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National

Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the Arizona secretary of state's office recently over his investigation into former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election leading up to the Capitol insurrection, a spokesperson for the office told Axios Wednesday.

Why it matters: Arizona, which President Biden won by some 10,000 votes, was a focal point of the Trump campaign and its Republican allies, who filed multiple lawsuits against the state or its counties alleging voting errors and fraud.

Those lawsuits were overwhelmingly denied or abandoned.

Driving the news: The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Trump in late 2020 attempted to pressure then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to overturn the state’s presidential election results by finding fraudulent votes.

Trump also reportedly asked Vice President Mike Pence to call Ducey and convince him to find evidence of Trump’s claims of voter fraud.

What they're saying: Paul Smith-Leonard, a spokesperson for Arizona Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, said the office had received two subpoenas from Smith in recent months — one during the current administration and one in the previous, when Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) held the office.

He said the office complied with the subpoena it received during the current administration through its outside counsel, the law firm Coppersmith Brockelman. 

The big picture: The subpoenas sought information regarding lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and former Arizona Republican Party chair that contested the state's election results, according to the the Arizona Republic.

Other Arizona officials have said they faced pressure from the Trump campaign and its legal team to support efforts to subvert the election.

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers told congressional investigators last year that Trump and his allies, including Rudy Giuliani, attempted to persuade him to decertify Arizona's electoral votes for Biden and to replace them with Trump electors.

Smith is also investigating Trump's handling of classified documents after he left the White House.

A grand jury indicted Trump with over a dozen federal charges related to retaining classified information and obstruction of justice last month. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Go deeper: Trump's shifting public defenses in classified documents case

Trump's shifting public defenses in classified documents case

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Special counsel subpoenas Arizona secretary of state office in Jan. 6 probe

Smith sent at least 2 subpoenas seeking information about 2020 election lawsuits.

Special Counsel Jack Smith speaking in the Department of Justice in June 2023. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump

2020 election

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Macro

Axios Macro

There is more worrying data about the health of the manufacturing sector: The industry continues to slide deeper into contractionary territory, despite an economy that is otherwise humming along.

Driving the news: The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing gauge fell to 46% in June (nearly one percentage point below May's gauge) — the weakest since May 2020. A reading below 50 suggests contracting activity.

Of note: Separate Census Bureau data released Wednesday morning showed factory orders rose 0.3% in May, the same pace as April (which was revised down a tick).

Excluding transportation shows that orders fell 0.5% in May.

What they're saying: "Demand remains weak, production is slowing due to lack of work, and suppliers have capacity," ISM's Timothy Fiore said in a release.

"There are signs of more employment reduction actions in the near term," Fiore said, adding that manufacturers used layoffs to manage headcount "to a greater extent than in prior months."

Details: A sub-index of prices paid for materials declined, indicating costs for raw materials fell for a second month — a welcome sign for inflation, though some panelists noted that labor costs remained high. 

The bottom line: "Input costs for materials continue to decline," one paper product manufacturer said in ISM's survey.

"Demand is trending to about 2019 levels, accounting for inflation. The COVID-driven demand has moderated."

Manufacturing sector continues its slump

The industry is sliding deeper into contractionary territory, according to a closely-watched survey.

Illustration of a conveyor belt in the shape of a dollar sign.

Manufacturing

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Estimated maternal mortality rate in 2019, by state

Data:Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation; Map: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals

Maternal mortality rates more than doubled in the U.S. between 1999 and 2019 with states in the Midwest and Great Plains accounting for significant increases along with the South, according to a JAMA study that provides the first state-level breakdowns by ethnic group.

Driving the news: American Indians and Alaska Natives had the biggest increases, particularly in states in the middle of the country where such inequities "had not been previously highlighted," researchers wrote.

"Often, states in the South are called out as having the worst maternal mortality rates in the nation, whereas California and Massachusetts have the best. But that doesn't tell the whole story," said Allison Bryant, co-first study author and senior medical director for health equity at Mass General Brigham.

Overall, there were an estimated 1,210 maternal deaths in 2019, compared to 505 in 1999.

Maternal mortality is defined as a death that takes place during birth or up to a year later. The study looked at pregnant individuals aged 10 to 54.

Common causes of maternal death include mental health conditions (including death by suicide and overdose related to substance use disorder), hemorrhages, blood clots, high blood pressure and cardiac and coronary conditions.

By the numbers: The number of deaths per 100,000 live births rose from 12.7 to 32.2 in total from 1999 to 2019.

Broken down by group, deaths rose from 14.0 to 49.2 among American Indians and Alaska Natives; 26.7 to 55.4 among Black individuals, 9.6 to 20.9 among Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (AAPI); 9.6 to 19.1 among Hispanics; and 9.4 to 26.3 among white people, researchers found.

Zoom in: For American Indians and Alaska Natives, the states with the largest percentage increases were Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, all of which were greater than 162%.

For the AAPI population, largest hikes were in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan and Georgia, with all being over 83%.

