Axios

The former president of the Center for the National Interest who was repeatedly named in the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election was charged with working for a sanctioned Russian television station and laundering the funds.

Why it matters: These charges follow a series of announcements from the Biden administration Wednesday targeting Russian influence schemes, one of which involved another state-owned network allegedly deceiving online commentators with the intent to amplify Kremlin propaganda.

1. Honduran President Xiomara Castro claimed Tuesday night during a national broadcast that efforts to launch a "coup" against her government are underway.

• The claim was made after a news organization released videos of her brother-in-law Carlos Zelaya meeting with known drug traffickers in 2013.
• Zelaya said earlier it was an unwitting chance encounter, but the footage apparently shows him addressing the traffickers to ask for donations for a previous presidential campaign.
• During her speech Tuesday, Castro claimed it's an attempt to discredit her when dozens of members of the opposition are under investigation for alleged links to drug traffickers.

Today's pachanga is for Cassandra Chavez, the organizing director for the California Democratic Party!

• Cassandra has been running the party's "forever organizing" efforts, engaging with voters in the San Joaquin Valley through canvassing, phone banks and voter registration.

Congrats, Cassandra!

Nearly one-third of the 36.2 million Latinos who are eligible to vote are between the ages of 18 to 29 and form a politically independent voting bloc that candidates will need to turn out come November.

Why it matters: Winning the Latino youth vote could be crucial to political parties far in this year's election and beyond.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he wants Vice President Kamala Harris to win the U.S. presidential election in November — not former President Trump.

The big picture: Putin's comments came less than 24 hours after Justice Department officials accused Russia of taking part in an illicit scheme to influence the election with pro-Russian propaganda.

A Russian influence operation used unwitting, prominent right-wing influencers to spread propaganda ahead of the 2024 election, the Justice Department alleged Wednesday.

Why it matters: The influencer scheme is yet another chapter in Russia's long running effort to infiltrate the opinions of American audiences via social media and online manipulation.

President Biden is likely to block Japan's Nippon Steel from buying Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion, citing national security concerns.

The intrigue: If Biden pulls the trigger, three big questions emerge:

Harvard and Columbia are considered the worst colleges for free speech in an analysis released on Thursday by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse.

Why it matters: These universities, along with other elite institutions, faced criticism in the spring for their responses to pro-Palestinian student protesters.

Hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets in Israel, ever since the bodies of six murdered Israeli hostages were found last week in a tunnel in Gaza. It marked an escalation by Hamas, Axios' Barak Ravid tells Niala Boodhoo. Ravid has been covering the war since the start, and reporting on the Middle East for his entire career. As we approach the one year anniversary of the start of this conflict, he brings us inside the negotiations, the protests, and the stark reality of this new chapter in the war.

Guest: Barak Ravid, political reporter and Middle East expert for Axios covering foreign policy and the 2024 election.

Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura and Jay Cowit. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893.

Niala is launching a Substack! Subscribe here to stay in touch with her and follow her upcoming projects.

The majority of states are failing to provide accessible, transparent school performance data on student learning loss from COVID-19 shutdowns, a new study finds.

Why it matters: The lack of data makes it hard for parents to choose a school for their child using state report cards mandated by federal law or to put pressure on struggling schools.

Cybersecurity company Pango is acquiring all of Kaspersky Lab's U.S. antivirus customers following the Commerce Department's ban on sales of the Russian antivirus software.

Why it matters: Without the deal, existing Kaspersky U.S. customers would have stopped receiving software updates to the antivirus tool later this month.

One of the main questions raised during a meeting President Biden and Vice President Harris had with their national security team on Monday was whether there is a hostage-release and ceasefire in Gaza deal Hamas would ever agree to, U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: Biden and his top advisers were shocked after Hamas killed six hostages, among them U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and have started to rethink the way forward in the negotiations over the deal.