Trump Administration, Week 187: Friday, 14 August – Thursday, 20 August 2020 (Days 1,302-1,308)

 

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are usually my emphasis, though not always. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently during the day. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ for a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

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Friday, 14 August 2020, Day 1,302:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 14 August 2020: Firm Helping Run U.S. Coronavirus Database Refuses Senators’ Questions. People who recover from the virus have a three-month window of safety, C.D.C. guidance shows. The U.S. Postal Service warned several states that it may not be able to meet deadlines for delivering last-minute mail-in ballots. The New York Times, Friday, 14 August 2020:

• The manager of the Trump administration’s new virus database refuses Senate questioning, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
• U.S. Postal Service warns several states of mail-in ballot delays.
• If you recover from the virus, you may be protected for at least three months, the C.D.C. says.
• Clinical trials for potential virus treatments are taking longer than expected.
• South Korea reports the largest daily jump in cases since March.
• A new South Korean report throws into question earlier findings about transmission by older children.
• Paris and the Marseille area are named high-risk zones, and France goes on Britain’s expanded quarantine list.
• Obesity alone, apart from accompanying health problems, adds to Covid-19 risks for men.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some Business Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 14 August 2020: Some Colleges Are Charging Students Coronavirus Testing Fees, The New York Times, Friday, 14 August 2020:

• Some college students are being asked to share the costs of coronavirus testing.
• Interest in a virtual entrepreneurship program for girls surges in the pandemic.
• U.S. retail sales rose 1.2 percent in July.
• Stock markets waver after retail data shows slower growth.
• The Latest: Rent the Runway will not reopen its stores.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic for Friday, 14 August 2020: Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says people who recover from covid-19 don’t need to be retested for three months, The Washington Post, Miriam Berger, Lateshia Beachum, Kim Bellware, Hamza Shaban, Meryl Kornfield, and Hannah Knowles, Friday, 14 August 2020: “In recently updated guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that people who have recovered from the coronavirus do not need to quarantine or seek testing for three months after they have recuperated. The new recommendation, last updated Aug. 3, cautions that those who were previously infected should still socially distance and wear masks but says they don’t need to quarantine or be tested unless they develop symptoms.

Postal Service warns 46 states that their voters could be disenfranchised by delayed mail-in ballots, The Washington Post, Erin Cox, Elise Viebeck, Jacob Bogage, and Christopher Ingraham, Friday, 14 August 2020: “Anticipating an avalanche of absentee ballots, the U.S. Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted — adding another layer of uncertainty ahead of the high-stakes presidential contest. The letters sketch a grim possibility for the tens of millions of Americans eligible for a mail-in ballot this fall: Even if people follow all of their state’s election rules, the pace of Postal Service delivery may disqualify their votes. The Postal Service’s warnings of potential disenfranchisement came as the agency undergoes a sweeping organizational and policy overhaul amid dire financial conditions. Cost-cutting moves have already delayed mail delivery by as much as a week in some places, and a new decision to decommission 10 percent of the Postal Service’s sorting machines sparked widespread concern the slowdowns will only worsen. Rank-and-file postal workers say the move is ill-timed and could sharply diminish the speedy processing of flat mail, including letters and ballots.” See also, Postal Service warns nearly every state it may not be able to deliver ballots in time based on current election rules, CNN Politics, Ellie Kaufman, Friday, 14 August 2020: “The US Postal Service warned almost all of the 50 states and Washington, DC, that voters could be at risk of not getting their ballots back to election offices in time to be counted because election rules are not compatible with the time needed for delivery and return of absentee ballots through the mail, according to letters released on Friday night. The letters provide a stark reminder that the expansion of mail-in voting due to the pandemic is colliding with a slowdown in postal delivery because of controversial changes made by the new postmaster general. Most states were informed in late July by the service’s general counsel that postal service analysis suggests local deadlines for requesting and returning ballots did not allow for enough time based on delivery estimates. The letters varied based on state rules, with a few states deemed to having sufficient time built in, according to the postal service assessment. Only Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Rhode Island were informed by USPS that they shouldn’t expect problems, according to the letters. But in total, the letters portray a last-minute warning some votes could be at risk, leaving some states scrambling to consider whether they have the ability to even adjust rules in time for the election.” See also, Exclusive: Postal service inspector general is reviewing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s policy changes and potential ethics conflicts, CNN Politics, Marshall Cohen and Kristen Holmes, Friday, 14 August 2020: “The internal watchdog at the United States Postal Service is reviewing controversial policy changes recently imposed under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and is also examining DeJoy’s compliance with federal ethics rules, according to a spokeswoman for the USPS inspector general and an aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who requested the review. Lawmakers from both parties and postal union leaders have sounded alarms over disruptive changes instituted by DeJoy this summer, including eliminating overtime and slowing some mail delivery. Democrats claim he is intentionally undermining postal service operations to sabotage mail-in voting in the November election — a charge he denies.” See also, Internal United States Postal Service Documents Outline Plans to Hobble Mail Sorting. ‘This will slow mail processing,’ a union official wrote on one of the documents announcing the machine removals. Vice, Aaron Gordon, Friday, 14 August 2020:  “The United States Postal Service proposed removing 20 percent of letter sorting machines it uses around the country before revising the plan weeks later to closer to 15 percent of all machines, meaning 502 will be taken out of service, according to documents obtained by Motherboard outlining the agency’s plans. USPS workers told Motherboard this will slow their ability to sort mail. One of the documents also suggests these changes were in the works before Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor and Republican fundraiser, became postmaster general, because it is dated May 15, a month before DeJoy assumed office and only nine days after the Board of Governors announced his selection. The title of the presentation, as well as language used in the notice to union officials, undermines the Postal Service’s narrative that the organization is simply ‘mov[ing] equipment around its network’ to optimize processing, as spokesperson Dave Partenheimer told Motherboard on Thursday. The May document clearly calls the initiative an ‘equipment reduction.’ It makes no mention of the machines being moved to other facilities. And the notice to union officials repeatedly uses the same phrase. Multiple sources within the postal service told Motherboard they have personally witnessed the machines, which cost millions of dollars, being destroyed or thrown in the dumpster. USPS did not respond to a request for comment.” See also, Obama says Trump is trying to ‘kneecap’ the Postal Service. The criticism came after Trump’s admission that he opposes additional funding for the federal agency amid the pandemic. Politico, Quint Forgey, Friday, 14 August 2020: “Former President Barack Obama condemned President Donald Trump in a new interview over his efforts to ‘actively kneecap’ the United States Postal Service in order to frustrate mail-in voting ahead of the November election — casting the maneuvers by his White House successor as ‘unique to modern political history.’ The criticism from Obama came in response to Trump’s admission Thursday that he opposes additional funding for the federal agency and election security grants because those provisions would help facilitate voting by mail amid the global coronavirus pandemic. ‘What we’ve never seen before is a president say, “I’m going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to [discourage] voting, and I will be explicit about the reason I’m doing it.” That’s sort of unheard of,’ Obama told David Plouffe, his 2008 campaign manager and longtime adviser, in an interview on Cadence13’s Campaign HQ podcast released Friday.”

