Axios

Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch (R-Idaho) has no plans "at this time" to hold an oversight hearing on the Trump administration's deadly strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela.

Why it matters: With a few exceptions, Senate Republicans have taken a back seat to President Trump's anti-narcotics tactics in the region.

NFL CMO Tim Ellis defended hosting Bad Bunny for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, saying the league isn't trying to please everyone and is focused on staying relevant to the fans driving its future.

Why it matters: The NFL's pick has drawn criticism from far-right commentators, as the Puerto Rican superstar recently has avoided touring in the continental U.S. out of concern that ICE raids could endanger his fans.

The U.S. announced it killed five purported "narco-terrorists" in two strikes on vessels in the eastern Pacific, marking an expansion of the Pentagon's shadowy military campaign.

The big picture: The Trump administration has now disclosed killing more than three dozen people across nine known strikes. The latest are the first the administration has acknowledged outside of the Caribbean.

Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday before leaving Israel that he was "insulted" by the Knesset vote on annexing the occupied West Bank, which took place while he was visiting the country this week.

Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has control over the majority in the Knesset and could have stopped the vote by taking it off the agenda or ordering the members of his party to vote against it. He chose not to in order to avoid a confrontation with his ultranationalist coalition partners.

A diverse coalition of moderate and progressive Christians has opted to jump off the pulpit and challenge President Trump around immigration, civil rights and poverty.

Why it matters: Trump commands fierce loyalty from conservative evangelicals backing his immigration raids and National Guard deployments.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is ordering local police and officials to support immigrants, protect protesters and avoid cooperating with immigration authorities amid reports that President Trump's administration will soon send over 100 federal agents to the Bay Area.

Why it matters: The expected federal deployment this week of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agents, first reported Wednesday by the San Francisco Chronicle, sets the stage for a potentially unprecedented immigration enforcement operation.

Designating illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) should "at least be a discussion," President Trump's border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday during Axios' Future of Defense Summit.

The big picture: Homan emphasized fentanyl is a dangerous drug, citing U.S. death tolls he said are around 73,000 annually and noted the number was higher during the Biden administration.

The U.S. imposed new sanctions against Russia's two biggest oil companies on Wednesday in an effort to press Russian leader Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire, President Trump said.

Why it matters: This is the first time the U.S. has imposed sanctions against Russia over the war with Ukraine since Trump assumed office.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) is surprised by the pace at which China's military arsenal is advancing, she said Wednesday at Axios' Future of Defense Summit.

Why it matters: China is positioning itself as the U.S.'s leading geopolitical competitor.

Democrats, Republicans and President Trump are "failing to govern" amid the ongoing government shutdown, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday during Axios' Future of Defense Summit.

Why it matters: Panetta warned that defense spending can't depend on a patchwork of continuing resolutions, and that the funding gap signals to adversaries globally that "democracy is not working."

Vice President Vance on Wednesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "give a shot" to the Gaza ceasefire deal and help implement it, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official familiar with the meeting told Axios.

Why it matters: Vance met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem as an air train of U.S. officials began arriving in Israel to work on stabilizing the fragile ceasefire, the Trump administration's biggest diplomatic breakthrough so far.

Japan is in the midst of a buyout boom, after more than a decade of being largely ignored by foreign private equity.

The big question is if that momentum can be maintained after Tuesday's election of a new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

Defense-tech startup Vermeer closed a $10 million Series A.

Why it matters: It has a presence in the U.S. and Ukraine, and has worked with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Firestorm Labs, among others.

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is "not only about territory" but also about rewiring global norms and "reestablishing a Russian vision of how things should be run," Estonia's ambassador to the U.S. told Axios.

Why it matters: There has long been concern about Russia not stopping its bloody march at Ukraine's borders, particularly within NATO's eastern bloc.

Days of Tomahawks-for-Ukraine discourse at the highest levels publicly elided one topic, arguably the most critical: how they'd actually fire them.

Why it matters: A bullet is nothing without a gun. Likewise, a pallet of sophisticated missiles is a target — not a threat — without a way to let them loose.

• Kyiv's lack of readily available launchers likely further complicated the high-wire act of sharing weapons that would bring Moscow within range.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction, fueled by dissatisfaction with President Trump's impact on the economy, immigration, race relations and the nation's global standing, according to a new poll with a big, broad sample.

• Even among Republicans, a significant share — nearly 30% — gave Trump low marks on the economy and how the government is functioning.

Why it matters: The survey offers a snapshot of the nation's sour mood just more than a year before the 2026 midterms — and suggests that anger could rewire political alliances and test the durability of Trump's support.

The Orionid meteor shower is set to treat stargazers to "one of the most beautiful showers of the year" — with streaking meteors and fireballs shooting across the sky as it peaks through Thursday, according to NASA.

The big picture: This meteor shower occurs every year as the Earth passes through the inbound debris stream of Halley's Comet, with the 2025 Orionids active from Oct. 2-Nov. 7 and peaking this week, per an American Meteor Society online post.

Some Democratic-led states are copying the Trump administration, posting banners to government websites blaming Republicans for gaps in SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1.

Why it matters: The GOP has heavily pushed the idea that Democrats are responsible for the shutdown with banner messages across various federal websites.