Importance: Normal Priority: Normal Sensitivity: None Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com . ## TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 6:30 AM EDT ## TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS ## Leading the News - 18 Charged By DOJ In Connection With Violence In Portland. ## Protests - Black Activists, White Militia Group Protest In Louisville. - Seattle Mayor, Washington Governor Object To Plan To Send In Federal Agents. - Lightfoot Says She Won’t Allow Federal Agents To “Play Police” In Chicago. - Cleveland Mayor, Police Chief Seek To Calm Unease About Federal Agents. - US Charges Philadelphia Man With Stealing From Bank During Protests. - Trump: Protesters “Are Actually Anarchists Who Hate Our Country.” - Cotton Says Founders Called Slavery A “Necessary Evil.” - Protests Turned Violent In Several Cities Over The Weekend. - Gun Purchases Rise Among Black Americans In Response To Pandemic, Protests. - Sharpton: Trump Running On “A Platform Of Race-Baiting And Fear.” - *AP Analysis: “Cancel Culture” Movement Ill-Defined.* - Lexington, Virginia Reexamines Its Confederate History. - Some Minneapolis Residents Establishing Armed Patrols. - WPost A1: Sons Of Confederate Veterans Building New Confederate Monuments As Others Fall. - Protests Have Idea Of Slavery Reparations Receiving Increased Attention. ## Counter-Terrorism - Arizona Woman Arrested For Attempting To Send Money To Al-Qaeda. - Defense Attorney Demands FBI Release Paperwork In Connection To Virginia White Nationalist Case. - Texas Man Indicted Over Bomb Detonation. - 9/11 Trial Faces Another Delay As New Guantánamo Lawyer Wants 30 Months To Prepare. - Compensation Disparity For 1998 Embassy Bombing Victims Could Derail Efforts To Remove Sudan From Terror List. - Peter Kassig's Family Calls On Trump Administration To Bring ISIS Members To Trial In US. - Hezbollah Says All-out War With Israel Unlikely In Coming Months. - Counter-Intelligence - Graham: FBI Lied To Congress About Steele Dossier. - Sarah Sanders Says New FBI Documents Are More Evidence Of “Mass Conspiracy” Against Trump. - Trump Raises Prospect Of “Really Bad” Revelations In John Durham Investigation. - Op-Ed: Republicans And Democrats May Regret Wanting Mueller To Testify Again. - Trump Open To Pardoning 2016 Campaign Staffers. EFTA00136104 - Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty To Acting As Chinese Spy. - Lawsuit Accuses Virginia Man Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Navy Contractor. - Chinese Researcher Who Took Refuge In San Francisco Consulate Charged With Lying About Military Status. - DOJ Opposes Early Release For Imprisoned Leaker Reality Winner. - NCSC Director Warns China, Russia, Iran Looking To Disrupt 2020 Election, Calls For Sharing Threat - Information With Voters. - Questions Raised About Neutrality Of Ukrainian Group Hired As Facebook Fact Checkers. - New Intelligence-Community AI Principles Seek To Make Tools Useful. - EU Data Watchdogs Warn No Grace Period After Schrems II Privacy Shield Ruling. - New UK Report Offers Insights On British Intelligence. - Criminal Investigations - Why VA Hospital Employee Gave Several Veterans Deadly Insulin Doses Is Still Unknown. - Suspect In Killing Of Federal Judge’s Son Had List Of Other Potential Targets. - California Man Charged With Smuggling Roman-Era Mosaic From Syria. - Search Continues For Missing Amish Teen In Pennsylvania. - FBI Supporting Manhunt For Ohio Men Connected To Murder Of Toddler. - Continuing Coverage: FBI Supporting Michigan Murder Investigation. - Indiana Police Investigating Shooting Death Of Woman. - Arizona Man Indicted Over Murder. - *Vermont Sex Offender Charged With Child Pornography Possession.* - Oklahoma Police Investigating Fatal Shooting. - Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating 2019 Murders Of Father, Son. - FBI Supporting Double Murder Investigation In Georgia. - FBI Investigating ATM Robbery In Missouri. - Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Iowa Teenager. - FBI Continuing Investigation Into Shooting At California Garlic Festival. - Rhode Island Man Arrested In Georgia After Faking Death. - Virginia Men Arrested Following Escape From Juvenile Correctional Center. - Continuing Coverage: California Police Arrest Parents In Connection To Toddler’s Disappearance. - Texas Teacher Arrested For Solicitation Of Minor. - New Jersey Man Sentenced Over Drug Possession. - Former California Mayor To Be Tried In October For Bribery. - Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Missouri Lobbyist. - Colorado Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Drug Sales. - Records Link Two Former Law Enforcement Workers To Raided Marijuana Business. - Connection Between Search Operation In Maine, Drug Offender Highlighted. - Authorities: 18 People Charged In Connection With Massachusetts Drug Investigation. - Suspect Arrested In Connection With Anti-Crime Operation Facing Drug Charges. - Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two Men Accused Of Distributing Fentanyl. - FBI Asking For Public’s Help To Track Down Fugitive. - Two Plead Guilty To Participating In Scheme To Smuggle Drugs Into Jail In Ohio. - Meth Case Defendant Sentenced To Nearly 27 Years In Prison. Financial Crime & Corporate Scandals *WSJournal A1: Goldman Sachs To Pay Malaysia Billions For Role In 1MBD Scandal.* - Ohio GOP Looking To Replace House Speaker Arrested In Bribery Probe. - Ex-Head Of Howard University Bursar’s Office Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement. - Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement. - US Charges New York Man With $6.9M Fraud. - Woman Pleads Guilty To Orchestrating $400M Ponzi Scheme In California. - CEO Of Virginia Startup Faces Federal Fraud Charges. - Executive At Defunct Ohio Firm Charged With Fraud. - Indivior To Pay $600M To Resolve Allegations Concerning Illicit Scheme To Raise Prescriptions Of Opioid Treatment. Cyber Division EFTA00136105 - New Report Finds Election Officials Are Vulnerable to Email Attacks. - Op-Ed: Cyberespionage Is Now A Permanent Part Of Geopolitics. - Sources Report Garmin Global Outage Caused By Ransomware Attack. - Russia's GRU Hackers Hit US Government And Energy Targets. - FBI Warns US Companies About Backdoors In Chinese Tax Software. - WPost: Countries Should Be Figuring Out To Share Vaccine Information, Not Steal It. - European Commission Says EU Countries Must Urgently Diversify 5G Suppliers. - France Says It's Not Banning Huawei Though Phase Out Started. - Op-Ed: Cyberattack Attribution And International Law Is Not Well Understood. - CISA, NSA Release Security Advisory On Operational Technology. - WSJournal Welcomes EU Report Calling For 5G Diversification. - Law Enforcement Services - US Prison Population Fell 8% Between March, June. - Report On Alabama Prisons Finds That Corrections Officers Often Utilized Excessive Force. - International Relations - Harry Dunn’s Parents Drop Legal Claim Against Police Force. - Other FBI News - Female FBI Trainees Lose Bid To Block Reprisals In Bias Lawsuit. - Other Washington News - Meadows, Mnuchin Say GOP Relief Bill Coming Monday. - White House Launching Regional Media Campaign In COVID Hot Spots. - Trump Says Pelosi, Biden Opposed His Decision To Ban Travelers From China. - AP-NORC Poll Shows Trump's Approval On Virus Falling. - Meadows Defends US Coronavirus Testing Regime. - Meadows Expects “Good News” On Therapeutics And Vaccine In Coming Weeks. - CDC Echoes Trump's Recommendation That Schools Reopen. - Nursing Homes Say FEMA Sent Them Faulty PPE. - Fauci Discusses Resumption Of Pro Sports Seasons. - Florida’s COVID Case Count Surpasses New York’s.* - California Sees Consecutive Days Of Record Fatalities. - Houston Had More COVID Deaths In July Than Previous Four Months Combined. - Some Police Chiefs, Sheriffs Won’t Enforce State Mask Mandates. - Texas Family Contracts Coronavirus Despite Efforts To Protect Themselves. - WTimes Analysis: Administration Believes DACA Ruling Confirms Executive Action Authority. - WPost Analysis: US Global Standing “At A Low Ebb,” Made Worse By Pandemic. - North Korea Locks Down Border Town As First Suspected COVID Cases Emerges. - Latin America's Coronavirus Case Tally Surpasses Combined Total Of US, Canada. - Mexico Raises Spring Death Toll For 20 Of 32 States. - Spain Reimposes Lockdowns On Some Bars And Beaches. - Russia Seizes Control Of Two Libyan Oil Facilities. - Hook: Dispute Between Qatar, Neighbors Has Gone On Too Long. - McConnell, Rubio Defend NCSC Official Over Remarks On Election Interference. - Debt Of Developing Nations Could Pose World’s Next Economic Crisis. - The Big Picture - Headlines From Today’s Front Pages. - Washington's Schedule - Today’s Events In Washington. Leading the News 18 Charged By DOJ In Connection With Violence In Portland. EFTA00136106 Reuters (7/24) reports that on Friday, the Justice Department “said it has arrested 18 people and charged them for alleged crimes committed during recent antiracism protests in Portland.” Billy Williams, the Portland United States Attorney, “said that five people were charged for allegedly committing crimes including assaulting a federal officer, trespassing and creating a disturbance during protests on the night of July 20-21. Prosecutors said that seven people have been charged in connection with criminal conduct during a July 21-22 night protest. Another six were charged for their alleged actions in protests during the night of July 22-23.” The CBS Evening News (7/24, story 9, 1:52, O'Donnell, 4.11M) provided similar coverage. Federal Agents Move Against Portland Protesters After Judge Denies Injunction. The New York Times (7/25, Baker, Fuller, Olmos, 18.61M) reports “dozens of federal officers in camouflage and tactical gear” advanced on protesters in Portland Friday, moving two blocks from the courthouse they were sent to protect and “stretching the legal limits of federal law enforcement.” The move comes after District Judge Michael W. Mosman on Friday struck down a lawsuit from the state attorney general’s office seeking to prevent federal officers from acting to stop violent protests. In a Friday interview, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum called the action “absolutely improper” and “beyond their authority.” In another article, the New York Times (7/24, Fuller, 18.61M) says the lawsuit “called on the court to order the agents to stop arresting individuals without probable cause and to clearly identify themselves and their agency before detaining or arresting ‘any person off the streets in Oregon.’” In his ruling, Mosman held the AG “did not have standing to bring the case because it had not shown that the issue was ‘an interest that is specific to the state itself.’” The Hill (7/24, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports Mosman’s “ruling comes a day after another federal judge issued a restraining order barring federal officers from arresting or using force against journalists and legal observers at the demonstrations.” Bloomberg (7/24, Roth, Nayak, 4.73M) says the ruling “probably means the end of the lawsuit and could make it harder for local officials elsewhere to resist deployments of federal agents, said Stanford Law School professor David Sklansky.” According to the AP (7/25, Flaccus, Cline), “six federal officers were injured and one person was arrested” in confrontations that “continued into the early morning Saturday as demonstrations that have happened every night for two months showed no signs of letting up.” The AP says “federal agents entered the crowd around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and marched in a line down the street, clearing remaining protesters with volleys of tear gas at close range,” after the Federal Protective Service declared the gathering an “unlawful assembly.” The CBS Weekend News (7/25, story 10, 1:12, Yuccas, 2.41M) reported “thousands demonstrated again near the federal courthouse” on Friday night, amid intensifying unrest over the presence of federal officers in the city. In addition, “Portland police say protesters shot fireworks and threw objects at federal law enforcement.” The Wall Street Journal (7/24, Paul, Lazo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the Justice Department earlier on Friday announced charges against 18 people in Portland over alleged crimes at a federal courthouse, including assaulting officers, trespassing, and arson. EFTA00136107 The Associated Press (7/25, Flaccus, Cline) and The Hill (7/25, Johnson, 2.98M) provide similar coverage of the Saturday morning confrontation. Group Of Veterans Forms Wall At Portland Protest. The New York Times (7/25, Baker, 18.61M) reports “a group of military veterans on Friday joined the front lines of’ the protests in Portland, to ensure “federal officers did not infringe on the free speech of protesters.” The group formed a wall “in front of a fence erected outside the federal courthouse,” and “stayed together until a cloud of tear gas scattered much of the crowd.” ABC World News Tonight (7/25, story 9, 0:51, Norman, 4.36M) reported the veterans were “outraged by video showing federal officers tear gassing and hitting Navy Veteran Christopher David with a baton last week,” and joined similar walls being formed by “moms and dads...protecting Black Lives Matter protesters.” NBC Nightly News (7/25, story 14, 0:33, Perry, 3.83M) also reported on the “wall of veterans” briefly. FBI Defends Federal Action In Portland. The Hill (7/25, Moreno, 2.98M) reports the “FBI defended its actions in ongoing confrontations between federal agents and demonstrators in Portland” in a Friday statement, saying it was investigating “specific violations of federal law, including arson, the use of improvised explosive devices, and interstate transportation of stolen goods.” Renn Cannon, special agent in charge of Portland’s FBI field office, said the agency’s “focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security,” adding that “The FBI does not and will not police ideology.” WPost Details Legal Justification For Federal Presence In Portland. In an analysis, the Washington Post (7/25, Vladeck, 14.2M) examines the legal authority President Trump has “to deploy federal law enforcement officers to Portland, Ore., Seattle and other cities.” The Post explains that the federal “government lacks a general ‘police power,’” but “may unquestionably use federal law enforcement officers to protect federal buildings like the three U.S. courthouses the Trump administration says it’s defending in Portland” and “to arrest those who commit federal crimes.” When acting within its constitutional limits, the federal government “can override local and state authority, even when local and state officials object.” However, the “deployments might very well be unlawful” if the government deploys “large numbers of federal officers away from federal property in circumstances where there is no evidence of federal crimes.” Ayres: Trump Focus On China, Portland Will “Reinforce” Base “On Both Sides.” The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Seib, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports President Trump is increasingly focusing on China and the Portland protesters in his 2020 re-election bid. Republican pollster Whit Ayres believes the strategy will not work, and will only serve to “reinforce people who are dug in on both sides.” Border Patrol’s Elite Bortac Unit Sent To Portland. The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Caldwell, Hackman, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports agents from the Border Patrol’s elite Bortac unit have been sent to Portland. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott explained the decision, saying “FPS needed help, and Bortac was the right team,” adding he “didn’t want to send line Border Patrol agents” due to the challenges of an “urban environment.” The AP (7/25, Fox) reports the Department of EFTA00136108 Homeland Security has also “dispatched air marshals as well as the Customs and Border Protection Special Response Team and even members of the Coast Guard” to the city. Though the deployment “is legal, both under existing law and an executive order President Donald Trump signed June 26,” the House Homeland Security Committee plans to hold a “hearing on the federal response to the protests in Portland and Trump’s announcement that he plans to send federal agents to Chicago and Albuquerque.” Protests Black Activists, White Militia Group Protest In Louisville. The AP (7/25, Easley) reports, “Hundreds of armed, predominantly Black, activists demanded justice for Breonna Taylor during peaceful demonstrations Saturday in her Kentucky hometown that drew counter-protesters from a white militia group.” Police sealed off streets and erected barricades to ensure the separation of the two groups “as tensions remained on edge in Louisville, where protests have flared for months over the death of Taylor, a Black woman killed when police busted into her apartment in March.” By when Black activists showed up “in the heart of downtown Saturday afternoon, most of the white militia members had already left.” The AP adds, “Earlier in the day, three people were accidentally shot at a park where Black activists had gathered, police said. The victims, all of whom were members of the militia group, were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.” The CBS Weekend News (7/25, story 11, 0:14, Bacchus, 2.41M), ABC World News Tonight (7/25, story 8, 1:00, Llamas, 4.36M), NBC Nightly News (7/25, story 13, 1:08, Diaz-Balart, 3.83M), and another NBC Nightly News (7/25, story 15, 0:13, Diaz-Balart, 3.83M) segment provided similar coverage. Police Arrest 76 Demonstrators In Louisville. The Hill (7/25, Johnson, 2.98M) reports 76 demonstrators in Louisville were arrested Friday after police deemed their assembly an unlawful one. The Hill adds, “Police squared off with a large gathering of protestors who cordoned off Market Street in Louisville’s Nulu neighborhood Friday afternoon, creating a block party.” Organizers chanted, “Whose streets? Our streets” as they closed off the area using metal barricades. Police began arresting demonstrators just prior to 5 p.m., and the Post-Courier indicated that a large number of the police had riot gear on. Seattle Mayor, Washington Governor Object To Plan To Send In Federal Agents. Reuters (7/24, Trotta) reports that “as with Portland, the Trump administration sent a tactical team to Seattle on Thursday in anticipation of protests this weekend despite the objections of the Seattle mayor and Washington state governor, who warn of Portland-like escalation of tensions. …‘I made clear to Acting Secretary (Chad) Wolf that deployments in Seattle – like we have seen in Portland – would undermine public safety and break community trust,’ Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said on Twitter late on Thursday, referring to the acting secretary of Homeland Security.” Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) “warned federal officers might ‘make the thing worse and throw gasoline on a fire.’” Seattle Police Clash With Demonstrators. The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Ansari, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports police officials in Seattle indicated that officers and demonstrators clashed in confrontations on Saturday. The demonstrations occurred in the wake of US District Judge James Robart on Friday having temporarily blocked a city law that would forbid police from utilizing tear gas. The AP (7/25, Ho, Grygiel) reports, “Seattle police declared a riot...following large demonstrations in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and deployed flash bangs and pepper spray to try to clear an area near where weeks earlier people had set up an ‘occupied protest zone’ that stretched for several blocks.” Police tweeted that “they had made more than two dozen arrests for assault on officers, obstruction and failure to disperse.” The AP adds, “They also said they were ‘investigating a possible explosive damage’ to the walls of the city’s East Precinct police station.” Authorities indicate that various projectiles, including bottles and mortars, were thrown “at officers as they attempted to clear the area over the course of several hours stretching into Saturday night. One officer was hospitalized with a leg injury caused by an explosive.” ## Judge Orders Seattle Media To Turn Over Photos, Videos Of Rioters. The Washington Post (7/24, Elfrink, 14.2M) reports King County Superior Court Judge Nelson Lee on Thursday “ordered five news organizations to turn over...unpublished material” that would help police identify violent rioters in downtown Seattle “smashed windows, set police cars on fire and looted businesses.” Seattle Times executive editor Michele Matassa Flores warned the decision could endanger reporters, arguing the media doesn’t “work in concert with government, and it’s important to our credibility and effectiveness to retain our independence from those we cover.” Danny Gawlowski, the Times’s assistant managing editor, said “the perception that a journalist might be collaborating with police or other public officials poses a very real, physical danger to journalists, particularly when they are covering protests or civil unrest...Enforcing the subpoena also will aggravate the distrust journalist already face in covering protests.” Lightfoot Says She Won’t Allow Federal Agents To “Play Police” In Chicago. The Washington Examiner (7/26, Soellner, 448K) reports Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot “remains adamant that she will not allow federal troops to quell her city despite President Trump’s push to send them.” Appearing on CNN's State Of The Union , Lightfoot said, “We can’t just allow anyone to come into Chicago, play police in our streets and our neighborhoods when they don’t know the first thing about our city. That’s a recipe for disaster, and that’s what you’re seeing playing out in Portland on a nightly basis. We don’t need that here. That is not a value add, and it doesn’t help enhance our public safety.” Kansas City Mayor, New Mexico Governor Also Voice Concerns About Deployments. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D), on Fox News Sunday (7/26, 976K), said, “Our local US Attorney had contacted my office the day before a White House press briefing and said would you like federal support? Typically, we work with federal agencies all the time. The question is what type of support is it? And when we heard from the Press Secretary in a press conference, no real heads up on the nature of the scope and how long there was some surprise there. I would put it this way, yes, would we like help solving a violent crime? Absolutely. ... But do you want a thousand agents on the border of Kansas City with the state of Kansas, the answer to that would be no.” New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), on ABC's This Week (7/26, 2.47M), EFTA00136110 said, “The issue of making sure [New Mexicans] civil rights are protected is forefront for everything we do every day. That stands less of a litigation threat but a re-recognition that we’re going to put New Mexicans first. I have talked to the Attorney General and made it clear, we have 35 agents. … They’ll integrate into the operations that we already have, and he certainly gave me every indication that he’s willing to do that. The interesting thing here is that we’ve asked for federal agents to cooperate with us on a number of strategies. They haven’t provided the federal funding that was promised to Albuquerque for police and crime interventions. And earlier in this Administration, they closed down Border Patrol check points and we had to cover those with state police, so the timing of their efforts remains to be a bit suspect.” Cleveland Mayor, Police Chief Seek To Calm Unease About Federal Agents. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (7/24, Heisig, 895K) reports, “Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and his top law enforcement official on Friday tried to assuage residents’ concerns about a group of federal agents that The White House announced would come to Cleveland, repeatedly saying the goal was to do nothing more than address violent crime.” The Plain Dealer adds that Jackson and Cleveland police Chief Calvin Williams said “that the number of agents were already allocated to Cleveland under a previously announced Justice Department operation. Williams said these are not ‘federal troops’ seen in cities such as Portland but rather criminal investigators that will partner with city officers. ‘I want to stress there are no federal troops coming to the city of Cleveland,’ Williams said. Still, Jackson expressed dismay that he only learned about the new Justice Department initiatives when reporters started calling the city about it, saying that’s not how partnerships should work.” US Charges Philadelphia Man With Stealing From Bank During Protests. Fox News (7/24, Carter, 27.59M) reports, “A Philadelphia man was ordered detained pending trial on charges of stealing $104,000. The incident occurred inside a Wells Fargo Bank May 31, following a surge of protests across the country in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis a week earlier. ‘Amid peaceful protests and an outbreak of civil unrest, criminal opportunists sought to take advantage of the chaos,’ Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, said in a statement. ‘Numerous banks across the city experienced vandalism and forced entry, but this daylight forklift burglary was the most brazen incident by far. The FBI/Philadelphia Police Violent Crimes Task Force continues to work the case, to identify the others involved. Our message to those folks: we’ll see you soon.’” Trump: Protesters “Are Actually Anarchists Who Hate Our Country.” President Trump tweeted Sunday evening, “The ‘protesters’ are actually anarchists who hate our Country. The line of innocent ‘mothers’ were a scam that Lamestream refuses to acknowledge, just like they don’t report the violence of these demonstrations!” Administration Officials Voice Support For Deployment Of Federal Agents. The Washington Examiner (7/26, Soellner, 448K) reports Acting DHS Secretary Wolf on Sunday warned against a “dangerous” trend of demonizing law enforcement. Wolf, on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures , “said...there’s been an inaccurate description of what agents are doing to control the situation and that calling the demonstrations ‘peaceful’ is misleading.” Said Wolf, “We’re standing up for law and order. And anyone who EFTA00136111 says otherwise is not being accurate. I will say that the other side that wants to criticize law enforcement, what they don’t do, they do not condemn these acts of violence in Portland. I have talked with a number of Democratic members of Congress, and all but one, only one, have asked me about the health of my officers. All they want to do is condemn law enforcement for doing their job.” ## Chief of Staff Meadows, on ABC's This Week (7/26, 2.47M), said, “In Portland, we have federal officers that are protecting a courthouse that actually has not only been vandalized, they’re trying to burn it down. We can’t have this in American cities. ... You’ve got people there throwing Molotov cocktails and doing all kinds of rioting in Portland around a courthouse they desire to burn down, that’s very different than what we’re doing in Chicago, New Mexico and Kansas and in other areas. What we’re trying to do there is come in and help with gang violence and making sure we make arrests.” Protesters Gather Outside Wolf's Home. The Washington Post (7/26, George, 14.2M) reports that “a group of about 30 gathered Sunday morning” outside Wolf’s home in Alexandria, Virginia. According to the Post, the “demonstrators stood in a circle, listening to a range of speakers decry DHS’s involvement in separating immigrant families, deporting longtime U.S. residents for immigration violations and for what many termed the ‘kidnapping’ of Portland protesters.” Democrats Take Aim At Homeland Security Spending Bill Amid Protests. The Washington Times (7/26, Sherfinski, Dinan, 492K) reports that Democrats “eager to take a swipe at President Trump’s deployment of federal forces to quell protests against police brutality have a new avenue of attack – the Homeland Security spending bill, which House leaders hope to bring to the floor in the coming days.” The Times notes that “when it emerged from committee earlier this month, the $51 billion measure called for a 25% cut to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation force, but left Customs and Border Protection largely untouched.” Now, however, “some liberal House Democrats say the events of recent days demand deeper cuts to ICE and CBP, whose officers have been among the more active federal forces in handling protests.” Cotton Says Founders Called Slavery A “Necessary Evil.” The Arkansas Democrat Gazette (7/26, Lockwood, 307K) reports Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced legislation last week “that would prevent the use of federal tax dollars to spread the historical reinterpretation” of slavery in the 1619 Project school curriculum in US classrooms. Cotton said in an interview, “We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we can’t understand our country. As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built, but the union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction.” Protests Turned Violent In Several Cities Over The Weekend. NBC Nightly News (7/26, story 5, 1:50, Snow, 2.87M) reported, “At protests across the country this weekend, we’ve seen some of the worst violence yet. Gunmen opened fire in two different states. One person was killed.” NBC’s Gadi Schwartz added, “In Austin, Texas, a protest and then gunfire as people run for cover. Police say a protester with a rifle was shot and killed by a man in a car driving through a crowd. In Aurora, Colorado, [an] SUV driving down an interstate towards protesters was fired at by someone in the crowd.” Over the weekend, a total of five people were shot at protests across the country. EFTA00136112 The Wall Street Journal (7/26, Belkin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports police in Austin said the shooter was detained. The New York Times (7/26, Montgomery, Fernandez, 18.61M) identifies the victim in the Austin shooting as Garrett Foster, who “was carrying an AK-47 rifle as he joined a Black Lives Matter demonstration blocks.” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters the shooter said “Foster pointed the weapon directly at him and he fired his handgun at Mr. Foster.” The CBS Weekend News (7/26, story 5, 1:40, Yuccas, 2.32M) reported, “Violence exploded overnight beyond Portland, Oregon, to cities across the country. From Seattle, Washington, to Richmond, Virginia, thousands turned out demanding the removal of the federal agents deployed to several cities.” CBS’ Meg Oliver added, “Heavily armed local police and federal agents on Seattle streets in one of the nation’s most intense protests Saturday.” After reporting on the protests in Austin and Aurora, CBS said in Richmond, Virginia, “police and protestors faced off. One group torched a truck, police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Much of this sparked by anger at President Trump’s deployment of federal forces sent to Portland over the objections of local officials.” ABC World News Tonight (7/26, story 5, 1:55, Llamas, 6.14M) reported, “A growing number of cities with violent and even deadly protests, as once peaceful demonstrations now spiral out of control.” In Seattle, a “youth detention center set on fire” and police fired “flash grenades into a crowd of about 2,000 protesters.” Reporting on the protests in Seattle, Reuters (7/26, Scruggs) says “dozens were arrested and many police injured in clashes” that erupted “with a renewed energy sparked by violent clashes between activists and federal agents in nearby Portland.” Along similar lines, the Washington Post (7/26, Davenport, Scruggs, 14.2M) reports that “protests in several major cities across the country turned violent this weekend, as weeks of civil unrest and clashes between activists and authorities boiled over, sending thousands of people teeming into public squares demanding racial justice.” The New York Times (7/26, Baker, Bogel-Burroughs, 18.61M) likewise says “weeks of violent clashes between federal agents and protesters in Portland, Ore., galvanized thousands of people to march through the streets of American cities on Saturday, injecting new life into protests that had largely waned in recent weeks.” The New York Post (7/26, Celona, Feis, 4.57M) reports that “anti-cop demonstrators wreaked havoc in Lower Manhattan on Saturday night, setting fires and vandalizing several NYPD vehicles.” In Oakland, California, the AP (7/26) reports protesters “set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified late Saturday.” Atlanta ICE Field Office Vandalized. WSB-TV Atlanta (7/26, Pozen, 105K) reports on its website that a “group vandalized the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in downtown Atlanta overnight Sunday.” The Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and immigration court offices “are also located inside” the building, which suffered “significant” damage. The Washington Examiner (7/26, Mastrangelo, 448K) reports police “said they believe a group broke windows and spray-painted the building and others nearby.” Seattle Business Owners Feel Abandoned By City Officials. The Washington Times (7/26, Varney, 492K) profiles a Seattle business owner, Bill Donner, who says city leaders went “MIA when EFTA00136113 protesters took over his neighborhood.” Donner has now “joined a lawsuit to hold Seattle officials responsible for turning the city into a nightmare.” Said Donner, “The mayor and City Council abandoned this neighborhood.” Gun Purchases Rise Among Black Americans In Response To Pandemic, Protests. Politico (7/26, King, 4.29M) reports that since the beginning of the pandemic, “there has been growing interest among African Americans in arming themselves, as evidenced by increased membership in Black gun owner organizations.” The interest further increased in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Phillip Smith, president of the National African American Gun Owners’ Association, “said his organization’s annual membership has increased by up to 2,000 new members per day – a figure he used to see annually.” Sharpton: Trump Running On “A Platform Of Race-Baiting And Fear.” Al Sharpton said on MSNBC's Politics Nation (7/26, 786K), “The President is officially running on a platform of segregation in the suburbs. No need to adjust your television. It is still 2020, but Donald Trump is trying to run for reelection on a platform of race-baiting and fear. His latest move to is scrap the affirmatively furthering fair housing rule, which was enacted under President Obama with the intent of reducing segregation in American suburbs. The move has been widely decried as racist among fair housing activists.” Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post said on CNN’s Inside Politics (7/26, 642K), “The President is using a well-worn political playbook saying, ‘You may not like me very much, but I am the person who can protect you, I can reinstate law and order in your neighborhoods.’” AP Analysis: “Cancel Culture” Movement Ill-Defined. The AP (7/26, Italie) reports, “So you’ve probably read a lot about ‘cancel culture.’ Or know about a new poll that shows a plurality of Americans disapproving of it. Or you may have heard about a letter in Harper’s Magazine condemning censorship and intolerance.” The AP says the term, however, is “hard to define, in part because there is nothing confined about it – no single cause, no single ideology, no single fate for those allegedly canceled.” To some, it “is the coming of the thought police,” while “for others, it contains important chances to be heard that didn’t exist before.” Lexington, Virginia Reexamines Its Confederate History. The New York Times (7/26, Epstein, 18.61M) reports Lexington, Virginia, “has long been tethered to the iconography of the Civil War and its two most famous Confederate generals, whose legacy has seeped into the town’s culture like the July humidity. But Lexington is no longer a bastion of conservatism. It is a liberal college town of about 7,000 people that voted 60 percent for Hillary Clinton four years ago.” To the Times, “these dueling sensibilities place Lexington at particularly delicate intersection of the national debate over Confederate monuments and emblems. As Americans protesting racial injustice have torn down statues and memorials to Confederates, the EFTA00136114 town finds itself reassessing its identity." Some Minneapolis Residents Establishing Armed Patrols. The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Barrett, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports some Minneapolis residents are establishing armed neighborhood patrols to combat an increase in crime that's materialized following George Floyd's killing. The establishment of these patrols comes amid demands to defund Minneapolis' police department, permanent cuts to which were approved on Friday. WPost A1: Sons Of Confederate Veterans Building New Confederate Monuments As Others Fall. The Washington Post (7/25, A1, Fisher, 14.2M) reports on its front page that even though popular support for the Sons of Confederate Veterans seems be declining each day, “the guardians of America’s 700-plus Confederate monuments are mounting a serious defense – filing lawsuits and demanding control of statues slated for removal.” The Post adds that the group is additionally initiating “a concerted offensive.” The Sons of Confederate Veterans “and, in a quieter way, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that erected many of the monuments that are now the target of the biggest removal campaign in history, are pushing back by building new statues, buying land to house torn-down memorials, and airing radio and online ads seeking public support for their cause.” Virginia Communities Grappling With What To Do With Confederate Monuments. The Washington Post (7/25, Sullivan, 14.2M) reports Virginia communities “are finally grappling with whether to renounce their veneration of the Confederacy, more than 150 years after the Civil War ended.” According to the Post, “Many of the statues and monuments that still dot courthouse lawns and traffic circles, commemorating the Southern troops and leaders, were erected in the Jim Crow era of the early 20th century or as the civil rights movement gained strength in the 1960s.” This summer, a number of them are beginning to come down. Mark Rozell, dean of George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, said, “This is a unique moment and a politically perishable one,” adding, “That is why [activists and political leaders] are acting now. It’s not going to last – for them it’s an opportunity without going through a legalistic process at a time when they know they can.” Protests Have Idea Of Slavery Reparations Receiving Increased Attention. The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Schlesinger, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports racial-justice demonstrations are shifting the idea of slavery reparations for Black Americans toward the middle of the national discussion. Leaders in the House of Representatives anticipate passing a proposal that would establish a commission to create a formal government apology as well as a redress plan. ## Counter-Terrorism Arizona Woman Arrested For Attempting To Send Money To Al-Qaeda. EFTA00136115 The Arizona Republic (7/24, 869K) reported Jill Marie Jones “was arrested Wednesday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after attempting to send money to a member of al-Qaeda, a terrorist group, for rifle scopes that would be used to ‘kill American soldiers.’” She “was in contact with two undercover FBI employees, one of whom she believed was an al-Qaeda member.” The AP (7/24) reports that she “contemplated using her federal coronavirus relief payment to support al-Qaida,” but the FBI could no confirm if she did. Fox News (7/24, Carter, 27.59M) reported that she “wanted to travel abroad to help the terrorist organization,” and she “bought a ticket to fly overseas to join al Qaeda in Afghanistan.” Also reporting are KJZZ-FM Phoenix (7/25, 10K) and KGUN-TV Tucson (AZ) Tucson, AZ (7/24, 61K). Defense Attorney Demands FBI Release Paperwork In Connection To Virginia White Nationalist Case. The AP (7/25) reported James Alex Fields Jr’s defense attorney has demanded that the FBI “provide documents used in its criminal case against [James Alex Fields Jr]’, who with others is being sued in a civil rights complaint over the violence in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia.” The lawyers “want a judge to force the government lawyers to provide in part documents the FBI collected from Fields’ computer and cellphone, as well as recordings of his phone calls while in federal custody.” Texas Man Indicted Over Bomb Detonation. KWES-TV Odessa, TX (7/24, 11K) reported Jeffrey Allen Smerud, who is “accused of detonating a bomb at a Lowe’s in Odessa,” has been “indicted by a federal grand jury.” He “admitted to officers that he had manufactured and planted the explosive device at Lowe’s,” and he “could face up to 10 years in prison and pay up to $250,000 in fines.” The FBI is supporting the investigation. 9/11 Trial Faces Another Delay As New Guantánamo Lawyer Wants 30 Months To Prepare. NPR (7/24, Pfeiffer, 3.12M) reported there’s yet another “setback at the US military court in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.” Jury selection in the 9/11 trial “was scheduled to begin there this coming January, but that now looks increasingly unlikely because a new defense lawyer in the case says he needs 2 1/2 years to get ready.” David Bruck, “whose past clients include Charleston, SC, church shooter Dylann Roof and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is the new lead attorney for Ramzi bin al-Shibh, one of the five men charged in the September 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.” Bruck was appointed in April “after al-Shibh’s previous lead attorney, James P. Harrington, asked to leave the case citing health issues and ‘incompatibility’ with his client.” In a legal filing Wednesday, Bruck “said he has not yet met al-Shibh and faces hundreds of hours of work just reading the more than 33,000 pages of hearing transcripts so far.” EFTA00136116 Compensation Disparity For 1998 Embassy Bombing Victims Could Derail Efforts To Remove Sudan From Terror List. The New York Times (7/25, Jakes, 18.61M) reports a settlement to compensate victims of the 1998 attacks carried out by al Qaeda militants on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania would award more money to victims who were Americans at the time of the bombings than those who were not. That payment disparity has delayed, and could possibly derail, “a yearslong process to remove Sudan from a U.S. government list of state sponsors of terrorism,” which would “open the way for the East African country to move toward economic stability, and potentially greater democracy, after a generation of oppression.” The disparity has also “divided Congress and created a rift between the victims and their lawyers as the United States grapples with how to correct unequal or discriminatory standards in its legal system.” Peter Kassig's Family Calls On Trump Administration To Bring ISIS Members To Trial In US. The Indianapolis Star (7/24, Gerike, 633K) reported the parents of slain Indianapolis humanitarian worker Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig “addressed the media Monday, saying their ‘hearts are battered but they will mend.’” The family of Peter Kassig, “an Indianapolis native and aid worker who was beheaded by the Islamic State in 2014, joined three other families Thursday in asking the Trump Administration to bring two ISIS members back to the US to stand trial.” Kassig, who “converted to Islam and went by Abdul-Rahman Kassig at the time of his death, was captured in 2013 while doing humanitarian work in the Middle East.” British and US authorities “say Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, ISIS members who are part of a group nicknamed the ‘Beatles,’ are responsible for 27 killings, including Kassig’s.” Hezbollah Says All-out War With Israel Unlikely In Coming Months. Reuters (7/26, Bassam) reports the deputy leader of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement on Sunday “dismissed the prospect of an escalation of violence between the Iran-backed movement and Israel despite increased tensions in the last week.” Sheikh Naim Qassem said in an interview with pro-Damascus television station al Mayadeen, “The atmosphere does not indicate a war ... It’s unlikely, the atmosphere of war in the next few months.” Tensions rose “along Israel’s frontier with Syria and Lebanon after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia said a fighter was killed in an apparent Israeli strike on the edge of Damascus last week.” The Israeli military has since “boosted its forces on its northern front.” An Israeli military spokeswoman “said on Sunday that an Israeli drone crashed inside Lebanon during operational activity along the border.” ## Counter-Intelligence Graham: FBI Lied To Congress About Steele Dossier. The Daily Caller (7/26, Ross, 716K) reports that on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures (7/26) Sunday, EFTA00136117 Senate Judiciary Chairman Graham “teased the release of evidence showing that the FBI ‘lied their a$$ off’ to Congress regarding the reliability of the Steele dossier, which the bureau used as part of its investigation of the Trump campaign.” Graham said, “Here is what I think I’m going to be able to show to the public. Not only did the FBI lie to the court about the reliability about the Steele dossier, they also lied to the Congress. That’s a separate crime. ... Stay tuned next week, you’re going to find that not only did the FBI lie to the FISA court, they lied their a$$ off to the Congress.” The Washington Examiner (7/26, Dunleavy, 448K) quotes Graham as saying, “Not only do we now know that the FBI lied to the FISA court about the reliability of dossier, they told the court that the subsource was truthful and cooperative and Russian-based – the truth is that the subsource was American-based. ... He was an employee of Christopher Steele, who was on the payroll of the Democratic Party, and he told Christopher Steele this is all a bunch hearsay. And when the FBI understood the dossier was no longer reliable they continued to use it.” In a separate article, the Washington Examiner (7/25, Chaitin, 448K) reported sources “told the outlet that Danchenko agreed to talk to investigators in 2017 about the dossier on the condition that the bureau keep his identity secret to protect himself, his sources, family, and friends in Russia safe.” The Washington Times (7/26, Scarborough, 492K) reports that the “shadowy figure who funneled information” to Steele for the dossier “is Igor Danchenko, a Ukraine-born, Russian-educated researcher who worked in the US and traveled to Moscow to find supposed dirt on candidate Donald Trump.” Attorney Mark E. Schamel “told The New York Times that Mr. Danchenko is his client.” Schamel said, “Igor Danchenko has been identified as one of the sources who provided data and analysis.” Fox News (7/25, Schultz, 27.59M) reported a lawyer for Igor Danchenko “confirmed to The New York Times that his client – a former Brookings Institution senior research analyst in Washington, DC, and not a ‘Russian-based’ source – provided the information to Steele, the British former spy whose dossier was used by the FBI to obtain wiretaps of Carter Page, the former Trump campaign adviser.” The Daily Caller (7/24, 716K) reported the mystery of the “primary source for dossier author Christopher Steele has finally been solved.” Igor Danchenko, who previously worked at the Brookings Institution, “told the FBI in January 2017 that he was Steele’s source.” He “undermined several of Steele’s core allegations regarding Donald Trump and members of his campaign.” Op-Ed: More Willful Blindness By The Media On Spying By Obama Administration. In an op-ed in The Hill (7/25, 2.98M), Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, wrote, “The Washington press corps seems engaged in a collective demonstration of the legal concept of willful blindness, or deliberately ignoring the facts, following the release of yet another declassified document which directly refutes prior statements about the investigation into Russia collusion. ... The media covered the original leak and the collusion narrative, despite mounting evidence that it was false. ... Virtually none of these journalists or experts have acknowledged that the collusion leaks were proven false, let alone pursue the troubling implications of national security powers being used to target the political opponents of an administration. But in Washington, success often depends not on what you see but what you can unsee.” Swalwell Says FBI Were Right In Russia Probe. Fox News (7/24, Garcia, 27.59M) reported Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) “reacted to the revelation that an FBI agent involved in the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ Russia investigation ‘actively listened’ for certain topics during a briefing on election interference given to the Trump campaign in August 2016, saying ‘they were right to do it.’” Swalwell said Friday on ‘The Story with Martha EFTA00136118 MacCallum,’ “I hope they do it if a Democratic candidate ever does that with any country. So, Martha, remember right before this meeting occurred, candidate Trump said, ‘Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you have Hillary’s emails.’ And what do they do? They actually did it. So think about it.” Law Enforcement Officials Aided In Unmasking Of FBI Source Who Wanted Anonymity. The New York Times (7/25, Goldman, Savage, 18.61M) said that shortly after the “2017 publication of a notorious dossier about President Trump jolted Washington, an expert in Russian politics told the F.B.I. he had been one of its key sources.” The bureau “had approached the expert, a man named Igor Danchenko, as it vetted the dossier’s claims.” Danchenko consented to disclose his knowledge to investigators “with an important condition, people familiar with the matter said – that the F.B.I. keep his identity secret.” Last week, however, his hope of staying anonymous disappeared after Attorney General Barr instructed the FBI “to declassify a redacted report about its three-day interview of Mr. Danchenko in 2017 and” give it to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsay Graham, who “made the interview summary public.” While the report censored Danchenko’s name, a post on a blog called “I Found the Primary Subsource’ identified him, citing clues left visible in the F.B.I. document.” Sarah Sanders Says New FBI Documents Are More Evidence Of “Mass Conspiracy” Against Trump. Fox News (7/24, Nelson, 27.59M) reported former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Friday “reacted to the newly released document revealing that the FBI agent who delivered the defensive briefing on election interference to the Trump campaign in August 2016 ‘actively listened’ for certain topics.” Sanders told ‘Outnumbered Overtime,’ “I think this report confirms what we’ve known all along, the level of corruption and how outrageous members of the Obama Administration were to try to take down a democratically elected president.” Sanders said, “This is not the type of thing that should happen in the US. People like disgraced former FBI director, liar and leaker James Comey, I think, have fingerprints all over this and I think it is a good thing that the Administration and the president have held their feet to the fire and made sure we got to the bottom of this.” Trump Raises Prospect Of “Really Bad” Revelations In John Durham Investigation. The Washington Examiner (7/24, Chaitin, 448K) reported President Trump “suggested that the findings in US Attorney John Durham’s criminal inquiry into the Russia investigation could be more troubling than what is publicly known.” The commander in chief “clued in a prime-time audience on Thursday when host Sean Hannity asked him to react to his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, saying over the weekend he expects criminal indictments and newly declassified FBI documents.” Trump said, “It’s just more and more things that you see. And that’s only what you see. It is really bad. It is a terrible thing that happened. It should never happen to another president.” Op-Ed: Republicans And Democrats May Regret Wanting Mueller To Testify Again. In a commentary in Politico (7/26, 4.29M) reports Andrew Desiderio writes, “Despite the public bipartisan agreement, there are real obstacles and risks to securing Mueller’s testimony. For Republicans, a strong defense by Mueller could shed unwelcome light on President Donald Trump’s previous statements and conduct in the final stretch of the election. For Democrats, another halting performance by the ex-FBI chief could give Trump and his allies more ammunition for their attacks on the investigations that have dogged Trump and his associates for years.” He concludes “Democrats insist they’re not afraid of what could come out of a Mueller hearing, even if it happens EFTA00136119 so close to the election. They said Americans would see through what they perceive to be a partisan stunt." Trump Open To Pardoning 2016 Campaign Staffers. The Washington Times (7/24, Blake, 492K) reports “President Trump signaled...he may pardon former members of his election campaign,” during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday. When asked by Hannity if he would consider the pardons, Trump said, “I’ve looked at a lot of different people, they have been treated extremely unfairly, and I think I probably would, yes.” Though “Trump did not mention any former campaign members by name...several pleaded guilty or were convicted of charges brought as a result of the government’s probe of the presidential race.” Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty To Acting As Chinese Spy. Reuters (7/24, Lambert) reports Singaporean man Jun Wei Yeo “has pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent of Chinese intelligence, the Justice Department said on Friday.” Yeo “set up a fake consulting site to solicit information from U.S. government and military workers,” and will be sentenced “in October, according to the department.” Reuterws adds that the “U.S. is cracking down on Chinese spying, with the FBI having interviewed dozens of visa holders about their possible ties to Chinese intelligence.” The Washington Post (7/24, Hsu, 14.2M) reports that Yeo, 39, “a doctoral degree candidate at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, pleaded guilty as charged in a onecount June 11 criminal information before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. In plea papers, Yeo admitted trying to cultivate relationships with Americans – including U.S. government and military officials with high-level security clearances – since 2015 while serving in academic posts at Singapore’s top university and at George Washington University in D.C. According to court documents, Yeo identified those with ‘nonpublic information’ of value to Chinese intelligence.” Fox News (7/24, McFall, 27.59M) reports, “Yeo pled guilty to involvement in a scheme that used career networking sites and posed as a false consulting firm to attract American citizens with access to intelligence, who were potentially of interest to Beijing. Yeo originally worked to attract people from various Asian countries before focusing on the U.S. At the direction of intelligence officials, he worked to find and target Americans who had access to sensitive information, such as people who had top security clearances in the military and the government. ‘Mr. Yeo admitted that he not only provided valuable information to Chinese intelligence, but also that he knowingly recruited others in the U.S. to do the same,’ Timothy R. Slater, FBI Washington field office assistant director in charge, said.” Chinese Researcher Who Took Refuge In San Francisco Consulate Charged With Lying About Military Status. CNBC (7/24, Macias, 3.62M) reports that “a researcher who took refuge in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco after allegedly lying to investigators about her Chinese military service was arrested and will appear in court on Monday.” CNBC says that “according to court documents unsealed earlier this week in the EFTA00136120 Eastern District of California, Juan Tang, a researcher at the University of California, Davis, applied for a nonimmigrant J1 visa in October 2019.” and “allegedly made fraudulent statements on her visa application by concealing that she served in the Chinese military.” According to CNBC, “On Thursday evening, the FBI arrested Tang, who had avoided arrest by taking refuge in the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.” Reuters (7/24) reports that a senior Justice Department official “told reporters Tang was detained on Thursday night and did not have diplomatic immunity as she was not declared as a diplomatic official.” The San Francisco Chronicle (7/24, Serrano, 2.67M) reports, “Federal authorities accused a former UC Davis researcher of lying on a visa application and arrested her after she allegedly sought refuge at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, officials said Friday.” Juan Tang “was arrested by the FBI on an arrest warrant and criminal complaint alleging she lied by responding ‘no’ to a question about whether she ever served in the military on an application for a nonimmigrant J-1 visa in October 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. Federal authorities said in court documents that Tang was a uniformed officer of the People's Liberation Army, which was described as China's military forces.” Beijing Slams US Over “Forced Entry” To Houston Consulate, Vows To Respond “As Necessary.” Bloomberg (7/24, News, 4.73M) reports Beijing on Saturday “slammed the ‘forced entry’ to its Houston consulate by U.S. personnel hours earlier and vowed to respond ‘as necessary.’” Beijing officials “said that U.S. had broken diplomatic conventions by entering ‘China’s national property.’” In a Q&A posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website late on Saturday, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Sino-U.S. Consular Treaty, the United States must not infringe on the premises of the Chinese Consulate in Houston in any way.” ## US Staff Leaves Consulate In Chengdu. The Washington Times US Staff Leaves Consulate In Chengdu. The Washington Times (7/26, Wolfgang, 492K) reports that “Chinese onlookers filled the streets Sunday as American diplomats packed boxes, boarded buses and prepared to abandon the US consulate in Chengdu, the latest casualty of an increasingly bitter tit-for-tat exchange between Washington and Beijing.” The Times describes that scene outside the complex as “mostly peaceful as American personnel prepared” to exit ahead of Monday’s deadline. Bloomberg (7/25, 4.73M) reports hundreds of people gathered on Saturday “outside the U.S. consulate in Chengdu...as American employees prepared to leave after China ordered the shutdown of the mission. The U.S. emblem was removed from the building, but the American flag remained near the entrance.” Meanwhile, “police set up barricades and cut off traffic from the street in front of the building on Saturday, while dozens of security officers urged onlookers to keep moving after taking pictures and videos.” ## Analyses: US Losing Key Listening Post With Closure Of Chengdu Consulate. Reuters (7/24, Tian, McWilliams) reports that on Friday, the Chinese government “ordered the United States to close its consulate in Chengdu in response to a U.S. order for China to shut its Houston consulate, where staff packed up belongings watched by jeering protesters amid a sharp deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest economies.” According to Reuters, “About 100 Chinese activists gathered at the consulate on Friday, shouting slogans denouncing communism and heckling consulate staff.” Reuters says that on Thursday, Secretary of State Pompeo “said...the [Houston] consulate had been ‘a hub of spying and intellectual property theft.’” Reuters also reports that on Friday, “Senior U.S. officials said...espionage activity by China’s diplomatic missions was occurring all over the country, but its activity out of the Houston consulate went well over the line of what was acceptable.” The AP (7/24, McDonald) reports that the US EFTA00136121 consulate in Chengdu is “responsible for monitoring Tibet and other areas in the southwest inhabited by nonethnic Chinese minorities that are considered especially sensitive by Beijing.” Bloomberg (7/24, 4.73M) reports that “security agents and curious onlookers descended on central Chengdu” on Friday, and “dozens of police and army personnel patrolled the street outside the building, checking IDs, searching phones and ordering passersby to delete photos and videos of the area.