New Jersey Will Hold Mail-in Election in November, Over Trump’s Objections. Governor Philip D. Murphy said all 6.3 million voters in the state would be sent ballots to return either by mail or deposit in secure drop boxes. The New York Times, Tracey Tully, Friday, 14 August 2020: “New Jersey voters will for the first time cast their ballots for president predominantly by mail in November. Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat, announced Friday that the upcoming general election would be conducted using mostly mail-in ballots to ensure voters’ and poll workers’ safety during the pandemic. The governor, citing the success of the state’s predominantly vote-by-mail primary election last month, said all 6.3 million New Jersey voters would be sent ballots to return either by mail, in person or into secure drop boxes. ‘Making it easier to vote does not favor any one political party,’ Mr. Murphy said, ‘but it does favor democracy.'” See also, Governor Phil Murphy says New Jersey to adopt mail-in voting for November, CNN Politics, Elizabeth Hartfield and Paul LeBlanc, Friday, 14 August 2020: “New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday that the state will use a hybrid voting model for November’s election where all New Jersey residents will be mailed a ballot, and it will be up to them to decide if they would like to vote by mail or in person. ‘We’re going to have a hybrid model in November,’ Murphy told CNN’s John Berman on ‘New Day.’ The announcement will make New Jersey — which conducted its primaries almost entirely by mail — the latest state to expand mail-in voting for the presidential election in response to the novel coronavirus. Due to the pandemic, voting by mail is becoming an increasingly popular option since many voters may prefer not to wait in long lines at polling stations. New Jersey will be the ninth state — plus Washington, DC — to mail all registered voters ballots for the November election.” See also, Governor Phil Murphy says New Jersey will send ballots to all active registered voters for November election, The Washington Post, Elise Viebeck, Friday, 14 August 2020: “New Jersey will conduct its general election mostly by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic, sending ballots to active registered voters while also providing the option to vote in person, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced Friday.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli are ineligible to serve in their top roles at the Department of Homeland Security, Politico, Kyle Cheney, Friday, 14 August 2020: “Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli were invalidly appointed to their positions and are ineligible to serve, a congressional watchdog determined Friday. The Government Accountability Office — Congress’ independent investigative arm — concluded that after the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019, an improper succession occurred, with Kevin McAleenan taking on the position. McAleenan then altered the order of succession for other officials to succeed him after his departure. ‘Because the incorrect official assumed the title of Acting Secretary at that time, subsequent amendments to the order of succession made by that official were invalid and officials who assumed their positions under such amendments, including Chad Wolf and Kenneth Cuccinelli, were named by reference to an invalid order of succession,’ GAO’s general counsel Thomas Armstrong concluded. GAO has referred the matter to the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security for further review and potential action. The office also urged the inspector general to consider the consequences of actions taken by invalidly appointed officials. A DHS spokesman said the department plans to issue a formal response shortly.” See also, The Government Accountability Office Says the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, and His Deputy, Kenneth Cuccinelli, Are Serving Illegally, The New York Times, Michael D. Shear, Friday, 14 August 2020: “President Trump’s top two officials at the Department of Homeland Security are illegally serving in their positions, with appointments that violated the laws governing who can fill Senate-confirmed posts, according to a report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office. Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, his deputy at the sprawling agency, are serving in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which specifies orders of succession when senior officials resign, according to the G.A.O., Congress’s nonpartisan watchdog. The report said the improper appointments began after Kirstjen Nielsen was forced out of office as the department’s secretary in April 2019.” See also, The Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds the top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials Wolf and Cuccinelli are not legally eligible to serve in their current roles, The Washington Post, Erica Werner and Nick Miroff, Friday, 14 August 2020: “The top two officials at the Department of Homeland Security are serving unlawfully in their roles, the Government Accountability Office said Friday, dealing a rebuke to President Trump’s affinity for filling senior executive roles in his administration with ‘acting’ leaders who lack Senate confirmation. The GAO, an independent watchdog agency that reports to Congress, said Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy, are serving in an ‘invalid order of succession’ under the Vacancies Reform Act. Democrats in Congress called on the two men to resign, but DHS officials rejected the findings as ‘baseless.'”

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Says Trump Investigation Is Not Limited to 2016 Payments to Porn Star Stormy Daniels, Bloomberg, Bob Van Voris, Friday, 14 August 2020: “Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. made his clearest statement yet that a grand jury probe into Donald Trump goes beyond investigating 2016 payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Vance on Friday again urged U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero to reject Trump’s latest challenge to a subpoena seeking his tax filings and other records from the president’s accountants at Mazars USA. In part of the filing, lawyers for Vance wrote that Trump has had ample ‘notice’ that ‘the investigation was not limited to Cohen’s 2016 payments.'” See also, Trump is Not Entitled to Details of Tax Returns Inquiry, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Says, The New York Times, Nicole Hong and William K. Rashbaum, Friday, 14 August 2020: “The Manhattan district attorney’s office said on Friday that President Trump was not entitled to learn more about the scope of its criminal investigation into his business dealings, rejecting Mr. Trump’s latest effort to block a subpoena for his tax returns. The office of the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., wrote in a pair of new court filings that Mr. Trump should be treated like any other recipient of a subpoena, who is typically unable to access details of secret grand jury proceedings. The filing came in response to Mr. Trump’s renewed efforts this month to stop Mr. Vance’s prosecutors from accessing eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns.”

When Trump Calls a Black Woman ‘Angry,’ He Feeds This Racist Trope, The New York Times, Melena Ryzik, Reggie Ugwu, Maya Phillips, and Julia Jacobs, Friday, 14 August 2020: “Kamala Harris may become the first Black woman elected as vice president, but for now she’s still being slotted into a well-worn mold, as President Trump and his allies seek to cast her as ‘a mad woman.’ Within hours of her joining Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket on Tuesday, Mr. Trump branded her ‘extraordinarily nasty,’ and then ‘so angry,’ as the rhetoric ratcheted up. By Thursday, a Trump campaign fund-raising email called her ‘the meanest’ senator. All of it played on a racist trope that goes back generations in American culture, and has a complicated history in forging gender identity, power and class. The ‘angry Black woman’ remains a cultural and social fixture, a stereotype that has been used to denigrate artists, athletes and political figures.”

