National

Pence tells White House staff to avoid physical contact

Israel and France to close restaurants and cafes

RNC chair Ronna McDaniel gets tested for coronavirus after fever, flu-like symptoms

The pandemic highlights the man-made disasters to come

Surgeon general asks hospitals to stop elective surgeries

Situational awareness

Mike Pence. Photo: Win McNamee / Getty Images

Politics

Dashboard

<p>Catch up on today&#x27;s biggest news:</p><ol><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Pence tells White House staff to avoid physical contact" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pence-white-house-staff-avoid-physical-contact-6e0fc537-748c-4885-836a-53dea0b6c270.html" data-vars-content-id="2b9b6886-7e36-4ee1-aef9-2b00cfcc0a90" data-vars-headline="Situational awareness" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pence-white-house-staff-avoid-physical-contact-6e0fc537-748c-4885-836a-53dea0b6c270.html" target="_self">Pence tells White House staff to avoid physical contact</a></li><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Israel and France to close restaurants and cafes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-israel-france-pandemic-cfa6793a-7c15-4618-99da-077b9ecf2575.html" data-vars-content-id="2b9b6886-7e36-4ee1-aef9-2b00cfcc0a90" data-vars-headline="Situational awareness" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-israel-france-pandemic-cfa6793a-7c15-4618-99da-077b9ecf2575.html" target="_self">Israel and France to close restaurants and cafes</a></li><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="RNC chair Ronna McDaniel gets tested for coronavirus after fever, flu-like symptoms" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/rnc-chair-ronna-mcdaniel-test-coronavirus-d0e8e4e8-e22c-4348-9a14-2a02e14f78a4.html" data-vars-content-id="2b9b6886-7e36-4ee1-aef9-2b00cfcc0a90" data-vars-headline="Situational awareness" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/rnc-chair-ronna-mcdaniel-test-coronavirus-d0e8e4e8-e22c-4348-9a14-2a02e14f78a4.html" target="_self">RNC chair Ronna McDaniel gets tested for coronavirus after fever, flu-like symptoms</a></li><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The pandemic highlights the man-made disasters to come" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pandemic-man-made-disasters-1b887be4-de1a-4433-8541-7ad25b2e66d5.html" data-vars-content-id="2b9b6886-7e36-4ee1-aef9-2b00cfcc0a90" data-vars-headline="Situational awareness" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pandemic-man-made-disasters-1b887be4-de1a-4433-8541-7ad25b2e66d5.html" target="_self">The pandemic highlights the man-made disasters to come</a></li><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="China seizes a new role in the world" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/china-world-coronavirus-b47c93a4-ce78-4d6d-897c-27e99ae2962e.html" data-vars-content-id="2b9b6886-7e36-4ee1-aef9-2b00cfcc0a90" data-vars-headline="Situational awareness" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/china-world-coronavirus-b47c93a4-ce78-4d6d-897c-27e99ae2962e.html" target="_self">China seizes a new role in the world</a></li><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Surgeon general asks hospitals to stop elective surgeries" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/surgeon-general-hospitals-elective-surgeries-coronavirus-a38759d7-826c-44fd-a4a7-fc2039225ff0.html" data-vars-content-id="2b9b6886-7e36-4ee1-aef9-2b00cfcc0a90" data-vars-headline="Situational awareness" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/surgeon-general-hospitals-elective-surgeries-coronavirus-a38759d7-826c-44fd-a4a7-fc2039225ff0.html" target="_self">Surgeon general asks hospitals to stop elective surgeries</a></li></ol><span data-ad-status="NO_AD_LENGTH" data-ad-type="midStoryAd"></span>

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Situational awareness

Go deeper