The "At Ready" Confederate statute in Charlottesville, Virginia, was removed early on Saturday, 111 years after it was erected.
Why it matters: Charlottesville was the site of the deadly, far-right "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017, where a neo-Nazi rammed his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
President Trump will meet with local and federal fire and emergency response authorities near Sacramento, California, on Monday amid an unprecedented series of wildfires criss-crossing the state, a White House official confirmed to Politico on Saturday.
Why it matters: The trip comes as the president faces criticism for not publicly addressing the blazes as they rage across California, Oregon and Washington state.
Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, announced Saturday that her office filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Postal Service over pre-election mailers that contain "incorrect election information" for the state.
What they're saying: "The mailer incorrectly asks that voters request a mail ballot 15 days before the election and return their ballots by mail at least seven days before the election," Griswold said in a statement.
Coronavirus has slammed the door on highly skilled foreign workers — amping up President Trump's push to limit American-based companies' hiring of foreigners.
Why it matters: The restrictions and bottlenecks may outlast the pandemic, especially if Trump wins reelection. Economists warn that could slow the U.S. recovery and reduce competitiveness.
Last month President Trump fired two Tennessee Valley Authority board members after the federally owned energy corporation replaced employees with foreign workers.
Why it matters: It was the latest example of big corporations — including AT&T, Disney and Southern California Edison — using H-1B visas for cheaper labor, and sometimes forcing Americans to first train their foreign replacements.
The technology industry has long advocated for access and expansion of H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and has been vocal about its disdain for President Trump's moves to curb them.
The big picture: Denial rates for H-1B visas for tech companies have gone up significantly during Trump's first term, according to government data compiled by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).
A bipartisan group of 19 members of Congress on Friday penned a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek questioning Disney's cooperation with "security and propaganda authorities" in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) during its filming of the remake of "Mulan."
Driving the news: Earlier this month, Disney revealed that some scenes from its live action remake of the 1998 animated classic were filmed in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government is engaged in a campaign of cultural and demographic genocide against indigenous minorities.
Colleges and universities are expecting the lowest foreign enrollment since World War II due to the pandemic’s travel restrictions and the Trump administration.
Why it matters: Foreign students are a vital source of revenue for U.S. universities, which are already suffering other revenue losses because of the pandemic.
The Trump administration plans to propose a rule in the coming weeks to make international students request visa extensions after two or four years of study, administration officials tell Axios.
Between the lines: Right now, foreign students can stay indefinitely as long as they meet requirements proving they are students. The proposal would essentially set up mandatory check-ins with the Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to prevent overstays.
Around 1.2 million people are waiting in line for employment-based green cards — including workers, their spouses and kids, according to an analysis by Migration Policy Institute's Julia Gelatt.
By the numbers: Caps on the number of green cards that can be given to any one country mean 68% of the backlog are people from India and 14% are from China.
Last year Fatma became one of the lucky few selected out of millions who apply for the diversity visa lottery — a program intended to bring in immigrants from underrepresented countries.
What's happening: Now, the 29-year-old Albanian with a master's degree, and experience in hospital administration, is one of thousands fighting a pandemic and the Trump administration for her chance to move her family to the U.S.
Trump-appointed health department aides interfered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly COVID-19 reports “in what officials characterized as an attempt to intimidate the reports’ authors and water down their communications to health professionals,” Politico’s Dan Diamond reported late on Friday.
What it says: "[E]mails from communications aides to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other senior officials openly complained that the agency’s reports would undermine President Donald Trump's optimistic messages,” reports Diamond, citing emails reviewed by Politico and three people familiar with the matter.
President Trump in a tweet Saturday told people in North Carolina to vote by mail, then visit their polling place to ensure their ballot was counted and if not, vote again in person.
The state of play: Twitter flagged the tweet for violating its Civic Integrity Policy by "encouraging people to potentially vote twice."
Vice President Mike Pence will no longer attend a Trump re-election fundraiser in Bozeman, Montana that's being hosted by QAnon backers, the campaign told AP on Saturday.
Why it matters: The administration has done little to distance itself from the QAnon conspiracy theory, which purports that an elite ring of cannibals and pedophiles runs the deep state. When asked about QAnon last month, Trump said he understands its supporters "like me very much" and they are people who "love America."
A New York Times investigation found that of more than 900 powerful officials — including executives and prominent positions — only about 20% identify as people of color.
Why it matters: While 40% of Americans identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, multiracial or other, representation of those groups at the highest levels of corporate power is sparse, per the Times.
All the biggest threats to America — most of them predicted, if not known well in advance — are unfolding before our eyes, in real-time, in unmistakable ways.
Why it matters: It's as if God or the galaxy, or whatever you believe in, are screaming for politicians and the public to pop our bubbles and pay attention — believe our eyes.
A new book argues the U.S. should aim for massive population growth through aggressive housing policy, enhanced support for families and a major increase in legal immigration.
Why it matters: Because size does matter — at least geopolitically. If the U.S. wants to counterbalance a rising China, it needs to compete on sheer numbers.
The 2020 presidential election features a pared-back pool of undecided voters after four years of a highly controversial and media-saturated presidency.
Why it matters: Entrenched views mean there's less reason for campaigns to try to change voters' minds than to convince those already with them to vote — and help educate them about mail-in and early-vote procedures to make sure their votes count.
