1. Like 2016 all over again

The top U.S. counterintelligence official warned on Friday that Russia, China, and Iran will all try to interfere in the 2020 presidential election—with Russia already trying to undercut former Vice President Joe Biden, and China and Iran hoping to see President Trump lose. In an unusual public statement, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said the three countries were using online disinformation and other means to try to influence voters, stir up disorder, and undermine American voters' confidence in the democratic process. They may also attempt to interfere with U.S. election systems, he warned. —Reuters

• — Here we go again. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling on Ukrainians not to interfere in the U.S. election, after a Ukrainian member of parliament, Andriy Derkach, was specifically named in the report for attempting to undermine Biden. Derkach has had some help—Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani has met with him in Kyiv and touted his claims on his podcast. —Politico
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• — Why is the mail slowing down? Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has announced a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service, reassigning or displacing personnel, reconfiguring its operating units, and cutting back regions. Democrats are calling for an investigation of the reshuffling, which they blame for a recent slowdown in mail delivery, and which they believe may leave the agency unprepared to handle what is expected to be a flood of mail-in ballots this year. —The Hill
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• — "An embarrassment to our government." In other election news, Puerto Rico yesterday was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots, as officials called on the president of the U.S. territory's elections commission to resign. The primaries for voting centers that had not received ballots are expected to be rescheduled, while voting continued elsewhere. —TIME

2. Blumenthal: Americans need to know about foreign election threats

"Protecting the nation's democratic values should be a bipartisan imperative. Those of us in Washington should not risk looking back and saying, if only we'd known, we could have done something. We do know. We can do something. It starts with sharing the truth." —The Washington Post

Ed. Note: Richard Blumenthal is a U.S. senator from Connecticut.

3. 'Absurdly unconstitutional'

From his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., on Saturday, President Trump bypassed Congress and claimed authority under four executive orders to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount to provide economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. The president cast his actions as necessary after negotiations between his administration and Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed. Critics say the orders encroach on Congress' control of federal spending, imperil Social Security and Medicare, and amount to little more than a cynical election ploy. —Associated Press

• — Grim statistics. The U.S. topped 5 million cases of COVID-19 yesterday, meaning the country holds about a quarter of global cases and tops the list with the most reported deaths in the world—162,851, according to John Hopkins University. As of this week, five states account for more than 40% of infections: California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Georgia. —CNN
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• — Something for schools to consider. Despite the president's claim last week that children are "virtually immune" to the coronavirus, a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association says otherwise. At least 97,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July, and there's been an estimated 338,000 cases involving kids in the U.S. since the pandemic began. —Axios
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• — Playing favorites. Trump has agreed to continue paying for the full cost of National Guard troops deployed to help with the coronavirus response in two states—Texas and Florida—after their Republican governors appealed directly to him. Other states will now have to pay a quarter of the cost of National Guard deployments in their states, despite their governors also requesting the federal government to foot the bill. —CNN

4. Wolf: Who's got the power?

"Signing executive actions, legal or not, will mean he's able to flip the script on Democrats who have been complaining he won't spend enough money on a new stimulus plan. But rather than find compromise, Trump is seizing power to enact the tax measure even though the Constitution specifically gives the House the power of the purse. He's been doing versions of this his entire presidency." —CNN

5. ICYMI: Quick takes from the weekend

If you were too busy with summer activities this weekend to check on the news, good for you. Here's a roundup of stories you may have missed...

• — Trump forgets what year it is. President Trump said on Friday that he will pursue an executive order requiring health insurers to cover all pre-existing conditions. He apparently forgot that this stipulation has already been in effect since March 23, 2010, as a provision of the Affordable Care Act, which Trump has consistently attempted to dismantle during his time in office. —USA Today
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• — Mount Trumpmore? White House aides reached out to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last year about the process of adding additional presidents to Mount Rushmore. After Trump told Noem it's his dream to have his face added to the sculpture, she greeted Trump at the monument on the Fourth of July with a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that includes his face. —The New York Times
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• — TikTok explores its options. The China-based parent company of the video-sharing app TikTok has been scrambling to find a way to keep its popular service alive in the U.S. after Trump signed an executive order banning it in 45 days. The company is reportedly mulling a lawsuit while also pursuing talks with social media giant Twitter about a possible merger. —The Wall Street Journal
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• — West's plan heads south. After admitting last week that his presidential campaign is designed to hurt former Vice President Joe Biden's chances, rapper Kanye West is now poised to be bounced from the Illinois presidential ballot, for failing to file the 2,500 valid signatures needed to qualify. —Chicago Sun Times
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• — Earthquake rocks NC. Just days after being clipped by Hurricane Isaias, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit North Carolina yesterday, the state's largest since 1916. The epicenter was located in Sparta, and the effects were felt throughout the Raleigh region, Charlotte, and other states. —The News & Observer

