Politics & Government

News Brief: Senate Hearing, Supreme Court, Nursing Homes

6:28am May 12, 2020

A key hearing on COVID-19 takes place in the Senate Tuesday. The Supreme Court hears arguments involving President Trump's financial records. And, pandemic exposes cracks in the nursing home system.

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Republican U.S. House candidate Mike Garcia campaigns back in January, before California's stay-at-home order forced the candidates to campaign from home for Tuesday's special election.

Politics & Government

California Special Election Provides Early Snapshot Of Socially Distanced Campaigning

5:00am May 12, 2020

by Susan Davis

The contest between Republican Mike Garcia and Democrat Christy Smith is the first competitive congressional race to take place during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, wears a face mask as Trump holds a news conference Monday in the Rose Garden.

White House Orders Staff To Wear Face Masks After New Coronavirus Cases

9:00pm May 11, 2020

by Alana Wise

Staffers in the West Wing have been directed to wear face masks in the White House, except when at their own desks, a Trump administration official tells NPR.

President Trump takes questions during a news conference on the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday afternoon.

Trump And Pence 'Maintaining Their Distance' For Now

8:47pm May 11, 2020

by Alana Wise

The president attended a Monday coronavirus briefing, but the vice president did not. They were last seen together at the White House on Thursday.

A mostly-empty Fiserv Forum is seen during a Democratic National Convention media tour in January. The Milwaukee arena may not fill up like a traditional political convention if public health guidelines prohibit large gatherings when the DNC takes place i

Politics & Government

Democrats Developing Contingency Plans For Remote Convention

7:36pm May 11, 2020

by Asma Khalid

Convention planners are said to be considering a range of contingencies for the August event, as the DNC moves toward changing official proceedings to allow for delegates to participate remotely.

Supreme Court Weighs Whether Religious Schools Can Fire Lay Workers

7:26pm May 11, 2020

The pair of cases is the second time in less than a decade that the court has been asked to consider arguments involving discrimination lawsuits from teachers fired by parochial schools.

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Electioneers greet voters outside the Hamilton County Government Center during early voting in Noblesville, Ind., in 2018.

Politics & Government

Feds Warn States That Online Voting Experiments Are 'High-Risk'

6:54pm May 11, 2020

by Miles Parks

As some states turn to Internet voting to increase accessibility for vulnerable populations, the federal government sends out an eight-page report detailing the risks.

Health care workers place a nasal swab from a patient into a tube for testing at the Brightpoint Health and UJA-Federation of New York pop-up coronavirus testing site on Friday in New York City.

Former Top Health Officials: Do More Testing And Contact Tracing Or Expect Outbreaks

4:40pm May 11, 2020

by James Doubek

Former federal health officials Andy Slavitt and Scott Gottlieb tell Morning Edition that more coronavirus testing and contact tracing are needed for U.S. businesses to reopen safely.

What Special Election In California's 25th District Might Mean For General Election

3:56pm May 11, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talk with Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections, about what Tuesday's special election in California's 25th district might tell about November general election.

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Lawmakers' Practice To Sleep In Their Offices Raises Concerns Amid The Pandemic

3:56pm May 11, 2020

by Barbara Sprunt

The coronavirus pandemic has revived an effort to ban the practice of allowing members of Congress to sleep in their offices in the capitol.

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