The Lead with Jake Tapper

70%+ of U.S. lives in “High” or “Substantial” transmission area; NYC  Mayor: More guidance Monday on indoor mask use; DC reinstates indoor mask mandate even for the vaccinated; Biden announces vaccine requirement for all federal employees; Biden: if you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die; Biden: This is not about red states and blue states, it’s about life and death; Biden: With free...

Bipartisan negotiators reach long-awaited infrastructure deal; Pelosi won’t commit to bipartisan deal until she’s seen it; CDC Dir.: new data on “breakthrough” cases to be released soon; Thousands evacuate but brothers stay to battle nearby blaze in CA; All 67 Florida counties considered “high transmission” areas     To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Lear...

CDC revises guidance, recommends vaccinated people wear masks indoors in COVID hot spots; CDC urges masks for the vaccinated & everyone in k-12 schools; CDC revises mask guidance as COVID cases rise in all 50 states; New mask guidance as daily COVID cases rise 65% in one week; Hospitalizations up 36% in one week; Biden considering mandatory vaccinations for all federal workers; Officer slams lawma...

Biden administration will mandate vaccines for all V.A. heath care workers; Trump ally Tom Barrack ordered to wear GPS tracking bracelet, travel restricted, can’t transfer funds overseas; Hose committee prepares for first capitol riot hearing; One-on-one with Jan 6 committee member Rep. Schiff; Feud intensifies between McCarthy, Pelosi ahead of Jan 6 hearing; China warns U.S. to “stop playing with...

Unvaccinated Americans behind rise in COVID-19 cases; Daily pace of vaccinations hits lowest point since January; Alabama’s GOP Gov: It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated; U.S. averaging more new cases now than spring 2020 surge; CNN analysts: most U.S. teens not vaccinated as back to school looms; CDC: Alabama is the least vaccinated state in the U.S. with just 34% fully vaccinated; NFL war...

Biden health officials discussing changes to mask guidelines for fully vaccinated Americans; Growing number of towns reinstating mask mandates; Alabama Doctor: Seeing young people intubated due to covid “should be a gigantic wake up call”; Sources: Biden admin talking about revising mask guidance; White House insist guidance has not changed; CDC Director: Delta variant is more aggressive than prev...

Sources: House GOP sees Pelosi move as “political gift”; McCarthy: 1/6 committee “has lost all legitimacy”; Pelosi rejects GOP Reps. Jordan & Banks from 1/6 committee; Cheney: McCarthy’s rhetoric on 1/6 commission” disgraceful”; CDC: 91m people live in a country with “high” covid spread; NYC Mayor: Health care workers must get vaccine or weekly covid tests; Slow in vaccination ignites debate over...

WH tries to tamp down on spread of vaccine misinformation; WH confirms discussions with Fox News over vaccine coverage; Delta variant fuels COVID spike, as vaccinations lag; Pediatric group: more than 23,000 kids got COVID last week; Fed judge rules Indiana University can require students to get vaccine; Psaki says there have been breakthrough cases at the WH; Pelosi says how republicans voted on...

DOW closes down nearly 725 points as Delta variant drives fears about economic recovery; Hospitalizations & deaths rising, nearly all unvaccinated; American Academy of Pediatrics: everyone should wear mask in schools; CDC: 48.6% of U.S. population is fully vaccinated; Biden backs away from his claim that Facebook is “killing people”; NYC mayor: no plans to reinstitute mask mandate; Growing number...

L.A. county reinstates indoor mask mandate amid surge; Cases rising in all states; vaccinations slow to 300K per day; Baseball game postponed after 6 Yankees test positive; CNN looks into unvaccinated Americans and big lie believers; Census survey: 48% “probably” or “definitely” won’t get vaccine; Biden says Facebook is “killing people” with COVID misinformation; Schumer calls rushed test vote for...

WH takes on misinformation as vaccinations drop & cases rise; Surgeon General: Misinformation a serious public health threat; Millions of families receive first child tax credit payments; CNN: WH to fight back aggressively in vaccine disinformation war; House Minority Leader McCarthy meets with Trump at his golf course before attending White House dinner; Gen. Milley called Trump "The classic auth...

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo visits White House to urge young people to get vaccinated; Tennessee fires vaccine manager after she says it’s ok to vaccinate children; Report: Michigan GOP leader resigns after saying election not stolen; Jan. 6 select committee eyes July 27 for first hearing; Biden admin launches plan to evacuate Afghan allies; Federal Reserve chair: prices will keep rising before coolin...

