The Senate voted 68-32 on Tuesday to approve a sweeping China-focused global competition bill, overcoming Republican objections that had threatened to derail the $200 billion+ bipartisan package.
Why it matters: The bill's supporters cite the measure as evidence that the deeply divided Senate can still function on a bipartisan basis, despite the last-minute chaos that forced Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to delay final passage for weeks.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Tuesday demanded that Microsoft explain why the company blocked images and videos of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests on anniversary of the massacre, CNN reported.
The big picture: A Microsoft spokesperson previously said the removal of the images was a mistake, and blamed it on "accidental human error," per CNN.
At the same time as much of the Lower 48 states are seeing temperatures soar through the 90s, an unusually severe heat wave for this time of year has also struck the Middle East.
Why it matters: While these extreme weather events have roots in various weather systems, human-caused climate change is raising the odds and worsening the severity of extreme heat events worldwide.
Senate Democrats and Republicans today are expected to overwhelmingly pass a $247 billion spending package focused on competing with China on technology.
Axios Re:Cap is joined by California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, who cosponsored the bill and who has been concerned about the issue since he first campaigned for office.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday called a deadly truck attack that targeted a Muslim family a "terrorist attack" fueled by "toxic rhetoric" and discrimination.
Driving the news: A driver on Sunday plowed his pickup truck into the family while they were out on a walk in London, Ontario, killing four people. Authorities say they have evidence the attack was motivated by Islamophobic hate.
Why it matters: The agency is still recommending that Americans avoid international travel to these countries due to serious risks associated with the pandemic, in its second-highest warning level.
Outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in a farewell briefing to reporters on Tuesday that the Biden administration is likely to appoint a Middle East envoy who will focus on strengthening the normalization agreements between Israel and the Arab world and will push for more.
Why it matters: The Biden administration has said it plans to build on the Trump-brokered agreements, but hasn't taken any action so far. Ashkenazi said senior Biden administration officials told him they were waiting for a new government to be formed in Israel before starting to push the normalization issue.
A court of United Nations appeals judges on Tuesday upheld Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić's conviction and life sentence for genocide and war crimes committed during Bosnia and Herzegovina's 1992–95 war.
Why it matters: Mladić was known as the "Butcher of Bosnia" for commanding troops responsible for the Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities in Bosnia, where around 100,000 people were killed and more than 2 million displaced during the war.
The U.S. has withdrawn more than 50% of its forces and equipment from Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command estimated in an update Tuesday.
Why it matters: President Biden announced in April that the U.S. would begin the process of withdrawing all forces from Afghanistan starting May 1, with the goal of finishing by Sept. 11. CENTCOM said Tuesday that it would no longer be updating the specific percentage of its withdrawal, citing security reasons.
Wayne Couzens, a British police officer, pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard Tuesday, AP reports.
Why it matters: The case has spurred outcry throughout the U.K., with women sharing experiences of being threatened or attacked, and about their everyday fear of violence when walking alone.
Protesters in Belarus can be sentenced to up to three years in prison if they've been punished for attending at least two unauthorized demonstrations over a year, according to a new law authoritarian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed on Tuesday, AP reports.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of a fierce crackdown on dissent in the country. It comes as Lukashenko has faced months of protests after he claimed a sixth term through a blatantly rigged election in August and global backlash after he diverted a flight to Minsk last month to arrest an opposition activist.
The incoming Israeli government will be sworn in on Sunday if it survives a confidence vote, outgoing parliamentary speaker Yariv Levin said in a statement on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, including Levin, are trying to thwart the formation of the new government, which would see right-wing Naftali Bennett replace Netanyahu as prime minister in an alliance with Yair Lapid, the centrist opposition leader.
Massive anti-Colombian government protests that erupted five weeks ago have resulted in the deaths of 58 people — and there are reports of 400 human rights violations, the country's human rights ombudsman said Monday, per AP.
What's happening: Representatives of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (CIDH) traveled to Colombia Monday for a three-day visit following allegations and video evidence of police violence — including firing guns at unarmed protesters and onlookers.
An FBI-led sting using an encrypted messaging app has resulted in the arrests of hundreds of suspected organized crime figures around the world, authorities in Australia announced Tuesday.
Driving the news: Authorities decided to use the AN0M messaging app to track suspects globally in an investigation after Aussie police officers and FBI agents came up with the idea to run the platform while having some after-work beers in 2018, according to Australian police.
The Senate unanimously passed legislation Monday offering financial support to government employees experiencing symptoms including brain injuries that are consistent with "Havana Syndrome."
Why it matters: Over 130 cases of the illness first detected in the U.S. Embassy in Cuba in 2016 have been reported among overseas U.S. personnel. The head injuries are "from likely directed energy attacks in Cuba, China, and elsewhere," per a Senate Intelligence Committee statement.
The White House and the Ukrainian government initially sent out conflicting official accounts of Monday's phone call between President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Why it matters: Ukraine's government initially reported on its official website that Biden had "highlighted... the importance of providing the Ukrainian state with a NATO Membership Action Plan," which would put Ukraine on course for membership in the alliance. The White House denied Biden expressed support for such a step on the call.
CNN has obtained audio of a July 2019 call by Rudy Giuliani in which he suggests to an Ukrainian official that the country could have a "better relationship" with the U.S. if it investigated Joe Biden.
Why it matters: The call shows the extent of pressure Giuliani put on Ukraine to investigate the then-Democratic presidential nominee and his son, Hunter Biden, for unsubstantiated corruption claims — a matter that was central to former President Trump's first impeachment.
A new dinosaur species discovered in Australia's Queensland region is the largest dinosaur ever found in the country — and it's among the biggest in the world, researchers announced Monday in the journal PeerJ.
The big picture:Australotitan cooperensis, nicknamed Cooper, is believed to have walked the Earth 90 million years ago. Scientists estimate that Cooper would have "weighed about 70 tons, measured two stories tall and extended to about the length of a basketball court," the New York Times notes.