‘Do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done?’: A reporter’s blunt question to Trump goes unanswered, The Washington Post, Tim Elfrink, Friday, 14 August 2020: “For more than half an hour on Thursday, President Trump sounded familiar themes at his coronavirus briefing: blasting presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, arguing that the rapidly spreading virus is being effectively managed, and questioning the security of voting by mail. Then he called on S.V. Dáte, HuffPost’s White House correspondent. ‘Mr. President, after three and a half years, do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?’ Dáte asked. Trump looked confused. ‘What?’ he asked. ‘All the lying. All the dishonesties,’ Dáte repeated. ‘That who has done?’ Trump asked. ‘You have done,’ Dáte said. Trump paused briefly, then called on another reporter without answering. The blunt exchange quickly went viral on Twitter, garnering millions of views by Friday morning and offering a new chapter in the fraught history of White House correspondents trying to hold Trump publicly accountable for his falsehoods. As president, Trump has been a prodigious spreader of misinformation. As of July, he’s made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims while in office, according to an ongoing tally by The Washington Post’s Fact Checker. He’s done so at an even greater rate in the last 14 months, tallying an average of 23 claims per day as the nation has been roiled by an impeachment trial and a pandemic.”

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s controversial new rule on campus sexual assault goes into effect, The Washington Post, Valerie Strauss, Friday, 14 August 2020: “The U.S. Education Department’s controversial new regulation governing how schools and universities should respond to allegations of sexual assault and harassment went into effect on Friday after a federal judge rejected an effort to stop it. The new directive covering the enforcement of Title IX, a U.S. law prohibiting sex discrimination at federally funded schools, replaces an Obama-era rule revoked in 2017 by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The old rule had been hailed by victims’ rights advocates for providing long-overdue protections for sexual assault survivors, but critics said it pushed schools to find students guilty. The new rule expands the rights of the accused in part by creating a judicial-like process that gives the accused the rights to a live hearing with multiple panel members and to cross-examine accusers, which was not previously allowed. It bars schools from allowing one person both investigate and judge complaints. It also, among other changes, narrows the definition of sexual harassment.”

Facebook’s Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics.The Wall Street Journal, Newley Purnell and Jeff Horwitz, Friday, 14 August 2020:”In Facebook posts and public appearances, Indian politician T. Raja Singh has said Rohingya Muslim immigrants should be shot, called Muslims traitors and threatened to raze mosques. Facebook Inc. employees charged with policing the platform were watching. By March of this year, they concluded Mr. Singh not only had violated the company’s hate-speech rules but qualified as dangerous, a designation that takes into account a person’s off-platform activities, according to current and former Facebook employees familiar with the matter. Given India’s history of communal violence and recent religious tensions, they argued, his rhetoric could lead to real-world violence, and he should be permanently banned from the company’s platforms world-wide, according to the current and former employees, a punishment that in the U.S. has been doled out to radio host Alex Jones, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and numerous white supremacist organizations. Yet Mr. Singh, a member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, is still active on Facebook and Instagram, where he has hundreds of thousands of followers. The company’s top public-policy executive in the country, Ankhi Das, opposed applying the hate-speech rules to Mr. Singh and at least three other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence, said the current and former employees. Ms. Das, whose job also includes lobbying India’s government on Facebook’s behalf, told staff members that punishing violations by politicians from Mr. Modi’s party would damage the company’s business prospects in the country, Facebook’s biggest global market by number of users, the current and former employees said.”

 

Saturday, 15 August 2020, Day 1,303:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Saturday, 15 August 2020: U.S. School District Cancels Classes After Teacher ‘Sick Out’ Over Virus Fears, The New York Times, Saturday, 15 August 2020:

• A teachers’ strike closes down a school district in Arizona that was set to begin classes on Monday.
• The F.D.A. gives emergency approval for a new spit test as U.S. testing stalls.
• South Korea warns of another outbreak tied to a church.
• South Africa’s president says he will ease restrictions, citing a drop in new cases from peak levels.
• Georgia’s governor allows local governments to require masks, but not on private property.
• Pelosi weighs bringing the House back early to address the Postal Service crisis.
• Mitt Romney blasted Trump’s handling of the pandemic and his repeated attacks on mail-in voting.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

‘No way to spin that,’ Mitt Romney says of U.S. coronavirus deaths, blaming the Trump administration, The Washington Post, Derek Hawkins and Marisa Iati, Saturday, 15 August 2020: “Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) offered rare Republican criticism of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response Friday, saying the federal government dismissed the virus’s threat and failed to protect Americans as infections spiraled out of control. ‘Short term, I think it’s fair to say we really have not distinguished ourselves in a positive way by how we responded to the crisis when it was upon us,’ Romney said in a video interview with the Sutherland Institute. ‘And the proof of the pudding of that is simply that we have 5 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s deaths due to covid-19.'”

Trump Ads Attack Biden Through Deceptive Editing and Hyperbole. We reviewed all of the Trump campaign’s television ads since June. Two-thirds contained clearly misleading claims or videos. The New York Times, Linda Qiu, Saturday, 15 August 2020: “President Trump’s re-election campaign has spent tens of millions of dollars on television ads attacking his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr. While their content varies greatly, be it the coronavirus, police funding, taxes or charter schools, the tactics used remain constant: selectively edited remarks and exaggerations. The New York Times reviewed 22 ads from the Trump campaign that have aired since June and that have been tracked by Advertising Analytics. We found that 14 of those ads contained clearly misleading claims or videos.”

 

Sunday, 16 August 2020, Day 1,304:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Sunday, 16 August 2020: Scientists See Signs of Lasting Virus Immunity, Even After Mild Infections, The New York Times, Sunday, 16 August 2020:

• Even mild Covid-19 cases confer ‘durable immunity,’ new studies find.
• Fearing a ‘twindemic,’ health experts push urgently for flu shots.
• A cluster of cases prompts New Zealand to delay its election.
• ‘What convention?’ Milwaukee, site of the Democratic National Convention, copes with a gathering gone virtual.
• Can we have class outside today? More and more often, the answer is yes.
• The C.D.C. begins developing a plan to distribute a coronavirus vaccine.
• Play it cool or play it safe? Scorching heat during a pandemic poses dilemmas in California.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic for Sunday, 16 August 2020: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says coronavirus infections are rising in children, The Washington Post, Derek Hawkins and Marisa Iati, Sunday, 16 August 2020: “The number and rate of coronavirus cases in children have risen since the pandemic took hold in the spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in recently updated guidance, underscoring the risk for young people and their families as the school year begins. According to the CDC, the infection rate in children 17 and under increased ‘steadily’ from March to July. While the virus is far more prevalent and severe among adults, the true incidence of infection in American children remains unknown because of a lack of widespread testing, the agency said.

