The United States remains divided over the use of masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, as evidenced by the divergent opinions on the issue expressed recently by Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation, Pence said the Trump administration still wants to utilize the "principle of federalism" in dealing with the public health crisis, which he said means deferring to governors and, subsequently, local officials on matters like masks. When host John Dickerson challenged him on that idea, noting that the virus isn't aware of the concept of federalism, Pence said if they had forced a coordinated national response, "we'd never have had the success that we had" in places like New York City, New Orleans, and Michigan.

Pelosi certainly didn't agree with that, telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday's edition of This Week that she believes mandating the use of masks in public is "long overdue" and the only reason it hasn't happened is because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn't want to "offend" President Trump. Tim O'Donnell

The White House is now claiming that when President Trump lashed out at NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag, he was actually taking no position on the issue.

Trump in a tweet on Monday wrongly claimed that NASCAR's "flag decision," in addition to the recent incident involving Bubba Wallace, resulted in the "lowest ratings EVER." The "flag decision" he was referring to was NASCAR announcing it would ban display of the Confederate flag at events.

When asked in a briefing on Monday afternoon why Trump is supporting the Confederate flag, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said he "never said that" and that the tweet is being taken "completely out of context." Yet when directly asked whether Trump believes NASCAR should ban the Confederate flag or not, McEnany didn't say.

When McEnany was once again asked what Trump's position on NASCAR's Confederate flag ban is, she simply said the president "was not making a judgment one way or the other" in the tweet but again avoided saying what he thinks about it. She repeated that talking point a second time when a reporter followed up with the same question, this time faulting the press for "focusing on one word at the very bottom" of his tweet.

Trump in his tweet also suggested Bubba Wallace, the series' only Black driver, should apologize after the FBI concluded he wasn't the target of a hate crime following a noose being found in his garage stall, even though Wallace didn't report the noose. McEnany during the briefing said Trump was making a point about not rushing to judgment but offered no explanation as to why Wallace should need to apologize. Brendan Morrow

Not long after he lashed out at NASCAR and driver Bubba Wallace over the sport's investigation of a possible hate crime and decision to ban the Confederate battle flag from events, President Trump kept his focus on the professional sports world Monday.

The president's next targets were the NFL's Washington Redskins and MLB's Cleveland Indians, both of which are considering changing their nicknames in response to long-running protests that the Native American mascots are racist. Trump tweeted that the mascots were symbols of "strength," and said that the franchises, which announced they were exploring the possibility last week, are simply trying to be "politically correct."

It's the latest example of the president taking a strong stance amid a larger debate about systemic racism in the United States that has gained steam since the killing of George Floyd, although calls for both organizations to change their names have existed for quite some time.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Trump also found a way to mock Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — who was criticized in the past for claiming tribal heritage — in the process. Tim O'Donnell

Country singer, songwriter, and musician Charlie Daniels died Monday after suffering a stroke. He was 83.

Daniels had long been a powerhouse in country music, getting his start by co-writing the Elvis Presley song "It Hurts Me" in 1964. His guitar, fiddle, and banjo skills also landed him on other major artists' records around that time. Daniels launched his own singing career in 1971 with a self-titled debut album, and found his trademark in 1979 with the fast-fiddling No. 1 hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

Daniels and his eponymous band remained active for decades and toured the U.S. multiple times. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

Daniels spent his last days as he did every other: Tweeting "Benghazi ain't going away!" for the umpteenth time in a row. Kathryn Krawczyk

Hong Kong's new national security bill alone has many residents and much of the international community concerned that China is severely limiting the city's freedoms, but some experts think the law's new implementation rules are what's really alarming.

Under new regulations settled Monday during the first meeting of Hong Kong's Committee for Safeguarding National Security, police will, in "exceptional circumstances," be able to enter premises without a warrant, order internet firms to remove content — although several tech giants like Facebook and Twitter said they've suspended processing requests for user data from Hong Kong law enforcement — and demand information from political groups operating outside the city, The South China Morning Post reports.

"The new rules are scary, as they grant power to the police force that are normally guided by the judiciary," said Anson Wong Yu-yat, a practicing barrister. "For example, in emergency and special circumstances police do not need a warrant under one rule, but it never explains what it means by special circumstances."

Alan Wong Hok-ming, a solicitor, also noted that even if these rules do provide for some limits on police power, there's nothing stopping the government from expanding the policies to bypass "scrutiny, checks, and balances by other institutions like the Legislative Council." Read more at The South China Morning Post. Tim O'Donnell

Colin Kaepernick and Disney are getting down to business.

Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who while in the NFL kneeled during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice, has signed a first-look deal with The Walt Disney Company, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The partnership between Disney and Kaepernick's Ra Vision Media will "focus on telling scripted and unscripted stories that explore race, social injustice, and the quest for equity," a statement said, and the first project will be a documentary series about Kaepernick being produced by ESPN Films.

In the series, Kaepernick will "tell his story from his perspective," the announcement said, and it will make use of "extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive that documents his last five years."

This news comes after Netflix last week announced Ava DuVernay is working on a limited series about Kaepernick's high school years, which Kaepernick will himself narrate. Kaepernick on Monday called his partnership with Disney "historic," adding that he looks forward "to sharing the docuseries on my life story, in addition to many other culturally impactful projects we are developing.” Brendan Morrow

Harvard University announced Monday it will only let 40 percent of its undergraduate students live on its Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus when the 2020-21 school year begins. But no matter where those students are learning from, they'll be taking all of their classes completely online to stem a resurgence of COVID-19.

Harvard will let first-year students live on campus in the fall so they can acclimate to college life, and will also prioritize housing for "those who cannot learn successfully in their current home environment," the school announced. Those students will still be encouraged to avoid socializing in person with other students, and will be subject to "virus testing every three days, face-masking, social distancing, and other measures," Harvard continued. In the spring of 2021, first-year students will largely head home and Harvard will let seniors return to campus instead, "unless public health conditions improve or worsen," Harvard said.

Harvard also announced that its annual tuition of $49,653 wouldn't be lowered despite the learning change, and didn't say if there would be a discount from the $72,391 cost of tuition, room, board, and fees combined.

Harvard says it came to its decision by looking at what other Ivy league schools and Northeast colleges have planned and took into consideration how hard the virus hit the dense area of greater Boston early on in the pandemic. Read Harvard's whole announcement here. Kathryn Krawczyk