The Trump administration plans to send $500 rebate checks to as many as 1 million people who it says were overcharged for their coverage under Obamacare, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The direct-deposit payment would be sent to people in 30 states before the Nov. 3 midterm election, as Trump touts savings from his tax-cut legislation and prescription drug plan.
Speaker Mike Johnson's super PAC is spending big to give little-known Democratic challengers main-character energy — or at least starring roles in 30-second campaign ads.
Why it matters:President Trump wants to make the election about himself. The Congressional Leadership Fund — a super PAC affiliated with Johnson (R-La.) — is keeping the focus squarely on the Democrats running for Congress.
The liberal pro-Israel group J Street is launching a $3 million offensive against five AIPAC-backed Republicans in some of the nation's most competitive midterm races, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The battle over Israel, which roiled Democratic primaries and fueled tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, is spilling into the general election and pitting two pro-Israel groups against each other.
DALLAS — PennsylvaniaSen. John Fetterman (D) made a bombshell appearance Wednesday night at the GOP convention, in a video praising President Trump and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick for helping America's steel industry.
Why it matters: Fetterman's stunning turn — a Democratic senator in a supporting role at the GOP's showcase campaign event, fewer than eight weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms — marked a dramatic escalation in Fetterman's growing estrangement from his party.
Data: Finding Flock; Map: Brad Jennings/Axios; Note: Counties shown in gray have no listed ALPR cameras.
About 140,000 automated license plate readers, including thousands of Flock cameras, are installed across the U.S., according to this publicly available data.
Why it matters: The cameras can help police find stolen cars and wanted people, but their ability to track all vehicles all the time has fueled a growing privacy backlash and calls for tighter oversight or removal.
Why it matters: Americans are in the eye of the storm, with over half saying they don't think the 2026 midterms will be conducted fairly or are unsure, according to a new poll.
Politicians have long made it hard to trust their words. Now, AI-generated campaign ads flooding the airwaves and social media are making it harder to trust your own eyes and ears.
Why it matters: Americans' trust in politicians and institutions has been tanking in recent years — and AI campaign ads could deepen that erosion, political tech experts say.
President Trump used a call to restore German greatness Tuesday to celebrate a far-right party that others have denounced as antisemitic.
Why it matters: Trump promoting the AfD, or Alternative for Germany, comes as the nation's political mainstream has spent years keeping the party — which intelligence authorities has classified as extremist — out of power.
The AfD won a record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt's elections, putting Germany within reach of its first far-right state government since World War II.
Allen Control Systems is expanding its manufacturing footprint in Austin, Texas, to meet what the startup is calling "accelerating demand" for drone countermeasures.
Why it matters: The state capital has cemented itself as a haven for defense tech.
Hermeus is building what it's calling Ramjet-X — a super-fast aircraft that blurs the line between large drone, air-defense target and test bed for propulsion and materials science.
Why it matters: It's another big bet on unmanned speed from the company, which this year was valued at $1 billion post-money and moved its headquarters from Georgia to California.
The summer of love happened in 1967. The summer of lasers is happening right now.
Both upset the status quo.
The big picture: These weapons, so often associated with science fiction or Congressional Research Service reports, are clawing into reality after decades of investment and experimentation.
Top White House officials and elected Republicans tell us the same thing in private: They no longer even try to persuade President Trump to do or not do something.
"Why bother?" a longtime adviser and admirer told us. "He's the boss."
Why it matters: For nearly a decade, Republicans acquiesced to nearly every Trump demand and idea — and rationalized it by saying his instincts proved smarter than theirs. Now, many no longer trust those instincts. But they find it just as futile to push back against virtually anything he wants.
There are troubling new signs that the overhaul of Medicare drug coverage in the Inflation Reduction Act is dramatically driving up program spending.
Why it matters: The upward trajectory could threaten some seniors' coverage for outpatient prescription drugs — and it could force painful tradeoffs over the next decade as Medicare consumes a growing share of the nation's debt.
DALLAS — A secretive donor network closely aligned with Vice President Vance drew Cabinet members, lawmakers and major GOP donors to a "cowboy-chic" bar here Tuesday night for a marquee pre-party ahead of the Republicans' midterm convention.
Why it matters: The donor group, Rockbridge, has become an influential hub for conservative donors and operatives as Vance prepares for a likely run for the White House in 2028.
Paige Willey, the top deputy to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, is leaving the White House for a private-sector job at month's end.
Why it matters: Willey, an alum of the first Trump administration, was a Day 1 hire for the second administration and played an instrumental role in building up the National Economic Council.
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch's retirement is leaving Washington with a big question: Who will leadone of the city's most cherished — and politically embattled — institutions next?
Why it matters: Bunch's departure comes at a pivotal moment for the Smithsonian, as the Trump administration pushes to reshape the world's largest museum complex — particularly how it tells American history.
Elon Musk's super PAC has entered the midterm campaign fray with a heavy dose of anti-trans messaging.
Why it matters: America PAC isn't running a traditional persuasion campaign. It's undertaking a massive get-out-the-vote operation, with targeted ads designed to get GOP voters to the polls.
Most of us aren't taught how to fight well. We tend to bounce between avoiding conflict and "burning the house down," author and conflict-resolution facilitator Priya Parker tells Axios.
Why it matters:Avoiding every disagreement can create what Parker calls "unhealthy peace" in a group, where the real conversations never happen and people are afraid they'll be punished for saying what they think.
The Trump administration did not oppose a UK-led initiative to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, U.S. officials and Western diplomats say.
Why it matters: The White House's decision not to push back on the UK effort, which 11 other Western countries have joined, is a signal of its frustration with the Netanyahu government's policy in the West Bank.
