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Health experts fear the Tokyo Olympics could become a COVID-19 superspreader event.

The big picture: Infectious disease experts say the Olympics don't have strong enough protocols for testing or ventilation, either in competition venues or in the Olympic village.

The Biden administration has appointed a new head of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), a pivotal, congressionally mandated report on how human-caused global warming is affecting the U.S.

Driving the news: The next NCA will be overseen by Allison Crimmins, an environmental scientist who has spent a decade at the EPA and has expertise in scientific communication.

President Biden's latest ambassadorial picks reveal his strategy when it comes to the diplomacy of diplomacy: He's blending career servants with political supporters to avoid raising the ire of State Department professionals while filling posts around the world.

Why it matters: The U.S. diplomatic corps remains shaken from cuts to its ranks by Rex Tillerson, former President Trump's first secretary of State.

The Biden administration is gearing up for a showdown with cable and telecom companies over plans to bring back Obama-era net neutrality rules.

Why it matters: The Trump administration took a hands-off approach to the telecom industry, but the White House is now reversing course with new plans to regulate the behavior of America's internet service providers.

With no spectators allowed at the Tokyo Olympics, robots might be the only ones on hand to witness the athletic feats at this year's Summer Games.

Why it matters: Organizers had billed the 2020 Olympics as "the most innovative ever," with plans to deploy teams of robots to assist and dazzle visiting athletes and fans.

Inflation is at its highest level since 2008, thanks in very large part to a single item whose price has been going through the roof: Cars.

Why it matters: What goes up must generally come down, and there are strong indications — like data last week from prominent used car marketplace Manheim — that the unprecedented rise in auto prices is peaking. In the second half of this year, cars might well be a force making inflation numbers look artificially low.

Corporate America is expecting big jumps in profits in the second quarter. That's especially the case in health care, an industry that hasn't really lost a lot of financial momentum throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The bottom line: Health care spending is basically back to pre-COVID levels. Expect big numbers across the board.

Cuban officials on Tuesday confirmed the death of a 36-year-old man during anti-government demonstrations that were triggered by food and medicine shortages.

Driving the news: The government said Diubis Laurencio Tejeda died in Havana on Monday amid clashes between police and protesters during which an undisclosed number of people were arrested, per AP.

The Trump Department of Justice attempted to obtain the communications records of three Washington Post reporters via legal action over 2017 reports on Russian election interference and Russia's ambassador, court documents unsealed Tuesday show.

Why it matters: The court order was lodged in secret the day before Bill Barr stepped down as attorney general last December.

Senate Democrats on the Budget committee announced late Tuesday night that they have reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion package to address "human" infrastructure, which they plan to pass via reconciliation.

Why it matters: The price tag for the proposal — which is expected to include bold provisions on climate change, Medicare and education — comes in far below the $6 trillion figure Budget committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and other progressive Democrats have pushed for.

The Democrats' “only chance of keeping the House” next year is if they redraw congressional lines to their advantage in New York and Illinois, Cook Political Report's David Wasserman tells Axios.

Why it matters: The GOP is already poised to take advantage of its control of map-drawing in more states than Democrats. But Democrats have a chance to eliminate as many as seven Republican House seats in just New York and Illinois through redistricting in states they control.

The biggest critic of the Biden White House's ethics program isn't a Republican, congressional investigator or whistleblower — it's an ex-federal employee with a huge social media following.

Driving the news: Walter Shaub — who directed the Office of Government Ethics from 2013 to mid-2017, and was an outspoken critic of corruption under former President Trump — has gone from Biden administration job-seeker to foremost critic of what he sees as its lackluster approach to ethics and transparency.

More than half of the state supreme courts in the United States have a majority of justices affiliated with the Republican Party, according to a Ballotpedia study.

Why it matters: Gerrymandering challenges amid this year's redistricting process and disputes about changes to voting rights — issues with the potential to radically change future election outcomes — would, in some cases, be heard by these courts.