A super PAC working to reelect Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is plowing $1.1 million into an ad campaign attacking Democrat Troy Jackson for supporting state legislation that allows transgender women to be housed in women's prisons.
Why it matters: The ad is the latest example of Republicans using visceral attacks on transgender policies to draw sharp contrasts with Democrats on a hot-button cultural issue.
House Democrats were left stunned and pointing fingers Tuesday after a pair of centrist lawmakers unexpectedly helped Republican leadership pass a key procedural vote.
Why it matters: The result underscored how little control House Democratic leadership enjoys over some of its more independent-minded members even at crucial moments.
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) was censured by the House on Tuesday after the Ethics Committee found he failed "to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers."
Why it matters: The vote amounts to a remarkable bipartisan rebuke, with the GOP leadership team and the vast majority of Edwards' own party joining Democrats to impose one of the House's most serious punishments.
The Ethics Committee's findings follow Axios' reporting that Edwards singled out two young female staffers in their 20s for special attention that multiple sources described as inappropriate.
Apple has changed the label on Lake Ontario to "Lake America," according to an Axios review of Apple Maps on Tuesday afternoon.
Why it matters: Apple is the second major digital map provider to make the switch. Google did so over the weekend — at least for those in the United States.
The U.S. military is conducting strikes on Iranian targets in the area of the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday.
Why it matters: The attacks are part of a plan President Trump and his senior aides have been consideringin recent days to wage limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuzto prevent Iran from rebuilding the radar and missile capabilities it needs to attack ships. The plan was reported by Axios on Monday.
U.S. officials are defending their work with Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt in the unprecedented White House move to effectively gain control over huge oilfields in the country.
They're also confirming the Trump administration's support for Venezuela's elections.
Why it matters: Betancourt is the colorful and controversial figure who heads North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the oil company partnering with the administration in the agreement that gives the U.S. preferential access to output from 17 major fields.
A U.S. Postal Service whistleblower is alleging the agency defied court orders while rushing to build a new ballot system that could reject thousands of mail ballots.
The big picture: The whistleblower says the Postal Service built the system in weeks, not the nine months to a year normally needed for a project of this complexity.
The House passed a short-term government funding bill through Dec. 11, avoiding a pre-election shutdown fight weeks before the deadline.
Why it matters: After enduring the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, neither party has much appetite for another funding showdown just before voters head to the polls.
President Trump on Monday called on Congress to pass a bipartisan federal tax incentive for movie and TV productions in the U.S., after meeting with actor Jon Voight to discuss the issue.
Why it matters: The effort is being welcomed by the film industry, which has long pushed for a federal tax credit.
Easy Aerial, a New York-based developer of tethered drone systems for aerial surveillance, has raised $20 million in Series B funding from Insight Partners and Entrée Capital.
Why it matters: The startup was at the center of controversy earlier this year, when it was booted from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
A historic California bill that provides a refundable employment tax credit for qualifying local news organizations could soon become law, pending Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature.
Why it matters: Local news advocates believe the first-of-its kind measure, if signed into law, would represent the country's largest single-state investment in community news ever.
Waymo is accelerating its nationwide expansion with cheaper, next-generation robotaxis — thousands of which are built in China and could eventually run afoul of tightening U.S. restrictions.
Why it matters: The Alphabet subsidiary is betting its next phase of growth on cheaper robotaxis built for massive scale — just as Washington could move the goalposts on where those vehicles can come from.
House Democrats are grumbling that Republicans are setting one last political trap for them before November by attaching language touting their marquee voter ID legislation to a resolution denouncing socialism.
Why it matters: This is a classic election-year tactic by the majority party in Congress, but centrist Democrats say it is also a missed opportunity for a genuinely bipartisan vote to denounce socialism.
Apple and OpenAI are escalating their legal fight over allegations that the ChatGPT maker used Apple employees to obtain closely guarded hardware secrets.
Why it matters: If the case makes it to the discovery process, two of the most secretive companies in tech could be forced to reveal sensitive information about how they recruit talent, develop hardware and protect confidential information.
Reproductive Freedom for All is launching a $250,000 campaign targeting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) over her role in confirming a key member of the Supreme Court majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Collins is facing Maine voters for the first time since the fall of Roe — putting her pivotal 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh back at the center of one of the country's most competitive Senate races.
Civil rights groups have called on Black college athletes to boycott schools in states that are rolling back voting rights. But highly paid NIL-era athletes are proving to be unwilling protesters.
Why it matters: It's exposing a disconnect between advocates who rely on 1960s-style protest tactics, and prominent athletes in today's $3 billion NIL economy who have different views of activism — and who are unwilling to sacrifice unprecedented financial opportunities.
President Trump's historic Venezuelan oil deal revolves around a colorful and controversial man from Caracas with a long history of supporting U.S. interests — including the operation to remove former strongman Nicolas Maduro.
Why it matters: Alejandro Betancourt, 46, runs the oil company that's entering into an unprecedented partnership with the Pentagon. It gives America access to some of Venezuela's vast oil fields at a time when U.S. reserves are low.
Data: American University poll; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals
Younger adults are just half as likely to feel proud of "where America is heading as a nation" (29%) than "what America has been in the past" (59%), according to a new poll from the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University conducted by the Generation Lab.
Why it matters: The findings (online survey of 1,031 respondents, ages 18-34, July 23-Aug. 1) are noteworthy across partisan, gender and ethnic lines.
Two key reasons led to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's resignation, announced Monday: the feeling that his modernization initiatives were being blocked, and the chaos created by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's firing of senior generals.
Why it matters: Driscoll's wartime resignation, on top of Hegseth's firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George this spring, leaves the military's largest service without Senate-confirmed leadership, civilian or uniformed.
Vice President Vance on Monday offered an olive branch to Jewish Republicans who have grown wary of his views toward Israel.
During a closed-door appearance before the Republican Jewish Coalition at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Vance called Israel "extremely important to America's national security" and condemned rising antisemitism, according to two sources familiar with his remarks.
Why it matters: Vance's appearance at the meeting is the latest indication that he's trying to repair ties with a powerful but skeptical constituency within the GOP ahead of an expected bid for president in 2028.