 

Monday, 17 August 2020, Day 1,305:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Monday, 17 August 2020: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Shifts to Remote Learning After a Covid-19 Outbreak, The New York Times, Monday, 17 August 2020:

• U.S. college campuses grapple with coronavirus fears, outbreaks and protests.
• For primary and secondary school students and staff, it’s been a difficult back-to-school season.
• At the Democratic National Convention, Cuomo and others assail Trump’s handling of the virus.
• After a substantial reduction in cases, the virus roars anew in France.
• The U.S. postmaster general will testify before a House panel next week.
• Hong Kong, a global shipping hub, faces an outbreak among dock workers.
• The world’s biggest bike maker is trying to meet high demand despite trade barriers.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some Business Coronavirus Updates for Monday, 17 August 2020: Robinhood Raises $200 Million From Investors, The New York Times, Monday, 17 August 2020:

• New unemployment benefits authorized by President Trump won’t come until late August.
• Most unemployed Americans doubt they will return to their jobs.
• Wall Street starts the week with a gain, but can’t break through to a record.
• Europe’s big oil companies move toward an electric future.

Other significant developments are included in this article.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, 17 August 2020: As schools struggle to return during the coronavirus pandemic, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suspends classes one week in, The Washington Post, Siobhán O’Grady, Brittany Shammas, Lateshia Beachum, Hannah Knowles, Hamza Shaban, Reis Thebault, and Meryl Kornfield, Monday, 17 August 2020: “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the largest schools in the country to bring students back to campus and attempt in-person teaching, said Monday it will suspend in-person instruction for undergraduates in a dramatic turnaround just a week after classes began. The school has been struggling with coronavirus clusters.

 

Tuesday, 18 August 2020, Day 1,306:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Tuesday, 18 August 2020: Notre Dame Moves Classes Online Amid Covid-19 Outbreak, The New York Times, Tuesday, 18 August 2020:

• Notre Dame is temporarily moving classes online to control an outbreak.
• More speakers at the Democratic National Convention discussed the pandemic.
• Pooled testing has become worthless in parts of the U.S.
• Australia signs a deal for a coronavirus vaccine, promising free doses for all citizens.
• The Philippines mostly reopens for business, against experts’ advice.
• Possibly exposed? Don’t quarantine and keep working, Tennessee school districts tell teachers.
• As amenities sit unused in the pandemic, airports reconsider their design.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some Business Coronavirus Updates for Wednesday, 18 August 2020: Wall Street Reaches a Record, The New York Times, Wednesday, 18 August 2020:

• Stocks are officially in a ‘bull market’ again. Here’s what that means.
• Boeing is planning deeper job cuts, C.E.O. says.
• Walmart’s e-commerce sales jump by 97 percent.
• Home Depot reports surge in second quarter sales.
• Catch up: Uber and Lyft ponder franchise-like model.

Other significant developments are included in this article.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic for Wednesday, 18 August 2020: Two more universities pull back from in-person teaching, The Washington Post, Lateshia Beachum, Brittany Shammas, Hannah Knowles, Adam Taylor, Paulina Firozi, Reis Thebault, and William Wan, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “Major American universities are scrapping or delaying plans for in-person classes during the upcoming fall semester after outbreaks on campus alarmed administrators, with Notre Dame and Michigan State walking back their reopening plans Tuesday, one day after the University of North Carolina did the same.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

At least 21 states plan to sue the Postal Service over service delays and threat to the election, The Washington Post, Amy Gardner and Erin Cox, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “At least 21 states planned to file lawsuits this week against the U.S. Postal Service and its new postmaster, Louis DeJoy, seeking to block service changes that have prompted widespread reports of delays and accusations of an intentional effort to thwart voters from mailing their ballots this fall. The suits, including one filed Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Washington state, will argue that the Postal Service broke the law by making operational changes without first seeking approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission. They will also argue that the changes will impede states’ ability to run free and fair elections, officials from several state attorney general’s offices told The Washington Post. The Constitution gives states and Congress, not the executive branch, the power to regulate elections.” See also, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy suspends Postal Service changes amid election fears, Politico, Zach Montellaro and Daniel Lippman, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday that he was suspending ‘longstanding operational initiatives’ at the United States Postal Service, amid fears that the changes could delay election mail this fall in the middle of the pandemic. ‘To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded,’ DeJoy said in a statement. In his statement, DeJoy asserted that ‘mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are’ and that ‘overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed.’ DeJoy’s statement does not address whether changes that have already been made — like removed equipment or changes in operational practices — would be rolled back.” See also, USPS to Suspend Changes Until After the Election, The Wall Street Journal, Natalie Andrews, Alexa Corse, and Paul Zoibro, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the U.S. Postal Service is suspending operational changes, such as removal of mail processing equipment and collection boxes, until after the November election, as the agency tries to reassure Americans that it can handle the anticipated surge in mail-in voting.” See also, Postal Service Suspends Changes After Outcry Over Delivery Slowdown. Policy changes by the postmaster general prompted allegations that the Trump administration was trying to disenfranchise voters before the 2020 election. The New York Times, Emily Cochrane, Hailey Fuchs, Kenneth P. Vogel, and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, facing intense backlash over cost-cutting moves that Democrats, state attorneys general and civil rights groups warn could jeopardize mail-in voting, said on Tuesday that the Postal Service would suspend those operational changes until after the 2020 election. The measures, which included eliminating overtime for mail carriers, reducing post office hours and removing postal boxes, have been faulted for slowing mail delivery and criticized as an attempt to disenfranchise voters seeking to vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic…. It was unclear, however, whether the agency would reverse measures already put in place across the country that union officials and workers say have inflicted deep damage to the Postal Service. That includes the removal of hundreds of mail-sorting machines, according to a June 17 letter sent from the Postal Service to the American Postal Workers Union. Some of those machines have already been destroyed, union officials and workers said.”

