House lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly passed a voting rights bill named in honor of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an effort to combat a wave of new voting restrictions in Republican states.
Why it matters: H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, passed by a party-line vote of 219 to 212, with no Republican support. If passed in the Senate, it will restore portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, giving the federal government the ability to block changes to state election laws found to be discriminatory.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) over his ban on school mask mandates.
State of play: The ACLU is representing several disability rights groups and parents who argue the ban violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and "illegally forces parents of children with underlying conditions to choose between their child’s education and their child’s health and safety."
FIFA and two other organizations are set to receive more than $200 million in compensation from the U.S. government related to a 2015 corruption scandal, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Flashback: The repayment comes six years after a criminal prosecution revealed that millions of dollars had been diverted for decades from the sport and into the hands of global officials and businessmen.
President Biden said on Tuesday that the United States and its allies are on pace to finish evacuating Americans and Afghans from Afghanistan by his full military withdrawal date of Aug. 31.
Why it matters: Biden said America's massive rescue mission will end in around seven days, though he said he directed the Pentagon and the Department of State to develop contingency plans "to adjust the timetable should that become necessary."
At the stroke of midnight Kathy Hochul made history, becoming New York's first female governor. She promised to take a "fresh, collaborative approach" in state government.
Why it matters: The U.S. now has nine serving female state governors — tying a record set in 2004 and matched in 2007 and 2019.
Vice President Kamala Harris' Tuesday flight from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed roughly three hours due to a "recent possibly anomalous health incident" in Hanoi, per a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam.
Why it matters: That phrasing is how the U.S. government typically refers to the mysterious symptoms associated with Havana syndrome that has sickened hundreds of U.S. officials in recent years.
House Democrats passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution on Tuesday, 220-212, advancing the party’s effort to pass a sweeping economic package that would expand the nation’s social safety net.
Why it matters: Democrats now will be able to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a bill — likely later this fall — by a simple majority, tackling key priorities like health care, child care and climate change.
Former NFL running back Herschel Walker has filed paperwork to run for Senate, challenging freshman Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia next year.
Driving the news: Walker, a Republican, has received support from former president Donald Trump but has faced scrutiny over his recent residency in Texas.
After hours of infighting, House Democrats on Tuesday struck a deal that would approve their $3.5 trillion budget resolution, set up floor action on the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27 and advance voting rights legislation.
Why it matters: The deal is key to advancing Democrats' top three priorities — all of which are expected to receive little to no House Republican support.
Several Democratic lawmakers are calling on Biden to push back the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, arguing that U.S. military presence is crucial to the safe evacuation of both Americans and Afghan partners.
Driving the news: Three members of the Armed Services Committee urged the president to reconsider the deadline following a classified congressional briefing from administration officials on the situation in Afghanistan.
The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on Tuesday rescinded the honorary Emmy it awarded former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Why it matters: The decision comes "in light of" an independent investigation that found the former governor sexually harassed multiple women and after Cuomo formally resigned from his post, the academy said.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday that "nobody is making excuses" and "everybody's focused on trying" to improve the conditions at the Qatar air base housing Afghan evacuees after Axios reported the base was awash with loose feces and urine and a rat infestation.
Driving the news: In an email obtained by Axios, a U.S. official describes conditions at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha as "a living hell." The email highlights the despair inside the federal government and some elements of the Biden administration at the handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, Axios' Jonathan Swan, Hans Nichols and Glen Johnson write.
CIA Director William Burns secretly met with Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's de-facto leader, in Kabul on Monday, the Washington Post first reported.
Why it matters: Though the contents of the meeting are not known, Burns is the highest-ranking Biden administration official to meet with Taliban leadership as the U.S. races to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from the country before the official withdrawal date of Aug. 31.
Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally starting Tuesday, founder and CEO Brian Chesky tweeted Tuesday.
Why it matters: "The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time," Chesky wrote in a thread. "We feel a responsibility to step up."
The $3.5 trillion budget framework stalled in the House early Tuesday after tense negotiations between Democratic leaders and centrists failed to reach an agreement.
Driving the news: Moderate Democrats, who have vowed to block the deal until a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package is passed, held out on early Tuesday morning as divisions in the party flared, the New York Times writes.
What's happening: Creative Loafing's Justin Garcia reports that State Attorney Andrew Warren’s office motioned last week to restrict what can be discussed during the proceedings.
Why it matters: Creative Loafing's reporting tells a starkly different story of the day than what prosecutors may be trying to portray at trial.
Shortly before 8 a.m. last Friday, an official at U.S. Central Command sent a searing wake-up call to colleagues: The sweltering Qatar air base where the Biden administration is housing thousands of Afghan evacuees was awash with loose feces and urine and a rat infestation, according to internal emails shared with Axios.
Why it matters: The email highlights the despair inside the federal government and some elements of the administration at the handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was sworn in as the state's 57th governor Tuesday, following former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's resignation amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Why it matters: Hochul, a Democrat, is the first woman to serve as governor of New York and will serve out the remainder of Cuomo's term until 2022.
NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN on Monday the U.S. could "start getting back to a degree of normality" by next spring if more Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Yes but: "There's no guarantee, because it's up to us," Fauci said in his interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, noting that another variant could emerge unless the current surge is brought under control.
Chris Miller, the Trump administration's last acting defense secretary, told CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" Monday evening that there was never a concrete date to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Why it matters: Former President Trump has said President Biden should have stuck to the previous administration's May 1 deadline. But Miller told CNN's Chris Cuomo that there was always the provision for officials to "move the goal posts" on the date if required.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Jan. 6 select committee, said Monday that the committee will ask telecommunications companies to turn over the phone records of several hundred people, including members of Congress.
Why it matters: Preserving these records is a first step to procuring witnesses to testify before the select committee, per CNN, which first reported Thompson's comments.
Fraud detectives with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department launched a new investigation into a dog muzzle sent to the state’s fired vaccine chief, Michelle Fiscus, after she reported the matter to officers last week.
Why it matters: State investigators closed their own probe into the muzzle earlier this month after determining it was purchased using Fiscus’ American Express card. Fiscus denied she bought the muzzle, and said someone else must have accessed her credit card information. Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said local detectives will seek an answer.
