The Biden campaign called on President Trump on Tuesday to answer three specific questions before releasing a coronavirus vaccine, while simultaneously warning that Trump may seek to short-circuit the scientific process for the sake of his re-election.
Why it matters: After Trump accused Joe Biden and Kamala Harris of being anti-vaxxers yesterday, the Biden campaign is trying to establish firm standards on what would allay its fears that Trump isn't accelerating a vaccine for political reasons.
Most Americans agree on the need for a safe and effective vaccine to protect us against COVID-19, but President Trump's repeated hints at a pre-election vaccine approval has sparked debate that politics could get ahead of the science.
Axios Re:Cap speaks with Zeke Emanuel, an Obama-era health policy official, about what he's looking for if and when a vaccine is approved.
President Trump said Tuesday that he will extend a longstanding ban on offshore drilling off the coast of Florida, a critical 2020 swing state, and expand it to Georgia and South Carolina.
Why it matters: The announcement would further seal off the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a region long-coveted by oil companies.
EA Sports announced Tuesday that it added Colin Kaepernick to Madden NFL 21, marking his first appearance in the popular football video game series since 2016.
Why it matters: Kaepernick has not been signed to an NFL team since 2016, when he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic racism. EA Sports said it wanted "to see him back in our game," calling him "a starting-caliber quarterback."
A new space policy directive issued by the Trump administration last week calls on the space industry to develop cybersecurity measures to protect essential satellites in orbit.
Why it matters: GPS, communications and other satellites are integral to U.S. national security. As other nations continue to develop their space capabilities, experts are warning that key U.S. assets in orbit could be vulnerable to attacks.
President Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he'll spend "whatever it takes" of his own money if necessary to win in November, stressing that it's "the most important election in the history of our country."
Why it matters: The comments come after reports that Trump's campaign is having real money concerns — an unusual position for an incumbent that has worried GOP operatives. The campaign has yet to release its August fundraising, but Joe Biden and the Democrats say they raised a record-breaking $364.5 million last month.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) denounced Senate Republicans' plan to introduce a pared-down coronavirus stimulus bill on Tuesday, saying the "emaciated" bill "is headed nowhere."
Why it matters: Weeks after the expiration of key stimulus components from the CARES Act, like expanded unemployment benefits for millions of Americans, congressional leaders appear no closer to a deal on the next round of relief.
The top Democrat and Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to President Trump on Tuesday requesting an investigation into the alleged poisoning of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader and leading critic of President Vladimir Putin.
Why it matters: Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) note that U.S. law requires the administration to determine within 60 days whether an accused country has used chemical weapons in violation of international law. If this is the case, U.S. sanctions must be imposed.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Tuesday that 1,000 people in Georgia voted twice in the state's June 9 primary by voting in person after returning a mail-in ballot, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Why it matters: President Trump suggested that people should similarly vote twice during a visit to North Carolina last week to test the mail-in system, prompting a warning from the state's election board. Double-voting is a felony in Georgia, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Two House subcommittees announced Tuesday an investigation into the chain of command at Fort Hood after a series of service member deaths at the Army base in Texas.
The big picture: The killing of 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guillen has garnered national attention, and her family claims she faced sexual harassment on base that she did not report out of fear of retaliation. The Army has launched an independent review of Fort Hood and its leadership's handling of that case.
The Biden campaign has brought on the progressive advertising firm Bully Pulpit Interactive (BPI) to run a new mobilization advertising program online that is uniquely focused on educating interested voters with ways to cast ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: In a normal election, the campaign would focus its advertising efforts on persuading voters in the weeks leading up to the election. But the Biden campaign faces a different challenge: it needs to mobilize voters that want to vote about how to do so during COVID-19, requiring more advertising expertise and resources.
Increasing evidence shows that foreign actors, particularly Russia, are looking to exploit similar themes that were used in 2016 and in 2018 to divide the country ahead of this years' election.
Why it matters: There's now a visible pattern emerging across election cycles of which issues our country is most vulnerable to in terms of manipulation.
President Trump plans to release a shortlist of his potential picks for Supreme Court justices "in the coming days," White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Trump's decision to release a similar list in May of 2016 likely helped shore up his support among conservatives, for whom confirming judges to the Supreme Court and federal judiciary has been a longtime priority.
In a deeply reported article on "How Trump's Billion-Dollar Campaign Lost Its Cash Advantage," the N.Y. Times' Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman found some unusual spending by the Trump campaign.
Why it matters: Money concerns are very real for President Trump's campaign — an unusual predicament for a sitting president, and one that worries veteran Republican operatives.
Joe Biden today launches an ad, "Fresh Start," in which a narrator says over a clip of President Trump brandishing the Bible, plus a glimpse of Charlottesville: "This is our chance to put the darkness of the last four years behind us."
"And start fresh in America. ... We've had four years of a president who brings out the worst in America. Isn't it time we had a president who brought out the best?"
House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said late Monday the panel will investigate allegations that postmaster general Louis DeJoy's former company reimbursed employees for donations to Republican campaigns, the Washington Post first reported.
Why it matters: Such action would violate campaign finance law if it had taken place at the Trump and GOP donor's former firm New Breed in North Carolina, as alleged.