Republican-Led Senate Intelligence Committee Report Details Ties Between 2016 Trump Campaign and Russia, The New York Times, Mark Mazzetti, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “A sprawling report released Tuesday by a Republican-controlled Senate panel that spent three years investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election laid out an extensive web of contacts between Trump campaign advisers and Kremlin officials and other Russians, including at least one intelligence officer and others tied to the country’s spy services. The report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, totaling nearly 1,000 pages, drew to a close one of the highest-profile congressional investigations in recent memory and could be the last word from an official government inquiry about the expansive Russian campaign to sabotage the 2016 election. It provided a bipartisan Senate imprimatur for an extraordinary set of facts: The Russian government disrupted an American election to help Mr. Trump become president, Russian intelligence services viewed members of the Trump campaign as easily manipulated, and some of Mr. Trump’s advisers were eager for the help from an American adversary.” See also, 8 Takeaways From the Senate Committee Report on Russian Interference, The New York Times, Julian E. Barnes and Charlie Savage, Tuesday, 18 August 2020. See also, Senate Intelligence Committee Report details security risk posed by 2016 Trump campaign’s Russia contacts, The Washington Post, Greg Miller, Karoun Demirjian, and Ellen Nakashima, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “An exhaustive investigation led by members of President Trump’s own political party portrays his 2016 campaign as posing counterintelligence risks through its myriad contacts with Russia, eager to exploit assistance from the Kremlin and seemingly determined to conceal the full extent of its conduct from a multiyear Senate probe. The long-awaited report from the Senate Intelligence Committee contains dozens of new findings that appear to show more direct links between Trump associates and Russian intelligence, and it pierces the president’s long-standing attempts to dismiss the Kremlin’s intervention on his behalf as a hoax. Like the Mueller report before it, the nearly 1,000-page Senate document does not explicitly accuse the Trump campaign of direct collusion with Russian intelligence. But the Senate report carries particular weight because it is the first major investigation of Russian interference in 2016 to be conducted by a Republican-controlled committee and endorsed by both Republicans and Democrats. The report’s language is often stark, describing Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s receptivity to Russian outreach as a ‘grave counterintelligence threat’ that made the campaign susceptible to ‘malign Russian influence.'” See also, Senate Intelligence Committee’s Russia Investigation Found Counterintelligence Risks in Trump’s 2016 Campaign, The Wall Street Journal, Dustin Volz and Warren P. Strobel, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “Members of the 2016 Trump campaign represented a major counterintelligence risk to the U.S. due to their frequent contacts with individuals with close ties to the Russian government, a bipartisan Senate investigation has concluded. The Senate Intelligence Committee released the fifth and final volume of its Russia investigation report Tuesday. The partially redacted document is nearly 1,000 pages and largely supports the key findings on Russian election interference made by former special counsel Robert Mueller, whose probe confirmed that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election but didn’t establish conspiracy or coordination between Moscow and members of President Trump’s campaign.” See also, Trump Phone Calls Add to Lingering Questions About Russian Interference. Senate Intelligence Committee went further than the Mueller report on key points about Russia’s election sabotage operations and the Trump campaign. The New York Times, Julian E. Barnes, published on Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “More than 200 pages into a sprawling, 1,000-page report on Russian election interference, the Senate Intelligence Committee made a startling conclusion endorsed by both Republicans and Democrats: Donald J. Trump knew of and discussed stolen Democratic emails at critical points late in his 2016 presidential campaign. The Republican-led committee rejected Mr. Trump’s statement to prosecutors investigating Russia’s interference that he did not recall conversations with his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. about the emails, which were later released by WikiLeaks. Senators leveled a blunt assessment: ‘Despite Trump’s recollection, the committee assesses that Trump did, in fact, speak with Stone about WikiLeaks and with members of his campaign about Stone’s access to WikiLeaks on multiple occasions.’ The senators did not accuse Mr. Trump of lying in their report, released Tuesday, the fifth and final volume from a three-year investigation that laid out extensive contacts between Trump advisers and Russians. But the report detailed even more of the president’s conversations with Mr. Stone than were previously known, renewing questions about whether Mr. Trump was truthful with investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, or misled them, much as prosecutors convinced jurors that Mr. Stone himself misled congressional investigators about his efforts to contact WikiLeaks. The committee’s doubts are significant because the stolen emails were one of the major operations in Russia’s 2016 assault on American democracy, and a central question that remains even after years of intense scrutiny is what the Trump campaign knew, if anything, about the Kremlin’s plans. Mr. Stone, a onetime campaign adviser who promoted his connections to WikiLeaks to other Trump aides, has maintained that he did not know Russia was behind the stolen emails.” See also, Five provocative nuggets from the Senate intel report on Trump and Russia, The Washington Post, Aaron Blake, published on Friday, 21 August 2020: “The Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this week released the most extensive report to date on Russia’s 2016 election interference — and its ties to the Trump campaign. While the big takeaways have been pored over, there are a few other nuggets in the nearly 1,000-page report that haven’t been. Some are unproved and even salacious, but the bipartisan report from the GOP-led Senate investigated them in depth, opted to include them in the report and didn’t redact them (even as many other things are redacted).”

Senate Intelligence Committee made criminal referral of Trump Jr., Bannon, Kushner, and two others to federal prosecutors, NBC News, Ken Dilanian, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee made criminal referrals of Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, Erik Prince and Sam Clovis to federal prosecutors in 2019, passing along their suspicions that the men may have misled the committee during their testimony, an official familiar with the matter told NBC News. The official confirmed reports in the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, which reported on the matter last week. A criminal referral to the Justice Department means Congress believes a matter warrants investigation for potential violation of the law. The committee detailed its concerns in a letter to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., in June 2019, the official said.”

As the Democratic National Convention Unfolds, Trump Reprises Grimmest Language of His 2016 Campaign, The New York Times, Michael D. Shear, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “Trump on Tuesday accused former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic rival, of seeking to throw open United States borders to criminals and disease, using the backdrop of the border city [Yuma, Arizona] here to stoke fears of immigrants as Democrats prepared for the second day of the party’s nominating convention. Speaking at an airport hangar, Mr. Trump boasted about his own efforts to sharply limit immigration during his time in office, claiming to have made the country safer by blocking asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants seeking to live and work in the United States. The president reprised the darkest language of his 2016 campaign, warning that should Mr. Biden win the presidency, the Trump-era restrictions on foreigners would be abandoned in favor of policies that he said would allow ‘aliens with criminal records’ to roam free across the country, threatening violence and stealing jobs from Americans.”

Trump falsely warns of a ‘big surge’ of coronavirus in New Zealand, which had just recorded nine new cases, The Washington Post, Elfrink, Tuesday, 18 August 2020: “While the novel coronavirus continues to surge through the United States, President Trump noted on Monday that other countries have also seen recent rises. Case in point, he told supporters at a Minnesota airport: New Zealand. ‘You’ve seen what’s going on in New Zealand?’ Trump said of the island nation, which went months without any new covid-19 cases. ‘Big surge in New Zealand. It’s terrible. We don’t want that.’ New Zealand has seen the virus return this month — but on Monday, it recorded just nine new cases. On Tuesday, 13 more were reported. The United States, where at least 167,000 have now died, has recently averaged around 50,000 new cases each day. Politicians in New Zealand reacted with anger to Trump’s attempt at contrasting their widely hailed pandemic strategy with the U.S., which has had more than 5.4 million confirmed cases to date. ‘Anyone who is following will quite easily see that New Zealand’s nine cases in a day do not compare to the United States’ tens of thousands,’ New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters on Tuesday. ‘Obviously, it’s patently wrong.'”

