Jul 14, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Texas GOP moves its convention online

The Texas delegation at the 2016 RNC. Photo: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Texas Republican Party voted Monday to hold its convention this week online, after the state Supreme Court tossed an attempt to overturn a city order that banned the gathering.

Why it matters: The move ends a conflict between the state party and the city of Houston. The Texas GOP had tried to continue with its in-person convention despite the state's surge in coronavirus cases.

  • It then sued Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) for breach of contract when he restricted convention center events.
  • The event was scheduled to take place July 13–18.

What they're saying: "We look forward to continuing our important work this week in an online convention, including adopting our Platform, electing our Party officers, electing our National Delegates and Alternates and the pinnacle moment of electing the Presidential Electors who will proudly cast Texas’ 38 electoral votes for President Donald J. Trump!" state party chairman James Dickey wrote in a statement.

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Gov. Cuomo on July 23 in New York City. Photo: Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that all school districts across the state can choose to reopen for in-person learning because it has so far maintained low enough coronavirus transmission rates.

Why it matters: It’s another sign that the state, once the global epicenter of the pandemic, has — at least for now — successfully curbed the spread of the virus even as infections have surged elsewhere around the country.

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Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

African countries collectively surpassed 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases this week.

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Massachusetts pauses reopening after uptick in coronavirus cases

Gov. Charlie Baker at Boston MedFlight Headquarters on Aug. 4. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Friday that the state's second phase of reopening is "postponed indefinitely" in response to a modest increase in coronavirus cases.

The big picture: The state is reporting more COVID-19 deaths than most others across the U.S. outside of domestic epicenters like California, or previous hotspots including New Jersey and New York, per a New York Times database.

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