Pressured by allies, Biden makes the case for election reform; Biden: election was “most scrutinized” in history; “Don’t bring down the American experiment just because you’re unhappy” with results; “That’s not democracy”; Passing voting rights act “is an imperative”;   Texas Dems pressure congress to pass voting rights legislation; Texas Republicans slam Dems: “you don’t run from a fight”; Texas...

Avg COVID cases jump 47% in one week, up in 36 states; CDC: pace of vaccinations down more than 80% since April; Dr. Fauci: cheers against trying to save lives is “horrifying”; Pfizer to brief Biden admin today on need for booster shot; CDC & FDA investigating if Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine may slightly raise risk of rare nerve condition; Budget committee Dems to meet tonight, consider $3.5T b...

New CDC schools guidance prioritizes in-person classes, masks and physical distancing; States closing more mass vaccination sites, focus shifts to virus hot spots; Ex-Surgeon General: Lack of coordination between Pfizer & Biden Admin on booster shot is “troubling”; Two studies show low risk of severe illness or deaths for children; WH: Biden, Putin spoke for an hour on hacks by Russian criminals;...

24 States report cases up 10% or more in one week as Delta variant spreads; Missouri hospital system: ventilator supply low at one facility, patients transferred to other locations; Map of states with lower vaccination rates closely aligns with 2020 election map; Biden: Relocation flights for Afghans who helped U.S. forces will begin this month; Biden: We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build;...

RNC hack comes as another ransomware attack demands $70m in Bitcoin from I.T. companies; Pressure builds on Biden to step up cyber security after series of recent hacks; FBI infiltrates “bible study,” led by accused Jan. 6 rioter making bombs; CNN: McCarthy may tap Trump allies, moderates for Jan. 6 cmte; At least 46 dead, 94 still unaccounted for after collapse; White House: Biden expressed suppo...

Biden outlines COVID shots strategy as Delta variant spreads; White House: Biden admin will aim to get more vaccines to doctors’ offices, employee work sites & mobile clinics; Biden: Delta variant should make people think twice about not getting vaccinated; Poll: 6% of Dems vs. 47% of GOP likely won’t get a COVID vaccine; Israeli gov’t: Pfizer vaccine 93% effective against severe illness in June,...

Death toll rises to 27 with 118 still missing; Urgent presentations to Surfside residents in fall/winter 2020 included slides detailing repairs that needed to me done “now”; Tropical storm moving in as search resumes in Surfside; Some families forced to evacuate nearby high-rise due to safety concerns are now homeless, getting local help; Biden strikes optimistic tone as U.S  misses his 70% vaccin...

Biden frustrated after questions on U.S. exit from Afghanistan; Source: Biden stands by his "gut decision" despite terror concerns; Pentagon: U.S. troop withdrawal will be done by end of August; Defense officials; U.S. retains authority to strike Taliban; U.S. hands airbase to Afghan military as civil war fears grow; Firefighter's own team finds body of his daughter at collapse site; Officials con...

WAPO: Majority of Surfside condo board quit in 2019 over frustrations about repair plans; Lawsuit accuses inspector of failing to keep occupants safe; Rescue work halted over fears rest of tower could fall; Mayor: Search operation to resume as soon as it is safe; Prosecutors: Trump Org CFO evaded taxes on $1.7M; Trump Org & CFO Weisselberg plead not guilty to charges; Trump on Org indictment: It's...

Officers who defended Capitol attended today’s vote; Engineers looking for “trigger events” for building collapse; Surgeon general: “you are in trouble” if you’re not vaccinated; Fauci: may soon be “two Americas” over vaccine divide; Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan: withdrawal could lead to civil war; Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies at 88     To learn more about how CNN protects li...

Families cling to hope as responders search for survivors; More than 800 responders on ground in Surfside; Biden to meet with families, visit collapse site Thursday; Prosecutors pursue grand jury investigation into collapse; Condo board warned of building decay in April 2021 letter; Engineers hunt for answers in the Surfside building collapse; Miami Herald: pool contractor saw water cracks below p...

Families desperate as search for survivors enters day 5; 2018 engineer report warned of “major structural damage” that required immediate repair in FL building; Condo association approved $15 million worth of repairs; Building collapsed just days before owners started payments; City official told residents tower was safe despite warning; Inspectors looking at nearby buildings after sudden collapse...

Biden Calls Infrastructure Deal A “True Bipartisan Effort”; Biden: No Guarantee Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Will Pass; Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Totals $1.2T Spending over 8 Years; Biden says bipartisan infrastructure deal will move through congress “in tandem” with Dems-only reconciliation bill;  Progressive Dem slams bipartisan deal as “Paltry, Pathetic” ; 1 Dead, nearly 100 people unacc...