Axios

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance on Tuesday recommending that vaccinated people wear masks in indoor, public settings if they are in parts of the U.S. with substantial to high transmission, among other circumstances.

Why it matters: The guidance, a reversal from recommendations made two months ago, comes as the Delta variant continues to drive up case rates across the country. Millions of people in the U.S. — either by choice or who are ineligible — remain unvaccinated and at risk of serious infection.

A rare Cuneiform tablet inscribed with a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, one of the world's oldest works of literature, has been forfeited to U.S authorities, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: “This forfeiture represents an important milestone on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its country of origin,” acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis for the Eastern District of New York, said in the announcement.

President Biden on Tuesday said that requiring the federal workforce to get vaccinated against the coronavirus is "under consideration."

Why it matters: Biden's statements followed a change in policy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending that vaccinated people wear masks indoors as the Delta variant continues to drive up case rates across the country.

President Biden is nominating Mark Gitenstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Romania, to be his envoy to the European Union.

Driving the news: Gitenstein is the latest ambassadorial announcement from the White House, as Biden rewards former aides, political allies and big dollar donors.

Elementary school students in the U.S. ended the school year four to five months behind their expected level of academic achievement, according to a new report.

Why it matters: Months of school closures and often inferior remote education eroded what schoolchildren would have learned since the pandemic began, and caused some to go backwards.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), on Tuesday called on President Biden to extend the moratorium on student loan payments and cancel $50,000 per borrower.

Why it matters: Americans owe about $1.6 trillion in student loans and the current pause on payments will end on Sept. 30, leaving more than 3o million people to begin making student loan repayments in October even as the pandemic continues.

The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that the federal government sold the only copy of Wu-Tang Clan's unreleased album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," which was forfeited by former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli after he was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018.

Why it matters: Shkreli, who was found guilty of wire and securities fraud and was heavily criticized for inflating the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000% overnight, bought the album in a 2015 auction for $2 million and often flaunted it in interviews.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said Tuesday she suspended the concealed carry licenses of 22 people charged in connection to the Capitol insurrection "instigated by Donald Trump."

Why it matters: The move comes shortly after the Jan. 6 select committee held its first hearing on the riots. Fried's office said more suspensions and revocations could be on the table.

About 50,000 migrants who crossed the southern border illegally have now been released in the United States without a court date. Although they are told to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office instead, just 13% have shown up so far, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The sizable numbers are a sign of just how overwhelmed some sectors of the U.S.-Mexico border continue to be: A single stretch covering the Rio Grande Valley had 20,000 apprehensions in a week. The figures also show the shortcomings of recent emergency decisions to release migrants.

A former Air Force intelligence analyst on Tuesday was sentenced to 45 months in prison for violating the Espionage Act when he leaked top secret documents about the U.S. government’s drone strike program, the AP reports.

Catch up quick: The ex-airman, Daniel Hale, said he was motivated by guilt when he leaked classified information to a journalist from the Intercept about drone strikes after watching a fatal attack that his colleagues considered successful, per The Washington Post.

The Senate voted 58-41 Tuesday to confirm Todd Kim as assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Why it matters: Kim, the former solicitor general for the District of Columbia, will now oversee the department's enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

A swastika was found on Monday etched into the wall of a State Department elevator near the office of its special envoy to monitor and combat anti-semitism, according to a person familiar with the discovery and a picture obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The defacement raises troubling questions about security inside the nation's foreign policy nerve center, and the potential for antisemitism within an outward-facing element of the United States government.

Robert Aaron Long, 22, of Georgia, was sentenced Tuesday to life without parole after pleading guilty to murder and other charges related to a series of deadly spa shootings in Atlanta, AP reports.

The big picture: Cherokee County Superior Court Chief Judge Ellen McElyea accepted the plea deal, and Long was given four life sentences after a prosecutor said investigators found no evidence of racial bias.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) has signed a warrant for the arrest of a Democratic legislator who fled the state earlier this month to prevent Republicans from passing new voting restrictions, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The warrant, signed Sunday, is the first against the lawmakers. It directs law enforcement to take state Rep. Philip Cortez into custody after he returns to Austin. It's unlikely to be carried out immediately because it cannot be enforced outside of Texas, per the Post.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) choked up as he addressed the four police officers testifying at the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee, telling them: "Democracies are not defined by our bad days. We're defined by how we come back from bad days."

Why it matters: Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) are the only two Republicans serving on the committee. Kinzinger said that he chose to accept Speaker Pelosi's appointment to the committee "not in spite of my membership in the Republican Party, but because of it."

Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, a Black man, said Tuesday at the Jan. 6 select committee's first hearing that it is "disheartening" and "disappointing" to live in a country where people "attack you because of the color of your skin."

What they're saying: "To be frank, while the attack was happening ... I wasn't able to process it as a racial attack, I was just trying to survive that day and get home," Dunn said. "When I did have a moment to process it, I think that was in the rotunda, where I became so emotional because I was able to process everything that happened and it was just so overwhelming."

Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell condemned former President Trump's false claims that the Jan. 6 rioters were "hugging and kissing" officers when they invaded the Capitol, calling it a "pathetic excuse" for the fact that he "helped to create this monstrosity.

Why it matters: Gonell is one of four police officers who testified at the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee on Tuesday. He recounted the surgery he was forced to undergo due to injuries sustained from the attack, and described how that day made him "more afraid" than his entire U.S. Army deployment to Iraq.

D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges on Tuesday painted a vivid and emotional picture of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, calling them "terrorists" and describing how unusual it was that they waved Christian imagery and Thin Blue Line flags.

Why it matters: Hodges was one of four police officers who testified at the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee. Harrowing video footage from the day of the riot shows how he was violently attacked and crushed against a Capitol door by the pro-Trump mob.

Sgt. Aquilino Gonell on Tuesday shared an emotional testimony for the first of the Jan. 6 committee hearings, detailing the events of the Capitol insurrection.

Why it matters: Gonell, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, said he was "more afraid to work at the Capitol" on Jan. 6 "than in my entire deployment."

The Justice Department told former Trump administration officials this week that they could testify to the committees investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The move counters the view of President Trump, who has argued that his decisions made as president are protected by executive privilege, per the Times.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Tuesday called for the "full and open testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and preparation" of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, warning that it will "remain a cancer on our constitutional republic" if left uninvestigated.

Why it matters: Despite not being the chair or ranking member, Cheney was asked to deliver an opening statement at the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee to show that the investigation will be bipartisan — despite Republican leadership's refusal to participate.

The combination of high death rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration restrictions and persistently low birth rates means the U.S. population might have shrunk in 2020, according to a new piece in the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: Until proven otherwise, demography is destiny for countries — and stubbornly low rates of population growth will present major economic and political challenges for the U.S. if they can't be reversed.

The tech industry's leading giants are floating on a cushion of record profits in lakes of reserve cash, and all that money makes them just about unsinkable.

Driving the news: Tech's big five — Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft — all report their earnings between Tuesday and Thursday this week. Recent quarters have delivered blowout results for these companies, and many observers expect the same again.

Former Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), who retired this year after 24 years in the Senate, died at age 77 after suffering serious injuries in a bicycle accident, AP reports.

The big picture: Though he ranked as one of the most conservative members of the Senate, Enzi had a reputation as a consensus builder and served as the chairman of both the Budget Committee and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

State governments, private businesses and even part of the federal government are suddenly embracing mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for their employees.

Why it matters: Vaccine mandates have been relatively uncommon in the U.S. But with vaccination rates stagnating and the Delta variant driving yet another wave of cases, there's been a new groundswell of support for such requirements.

Tong Ying-kit, the first person to be charged and tried under Hong Kong's national security law was found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession by three judges Tuesday, per Bloomberg. The 24-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Why it matters: The law passed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party last year carries the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. In a departure from the Asian financial hub's common law traditions, Tong was denied a jury trial.

North and South Korea's leaders have pledged to improve relations and resume previously suspended communication channels between the two countries.

Why it matters: The resumption of the hotline on Tuesday comes despite stalled negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang on the denuclearization of North Korea, which broke down after a second summit between then-President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without a deal in 2019.

Former President Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for re-election in 2022 on Monday.

Why it matters: It's a blow for Texas land commissioner George P. Bush, the last of the Bush family still in office. In announcing his campaign for attorney general last month, Bush issued a scathing attack on Paxton, who is under investigation by the FBI and facing securities fraud charges.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to extend proxy voting through the fall — and potentially until the end of the year — Democratic lawmakers and aides tell Axios.

Why it matters: The spread of the Delta variant has alarmed both members and staffers anxious about interacting with the unvaccinated. Pelosi’s anticipated move — continuing an emergency COVID-19 measure enacted last year so lawmakers could vote remotely — is aimed at allaying those concerns.

The Jan. 6 select committee will paint a haunting picture of what unfolded during the attack on the Capitol during its first public hearing on Tuesday, Axios is told.

Why it matters: The nine-member panel will not only hear from four police officers on the grounds that day, but show graphic video footage similar to the chilling 13-minute video Democrats aired during Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.

A host of new problems emerged Monday morning threatening whether the Group of 10 can actually make this "infrastructure week" after all.

Why it matters: This is the bill's do-or-die moment.

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is injecting huge sums into some crucial 2022 midterm contests — and drawing fire from Republicans eager to tie their rivals to the GOP's Silicon Valley bogeymen.

Why it matters: Whether he's backing a candidate or being attacked by one, Thiel embodies the present GOP zeitgeist. His brand of nationalist conservatism mimics the party's Trump-era shift. Yet the fortune he's using to bankroll like-minded candidates derives from an industry reviled by much of that base.