Federal and Texas officials on Wednesday confirmed the first known case of the New World screwworm parasite in U.S. wildlife during the current outbreak.
Why it matters: The discovery raises new questions about whether the flesh-eating parasite is spreading beyond livestock.
Democratic groups sued the Trump administration Tuesday, accusing it of using unfounded voter fraud claims to muscle its way into how states run elections.
Why it matters: The groups say the administration is issuing a stream of threats to intimidate and bully both voters and election officials.
House Democrats' campaign arm is instructing allied super PACs to promote minor candidates in several key House races, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: This allows Democrats to steer outside groups toward siphoning votes from Republicans without violating laws against direct coordination.
A self-described polling firm whose data was tracked by larger pollsters, news outlets and campaigns says all but one of its polls were fabricated.
Why it matters: It's at least the second instance of a polling operation acknowledging fabricated data this election cycle, raising concerns about confidence in legitimate pollsters as AI tools make fake results easier to produce.
The White House counsel's office warned Politico in a Monday letter that it had 48 hours to retract or correct recent stories about alleged staff drama, or it would suffer unspecified consequences.
That deadline expires Thursday.
Why it matters: The White House demand threatens to escalate already tense relations with Politico specifically and, more generally, the press corps that covers President Trump in Washington.
Americans' ratings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have fallen to a record low, according to a recent Gallup poll, driven by a plunge in Democrats' views of the agency.
Why it matters: The CDC has been at the center of heated political fights over the last six years, fueling sharp swings in public opinion along partisan lines.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved testing of a military-grade "heat ray" for potential use along the U.S.-Mexico border — a weapon that uses invisible energy beams to produce an intense burning sensation on human skin.
Why it matters: The potential use of a military weapon against migrants raises significant safety and legal questions, including whether the technology could cause injuries or endanger people attempting to cross the border.
Senate Republicans are weighing three last-ditch spending moves that would have been unimaginable six months ago: a cash infusion for Mississippi and even more money for South Carolina and Kansas.
Why it matters: It's been 94 years since Kansas elected a Democratic senator, 44 years for Mississippi and 28 for South Carolina. But panic is spreading through the Republican Party.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties Wednesday after a jury found in September that the social media giant misled users about their data privacy.
Why it matters: The penalties come nearly a decade after the Cambridge Analytica scandal first broke and signal that Big Tech can face significant financial consequences for misleading users about their privacy.
Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets conducted a sortie on Monday, flying as far as the Iranian border, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
Why it matters: The operation, more than 800 miles away from Israel, took place a week before the Israeli elections and on the same day Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Israel's Ovda Air Base. The sortie wasn't connected to Hegseth's visit.
While some Israeli and U.S. officials said the sortie wasn't unusual and that it was meant to deter Iran, it could have led to a miscalculation, triggering an Iranian response andreigniting the war.
The push to pass a sweeping permitting bill is gaining powerful allies and encountering fresh resistance as Congress prepares for a post-midterms showdown.
Why it matters: It's the most important energy bill in a long time.
Republicans and Democrats are flooding the midterm airwaves with explosive TV ads accusing their opponents of protecting pedophiles and child sexual abusers.
Why it matters: The advertising blitz underscores the lingering power of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, which has fueled distrust of powerful figures and pushed allegations of child sexual abuse to the forefront of national politics.
Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Ohio governor is pouring $4 million into a bombshell ad in which his opponent's estranged mother attacks her daughter — doubling down on the message despite fierce bipartisan backlash, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Ramaswamy is gambling that the deeply personal attack by Amy Acton's mother — who Acton has said sided with her stepfather after he sexually assaulted Acton when she was 12 — will resonate with voters.
