Top Stories this AM: Military vaccine mandates; Cruz leads up anti-mask mandate policy; who's actually paying for the Capitol riot trials

Good morning and welcome to your weekday morning roundup of the top stories you need to know.

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What's going on today:

• Military vaccine mandates. US military set to require COVID vaccines for all staff by mid-September, according to Dept. of Defense. The US military will make the vaccines mandatory by mid-September or when the FDA fully approves the shots, said the Department of Defense on Monday.
• Meanwhile, these guys continue to live every day like it's Opposite Day. Sens. Ted Cruz and Kevin Cramer introduce No Mask and No Vaccine Mandate Acts, aiming to end Biden administration's CDC mask mandate for all Americans. Under the No Vaccine Mandates Act, any individual who vaccinates a patient against COVID-19 without their consent would face civil penalties.
• This seems bad. NASA can't find the Mars rock sample that the Perseverance rover drilled - it mysteriously disappeared. Last week, Perseverance was finally ready to collect the first sample in its search for ancient Martian life. But something went awry.
• Is this how New Math works? A federal judge asked prosecutors why the Justice Department is seeking just $2,000 from alleged Capitol rioters, while US taxpayers are paying more than $500 million in insurrection repairs. In June, prosecutors estimated the total amount of damage done to the Capitol grounds during the insurrection to be $1,495,326.55
• Lukashenko downplays defection. Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko said the sprinter who escaped the Olympics to seek asylum was "manipulated" by her Polish "buddies." Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, was granted asylum in Poland after she refused to board a plane to Belarus, claiming she would face jail time back home.
• That's all for now. See you tomorrow.