COVID-19
AUSTIN, TX - JUNE 08: Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on June 8, 2021. Abbott signed Senate bills 2 and 3 into law to reform the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and weatherize and improve the reliability of the state's power grid. The bill signing comes months after a disastrous February winter storm that created widespread power outages and left dozens of Texans dead. (Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images) AUSTIN, TX - JUNE 08: Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on June 8, 2021. Abbott signed Senate bills 2 and 3 into law to reform the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and weatherize and improve the reliability of the state's power grid. The bill signing comes months after a disastrous February winter storm that created widespread power outages and left dozens of Texans dead. (Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
Where Things Stand: Pro-Choice When They Like Your Choice Prime Badge
This is your TPM evening briefing.
09.01.21 | 6:30 pm

Since the pandemic reached our shores last year, the right has been extremely vocal about its deeply held opposition to any type of government regulation that impacts personal health choices.

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Where Things Stand: Native Tribes Have Been Bucking Anti-Mask Rules For A While Prime Badge
This is your TPM evening briefing.
08.31.21 | 6:44 pm

We’ve watched and covered public school districts in red states around the U.S. defying Republican governors’ orders against universal masking in schools for the past several weeks. But as sovereign nations, many Native American tribes around the country have been taking school-related COVID mitigation measures into their own hands for some time.

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HALAJUN, HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - 2021/08/29: Steve Lynch, Republican candidate for Northampton County executive, speaks during the anti-vaccine, anti-mask mandate Rally for Freedom.Anti-vaccine protesters gathered on the steps of Pennsylvania State Capitol during the Rally for Freedom. The Worldwide Rally for Freedom 3.5 at the Pennsylvania State Capitol was one of many coordinated events across the United States calling for an end to vaccine mandates. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) HALAJUN, HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - 2021/08/29: Steve Lynch, Republican candidate for Northampton County executive, speaks during the anti-vaccine, anti-mask mandate Rally for Freedom.Anti-vaccine protesters gathered on the steps of Pennsylvania State Capitol during the Rally for Freedom. The Worldwide Rally for Freedom 3.5 at the Pennsylvania State Capitol was one of many coordinated events across the United States calling for an end to vaccine mandates. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Where Things Stand: Mississippi Guv Blames Everything And Everyone But Himself For Deadly COVID Spike Prime Badge
This is your TPM evening briefing.
08.30.21 | 6:20 pm

Back in April of this year, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) blamed the lackluster vaccination situation in the Magnolia State on “a very large African American population” and “a lot of rural people.”

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People Are Facing Federal Criminal Charges For Forged Vax Cards. But It’s Not A New Phenomenon
For many years, it has been a federal crime to make or use “any materially false writing in any matter involving a health care benefit program.”
08.30.21 | 3:49 pm
UNITED STATES - MAY 13: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, testifies during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to “examine offshore energy development in federal waters and leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” in Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday, May 13, 2021. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - MAY 13: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, testifies during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to “examine offshore energy development in federal waters and leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” in Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday, May 13, 2021. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)