1. See you in September

As Americans struggle due to pandemic-related unemployment and unstable market conditions, the Senate adjourned yesterday until Sept. 8, without reaching a deal for the next round of coronavirus relief legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that Democrats are willing to pare down their $3 trillion relief bill to $2 trillion if Republicans will compromise and boost their $1 trillion bill up to $2 trillion. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if an agreement is reached while the Senate is adjourned, the upper chamber will return to Washington to vote on it. Not a moment too soon for those hardest-hit by economic woes. —National Review

• — Where did it come from? Officials in New Zealand are struggling to determine the source of a coronavirus outbreak, which has now reached 17 cases, after 102 days without any local transmission of the virus on the island nation. Health investigators are exploring the possibility that the first patient was infected by virus particles shipped on frozen goods. However, the World Health Organization said yesterday that there's no evidence the coronavirus can be transmitted through food or packaging. —Ars Technica
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• — Fatal myths and misinformation. Rumors, myths, and conspiracy theories circulating online about COVID-19 may have resulted in hundreds of deaths, according to a new study released by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Rumored "cures" that have had dangerous effects include ingesting bleach, methanol, or alcohol-based cleaning products; consuming large quantities of certain vitamins; and drinking cow urine. Ugh. —BBC News
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• — Thanks, but no thanks. Moscow says it has offered "unprecedented cooperation" with the U.S. multi-agency body set up to accelerate access to effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, but the "U.S. is not currently open" to Russian medical advances. "There is a general sense of mistrust of Russia on the American side, and we believe that technologies—including vaccine, testing, and treatments—are not being adopted in U.S. because of that mistrust," said a senior Russian official. Gee, wonder why. —CNN

2. DHS leaders are 'invalid'

The appointments of Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli to the top two leadership roles at the Department of Homeland Security are invalid, according to the Government Accountability Office, delivering a major rebuke to the Trump Administration, which has repeatedly tried to skirt the confirmation process.

• — Since 2017, DHS has had five secretaries—only two of which were confirmed by the Senate: John Kelly and Kirstjen Nielsen. The others have occupied the role in an acting capacity, which leaves department leaders vulnerable to increased politicization.
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• — Responding to the report, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said President Trump's "efforts to install political sycophants to implement his extreme policies in an end-run around the law and the Senate have finally caught up with him."
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• — A Justice Department attorney said at a court hearing today that the Office of Legal Counsel will review the GAO's opinion and come to a decision on it, underscoring that the GAO is not binding on the executive branch. —CNN

3. Foer: Jared Kushner and the price of nepotism

"[A]lthough Trump may enjoy the frictionless ability to do whatever he pleases, he has entrusted his political future to an overconfident young man who believes he has all the answers. In politics, as in governing, Trump is trapped by kinship, forced to live the reality predicted by the maxim about the perils of mixing business and family. And if the president loses in November, it won’t be himself he will blame." —The Atlantic

MORE: Kushner had plan to shed Cadre stake. The pandemic upended it —Bloomberg

4. Vote-by-mail facing challenges

There's trouble brewing in a key swing state. The U.S. Postal Service has warned Pennsylvania that some mail-in ballots might not be delivered on time because the state's deadlines are too tight for its "delivery standards," prompting election officials to ask the state Supreme Court to extend the deadlines to avoid disenfranchising voters. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar has requested that mail-in ballots be counted as long as they are received up to three days after Election Day. If the court agrees, the results of the Nov. 3 election likely won't be known for several days. —The Philadelphia Inquirer

• — What is happening at the post office? USPS employees have raised alarms, reporting that mail-sorting machines are being taken apart and removed from distribution facilities across the country. At least 19 mail-sorting machines, which can process up to 35,000 pieces of mail per hour, have been removed without explanation, raising concerns about the USPS's ability to handle a surge in mail-in ballots for the general election in November. —Business Insider
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• — Do as I say, not as I do. For all his grousing about mail-in voting "fraud" and his attempts to subvert the Postal Service, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump requested mail-in ballots for Tuesday's primary election in Florida. He excused the hypocrisy by saying Florida's system is secure, and he's voting absentee, not mail-in (fact: there's no substantive difference). Plus, there are no dogs in the White House that could potentially tamper with the ballots, lol. —Business Insider
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• — Follow-up: Rhode Island. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed an effort to block state officials' agreement to waive mail-in ballot security measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. The high court turned down an emergency application from the Republican National Committee and Rhode Island Republicans seeking to preserve a requirement in state law that absentee ballot envelopes bear the signature of two witnesses or a notary public. —Politico

MORE: Judge orders Trump campaign to produce evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania —CNN

