5 things you need to know Tuesday

Senate plans health care bill vote with McCain in attendance

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will move forward with a plan to hold a vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act Tuesday, but it is still not clear what will be in the bill or whether it has enough votes to pass. "Many of us have waited literally years for this moment to arrive and, at long last, it finally has," McConnell said on the Senate floor Monday as he urged senators to vote Tuesday on a procedural motion to start a debate on a health care bill. The effort might have gained a boost after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., revealed that he would return to the Senate to take part in the health care vote.

President Donald Trump urged the Senate to reconsider the GOP health care bill, which would repeal and replace Obamacare. USA TODAY

Pentagon to face grilling for wasting millions on useless camo

The Pentagon will be called to account on Capitol Hill on Tuesday for its pricey plan to outfit Afghan soldiers in uniforms with a private-label forest camouflage scheme of dubious value in the desert country. A panel of the House Armed Services committee will meet with John Sopko, special inspector general for a reconstruction, who in a June report blasted U.S. commanders for spending $28 million on the uniforms without testing their effectiveness. Also, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, has asked the Pentagon to explain why it issued the contract without competitive bidding.

The Pentagon has apparently spent $28 million dollars on “forest” camouflaged Afghanistan military uniforms rather than give them other patterns that cost nothing. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland). Buzz60

Trump to hold rally in Youngstown, Ohio

Amid increasing pressure on the Russia investigation and other issues, President Trump leaves Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to rally support in Ohio, a crucial swing state in his 2016 election victory. Trump will hold a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, the latest in a string of events run by his re-election campaign rather than the White House. Trump’s unorthodox move to immediately start fundraising for 2020 allows him to capitalize on federal election laws to push his agenda. He can rally his supporters, denounce his political enemies and pressure Congress without running afoul of rules that bar using taxpayer money for politics.

What caused deadly train crash? NTSB may rule

Six people were killed two years ago when a commuter train smashed into a sport-utility vehicle at a railroad crossing in Valhalla, N.Y., outside New York City. The Metro-North train killed the SUV driver and five train passengers in the crash on Feb. 3, 2015. Though documents from the investigation were made public, the cause of the crash was never determined. That may change Tuesday, when the National Transportation Safety Board is set to vote on the investigation’s findings, safety recommendations and a probable cause. The crash was the deadliest in Metro-North history. 

Investigators work at the scene of a collision between a vehicle and a Metro-North commuter train on Feb. 4 in Valhalla, N.Y. Six people were killed when the Harlem Line train struck a Mercedes-Benz SUV at the narrow, two-lane Commerce Street crossing a day earlier, causing an explosion that engulfed both the car and the train.  Joe Larese, The Journal News

House plans to pass compromise bill on Russia sanctions

The House of Representatives plans to pass a compromise bill Tuesday that toughens sanctions on Russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The vote follows a bipartisan agreement reached over the weekend between House and Senate negotiators and comes amid growing scrutiny by Congress and a special prosecutor of possible links between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. President Trump had objected to the bill's limits on his ability to lift or ease the sanctions. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill 98-2. 

The White House indicated Sunday President Trump would sign a sweeping Russia sanctions measure, which the House could take up this week, that requires him to get Congress' permission before lifting or easing the economic penalties against Moscow. Time

Senate plans health care bill vote with McCain in attendance