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The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders battled Monday over funding to fight the Zika virus, a clear sign that lawmakers have yet to break a stalemate days ahead of a seven-week recess. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to bring up the Senate's original deal — spearheaded by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — that would provide $1.1 billion in funding. (Carney, 7/11)

Every day there are headlines about the Zika virus. The number of travel-related cases is growing, and public health officials — especially in states such as Florida, which could be among the hardest hit — predict it is only a matter of time until the first locally transmitted case is confirmed. They are scrambling to prepare strategies to combat Zika’s spread. On the research front, at least one private pharmaceutical company is slated to begin human trials on a Zika vaccine in the fall, and National Institutes of Health researchers hope to bring their version to clinical trials as soon as summer’s end. ... At the center is Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Heredia Rodriguez, 7/12)