JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: Dozens of wildfires kept burning across the Pacific
Northwest and California.
President Trump declared a federal disaster in Oregon, where several small towns have
been razed. But improved weather is helping. In California today, crews stopped a fire
just 500 feet from the famed Mount Wilson Observatory.
Federal health agencies and the Pentagon today outlined plans to make COVID-19 vaccines available
for free to all Americans. The campaign would begin gradually late this year or early next
year.
At a U.S. Senate hearing, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
cautioned that the supply will be very limited at first.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC Director: If you're asking me when is it going to be generally
available to the American public, so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine to get
back to our regular life, I think we're probably looking at third -- late second quarter, third
quarter 2021.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Later, President Trump said that Director Redfield made a mistake in his
estimate.
Redfield also defended his agency's scientific integrity, and he dismissed claims that CDC
scientists are plotting against President Trump's reelection. That charge came from
Trump appointee Michael Caputo at the Health and Human Services Department.
Today, the department announced that Caputo is taking a two-month leave of absence.
The Big Ten Conference has reversed field and will play college football after all this
fall, with pandemic precautions. Officials today announced eight regular season games,
starting next month, plus a conference title game. That would make the winner eligible
for the national championship.
In the presidential campaign, Democrat Joe Biden blasted President Trump's latest statements
on the pandemic. In a town hall last night, the president played down the need for masks
and said he had done all that could be done.
Biden spoke today in Wilmington, Delaware.
JOSEPH BIDEN (D), Presidential Candidate: All the president had to offer last night,
President Trump, was the same weak and feckless inaction.
Let me be clear: I trust vaccines. I trust scientists. But I don't trust Donald Trump.
And, at this moment, the American people can't either.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Biden also dismissed claims by the Trump campaign that he is trying to
undermine public confidence in a potential vaccine for political gain.
A U.S. House committee has issued a scathing report on the Boeing 737 MAX. It blamed failed
government oversight and Boeing's failure to fix problems for crashes that killed 346
people. It also calls for major reform.
We will discuss all of this after the news summary.
The State Department today defended the firing of Inspector General Steve Linick. He had
been reviewing an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, among other things.
At a congressional hearing, department officials rejected Democrats' allegations of a cover-up
led by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel.
REP. ELIOT ENGEL (D-NY): The fact that we had to drag you up here kicking and screaming
itself makes me think that the department has been trying to hide the truth.
BRIAN BULATAO, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Management: The I.G.'s removal was not
about retaliation on any specific report or investigation. There have been a variety of
unsubstantiated allegations in the media that the secretary recommended removal of the I.G.
because of some awareness of these investigations. Nothing could be further from the truth.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Linick is one of several officials who've been dismissed from oversight roles
in the Trump administration.
The Parliament of Japan elected Yoshihide Suga today to be prime minister. He had long
been the top aide to Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister due to chronic illness.
After his election, Suga promised to focus on the pandemic and economic troubles. He
also called for even closer ties with the U.S.
The U.S. Justice Department has charged five Chinese citizens with computer hacking more
than 100 companies and organizations in the U.S. and worldwide. The five suspects remain
at large. Investigators say they found no direct connection between the hackers and
the Chinese government.
The Federal Reserve announced today that it has no plans to raise interest rates, at least
through 2023, in order to boost economic growth. Chairman Jerome Powell said that the economy
has recovered more quickly than expected, but he said the outlook is still uncertain.
JEROME POWELL, Federal Reserve Chairman: The labor market has improved, but it's a long,
long way from max employment. And it will be some time getting back there. I think that's
the best way to think about it. In many parts of the economy, there's just a lot of disruption,
and it's really hard to say precisely where we are.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Powell also urged Congress to do more, but lawmakers remain deadlocked
on a new relief package.
On Wall Street, tech stocks led much of the market lower, despite the Fed's announcement.
The Dow Jones industrial average managed to gain 36 points, to close at 28032. But the
Nasdaq fell nearly 140 points, and the S&P 500 slipped 15.
And the well-known intellectual and jazz authority Stanley Crouch died today in New York. He
gained notice in the 1970s as a highly original and highly confrontational writer and cultural
critic. He championed jazz, he denounced rap music, and wrote extensively, including a
biography of jazz great Charlie Parker.
Stanley Crouch was 74 years old.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": what went wrong with the Boeing 737 MAX?; how to vote,
either by mail or in person, for November; a desperate journey to the Cliffs of Dover;
and much more.