Maryland is asking its attorney general to investigate a new company formed to buy and distribute protective gear after a $12.5 million shipment of face masks and ventilators for use in the novel coronavirus pandemic never arrived, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The big picture: First responders and health care workers have said they are dealing with massive shortages of critical supplies like face masks and personal protective equipment while responding to the pandemic.
President Trump said on Saturday that he is glad to see Kim Jong-un "well" and in public, following North Korea's claim on Friday that the dictator made a public appearance at a fertilizer factory.
Why it matters: Kim's reappearance has not been independently verified. North Korea state media released photos of the country's leader allegedly in Suncheon, in a clear rebuttal of claims that Kim is in grave danger.
Former President George W. Bush called for unity in the country's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, in a video published Saturday on Twitter.
President Trump moved on Friday evening to replace the Health and Human Services watchdog, nominating assistant U.S. attorney Jason Weida for the role.
Why it matters: The current HHS inspector general, Christi Grimm, released a report last month that identified severe shortages of medical supplies in hospitals around the country as they battle the novel coronavirus, contradicting Trump's assertion of adequate supplies, the New York Times reports.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds paid tribute to first responders and other health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, flying over Baltimore, Washington and Atlanta on Saturday.
The big picture: Health care workers are at especially high risk of catching the coronavirus, because of their prolonged exposure to patients who have it. Between 10% and 20% of doctors, nurses and other health care workers are infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in mid-April.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday declined the Trump administration's offer to provide additional coronavirus tests to Congress.
Driving the news: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tweeted late Friday that the agency would send three Abbott point of care machines and 1,000 coronavirus tests for the Senate's use, after the Capitol's attending physician said he did not have enough equipment for widespread testing of all senators.
Roughly a dozen states began to reopen their economies on Friday, the New York Times reports, despite health experts' concerns that coronavirus infection spikes could be caused by premature returns to public life.
Zoom in: In Davenport, Iowa, which is still under tight restrictions, Glory Smith told the Times that the state's reopening was coming too soon since the virus doesn't respect county boundaries.
The sales tax on basic necessities for millions of girls and women—the so-called tampon tax—is the latest battlefront in the gender wars.
The big picture: The products are sold tax-free in many states, but 30 exclude menstrual products from those lists. There girls and women pay sales tax on pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and other women's hygiene products.
Driving the news: Biden sent a letter to the Secretary of the Senate on Friday asking for a search of his records to try to locate a complaint that Reade allegedly made in 1993 about Biden.
12.3% of New York state has tested positive for novel coronavirus antibodies, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing on Saturday.
The big picture: Coronavirus hospitalizations, intubations and cases are continuing to trend down in New York, the epicenter of COVID-19 in the U.S., Cuomo said. But deaths haven't started to fall, and the state is reporting 900 new infections a day in hospitals, he said.
President Trump on Saturday claimed that there are enough coronavirus tests for senators returning this week to Washington, D.C.
Driving the news: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Twitter late Friday that the agency would send three Abbott point of care machines and 1,000 coronavirus tests for the Senate's use, after the Capitol's attending physician said he did not have enough equipment for widespread testing of all senators.
Axios launched our "What Matters 2020" series this year to focus on seven issues that will define the nation's future no matter who wins in November.
The big picture: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic will spread far beyond the most pressing issues we face now — lives lost and economic disruption — to drive debates on all of these longer term topics. Go deeper with the Axios subject matter experts to explore each one.
The city of Philadelphia is ending its emergency coronavirus policy of letting police officers make case-by-case judgments on whether to arrest certain non-violent offenders.
Between the lines: "The city is facing an increase in retail thefts at small businesses already struggling to survive with the pandemic, the department said, and there has been a rise in burglaries committed by repeat offenders," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
