News: A top official leading the State Department response to 'Havana syndrome' has left. New cases have recently been reported to the Pentagon. And as an intelligence probe gathers steam, officials are concerned that the suspected attacks are escalating. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-… A panel of experts and scientists has been examining what is causing the suspected attacks for several months, while the CIA is investigating who might be responsible, mounting an operation similar to its hunt for Osama bin Laden. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…

In an interview, Fauci tells @mcclatchy that data may soon support mixing and matching vaccines – and issues a warning over winter. “I want to make sure you understand that if we don't get those people vaccinated, we are not going to be in a good place.” mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… When will federal mask guidance ease for vaccinated people? “It’s going to be a numbers game,” Fauci said. “You’re going to have the mask recommendation for vaccinated people indoors so long as you’re averaging 150,000 new cases a day.” mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

Exclusive: In an interview with @McClatchy, Anthony Fauci warns the delta variant may be eclipsed by one that's even worse for the vaccinated – and that cases in the United States may double in the coming weeks to up to 200,000 a day. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… "If we don’t crush the outbreak," Fauci said, "then what will happen is the virus will continue to smolder through the fall into the winter, giving it ample chance to get a variant... that can push aside delta." mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

New: The White House sent a letter to governors Thursday offering to send COVID surge response teams anywhere needed as cases increase nationwide from the spread of the delta variant, straining local hospitals and driving vaccinated people back into masks. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-… The letter, obtained by @mcclatchy, outlines the resources available: epidemiologists and data analysts, funding for medical personnel, staff for vaccination sites and, if necessary, equipment from the Strategic National Stockpile. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…

Exclusive: @CDCDirector Rochelle Walensky tells us that federal mask guidance was reversed because unvaccinated people refused to mask up as the delta variant spread. Our new interview. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… The May guidance could have worked, Walensky said. "Unfortunately, that’s not how it played out. Unvaccinated people took off their masks as well. And that’s what led us to where we are today." mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

Exclusive: New emails and a previously unreported whistleblower complaint show that State Department officials were repeatedly asked to help organize Pompeo's political events in Kansas, just as he was mulling a Senate run. (w/ @BryanLowry3) mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-… The documents provide fresh insight into Pompeo politicking behind the scenes during a period when the secretary was engaged in a flurry of hushed donor meetings and controversial visits to Kansas. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…

Pompeo and his wife, Susan, repeatedly misused State Department resources and staff for personal business, violating the ethical standards of the department, according to a long-awaited inspector general’s report. (w/ @BryanLowry3) kansascity.com/news/politics-… The report details over 100 instances of misconduct that “had no apparent connection to the official business of the Department.” kansascity.com/news/politics-…

FDA leaders believe that coronavirus vaccines will last at least nine months. What happens after that is unclear, as scientists and public health officials debate what strategy to take on booster shots. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… “We’re believing that it’s probably going to last at least nine months, but we’re going to be checking this. We need to be careful that in more immunocompromised individuals, particularly older individuals... that we don’t see that drop off more quickly.” mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

News: A Pentagon system set up for states to keep track of coronavirus vaccines had outdated, inaccurate projections for deliveries, leading governors to think they would receive far more doses than will arrive in the coming days. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… Thursday's confusion stems from Tiberius, a Defense Department system that went online months ago so that states could begin learning how to use its modules. The old planning numbers were kept in the system throughout last week. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

Exclusive: The CDC has officially pushed back a Nov. 1 deadline for states to be ready to receive and distribute coronavirus vaccines until after the presidential election, according to a letter obtained by @McClatchy. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… The new deadline is Nov. 15, and states are being asked to sign data use agreements and begin working within the CDC's vaccine delivery system by Nov. 2. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

News: The North Carolina Board of Elections has denied international observers access to polling sites on Election Day, a decision that caught members of the mission by surprise as they prepared to arrive in the state. (w/ @chiaravep) mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-… Denying the request, the board cited a law that only North Carolinians can be present in polling places — a law that has not been cited during previous observation missions, including one just two years ago. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…

Exclusive: Emails obtained by @McClatchy show the Pompeos sought personal assistance of senior State Department staff, who expressed discomfort at requests they conduct personal errands on government time. (w/ @BryanLowry3) kansascity.com/news/politics-… "I’m wondering if we are sending the last of our personal cards out, who will be there to help me," Susan Pompeo wrote to a senior @StateDept aide from a personal email account. "Mike will not want to go outside you and Joe for this assistance." kansascity.com/news/politics-…

As a private citizen with no official role, Susan Pompeo used a private email account to assign official work to a top State Department staffer on behalf of her husband, the secretary, according to newly released testimony. (w/ @BryanLowry3) kansascity.com/news/politics-… Susan Pompeo’s influence over official personnel and activities at the State Department has raised concerns on Capitol Hill and within the department, contributing to an ongoing inquiry in the inspector general’s office. kansascity.com/news/politics-…

Exclusive: The Trump administration ‘urgently’ requested governors do everything in their power to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine distribution sites are ‘fully operational by November 1,’ two days before the presidential election. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… Their time frame appears detached from the progress of ongoing Phase III clinical trials, which are not expected to produce answers until late November or December, the lead scientist overseeing those trials said in an interview. mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

Exclusive: A @StateDept whistleblower complaint about Mike Pompeo, made public for the first time, reveals that eyewitnesses made repeated attempts to inform executive leadership and legal advisers about his “questionable activities.” (w/ @BryanLowry3) mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-… This is the first whistleblower complaint about the secretary's conduct to be made public – and redactions to the complaint show that, despite Steve Linick's firing in May, the investigation into Pompeo's conduct remains ongoing. mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-…

In a @McClatchy exclusive, Fauci says he is prepared to oppose any effort by the Trump administration to announce a vaccine breakthrough by November if the science isn't there. “Take that to the bank.” mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir… Are concerns with a second coronavirus wave overblown? "No," Fauci said. “If you look at the curve of cases in the United States, and look at the total country, that is not a sharp decline by any means.” mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavir…

News: A Trump-appointed judge ruled Wednesday that @SecPompeo must prove he complied with the Federal Records Act by collecting and preserving interpreter notes from Trump's meetings with Putin. kansascity.com/news/nation-wo… @SecPompeo The chief counsel for the plaintiff said the ruling puts a choice before Pompeo and the @StateDept: "Show that they don’t have an obligation to preserve the record, or that they preserved it appropriately." kansascity.com/news/nation-wo…

Pompeo was further implicated in Giuliani's scheme to oust Yovanovitch from her post in Ukraine on Friday night, as a court-ordered documents release uncovered a flurry of contact between them weeks before her ouster. kansascity.com/news/politics-… The director of Oval Office operations coordinated at least one of Pompeo's calls with Giuliani, and records show he spoke shortly afterward with Devin Nunes, presently accused of conducting his own political investigations overseas. kansascity.com/news/politics-…