Former FBI Director James Comey is facing new federal charges, according to a charging document made public Monday.
Why it matters: This marks the third time the Trump administration has charged Comey. He has been a subject of the president's ire since his dismissal from the first Trump administration in 2017.
A pair of Trump-friendly, right-wing populists took a one-two punch Sunday: Brazil rejected a Bolsonaro comeback, and Serbia toppled a strongman's ruling party.
The big picture: Brazil denied Trump a close ally at the helm of Latin America's largest economy, snapping a streak of seven straight conservative wins in the region. In Europe, Serbia and Hungary toppled leaders with close Trump ties who had dominated their countries for years.
President Trump will campaign with three football stars in Texas on Tuesday, leaning into America's favorite sport as Republicans scramble to turn out voters in the final week before the midterms, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Trump is trying to mobilize the lower-propensity voters who helped return him to the White House in 2024 — but who may be less inclined to vote when he isn't on the ballot.
President Trump and MAGA-world influencers are echoing Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro's claims of a rigged election after the Trump-aligned populist fell to the incumbent president in Sunday's election.
The big picture: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's runoff victory has been widely seen as a counterweight to the global right's surge in Latin America. But Bolsonaro, like his father, isn't accepting defeat.
Brazilian assets tumbled Monday following the re-election of Brazil's left-leaning incumbent in a presidential runoff Sunday.
Why it matters: The re-election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — known as Lula— underscores the economic challenges Brazil faces as the one-time union organizer heads toward his fourth non-consecutive presidential term.
The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sent demands for Anthropic executives to testify in its consumer harm probe, an FTC spokesperson told Axios.
Why it matters: The FTC is investigating Anthropic and OpenAI and has sent civil subpoenas seeking documents from both AI giants about safety incidents. The agency plans to go after more AI players as well but has only confirmed demands for testimony were sent to Anthropic.
State of play: Individuals at other AI companies have also received demands to testify, the spokesperson said, without providing more detail.
OpenAI is the only other AI company that was subpoenaed earlier this month, but the FTC has said investigative demands will be sent to more organizations at a later date.
The administration's focus on Anthropic as the FTC investigation proceeds appears to confirm the company's warning in its S-1 filing that it would likely continue to be the subject of disproportionate government scrutiny.
Catch up quick: The FTC's civil investigative demands span 50 pages for each company and ask for documents concerning security incidents, safeguarding practices, marketing materials and documents detailing privacy policies.
The agency has investigative authority to examine actions related to consumer harms that could be seen as unfair or deceptive. Those can relate to a wide range of misbehavior, including how companies charge for services or if they're alleged to have misled users.
The big picture: The escalation in the FTC probe comes on the same day as the company pitches investors on one of the largest IPOs in history.
Anthropic said the FTC's investigation could result in significant costs and model design changes.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Gadi Eisenkot is as low-key as Benjamin Netanyahu is bombastic. He's a political novice up against the longest-serving, most politically savvy prime minister in Israel's history.
And yet, on the eve of Tuesday's elections, Eisenkot poses the most serious threat to Netanyahu's hold on power in years.
Why it matters: A victory by the Yashar party leader would upend Israeli politics and could reset the country's strained relationships abroad.
For all the political hand-wringing surrounding corporate DEI programs, new polling shows that workers across party lines are more likely to say their expectations of employers have increased than decreased over the past four years.
Why it matters: Companies weighing changes to their DEI commitments should be careful about assuming the political backlash reflects what their own employees want.
Here's something Democrats and Republicans agree on ahead of the midterms: They'd rather work somewhere that respects differing political views than somewhere that mirrors their own beliefs.
Why it matters: For internal communicators, the challenge is translating that desire for mutual respect into workplace expectations that accommodate political differences without pressuring employees to participate or take sides.
Harvard economist Jason Furman told Axios that if he were to return to his old job as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers today, he would rely on AI tools over staff economists for much of the council's day-to-day analytical work.
The big picture: Unsurprisingly, this made some waves in the online discourse, particularly the loose-knit community formerly known as Econ Twitter.
Many veterans of the economic policy trenches see real risks in future policymakers becoming overly reliant on AI — or at a minimum think that Furman is underestimating the importance of human economists in advising the nation's leaders.
Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza are teaming up with Decision Desk HQ to host "The Projection," a live election night broadcast, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The show features two of Washington, D.C.'s most well-known political pundits and gives them a platform to deliver their own real-time results directly to viewers.
Anthropic is warning investors that it may continue to be a target of the Trump administration as it seeks one of the biggest IPOs in history — and that it has no plans to change its behavior.
Why it matters: The filing doesn't name the president or his administration specifically, but the subtext is clear. Anthropic outlines the risk of being "disproportionately or selectively targeted" due to its positions on AI safety.
That means politics could determine which models Anthropic releases, where it operates, which customers it serves and whether commercial partners continue doing business with it.
Dictionary.com named "maxxing" its 2026 Word of the Year, reflecting a culture obsessed with getting the most out of everything.
Why it matters: The word's explosive popularity reflects society's relentless drive to optimize everything — from earnest self-improvement to giving everyday activities comical nicknames. There's a "maxxing" for just about everything.
Top Democrats poised for powerful roles next year are demanding that major banks and ports preserve any records they have tied to potential imports or other deals involving Russian diesel.
Why it matters: Probing President Trump's agreement with Moscow will be a priority if Democrats regain control of either or both chambers of Congress.
President Trump's Board of Peace has appointed Shelley Greenspan, who served as the White House's Jewish community liaison during the Biden administration, to lead its outreach to Congress and the Washington think tank community.
Why it matters: Greenspan's selection is part of an effort by the Board of Peace to increase bipartisan support for President Trump's Gaza peace plan. The implementation of the plan is expected to get a renewed push after the midterms and the formation of a new Israeli government.
When it comes to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s future, two things are clear: He hasn't finished what he set out to do, and President Trump has his back.
Why it matters: It was a popular assumption a few months ago that Kennedy would be out after the November elections. Now, the question is why he would leave.
The 2026 midterms have taken a deeply personal turn as campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition — sometimes over the objections of the families themselves.
Why it matters: Some attack ads feature photographs of murdered children and anguished 911 calls, forcing grieving families to relive their worst moments.
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected to a fourth, nonconsecutive term in the nation's presidential election, according to early results released Sunday evening.
Why it matters: Lula's victory deals a setback to Brazil's right-wing populist movement and preserves a major counterweight to President Trump's influence in Latin America, with tensions over trade and tariffs threatening to persist.
