Russian troops returning home from Syria. Photo: Sergei Fadeichev/TASS via Getty Images
Russia’s military is deploying troops to Douma, Syria, the site of the chemical weapons attack that occurred this weekend, per the AP.
Why it matters: Russia has said it will take retaliatory measures when its troops are attacked. Meanwhile, President Trump taunted Russia this morning by threatening a military strike on Syria. By sending troops to the site of the attack, Russia is firing back.
Roger Stone arriving at his sentencing hearing on Feb. 20. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President Trump on Friday evening commuted the sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, according to two senior administration officials. Stone in February was sentenced to 40 months in prison for crimes including obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress.
Why it matters: The controversial move brings an abrupt end to the possibility of Stone spending time behind bars. He had been scheduled to report to prison on July 14.
13 states this week surpassed records set just last week for their highest number of coronavirus infections in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project and state health department data. 16 states in total reported new highs.
The big picture: The United States' alarming rise in coronavirus cases isn't just due to increased testing — particularly where the number of cases has grown fastest over the last month, Axios' Andrew Witherspoon and Caitlin Owens report.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios