Axios

Senate Republicans are crafting a package of police reforms that would make lynching a federal crime and threaten to cut federal grants if states don't force their police departments to report significantly more detail on officers' use of force, according to two sources familiar with the internal conversations.

Why this matters: Republicans have recognized that it's politically unsustainable to simply hammer a "law-and-order" message, and that they need to propose measures to respond to the national outcry for police reform after the killing of George Floyd.

22 Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee implored President Trump on Tuesday to scrap reported plans for the Pentagon to move 9,500 troops out of Germany by September.

The big picture: Moving the troops is a decision that Trump has long discussed privately, per Axios' Jonathan Swan.

The U.S. Navy is working on an order "that would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces and work areas aboard Navy installations, ships, aircraft and submarines," according to a news release reported by Task & Purpose.

Why it matters: It comes as a number of states and localities around the country have taken steps to remove Confederate-era symbols amid protests against racism spurred by the police killing of George Floyd.

NIAID director Anthony Fauci called the coronavirus outbreak his "worst nightmare" and sounded the alarm over its continued spread in an interview aired to a biotechnology conference on Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

What he's saying: Fauci, who spent part of his career studying HIV, said the disease it caused was "really simple compared to what’s going on with COVID-19." He added that he believes that COVID-19's spread can be attributed to the frequency with which sick people were traveling.

One reality for black people that's becoming increasingly apparent to the rest of America: Police officers sometimes don't tell the whole truth.

Why it matters: It's no longer the word of a police officer vs. the suspect. Now it's the police officer vs. video cameras, often held by members of the communities they patrol.

Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has launched an investigation into issues with the state's new $104 million voting machines, which have caused widespread disruptions to Tuesday's primary elections, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Driving the news: The issues, which have caused long lines and led some voters to give up, were due to operational malfunctions, according to the state's voting implementation manager.

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered remarks during the final memorial service for George Floyd in Houston on Tuesday, asking the public to honor Floyd's life through continued social justice and support as the family awaits trial.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown Jr. as Air Force chief of staff in a historic vote presided over by Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Brown, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, is the first African American chief of a military service branch in U.S. history and will sit on the elite Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Former Vice President Joe Biden offered condolences to the family of the late George Floyd in a video message played at Floyd's funeral in Houston on Tuesday, telling them: "Unlike most, you must grieve in public. It's a burden. A burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better in the name of George Floyd."

Why it matters: Biden has lost two children and his first wife to tragedy over the course of his political career. Many view his ability to empathize with people who have lost loved ones as one of his strongest qualities as a politician.

As protests against police brutality and violence erupted around the world, space companies have spoken out in support of those taking to the streets.

Why it matters: These statements suggest that the industry at large is trying to engage with what's happening on the ground and how it affects its employees.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr on Tuesday asking for a civil rights investigation into jurisdictions that have forced churches to remain closed or to operate at limited capacity.

The big picture: Hawley argued that states "have violated the free speech and free exercise rights of religious Americans" by putting caps on church gatherings while allowing the protests spurred by the killing of George Floyd to continue.

Republican senators on Tuesday largely avoided discussing President Trump's tweet alleging without evidence that a 75-year-old Buffalo protester, who was seriously injured after being shoved by police, is an "ANTIFA provocateur."

Our thought bubble: It's the classic dodging mechanism, which we've grown accustomed to during the Trump presidency. Whenever senators and Trump advisers don't want to weigh in on an inflammatory tweet that puts them in a difficult position, they claim they haven't read it.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) distanced himself from the idea of abolishing or defunding police departments in a wide-ranging interview with the New Yorker published Tuesday, instead calling for more training and higher pay for officers as part of sweeping criminal justice reform.

Why it matters: The "defund the police" movement has gained traction among activists and some progressives in the wake of George Floyd's death. The goal is to redirect police funding toward housing, public health, education and other resources that would increase quality of life for black communities.

President Trump tweeted Tuesday that the 75-year-old protester who was shoved to the ground by Buffalo, N.Y., police last week "could be an ANTIFA provocateur" and "fell harder than he was pushed."

Why it matters: The conspiracy theory, which originated on the far-right blog Conservative Treehouse, made its way to the president via a report on One America News Network, a small Fox News rival with a history of conspiracy-focused reporting. It highlights just how far the president's media consumption can veer from the mainstream.

Multiple sponsors, affiliated gyms and athletes have abandoned CrossFit following a controversial tweet (and other comments) from company founder and CEO Greg Glassman about the death of George Floyd.

The backdrop: Founded in 2000, CrossFit has exploded in popularity as both a brand and a fitness regimen. Coaches become CrossFit-certified, gyms pay to be affiliated with the company and top-tier athletes compete annually in the CrossFit Games.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has an intensely personal interest in the protests over police brutality: She admitted to "Axios on HBO" that she doesn't feel she or her four black children are safe from the possibility of dying at the hands of the police.

Why it matters: In an emotional interview, she recounted her horror when she discovered that one of her sons had bought a cap gun — an act that reminded her of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old African American boy who was shot to death by a Cleveland police officer in 2014 who saw him playing with a toy gun in a park.

Joe Biden has poured money into digital advertising over the past two weeks in an attempt to capitalize on Trump's response to nationwide protests about police violence. The majority of the money has been spent on Facebook over Google.

Why it matters: The Trump campaign attributes much of its 2016 success to its digital advertising strategy on Facebook and until now, the Biden campaign has been outspent by the Trump campaign online, and especially on Facebook.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) says President Trump's "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" tweet reminded him of one of the most famous enemies of civil rights from the 1960s — and that Trump's responses to the protests against police brutality prove "there's no compassion in this guy."

Driving the news: In an interview with "Axios on HBO," Clyburn compared Trump to Bull Connor, the segregationist commissioner of public safety in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s who was known for using firehoses and police dogs on civil rights protesters, including children.

A man accused of shooting a protester who was trying to prevent his car from driving into Black Lives Matter protesters at Seattle's Capitol Hill over the weekend is being held on investigation for first-degree assault, per the Seattle Times.

The big picture: Prosecutors allege the suspect, Nikolas Fernandez, 31, "sped up" toward the crowd Sunday night, The Stranger reports. But Fernandez, who had bail set at $150,000, claims he acted in self-defense, Komo News notes. Fernandez told police he "had to shoot somebody" because "they tried to jack my car," according to a probable cause statement.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

The leader of the Episcopal Church tells "Axios on HBO" that "the soul of America is at stake" and "it's time to speak up" against racial injustice and needed reforms to policing.

• "I believe in this country and what it stands for: freedom, justice, equality," the Most Rev. Michael Curry said in the interview. "Those are ideals worth standing for. And when they are challenged, we must speak up."

Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) made it clear in an interview with "Axios on HBO" that she's interested in being Joe Biden's running mate, saying two terrible crises — the killing of George Floyd and the coronavirus — have changed what the U.S. needs in a vice president.

The big picture: The former Orlando police chief told Axios' Alexi McCammond that the moment requires a vice president "who has on-the-ground experience" dealing with issues like police brutality and the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on African Americans.

A man accused of driving his pick-up truck into peaceful protesters in Richmond, Virginia, over the weekend is an "admitted leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology," prosecutors said Monday.

Details: Harry H. Rogers, 36, of Virginia, was charged with assault and battery, attempted malicious wounding, and felony vandalism over Sunday evening's incident, tweeted Shannon Taylor, the Commonwealth's Attorney for Henrico County. "We are investigating whether hate crimes charges are appropriate," she said in a statement.