Axios

Few major donors to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn have thrown their weight behind GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton since the Texas attorney general defeated Cornyn in a May runoff, per an Axios analysis of newly released federal campaign finance data.

Why it matters: Paxton likely must rally Cornyn supporters to his side to defeat Democrat James Talarico, a state legislator from Austin and a formidable fundraiser seeking to appeal to moderate voters.

A bipartisan push to pass the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) revised Russia sanctions package has more than 60 co-sponsors — enough to clear a Senate filibuster.

Why it matters: The legislation, which would impose 100% secondary tariffs on countries that continue buying Russian oil and gas, now appears to have the votes it needs to pass the Senate. The biggest remaining hurdle is getting floor time.

Federal regulators are investigating whether a White House teleprompter operator capitalized on his knowledge of President Trump's prepared speech text by making trades on the prediction market Kalshi, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

• The speeches the person allegedly traded on included the State of the Union in February.

Why it matters: The rise of prediction markets has raised concerns about insider trading, which Kalshi and federal regulators say they're well positioned to combat.

Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Thursday he would not vote to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent role until Blanche meets with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse.

Why it matters: Even a single Republican "no" vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee would prevent Blanche's nomination from advancing to a confirmation vote before the full Senate.

Perhaps the most consequential piece of the new landmark housing legislation involves an astonishingly simple change to a 50-year-old federal law.

• Manufactured houses, or mobile homes, no longer must have a permanent chassis, the steel under-frame used to transport the house and then left attached.

Why it matters: The U.S. desperately needs more affordable starter houses for low- and middle-income folks currently priced out of the market, and some builders and housing advocates say this little tweak could help do the trick.

President Trump's primetime address Thursday night is forcing TV networks to choose: Air potential 2020 election falsehoods, or risk backlash from a White House that's shown little hesitation in confronting the media.

Why it matters: What usually would be a straightforward decision on whether to carry a presidential address has become a high-stakes editorial judgment for broadcast networks.

The three men racing hardest to build superhuman AI — Demis Hassabis, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei — all agree the frontier needs to be regulated ASAP.

Why it matters: For the first time, the CEOs of Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic are on the record, in writing, converging on the same diagnosis and remarkably similar prescriptions.

Late Tuesday at the White House, a livid President Trump complained to advisers about the Department of Homeland Security's decision to pause the type of vehicle stops by ICE agents that had led to two fatal shootings in the past two weeks.

• The department's idea seemed to be that agents would get more training. But by Wednesday morning, Trump had sent a Truth Social post reversing the pause, leaving DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and border czar Tom Homan to try to explain.

Why it matters: The episode showed how the latest ICE shootings have revived a tense debate within the administration over how to balance increasing public pressure to stop the violence with Trump's desire for tough enforcement and more deportations.

Vice President Vance is venturing into unfriendly media terrain to defend the White House against its critics — reviving the same playbook that endeared him to President Trump when he was picking his running mate.

Why it matters: Vance is using the media blitz to showcase one of his biggest political assets — his talent for verbal combat — as he lays the groundwork for an expected 2028 presidential campaign.

The Democratic National Committee asked its leadership team to sign non-disclosure agreements before a recent meeting about the party's finances, two people familiar with the conversations told Axios.

Why it matters: The move — a break from past practice for such officers — underscored DNC chair Ken Martin's sensitivity about the party's money woes and the persistent criticism about his leadership.