Axios

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the filing of a petition Wednesday to strike down an emergency order mandating masks in schools, businesses and county buildings in Dallas County.

Why it matters: Their statement threatens that "any school district, public university or local government official that decides to defy the order will be taken to court."

The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the world could see 100 million more cases of the coronavirus by early 2022, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' comments come after the number of recorded COVID cases globally reached 200 million last week, only six months after the world passed 100 million cases.

Former Sen. Scott Brown announced on Wednesday he is resigning as head of New England Law Boston and plans to "re-engage in the political arena."

Why it matters: There are a few potentially attractive opportunities for the former Massachusetts Republican — who has strong name recognition and is an ally of former President Trump — in his new home state of New Hampshire.

President Biden has nominated acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to the job on a permanent basis, the White House said Wednesday.

Why it matters: Prelogar, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the second woman to ever be in charge of representing the U.S. during litigation before the Supreme court.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Wednesday he would "favor the vaccine being required" for teachers and other staff, as schools across the country prepare to welcome students this fall.

Why it matters: It comes as the U.S. experiences a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, due in large part to the highly contagious Delta variant, and as hospitals sounds the alarm about an increasing number of kids landing in the hospital after contracting the virus.

A bipartisan trio of senators led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) unveiled legislation Wednesday that would upend Google and Apple's control over their mobile app stores in a bid to inject more competition into the sector.

Why it matters: The bill's provisions would be a win for those app makers who have complained about how Google and Apple operate their app stores.

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul during a press conference Wednesday promised to create a safe work environment when she replaces disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 13 days.

Why it matters: Hochul said no executive chamber member implicated in Cuomo's alleged efforts to retaliate against women who accused him of sexual harassment will remain in her administration.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday announced that teachers and other school staff will be required to get vaccinated or agree to get regularly tested.

Why it matters: California is the first state in the U.S. to impose such a requirement. Most states are allowing individual school districts to decide on vaccine and mask requirements.

A new court ruling Wednesday will allow House Democrats to access some of former President Donald Trump's financial records from his accounting firm Mazars USA.

Why it matters: Trump has aggressively fought to keep his financial records secret, and the ruling notes that Trump unsuccessfully sued to stop Mazars from complying with the subpoena.

Thousands in Germany are set to be revaccinated after it was discovered that a nurse had injected patients with a saline solution in place of a COVID vaccine, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The nurse, who has not been identified, admitted to injecting a few patients with saline but antibody testing showed a much wider group of people may have been impacted. About 8,600 people may have received the salt solution instead of the genuine vaccine, leaving them at risk.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) issued a statement on Wednesday saying he has "serious concerns" about the size of Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, calling it "simply irresponsible" to continue spending at such high levels.

The latest: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to Manchin's concerns at a press conference on Tuesday, saying: "Look, there are some in my caucus who might believe it’s too much, there are some in my caucus who believe it’s too little."

Top Pentagon officials defended U.S. arms sales to Egypt at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, while also stressing the need to limit China's military presence in the Middle East.

Driving the news: Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee for the Middle East, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul was pressed by senators including Chair Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on whether arms sales to Egypt still serve U.S. national security interests.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is attempting to organize a summit at the end of August that could get his neighboring rivals around the same table for the first time in years.

The big picture: Stuck between Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the Iraqi government is trying to turn that difficult situation to its advantage and help reduce tensions and mediate regional understandings.

The Senate early Wednesday morning unanimously confirmed former Sen. Ken Salazar as U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Why it matters: Salazar is President Biden's first ambassador pick to be confirmed.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) credited President Biden on Tuesday for his role in getting the Senate to pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Why it matters: It's a rare flash of praise from the Republican leader, who has previously said that 100% of his focus is on "stopping" the Biden administration's agenda.

The White House on Wednesday morning moved to address higher gas prices by directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate any "illegal conduct" and "anti-competitive practices" involving gasoline prices, and leaning on OPEC+ members to boost production.

Flashback: In July, OPEC+ agreed to boost production by 400,000 barrels per day on a monthly basis starting this month and lasting into 2022.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) attempt to pass Democrats' signature voting rights package — a revised version of the "For the People Act" — in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Why it matters: The sweeping federal elections overhaul is intended to combat a wave of new voting restrictions in Republican-led states, but has no chance of winning the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster.

Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and an influential voice on racial discrimination and civil rights, plans a book from Penguin Press in late 2023.

The publisher calls it "an unflinching diagnosis of how America’s ongoing embrace of white supremacy has weakened our country’s institutions and brought American democracy to the point of crisis."

YouTube suspended Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for seven days on Tuesday over a video claiming that cloth masks are not effective in fighting COVID-19, CNN reports.

Driving the news: "This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it can't upload content for a week, per our longstanding three strikes policy," a YouTube spokesperson told CNN.

President Biden announced Wednesday that he will convene world leaders for a virtual "Summit for Democracy" in December, where participants will make commitments to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad.

Why it matters: The summit would fulfill a foreign policy promise Biden made on the campaign trail, where he vowed to "once more place America at the head of the table" in the international effort to fight corruption, defense against authoritarianism, and advance human rights.

The number of white people in the United States is expected to show a decline in the latest U.S. Census Bureau data for the first time since the census' inception, reports the Washington Post.

The big picture: If this projection is borne out by the census data — set to be released this week — it will mean the white decline has come around eight years earlier than experts predicted, William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, told the Post.

The Taliban has stunned even some seasoned military and national security officials in the U.S. government with the speed of its conquests over the past week, sources with direct knowledge of the developments tell Axios.

Why it matters: President Biden isn't budging — resolved to get out by Aug. 31, no matter what — people briefed on his thinking say. He may not see much of a pause between his total withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country's total collapse into a bloody civil war.

Medicare's open enrollment will kick off in two months, leading to the health insurance industry's annual marketing blitz that entices seniors with Medicare Advantage plans that tout capped out-of-pocket costs, vision and dental benefits, and fitness classes.

Why it matters: Medicare Advantage continued to grow during the pandemic, and it's increasingly likely a majority of all Medicare enrollees will be in private plans in a few years despite Medicare Advantage's deep, longstanding problems.

Senate Democrats passed their $3.5 trillion budget resolution early on Tuesday — without any Republican votes.

Why it matters: The budget lays the groundwork for Democrat-led committees to begin drafting sections of a massive spending bill that would mark the biggest expansion of America's social safety net in generations.

A court in Dandong, China, sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison Wednesday after finding him guilty of espionage. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the sentence as "unacceptable and unjust."

Why it matters: The detention of Spavor, along with former diplomat Michael Kovrig following their 2018 arrests, is widely viewed as retaliatory action by the Chinese government for Canada's detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who's accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The Texas House Speaker signed late Tuesday civil arrest warrants for 52 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state last month to block a GOP effort to pass voting restrictions, per the Dallas Morning News.

Driving the news: The GOP-led Texas House of Representatives voted 80-12 in favor of the move, hours after the state Supreme Court temporarily blocked a restraining order by a lower court protecting the Democrats.

Two Wyoming Republican leaders voted to no longer recognize Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) as a member of their party, six months after she voted to impeach former President Trump, per the Casper Star-Tribune.

Why it matters: While symbolic, the move is the latest censuring that Cheney has faced for diverging from much of her party's response to the Capitol riot.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) will resume a statewide indoor mask mandate for all residents, regardless of their vaccination status, to combat a rise in COVID-19 cases, her office announced Tuesday.

The big picture: Oregon is the third state, after Hawaii and Louisiana, to require residents who are fully vaccinated against the virus to wear masks.