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin “told a regular news briefing Friday in Beijing that some consulate staff had ‘engaged in activities inconsistent with their capacity, interfered in China’s internal affairs and harmed China’s national security interests.’” In a front-page article, the Wall Street Journal (7/24, A1, Wong, Lin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that the US consulate in Chengdu has a staff of almost 200, including 150 Chinese citizens. The AP (7/24, McDonald) reports that “also Friday, the U.S. State Department sent out a notice warning Americans in China of a ‘heightened risk of arbitrary detention.’” The State Department notice says, “U.S. citizens may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to ‘state security.’ ... Americans may be detained or deported for ‘sending private electronic messages critical’ of the Chinese government, it said.” According to the AP, “The notice gave no indication of what prompted the warning.” The New York Times (7/24, Bradsher, Myers, 18.61M) reports that the Communist Party’s “propaganda outlets struck a nationalistic note on Friday, vowing that Beijing would hold firm in the face of mounting pressure from the United States. ‘The United States has recently stirred up troubles in relations with China to the point of hysteria,’ said the official Xinhua News Agency, in an editorial.” The Times also reports that Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying claimed Secretary of State Pompeo and others are “launching a new crusade against China in a globalized world.” The Washington Post (7/24, Fifield, 14.2M) reports from Beijing, “While analysts here called the retaliation measured, they said there was no end in sight to a conflict that spans trade and technology, freedom of the press and religion, students and scientists, human rights and the race for a coronavirus vaccine. ‘Even though the relationship is worsening, we have not yet reached the worst point,’ said Cheng Xiaohe, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.” The Post adds, “The bottom, he said, would be measured by two things: The closure of embassies in each country or military confrontation, whether intentional or accidental.” Bloomberg (7/24, 4.73M) says, “Beijing’s decision will not only oust American diplomats from the capital of Sichuan province – a region with a population rivaling Germany – it will close a key listening post for developments in neighboring Tibet.” According to Bloomberg, “The move will probably have a bigger impact than shutting the U.S. consulate in Wuhan, but less than closing U.S. missions in the key financial centers of Hong Kong or Shanghai.” CNBC (7/24, Cheng, 3.62M) reports that Eurasia Group’s Michael Hirson pointed out that “the consulates in Chengdu and Houston had comparable status.” Hirson is quoted as saying, “If they were to choose an important but still secondary consulate like Chengdu or Shenyang, that would be in keeping with the role that the Houston consulate serves.” Hirson “said targeting the consulates in Shanghai or Guangzhou ‘would be a notch above Houston.’” Hirson said, “If they were to close the Hong Kong consulate, that would be then thrusting this dispute into what’s already very serious impasse of course with the future of Hong Kong and Hong Kong’s autonomy. So I think that would be the most escalatory move in terms of closing the consulate.” The Wall Street Journal (7/24, Board, EFTA00136122 Subscription Publication, 7.57M) editorializes the US closure of the China consulate in Houston and the retaliatory closure of the US consulate by China in Chengdu represents the latest incident in the diplomatic discord defining the most important bilateral relationship worldwide. The Journal concludes the move also represents a change that Beijing cannot continue thinking it will not face consequences for its abuses. The CBS Evening News (7/24, story 10, 0:22, O'Donnell, 4.11M) and ABC World News Tonight (7/24, story 10, 1:38, Llamas, 6.68M) provided similar broadcast coverage. ## Senior DOJ Official Explains Why Houston Consulate Was Closed. Politico Senior DOJ Official Explains Why Houston Consulate Was Closed. Politico (7/24, Forgey, 4.29M) reports that on Friday, Trump Administration officials “provided further details...regarding their decision to close China’s consulate in Houston, claiming the diplomatic outpost was one of several across the country facilitating influence efforts on behalf of Beijing that the U.S. government said veered into ‘the coercive or the covert.’” A “senior Justice Department official” is quoted as saying, “The sum total of the Houston consulate’s activities went well over the line of what we’re willing to accept, and unless we disrupted it, it threatened to become even more aggressive in Houston and in other Chinese consulates nationwide.” Politico says the senior Justice Department official also “referenced the DOJ’s announcement Thursday that four individuals had recently been charged with visa fraud ‘in connection with a scheme to lie about their status’ as members of the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military, while conducting research in the U.S.” Reuters (7/24, Brunnstrom, Psaledakis) reports a “senior State Department official linked espionage activity at the Houston consulate to China’s pursuit of research into a vaccine for the new coronavirus,” and “said China had been very clear about its intent to be first to the market with a coronavirus vaccine.” Reuters notes that “Texas is home to the Galveston National Laboratory,” which is “located on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch, where researchers have been conducting COVID-19 vaccine research.” Bloomberg (7/24, Strohm, 4.73M) reports the closure “followed years of frustration about criminal and covert activity directed by Beijing to steal trade secrets and carry out malign influence operations across the U.S.” Administration officials also told reporters Friday that the “activity conducted through the Houston consulate represented the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to concerns about China.” One official explained that the US has “about 2,000 active cases related to Chinese counterintelligence operations.” The AP (7/24) reports that on Friday, “workers at China’s consulate in Houston loaded up moving trucks...ahead of an afternoon deadline to shut down the facility, as ordered by the Trump administration.” According to the AP, on Friday morning, “moving trucks were parked outside the consulate and workers were seen carrying large bags out of the building.” According to Reuters (7/24, Brunnstrom), a group of men including one “who appeared to be the State Department’s top official for foreign missions, Cliff Seagroves,” were “seen forcing open a door at the Chinese consulate” after it was ordered closed. “Consulate staff had exited the Houston building shortly after 4 p.m. and left in vehicles before the door was forced open,” Reuters adds. NCSC Director Warns China, Russia, Iran Looking To Disrupt 2020 Election, Calls For Sharing Threat Information With Voters. Bloomberg (7/24, Martin, 4.73M) reports William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, on Friday warned that “China, Russia EFTA00136123 and Iran are looking to disrupt the U.S. electoral process before November's vote, including attempts at compromising the private communications of political campaigns and candidates." Using traditional news outlets and social media, they are trying to "sway U.S. voters' preferences and perspectives, to shift U.S. policies, to increase discord and to undermine confidence in our democratic process," he said. Evanina added that "the coronavirus pandemic and recent protests...continue to serve as fodder for foreign influence and disinformation efforts in America." Reuters (7/24, Hosenball) reports Evanina said “it was ‘imperative’ his agency share with voters some of the information about possible interference that U.S. spies have given to campaigns and legislators.” He explained, “the American public has a role to play in securing the election, particularly in maintaining vigilance against foreign influence...At the most basic level, we encourage Americans to consume information with a critical eye, check out sources before reposting or spreading messages, practice good cyber hygiene and media literacy, and report suspicious election-related activity to authorities.” The AP (7/24, Jalonick) reports Congressional Democrats released a letter Friday in response to Evanina’s comments, urging the Trump Administration “to make a ‘concrete and specific statement’ to inform voters ahead of the 2020 contest.” The letter “did not detail exactly what they want the administration to say,” but “said Evanina’s statement ‘does not go nearly far enough in arming the American people with the knowledge they need about how foreign powers are seeking to influence our political process’ and falsely paints the three countries as equivalent in their efforts.” ## China Seizes Assets Of Property Tycoon Who Criticized Xi. The New York Times （7/24，Hernández, 18.61M） reports that the Chinese Communist Party has “expelled an outspoken and prominent property tycoon who denounced the country’s authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping, paving the way for his criminal prosecution and escalating its efforts to quash dissent among the elite.” According to the Times, the party “announced the expulsion of the tycoon, Ren Zhiqiang, late Thursday, and said that it had seized his assets for ‘serious violations of discipline and law’ that included the possession of golf club memberships.” The Times adds, “Officials also took aim at Mr. Ren’s family, accusing him of ‘colluding with his children to accumulate wealth without restraint.’” Trade Becomes A Point Of Stability As US-China Relations Fray Over Coronavirus, Accusations Of Espionage. The New York Times (7/25, Swanson, Bradsher, 18.61M) reports that “trade, long the most contentious part of the U.S.-China relationship, has suddenly become an area of surprising stability” as relations between Washington and Beijing fray “over the coronavirus, which the Trump administration accuses China of failing to control, as well as accusations of espionage, intellectual property theft and human rights violations.” The article says, “Neither side is threatening to rip up the initial trade deal they signed in January, which took years of painful negotiations to complete,” though “the reasons have more to do with politics than diplomacy. Both the Trump administration and Chinese leaders invested time and political capital in reaching their initial trade deal.” As a result, “both sides appear to think they have more to lose from rupturing the agreement than they would gain.” US, Chinese Officials Pushing Countries Toward New Era of Confrontation. In a front-page article, the New York Times (7/25, Wong, Myers, 18.61M) reports, “The United States and China are dismantling decades of political, economic and social engagement, setting the stage for a new era of confrontation shaped by the views of the most hawkish voices on both sides.” With President Trump down in polls ahead of the election, “his national security officials have intensified their attack on China in recent weeks, targeting its officials, diplomats and executives. While the strategy has reinforced a key campaign message, some American officials...are also trying to engineer irreversible changes, according to people familiar with the thinking.” Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping “has inflamed the fight, brushing aside international concern about the country’s rising authoritarianism to consolidate his own political power and to crack down on basic freedoms. ... By doing so, he has hardened EFTA00136124 attitudes in Washington, fueling a clash that at least some in China believe could be dangerous to the country’s interests." Bloomberg Analysis: US-China Trade Deal Risks Coming Undone As Relations Continue To Deteriorate. In an analysis, Bloomberg (7/24, News, 4.73M) says the US-China trade deal, which “has served as sort of a linchpin” as ties between the two countries have deteriorated since the onset of the pandemic, could now “be coming undone.” President Trump “said Thursday the phase-one trade deal ‘means less to me now than when I made it.’ He spoke shortly after the U.S. shut down China’s consulate in Houston for spying and theft of intellectual property, which prompted Beijing to retaliate Friday by ordering American diplomats to abandon their Chengdu outpost.” Eswar Prasad, former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China team, said, “The phase-one trade deal between the U.S. and China hangs by a thread. China has an incentive to keep the trade deal with the U.S. from crumbling, even as the bilateral relationship becomes more toxic, in order to try and limit damage to its economic recovery.” ## Beijing Braces For Additional Conflict, Possible Change Amid US Election. Reuters (7/24, Zhai, Martina, Munroe) reports, “With bilateral relations in free-fall, Beijing is bracing for more turbulence in the run-up to the U.S. election in November, and the possibility that a Joe Biden presidency presents an opportunity to avoid a deeper conflict.” The US’ “demand this week that China shut its Houston consulate in 72 hours infuriated Beijing and forced a retaliatory order to close the U.S. consulate in Chengdu.” However, Reuters adds that “along with exasperation over [President] Trump’s unpredictability and penchant for tariffs, and wariness of Washington’s hostility on multiple fronts, is rising worry over the risk of sharper confrontation, according to six Chinese officials and people with ties to the leadership.” Lawsuit Accuses Virginia Man Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Navy Contractor. The Hampton Roads (VA) Virginian-Pilot (7/26, Brennan, 227K) reports, “For years, an Alaska-based defense contractor worked to develop relationships with the Navy. Clarus Fluid Intelligence LLC knew how to flush some of the Navy’s vital mechanical systems. And more importantly from a business aspect, the company knew how to win the necessary Department of Defense contracts to keep the lights on,” but “according to a new lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, that competitive edge may have walked out the door earlier this year with a disgruntled employee versed in not only the company’s technical systems – but also its pricing structure.” The Virginian-Pilot adds, “Clarus’ parent company, Ohio-based RelaDyne, sued Charles Bronder of Virginia Beach this week claiming he violated various state and federal laws intended to protect the company’s trade secrets and computer systems. It also claims multiple contract breaches.” DOJ Opposes Early Release For Imprisoned Leaker Reality Winner. The Washington Times (7/25, Blake, 492K) reported convicted leaker Reality Leigh Winner “received further pushback from the US government Friday in her bid to be released early.” The Department of Justice “said in a court filing that Winner recently tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, but appears to be asymptomatic and should stay imprisoned.” In a supplemental brief “entered in federal appeals court, the Justice Department said it stands by the claims it previously made against granting Winner’s request for compassionate release.” EFTA00136125 NCSC Director Warns China, Russia, Iran Looking To Disrupt 2020 Election, Calls For Sharing Threat Information With Voters. Bloomberg (7/24, Martin, 4.73M) reports William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, on Friday warned that “China, Russia and Iran are looking to disrupt the U.S. electoral process before November’s vote, including attempts at compromising the private communications of political campaigns and candidates.” Using traditional news outlets and social media, they are trying to “sway U.S. voters’ preferences and perspectives, to shift U.S. policies, to increase discord and to undermine confidence in our democratic process,” he said. Evanina added that “the coronavirus pandemic and recent protests...continue to serve as fodder for foreign influence and disinformation efforts in America.” Politico (7/24, Matishak, 4.29M) calls it the Administration’s “most pointed public warning to date about foreign election interference.” Reuters (7/24, Hosenball) reports Evanina said “it was ‘imperative’ his agency share with voters some of the information about possible interference that U.S. spies have given to campaigns and legislators.” He explained, “the American public has a role to play in securing the election, particularly in maintaining vigilance against foreign influence...At the most basic level, we encourage Americans to consume information with a critical eye, check out sources before reposting or spreading messages, practice good cyber hygiene and media literacy, and report suspicious election-related activity to authorities.” CBS News (7/24, Gazis, 3.68M) reports that Evanina said that China is “expanding its influence efforts to shape the policy environment in the United States.” Russia “continues to spread disinformation in the United States that is designed to undermine confidence in our democratic process and denigrate what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment’ in America,” while Iran’s efforts “center around online influence, such as spreading disinformation on social media.” The Hill (7/24, Miller, Rodrigo, 2.98M) reports that Evanina also warned, “Our adversaries also seek to compromise our election infrastructure, and we continue to monitor malicious cyber actors trying to gain access to U.S. state and federal networks, including those responsible for managing elections.” Still, the Washington Times (7/24, Blake, 492K) reports that Evanina, “a veteran of both the FBI and CIA, said multiple factors have made it ‘extraordinarily difficult’ for adversaries to broadly disrupt or change vote tallies undetected.” ABC News (7/24, Bruggeman, 2.97M) reports that “perhaps most notably, Evanina noted efforts to ‘compromise the private communications’ of campaigns – a startling echo of Russia’s actions in 2016 to hack and disseminate the private emails of John Podesta, at the time a senior campaign advisor to Clinton.” NBC News (7/24, Dilanian, 6.14M) reports that Evanina “made no mention of what American intelligence analysts have concluded about whether Russia is trying to help President Trump, as intelligence agencies assessed happened in 2016. The official who is coordinating the intelligence community’s efforts on election interference, Shelby Pierson, told Congress months ago that there was evidence Russia again sought to boost Trump.” Fox News (7/24, Singman, 27.59M) reports that Evanina “was tapped in May to handle briefing presidential candidates, their campaigns and major political parties on election security threats.” The Washington Times (7/26, Lovelace, 492K) also covers Evanina’s statement, as does Hearst Television (7/25, Albert), Voice of America (7/24, Schwartz, 48K), The Independent (UK) (7/24, Tidman, 1.36M), the Washington Examiner (7/24, Dunleavy, 448K), and Axios (7/24, Rummler, 521K). Democrats Criticize Evanina For Lack Of Specifics. The AP (7/24, Jalonick) reports Congressional Democrats released a letter Friday in response to Evanina’s comments, urging the Trump Administration “to make a ‘concrete and specific statement’ to inform voters ahead of the 2020 contest.” The letter “did not detail exactly what they want the administration to say,” but “said Evanina’s statement ‘does not go nearly far enough in arming the American people with the knowledge they need about how foreign powers are seeking to influence our political process’ and falsely paints the three countries as equivalent in their efforts.” The Hill (7/24, Miller, 2.98M) reports that the statement, from House Speaker Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, SSCI Vice Chair Mark Warner, and House Intel Chair Adam Schiff, said that Evanina’s warning “fails to fully delineate the goal, nature, scope and capacity to influence our election, information the American people must have as we go into November.” CNN (7/24, Cohen, 83.16M) also covers Evanina’s statement, but leads with the Democrats’ criticism. Mother Jones (7/24, Friedman, 881K) also reports on the Democrats’ statement. McConnell, Rubio Defend Evanina. The Hill (7/26, Klar, 2.98M) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell and SSCI Acting Chair Marco Rubio “defended a senior intelligence official over an assessment released Friday that warned of foreign election interference from Russia, Iran and China.” McConnell and Rubio “also slammed Democrats” for their statement claiming Evanina had not gone “far enough in alarming the American people” in the assessment. In a joint statement, McConnell and Rubio said, “We are disappointed by the statement from Senator Schumer, Senator Warner, Speaker Pelosi, and Representative Schiff about Bill Evanina,” who they called “a career law enforcement and intelligence professional with extensive experience in counterintelligence.” The Washington Examiner (7/26, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that the pair said, “Evanina is a career law enforcement and intelligence professional with extensive experience in counterintelligence. His reputation as a straight-shooter immune from politics is well-deserved. It is for this reason that Evanina received overwhelming support from the Senate when he was confirmed to be Director of the NCSC and again when the Administration tapped him to lead the nation’s efforts to protect the 2020 elections from foreign interference.” Op-Ed: Russia’s Disinformation Campaigns Are Targeting African Americans. In an op-ed in the Washington Post (7/24, 14.2M), Žilvinas Švedkauskas, a PhD researcher at the Institute of Political Science at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen in Germany, Chonlawit Sirikupt from Eberhard Karls Universität EFTA00136127 Tübingen, and Michel Salzer from Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, wrote, “During this summer’s historic Black Lives Matter protests across the US, social media platforms have been rife with disinformation. That’s not a coincidence. Since 2016, Russian disinformation campaigns have focused particularly on race and social issues related to African Americans, exploiting the fact that race remains a highly volatile area in US politics.” They contended, “Our research found that the messaging itself has remained steady.” Questions Raised About Neutrality Of Ukrainian Group Hired As Facebook Fact Checkers. The New York Times (7/26, Troianovski, 18.61M) reports that Facebook hired the “small Ukrainian fact-checking group StopFake” earlier this year “to help curb the flow of Russian propaganda and other false news across its platform in Ukraine.” While the group “signed a pledge to be nonpartisan and not to focus its checks ‘on any one side,’” in “recent weeks, StopFake has been battling accusations of ties to the Ukrainian far right and of bias in its fact-checking.” This has “raised thorny questions for Facebook over whom it allows to separate truth from lies – and who is considered a neutral fact checker in a country at war.” New Intelligence-Community AI Principles Seek To Make Tools Useful. NextGov (7/24, Tucker) reported the promise of artificial intelligence “comes with new challenges for the intelligence community, which needs AI-driven results to be useful to analysts, transparent to lawmakers, and in line with privacy and other laws.” The ODNI on Thursday released “a list of principles to guide its use of AI and the development of new tools.” The list and accompanying framework “call on the IC to use ‘explainable and understandable methods;’‘mitigate potential undesired bias;’ and routinely test and review algorithms and be sure that they comply with law, among other guidelines.” Dean Souleles, the chief technology advisor to the PDDNI, “says such bias is widespread.” Souleles said on a phone call with reporters on Thursday, “Every single algorithm, every signal datasat, has bias.” ExecutiveGov (7/24, Edwards) reported NDI Ratcliffe said in a statement, “The IC leads in developing and using technology crucial to our national security mission, and we cannot do so without recognizing and acting on its ethical implications. These principles and their accompanying framework will help guide our mission leads and data scientists as they implement technology to solve intelligence problems.” The Principles of AI Ethics for the IC document “seeks to ensure that AI platforms are developed and implemented in a way that respects the law and safeguards privacy and civil rights.” The principles also “call for the community to consider transparency and accountability, apply human judgment, adopt best practices to build up security and resilience and engage with the scientific and technology communities when it comes to AI development and use.” EU Data Watchdogs Warn No Grace Period After Schrems II Privacy Shield Ruling. TechCrunch (7/24, Lomas, 605K) reported European data watchdogs “have issued updated guidance in the wake of last week’s landmark ruling striking down a flagship transatlantic data transfer mechanism called Privacy Shield.” In an FAQ on the Schrems II judgment, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) “warns there will be no regulatory grace period.” The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield “is dead, and any companies still relying on it to authorize transfers of EU citizens’ personal data are doing so illegally is the top-line message.” The EDPB writes, “Transfers on the basis of this legal framework are illegal.” Entities that “wish to keep on EFTA00136128 transferring personal data to the US need to use an alternative mechanism – but must first determine whether they can meet the legal requirement to protect the data from US surveillance.” The Wall Street Journal (7/24, Stupp, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reported a surprise ruling from the EU’s top court last week creates challenges for how companies will transfer data outside of the bloc. It has also caused new difficulties for the people tasked with making sure the appropriate rules are adhered to. New UK Report Offers Insights On British Intelligence. The Washington Examiner (7/24, Rogan, 448K) reported the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee “has published its annual report on the nation’s intelligence services.” It offers some “interesting takeaways on the intelligence activity of America’s closest partner.” There are a few things “that stand out with regard to the three major intelligence services: the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, and Government Communications Headquarters.” GCHQ is “lauded for launching ‘a new Engineering Accelerator which will allow GCHQ engineers to work with – and learn from – startups working on areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.’” There is also a “salute to GCHQ’s efforts to counter credit card fraud.” Though details are “not provided, this very likely centers around offensive actions to dismantle dark web sites selling stolen credit card details.” ## Criminal Investigations Why VA Hospital Employee Gave Several Veterans Deadly Insulin Doses Is Still Unknown. The Washington Post (7/23, Born, Rein, 14.2M) says Reta Mays, who killed seven veterans at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia by injecting them with deadly doses of insulin, “pleaded guilty last week to seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault with the intent to commit an eighth murder.” However, why Mays, a veteran herself, did what she did is still unknown, though the Post adds that she “provided a potential clue at her plea hearing, telling the judge she was taking medication for post-traumatic stress disorder.” Suspect In Killing Of Federal Judge’s Son Had List Of Other Potential Targets. The New York Times (7/25, Rashbaum, 18.61M) reports, “An openly misogynistic lawyer who is believed to have killed the son of a female federal judge in New Jersey had a list of more than a dozen other possible targets, including three other judges and two doctors, three people with knowledge of the matter said.” According to the Times, “The list was found on Monday inside a rented car on a rural road in the Catskills in New York, where the lawyer, Roy Den Hollander, 72, had killed himself. Hours earlier, law enforcement officials believe, Mr. Den Hollander walked up to a house belonging to Judge Esther Salas on a suburban street in North Brunswick, N.J., and fatally shot her 20-year-old son when he answered the door.” The Times adds, “Investigators have now concluded that Mr. Den Hollander traveled eight days earlier by train to California to murder Marc Angelucci, 52, a men’s rights lawyer whom he considered a professional rival.” The Orange County (CA) Register (7/24, Percy, 546K) reports, “Roy Den Hollander traveled by train to San Bernardino four days before he allegedly shot and killed attorney Marc Angelucci near Crestline, authorities said Friday, July 24.” According to the OCR, “San Bernardino Homicide detectives said he arrived at the San Bernardino train station July 7 and rented a car, which he would drive to Angelucci’s Cedar Pines Park home July 11. After the shooting, Den Hollander, 72, immediately fled in the rental car to Union Station in Los Angeles, where he boarded a train and left California. Detectives also released still images from surveillance cameras at both train stations marking his arrival and departure from the state.” California Man Charged With Smuggling Roman-Era Mosaic From Syria. The AP (7/25) reports from Los Angeles, “A Southern California man has been charged with smuggling an ancient mosaic that authorities believe was looted from war-torn Syria and falsely underestimating its value to avoid import duties.” Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi, 53, “claimed in paperwork the 18-foot-long mosaic was part of a shipment worth only about $2,200, according to a federal indictment announced Friday,” but “an expert retained by the government believes the artwork was worth more than that. The mosaic, seized by FBI investigators at his Palmdale house in 2016, depicts Hercules and dates back to the Roman Empire. Experts believe the mosaic was similar to others found in and around the city of Idlib, Syria.” Search Continues For Missing Amish Teen In Pennsylvania. The Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News (7/25, Wise, 427K) reports, “Authorities are continuing the search on Saturday for missing 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos, who is believed to have been kidnapped after leaving a church service on Father’s Day.” The Patriot-News adds, “The Stoltzfoos family shared the news that an organized search would take place today on Facebook, alongside a photo of a foggy Saturday morning – likely in Lancaster County, where Stoltzfoos lived with her family on an Amish farm in Bird-in-Hand.” According to the Patriot-News, “It’s unclear where Saturday’s search is being conducted,” but it “is one of many that has been organized by authorities or ‘dedicated, trained’ volunteers. Stoltzfoos’ quiet Amish community rallied together when she disappeared June 21. Amish men and women from neighboring communities also volunteered to hold searches of their own. Earlier this month, 34-year-old Justo Smoker, of Paradise, was charged with her kidnapping. He remains in Lancaster County Prison, but hasn’t given authorities any information regarding her whereabouts, police said.” FBI Supporting Manhunt For Ohio Men Connected To Murder Of Toddler. Akron (OH) Beacon Journal (7/24, Steineck, 198K) reported that the FBI is supporting a manhunt for three unidentified men, who were caught on film in connection to the murder of one-year-old Ace Lucas. The agency is offering a $5,000 reward for information. Also reporting are ABC World News Tonight (7/26, story 6, 1:25, Llamas, 6.14M) and WBTV-TV Charlotte, NC (7/24, Vadaj, Nicks, 57K). EFTA00136130 Continuing Coverage: FBI Supporting Michigan Murder Investigation. CNN (7/24, Riess, Hassan, 83.16M) reported that the FBI Michigan field offices are “providing technical and other assistance to support the investigation” into the death of professional poker player Susie Zhao, whose body “was found in a state recreation area” on July 13. The Daily Beast (7/24, 1.39M) reported that authorities “are scrambling to understand the motive behind her ‘mysterious death’ and are asking any witnesses who may have seen the pro poker player, known on the circuit as ‘Susie Q,’ during the hours she was missing.” Indiana Police Investigating Shooting Death Of Woman. The Indianapolis Star (7/26, 633K) reports that Indiana police officers are investigating the death of Jessica Doty-Whitaker, who was shot and killed on July 4. Lutheran pastor Mark J. Powell, who organized a rally to remember Doty-Whitaker, has called on the FBI to investigated her death. Arizona Man Indicted Over Murder. The Arizona Daily Sun (7/26, 32K) reports Justin Colorado “is facing accusations in state and federal courts after allegedly shooting and killing [Jessica Biakeddy] in Flagstaff and then firing his weapon again while in Kaibeto, Ariz.” He “is being held in the Coconino County jail on a federal complaint, and a grand jury has charged him with killing Biakeddy.” Vermont Sex Offender Charged With Child Pornography Possession. The AP (7/26) reports convicted sex offender Ryan Beaulieu “has been charged with possessing child pornography” after an unidentified social media company sent a confidential tip to the FBI that Beaulieu “was distributing child pornography online.” The FBI raided his home, and “found numerous images and videos of child pornography on Beaulieu’s devices.” Oklahoma Police Investigating Fatal Shooting. KJRH-TV Tulsa, OK (7/26) reports that Tulsa police officers are investigating the shooting death of Daniel Morgan, who died on July 25. The FBI “is likely to take over the investigation because the alleged suspect would be tried in a federal court.” Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating 2019 Murders Of Father, Son. EFTA00136131 Santa Fe New Mexican (7/25, 69K) reported that the FBI is continuing its investigations into the deaths of Antonio Romero and Buck Romero, whose bodies were found on June 1, 2019. The FBI “is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information ‘that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible’ for the homicides.” FBI Supporting Double Murder Investigation In Georgia. All On Georgia Chattooga County (7/25) reported that the FBI supported the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s inquiry into the deaths of Vanita Richardson and Truvenia Campbell. FBI Investigating ATM Robbery In Missouri. The Missourian (7/24, 41K) reported that the FBI “is leading the investigation of an ATM robbery at the First Bank in Washington July 4.” Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Iowa Teenager. KWQC-TV Davenport, IA (7/24, 79K) reported that the FBI Omaha field office “s now offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to finding missing 10-year-old Breasia Terrell or the arrest of anyone who was involved in her disappearance.” Police “have Henry Earl Dinkins, 47, of Davenport, a person of interest in the case.” FBI Continuing Investigation Into Shooting At California Garlic Festival. The Gilroy (CA) Patch (7/24, 1.03M) reported that the FBI “is continuing its investigation into the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting that occurred nearly a year ago.” FBI San Francisco SAC John Bennett “confirmed earlier this month that the circumstances surrounding the July 28, 2019 massacre were ongoing.” Rhode Island Man Arrested In Georgia After Faking Death. GoLocalProv (RI) (7/25, Fenton) reported David Staveley “was arrested on July 23, 2020, by the U.S. Marshals Service in Georgia” after he attempted to fake his death in order to avoid prosecution in connection to CARES act fraud. The FBI arrested Staveley on May 5 and he was “charged in the District of Rhode Island with allegedly filing bank loan applications fraudulently seeking more than a half-million dollars in forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.” Also reporting are Lincoln (RI) Valley Breeze (7/25, 92K) and Providence (RI) Journal EFTA00136132 (7/25, Mulvaney, 259K). Virginia Men Arrested Following Escape From Juvenile Correctional Center. The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch (7/25, 277K) reported Jabar A. Taylor and Rashad E. Williams, who “escaped from the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County on July 13,” were “arrested without incident in Michigan on Saturday.” The FBI supported the manhunt. Continuing Coverage: California Police Arrest Parents In Connection To Toddler’s Disappearance. The Fresno (CA) Bee (7/26, 246K) reported that the Madera police department has arrested the parents of two-year-old Thaddeus Sran, who “was reported missing July 15,” after police officers “said they recovered charred human remains they believe to be the toddler.” Madera Police Chief Dino Lawson “said the parents, Briseida G. Sran and Sukhjinder Sran, were taken into custody on a warrant charging them both with murder.” Texas Teacher Arrested For Solicitation Of Minor. The El Paso (TX) Times (7/24, 123K) reported Horizon High School teacher Ricardo Ortiz “was arrested by FBI El Paso agents this weekend for allegedly attempting to meet and have sex with a 14-year-old boy he met on a dating app.” The arrest was a part of a FBI-led sting operation into sexual predators. New Jersey Man Sentenced Over Drug Possession. NJ News (7/25, 1.72M) reported Tahir Gregory “was sentenced to 15 years in state prison after he was convicted of drug crimes by a jury trial.” He was “dubbed a ‘persistent offender’” during his sentencing. Former California Mayor To Be Tried In October For Bribery. The Palm Springs (CA) Desert Sun (7/24, 131K) reported former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who is charged with accepting bribes, will be tried in October. Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Missouri Lobbyist. EFTA00136133 Politico (7/25, Zhang, 4.29M) reported that the FBI is investigating Missouri marijuana lobbyist Steve Tilley, who “represented lucrative clients who appeared to receive a boost in the licensing process” after Missouri legalized medical marijuana in 2018. Colorado Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Drug Sales. The Pueblo (CO) Chieftain (7/24, 61K) reported Ace gang member Jose Angel Martinez “admitted this week that he conspired with other members of the Ace criminal gang to sell drugs.” He “made the admission when he pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to commit racketeering and to having heroin with the intent of selling it.” The case was the result of a FBI Safe Streets Task Force investigation. Records Link Two Former Law Enforcement Workers To Raided Marijuana Business. The Portland (ME) Press Herald (7/24, 244K) reported that according to state records in Maine, two former Franklin County Sheriff’s Office employees are linked to Narrow Gauge Distributors, a marijuana business that the DEA and the FBI recently raided. The records show that “Brad Scovil of Farmington, a former lieutenant in the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and Derrick Doucette of Livermore, the department’s former canine officer, are the treasurer and a member of the board of directors of Narrow Gauge Distributors.” An unidentified spokesperson “for the FBI’s regional office outside Boston declined comment on what she called an ongoing criminal investigation.” The Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal (7/24, 25K) also covered this story. Connection Between Search Operation In Maine, Drug Offender Highlighted. The Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal (7/24, Perry, 25K) reported that records show there is a connection between convicted drug trafficker Robert Sirois and a search operation that targeted two companies in Maine, The Home Grown Connection and Narrow Gauge Distributors. The Home Grown Connection, which the DEA and the FBI searched last week, is located in a building that Robert owns. That business, as well as Narrow Gauge Distributors, is owned by Robert’s son, Maine resident Lucas Sirois. The Sun Journal added, “Federal authorities remained tight-lipped Thursday about the ongoing investigation involving marijuana-related businesses searched throughout” Maine, including the two Lucas Sirois-owned companies. The Sun Journal article is also posted to the Portland (ME) Press Herald (7/24, 244K) website. Authorities: 18 People Charged In Connection With Massachusetts Drug Investigation. The Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette (7/24, Petrishen, 124K) reported that federal authorities have announced that 18 people have been charged in connection with an investigation of an suspected illegal drug operation in Massachusetts. The article highlighted the FBI's involvement with the investigation. EFTA00136134 Suspect Arrested In Connection With Anti-Crime Operation Facing Drug Charges. The Kansas City (MO) Star (7/24, Stark, 549K) reported that Steven L. Younce has been charged in connection with a federal operation that aims to reduce violent crime in some US cities, including Kansas City, Missouri. The DEA was “involved in the investigation” that led to the arrest of Younce, who is “charged with possessing methamphetamine to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of firearms.” In an online story with similar coverage, KSHB-TV Kansas City, MO (7/24, 90K) reported that the federal operation which led to Younce’s arrest includes agents from the DEA, the FBI and other federal law enforcement organizations. Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two Men Accused Of Distributing Fentanyl. The Sacramento (CA) Bee (7/24, Ahumada, 567K) reported that a federal grand jury recently indicted Steven Lawrence Robinson and Nathaniel Opondo Hubbert, who are “accused of distributing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, that resulted in at least one overdose.” Prosecutors “said Robinson and Hubbert conspired to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl from June 2 through June 24, according to the indictment.” The article highlighted the DEA's involvement with the investigation of this case. FBI Asking For Public’s Help To Track Down Fugitive. In online coverage, WVEC-TV Hampton Roads, VA (7/24, 49K) reported, “The FBI is asking for the public’s help to track down” LaShawn Robertson. A federal arrest warrant that was issued earlier this month charges the “31-year-old Robertson with felon in possession of a firearm, distributing heroin or cocaine or cocaine base or methamphetamine, amphetamine and oxycodone as well as providing firearms to a convicted felon.” A similar WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (7/24, 163K) website report says the Roberston “case is being investigated by the FBI’s Peninsula Safe Streets Task Force.” Another online WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (7/26, 163K) article says people who have “information regarding Roberston’s whereabouts” are asked to “please call FBI Norfolk at 757-455-0100 or call 1-800CALL-FBI.” The Newport News (VA) Daily Press (7/24, Nolte, Subscription Publication, 176K) and the WAVY-TV Norfolk, VA (7/24, 64K) website also covered this story. Two Plead Guilty To Participating In Scheme To Smuggle Drugs Into Jail In Ohio. The Cleveland Patch (7/24, 1.03M) reported that two individuals have pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to smuggle drugs into the Cuyahoga County Jail in Ohio. Marvella Sullivan, a “former corrections officer, pleaded guilty to EFTA00136135 attempted bribery and drug trafficking of marijuana,” while inmate Lamar Speights “pleaded guilty to bribery, money laundering and illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility.” The article said the FBI and other law enforcement organizations investigated this case. The Akron (OH) Beacon Journal (7/24, 198K) also covered this story. Meth Case Defendant Sentenced To Nearly 27 Years In Prison. The Sidney (MT) Herald (7/24, 9K) reported that Montana resident Maurice Joseph Fregia, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, “possession with intent to distribute meth and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime,” has been “sentenced to 26 years and 10 months in prison and five years of supervised release.” The Fregia case “was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the FBI and the Billings Police Department.” Financial Crime & Corporate Scandals WSJournal A1: Goldman Sachs To Pay Malaysia Billions For Role In 1MBD Scandal. On its front page, the Wall Street Journal (7/24, A1, Otto, Tay, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Goldman Sachs is going to pay Malaysia $2.5 billion for its involvement in the alleged thievery of billions of dollars from the country’s 1MDB investment fund. Moreover, the agreement indicates Goldman additionally guaranteed the retrieval of $1.4 billion worth of assets allegedly pilfered from the fund. Ohio GOP Looking To Replace House Speaker Arrested In Bribery Probe. The AP (7/24, Amiri) reports Ohio House lawmakers on Friday put out a list of potential candidates to replace current Republican Speaker Larry Householder after his arrest “amid a $60 million federal bribery probe.” Former Ohio Supreme Court justice and GOP Rep. Bob Cupp “is being promoted as someone who could bring what Householder could not to the House floor: unity.” Meanwhile, “Rep. Rick Carfagna, a central Ohio Republican, is pushing his own candidacy, touting that he voted against the energy bill, didn’t receive any money tied to the scandal, and didn’t vote for Householder for speaker.” “Unholy Alliance” Of Money, Power Fueled Corruption Scheme. The AP (7/25, Gillispie, Smyth) reports from Columbus, Ohio, “An accused co-conspirator called it an ‘unholy alliance’ – dealings between a longtime Ohio politician seeking to restore his power and an energy company in desperate need of a billion-dollar bailout to rescue two nuclear plants in the state.” According to the AP, “Both the politician, current Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, and FirstEnergy Corp., identified in an FBI complaint as ‘Company A,’ got what they wanted last year from what federal officials say was a $60 million bribery scheme funded by an unidentified company the complaint makes clear is FirstEnergy and its affiliates. What Householder and his alleged co-conspirators might not have realized until their arrests on Tuesday and the affidavit was made public was that the FBI had insider help from people who cooperated with agents, recorded phone calls and dinner conversations, and shared text messages from members of the alleged conspiracy.” EFTA00136136 Ex-Head Of Howard University Bursar’s Office Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement. The Washington Post (7/24, Alexander, 14.2M) reports, “A former top director of Howard University’s bursar’s office pleaded guilty Friday to stealing nearly $140,000 from the university.” Doemini Mosley, 35, “pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court. As part of the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Mosley faces 10 to 24 months in prison and must repay nearly $140,000 in restitution as well as an additional $86,000 in forfeiture funds. Mosley worked at Howard from 2011 through 2017, initially in the university’s financial aid office and then as associate director of the university’s bursar’s office. An ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington office determined that she conspired with another Howard financial aid office employee to steal from the university, the government said.” Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement. The Bridgeport (CT) Daily Voice (7/26) reports, “A Fairfield County man has admitted to an embezzlement scheme of more than $1 million involving a Hartford company, federal authorities have announced.” Anthony Teixeira, 50, of Danbury, Connecticut, “was employed by Joseph Merritt & Company, a Hartford-based printing company, for more than 25 years, and most recently oversaw the JMC branch located in Danbury. The loss to the company attributable to Teixeira through his schemes is approximately $1.1 million, John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced.” The Daily Voice adds that federal prosecutors said that “between approximately January 2012 and February 2019, Teixeira defrauded JMC and its customers by presenting sales orders, or test sales orders, to customers as though they were actually invoices. Customers, believing they were paying JMC for the work, then delivered payments into accounts that Teixeira controlled.” US Charges New York Man With $6.9M Fraud. Newsday (NY) (7/24, Valenti, 932K) reports, “A Queens man who authorities said ‘fraudulently used’ the credentials of a Long Island-based physician to submit $6.9 million in false medical claims was indicted Friday in federal court in Central Islip, charging him with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Seth D. DuCharme said.” Arkadiy Khaimov, 37, of Forest Hills, Queens, “faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted. He is scheduled for arraignment at a later date. The indictment details a scheme that alleges Khaimov, also known as Alex Khaimov, and co-conspirators used a copay program established through two Queens-based pharmacies to submit false claims for reimbursement for medications ‘never actually dispensed.’ The unnamed physician, whose credentials the government said were fraudulently used, was described only as being ‘Nassau County-based.’” Woman Pleads Guilty To Orchestrating $400M Ponzi Scheme In California. MLive (MI) (7/24, Clark, 925K) reports from Ann Arbor, Michigan, “An Ann Arbor native accused of orchestrating a $400 million Ponzi scheme in California for nearly a decade has pleaded guilty EFTA00136137 to federal conspiracy and fraud charges." Gina Champion-Cain, 54, "pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Southern District of California on July 22, to one count each of conspiracy, securities fraud and obstruction of justice in association with her role as CEO of American National Investments Inc. in San Diego, according to court records. American National Investments Chief Financial Officer and a co-conspirator Crispin Torres Jr. also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy." Champion-Cain, "a 1983 Pioneer High School graduate who later earned a degree from the University of Michigan in 1987, was embroiled in an elaborate scheme to defraud investors from multiple states through fraudulent escrow accounts tied to pending California liquor license transfers, according to the court filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission." CEO Of Virginia Startup Faces Federal Fraud Charges. The ARLnow (VA) (7/24) reports, “A once high-flying Arlington startup is now at the center of a federal fraud case.” Trustify, “a Crystal City-based technology firm that provided an online marketplace for private investigations, went bankrupt last year. Just two years prior to that, the company moved into a swanky new office and was touted by the governor’s office for its plan to create 184 new jobs in Arlington. Now, federal prosecutors are charging CEO and co-founder Danny Boice with investment fraud, saying he bilked investors out of millions of dollars while overstating the company’s financial performance.” Boice, 41, of Alexandria, Virginia, “was charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and two counts of money laundering.” Executive At Defunct Ohio Firm Charged With Fraud. The Akron (OH) Beacon Journal (7/24, 198K) reports, “The vice president of a now-defunct tour company has been indicted in federal court on numerous charges.” Joseph A. Cipolletti, 45, of Hudson, Ohio, “the president of Discovery Tours, was charged in U.S. District Court with wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and making a false statement. Federal prosecutors say Cipolletti’s victims were families across Ohio who bought pre-paid school field trips and then weren’t able to go. Akron-area districts that had booked trips with the agency include Hudson, Twinsburg and Perry.” Indivior To Pay $600M To Resolve Allegations Concerning Illicit Scheme To Raise Prescriptions Of Opioid Treatment. Reuters (7/24, Raymond) reports Indivior “has agreed to pay $600 million and have a subsidiary plead guilty to a felony charge to resolve U.S. allegations that it engaged in an illegal scheme to boost prescriptions of its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone.” The Justice Department “announced the agreement on Friday after the subsidiary, Indivior Solutions Inc, pleaded guilty in Abingdon, Virginia, to making false statements related to healthcare matters.” The deal followed the parent company having been “indicted in April 2019 in one of the few corporate prosecutions related to the U.S. opioid addiction epidemic.” Reuters adds, “The indictment alleged Indivior deceived doctors and healthcare benefit programs into believing the film version of Suboxone, which has an opioid component, was safer and less susceptible to abuse than similar drugs.” Cyber Division EFTA00136138 New Report Finds Election Officials Are Vulnerable to Email Attacks. The Wall Street Journal (7/26, McMillan, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports a new study determined local election officials across the country who are handling November’s presidential election are using email systems that may be vulnerable to online attacks, Cybersecurity vendor Area 1 Security Inc. assessed more than 12,000 local officials and concluded more than 1,600 used free or nonstandard email software does not have the appropriate protection found with large cloud-service providers. The findings emphasize challenges with the country’s wide-ranging election systems. Sources Report Garmin Global Outage Caused By Ransomware Attack. TechCrunch (7/25, Whittaker, 605K) reported that, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident, “an ongoing global outage at sport and fitness tech giant Garmin was caused by a ransomware attack.” The incident began late Wednesday and “continued through the weekend, causing disruption to the company’s online services for millions of users, including Garmin Connect, which syncs user activity and data to the cloud and other devices.” The attack also” took down flyGarmin, its aviation navigation and route-planning service.” Garmin has “said little about the incident so far.” A banner on its website reads: “We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.” Op-Ed: Cyberespionage Is Now A Permanent Part Of Geopolitics. In an op-ed in the Globe and Mail (CAN) (7/24, 1.04M), Ben Buchanan, an assistant teaching professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, wrote, “In the past week, citizens of Canada, the US and the UK have had a behind-the-curtain peek on how espionage works today. The governments of the three countries warned that hackers working for Russian intelligence services had spied on COVID-19 vaccine research. ... These incidents confirm just how vital hacking to steal secrets is to modern statecraft.” He concludes, “We should recognize that cyberespionage is here to stay as part of modern geopolitics, whether we like it or not. ... For some, this realization will be saddening and will suggest that norms of restraint are further away than they might like; for others, it is simply a recognition of the inevitable, of how far we are from the optimal world of greater co-operation against disease and other shared risks.” Russia’s GRU Hackers Hit US Government And Energy Targets. Ars Technica (7/25, 1.36M) reported the FBI notified organizations in May “that Russia’s elite hackers had targeted them.” The campaign “likely remains ongoing.” Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency “has carried out many of the most aggressive acts of hacking in history: destructive worms, blackouts, and – closest to home for Americans – a broad hacking-and-leaking operation designed to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election.” Now it “appears the GRU has been hitting US networks again, in a series of previously unreported intrusions that targeted organizations ranging from government agencies to critical infrastructure.” The revelation of a “potentially ongoing US-targeted GRU hacking spree is especially troubling in light of the GRU’s past operations, which have often gone beyond mere espionage to include embarrassing EFTA00136139 email leaks or even disruptive cyberattacks.” FBI Warns US Companies About Backdoors In Chinese Tax Software.