Trump Ethics Panel Urges Rejection of Fetal Tissue Research, The New York Times, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Tuesday, 18 May 2020: “A new federal ethics advisory board created to evaluate scientific research involving fetal tissue has advised the Trump administration to reject funding for nearly every proposal it considered — a de facto government ban on the work. In a report issued on Tuesday, the Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board, established in February by the Department of Health and Human Services, recommended against funding 13 of 14 research proposals. Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II will make the final decision, but the panel’s opinion is expected to hold great weight. The report, and the establishment of the 15-member panel, revived a decades-old political and scientific battle — fueled largely by social conservatives who now account for a significant part of President Trump’s political base — over whether taxpayers should fund research involving human fetal tissue. The fight is tangled up with the debate over abortion rights, though some of the tissue involved comes from fetuses that were not intentionally aborted. Proponents of the research denounced the board and its review as tainted.”

 

Wednesday, 19 August 2020, Day 1,307:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Wednesday, 19 August 2020: As U.S. Schools Move to Reopen Despite Covid-19, Teachers Threaten to Strike, The New York Times, Wednesday, 19 August 2020:

• Some teachers’ unions push to delay in-person learning, and more colleges go online only.
• Obama and other Democrats criticize Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
• Local officials hid information about the outbreak from China’s leadership, a U.S. report finds.
• An additional 135 million people globally will face acute hunger by the end of the year because of the pandemic.
• North Korea admits that the pandemic hurt its economic plans.
• South Africa’s virus response is floundering amid allegations of corruption and fraud.
• Italy wants tourists back, but only if they behave themselves.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some Business Coronavirus Updates for Wednesday, 19 August 2020: Stock Rally Fizzles on Federal Reserve Woes, The New York Times, Wednesday, 19 August 2020:

• Wall Street slumps as minutes show Fed officials talked of need for more stimulus.

• Federal Reserve officials worried about lapsing aid programs from Washington.

• Goodyear stock falls after President Trump calls for boycott.

• JPMorgan had explored leasing space inside post offices for banking.

• Apple, now worth $2 trillion, has doubled in value during the pandemic.

Other significant developments are included in this article.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, 19 August 2020: Coronavirus vaccine is likely to be available next spring, Trump administration adviser says, The Washington Post, Miriam Berger, Brittany Shammas, Kim Bellware, Hamza Shaban, Darren Sands, Reis Thebault, and Marisa Iati, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “A vaccine for the novel coronavirus should be widely available next spring, the Trump administration’s top adviser overseeing vaccine development predicted Wednesday. Moncef Slaoui, co-director of Operation Warp Speed, told Business Insider that late-stage clinical trials of vaccine candidates from biotechnology companies Moderna and Pfizer are going ‘very well.’

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Nearly 600 Miami-Dade County Public School employees have tested positive for COVID-19, Miami Herald, Colleen Wright, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “Almost 600 Miami-Dade County Public Schools employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus from March through July. Spokeswoman Natalia Zea confirmed Wednesday that the district’s risk management department, tracking claims made to health insurance, reported 578 cases since the district began collecting that data. She did not break down that figure on which of the district’s 40,000 employees, the largest employer in the county, contracted the virus.”

Kamala Harris Takes the Spotlight, a Moment for Her and History, The New York Times, Adam Nagourney and Katie Glueck, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “Kamala Harris stood before the Democratic Party on Wednesday as the bridge between a moderate generation of leaders and younger liberals on the rise, balancing the obligations of promoting Joseph R. Biden Jr. while offering herself to someday lead the party into a post-Biden era. Pressures, hopes, aspirations — this was the burden on Ms. Harris at the Democratic convention, as she sought, in telling the story of her life, to introduce herself to a nation and a party that really barely knows her. But this is also the burden that will be on her for the next four years if she and Mr. Biden win in November. Rarely has a vice-presidential candidate served under a presidential nominee who well may not seek a second term. As a result, Ms. Harris carries an extraordinary weight of expectations from her party to rise to the demands of leadership.” See also, Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color to accept a major party nomination for vice president, The Washington Post, Annie Linskey, Michael Scherer, Colby Itkowita, Felicia Sonmez, and John Wagner, published on Thursday, 20 August 2020: “Kamala D. Harris, the Black daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, on Wednesday became the first woman of color to accept the nomination for vice president from a major political party. The senator from California signaled that she plans to help lead the attack against President Trump in the coming months, as is typical for a running mate, while also trying to connect voters to the Democratic ticket…. Outlining her own optimistic view of the country, Harris said she is ‘committed’ to ‘a vision of our nation as a beloved community — where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love. In the streets of Oakland and Berkeley. I got a stroller’s-eye view of people getting into what the great John Lewis called good trouble,’ Harris said of her upbringing, citing the recently deceased civil rights leader and Georgia congressman. She also spoke of her career as a prosecutor. ‘I know a predator when I see one,’ she said, a line that she had used in her presidential campaign against Trump, though she did not connect it to him Wednesday. Harris leaned heavily into her life story — citing her pride in her mixed-race background. She spoke of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who she said had emigrated to the U.S. with a dream of curing cancer but died in 2009. Harris also spoke of her own family, her husband, whom she married in 2014, and his two children who she said call her ‘Momala.’ Harris said her mother raised her and her sister ‘to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage. She taught us to put family first— the family you’re born into and the family you choose.’ In a reference to her Indian heritage seized on by many Indian-Americans online, Harris used a Tamil expression in speaking of ‘my uncles, my aunts — my chitthis.'”  See also, Kamala Harris’s convention speech, annotated, The Washington Post, Amber Phillips, published on Thursday, 20 August 2020.

