Top Security Threat

The coronavirus is out of control and is the “No. 1 global security threat in our world today,” the United Nations secretary general António Guterres said Wednesday, as the NYT reports.

U.S. Plans to Ship First Covid-19 Vaccine 24 Hours After Authorization

The U.S. government plans to begin shipping any Covid-19 vaccines within 24 hours of the shots getting a green light for use from regulators, federal health officials said, as the WSJ reports.

Venezuelan Government Accused of Crimes Against Humanity

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and members of his inner circle gave orders, coordinated activities, and supplied resources for arbitrary detentions, torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings—acts that constitute “crimes against humanity,” investigators from the United Nations’ said today, as the Washington Post reports.

CSIS Executive Education

CSIS's Risk and Foresight Group is hosting a new global executive education program that weaves together important issues, trends, and revolutions that government and business leaders must understand as they position themselves for the next 25 years. Register for the course here.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

5.5%

Federal Reserve leaders predict that unemployment will fall to 7.6 percent by the end of this year, and to 5.5 percent by the end of 2021.

Source: Washington Post

Critical Quote

“I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than when I take a Covid vaccine.”

— Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC Director

iDeas Lab

China is making steady progress in constructing what is believed to be its third aircraft carrier. CSIS's China Power Project analyzed satellite imagery collected on August 18, 2020 that shows significant developments in the construction of the vessel and additional improvements to the infrastructure at Jiangnan Shipyard.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images.) John Terrezza looks out at a flooded street in front of his home as Hurricane Sally passes through the area on September 16, 2020 in Pensacola, Florida.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m., join CSIS for the latest installment of the Schieffer Series, “U.S. Trade and Economic Leadership in the Next Decade.” Hear from the three co-chairs of the CSIS Trade Commission on Affirming American Leadership about their year-long work developing recommendations to cement U.S. global leadership.

Then, at 12:00 p.m., the CSIS Stephenson Ocean Security Project is hosting senior members of the U.S. national security and foreign policy communities to discuss the increasing threat of IUU fishing, a pernicious practice with ramifications for U.S. strategic interests and sustainability alike.

Later, at 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Freeman Chair and the CSIS Transnational Threats Project will speak with Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) on U.S.-China information competition.

Video

The fifth session of CSIS’s Climate Solutions Series, Decarbonizing the Built Environment, examined emissions from the buildings sector and the opportunities and challenges for its decarbonization. Watch the full event here.

Podcasts

In this episode, I sat down with Rebecca Lissner, co-author of An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First-Century Order. Rebecca draws on this new book to discuss why she believes the United States needs to re-imagine its grand strategy in order to face and overcome new 21st century challenges.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“When you hear the music ringin' in your soul
And you feel it in your heart and it grows and grows
And it came from the backstreet rock and roll and the healing has begun”

There is a short list of musicians/bands whose music has the power to completely overpower me, to stop me in my tracks, to mesmerize my soul. At the very top of that list is Van Morrison.

Other than New Orleans, I’ve never visited a city that has rhythm and blues music more deeply embedded in it than Dublin or Galway. As with my second home, the Crescent City, these Irish towns ooze music and you can’t walk the streets without hearing and seeing world-class musicians doing their thing.

This is why I’m so blown away by the Irish artists who are honoring Van Morrison for his 75^th birthday by covering his standards. If you saw the clip I put up yesterday, “Astral Weeks” as performed by Glen Hansard, you know by now how serious this project is and have a taste of just how great these covers are. I couldn’t stop watching Hansard. He’s been one of my favorites for years—since I first saw him in the film “The Commitments.” Well, another star of “The Commitments,” singer/actress Bronagh Gallagher recorded her own tribute to Van. And it took me away to another place even more than the Hansard cover did! This one is for a very special Irish-American baby with amazing parents who was born during the pandemic and has so much to look forward to in life as the healing has begun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNQO5_h0NfU

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Kendal Gee.