6. Hong Kong is ground zero in battle with China

On Friday, the U.S. made the next move in the growing conflict with China that has pitted the world's two largest economies against each other. In this round, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, and 10 other senior Chinese and Hong Kong officials, in response to the brutal crackdown on free speech and political freedoms in the city. "The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those undermining their autonomy," Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin said. —The Guardian

• — The Hong Kong government strongly criticized the move on Saturday, calling the sanctions "shameless and despicable." They also claimed the sanctions represent a "blatant and barbaric" interference in China's internal affairs, with Hong Kong being used as a "pawn" in the U.S.-China relationship. —NBC News
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• — In retaliation, China has imposed sanctions on 11 Americans it says have "behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues," including Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Pat Toomey; Rep. Chris Smith; Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth; National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman; and Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House. —Bloomberg
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• — China is also hitting back at the Five Eyes allies—the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—over a statement released yesterday. The nations jointly condemned China for disqualifying pro-democracy candidates for Hong Kong's legislative council elections and for postponing the poll. The Chinese embassy in Canada said the statement "seriously violat[es] international law and the basic norms of international relations." —Newsweek

MORE: Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong media tycoon held amid sweep of arrests —BBC News

7. Mull: Can GA turn the pandemic around?

"[Georgia Gov. Brian] Kemp would have to do something authoritarians hate: admit he was wrong, and change his mind based on evidence, the advice of experts, and the will of the people. The same is true for the country as a whole. America is a few decisions away from a much different future. Instead, like the authoritarian he's shown himself to be, Kemp seems intent on maintaining the disastrous course his administration has plotted so far, at the expense of the people of Georgia." —The Atlantic

MORE: Republicans called her videos 'appalling' and 'disgusting.' But they're doing little to stop her —Politico

8. Global unrest strikes Belarus

Violent clashes between police and protesters in Belarus followed an unlikely 80% victory for long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko in yesterday's presidential election. Major disruptions to mobile networks were reported throughout the day, with connections practically grinding to a halt around 10 p.m. Proxy servers, used widely to get around censorship, became unreliable, leading many to suspect that voting results may have been tampered with.

• — Belarus. The unity opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory in the face of the scarcely credible 9.9% assigned to her by the official preliminary results, called on police and army officers to stop the violence. "I want to ask them to remember that they are part of the nation too," she said. —Independent
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• — Israel. Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Saturday, as protests against the Israeli leader continue. Demonstrators are calling on Netanyahu to resign, protesting his handling of the country's coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges. —Associated Press
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• — Lebanon. Over the weekend, thousands of protesters demanding answers about last week's deadly explosion in Beirut surged into the capital city, marching on government buildings and briefly seizing control of a series of ministries. Today, Prime Minister Hassan Diab, his entire cabinet, and at least seven members of parliament resigned in the wake of the blast. Diab blamed corrupt politicians who preceded him for the "earthquake" that has hit the country. —Associated Press

9. Friedman: Beirut is a warning

"The other day Trump told a GOP audience in Cleveland that, if Biden won, he would 'hurt the Bible, hurt God. He's against God, he's against guns, he's against energy, our kind of energy.' Our kind of energy? Yup, it turns out there is now Republican energy—oil, gas, and coal—and Democratic energy—wind, solar, and hydro. And if you believe in oil, gas and coal, you are also supposed to oppose abortion and face masks. And if you believe in solar, wind, and hydro, you are presumed to be pro-abortion rights and pro-face mask. This kind of thinking, in the extreme, is what destroyed Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen and is increasingly eating away at Israel." —The New York Times

10. An American Story: Cov Tutors

Three college students in Tucson, Ariz., have teamed up to form a free tutoring service, "Cov Tutors," during the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela Sun, Madeleine Zheng, and Mae Zhang are just a few of the students offering free tutoring in different subjects.

• — One-on-one virtual tutoring sessions are provided to each student one to three times a week for one to two hours per session. The service is meant to supplement and prepare students for their courses before and during the coming school year.
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• — "It takes that burden away from the parent especially because they have to work, and right now it's kind of a financially stressful time as well," said Zheng.
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• — For every two students, there is one tutor, and they meet via Zoom and go over homework, lessons, and lecture-style sessions. Since their first round of registration in July, the demand for tutors has doubled, resulting in a waiting list. —MSN (via Karunavirus)

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