrowing other pathways to residency.
The Trump administration will deploy U.S. Border Patrol to Charlotte as part of its immigration crackdown as early as this weekend, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed Thursday afternoon.
Why it matters: This is the first real verification of reports that the federal law enforcement agency is coming to Charlotte.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) swearing-in to her late father's seat Wednesday highlights a defining paradox of the populist era: American politics largely remains a family business.
Why it matters: The 2026 and 2028 ballots are already filling up with political scions. In a polarized, low-trust environment, these campaigns are testing whether voters will seek stability in a familiar, dynastic name.
President Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in a phone call last month that, with the Gaza war ending, he expects Saudi Arabia to move toward normalization with Israel, two U.S. officials told Axios.
Why it matters: U.S. officials have told the Saudis they're hoping for progress on that issue around the Trump-MBS meeting next week at the White House, though they acknowledge the gaps between the Saudis and Israelis remain wide, the U.S. officials said.
Democracy Forward, a progressive legal nonprofit that has frequently sued the Trump administration, is bringing on more than a dozen former federal officials as fellows, part of a program that seeks to look beyond the Trump era.
Why it matters: Fired federal workers are starting to get new roles, and many of them are taking on gigs opposing the Trump administration.
It's not unusual to see officials from federal agencies taking new jobs, to be sure.
What's different now is that these are long-time civil servants, some of whom have served for decades no matter who was in the White House.
Lawyers for James Comey and Letitia James will urge a federal judge to toss their indictments, arguing President Trump's hand-picked prosecutor was illegally appointed.
The big picture: The ruling could test how far the Trump administration can go in reshaping the Justice Department in his quest for retribution against political foes.
Fewer solar projects are being delayed now compared to this time last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported this week.
Why it matters: Conventional wisdom pointing to politics, permitting and local battles suggests solar is facing increasing opposition, but short-term trends suggest that may be changing.
Four months ago, President Trump blocked the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Wednesday's disclosure of thousands of Epstein emails showed why.
Why it matters: The emails contained no real smoking gun. But they shed new light on the relationship between the two men, with gossipy, unflattering descriptions of Trump by Epstein.
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has spoken privately with several Democratic governors about how to take on President Trump and tackle other priorities, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The meetings — with three potential 2028 presidential candidates — are a sign that Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is seeking advice on governing from Democrats across the party's ideological spectrum.
Global efforts to address climate change are — still — going far better today than they were a decade ago, even with recent politics pushing the problem to the back burner.
Why it matters: We humans usually operate on daily, monthly and yearly time frames. So it can be easy to miss the energy transition unfolding over decades and centuries.
Fewer than half of Americans now say religion is an important part of their daily lives, a 17 percentage point drop since 2015, which ranks among the largest declines in the world, according to a new Gallup poll.
Why it matters: The U.S. was once exceptional for its high religiosity among wealthy nations. The shift reflects profound cultural changes that could reshape politics, social ties and even national identity.
Rev. Jesse Jackson has been hospitalized in Chicago, said the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the nonprofit the civil rights leader founded, Wednesday evening.
The big picture: The 84-year-old is "under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)," per the coalition's statement. "He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade."
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) shocked and dismayed colleagues Wednesday with a rogue effort to condemn retiring Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.) for effectively ensuring his chief of staff would succeed him in Congress.
Why it matters: It was a rare moment of public infighting that resulted in a heated exchange between Gluesenkamp Perez and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.).
President Trump signed a bill on Wednesday night to reopen the government and officially end the 43-day shutdown after the House earlier passed a bipartisan funding package.
Why it matters: Trump's signature on the bill ends the longest-ever federal government shutdown, which left thousands of federal workers without pay and disrupted services across the country for nearly seven weeks.
The big picture: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) told Axios he was among the Democrats to vote to reopen government and bring to an end the furloughing of federal workers, blocking of food aid and travel disruptions because "shutdowns never work and they cause a lot of chaos and harm."
U.S. Roman Catholic bishops delivered a "special pastoral message on immigration" on Wednesday, raising "our concern here for immigrants."
Why it matters: Although it doesn't mention President Trump by name, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) message marks a rare public reproach of his immigration policies.
The House took a major step Wednesday toward a vote on forcing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, with the long-awaited swearing-in of Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
Why it matters: Grijalva, who was elected in September to succeed her late father, faced a historic 50-daydelay in getting sworn in — a holdup that Democrats alleged was aimed at delaying the Epstein vote.