Obama Returns to the Democratic National Convention With a Chance to Protect His Legacy From Trump, The New York Times, Peter Baker, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “In his speech on Wednesday night, Mr. Obama offered validation for Mr. Biden, portraying him as ‘a brother’ to him and ‘a man who learned early on to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity.’ And in praising Mr. Biden’s record, Mr. Obama managed to frame his own legacy as well, describing how his vice president helped him pull the economy out of recession, expand health care and stem H1N1 and ebola outbreaks. He also offered a passionate defense of voting rights at a time when Democrats fear that Republicans are trying to make it harder for Americans to cast ballots. ‘Do not let them take away your power,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘Do not let them take away your democracy.’ Mr. Obama’s primary target, though, was Mr. Trump, his voice dripping with scorn as he said that while he never expected Mr. Trump to embrace his vision, he did hope that the next president ‘might show some interest in taking the job seriously. But he never did,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘For close to four years now, he has shown no interest in putting in the work, no interest in finding common ground, no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends, no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.'” See also, Watch Obama’s Full Speech at the Democratic National Convention, The New York Times, Stephanie Saul, Wednesday, 19 August 2020. See also, Barack Obama’s full Democratic convention speech, annotated, The Washington Post, Eugene Scott, Natalie Jennings, and Amber Phillips, published on Thursday, 20 august 2020: “Former president Barack Obama gave his most forceful critique yet of President Trump’s leadership during Wednesday’s virtual Democratic National Convention, fully breaking with the tradition of former presidents not critiquing a sitting one. Trump responded in real time via Twitter as Obama excoriated him as having ‘no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.'” See also, 4 takeaways from the third night of the Democratic National Convention, The Washington Post, Aaron Blake, Wednesday, 19 August 2020. See also, From Obama, Plenty of Drama in a Rare Display at the Democratic Convention, The New York Times, Peter Baker, published on Thursday, 20 August 2020: “There was a moment during his Democratic National Convention speech on Wednesday night when former President Barack Obama appeared on the edge of tears. Evoking American ancestors persecuted because of their race, religion or nationality, he said they had every reason to give up on democracy but did not. In his telling, that is what is at stake at this hinge point in history, nothing less than the future of democracy, and he seemed emotional in a way that the famously stoic former president rarely allows himself to be in public. He talked of ‘dark times’ and ‘hardship and injustice’ and ‘the meanness and the lies and crazy conspiracy theories.’ He declared that this year’s election will determine whether America lives up to its promise. His excoriation of his successor was withering. The incumbent president, he charged, is lazy, uncaring and interested only in drawing attention to himself. President Trump, Mr. Obama said, acts as if he is ‘above the law,’ uses his office ‘to enrich’ himself and his allies, exploits the military ‘as political props’ to be deployed against peaceful protesters, demonizes his opponents and the free press, and disregards science during a deadly pandemic in favor of ‘just making stuff up.’ What’s more, he added, Mr. Trump is trying to suppress the vote to stay in office.”

Trump dismisses new Senate Intelligence Committee report on 2016 election interference as his allies continue to pursue theories it debunks, The Washington Post, Anne Gearan and Karoun Demirjian, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “Some of the characters and many of the themes that populate the roughly 1,000-page Senate report released Tuesday on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election remain part of President Trump’s political orbit or his reelection effort four years later. The investigation from the Senate Intelligence Committee portrays Trump’s 2016 campaign as eager to accept help from a foreign power and the then-candidate as a direct participant. Its arrival also underscores how little the evidence of Russia’s desire to wreak havoc on U.S. elections laid out now in numerous reports and investigations has chastened the president and his allies. With the 2020 election only a few months away, new warnings are being raised about the desire of Russia, China and other countries to interfere in America’s democratic process. But Trump has dismissed those warnings while advocating theories the report and the intelligence community say are being propagated by Russian intelligence services.”

Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer says Postal Service blocked lawmakers from key evidence on the selection of Louis DeJoy as postmaster general, The Washington Post, Tony Romm and Jacob Bogage, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “The U.S. Postal Service blocked congressional lawmakers from interrogating the firm that helped select Louis DeJoy as the nation’s postmaster general, prompting a sharp rebuke from Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer, who called on the organization Wednesday to be more transparent as a federal investigation unfolds. The spat over access has hindered lawmakers as they investigate DeJoy’s recent, controversial changes to mail delivery and, in the process, potentially concealed key details about the involvement of President Trump and his top aides in those decisions, Schumer (N.Y.) warned in a letter to the agency. The missive threatens to add to the already sky-high tensions between the administration and the Senate as DeJoy prepares to testify at a Senate hearing Friday, then a House hearing on Monday.” See also, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says postmaster general Louis DeJoy doesn’t plan to replace sorting machines and blue mailboxes that were removed before he announced he would suspend changes, The Hill, Tal Axelrod, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy does not intend to replace U.S. Postal Service sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other infrastructure that were removed before he announced he’d postpone more changes until after the November elections. Pelosi said in a statement that she’d spoken with DeJoy Wednesday morning and told him his announcement from the day before ‘is not a solution and is misleading.’ ‘The Postmaster General’s alleged pause is wholly insufficient and does not reverse damage already wreaked. The Postmaster General frankly admitted that he had no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other key mail infrastructure that have been removed and that plans for adequate overtime, which is critical for the timely delivery of mail, are not in the works,’ she said. ‘All of these changes directly jeopardize the election and disproportionately threaten to disenfranchise voters in communities of color,’ the California Democrat added. ‘At the same time, we are highly concerned that the slowdown of the delivery of medicines to veterans is not being sufficiently addressed.'” See also, Postal union leaders doubt that sorting machines that have already been removed will be fully restored despite United States Postal Service announcement, CNN Politics, Curt Devine and Paul P. Murphy, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “Some postal union leaders expressed skepticism that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s Tuesday announcement that mail-processing equipment will remain in place would fully restore the capacity of the Postal Service. DeJoy announced that all changes being made to the Postal Service — including moving mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes — would be suspended until after the November 3 election, but more than a dozen postal union leaders across the country have told CNN that sorting machines have already been removed or taken out of service. CNN previously reported that documents indicated 671 machines used to organize letters or other pieces of mail were slated for ‘reduction’ in postal facilities this year.” See also, What the Post Office Needs to Survive a Pandemic Election, ProPublica, Jessica Huseman, Maryam Jameel, and Ryan McCarthy, Wednesday, 19 August 2020. See also, ‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals, and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks, Los Angeles Times, Laura J. Nelson and Maya Lau, Thursday, 20 August 2020: “Six weeks ago, U.S. Postal Service workers in the high desert town of Tehachapi, Calif., began to notice crates of mail sitting in the post office in the early morning that should have been shipped out for delivery the night before. At a mail processing facility in Santa Clarita in July, workers discovered that their automated sorting machines had been disabled and padlocked. And inside a massive mail-sorting facility in South Los Angeles, workers fell so far behind processing packages that by early August, gnats and rodents were swarming around containers of rotted fruit and meat, and baby chicks were dead inside their boxes. Accounts of conditions from employees at California mail facilities provide a glimpse of what some say are the consequences of widespread cutbacks in staffing and equipment recently imposed by the postal service.”

