Ryan Routh, the man found guilty of trying to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf course ahead of the 2024 election, was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced.
The big picture: Routh's attempt on Trump's life — the second in the span of months — was a part of a series of high-profile incidents of political violence that rocked the country.
This is a golden age for innovative thinking about how to make housing costs less of a burden for Americans. But those efforts are filled with internal contradictions and trade-offs.
The big picture: Some of the very policies that seem to offer affordability relief — using the government's power to lower mortgage rates and make home loans more accessible, for example — risk being counterproductive if they stimulate demand without improving the supply situation.
More than 300 former federal prosecutors and civil rights attorneys are urging the Justice Department to allow state and local investigations into the killings of two Minnesota residents by federal officers, according to a new letter obtained exclusively by Axios.
Americans say the country's biggest problem right now is politics, per a new global Gallup survey out Wednesday.
Why it matters: Only eight other countries — out of 107 — ranked politics first, a sign of heightened political polarization and overall dissatisfaction among Americans.
The big picture: Trump's comments andan FBI raid of the Fulton County, Georgia, election office renewed concerns the president is seeking retribution over 2020 — and raisedalarms about 2026 interference.
The Trump administration will withdraw 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota "effective immediately," border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday.
From Chrome Dome flightsto Golden Dome missile protections, the U.S. has for decades staked a national-security interest in the Arctic. Today's conversation is quickly evolving, though, spurred by:
The coziness of Russia and China;
Global warming, ice melts and easing navigation;
And the Trump administration's chaotic approach to foreign affairs, compounding already strained transatlantic relationships.
Why it matters: "The Arctic is affected by many different factors, many different narratives. There's the focus on natural resources, shipping routes, and then, of course, its strategic positioning between global powers," Pavel Devyatkin, a senior associate at the Arctic Institute, told Axios.
Tomorrow, the world lurches toward an age of international uncertainty and increased nuclear-weapons spending. New START is expiring.
Why it matters: The treaty capped and encouraged inspections of the deployed nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia — Cold War rivals with shared animosity and some 85% of the world's warheads.
Natural gas is the clear winner in a fast-moving push to generate power directly at data centers, a new report finds.
Why it matters: These are billion-dollar bets that last decades — and doubling down on fossil fuel today locks in more globalwarming far into the future.
A majority of Trump-coalition voters back solar power, especially if the panels are made in the U.S. and without Chinese materials, polling shared exclusively with Axios shows.
Why it matters: Trump officials are moving against renewables on several fronts, including Interior Department permitting restrictions and the GOP budget law hastening the end of project subsidies.
The Justice Department last week released the final 3 million-plus Epstein files — but President Trump and Vice President JD Vance appear to diverge over what, if anything, should come next.
Why it matters: Trump suggested Tuesday it's "time for the country to get onto something else," even as Vance signaled openness to testimony on allegations in the latest files against former Prince Andrew.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was hospitalized Monday night after "experiencing flu-like symptoms" over the weekend, a spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Axios.
What they're saying: The 83-year-old former Senate Republican leader "checked himself into a local hospital" out of "an abundance of caution," the statement said.
President Trump will sit down for an interview with NBC News' Tom Llamas on Wednesday, with a portion set to air during the network's Super Bowl LX pre-game show Sunday.
Why it matters:Trump opted out of the Super Bowl-week tradition in 2018, the last time NBC hosted the game when he was in office.
NRSC chair Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) delivered a sobering message to his GOP colleagues Tuesday at a closed-door, off-campus briefing on how Democrats' six-point lead on the generic ballot could translate into individual midterm Senate races.
The slides showed the GOP's toughest challenge, based on the generic ballot, is in Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is running for a sixth term.
Why it matters: Republicans have long suspected that the national environment for their party could be challenging in November.
The House Ethics Committee is poised to hold a rare public hearing to consider charges of financial misconduct against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Axios has learned.
Why it matters: A public meeting of any kind is highly unusual for the secretive panel, which hasn't held a televised disciplinary hearing in nearly 15 years.
