Nov 8, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Trump's judicial agenda takes center stage with House flip

Even as the races in Florida and Arizona remain too close to call, the Republicans' performance in Tuesday's elections was enough to cement their Senate majority — all but ensuring Trump's record-breaking judicial appointments will continue uninterrupted for at least the next two years.

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Data: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; Note: Count includes only federal appellate and district courts; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Why it matters: Advancing a judicial nomination in the Senate used to take 60 votes, but it now only requires a simple majority. Of the 84 Trump-nominated appellate and district judges confirmed by the Senate, 30 of them replaced judges nominated by a president of the opposing party. With Trump's legislative agenda likely to be stalled by a Democrat-controlled House, judicial appointments will become even more of a priority over the next two years.

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Axios
42 mins ago - Podcasts

The art and business of political polling

The election is just eight days away, and it’s not just the candidates whose futures are on the line. Political pollsters, four years after wrongly predicting a Hillary Clinton presidency, are viewing it as their own judgment day.

Axios Re:Cap digs into the polls, and what pollsters have changed since 2016, with former FiveThirtyEight writer and current CNN politics analyst Harry Enten.

Orion Rummler
3 hours ago - Technology

Twitter launches warnings on election misinformation and delays

Photo: courtesy of Twitter

Twitter will start pinning notices to the top of all U.S. Twitter users’ timelines warning that results in next week’s election may be delayed and that they may encounter misinformation on mail-in voting.

Why it matters: Delayed election results are expected across many states that are handling unprecedented amounts of absentee and mailed ballots, which President Trump has baselessly called "very dangerous" and "corrupt."

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Miriam Kramer, author of Space
3 hours ago - Science

NASA confirms water exists on sunny parts of the Moon

Photo: NASA/JPL/USGS

Water on the Moon might be more easily accessible than previously thought, opening up new possible avenues for future human exploration, according to a new study.

Why it matters: NASA is aiming to send people back to the Moon as part of its Artemis program by 2024, with plans to eventually create a sustainable presence on the lunar surface. That sustainability relies on mining the moon for its resources, like water.

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