5. The Economist: Belarus' farce election deserves more condemnation from the West

"There is nothing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would like more than for [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko to use violence against his own people. Not only would this make him more dependent on the Kremlin, but it would serve as a warning to Russia's own protesters. By cutting Lukashenko some slack, the West makes that more likely. Instead, it should recognize the election in Belarus for what it was—a sham." —The Economist

MORE: Women in white become faces of Belarus protests as thousands are arrested after disputed election —CNN

6. Focus on Iran

The United Nations Security Council is voting today on whether to extend the international arms embargo on Iran, which is due to expire in October under the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. will do everything in its power to indefinitely extend the embargo. "It makes no sense to permit the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism to purchase and sell weapons systems," he said today. "I mean, that's just nuts." The extension is expected to be rejected due to strong opposition from China and Russia and resistance from several countries in Europe, who warn that extending the embargo would lead to Iran's complete departure from the deal. —Deutsche Welle

• — Cargo seized. The U.S. for the first time confiscated cargo in vessels allegedly loaded with Iranian fuel in violation of sanctions. Last month, federal prosecutors filed suit to seize the four tankers of gasoline, which Iran was sending to Venezuela, to stifle the flow of goods and money between the two nations, which U.S. officials say is helping to keep both countries’ leaders in power. —The Wall Street Journal
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• — Trouble on the waters. Earlier in the week, Iranian forces boarded a small tanker in international waters, roughly 20 miles from the United Arab Emirates, for about five hours. The tanker navigated the Strait of Hormuz, a choke-point for about one-third of the world’s seaborne oil, on its way out of the Persian Gulf. —Bloomberg
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• — Another Mideast deal? President Trump has pledged repeatedly recently that he will negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran if he is re-elected. Iranian leaders have thus far refused to meet with him since he withdrew the U.S. from the multinational Iranian nuclear accord in 2018, and administration officials say there is no detailed strategy for rapid negotiations on such a deal. —The Wall Street Journal

7. Walsh: Freedom of the press is the canary in democracy's coal mine

"[P]ress freedom in a democracy doesn't just mysteriously erode. The people must consent to it explicitly or implicitly by voting for or excusing the actions of leaders who disregard or degrade democratic institutions like a free press. Such leaders gain traction by exploiting public frustration with the existing system." —Inside Sources

Ed. Note: Christopher Walsh is senior program manager for the Human Freedom and Women’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute.

MORE: Hong Kong's press freedom is on life support thanks to the new security law —The Conversation

8. This week in disinformation

Call it "Birtherism 2.0." President Trump encouraged a racist conspiracy theory yesterday purporting that Sen. Kamala Harris, who was born in Oakland, Calif., in 1964, is not eligible for the vice presidency because her parents were immigrants. Speaking to reporters, he said, "I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements..." The assertion is false; Harris is eligible to serve, according to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." —The New York Times

• — Intersectional disinformation. Twitter suspended an account this week that was spreading disinformation aimed at both creating fear about a potential coronavirus vaccine and inflaming racial tensions. The verified account impersonating a top World Health Organization official alleged that the Trump Administration was going to test a coronavirus vaccine on Black Americans without their knowledge or informed consent. —Cyberscoop
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• — Tech companies pitch in. A coalition of representatives of large technology companies, including Facebook and Google, is seeking to prevent the kind of online meddling that sullied the 2016 presidential election. The group met this week with the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Homeland Security to share insights about disinformation campaigns and emerging deceptive behavior they’ve observed across their services and how they can be curtailed. —The New York Times

9. Rubin: The post-Trump future of the GOP

"If disaffected Republicans can decide what is important and devise creative solutions that blend nimble government and the private markets (just as the Niskanen Center does), there is a rationale for a party. No matter what, it will have to lay out a positive vision that has something to do with 21st-century America. If they build it (a new party, a new ideology), perhaps others will come." —The Washington Post

MORE: Lifelong Republican: I'm voting Biden because I'm disgusted [video] —CNN

10. An American Story: Sisters reunited

Two Nebraska sisters who were separated 53 years ago are now reunited, thanks to the coronavirus. The two women have the same father but different mothers and were separated as young children.

• — Doris Crippen, 73, was ill and, in her weakened state, fell and broke her arm. At the hospital, in addition to having her arm tended, she learned she had the coronavirus. After spending 30 days in the hospital, she was sent to another medical facility to get rehab on her arm.
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• — That's where she met medical aide Bev Boro, who turned out to be her sister. Boro confirmed that Crippen was who she thought she was by holding up a white board with their father's name on it, since Crippen is hard of hearing. Crippen confirmed that was her dad.
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• — Crippen had tried to find her siblings several times over the years but to no avail. "It was the Lord’s blessing that I got sent here,” said Crippen, "because if I hadn't been sent here, I wouldn't have found her." —CNN (via Karunavirus)

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