Axios

Multiple Republicans made clear on Tuesday that they are not on board with several key provisions in the $1 trillion stimulus bill released by Senate GOP leadership Monday. Many said they find the process confusing, messy and not reflective of the Republican conference. 

Why it matters: For a Senate Republican bill, it’s remarkable how many Senate Republicans hate it.

Drug sales at Pfizer dipped 11% in the second quarter, totaling $11.8 billion, but the pharmaceutical giant still reported more than $3.4 billion in net profits, or $0.78 in adjusted earnings per share — 15% above what Wall Street expected.

The big picture: The coronavirus pandemic only had a marginal effect on Pfizer, as the declining revenue was mostly due to lower sales from drugs that lost their patent protection. The focus is now on Pfizer's and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine candidate, which started its late-stage clinical trial this week.

Many small businesses would have gone under without financial aid during widespread closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Carolima’s Lowcountry Cuisine owner Sameka Jenkins said at an Axios virtual event Tuesday.

Zoom in: Jenkins said her South Carolina-based company received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration to ease the financial effects of the crisis.

Female business owners often have less access to capital because women tend lack relationships with bankers, National Association of Women Business Owners CEO Jen Earle said on Tuesday at an Axios virtual event.

What she's saying: "Women are naturally risk-averse, and so a lot of times they don't want to take on huge chunks of debt to make their business grow. "They've done it kind of by bootstrapping, by utilizing their credit cards, by using personal funding. "

Venture capital activity has persisted in the COVID-19 era, as investors and founders have accepted virtual meetings as viable alternatives to the in-person standard.

What comes next: If society returns to "normal" at some point next year, will that also apply to pitch meetings, board meetings, etc?

Twitter temporarily prevented Donald Trump Jr. from tweeting and retweeting on Tuesday after the president's son shared coronavirus-related misinformation.

Why it matters: The 12-hour hold — set off by a video touting hydroxychloroquine — is one of the toughest moves yet against a member of the Trump inner circle by the social media platform.

The District of Columbia is requiring visitors from high-risk areas on nonessential travel to self-isolate for 14 days, the city's health department announced last week.

What's new: The city released a list of 27 high-risk states on Monday, which will be updated every two weeks. California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Texas are among those listed.

Anthony Fauci told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that he has "not been misleading the American public" after President Trump retweeted critical comments about him Monday night.

What he's saying: "I don't tweet, I don't even read them. So I don't really want to go there. I just will continue to do my job no matter what comes out, because I think it's very important," Fauci told George Stephanopoulos.

In early April, most Americans — and nearly as many Germans and Swedes — thought the coronavirus pandemic would be behind them by the time summer was out.

Why it matters: Like swimming against the tide, the longer countries are stuck in the pandemic, the farther it seems to stretch out in front of them.

The coronavirus continues to rage in the states most vulnerable to what is already an active hurricane season.

Driving the news: Hurricane Hanna hit the Texas coast last weekend, testing the response effort in a state that hasn't been able to get its outbreak under control.

Moderna's stock soared 9% on Monday following a new federal grant and the official start of a late-stage trial for the company's coronavirus vaccine.

The bottom line: Moderna now has received almost $1 billion in taxpayer funds to help develop a vaccine that is tied to the work of federal scientists, and the stock market reactions signal that investors think they'll reap a lot of the reward if the vaccine is proven to work.

Nearly half of Americans say they've established social "bubbles" of people they can trust to follow the rules for minimizing the risk of spreading the coronavirus, according to the latest installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Between the lines: The trend isn't particularly partisan. It is most common in the suburbs and among women, older adults and people with college educations.

The first volunteer in a late-stage trial for a coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health received a shot in Savannah, Georgia, at 6:45 am on Monday, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Catch up quick: Fauci said President Trump was briefed Monday that 89 sites around the country will be enrolling individuals in the phase three trial.