Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who as special counsel probed President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election, has died at age 81, per multiplereports Saturday.
The big picture: Mueller's probe resulted in a series of criminal cases against people in Trump's orbit, and earned him the president's lasting ire.
After three weeks of war, the Trump administration has begun initial discussions on the next phase and what peace talks with Iran might look like, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.
Why it matters: President Trump said Friday that he was considering "winding down" the war, though U.S. officials said the expectation was there would still be two to three additional weeks of fighting. In the meantime, Trump's advisers want to start laying groundwork for diplomacy.
Elon Musk said Saturday he'd be willing to pay the salaries of TSA agents during the Homeland Security shutdown, as President Trump suggested the possibility of using ICE agents to keep airports moving instead.
Why it matters: The shutdown is causing chaos for travelers and gridlock in Congress, with few solutions on the horizon.
Why it matters: Any swift ceasefire or arrangement allowing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz won't undo supply shocks that could linger for months — and in some cases, years.
Efforts to strike or rename events honoring United Farm Workers leader César Chávez are accelerating days after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused girls and young women.
Why it matters: The repercussions are coming quick, forcing a reckoning within the union and reshaping the legacy of one of the nation's best-known farm labor leaders.
Senate Democrats are preparing to use a procedural maneuver to revive a Biden-era immigration policy — or at least get caught trying, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Democrats are using the Congressional Review Act to go on offense on immigration, an issue that contributed to their defeat in 2024.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is riding to the rescue of centrist Senate Democratic candidates across the map, making her latest move in Michigan, where she endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens in the party's divisive primary.
Why it matters: Senate primaries in Maine, Michigan and Minnesota are turning into proxy wars between the party's centrist and progressive wings, with divisions over strategy and ideology.
The Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed a progressive prosecutor in Northern Virginia over how she handled the alleged doxing of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
Why it matters: Rep. Jim Jordan's decision to involve Congress marks a new escalation in a politically charged incident that pitted MAGA Republicans in D.C. against Democrat-aligned justice officials in the liberal enclave of Arlington County.
As the Iran war drives up jet fuel costs, travelers are bracing for airlines to raise ticket prices — making already expensive trips feel even more daunting.
The big picture: Travelers aren't powerless against rising fares and can still find opportunities to avoid even the worst price hikes, experts say.
The Trump administration sued Harvard on Friday, alleging the school "turned a blind eye" to the harassment of Jewish and Israeli students on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of the president using antisemitism investigations to influence university policy and administrators.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is under heavy fire from fellow Democrats for casting the deciding vote to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin's (R-Okla.) nomination for DHS secretary, with some openly calling for his ouster.
Why it matters: The idea of trying to unseat Fetterman is never far from many Democrats' minds, but rarely has it been discussed so explicitly and so openly.
ModSquad, a group that supports nearly a dozen moderate Senate Democrats, is endorsing Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan's Democratic primary, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The Democratic Party is fracturing over its Senate primary in Michigan — a state that's an important hold for the party in the November midterms — with moderates coalescing behind Stevens while their left splits between two other candidates.
It has now become a familiar Wall Street two-step: Stocks stumble in the morning and mostly recover by the end of the day after President Trump says something that's viewed as reassuring about the Iran war.
Why it matters: Investors are jumping at any sign of an end to the Iran war — now in its third week and far longer than they initially predicted.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) will be out Nov. 10 with "Unapologetic: Clarity and Conviction in a World Gone Crazy," billed as a "no-nonsense account of fighting for conservative values, taking on the status quo, and laying out her bold vision for the future."
"It's easy to be pessimistic about the future," says Sanders, 43, whose last book, "Speaking for Myself," was a New York Times bestseller.
"But if you take a break from the news and social media, and actually go look for it, you'll still find a lot more good than evil in Arkansas and across this country. There is still hope — I see it every day in the state I lead."
Democratic state lawmakers across the U.S. are quietly coordinating AI policy and comparing notes on industry lobbyingin a private Signal group chat called "Frontier AI Legislators," multiple members told Axios.
Why it matters: The group shares and tweaks bill language and swaps insights about industry pressure, aiming to help shape national standards for AI as Congress and the White House try to land their own plans.
Iranian hackers tied to a recent U.S. cyberattack have been running a broader intimidation campaign that involved issuing death threats and suggesting they have ties to a Mexican cartel to "commit acts of violence," the Justice Department said Thursday.
Why it matters: The campaign shows Iran's cyber playbook is moving beyond hacking companies and is now pairing cyberattacks with tactics to coerce targets and shape narratives.
