Jun 29, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Pelosi extends House's remote voting period until Aug. 18

Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that she is extending the House's historic remote voting period until Aug. 18 due to the ongoing public health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The designated period, which began on May 20, marks the first time in history that congressional members have been able to vote remotely — in this instance, by directing another member to vote on their behalf. House Republicans have attacked the system as unconstitutional and sought to have it struck down in court in May.

Go deeper: How the pandemic is rewiring the future of Congress

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Marisa Fernandez

Updated 24 hours ago - Health

The states where face coverings are mandatory

Data: Compiled by Axios; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued a statewide mask mandate on Tuesday for those in public, as well as for teachers and students going back to school.

The big picture: 34 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have issued some form of mask mandate as infections surge across the country.

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Axios

Updated 12 hours ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios VisualsThe

The death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 700,000 early Wednesday, Johns Hopkins data shows.

By the numbers: More than 18.5 million people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and over 11.1 million have recovered.

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Orion Rummler

Updated Aug 4, 2020 - Health

NYC health commissioner resigns in protest of De Blasio's coronavirus response

Dr. Oxiris Barbot attends a Mayor bill de Blasio briefing on August 3. Photo: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

New York City health commissioner Oxiris Barbot resigned Tuesday, citing "deep disappointment" that Mayor Bill de Blasio did not use the full extent of available disease control expertise to handle the pandemic, the New York Times reports.

Context: De Blasio has faced criticism from health officials for handing control of the city's army of coronavirus contract tracers to the public hospital system, rather than the health department, according to the Times. The health department conducted contact tracing at the start of the outbreak and has decades of experience doing the same for diseases like tuberculosis, HIV and Ebola.