ZDNet<https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-warns-us-companies-about-backdoors-in-chinese-tax-software/>(7/24,Cimpanu,299K) reported the FBI“has sent an alert on Thursday warning US companies about backdoor malware that is silently being installed on the networks of foreign companies operating in China via government-mandated tax software.”The backdoors“allow threat actors to execute unauthorized code, infiltrate networks,and steal proprietary data from branches operating in China.”The FBI“says that all foreign companies are required by local Chinese laws to install this particular piece of software in order to handle value-added tax(VAT) payments to the Chinese tax authority.”FBI officials“said the backdoor malware was spotted in the VAT software of two Chinese tech companiesnamely Baiwang and Aisino。”
WPost: Countries Should Be Figuring Out To Share Vaccine Information, Not Steal It. The US and China “in particular have been playing a coronavirus blame game over the past few months,” exemplified by reporting hacking attempts to steal vaccine research, the Washington Post (7/25, 14.2M) editorializes. The Post editorial board writes: “The reality is that every country will benefit from every other country having access to a vaccine. They should be figuring out how to share the wealth, not how to steal it.” European Commission Says EU Countries Must Urgently Diversify 5G Suppliers. Reuters (7/24, Chee) reported the European Commission “said on Friday EU countries must take urgent action to diversify their 5G suppliers, a move set to shrink Huawei’s presence in Europe as the US pressured the bloc to follow Britain and ban the Chinese company from 5G networks.” The EU executive said, reporting on the progress made by the 27 EU countries, “Progress is urgently needed to mitigate the risk of dependency on high-risk suppliers, also with a view to reducing dependencies at (European) Union level. Challenges have been identified in designing and imposing appropriate multi-vendor strategies for individual MNOs (mobile network operator) or at national level due to technical or operational difficulties.” France Says It’s Not Banning Huawei Though Phase Out Started. Bloomberg (7/24, 4.73M) reported France is seeking “to assure China that it isn’t banning Chinese telecom equipment supplier Huawei from participating in its fifth-generation mobile roll-out, even after announcing new security regulations that may effectively do just that.” The head of the country’s cybersecurity agency “said this month it will grant time-limited waivers on 5G for wireless operators that use Huawei products, a decision that will likely begin a ‘phasing out’ of the company’s products.” The fact that Americans “are publicly praising France for its latest action has observers thinking that a change in policy is afoot.” A spokesman for the finance ministry said “any talk of a ban is rumor and speculation.” Op-Ed: Cyberattack Attribution And International Law Is Not Well Understood. EFTA00136140 In a commentary in Just Security (7/24, Eichensehr), Kristen Eichensehr wrote, “Last week the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing two men linked to China’s Ministry of State Security of a decade-long campaign of hacking dissidents, human rights activists, and a variety of private sector targets, including most recently entities working on COVID-19 treatments, tests, and vaccines. ... But the relationship of these and other cyberattack attributions to international law is not well understood” He contended, “In a new article, I argue that states should establish a customary international law requirement that governments that make public attributions of cyberattacks to other states must provide enough evidence to enable crosschecking or corroboration of their attributions.” He concluded, “But for now, the interplay between cyberattack attributions and the still unsettled rules for state behavior in cyberspace make establishing an evidentiary standard in the cyberattack context an important first step.” CISA, NSA Release Security Advisory On Operational Technology. ExecutiveGov (7/24, Martin) reported the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) “partnered with NSA to jointly issue a guidance document on the protection of critical infrastructure and control systems associated with operational technology.” CISA said Thursday that the joint advisory “includes information on observed tactics and techniques employed by cyber actors and potential impacts on operational technology systems.” Anne Neuberger, director of NSA's Cybersecurity Directorate, said, “Operational technology assets are pervasive and underpin many essential national security functions, as well as the Defense Industrial Base.” The government released the advisory “to help operational technology users evaluate their cybersecurity against threats.” Gov Info Security (7/25, Asokan) reported the alert also “warns of a ‘perfect storm’ of vulnerabilities that hackers are looking to exploit.” This includes “remote access to critical operational technology systems by a decentralized workforce.” The agencies also “note that older OT systems are not designed to defend against modern attacks.” Neuberger said, “Operational technology assets are pervasive and underpin many essential national security functions, as well as the defense industrial base.” WSJournal Welcomes EU Report Calling For 5G Diversification. A Wall Street Journal (7/26, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) editorial welcomes a report issued Friday by the European Commission calling for the bloc to diversify its 5G suppliers. The Journal calls the report a sign the EU is beginning to recognize the security threat posed by China. ## Law Enforcement Services US Prison Population Fell 8% Between March, June. The AP (7/24, Sharma, Lavoie) reports a significant decline in the US prison population has occurred, as an analysis by The Marshall Project and the AP indicates that “between March and June, more than 100,000 people were released from state and federal prisons, EFTA00136141 a decrease of 8%.” Prisoner totals “have dropped largely because prisons stopped accepting new prisoners from county jails to avoid importing the [coronavirus], court closures meant fewer people were receiving sentences and parole officers sent fewer people back inside for low-level violations, according to data and experts.” Report On Alabama Prisons Finds That Corrections Officers Often Utilized Excessive Force. The New York Times (7/24, Vigdor, 18.61M) says the Justice Department on Thursday put out a report concerning Alabama’s prison system that “said that corrections officers frequently used excessive force.” The report is the most recent troubling peek “at what life is like in the state’s overcrowded and understaffed prisons, which for several years have drawn scrutiny from civil rights investigators at the Justice Department and prison reform advocates.” The Times adds, “Investigators said that they had reason to believe that episodes of excessive force had been underreported or not reported at all.” International Relations Harry Dunn’s Parents Drop Legal Claim Against Police Force. The Guardian (UK) (7/26, 4.19M) reports Harry Dunn’s parents have “dropped their legal claim against Northamptonshire police after concluding the force was ‘absolved of any blame’ over their son’s death.” The 19-year-old’s family “are set for a two-day judicial review at the high court in November where they allege the foreign secretary ‘obstructed justice’ by allowing the suspect in the case, Anne Sacoolas, to leave the UK.” Northamptonshire police were “brought into the legal claim in January as Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, and father, Tim Dunn, sought to understand how Sacoolas, the wife of a CIA agent working at the US intelligence base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, was able to claim diplomatic immunity following the fatal crash in August last year.” It is understood the force “will now only be involved in the claim as an ‘interested party’ on the request of its chief constable, Nick Adderley.” Other FBI News Female FBI Trainees Lose Bid To Block Reprisals In Bias Lawsuit. In a paywall-protected article, Law360 (7/24, Subscription Publication, 8K) reports, “Female FBI employees suing the agency for gender bias weren’t able to secure a court order shielding them from retaliation, as a D.C. federal judge said she can’t bar the FBI from doing something that’s only tenuously linked to the employees’ allegations.” According to Law360, “The women, who allege the FBI’s training program systematically pushes female trainees out, said the law enforcement agency had responded to the suit by targeting the accusers who are still working there, including by threatening to fire one of the intelligence analysts named in the litigation and shunning one of their witnesses, who’s an FBI supervisor.” Other Washington News EFTA00136142 Meadows, Mnuchin Say GOP Relief Bill Coming Monday. On the CBS Weekend News (7/26, story 2, 2:15, 2.32M), Jamie Yuccas reported, “President Trump has returned to Washington after spending the weekend at his New Jersey golf club. For millions of Americans, these are desperate times. Infections are spreading, and deaths adding up. And for those looking for a new relief check from Washington, it could be a while.” CBS’ Paula Reid reported Trump’s “top advisors were back on Capitol Hill today, working on what to do about federal jobless benefits Congress approved in April, $600 per person per week, which are about to expire.” Chief of Staff Meadows: “We are going to be prepared on Monday to provide unemployment insurance extension that would be 70% of whatever the wages you were prior to being unemployed.” Reid said House Speaker Pelosi said Sunday that “the Republicans’ new formula is too complicated.” Pelosi: “Figuring out 70% of somebody’s wage – people don’t all make a salary. Maybe they do, they make wages. And sometimes they have it varied. So why don’t we just keep it simple?” On ABC World News Tonight (7/26, story 4, 1:20, Llamas, 6.14M), Andrew Dymburt reported, “Democrats want to extend the full benefit; Republicans proposing instead to reimburse Americans up to 70% of lost wages.” The AP (7/26, Mascaro, Superville) reports Meadows and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin “spent a few hours at the Capitol later Sunday to put what Meadows described as ‘final touches’ on a $1 trillion relief bill” that Senate Majority Leader McConnell is “expected to bring forward Monday afternoon. ... Meadows said as the White House was ‘looking for clarity’ on a ‘handful’ of remaining issues ahead of Monday.” Reuters (7/26, Chiacu, Volcovici) reports Mnuchin and Meadows “would not discuss details, but the $1 trillion Republican offer was expected to include another round of direct payments to individuals, a reduced federal supplement to unemployment benefits and liability protections against coronavirus-related lawsuits.” USA Today (7/26, Elbeshbishi, 10.31M) reports, “GOP leaders had previously hoped to release the package on Thursday but delayed the release after the Trump administration requested additional time to review the bill,” according to McConnell. The New York Times (7/26, Fandos, Cochrane, 18.61M) says that with Democrats “already on record in opposition to a piecemeal approach, a narrow fix is almost certainly dead on arrival. Republicans know that, suggesting their Sunday proposal may in part be a negotiating tactic laying the groundwork to blame the opposition party when the funds ultimately expire.” House Democrats “passed their own $3 trillion proposal – which also includes money to bail out states and cities, fully fund the $600 federal jobless benefit and infuse billions more into the nation’s health care system – in May.” The Washington Post (7/26, A1, Werner, Stein, 14.2M) also says Pelosi “has rejected the piecemeal approach, but time is running short because the temporary unemployment benefits are set to expire at the end of this week.” The Los Angeles Times (7/26, King, 4.64M) reports, “Negotiations between the two parties have barely begun, largely because internal dissent among Senate Republicans and disagreements with the White House have stymied Republican efforts to produce a proposal.” Pelosi, on CBS’ Face The Nation (7/26, 2.68M), said, “We’ve been anxious to negotiate for two months and 10 days, when we put forth our proposal. ... They’re in disarray, and it’s causing suffering for America’s families.” However, Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday (7/26, 976K), “The Administration and the Senate Republicans are completely on the same page. Mark Meadows and I were up yesterday just working on technical issues in the drafts. We have previously agreed on all these issues earlier in the week. We want to move forward quickly. The bill will be introduced Monday, and we are prepared to act EFTA00136143 quickly." CNN (7/26, Westwood, Robertson, Main, Kelly, 83.16M) reports on its website that NEC Director Kudlow said Sunday “that $1,200 checks to Americans will be part of the new recovery package, in addition to reemployment bonuses, retention bonuses and tax credits for small businesses and restaurants.” The Washington Post (7/26, A1, Farzan, Shepherd, 14.2M) reports, “Kudlow and other administration officials denied intraparty conflict was at play as lawmakers rush to pass legislation before the enhanced jobless aid expires. Hinting at developments, Kudlow said that the federal government would extend a four-month moratorium on evictions that ended Friday.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures (7/26, 1.5M), said, “Our goal is to give you 70% of the money lost when you were employed, not to give you a pay raise in unemployment. We have to take care of that.” Politico (7/26, O'Brien, 4.29M) reports Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday “reiterated his opposition to an extension of a boost to jobless benefits in a new round of coronavirus relief legislation while taking aim at Democratic positions on further aid to those affected by the pandemic.” Cruz told CBS’ Face The Nation (7/26, 2.68M), “[Pelosi’s] objectives are shoveling cash at the problem and shutting America down.” The Wall Street Journal (7/26, A1, Duehren, Ballhaus, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), Washington Times (7/26, Lovelace, 492K), Washington Examiner (7/26, Soellner, 448K), and The Hill (7/26, Budryk, 2.98M) are among the other sources providing coverage. Mnuchin, Kudlow Still Expect Rapid Recovery. The Wall Street Journal (7/26, Mauldin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Mnuchin and Kudlow said Sunday that they still expect the US economy to recover rapidly despite the surges in coronavirus cases in several states. Kudlow, on CNN’s State Of The Union (7/26, 846K), said, “I don’t think the economy is going south. I think it’s going north, and I think that there’s a bunch of indicators. ... You’re in a housing boom right now. You’re in a retail sales boom right now. You’re in an auto, car boom right now. Manufacturing, look at the ISM Index. All are booming.” White House Launching Regional Media Campaign In COVID Hot Spots. Axios (7/26, Treene, 521K) cites “White House officials” who say that “to show President Trump’s ‘renewed focus’ on combating COVID-19, the White House is launching a heavy regional media campaign in states that are coronavirus hot spots to educate the public on the importance of following mitigation measures.” The White House “will be blanketing designated marketing areas throughout the Southwest and Midwest with White House doctors and administration officials on air.” Trump Says Pelosi, Biden Opposed His Decision To Ban Travelers From China. EFTA00136144 In a tweet Sunday morning, President Trump said House Speaker Pelosi opposed his decision to ban people from China from entering US even though it saved “tens of thousands of lives.” Trump added that Joe Biden agreed with Pelosi, but later admitted Trump was correct. Trump wrote , “Crazy Nancy Pelosi said I made a mistake when I banned people from infected China from entering the U.S. in January. Tens of thousands of lives were saved, as she danced in the Streets of Chinatown (SF) in late February. Biden agreed with her, but soon admitted that I was right!” AP-NORC Poll Shows Trump’s Approval On Virus Falling. The AP (7/26, Pace, Fingerhut) reports a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that with the election 100 days away, “more Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction than at any previous point in Donald Trump’s presidency, putting the incumbent in a perilous position as his reelection bid against Democrat Joe Biden enters a pivotal stretch.” The poll shows “Trump’s approval for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic falling to a new low, with just 32% of Americans supportive of his approach.” Moreover, “8 in 10 Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction,” and “just 38% of Americans say the national economy is good, down from 67% in January, before the pandemic upended most aspects of everyday life.” Meadows Defends US Coronavirus Testing Regime. The Hill (7/26, Coleman, 2.98M) reports that in an interview with ABC’s This Week Sunday, Chief of Staff Meadows defended US COVID-19 testing on Sunday “amid criticism over the delays to receive results.” Asked by host George Stephanopoulos what the White House’s plan is to fix testing, Meadows “said the country is testing more than 1 million people every day, and that additional quick testing at nursing homes, long-term care facilities, schools, health care providers and child care ‘may help.’” Meadows said, “But when we look at the regime that we’ve got, we’re testing more than any other country in the world. ... Other countries, all they do is test when you come to the hospital. We’re finding more cases because we’re testing more, but, indeed, what we need to do is make sure that we focus on those nursing homes, long-term care so that we can bring that death count down because those are the ones that are most at risk.” Azar Blames States For Testing Delays. Politico (7/26, Roubein, 4.29M) reports that on CBS’ Face The Nation Sunday, HHS Secretary Azar “blamed the current delays in coronavirus testing on the states, which he said have been too slow to spend federal dollars to boost the country’s testing amid the virus’s spread.” Azar said, “Our governors have to take that initiative and get their public health labs fully up and running.” Politico adds that Azar “said that public health labs are running at 58 percent capacity, and claimed the federal government is meeting every need for supplies and testing.” Azar “put the onus on the states to boost this.” He said, “We’re certainly talking to the governors and telling them that they’ve got to use this money to get up and running.” ## On CNN's State Of The Union (7/26, 830K), Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) took a different view. Hogan argued, "The real need right now is on ramping up a robust testing program because we’re starting to with the spikes around the country, you know, see waits of ten days or more in some of these states that are actually affecting states like ours that aren’t having a big problem but it’s slowing down the testing at the national labs and I think that is something that the federal government has EFTA00136145 really got to focus on. Instead last week, the President was talking about cutting funding for testing programs." ## Giroir Says He Is Unhappy With Testing Turnaround Times. The Washington Examiner (7/26, Leonardi, 448K) reports HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said on CNN’s State Of The Union that “he's not content with the coronavirus test turnaround time.” Giroir “told [host Jake Tapper] he's unhappy with the time it takes for test results to come back after hearing that former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s son waited five to seven days for results.” Asked why testing is “not where it needs to be,” Giroir said, “We are not going to stop our efforts until testing is exactly where we want it to be with rapid turnaround times. ... About one-quarter of the tests in this country are done as point-of-care. That's a 15-minute turnaround. About another quarter are done at local hospitals and laboratories, which is generally within 24 hours. The delays that most people talk about are at the large commercial labs that perform about half the testing in our country. Now, the data are the average turnaround is 4.27 days. ... I'm never gonna be happy until we have this under control.” Politico (7/26, Roubein, 4.29M) reports Giroir “said that anyone who ‘needs’ a coronavirus test can get one,” but he “didn’t define what ‘need’ meant.” Politico adds that “some testing sites across the country are prioritizing people who are already sick, even as schools and businesses will need more quick testing as they reopen.” Meadows Expects “Good News” On Therapeutics And Vaccine In Coming Weeks. The New York Post (7/26, Nelson, 4.57M) reports Chief of Staff Meadows told ABC’s This Week Sunday that he is “hopeful” that an announcement on new COVID-19 treatments will be coming within days. Meadows said, “We’re hopeful that, with some of the breakthrough technology on therapeutics, that we will be able to announce some new therapies in the coming days.” While he “did not elaborate on what the new therapies may be,” Meadows repeated later in the interview,“I’m hopeful that, in the next couple of days, that we will have some very good news on the therapeutic and vaccine fronts, as we try to address this China virus.” ## BARDA Gives Moderna Another $472M To Support Vaccine Development. Reuters (7/26, Ponnezhath) reports that Moderna announced Sunday that “it has received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support development of its novel coronavirus vaccine.” Politico (7/26, Roubein, 4.29M) says BARDA “is pouring the additional dollars the day before the phase three trial of the vaccine candidate is slated to start.” The funds will help Moderna “expand the trial to 30,000 people” in the US. It comes “on the heels of months of discussions with FDA and the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, an interagency effort to accelerate the timeline for a vaccine.” Experts Say Vaccine Protection May Only Last Months Or Years. Emerging science and health experts say that potentially successful COVID-19 vaccines may only protect people for months or years rather than the rest of their lives, the Wall Street Journal (7/26, A1, Hopkins, Hernandez, Loftus, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports. NIH's Collins Says Black, Latino, Native American Communities Must Be Represented In Vaccine Trial. The Washington Post (7/26, A1, Johnson, 14.2M) reports that a EFTA00136146 vaccine “must work for everyone – young and old; black, brown and white.” With “the first massive coronavirus vaccine trial in people” set top begin Monday, “many of the 30,000 volunteers for each trial must come from diverse communities. It’s a scientific necessity, but also a moral imperative, as younger people of color die of coronavirus at twice the rate of white people, and black, Hispanic and Native Americans are hospitalized at four to five times the rate of white people in the same age groups.” NIH Director Collins said, “If this is a vaccine trial that enrolls a bunch of 20-somethings or white college graduates, it will not give us the information we need.” CDC Echoes Trump’s Recommendation That Schools Reopen. In a front-page article, the New York Times (7/24, A1, Goodnough, 18.61M) reports that on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “issued a full-throated call to reopen schools in a package of new ‘resources and tools’ posted on its website...that opened with a statement that sounded more like a political speech than a scientific document, listing numerous benefits for children of being in school and downplaying the potential health risks.” According to the Times, “The package of materials began with the opening statement, titled ‘The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools This Fall,’ and repeatedly described children as being at low risk for being infected by or transmitting the coronavirus, even though the science on both aspects is far from settled.” The Times points out that the CDC “published the new guidance two weeks after President Trump criticized its earlier recommendations on school reopenings as ‘very tough and expensive.’” NBC Nightly News (7/24, story 4, 1:43, Dahlgren, 5.54M) reported the “guidelines address downsize of remote learning and benefits of in-person classes, adding ‘COVID poses a relatively low risk to kids,’ but also noting 64 children in the US have died since the pandemic began.” The CDC is also “pressing districts to welcome students back in person; encouraging cloth face coverings, hand hygiene and disinfecting often; spacing out students to maintain social distancing; even repurposing buildings or holding classes outside; keeping groups of students in cohorts or pods together throughout the day.” In a front-page article, the Wall Street Journal (7/24, A1, McCabe, Brody, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) quotes CDC Director Robert Redfield as saying, “It is critically important for our public health to open schools this fall.” The Journal reports that Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, emphasized that the CDC was not backing away from it’s recommendations for schools to protect students and faculty from the coronavirus even as it encourages them to reopen. In another front-page article, the Washington Post (7/24, A1, Meckler, Weiner, 14.2M) reports Redfield “said there should be exceptions for ‘hot spots,’ and he used a metric that would include parts of at least 33 states.” The Post suggests the “mixed messaging was another indication of how public health officials at the CDC have been squeezed between Trump’s demand for a normal school year and an out-of-control virus.” The Washington Post (7/24, Hawkins, 14.2M) reports that on Friday, NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci “said the country should try ‘as best as we possibly can’ to keep children in school but stressed that school reopenings should depend on the level of virus transmission in individual communities.” Fauci is quoted as saying, “It depends on where you are. We live in a very large country that is geographically and demographically diverse and certainly different in the extent to which there is covid virus activity.” The CBS Evening News (7/24, story 2, 1:02, Bojorquez, 4.11M) reported the debate over school openings is “leaving some EFTA00136147 teachers in fear,” because some CDC “language, like ‘teach and reinforce use of cloth face coverings’ written in May are now labeled recommendations.” ## Similarly, ABC World News Tonight (7/24, story 2, 1:46, Oquendo, 6.68M) reported “only 44% of parents are willing to send their kids to school,” according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll. The segment added that a “large study in South