Among Black people, they were in Louisiana, New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas, which were all higher than 93%.

Hispanics saw largest increases in Indiana, Minnesota, Georgia, Tennessee and Illinois, all greater than 105%.

For white people, the most pronounced increases were observed in Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Missouri, all higher than 135%.

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details. 

Study: Maternal deaths widespread beyond the South

Deaths were highest in Black people, but largest increases were seen among American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Pregnancy

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Labor talks between UPS and its unionized drivers and warehouse workers broke down early Wednesday, with both sides accusing the other of walking away from the negotiating table.

Why it matters: If no deal is reached, a strike could throw the supply chain into chaos, disrupt the U.S. economy and push customers toward rival shipping companies.

The workers' current contract expires July 31. No additional negotiations are currently scheduled, the Teamsters Union said.

The big picture: The Teamsters — who represent more than 340,000 UPS workers nationwide — said that UPS "walked away from the bargaining table" after putting forth an "unacceptable" offer that was rejected by the Teamsters.

UPS refuted the claims in its own statement, saying UPS has not walked away from negotiations but rather that the Teamsters "stopped negotiating despite UPS's historic offer."

State of play: The negotiations have been held up by disagreements over pay and cost of living increases.

The union argues that salaries haven't reflected the large profits UPS enjoyed in recent years, Bloomberg notes.

The Teamsters also say UPS hasn't done enough to reward workers who risked their health to deliver packages during the pandemic.

Between the lines: UPS delivers 20 million packages every day in the U.S. Should a strike occur, competitors like FedEx and the postal service likely wouldn't be able to absorb all of the extra load, snarling supply chains.

UPS driver strike looms after labor negotiations break down

A strike could throw the supply chain into chaos and push customers toward rival shipping companies.

A UPS driver makes deliveries in Santa Monica, Calif. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Labor Market

The globe set a record for the warmest June since at least 1940, new and emerging climate data shows, obliterating the previous milestone from 2019. Separately, the globe set new single day records for the hottest day yet measured, on July 3 and 4. 

Why it matters: The records are an indication of the influence that an El Niño event is having in the tropical Pacific Ocean, since it is amplifying the pace of human-caused climate change.

The monthly record's magnitude signals that more temperature reports to come from U.S. and other governments are likely to rank June the same way.

The big picture: The monthly temperature data comes from European computer model data known as ERA-5, as well as a separate analysis from the Japan Meteorological Agency.

It comprises another warning sign that climate change may be picking up its pace, at least in the short-term, with record warm ocean temperatures globally for June, especially in the North Atlantic.

The sea ice that usually wraps around the icebound Antarctic continent is at its lowest level on record. Meanwhile there are unprecedented wildfires burning in Canada and multiple extreme heat events worldwide.

Zoom in: According to Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at payments company Stripe, global average surface temperatures were about 1.46°C (2.63°F) degrees above the preindustrial (1850 to 1899) average.

The next-warmest June was in 2019, but it was 0.16°C (0.3°F) cooler than last month.

Other climate information, including from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction, also show a June record.

Between the lines: In addition, the NOAA single-day numbers come from a computer modeling system that takes into account surface, satellite and other measurements, rather than purely ground-based instruments. 

They show that July 3 and 4 were the hottest days on record globally since at least 1979, in terms of the globally averaged absolute air temperature.

These were the first days in that data set to have a global average surface temperature exceed 17°C (62.6°F). 

Since July tends to be the planet's hottest month, it is possible these records will be exceeded in the next few weeks. 

Yes, but: A daily global record may sound alarming, but it is more symbolic than scientifically meaningful.

Researchers monitor human-caused climate change over the course of months to decades in order to decipher signals from the noise of natural climate variability.

The long-term trend is clear, showing a increasing global average temperatures in tandem with growing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

What's next: NOAA, NASA and agencies in the UK, the European Union and Japan will report their official June global temperature data during the next two weeks.

more symbolic than scientifically meaningful

Globe has warmest June on record by far, early data shows

News of the global extremes comes amid other indicators of human-caused climate change.

Global average sea surface temperature anomaly on July 3.

Global average sea surface temperature anomaly on July 3. Image: Climate Reanalyzer/University of Maine.

Axios

Wednesday's top stories

Special counsel subpoenas Arizona secretary of state office in Jan. 6 probe

Manufacturing sector continues its slump

Study: Maternal deaths widespread beyond the South

UPS driver strike looms after labor negotiations break down

Globe has warmest June on record by far, early data shows

Renewables help tame Texas electricity costs as heat wave swamps state

Meta gears up for Threads amid Twitter stumbles

Now trending: "Plant-based" foods — and "vegan" is out

Israeli forces begin withdrawal from West Bank city of Jenin

What to know about Philadelphia mass shooting that left 5 dead

Judge limits Biden officials' contact with social media companies

Younger 2024 candidates highlight athletic prowess

A "merciless" reminder of Indigenous history on July 4