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Top House Democrats are trying to force a vote on a nearly $2 billion spending package to fight the Zika virus this week, signaling a dim outlook for bipartisan talks already underway. Democrats said Tuesday they have filed a discharge petition to bring up a Zika funding bill from the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, New York Rep. Nita Lowey. (Ferris, 6/21)

Top Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee are introducing a discharge petition in an attempt to force a floor vote on President Obama’s $1.9 billion request for Zika funding, signaling lawmakers are still far from a deal to fund a federal response to the virus. “If Speaker Ryan and Leader McCarthy put it on the floor today, we believe it would pass with broad bipartisan support,” Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee told reporters Tuesday. ... A discharge petition would bring a bill to the floor without a committee report and would require 218 signatures from House members, meaning Democrats would need more than two dozen Republicans to join their cause. (McIntire, 6/21)

Daniel Markowski, a bug scientist in a cowboy hat, has a phone that will not stop ringing. Now that summer has arrived, and with it the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus, the services of the Arkansas-based mosquito control contractor he works for, Vector Disease Control International, are in great demand. ...“I’ve had people from literally all over the country calling,” he said. “‘What should we do?’” The federal government is trying to provide some answers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week released a 58-page blueprint for what to do if a homegrown case of Zika surfaces. (Tavernise, 6/21)

Researchers are beginning a study of up to 10,000 pregnant women in Puerto Rico, Brazil and other Zika-hit parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, to better understand the virus’ threat. The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced the study Tuesday, saying researchers will enroll participants starting in the first trimester and compare the birth outcomes of those who become infected with Zika and those who don’t. (6/21)

On the Gulf Coast of Texas, a new player is working to fight mosquitoes carrying Zika and other diseases. It's not a usual suspect from the world of health care, but Microsoft, a company best known for computer software and video games. (McFarland, 6/21)

Ten pregnant women in Dallas County have tested positive for the Zika virus, the county’s health director said Tuesday. The women had all traveled to other countries and contracted the virus from mosquitoes abroad, Zachary Thompson told the Dallas County Commissioners Court. (Martin, 6/21)