Korea” found “that children under the age of 10 are the only group that spreads the virus less than adults.” Los Angeles Superintendent Discusses Challenges Of School Reopenings. In an interview with NBC Nightly News (7/24, story 5, 3:24, Holt, 5.54M), Austin Beutner, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent says that reopening is an “incredibly tough call because we understand students need to be in school. But we can’t compromise on the health and safety of all the school community.” Beutner adds that COVID-19 infection “rates are still skyrocketing” in Los Angeles, and the community is “not ready” to return to school. However, he adds that “this fall, in addition to online learning, we’re going to offer individual tutoring, both online and in person. We’re going to do everything we can to try to help students catch up.” Barron Trump’s School Not Planning To Fully Reopen. The Washington Post (7/24, Stein, 14.2M) reports that “even as President Trump urges U.S. schools to reopen, his youngest son would probably not be able to return to his own private school full-time in the fall.” According to the Post, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, “the Maryland private school that Trump’s 14-year-old son Barron Trump attends, told families that they should prepare for an all-distance or hybrid learning model in the fall.” ## Pence: Reopening Schools “Is The Best Thing For Our Kids.” The AP (7/24) reports Vice President Pence “kept up the Trump administration’s push for reopening schools and universities, insisting Friday that it can be done safely even amid public worries about the health risks posed by the coronavirus.” The Vice President “told a small audience at Marian University in Indianapolis that having children back in classrooms was a necessary step to seeing more parents returning to jobs.” Said Pence, “Opening up our schools again is the best thing for our kids,” adding, “It’s also the best thing for working families.” Nursing Homes Say FEMA Sent Them Faulty PPE. According to the New York Times (7/24, Jacobs, 18.61M) , “Nursing home employees across the country have been dismayed by what they’ve found when they’ve opened boxes of protective medical gear sent by the federal government, part of a $134 million effort to provide facilities a 14-day supply of equipment considered critical for shielding their vulnerable residents from the coronavirus.” The Times says “the shipments have included loose gloves of unknown provenance stuffed into unmarked Ziploc bags, surgical masks crafted from underwear fabric and plastic isolation gowns without openings for hands that require users to punch their fists through the closed sleeves. Adhesive tape must be used to secure them.” The Times adds that “none of the shipments have included functional N95 respirators, the virus-filtering face masks that are the single most important bulwark against infection.” The Times reports that FEMA “said it had addressed the complaints.” The CBS Evening News (7/24, story 4, 0:09, Bojorquez, 4.11M) provided brief coverage of the controversy. Fauci Discusses Resumption Of Pro Sports Seasons. EFTA00136148 In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (7/26, Cohen, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), NIAID Director Fauci discussed the resumption of professional sports seasons and highlighted the approaches taken by Major League Baseball and the NBA. Sinclair Pulls Segment Featuring Conspiracy Theory About Fauci. The AP (7/26, Bauder) reports the Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Saturday that it is pulling an edition of its “America This Week” program that discusses a conspiracy theory which suggests that Fauci created the coronavirus. The show “featured an interview with Judy Mikovits, maker of the widely discredited ‘Plandemic’ video, and her lawyer, Larry Klayman.” Mikovits “said she believed that Fauci manufactured the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and shipped it to China. There has been no evidence that the virus was produced in a lab, much less any of Fauci’s involvement.” Host Eric Bolling “did not push back on the claim, or show any evidence of checking its veracity.” A spokesman “said Sinclair hopes to add context and other viewpoints and still air the controversial segment on the next week’s edition of ‘America This Week.’” ## Florida's COVID Case Count Surpasses New York's. Reuters (7/26, Craft) reports that Florida has become “the second state after California to overtake New York, the worst-hit state at the start of the U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak.” On Sunday, total COVID-19 cases in Florida “rose by 9,300 to 423,855,” putting the state “just one place behind California, which now leads the country with 448,497 cases. New York is in third place with 415,827 cases.” However, “New York has recorded the most deaths of any U.S. state at more than 32,000 with Florida in eighth place with nearly 6,000 deaths.” ABC World News Tonight (7/26, story 2, 3:35, Llamas, 6.14M) described “an alarming surge in infections among children” in Florida, “nearly 8,000 under the age of 17 testing positive for the virus in the past week.” The CBS Weekend News (7/26, story 4, 2:00, Yuccas, 2.32M) provided similar coverage. California Sees Consecutive Days Of Record Fatalities. NBC Nightly News (7/26, story 2, 1:45, Snow, 2.87M) reported that in California, there have been “several straight days of record fatalities and a firefighter succumbing to COVID. In nearby Newport Beach, 10 firefighters and 11 lifeguards testing positive, contributing to community spread.” Houston Had More COVID Deaths In July Than Previous Four Months Combined. NBC Nightly News (7/26, story 2, 1:45, Snow, 2.87M) reported that “Houston’s mayor announced more COVID deaths in July in that city than the previous four months combined. At the same time, some Lone Star State bars opening in defiance of the governor’s orders.” EFTA00136149 Some Police Chiefs, Sheriffs Won’t Enforce State Mask Mandates. The AP (7/26, Demillo) reports that a number of police chiefs and sheriffs “say they won’t enforce statewide mask requirements, even within their departments.” While some “say they don’t have the manpower to respond to every mask complaint,” others “reject the legal validity of mask requirements.” According to health officials, “a lack of enforcement could undermine what they say is a much-needed and simple step that can be taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus.” Texas Family Contracts Coronavirus Despite Efforts To Protect Themselves. The New York Times (7/26, Fink, 18.61M) reports that Elaine Roberts, a bagger at a supermarket in Houston, took steps to protect herself from the coronavirus, including wearing masks and gloves, but many of the customers at the store where she works did not wear masks. Roberts, “who has autism and lives with her parents, got sick first, sneezing and coughing. Then her father, Paul, and mother, Sheryl, who had been so cautious after the pandemic struck that their rare ventures out were mostly for bird-watching in a nearly empty park, were hospitalized with breathing problems.” The Times says that what happened to the Roberts family “is in many ways the story of Texas. ... For weeks, politicians were divided over keeping the economy open, citizens were polarized about wearing masks, doctors were warning that careless behavior could imperil others, and families were put at risk by their young.” WTimes Analysis: Administration Believes DACA Ruling Confirms Executive Action Authority. The Washington Times (7/26, Boyer, 492K) reports President Trump “is turning increasingly to executive action to push through his election-year agenda, buoyed by” the June Supreme Court ruling on President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the Administration “believes has expanded the president’s power of the pen.” Trump “signed five executive actions last week alone. Four orders Friday were aimed at lowering prescription drug prices,” while one eliminated undocumented immigrants from the census count for reapportionment. International News WPost Analysis: US Global Standing “At A Low Ebb,” Made Worse By Pandemic. The Washington Post (7/26, Balz, 14.2M) reports in an analysis that the United States’ “standing in the world is at a low ebb.” The nation “is now seen as withdrawn and inward-looking, a reluctant and unreliable partner at a dangerous moment for the world. The coronavirus pandemic has only made things worse.” In place of the “principle of robust American leadership in the world through alliances and multilateral institutions,” President Trump “has substituted his America First doctrine and what his critics say is a zero-sum-game sensibility about international relationships.” The world “sees the United States not as a leader in dealing with the coronavirus but as the country with the highest number of coronavirus infections and covid-19 deaths, and with the disease far from under control.” North Korea Locks Down Border Town As First Suspected COVID Cases Emerges. EFTA00136150 Reuters (7/26, Cha, Smith) reports North Korean state media said Sunday that Kim Jong-un has “declared an emergency and a lockdown in a border town after a person suspected of being infected with the novel coronavirus returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the border.” The case, if confirmed, would be the first officially acknowledged by North Korean officials. North Korea’s KCNA state news reported that a person who defected to South Korea three years ago, returned to the town Kaesong this month with symptoms of COVID-19. The Washington Post (7/26, Kim, 14.2M) says test results “were described as ‘uncertain’ but the person was still put under quarantine while health officials launched an investigation into those who might have come in contact with the individual in Kaesong, the state media reported.” The Post adds that an outbreak “would pose a significant threat to North Korea’s limited health system, which lacks basic protective equipment and medical supplies.” Latin America’s Coronavirus Case Tally Surpasses Combined Total Of US, Canada. Reuters (7/26, Desantis, Leira) reports the number of "coronavirus cases in Latin America for the first time...surpassed the combined infections in the United States and Canada, a Reuters tally showed on Sunday, amid a surge of infections in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Argentina." Mexico Raises Spring Death Toll For 20 Of 32 States. Bloomberg (7/26, Zerpa, 4.73M) reports that Mexico “is raising its estimate for the death toll for about two-thirds of the country by 55% between mid-March and late June.” Mexico “said in 20 out of 32 states alone, fatalities from Covid-19 and other causes increased by 71,315 to a total of 202,077 from March 15 to June 27.” The total “compares with the 130,763 earlier expected, according to a report by the health ministry on Saturday.” Bloomberg adds that “43,680 have died in Mexico from coronavirus, the fourth-highest number of fatalities globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data.” Spain Reimposes Lockdowns On Some Bars And Beaches. The AP (7/26, Wilson) reports that Spain’s nightclubs, bars, and beaches “are facing new lockdown restrictions after turning into coronavirus hot spots. … The northeast region of Catalonia now hosts two of the most worrying virus hotspots in Spain, prompting authorities to tighten restrictions in Barcelona and a rural area around Lleida that were relaxed only a month ago when Spain had its devastating outbreak in check.” Meanwhile, Reuters (7/26, Melander, Allen) reports that the Spanish government “insisted” Sunday that the country is safe “after Britain abruptly imposed a two-week coronavirus quarantine on travelers returning from there, a decision that filled holidaymakers with dismay.” Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told reporters, “Spain is safe, it is safe for Spaniards, it is safe for tourists.” EFTA00136151 Russia Seizes Control Of Two Libyan Oil Facilities. The Wall Street Journal (7/26, Faucon, Malsin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Russian military contractors have seized control of two of Libya’s largest oil facilities. In response, the US Treasury Department cited Russian involvement in Libya in a new round of sanctions applied in July to a Russian businessman with ties to President Vladimir Putin. The Department is also threatening sanctions against Russia’s Libyan ally, Khalifa Haftar. Hook: Dispute Between Qatar, Neighbors Has Gone On Too Long. Reuters (7/26, Cornwell) reports US Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook said Sunday that a rift between Qatar and its Gulf Arab allies “had lasted too long and urged them to rebuild trust and unity.” During a visit to Qatar, Hook told reporters, “The dispute has continued for too long and it ultimately harms our shared regional interests in stability, prosperity and security. Bringing an end to this dispute really will advance the collective interests of all the parties to this conflict.” McConnell, Rubio Defend NCSC Official Over Remarks On Election Interference. The Hill (7/26, Klar, 2.98M) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Senate Intelligence Chairman Marco Rubio “defended a senior intelligence official over an assessment released Friday that warned of foreign election interference from Russia, Iran and China.” McConnell and Rubio “also slammed Democrats” for their statement claiming William Evanina, the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), of not going “far enough in alarming the American people” in the assessment. Debt Of Developing Nations Could Pose World’s Next Economic Crisis. The Wall Street Journal (7/26, Chilkoti, Steinhauser, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that the world is preparing for a battle over developing country debt as governments struggle to find money to prepare their health systems for COVID-19 cases even as large amounts of their revenue are taken up by debt service. The Big Picture Headlines From Today’s Front Pages. Wall Street Journal: At Boeing And Airbus, Finished Airplanes Pile Up EFTA00136152
Investors Set Aside Coronavirus Worries, Driving A ‘Melt-Up’ In Markets
<https://www.wsj.com/articles/investor-anxiety-turns-to-greed-driving-risky-market-melt-up-11595755801>
GOP to Propose Aid Bill, With Extra Jobless Benefits Set to Expire <https://www.wsj.com/articles/expiring-jobless-aid-puts-pressure-on-gop-senators-11595761201>
Covid’s Next Economic Crisis: Developing-Nation Debt <https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-coronavirus-developing-nation-africa-debt-crisis-11595455147>
Learning To Ride A Bicycle As An Adult Can Be Hazardous To Your Dignity
<https://www.wsj.com/articles/learning-to-ride-a-bicycle-as-an-adult-can-be-hazardous-to-your-dignity-11595781302>
A Big Unknown In Covid-19 Vaccine Development: How Long Will Protection Last?
<https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-big-unknown-in-covid-19-vaccine-development-how-long-will-protection-last-11595755802>
## New York Times:
Cities In Bind As Turmoil Spreads Far Beyond Portland<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26 us/protests-portland-seattle-trump.html>
They Crossed Oceans To Lift Their Families Out Of Poverty. Now, They Need Help.
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27 business/global-remittances-coronavirus.html>
Inside The Violent And Misogynistic World Of Roy Den Hollander
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26 nyregion/roy-den-hollander-judge.html>
‘You Do the Right Things, And Still You Get It’<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26 us/coronavirus-family-houston-masks.html>
For The NBA, A Long, Strange Road Trip To The Finals A Liberal Town Built Around Confederate Generals Rethinks Its Identity ## Washington Post: Trump Touts Vote Fraud Case, Leaving Out Facts New Urgency On Narrow Relief Bill A Key Test For Vaccine Trials: Ensuring Diversity Colombia Factions Use Curfews For Control 'GWTW' Star Helped Topple Studio System World Of Crises Shows US Influence At A Low Ebb ## Financial Times:
Infection Surges Force Countries To Curb European Travel<https://www.ft.com/content/584ee262-d539-40ca145-e42865f2bc6b?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
Banks Across Europe Braced For Further Heavy Loan-Loss Charges<https://www.ft.com/content/d42d735a9aa3-454e-955a-3e0b22eda03d?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
Anti-Corruption Drive Floundering Under Bolsonaro, Says Ex-Minister<https://www.ft.com/content/710f9fe29f06-411b-a5e6-ec3b5b23cbb6?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
Chinese Listings Surge On Wall Street Despite Tensions<https://www.ft.com/content/81092178-2a42-477f9233-d5452f8bd483?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
EFTA00136153 Washington Times: Story Lineup From Last Night's Network News: Network TV At A Glance: Coronavirus – 11 minutes, 30 seconds John Lewis Tribute – 8 minutes, 35 seconds Texas-Hurricane – 5 minutes, 55 seconds Violent Protests – 5 minutes, 25 seconds Election 2020 – 5 minutes, 15 seconds Story Lineup From This Morning’s Radio News Broadcasts: ABC: Election 2020; Congress-Relief Bill; John Lewis Tribute; Americans With Disability Act Anniversary. CBS: Hurricane Douglas; Texas-Hurricane; Congress-Relief Bill; HHS Sec. Azar-Reopening Schools; John Lewis Tribute; China-US Closes Consulate in Chengdu. FOX: Congress-Relief Bill; Texas-Hurricane; Hurricane Douglas; Trump-Texas Visit; Biden-Campaign Ads. NPR: Congress-Relief Bill; Coronavirus-Rising Cases; Coronavirus-Testing; 2020 Census. Washington's Schedule Today's Events In Washington. White House: * President Trump — Participates in a greeting with the Walking Marine, Terry Sharpe; participates in a tour of Bioprocess Innovation Center at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies; participates in a coronavirus briefing at Bioprocess Innovation Center at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies * Vice President Pence — Visits Miami to mark the beginning of Phase III trials for a coronavirus (COVID-19) EFTA00136154 vaccine, participating in a roundtable with university leadership and researchers at the University of Miami, followed by a press briefing US Senate: - Dem Rep. John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol – Democratic Rep. John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol, following his death 17 Jul, from pancreatic cancer, aged 80 * Agenda includes invitation-only arrival ceremony (1:30 PM EDT); and public viewing at the top of the East Front Steps (6:00 PM EDT – 10:00 PM EDT) * Public viewing continues tomorrow from 8:00 AM EDT to 10:00 PM EDT * Lewis died on the same day as late civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, whose funeral was held last week * He is the second Black lawmaker to lie in state, alongside late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October 2019 - Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 1:30 PM - Senate debates judicial nominee – Senate convenes and proceeds to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of William Scott Hardy to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania * Motion to invoke cloture on the nomination passed by 60 votes to 32 last week Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 4:00 PM US House: * House Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees hold joint deposition in probe of firing of State Department IG – House Committee on Foreign Affairs and House Committee on Oversight and Reform conduct joint deposition of Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper, as part of their investigation into President Donald Trump’s 15 May firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, and whether President Trump removed Linick in order to stop his office's work looking into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's conduct; 10:00 AM * Dem Rep. John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol – Democratic Rep. John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol, following his death 17 Jul, from pancreatic cancer, aged 80 * Agenda includes invitation-only arrival ceremony (1:30 PM EDT); and public viewing at the top of the East Front Steps (6:00 PM EDT – 10:00 PM EDT) * Public viewing continues tomorrow from 8:00 AM EDT to 10:00 PM EDT * Lewis died on the same day as late civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, whose funeral was held last week * He is the second Black lawmaker to lie in state, alongside late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October 2019Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 1:30 PM * House Rules Committee hearing – Hearing on ‘H.R. 7617 – Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021’, held via Cisco Webex; 2:00 PM Cabinet Officers: * Annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations held in the U.S. – Annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN 2020), with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper co-hosting Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Location: State Department, Washington, DC Visitors: EFTA00136155 - No visitors scheduled - This Town: - FCC Hospital Robocall Protection Group meeting - Location: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street Southwest, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM - Environmental Protection Agency Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee meeting concludes; 1:00 PM - Dem Rep. John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol – Democratic Rep. John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol, following his death 17 Jul, from pancreatic cancer, aged 80 * Agenda includes invitation-only arrival ceremony (1:30 PM EDT); and public viewing at the top of the East Front Steps (6:00 PM EDT – 10:00 PM EDT) * Public viewing continues tomorrow from 8:00 AM EDT to 10:00 PM EDT * Lewis died on the same day as late civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, whose funeral was held last week * He is the second Black lawmaker to lie in state, alongside late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October 2019Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 1:30 PM - Atlantic Council online discussion on Germany’s role in transatlantic defense – ‘Germany’s role in the future of transatlantic defense’ Atlantic Council Future Europe Initiative and Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative online event, with German Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Silberhorn discussing Germany’s agenda for European defense initiatives during its EU Presidency, the country’s current operations abroad from Afghanistan to Mali, and transatlantic security cooperation; 4:00 PM Copyright 2020 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. Content is drawn from thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television programs, radio broadcasts, social-media platforms and additional forms of open-source data. 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EFTA00136156 Importance: Normal Priority: Normal Sensitivity: None Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com . ## TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 6:30 AM EDT ## TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS ## Leading the News - Administration Sending Additional Federal Agents To Portland. ## Protests - FBI Arrests Homicide Suspect Through Operation LeGend. - Some Chicagoans Welcome Federal Investigators. - Authorities Brace For More Violent Protests Across The Country. - Mayors Appeal To Congress To Restrict Use Of Federal Agents. - Dozens Of Seattle Police Officers Injured During Weekend Violence. - Austin Police Release Man Who Fatally Shot Protester. - National Guard Officer: Protesters Cleared From Lafayette Square Without Provocation. - Cotton Criticized For Says Founding Fathers Viewed Slavery As “Necessary Evil.” - Police Departments Withdraw From Security Agreements For Democratic Convention. - Illinois County Board Candidate Quits Over Tweet “Laughing” At Officer Getting Hit. - Black Soldiers Monument In Boston Under Scrutiny. - NYTimes Analysis: NFL Efforts To Combat Racism Undercut By Team Owners. - WTimes Analysis: Black Lives Matter Has “Leftist” Goal. - Counter-Terrorism - Georgia Man Sentenced For Planning White House Attack. - Arizona Woman Charged With Helping Al Qaeda To Appear In Court Next Week. - Sentencing Postponed For Man Who Supplied Guns To San Bernardino Shooter. - Changes Made To 9/11 Commemoration In New York Due To Pandemic. - Prosecutors Struggle To Resume Guantánamo Trials. - State Department Declares “Unwavering” Commitment To Seeking ‘Justice For The Families’ Of US Citizens Killed By ISIS. - Counter-Intelligence - Yates To Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee Next Week. - Jarrett: Christopher Steele’s Secret Source For Anti-Trump Dossier Is Finally Exposed. - Carter Page Sues Yahoo, HuffPost Parent Company For “False And Defamatory” Articles. - Op-Ed: Biden May Want To Forget About The Russia Investigation. - Chinese Scientist Charged With Visa Fraud Ordered Held As Flight Risk. - Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Seeks Canadian Spy Agency Documents Linked To Canadian Arrest. - Spanish Court Hears Testimony On Whether Assange Was Spied On. - Lowenthal Says Intelligence Analysis Needs Course Change. EFTA00136157 - Pentagon Issues Contract Guidance On China Tech Ban. - IARPA Funds Study Showing Randomness Theory Could Hold Key To Internet Security. - Op-Ed: Russian Spying is Privatized and Competitive. - Criminal Investigations - Maxwell Seeks To Seal Evidence. - FBI Investigating Washington State Murder. - Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Missing Iowa Child. - FBI Task Force Arrests Two In Connection To Colorado Party Shooting. - Missippi Man Charged With Threatening Federal Judge. - Continuing Coverage: California Police Arrest Parents In Connection To Disappearance Of Toddler. - Georgia Man Sentenced Over Producing Child Pornography. - FBI Agents Investigating In Pennsylvania. - Connecticut Man Sentenced For Embezzling. - New Mexico Police Continuing To Investigate Disappearance Of Local. - Wisconsin Man Sentenced Over Child Enticement. - Former FBI Task Force Officer Facing Trial In Guam. - Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Pennsylvania Teenager. - Continuing Coverage: US Marshal Task Force Announces Arrests Of Juvenile Prison Escapees. - FBI Searching For Virginia Man. - Michigan Man Sentenced Over Bank Robbery. - Massachusetts Gang Member Ordered Held Without Bail. - Former Medical Doctor Pleads Guilty To Illegally Prescribing Oxycodone. - Notices Filed To Seize Properties In Connection With Marijuana Firm Raid Operation - Federal Prosecutors: Drug Offender Was Involved In Prison Smuggling Scheme. - Maryland Resident Facing Drug Charges. - Financial Crime & Corporate Scandals - Ohio Candidate Went To FBI In March Over Householder, Dark Money. - Man Captured After Faking Own Death Over Fraudulent PPP Loans. - Former UCLA Soccer Coach Pleads Guilty To Taking College Admissions Bribes. - Visa, Mastercard Fined Wirecard For Questionable Transactions Over A Decade Ago. - US Charges Former Florida Tech CEO With Wire Fraud. - US Charges Trustify CEO With Defrauding Investors. - New York Man Charged With Defrauding Drug Maker. - Top Tech CEOs To Be Grilled On Antitrust Issues At House Hearing. - Under Armour Receives SEC Wells Notice Of Possible Enforcement Action. - Cyber Division - Garmin Says Cyberattack Made Its Software Unavailable. - Fund Administrator To Pimco, Others Saw Breach At Vendor. - House Spending Bill Details Funding For Cyber Defenses. - Cyberstalker Gets Four Years In Prison For “War” On Woman. - DOD Issues RFI With Goal Of Advancing Cybersecurity Technology. - CISA Says 62,000 QNAP NAS Devices Have Been Infected With The QSnatch Malware. - NDAA Would Create National Cyber Director Position In White House. - Laboratory - FBI Joins Probe Of Human Remains Found In Kentucky. - NIST Study Finds Pandemic Masks Thwarting Face Recognition Technology. - Law Enforcement Services - US Launches Minnesota Office On Missing Indigenous Cases. - International Relations - Former Malaysian PM Convicted In First 1MDB Trial. - Operation Conducted By Honduran, Colombian Authorities Leads To Big Cocaine Seizure. - Bulletin: Cartel Likely Used Phones That Were Compromised By Law Enforcement. - Other FBI News - Senate GOP’s COVID-19 Stimulus Proposal Includes $1.75B For New FBI Headquarters. EFTA00136158 - Barr To Defend Administration In Congressional Testimony. - Trump Touts “Tremendous Success” In Development Of Coronavirus Vaccine. - Other Washington News - O’Brien Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Is “Self-Isolating.” - Commerce Department: Ross Hospitalization Was Not Related To Coronavirus. - *Birx Advocates Mask-Wearing, Bar Closures In Tennessee Visit.