A group of North Carolina voters filed a legal challenge Monday to disqualify Rep. Madison Cawthorn from running for re-election, citing the Republican lawmaker's involvement in a rally preceding the deadly Capitol insurrection.
Why it matters: The legal challenge, filed before the North Carolina State Board of Elections, argues that Cawthorn's speech at the rally, questioning the result of the presidential election, constitutionally bars him from seeking a second term.
Health insurers will be required to cover costs for over-the-counter, at-home COVID tests starting this Saturday, the Health and Human Services Department announced Monday.
Why it matters: Under President Biden's strategy to expand access to free COVID testing, insurers will either cover costs upfront or reimburse people after they submit claims.
President Biden spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday at Biden's request to encourage recent “constructive steps,” like the release of political prisoners, while also raising concerns about civilian casualties in the country’s civil war, the White House said in a statement.
Why it matters: The more than yearlong conflict between the federal government and rebel forces, particularly in Ethiopia's Tigray region, has killed thousands of people and forced millions more to flee, per Reuters.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday proposed a plan to expand health care coverage to cover all low-income, undocumented Californians.
Why it matters: The proposal is part of the Democratic governor's $213 billion budget request for the 2022-23 fiscal year. If approved by the state legislature, it would begin no sooner than Jan. 1, 2024.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Monday he plans to remove Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from their respective committees if Republicans retake the House majority.
Why it matters: McCarthy's comments offer a preview of the scorched-earth tactics Republicans may adopt if they win back control of Congress in 2022.
The U.S. Mint announced Monday that it has begun shipping quarters honoring the late writer and activist Maya Angelou.
Why it matters: The series kicks off the American Women Quarters Program (AWQ), which was signed into law last year to recognize notable women throughout U.S. history.
Former "American Idol" contestant Clay Aiken is running for Congress in North Carolina, he announced in a video Monday, eight years after his failed bid for a House seat in the state.
Details: Aiken, who finished second on "American Idol" in 2003, is running as a Democrat to replace long-serving Rep. David Price in North Carolina's redrawn 6th District. Price, also a Democrat, announced last October he would not seek re-election.
A lawsuit filed Sunday alleges that 16 major U.S. universities and colleges, including a number of Ivy League schools, have violated antitrust laws by working together to determine students' financial aid packages.
Driving the news: According to the lawsuit, the schools "participated in a price-fixing cartel that is designed to reduce or eliminate financial aid...and that in fact has artificially inflated the net price of attendance for students receiving financial aid."
Because Biogen lowered the price of Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm by 50%, the federal government should "reassess" the large pending increase on Medicare's 2022 premiums that cover physician and outpatient care, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement today.
Why it matters: The historically high Medicare premium hike, during a midterm election year, was due in large part to Aduhelm's high price tag.
But now Becerra is asking Medicare to consider lowering the premium increase, just days before Medicare also is supposed to give a preliminary decision about whether Aduhelm's questionable clinical evidence justifies coverage at all.
MSNBC announced Monday it hired Symone Sanders, former senior adviser and chief spokesperson to Vice President Kamala Harris, to host new programs on its cable and streaming services.
Why it matters: The media company said in a press release that the programs "will explore issues at the intersection of politics, culture and race and break down how decisions made in Washington impact electorates, industries, and communities across the country."
Former President Trump on Monday said he will never endorse Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), calling him a "jerk" and "a weak and ineffective leader."
Driving the news: Trump, who endorsed Rounds in 2020, was responding to the South Dakota senator after he refuted the former president's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen and said that "the election was fair" during a Sunday appearance on ABC's "This Week."
Over two-thirds of LGBTQ youth said recent debates over state laws that target transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health, a new poll released Monday by the Trevor Project shows.
A series of messaging missteps is threatening the credibility of federal health agencies, and critics say the White House isn’t doing enough to manage the fallout.
Why it matters: While much of the unvaccinated population is unlikely to be persuaded by any messenger, large swaths of the public are still receptive to expert guidance, but federal health agencies, particularly the CDC, may be squandering their credibility with this population.
Novak Djokovic's Australian visa cancellation was overturned Monday by a judge on the country's federal circuit court, who ordered the Serbian tennis star's release from immigration detention within 30 minutes of the ruling.
Why it matters: It enables the men's tennis world No. 1 to possibly stay in the country and defend his Australian Open title, after border officials last week canceled his visa over his COVID-19 vaccination status.
A Myanmar court sentenced the country's ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Monday to an additional four years in prison on charges related to illegally importing and owning walkie-talkies and for breaking pandemic rules, per AP.
Why it matters: It's the latest verdict in a slew of cases brought by Myanmar's military junta that could see the 76-year-old Nobel laureate imprisoned for the rest of her life.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said large businesses should not comply with the Biden administration's "oppressive" mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations or testing that's due to take effect Monday.
What he's saying: The Republican governor told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday the requirement "needs to be struck down" and urged Arkansas businesses with 100 or more employees affected by it to wait for the Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Sunday he will not cooperate with the Jan. 6 select committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riot.
Why it matters: Both members of Congress the committee has sought out for information are declining to turn over documents or be interviewed voluntarily, forcing its nine members to decide whether they will attempt to subpoena their colleagues.
