President Trump will enact a series of hardline policies during his final 10 weeks to cement his legacy on China, senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the plans tells Axios.

Why it matters: He'll try to make it politically untenable for the Biden administration to change course as China acts aggressively from India to Hong Kong to Taiwan, and the pandemic triggers a second global wave of shutdowns.

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Japan's Soichi Noguchi are on their way to the International Space Station.

Why it matters: The crewed launch marks the second time SpaceX has launched people to orbit for NASA and the mission is expected to be the first of many regular flights like this to the space station.

"Defund the Police" rhetoric and fears that progressive climate policies could cost oil jobs boosted President Trump's performance in blue, largely Latino Texas counties bordering Mexico, a top Hispanic leader tells Axios.

Driving the news: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), whose 28th Congressional District runs from the outskirts of San Antonio to the Rio Grande, toured eight counties in his district over four days last week.

Joe Biden plans to fill his White House with economic advisers more progressive than he is, but they may be blocked from their most aggressive fiscal moves if Republicans maintain control of the Senate.

Why it matters: If the GOP keeps these progressives from winning a massive stimulus, they may be graded on a different curve: simply persuading Congress to spend more money, and relying on regulatory changes to advance Biden's broader agenda.

Former President Obama told CBS' "Sunday Morning" that he often does not take President Trump "personally or seriously."

What's new: In his first television interview since the 2020 presidential election, Obama responded to Trump's claim that he has "done more for the African American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln."

NIAID director Anthony Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that President Trump's refusal to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team hurts public health as coronavirus cases surge across the country.

The state of play: As Trump refuses to concede the election to Biden, General Services Administration administrator Emily Murphy has not signed documents declaring Biden the apparent winner, preventing the president-elect's agency review teams from having access to information they need in order to get to work.

1. Health: U.S. deaths expected to surpass summer peak this week
2. U.S. surgeon general: "pandemic fatigue" driving record cases
3. Politics: California governor attended dinner for 12
4. Business: Walmart, grocers reinstate shopping restrictions
5. World: Mexico death toll nears 100,000 — Austria announces nationwide lockdown

President-elect Joe Biden’s vow to restore America’s leadership in the world will be swiftly tested by resurgent adversaries, rudderless institutions and the gravest global health crisis in decades.

The big picture: Biden will face a familiar antagonist in Moscow, a stronger and more assertive China, a nuclear-armed North Korea, and an ongoing war in Afghanistan. That's not to mention a pandemic that’s ravaged the world and darkened the global economic outlook.

The U.S. is expected to surpass the summer peak of deaths from COVID-19 and near early spring levels this coming week, per the COVID Tracking Project.

The big picture: 1,321 people died from the virus on Saturday, as the seven-day average reached 1,100. COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit record highs, with 69,455 people now in the hospital with the virus in the U.S., according to the project.

China and 14 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region on Sunday formed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Why it matters: The RCEP is the world's biggest free trading bloc, accounting for almost a third of all economic activity.

Crowds of Trump supporters protested into the night in Washington, D.C., Saturday to highlight unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election and falsely assert that President Trump defeated President-elect Joe Biden.

The state of play: The situation became tense in the evening after some 300 counter-protesters also rallied in D.C., the Washington Post reports. By 8 p.m. scuffles broke out between the two sides and police arrested at least 10 people, per WashPost.