Trump campaign sues New Jersey over mail-in voting plans, CNN Politics, Kate Grise, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign sued New Jersey Tuesday over the state’s decision to use a hybrid voting model for November’s election in which all residents will be mailed a ballot, leaving it up to them to decide if they would like to vote by mail or in person. Donald J. Trump for President, the Republican National Committee and the New Jersey Republican State Committee brought the lawsuit asking the court to overturn Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order instituting the new rules that aim to give voters the option of avoiding voting in person during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Facebook Removes 790 QAnon Groups to Fight Conspiracy Theory, The New York Times, Sheera Frenkel, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “Facebook said on Wednesday that it had removed 790 QAnon groups from its site and was restricting another 1,950 groups, 440 pages and more than 10,000 Instagram accounts related to the right-wing conspiracy theory, in the social network’s most sweeping action against the fast-growing movement. Facebook’s takedown followed record growth of QAnon groups on the site, much of it since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. Activity on some of the largest QAnon groups on the social network, including likes, comments and shares of posts, rose 200 to 300 percent in the last six months, according to data gathered by The New York Times.” See also, Trump Says QAnon Followers Are People Who ‘Love Our Country,’ The New York Times, Katie Rogers and Kevin Roose, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “President Trump on Wednesday offered encouragement to proponents of QAnon, a viral conspiracy theory that has gained a widespread following among people who believe the president is secretly battling a criminal band of sex traffickers, and suggested that its proponents were patriots upset with unrest in Democratic cities. ‘I’ve heard these are people that love our country,’ Mr. Trump said during a White House news conference ostensibly about the coronavirus. ‘So I don’t know really anything about it other than they do supposedly like me.’ When told by a reporter about the central premise of the QAnon theory — a belief that Mr. Trump is saving the world from a satanic cult made up of pedophiles and cannibals connected to Democratic Party figures, so-called deep-state actors and Hollywood celebrities — Mr. Trump did not question the validity of the movement or the truth of those claims. Instead, he offered his help. ‘Is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing?’ the president said lightly, responding to a reporter who asked if he could support that theory. ‘If I can help save the world from problems, I am willing to do it. I’m willing to put myself out there.’ Mr. Trump’s cavalier response was a remarkable public expression of support for conspiracy theorists who have operated in the darkest corners of the internet and have at times been charged with domestic terrorism and planned kidnapping.” See also, Trump praises baseless QAnon conspiracy theory and says he appreciates support of its followers, The Washington Post, Colby Itkowitz, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Lori Rozsa, and Rachael Bade, Wednesday, 19 August 2020: “President Trump gave a major boost to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, saying Wednesday he appreciated the support of its followers and asking whether it would be ‘a bad thing’ if he were ‘saving the world from this Satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals.’ Facing his toughest line of questions about QAnon, a group the FBI has flagged as a potential domestic terrorist threat, Trump claimed not to know anything about the group other than their affection for him. ‘I don’t know much about the movement; I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,’ Trump said during a White House press briefing. ‘I heard these are people that love our country.'” See also, Touting conspiracy theories, Trump welcomes fringe views into the political mainstream, The Washington Post, Toluse Olorunnipa and Isaac Stanley-Becker, published on Thursday, 20 August 2020: “President Trump has increasingly embraced, amplified or equivocated about a number of conspiracy theories in recent weeks, adding to the sense of chaos and uncertainty caused by a pandemic and social unrest. From the baseless QAnon movement to a racist theory about Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California’s citizenship, Trump has given a nod to fringe groups and welcomed them into the mainstream of his party. Beyond being unfounded, many of the ideas Trump is bolstering are dangerous, according to intelligence officials, political scientists and, increasingly, members of the president’s own party.” See also, The Republican Embrace of QAnon Goes Far Beyond Trump, The New York Times, Matthew Rosenberg and Maggie Haberman, published on Thursday, 20 August 2020: “Late last month, as the Texas Republican Party was shifting into campaign mode, it unveiled a new slogan, lifting a rallying cry straight from a once-unthinkable source: the internet-driven conspiracy theory known as QAnon. The new catchphrase, ‘We Are the Storm,’ is an unsubtle cue to a group that the F.B.I. has labeled a potential domestic terrorist threat. It is instantly recognizable among QAnon adherents, signaling what they claim is a coming conflagration between President Trump and what they allege, falsely, is a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile Democrats who seek to dominate America and the world. The slogan can be found all over social media posts by QAnon followers, and now, too, in emails from the Texas Republican Party and on the T-shirts, hats and sweatshirts that it sells. It has even worked its way into the party’s text message system — a recent email from the party urged readers to ‘Text STORM2020’ for updates. The Texas Republicans are an unusually visible example of the Republican Party’s dalliance with QAnon, but they are hardly unique. A small but growing number of Republicans — including a heavily favored Republican congressional candidate in Georgia — are donning the QAnon mantle, ushering its adherents in from the troll-infested fringes of the internet and potentially transforming the wild conspiracy theory into an offline political movement, with supporters running for Congress and flexing their political muscle at the state and local levels. Chief among the party’s QAnon promoters is Mr. Trump himself.” See also, QAnon looms behind nationwide rallies and viral #SavetheChildren hashtags, NBC News, Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, published on Friday, 21 August 2020

Instead of Isolating Iran, U.S. Finds Itself on the Outside Over Nuclear Deal, The New York Times, Lara Jakes and David E. Sanger, Thursday, 20 August 2020: “A diplomatic standoff over restoring international sanctions against Iran may be the most vivid example yet of how the United States has largely isolated itself from the world order — instead of isolating Tehran, as the Trump administration intended. At nearly every step President Trump has taken in his dogged pursuit to demolish a 2015 accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program, he has run into opposition, including from America’s strongest allies in Europe. On Thursday, the opposition turned into open defiance.”

 

Thursday, 20 August 2020, Day 1,308:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Thursday, 20 August 2020: College Officials Clamp Down on Student Behavior Over Covid-19 Fears, The New York Times, Thursday, 20 August 2020:

• Shutdowns, warnings and scoldings follow alarming incidents on college campuses.
• Biden knocks Trump’s pandemic response, and outlines a national strategy.
• U.S. health agencies announce moves to confront the flu season and plummeting child vaccination rates.
• Papua New Guinea bars Chinese workers who received an unproven vaccine.
• Florida becomes the fifth state to cross a grim threshold: More than 10,000 deaths related to the virus.
• A test that gives results in minutes gets the F.D.A.’s emergency authorization.
• Ukraine sees large increase in cases tied to church services and weddings.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some Business Coronavirus Updates for Thursday, 20 August 2020: Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Jump to 1.1 Million, The New York Times, Thursday, 20 August 2020:

• American Airlines to stop flights to 15 cities after government aid ends.

• 1.1 million filed new claims for state unemployment benefits last week.

• The latest: Delta to block middle seats until next year, Airbnb bans parties.

• The economic outlook remains tenuous, with Congress holding a key.

• 11 states have signed on to the White House plan for unemployment pay.

Other significant developments are included in this article.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic for Thursday, 20 August 2020: CDC Director Robert Redfield said that states in the South are turning the tide on the coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post, Kim Bellware, Siobhán O’Grady, Hannah Knowles, Hamza Shaban, Meryl Kornfield, Paulina Firozi, Lena H. Sun, and Antonia Noori Farzan, Thursday, 20 August 2020: “CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday that states in the South have begun ‘to turn the tide’ on the coronavirus pandemic and predicted the country could bring it under control with basic measures of mask-wearing, social distancing and hand-washing. His statement comes as partying by U.S. college students has angered school administrators and raised fears that the gatherings will become super-spreader events.