Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo baselessly accused career scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday of gathering a "resistance unit" for "sedition" against President Trump, the New York Times reports.
Driving the news: House Democrats are launching an investigation into allegations that Trump's political appointees — including Caputo, a former member of the Trump campaign with no scientific background — pressured CDC officials "to block the publication of accurate scientific reports" on the coronavirus.
House Democrats are launching an investigation into how Trump's political appointees pressured officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to block the publication of accurate scientific reports" on COVID-19, according to a letter first obtained by Politico.
Details: Citing previous reporting that Trump aides "openly complained" that the CDC's reports would undermine the president's positive message, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and the other Democratic members of the subcommittee on the coronavirus wrote to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC director Robert Redfield to request "transcribed interviews and documents."
President Trump's decision to restrict travel from China in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus in January was not his idea, journalist Bob Woodward told NBC's "Today."
Why it matters: Trump has frequently cited the restrictions as his go-to defense of the administration's coronavirus response, claiming that it saved "potentially millions of lives." But the assertion that the policy was singularly his idea — and that "almost everybody," including public health experts, was opposed to it — is "very different" from what actually happened, Woodward said.
Children can and do transmit the coronavirus to members of their household, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms.
Why it matters: As the coronavirus spreads through schools across the country, the people who live with exposed children — some of whom may be older or have preexisting conditions — are also at risk of catching the virus.
President Trump released an executive order on Sunday ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to begin the process of limiting what Medicare pays for prescription drugs relative to other countries.
Why it matters: It's September of an election year. That means that this executive order is, at best, a statement of Trump's intention to keep trying to achieve something big on drug prices should he get a second term.
Sunday marked six months since President Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus. If those six months feel like a blur to you, you’re not alone.
The big picture: The sheer scale of what the U.S. has been through since March — a death toll equivalent to 65 Sept. 11 attacks, millions out of work, everyday life upended, with roiling protests and a presidential election to top it all off — can not only be hard to process, but hard to even keep track of.
Members of Generation Z say they're taking the coronavirus seriously, trying to get others to do the same, and are willing to make short-term sacrifices in order to help safely resume some parts of pre-pandemic life, according to a Harris poll shared with Axios.
Why it matters: These findings are a stark contrast with the college-town outbreaks and scenes of crowded bars that have helped create a narrative of careless young people spreading the virus.
Journalist Bob Woodward opened up to CBS' News' "60 Minutes" in an interview airing Sunday on the moment in August when President Trump told him, "nothing more could have been done" on the coronavirus.
Driving the news: Trump made the remarks, recorded by Woodward and broadcast by CBS, during one of their final interviews, as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 was surging. "Does he remember what he told me, back in February, about it's more deadly than the flu?" Woodward said, in reference to an earlier interview with Trump on the virus' dangers.
On the next episode of "Axios on HBO," Axios Chief Technology Correspondent Ina Fried interviews Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, who calls out the "lack of leadership" and politicization of the coronavirus pandemic.
Plus, Gates shares the findings from this year's Goalkeepers report — the foundation's annual look at how the world is doing toward meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals around issues including education, poverty, disease and maternal, infant and child mortality.
Catch the full interview on Monday, Sept. 14 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on all HBO platforms.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that his company will know whether its coronavirus vaccine is effective by the end of October and that it has already manufactured hundreds of thousands of doses in anticipation that the vaccine will receive FDA approval.
Why it matters: There has been a major push by the Trump administration to get a coronavirus vaccine to the public this fall, though it may only be available for certain high-risk groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already urged governors to have vaccine distribution centers ready by November.
Michael Osterholm, a renowned infectious-disease expert and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that leaders must tell the truth when it comes to public health and that "telling the truth never causes panic."
Why it matters: Host Chuck Todd asked Osterholm if President Trump had made a mistake by not being upfront with the American people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the threat of a pandemic. In an interview for Bob Woodward's new book "Rage," Trump said that he was purposefully "playing it down" so as not to create a "panic."
Dozens of lockdown protesters in Melbourne, Australia, were arrested after facing off with riot police for a second straight day on Sunday, per Nine News.
The big picture: The Victorian state capital has been under a nightly curfew since Aug. 5 amid surging coronavirus cases. From midnight Sunday, the curfew was being cut by an hour to 9pm–5am. Victoria's states of emergency and disaster were extended until at least Oct. 11, as state officials confirmed Sunday 41 new cases and seven more deaths from COVID-19. All other states and territories have reported single-digit or zero cases for weeks.
There'll be no Peeps marshmallow candies produced for this Halloween — or Christmas or Valentine's Day either — because of the coronavirus pandemic, Just Born Quality Confections said, per Pennlive.com.
The big picture: The firm suspended production in two Pennsylvania facilities in March as the outbreak spread. Just Born resumed limited output in May, but said it won't make Peeps and other candies until next year to focus on meeting demand for next Easter. "We look forward to offering our fun seasonal shapes and packaging at all major seasons again beginning with Halloween of 2021," the company added.
