Federal officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, held a press conference July 8 about their intentions to have schools open in the fall, without announcing scientific benchmarks to reach to get the schools open. President Donald Trump said some local officials are keeping schools closed for political reasons, but offered no evidence for the allegation, which has been criticized by health experts. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also discussed opening schools on July 8. Cuomo also did not offer specifics about how indoor rooms full of children and adults could be safe during the current pandemic. But Cuomo did announce a timeline for the decision, with a final announcement promised by August 7. On July 13 the state will provide guidance to school districts so they can create individual reopening plans that are due to be turned over to New York officials by July 31. State officials will analyze the latest COVID-19 data and announce whether to allow schools to reopen at all, and whether to accept, reject, or modify each district's individual plan. "Everybody wants the schools to reopen," he said July 8 at a news conference. "Nobody wants the schools to reopen more than me." Read more about this story in the Democrat and Chronicle.