Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' office is facing pointed questions from lawmakers about a $19,000 lectern purchase that was the focus of a legislative audit.

___5:30 p.m.Joe Biden is denouncing disruptive demonstrations by supporters of President Donald Trump across the country. Trump tweeted a video of the caravan and declared, “I LOVE TEXAS!” Biden also referenced reports that Trump supporters shut down a major roadway in New Jersey. ___12:25 p.m.Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris says Black voters are critical to defeating President Donald Trump and electing Joe Biden president. ___11:55 a.m.President Donald Trump is braving flurries and a stiff wind chill as he rallies thousands of supporters in Michigan. Biden’s return to Philadelphia underscores the significance of Pennsylvania, the Rust Belt state that helped deliver President Donald Trump the White House four years ago.

In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, photo President Donald Trump steps off of Marine One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., after attending a fundraiser at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. Somerset County officials were meanwhile contacting employees who worked the event, most of whom live in the county. In a joint statement issued Sunday, the officials asked guests and employees to monitor their symptoms and, if they were close to President Trump or his staff, to quarantine for 14 days. The officials, who started seeking the information on Friday, said on Sunday that the White House had sent them a list of 206 guests. Kolean, who works in investments, said from what he noticed at the event, Trump campaign members were all masked and socially distant, as were Bedminster staff, who also wore gloves.

Workers lay sod on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in Washington. The White House South Lawn and its iconic Rose Garden are undergoing extensive re-sodding and other work after last months Republican National Convention turned them into a muddy mess. The Rose Garden repairs come just weeks after the White House completed a major renovation of the garden intended, in part, to improve drainage issues. The day of her speech, Astroturf was placed over the garden lawn because it was deemed a swampy mess. Since the convention, the White House has avoided using the Rose Garden and South Lawn for public events.

The Washington, DC, celebration does not appear to be following US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines concerning gatherings despite deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere telling CNN this week that the White House would enforce social distancing. CNN has asked the White House whether guests are being tested or having temperatures checked but has yet to receive a response. The White House stopped temperature checks of all those entering the White House grounds weeks ago. "Good question, but let me just see," Giroir, the assistant secretary for health for the US Department of Health and Human Services, said when asked if the White House event was setting a good example for other Americans. Trump's remarks, an aide told CNN, will seek to contrast those of former Vice President Joe Biden, which the aide called "truly shocking."

President Donald Trump arrives to speaks at an event on police reform, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON Visitors are able to enter the White House complex without having their temperatures checked for the first time since mid-March, although several other coronavirus precautions remain in place. The White House said Monday it was scaling back complex-wide temperature checks as the District of Columbia enters phase two in its reopening. It also asked members to continue working from home when possible and to come to the White House only when necessary and to continue to wear face coverings. The White House had instructed West Wing employees to wear a mask except when they were sitting at their desk.

As President Trump has said, there will be an Independence Day celebration this year and it will have a different look than 2019 to ensure the health and safety of those attending, Deere said. Last year's July Fourth event featured tanks, a military flyover and a Trump speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Under recommendations by the mayors Reopen DC task force, large gatherings are prohibited during the first phase of reopening. In Phase Three, gatherings would cap at 250 people, with physical distancing. Large gatherings, like the Independence Day event, would not occur until the District enters Phase Four, "when a vaccine or other cure has been widely administered, or the disease has effectively disappeared.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump on Thursday called off the G-7 meeting at Camp David scheduled for June, citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the White House said. The leaders of seven major industrial nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — will instead huddle by video conference, White House spokesman Judd Deere said. Trump spoke with G-7 leaders Monday by video conference in a meeting convened by French President Emmanuel Macron. Deere said White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow informed his colleagues of the change to allow “each country to focus all of its resources on responding to the health and economic challenges of COVID-19." Trump had originally hoped to hold the summit at his private golf resort outside Miami before moving it to Camp David after a public uproar.

A Cuban flag adorns a street for the celebrations of the 58th anniversary of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) September 27, 2018, in Havana, Cuba. WASHINGTON (CNN) - Flights to nine destinations in Cuba, not including Havana, will be suspended by the Department of Transportation. The department issued a notice on Friday suspending US commercial flights from flying to the Cuban destinations. The announcement is another step in the Trump administration's attempt to tighten the relationship between the US and Cuba in a direct reversal of President Barack Obama's Cuba policy. Earlier this week, the Department of Commerce changed a regulation preventing US companies from leasing planes to Cuban government airlines.

According to the New York Times, time is running out for the NFL team to make a customary visit to the White House following their February win. "We would welcome them to the White House in the future should a future date work out," White House spokesman Judd Deere told CNN on Sunday. In March, according to the New York Times, Trump reportedly told aides that he still wanted Kraft to attend a ceremony at the White House despite the charges against him. The Patriots have visited the White House five times after Super Bowl victories. The Boston Red Sox visited the White House in May to celebrate their national championship and the team's attendance broke down along racial and ethnic lines.