The top Democrats on congressional committees overseeing foreign, defense and intelligence policy are demanding Secretary of State Marco Rubio provide a briefing on the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
Why it matters: Unlike some of Congress' hawkish Republicans, these lawmakers aren't dismissing the deal out of hand.
President Trump on Wednesday said that he would "rather not have" the North American trade agreement that was negotiated during his first term.
Why it matters: The free trade pactthat binds North America is up for review next month. The risk of the deal collapsing now appears greater than before.
The Federal Reserve left its target interest rate unchanged in Kevin Warsh's first meeting as its chairman, alongside new projections showing that many top officials now anticipate raising interest rates this year.
Why it matters: Warsh is taking charge of the central bank amid a renewed surge of inflation that has dashed hopes for interest rate cuts this year.
Against that complex backdrop, Warsh indicated that the ways the central bank conducts monetary policy are set for significant changes in the months ahead.
Democrats celebrated a small victory in Georgia on Wednesday as GOP leaders shelved plans to redraw the state's congressional maps for the 2028 elections. But they're warning the battle is far from won.
Why it matters: Republicans hit pause on their plans amid fear that a redraw before November could energize Democratic voters, but Dems are trying to manifest that energy anyways.
The fallout from the Teamsters' affiliation with organized crime in the 20th Century is poised to end after President Trump's prosecutors agreed to cease federal monitorship of the union.
Why it matters: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been subject to oversight since 1989, when it signed a consent decree aimed at eliminating the mob's influence in the union.
The moment Chicago has been waiting nearly a decade for has arrived: The Obama Presidential Center opens Thursday in Jackson Park.
Why it matters: It's a full-circle moment for Barack and Michelle Obama, who began their public lives as community organizers and are now opening a permanent civic institution in the same city that shaped them.
A planned confirmation hearing for President Trump's director of national intelligence nominee, Jay Clayton, was abruptly scuttled Wednesday after the president put more pressure on Republicans to pass his voting bill.
The big picture: Clayton's nomination, which GOP senators were aiming to fast-track, has been widely regarded as a way to ease tension between the White House and the upper chamber's Republicans after Trump nominated Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief.
Below is the full text of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, as delivered by a senior administration official in a briefing with reporters.
The big picture: The MOU declares the war to be over, calls for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. to lift its blockade, launches 60 days of nuclear negotiations, waives sanctions to let Iran sell oil during those 60 days and includes massive economic incentives should Iran sign a final nuclear deal.
The White House's move to restrict access to Anthropic's latest AI model — using what is known as export controls — could harm the long-term financial prospects of the entire U.S. AI industry.
Why it matters: Anthropic and OpenAI's valuations depend on the global adoption of their most advanced models, and government restrictions could limit that growth.
Frontier, the group of big companies trying to jump-start carbon removal, just unveiled $915 million in new purchase plans and added AI heavyweight Anthropic to its roster.
Why it matters: New or accelerated ways of pulling CO2 from the atmosphere could become a weapon against global warming — but massive scale-up is required to move the needle.
Why it matters: The ruling is a setback for Alan Woods, whose case argued Iowa's tax-sale laws violate the U.S. and Iowa constitutions by allowing investors to take equity exceeding taxes, interest and costs owed.
In a scene from the forthcoming "Regime Change," President Trump asks a guest at a private dinner last year to compare Vice President Vance to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump often does that to stir the pot on 2028 speculation. But this time, the judge was Rupert Murdoch.
And with Vance and Rubio sitting awkwardly at the table, Murdoch was notably more effusive about Rubio. The media mogul had privately tried to talk Trump out of choosing Vance as his running mate in 2024.
Why it matters: Trump's parlor game — recounted in a 3,000-word passage in "Regime Change," by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, out next Tuesday — shows that Vance, as the authors write, can be sure Trump won't "make it easy for him" to get the 2028 GOP nomination.
America's cities are seeing a socialism surge, but it's not the post-Cold War boogeyman that schoolchildren were warned about.
The big picture: It's called sewer socialism, and is the cornerstone for policies from New York's Zohran Mamdami, Seattle's Katie Wilson and Washington D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George.
Private capital is pouring into the reindustrialization of America's arms industry. The folks involved in that push are gathered in Detroit this week to debate what success looks like, how long it will take to get there and whether it will truly make the U.S. safer.
Why it matters: This isn't just about pumping out more missiles, drones and jets on U.S. soil. It's about sourcing minerals and training workers. It's weathering political change, Pentagon bureaucracy and the boom and bust of investment cycles.
A profound identity crisis has gripped America ahead of its 250th birthday: Citizens are less proud, less religiously unified and losing faith that the American Dream still works.
Why it matters: Democracies can survive policy brawls. They struggle to function when citizens lose faith in shared institutions, abandon a common civic story and use politics to replace religion and community.
President Trump's Iran deal has opened an explosive second front in MAGA's civil war, waged by hawkish allies who view U.S. concessions as an existential betrayal of Israel.
Why it matters: Across two terms and 11 years in the political spotlight, no issue has divided Trump's base more than the Iran war.
Just over half of parents in families with a mom and a dad both worked full time last year, setting a record high, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis out Tuesday.
Rep. Barry Moore defeated former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson on Tuesday to secure the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in deep-red Alabama.
Why it matters: President Trump endorsed Moore in January. His win over Hudson, who ran as an anti-establishment political outsider, is another sign of the president's grip on GOP primaries.
Five people were arrested after the FBI disrupted an alleged plot targeting President Trump's White House UFC event, officials said Tuesday.
The big picture: There have been several attempts on Trump's life, including a recent shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, as law enforcement reckons with a period of elevated political violence.