* - Azar Credits Mask-Wearing For “Plateauing” Of COVID Cases In Key States. - Report: 4,000 Federal Workers Seeking Disability Compensation For Contracting COVID-19 At Work. - Ten States Set Single-Day Records For New Infections. - Florida Reports Lowest Number Of New COVID Cases In Three Weeks. - DC Mayor’s Quarantine Order Takes Effect. - Coronavirus Outbreak Could Endanger Baseball Season. - Cain Still Hospitalized For Coronavirus. - NYTimes Analysis: Expanding Data Set Helps Americans Make Sense Of Pandemic. - Some Patients With Coronavirus Suffer From Symptoms, Effects Months After Initial Infection. - Colleagues Say Doctor Responsible For Discredited Studies Has History Of Cutting Corners. - Republicans Say Border-Crossers Responsible For Rise In Coronavirus Cases. - DOJ Reaches Settlement With Company That Discriminated Against Permanent US Residents. - Trump Lawyers File To Block Manhattan DA's Subpoena For President's Tax Records. - Senate GOP Relief Plan Would Cut Weekly Unemployment Aid To $200 Per Week. - Kudlow: “V-Shaped Recovery” Is “Very Much Intact.” - Sen. Collins Joins Romney In Opposing Fed Nominee Shelton. - Trump Retweets Praise For Defense Bill He Has Threatened To Veto. - Politico Report: White House Aides Struggle To Revise List Of Potential SCOTUS Nominees. - Trump Says Twitter’s “Trending” Tweet Listing Is Illegal. - Commerce Department Enlists FCC In “Tech Crackdown.” - EPA IG Investigating Rollback Of Auto Emissions Standards. - Lewis Lies In State At Capitol; Trump Says He Will Not Pay Respects. - International News - Cases Surge Around World, Prompting Lockdowns And Travel Bans. - Navarro Says He Predicted China Would Create A Deadly Pandemic. - *Iran Moves Mock Aircraft Carrier Into Strait Of Hormuz.* - Israel Says It Fired On Hezbollah Fighters Who Crossed Over From Lebanon. - Taliban Executes Prison Guard As UN Releases Report On Violence Against Civilians. - China Takes Control Of US Consulate In Chengdu. - Russian Fighter Intercepts US Spy Plane Over Black Sea. - Experts Worry North Korea’s Undelivered “Christmas Gift” Will Become An “October Surprise.” - Ambassador To South Korea Shaves Off Controversial Mustache. - The Big Picture - Headlines From Today’s Front Pages. - Today’s Events In Washington. Washington's Schedule Leading the News Administration Sending Additional Federal Agents To Portland. The Washington Post (7/27, Barrett, Miroff, Lang, Fahrenthold, 14.2M) reports the Administration is “sending more federal agents to Portland, Ore., as officials consider pushing back harder and farther against the growing crowds and nightly clashes with protesters, vandals and rioters.” In order to “strengthen federal forces arrayed around the city’s downtown EFTA00136159 courthouse, the U.S. Marshals Service decided last week to send 100 deputy U.S. Marshals to Portland.” DHS is “also considering a plan to send an additional 50 U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to the city, but a final decision on the deployment has not been made.” The CBS Evening News (7/27, story 7, 1:30, O'Donnell, 4.33M) similarly reported it “has learned the White House is not backing down, and more agents are on standby for cities like Portland and Seattle.” Appearing on Fox Business (7/27, 1.73M), Acting CBP Commissioner Morgan said, “We need to separate two distinct things happening. One is the violence and anarchy against federal property. That’s going to require one response. That’s what you’re seeing in Portland and Seattle. Versus the increased crime that’s going on in Chicago and Kansas City and other states and cities. That’s going to require special agents and other federal officers to work with state and locals, specifically to address violent crime. That’s not what we’re seeing in Portland. ... We’re going to go wherever the threat tells us we need to go and keep in mind. ... This is serious and people need to separate peaceful protests from the criminal anarchy that’s going on.” On Fox News’ Your World, Morgan similarly said, “This is not about peaceful protesters. This is about anarchists and criminals, who, every single night, or hijacking these peaceful protests with the intent to damage property and harm federal enforcement. That is a fact. Until we are united on that, this problem is not going to be solved.” The AP (7/27, Balsamo, Flaccus), meanwhile, reports on the scene at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland. According to the AP, “To the protesters, the men inside the battened down courthouse are at best thoughtless political minions, at worst murderous henchmen. To the agents inside, the demonstrators that pack the downtown each night are violent anarchists, an angry sea of humanity bent on hurting – or even killing – federal agents doing their job.” The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Gottfried, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) has a similar report headlined “In Portland And Other Protest Cities, Neither Left, Right Nor Center Is Happy.” The New York Times (7/27, Conger, Fuller, Baker, 18.61M) reports that in recent weeks, protesters “have pointed laser beams, lobbed water bottles and trash bags and, in one case, according to the Portland Police Bureau, hurled an open pocketknife at the officers guarding the courthouse.” According to the Times, the “nightly assault on the federal courthouse has been part of a much wider peaceful resistance – high school students, military veterans, off-duty lawyers, lines of mothers who call themselves the ‘Wall of Moms’ – that began assembling nearly two months ago.” Trump Warns Those Caught Vandalizing Federal Property Will Be Prosecuted. President Trump tweeted , “Anarchists, Agitators or Protestors who vandalize or damage our Federal Courthouse in Portland, or any Federal Buildings in any of our Cities or States, will be prosecuted under our recently re-enacted Statues & Monuments Act. MINIMUM TEN YEARS IN PRISON. Don’t do it! @DHSgov” Administration Sued For Use Of Tear Gas, Force In Portland. The Washington Post (7/27, Lang, 14.2M) reports protesters “who say they were tear gassed, shot at, pepper sprayed and assaulted outside the federal courthouse while peacefully demonstrating and rendering aid to others sued the Trump administration Monday for its use of force during nightly demonstrations in downtown Portland.” A “group of five women and two organizations, including longtime Black Lives Matter protesters” and the Wall of Moms group filed a lawsuit “alleging that several agencies – the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Protective Service – have violated their constitutional rights of free speech, assembly and due process and against unreasonable seizures.” Federal Officials Acknowledge Actions Have Contributed To Escalation. Oregon Public Broadcasting EFTA00136160 (7/27, Wilson, Levinson, 13K) reports on its website, “Federal officials are internally acknowledging they have contributed to the quick escalation between law enforcement and groups of protesters, which had dwindled to a couple hundred people or less earlier this month. ‘Anytime you shoot someone in the face and beat them with a baton, it’s going to be criticized,’ said one federal law enforcement official. ‘That’s not a controversial statement.’” One “federal law enforcement source” said of Donavan La Bella, who was “shot...in the head with a crowd control weapon” by US Marshals, “Crowds were very small and the incident with La Bella – that was a flare up point that the government tried to deescalate.” Another said, “The van arrests that happened overnight on July 14 – after that, everything went to hell.” Agent: Portland Protesters Shout Racial Slur At Black DHS Officers. The Washington Times (7/27, Dinan, 492K) reports that a “Homeland Security agent deployed to help quell the violence demonstrations in Portland says protesters shouted a racial epithet at a Black Federal Protective Service officer providing security at the courthouse, according to an account given to the Center for Immigration Studies.” The unnamed agent is quoted as saying,“I’m seeing African American Federal Protective Service inspectors, twenty years’ law enforcement officer, being called the N-word to their face for the first time in their careers.” ## Protests FBI Arrests Homicide Suspect Through Operation LeGend. The AP (7/27) reports from Kansas City, Missouri, “FBI agents in Kansas City as part of new controversial federal crime fighting effort assisted police in the arrest of a homicide suspect.” Federal prosecutors “praised the apprehension of 44-year-old Joel Roseberry as ‘good work’ in a tweet Monday. He is jailed on $200,000 bond on charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and evidence tampering in the March 1 fatal shooting of 28-year-old Frederick Outley outside of a convenience store.” The Kansas City (MO) Star (7/27, Nozicka, 549K) reports, “FBI agents in Kansas City as part of Operation LeGend assisted police in recently arresting a homicide suspect – the first known murder charge connected to the federal anti-crime initiative.” FBI agents, “in the city as part of the surge in federal resources, assisted in locating and arresting” Roseberry, “who was charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the March 1 fatal shooting of Frederick Outley, 28.” The Star adds, “Before Monday, the known criminal cases connected to Operation LeGend included a defendant charged with illegally possessing firearms and methamphetamine to distribute and another defendant, who was accused of shooting three people and was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.” NPR (7/27, 3.12M) reports, “The Trump administration has sent some 200 federal agents to Kansas City, Mo., as part of an initiative to quell violent crime. The rollout of the operation has been marred by misinformation, and some local activists say it’s wrong-headed at best, but others applaud the added help from Washington, D.C., to fight a desperate homicide problem.” According to NPR, “The operation here is fraught politically, but those involved say it’s important to clarify what Operation LeGend is – and what it is not. ‘This is not Portland,’ says Tim Garrison, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. ‘This has nothing to do with anybody’s exercise of their rights to protest. We are simply here to address the unprecedented level of violence that is exemplified by the senseless and tragic killing of LeGend Taliferro.’” NPR adds, “Evidence supports Garrison’s claim. No heavily armed, unidentifiable federal operatives have clashed with demonstrators during recent protests in Kansas City.” EFTA00136161 Some Chicagoans Welcome Federal Investigators. Reuters (7/27) reports from Chicago, “Many Chicagoans vehemently oppose President Donald Trump’s pledge to send federal officers to the third-largest U.S. city, after seeing camouflaged agents deployed in Portland club and tear-gas anti-racism protesters,” but “in South and West Side neighborhoods hit hardest by a recent spike in gang violence, some Chicago residents welcomed the move and said federal agents may be able to help solve crimes. ‘I appreciate it and I like it,’ said Cedrick Easterling, a former gang member, who was shoveling garbage scattered in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood as part of his work clearing vacant lots. ‘If you sit at that park, you will hear shots all over Englewood,’ said Easterling, who was once shot himself, pointing south toward Ogden Park. Like most in Chicago, Easterling is not a fan of Trump, who won just 51 of the city’s 2,069 precincts in the 2016 presidential election.” ## Authorities Brace For More Violent Protests Across The Country. ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 8, 0:25, Muir, 7.11M) reported that protests around the country are “turning violent. Demonstrators squaring off with federal officers in Portland, Oregon. Local leaders say the federal presence is only fueling” the protests, which are “spreading to other cities.” NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 8, 1:25, Holt, 6.32M) reported, “Authorities across the country are bracing for more protests [Monday night] after some demonstrations turned violent over the weekend.” Mayors Appeal To Congress To Restrict Use Of Federal Agents. The AP (7/27) reports that “the mayors of six U.S. cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized federal agents to cities that don’t want them, even as the Trump administration is considering sending more of them to Portland.” The mayors of Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Washington wrote, “This administration’s egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen.” The Oregonian (7/27, Bailey, 1M) reports the mayors call “it ‘unlawful and repugnant’ for the President to be able to continue to deploy federal forces to cities without consulting local officials first and against objections.” Dozens Of Seattle Police Officers Injured During Weekend Violence. The Washington Times (7/27, Richardson, 492K) reports the Seattle Police Department has said “that 59 officers were wounded in the Saturday night rioting after being struck by explosives, bottles and rocks.” The Seattle Police Blotter “posted photos of officers with burns on their skin and other injuries and video of officers being hit by what appeared to be fireworks and small explosives as they worked crowd control.” Austin Police Release Man Who Fatally Shot Protester. EFTA00136162 Fox News (7/27, Gearty, 27.59M) reports on its website that “a man who admitted to fatally shooting an armed Black Lives Matter protester in Austin on Saturday night was taken into custody and then released pending further investigation, the Texas city’s police chief said.” Chief Brian Manley told reporters the fatal shooting of Garrett Foster is “actively being investigated and ongoing in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.” National Guard Officer: Protesters Cleared From Lafayette Square Without Provocation. The AP (7/27, Knickmeyer) reports Army National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco, who was across from the White House on June 1, said the US Park Police “began the violent clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square last month without apparent provocation or adequate warning to demonstrators, immediately after” Attorney General Barr spoke with Park Police leaders. DeMarco’s “account...challenges key aspects of the Trump administration’s explanation for the clearing of the protest in front of the White House, just before President Donald Trump walked through the area to stage a photo event in front of a historic church.” The CBS Evening News (7/27, story 4, 0:40, O'Donnell, 4.46M) said DeMarco will testify before Congress on Tuesday. The Washington Post (7/27, Jackman, Leonnig, 14.2M) says DeMarco’s “statement...also casts doubt on the claims by acting Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan that violence by protesters spurred Park Police to clear the area at that time with unusually aggressive tactics.” DeMarco said that “demonstrators were behaving peacefully” and that tear gas was deployed in an “excessive use of force.” DeMarco’s account “backs up law enforcement officials who told The Washington Post they believed the clearing operation would happen after the 7 p.m. curfew that night --- but it was dramatically accelerated after...Barr and others appeared in the park around 6 p.m.” Politico (7/27, Cohen, 4.29M) reports that according to DeMarco’s account, “Park Police said they would be clearing demonstrators out of Lafayette Square, along with Secret Service, in order to construct a perimeter fence around the White House. But the materials necessary to build the security barrier did not arrive until 9 p.m. and the barrier was not completed until later that night.” Cotton Criticized For Says Founding Fathers Viewed Slavery As “Necessary Evil.” Reuters (7/27, Morgan) reports Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Monday “came under pressure over published comments in which he said America’s founders viewed slavery as a ‘necessary evil.’” Cotton made the comments in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in which he said, “As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built, but the union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction.” In response to the criticism, Cotton tweeted , “This is the definition of fake news. I said that *the Founders viewed slavery as a necessary evil*.” Police Departments Withdraw From Security Agreements For Democratic Convention. EFTA00136163 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/27, Spicuzza, 632K) reports that "at least three Wisconsin police departments have withdrawn from agreements to send personnel to next month's Democratic National Convention, some of them citing orders to Milwaukee’s police chief to cease the use of tear gas and pepper spray during demonstrations." The moves by police departments in Fond du Lac, Franklin and West Allis “cast doubt on a program to bring about 1,000 police officers from outside agencies to help shore up security for the event” next month. Illinois County Board Candidate Quits Over Tweet “Laughing” At Officer Getting Hit. The Chicago Tribune (7/27, McCoppin, 2.65M) reports that a Democratic candidate for the DuPage County board “withdrew from the race after apologizing for a tweet in which she said she laughed repeatedly at a video of a law enforcement officer getting hit in the face with a projectile.” Hadiya Afzal tweeted, “ive been watching this on repeat for fifteen minutes and laughing every single time.” The video shows “what appears to be an officer behind a barricade wall at a protest throw an object off-screen, and then recoil after getting hit in the face with a projectile.” Afzal said in a statement Sunday, “My post was in poor taste and doesn’t reflect the values I was raised with and hold dear.” Black Soldiers Monument In Boston Under Scrutiny. The AP (7/27, Marcelo) reports that a bronze statue in downtown Boston memorializes Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, an all-Black regiment that fought during the Civil War, “can conjure mixed feelings as the nation takes another hard look at its monuments and memorials in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.” To some, the monument “should be moved to a museum because it casts Blacks as ‘subservient’ to whites.” NYTimes Analysis: NFL Efforts To Combat Racism Undercut By Team Owners. The New York Times (7/27, Belson, 18.61M) reports the NFL has “taken strides to repair its image as being insensitive to issues facing women and people of color. But the league continues to be confronted by an uncomfortable reality: Its efforts can be undercut by reports of toxic behavior at the tops of its franchises.” The “re-emergence of issues of discrimination involving two of the league’s most prominent team owners” – Woody Johnson, the owner of the Jets, and Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Football Team, as it is now known – comes as “the nation confronts systemic racism in many of its institutions, including sports teams and leagues.” The Times says the new allegations of “racism and sexism threaten to undercut the league’s efforts to promote itself as having learned from past failings.” WTimes Analysis: Black Lives Matter Has “Leftist” Goal. The Washington Times (7/27, A1, Scarborough, 492K) reports that “beyond Black Lives Matter’s drive to eliminate police brutality is a far more extensive leftist ideology that would upend American economic and social EFTA00136164 life, according to an examination of BLM leaders’ writings and interviews.” According to the Times, “BLM leaders say they want capitalism abolished.” The Washington Post (7/27, Natanson, 14.2M), meanwhile, reports that in the days following George Floyd’s death, “the nation had erupted in protests that shattered cities and swept Americans, in what felt like every corner of the country, into an unprecedented reckoning with racism and police violence. Every corner except Rocky Mount, the seat of Franklin County in southern Virginia.” The Post goes on to detail how a Black Lives Matter chapter was established in the county. Counter-Terrorism Georgia Man Sentenced For Planning White House Attack. WXIA-TV Atlanta (7/27, Kleinpeter, 258K) reports from Forsyth County, Georgia, “Hasher Jallal Taheb, of Forsyth County faces a sentence of 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted destruction of government property by fire or explosive. The 23-year-old was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court. Taheb admitted, earlier this year, to planning an attack on the White House.” Taheb “was arrested in 2018 and 2019 in Gwinnett County after the culmination of an undercover investigation revealed hand-drawn diagrams of the West Wing in the White House. A federal affidavit at the time suggested that Taheb plotted attacks on other Washington landmarks including the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. He also intended to travel overseas at the time and that his attacks were part of his desire to ‘engage in “jihad”.’” Arizona Woman Charged With Helping Al Qaeda To Appear In Court Next Week. KTVK-TV Phoenix (7/27, 302K) reports from Phoenix, Arizona, “The Chandler woman accused of trying to help Al Qaeda was supposed to appear in court today, but that appearance has been continued until next week. Jill Marie Jones, 35, is now scheduled to appear on Monday, Aug. 3.” Jones “was arrested at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday, July 22, after allegedly being in communication with two undercover FBI agents, one of whom she believed to be a member of al Qaeda. According to the criminal complaint filed in court, Jones agreed to send money to purchase scopes for rifles that would be used to kill American soldiers. In May 2020, Jones gave the purported al Qaeda member a $500 prepaid Visa card, prosecutors say.” Sentencing Postponed For Man Who Supplied Guns To San Bernardino Shooter. The San Bernardino (CA) Sun (7/27, De Atley, 129K) reports, “Enrique Marquez Jr.’s sentencing in federal court for supplying the guns used in the Dec. 15, 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino that killed 14 and wounded 22 has been postponed from Aug. 17 to Oct. 23.” According to the Sun, “Defense attorney John N. Aquilina said in papers that the delay was needed to research and address ‘significant and multiple issues’ regarding briefs he anticipates filing in connection with Marquez’s sentencing. The government has recommended 25 years in prison for Marquez, 28. He remains in custody.” The Sun adds, “Federal authorities have said Marquez did not know about the Redlands couple’s plans to open fire on Farook’s co-workers with the EFTA00136165 San Bernardino County Division of Environmental Health at the Inland Regional Center during a holiday party and training session." Changes Made To 9/11 Commemoration In New York Due To Pandemic. ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 10, 0:15, Muir, 7.11M) reported “a major change” has been made to this year’s 9/11 commemoration in New York. Because of precautions due to the pandemic, “this year’s memorial will not include a live reading of the names by relatives of the victims. It will be recorded.” Families will still be allowed to gather in the plaza for the ceremony. Prosecutors Struggle To Resume Guantánamo Trials. The New York Times (7/27, Rosenberg, 18.61M) reports the coronavirus pandemic is “forcing the military to consider creating a quarantine zone at the court compound to allow proceedings to continue in the case of the alleged 9/11 plotters.” Military prosecutors struggling to “restart war crimes tribunals at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in the midst of the pandemic are proposing to transform the crude court compound of tents and trailers into a quarantine zone.” The plan would “airlift about 100 people from across the US to Guantánamo on Sept. 5 – everyone bound for the courtroom, except the defendants – and then isolate them for two weeks at the makeshift site called Camp Justice.” Then the men “accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks would be brought from the prison to the courtroom to begin six weeks of hearings in the case, from September 21 to November 3, the height of hurricane season.” State Department Declares “Unwavering” Commitment To Seeking ‘Justice For The Families’ Of US Citizens Killed By ISIS. The Washington Examiner (7/27, Dunleavy, 448K) reports the State Department “said it has an ‘unwavering’ commitment to bringing Islamic State fighters who killed US citizens to justice.” The agency sent this message “as the families of the dead renew calls for captors, some of whom are being held in the Middle East, to be put on trial in the US.” A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner, “Seeking the safe return of US citizens held hostage abroad and justice for the families of those murdered by their captors is a hallmark of this administration’s policy. The Department of State’s commitment to these goals is unwavering.” Last week, the parents of ISIS victims Kayla Mueller, James Foley, Peter Kassig, and Steven Sotloff – all abducted and killed by members of ISIS – “penned a joint op-ed in the Washington Post urging the Trump Administration to take action.” ## Counter-Intelligence Yates To Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee Next Week. The Hill (7/27, Carney, 2.98M) reports Senate Judiciary Chairman Graham said in an interview with Fox News Radio Monday that former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates will testify before his panel on Aug, 5. EFTA00136166 Graham, who The Hill describes as “a close ally” of the President, “is investigating the origins of ‘Crossfire Hurricane,’ the name of the FBI’s investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign, and former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, which followed it.” Jarrett: Christopher Steele’s Secret Source For Anti-Trump Dossier Is Finally Exposed. In his column on the Fox News (7/26, 27.59M) website, Gregg Jarrett writes, “When the dossier was invented in 2016, the president of Brookings was Strobe Talbott, a long-time friend and ally of Hillary Clinton. Her campaign provided the cash for the phony document that was composed by ex-British spy Christopher Steele. Talbott helped fuel the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. But it was Danchenko who supplied Steele with most of the false stories contained in the dossier.” He contends, “I haven’t seen Talbott’s retraction or apology since the Mueller report came out, nor do I expect one. He has a lot to answer for, including his own contacts with Steele. It just so happens that Talbott’s brother-in-law is Clinton sycophant, Cody Shearer, who created what became known as the ‘second dossier.’ Remarkably, it echoed several of the identical fantastic allegations as the original Steele-Danchenko dossier.” He concludes, “Clinton’s campaign didn’t just commission the dossier, her allies contributed to its contents.” Fox News (7/27, 27.59M) reports in a video that former DOJ official Francey Hakes provides reaction and analysis on “the source’s American roots raise questions on how the FBI renewed FISA warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.” Carter Page Sues Yahoo, HuffPost Parent Company For “False And Defamatory” Articles. Fox News (7/27, Flood, 27.59M) reports former Trump campaign aide Carter Page “is suing Yahoo parent company Oath Inc. over ‘false and defamatory statements,’ claiming the outlet ‘portrayed him as a traitor to America’ who illegally conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election.” The suit “was filed Monday in Delaware Superior Court and accuses Oath’s Yahoo News and HuffPost of publishing stories about Page ‘with actual knowledge of falsity or with a reckless disregard of truth or falsity’ with a motive of generating clicks online and aligning with the political bias and aims of senior management.” The lawsuit claims, “Page is an innocent individual whose entire way of life was shattered as a direct result of being defamed and falsely branded as a traitor to his country by the Defendant’s media brands. He was allegedly secretly plotting with Russian leaders to sabotage the 2016 Presidential Election and give ‘aid and comfort’ to Russian President Putin’s efforts to ‘weaken’ America.” Op-Ed: Biden May Want To Forget About The Russia Investigation. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (7/27, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), Gerald Baker writes on malfeasance during the Obama Administration and efforts by Joe Biden to sidestep those issues during the presidential campaign. Baker highlights various events during the Obama Administration that suggest Biden was involved in meetings tied to the investigation of the Trump campaign. Chinese Scientist Charged With Visa Fraud Ordered Held As Flight Risk. EFTA00136167 The AP (7/27, Har) reports from San Francisco, “A Chinese scientist charged with visa fraud after authorities said she concealed her military ties to China in order to work in the U.S. made her first appearance Monday in federal court by video.” Juan Tang, 37, “was appointed a federal public defender and U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes ordered Tang to remain in custody, saying she is a flight risk, while her attorney prepares an argument to allow her release on bail. The Justice Department last week announced charges against Tang and three other scientists living in the U.S., saying they lied about their status as members of China’s People’s Liberation Army. All were charged with visa fraud.” The Sacramento (CA) Bee (7/27, Stanton, 567K) reports, “Tang allegedly lied about her ties to China’s People's Liberation Army Air Force and the Chinese Communist Party, and after FBI agents questioned her at her Davis apartment she fled into hiding inside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The FBI subsequently took her into custody Thursday night and she was booked into the Main Jail last Friday. In a brief initial appearance conducted Monday via Zoom, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes ordered Tang to remain in custody at least until her federal defender can propose conditions that might allow her release.” Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Seeks Canadian Spy Agency Documents Linked To Canadian Arrest. Reuters (7/27, Warburton) reports lawyers representing Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou, “who is fighting against extradition to the US, argued in a Canadian court on Monday that redacted documents prepared by the Canadian spy agency relating to her December 2018 arrest should be released.” The lawyers “said national security should not limit the release of the documents, parts of which were made public during ongoing court proceedings over whether Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer, should be extradited, court documents showed.” Meng’s lawyers have “asked for additional documents from the Canadian government pertaining to her arrest, hoping to support their claim that Canadian authorities committed abuses of process during her arrest.” The lawyers are “pressing for a stay in Meng’s extradition.” The Globe and Mail (CAN) (7/27, Woo, 1.04M) reports that, “at a virtual hearing at Ottawa’s Federal Court on Monday, Meng’s lawyers argued that several documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, previously released under a disclosure order, were likely the subject of excessive redactions and overly broad claims of privilege.” AFP (7/27) reports Scott Fenton, one of Meng’s lawyers, “said on Monday his client had been questioned for three hours by Canadian customs agents at Vancouver airport without knowing what she was accused of, before being formally arrested.” Bloomberg (7/27, Pearson, 4.73M) reports that, “in its latest filing, the defense suggests Meng’s arrest was closely coordinated between the FBI and the Canadian agencies.” The defense “said the FBI was likely monitoring Meng before she boarded her Cathay Pacific flight in Hong Kong because it was able to provide a description of what she was wearing to Canadian police.” Spanish Court Hears Testimony On Whether Assange Was Spied On. The AP (7/27) reports Spain’s National Court “heard testimony Monday in an investigation into whether a Spanish company was hired to spy on Julian Assange during the seven years the WikiLeaks founder spent in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.” The court is investigating “whether David Morales, a Spaniard, EFTA00136168 and his Undercover Global S.L. security agency invaded the privacy of Assange and his visitors at the embassy by secretly recording their meetings.” According to court papers, the intelligence “that Morales’ company collected is suspected of being handed over to third parties.” Among those set to “face the court’s questions Monday were prominent Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzón, who is part of Assange’s legal team; former Ecuadorean consul in London Fidel Narváez; and Stella Morris, a legal adviser and Assange’s partner, who revealed earlier this year that she had two children with him while he lived in the embassy.” Lowenthal Says Intelligence Analysis Needs Course Change. SIGNAL Magazine (7/27, Ackerman) reports Mark Lowenthal, former assistant director of central intelligence for analysis and production “says legacy methods and arcane rules are hamstringing US intelligence analysis at a time when it should be innovating.” He “said that, from training, which needs to shift emphasis to more basic skills, to collection and processing, which must branch into nontraditional areas, intelligence must make course corrections to solve inflexibility issues.” Lowenthal, who teaches “an AFCEA PDC onsite course on US intelligence that is also available in a virtual format, states that training must change to compel the type of analysis necessary to meet the new threat picture.” Recognizing that “analytic deficiencies existed after 9/11, Congress and the intelligence community created the DNI position.” Along with this came “congressional requirements for what analysis should look like.” However, Lowenthal “asserts that the attempt to bring about a community-wide basis largely has not succeeded.” Analytic training is “still stovepiped by agency.” Pentagon Issues Contract Guidance On China Tech Ban. Federal Computer Week (7/27, Williams, 263K) reports the Pentagon has “released guidance on how acquisition executives should implement the upcoming ban on contracting with companies that use telecommunications equipment made by Huawei and other China-based companies.” In a 15-page memo “signed July 23, the Defense Department outlines what companies and contracting officers have to do once the government’s ban goes into effect.” Starting August 13, the government “won’t be allowed to issue or extend contracts with companies that use certain video and telesurveillance technologies, services and equipment made by certain Chinese manufacturers, such as ZTE or Hikvision.” Contracts, task and delivery orders, “including those for commercial-off-the-shelf items and delivery orders, issued after Aug. 13 must also include specified language invoking regulation for the ban. Existing indefinite delivery contracts will have to be modified, the memo states.” IARPA Funds Study Showing Randomness Theory Could Hold Key To Internet Security. The Cornell Chronicle (NY) (7/27, Lefkowitz, 5K) reports Rafael Pass, professor of computer science at Cornell Tech, “is co-author of ‘On One-Way Functions and Kolmogorov Complexity.’” He said, “The result is that a natural computational problem introduced in the 1960s in the Soviet Union characterizes the feasibility of basic cryptography – private-key encryption, digital signatures and authentication, for example.” In the paper, Pass and doctoral student Yanyi Liu “showed that if computing time-bounded Kolmogorov Complexity is hard, then one-way functions exist.” Although their finding “is theoretical, it has potential implications across cryptography, including internet security.” The research was “funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and was based on research funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.” EFTA00136169 Op-Ed: Russian Spying is Privatized and Competitive. In an op-ed in Newsweek (7/27, 1.53M), Christo Grozev writes, “The Russia report published last week by the UK government proved what we had grown to suspect. Western intel – personified by the revered British spy services – were not being tight-lipped. ... No systematic, consistent post-mortem seems to have been conducted on Russian influence operations. The government’s response to the Report’s findings was blinkered and Trumpian. Even as it admitted no serious effort was put into establishing whether or not Russia intervened in the Brexit referendum, it stressed, defensively.” He concludes, “Comprehending the complexity of this new reality is key to having an adequate response. ... The UK government’s response to the Report is even more anachronistic. Even the errors it recognizes, and the forward-looking measures it commits to, amount to a 20th century solution to a 21st century problem.” Criminal Investigations Maxwell Seeks To Seal Evidence. The Telegraph (UK) (7/27, Ensor, 956K) reports, “Ghislaine Maxwell is trying to prevent nude photographs and ‘sexualised video’ evidence from being unsealed ahead of her trial, according to a new court appeal.” According to the Telegraph, Maxwell’s attorney “details the ‘highly confidential’ material in a proposed protective order filed at a Manhattan court on Monday, arguing it should be kept out of public view. ‘The highly confidential information contains nude, partially-nude, or otherwise sexualised images, videos, or other depictions of individuals,’ which Ms Maxwell does not wish to be ‘disseminated, transmitted, or otherwise copies,’ it reads.” Maxwell “is being held in Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, without bail while awaiting trial for grooming underage girls for associate Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse. She has pleaded not guilty to all six charges on the indictment.” The Daily Mail (UK) (7/27, Boswell, 5.27M) reports that Maxwell “ambushed prosecutors by asking for a gag order on witnesses in her criminal trial, court documents seen by DailyMail.com claim.” Prosecutors “scrambled to file a letter to Judge Alison Nathan in response, claiming they had been negotiating with Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged madam’s legal team ‘as recently as 6p.m. last night’ and were surprised by the gagging request. The British socialite’s attorney wrote to Judge Nathan asking her to keep discovery materials from being published, but wanted permission to identify witnesses and Maxwell’s alleged victims who have already come forward in the case.” The New York Daily News (7/27, Brown, 2.52M) reports, “When the FBI raided Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion last year, investigators found a stash of nude photographs of underage girls. Prosecutors and Maxwell’s legal teams asked Judge Alison Nathan to resolve two disputes about the evidence. Maxwell’s attorneys wanted any witnesses – including alleged victims – to not be allowed to use evidence for any purpose beyond prepping for her criminal trial.” The Daily News adds, “Many of Maxwell’s accusers have pending lawsuits against her, which could be impacted by new evidence revealed through the criminal case. Her attorneys also said they should be allowed to name victims involved in the criminal case who have already spoken out publicly about Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged sex trafficking scheme.” FBI Investigating Washington State Murder. EFTA00136170 The Yakima (WA) Herald-Republic (7/27, 88K) reports that the FBI “is investigating the shooting death of [Adam James Young],” who “was shot to death in Brownstown on July 13.” The FBI “investigates homicides on the reservation that involve Native Americans.” Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Missing Iowa Child. The Des Moines (IA) Register (7/27, 404K) reports that the FBI is investigating the disappearance of Breasia Terrell, who “went missing on July 10 after spending the night with her half brother and his father, Henry Earl Dinkins, a registered sex offender.” Davenport Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Ott “said detectives discovered new information that met the requirements set by the state for an Amber Alert to be issued, but declined to provide details.” FBI Task Force Arrests Two In Connection To Colorado Party Shooting. KMGH-TV Denver (7/27, 168K) reports that the FBI-led Criminal Apprehension Team task force arrested last week Michael Walker and an unidentified minor in connection to the July 11 double shooting incident that “left one juvenile dead and another wounded.” Continuing Coverage: California Police Arrest Parents In Connection To Disappearance Of Toddler. WJAX-TV Jacksonville, FL (7/27, Bonvillian, Desk, 44K) reports Sukhjinder Sran and Briseida Sran have been arrested in connection to the disappearance of their son, Thaddeus Sran, after Madera police found the burned remains of a child’s body. The FBI has been supporting the investigation. Mississippi Man Charged With Threatening Federal Judge. The AP (7/27) reports that a federal grand jury “indicted [Bryant Lamont Harris] accused of threatening to harm a federal judge at a U.S. district courthouse in New Orleans.” The criminal complaint “obtained by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate accused Harris of calling U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan’s office in February and complaining ‘angrily’ to a staffer about the city’s police department.” The FBI New Orleans field office supported the investigation. Georgia Man Sentenced Over Producing Child Pornography. AllOnGeorgia (7/27) reports Richard Hunt Moore Jr, who was “arrested at a motel EFTA00136171 when a 14-year-old boy signaled that he was in danger,” has “been sentenced to federal prison for production of child pornography.” He “was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall to 264 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1 million.” FBI agents “discovered child pornography on electronic devices in Moore’s possession” prior to his arrest. FBI Agents Investigating In Pennsylvania. Levittown Now (PA) (7/27) reports that FBI agents “have been asking questions in the Levittown area.” The FBI “is leading a charge to look into matters with ties to local governments and school districts in Bucks and Montgomery counties.” Connecticut Man Sentenced For Embezzling. Zip06 (CT) (7/27) reports Michael Verzella “was sentenced July 20 by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing more than $240,000 from his non-profit employer and numerous individuals serviced by his employer.” He plead guilty, and he “admitted that, between January 2012 and February 2018, he used his Chapel Haven credit card to purchase tickets for sporting and entertainment events that he attended with friends and family.” New Mexico Police Continuing To Investigate Disappearance Of Local. The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News (7/27, 58K) reports about the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Steve Carey, who “was last seen July 8 in Las Cruces” in 2019. His car “was later found at the Baylor Canyon Trailhead by New Mexico State Police, but his bike and wallet were not found with the car.” Wisconsin Man Sentenced Over Child Enticement. WAOW-TV Wausau, WI (7/27) reports Brian D. Wickersham, who abducted and assaulted an unidentified minor, was “sentenced to 20 years in federal prison by Senior District Judge William C. Griesbach.” The case “was investigated by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the Brown County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Green Bay office of the F.B.I.” Former FBI Task Force Officer Facing Trial In Guam. The Guam Daily Post (7/27, Nick Delgado |, Post) reports former FBI Task Force officer and former Guam police officer John Mantanona, who is “accused of tampering with the jury in a major federal drug case,” is scheduled “back in court on Aug. 14 to find out when his trial will begin.” EFTA00136172 Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Pennsylvania Teenager. WPMT-TV Harrisburg, PA (7/27, 93K) reports that the FBI is continuing to investigate the disappearance of Linda Stoltzfoos, who “vanished over a month ago.” While a suspect “has been arrested for her kidnapping,” she “has not been found.” Continuing Coverage: US Marshal Task Force Announces Arrests Of Juvenile Prison Escapees. MLive (MI) (7/27, 925K) reports that the US Marshal Service announced the successful arrests of Rashad E. Williams and Jabar Ali Taylor, who “fled through a hole that was cut in a perimeter fence at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County, Virginia on July 13.” The FBI supported manhunt, which ended in Michigan. Michigan Man Sentenced Over Bank Robbery. WWJ-TV Detroit (7/27) reports U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge “announced that David Wilson Floyd, formerly of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 216 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney. Floyd pled guilty in March 2020 to armed bank robbery and attempted bank robbery.” The FBI “investigated and determined Floyd committed the September 9, 2019, armed bank robbery, the September 18, 2019, attempted bank robbery, as well as six additional robberies of convenience stores and gas stations in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan between June 2019 and September 2019.” FBI Searching For Virginia Man. The Augusta (VA) Free Press (7/27) reports that the FBI “is requesting the public’s help in locating LaShawn Robertson, who is wanted on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.” The arrest warrant “was issued for Robertson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News, on July 8, after Robertson was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm; distributing heroin or cocaine or cocaine base or methamphetamine, amphetamine, and oxycodone; and providing a firearm to a convicted felon.” Massachusetts Gang Member Ordered Held Without Bail. The Attleboro (MA) Sun Chronicle (7/27, 15K) reports Boston NOB gang member Damian Cortez, whose apartment “was raided last month has waived his right to a detention hearing and will remain in jail until trial.” He “faces federal sex trafficking and drug distribution charges for alleged incidents in Maine and Brockton.” Former Medical Doctor Pleads Guilty To Illegally Prescribing Oxycodone. EFTA00136173 Newday (NY) (7/27, 932K) reports Tameshwar Ammar, a former medical doctor “who practiced as an anesthesiologist” in the state of New York, has admitted that he illegally “prescribed oxycodone to two patients...in exchange for money and steroids.” Newsday quotes “Acting Eastern District United States Attorney Seth DuCharme,” who said Ammar’s “guilty plea establishes that the defendant, who was a doctor, essentially acted as a drug dealer, spreading injury and addiction without regard for the consequences.” DuCharme also said his office “and our partners at the DEA are working tirelessly to combat the opioid epidemic on Long Island and elsewhere, including by prosecuting medical professionals who betray their oath to do no harm.” The Port Washington (NY) Patch (7/27, Hampton, 1.03M) and the Lindenhurst (NY) Patch (7/27, Korb, 1.03M) publish similar articles. ## Notices Filed To Seize Properties In Connection With Marijuana Firm Raid Operation The Bangor (ME) Daily News (7/27, Valigra, 198K) reports, “The US attorney’s office in Maine has filed notices in federal court to seize 12 properties” in connection with a recent raid operation that targeted the marijuana distribution firm Narrow Gauge Distributors. The article highlights that the DEA and the FBI conducted the operation. Federal Prosecutors: Drug Offender Was Involved In Prison Smuggling Scheme. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (7/27, Ove, 616K) reports federal prosecutors have alleged that “Robert Korbe, a convicted cocaine dealer at the center of a drug investigation that resulted in the murder of an FBI agent in 2008, was directly involved in another scheme to smuggle drug-saturated greeting cards into the US prison where he is an inmate.” The Post-Gazette highlights the DEA's involvement in the investigation of this case. ## Maryland Resident Facing Drug Charges. In online coverage, WTOP-FM Washington (7/27, 385K) reports Maryland resident Lamontae Montae Young, Sr., “is facing drug charges in connection with alleged large-scale cocaine and heroin distribution.” The article adds, “The Frederick High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force” was involved with the investigation that led to those charges. The Frederick (MD) News-Post (7/27, Arias, 74K) and the WFMD-AM Frederick, MD (7/27, 1K) website also cover this story. Financial Crime & Corporate Scandals Ohio Candidate Went To FBI In March Over Householder, Dark Money. EFTA00136174 WKRC-TV Cincinnati (7/27, Levy, 161K) reports from Union Township, Ohio, “A Republican candidate for Ohio’s 66th House District went to the FBI last spring over concerns that Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was coordinating with dark money groups to influence the campaign.” Nick Owens “said he was contacted by Householder in November 2018” and that Householder “brought up another house race that had happened that month during their meeting. ‘He told me how he saved the representative from defeat by dumping about $500,000 to prop up his campaign at the end,’ Owens said.” In 2019, Owens “learned he would not receive Householder’s endorsement” and “was hit by a flood of dark money ads that questioned his support of GOP issues.” In March, Owens “said he contacted the FBI and discussed his November 2018 meeting with Householder with FBI Agent Blane Wetzel,” who “was in the middle of an investigation into Householder, four others and $60 million paid to a nonprofit controlled by Householder through an energy pass-through company.” Man Captured After Faking Own Death Over Fraudulent PPP Loans. In continuing coverage, Alabama News Network (7/27) reports, “The U.S. Marshals Service says David Staveley, who also goes by Kurt Sanborn, was captured last week in Georgia,” after he was “accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution for fraudulently seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars” in PPP loans. Prosecutors say he “sought nearly $440,000 in fraudulent loans for three restaurants.” Boston (7/27, 586K) also reports. Former UCLA Soccer Coach Pleads Guilty To Taking College Admissions Bribes. NBC News (7/28, 6.14M) reports, “A former UCLA men’s soccer coach on Monday admitted to accepting $200,000 in bribes as part of a college admissions cheating scheme, federal prosecutors said.” Jorge Salcedo, 47, “who resigned from the University of California, Los Angeles in March 2019, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement. He was accused of accepting the bribes to help get two students admitted to UCLA as purported soccer recruits, which was part of a scheme orchestrated by William ‘Rick’ Singer.” Visa, Mastercard Fined Wirecard For Questionable Transactions Over A Decade Ago. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Andriotis, Davies, Chung, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Visa and Mastercard each slapped Wirecard with fines exceeding $10 million more than a decade ago for suspicious transactions. Since at least 2015, Visa and Mastercard were concerned about issues including miscoded gambling transactions, stolen card purchases, and reversed transactions. US Charges Former Florida Tech CEO With Wire Fraud. The Jacksonville (FL) Business Journal (7/27, EFTA00136175 Robinson, Subscription Publication, 830K) reports from Jacksonville, Florida, “Jason Cory, the ousted CEO of a company that was once awarded city and state incentives, has been indicted for wire fraud and has a warrant issued for his arrest, according to court records. Cory’s attorney, Todd Foster, told the Business Journal on Monday that Cory will be surrendering voluntarily to the FBI and intends to plead not guilty.” The Journal adds, “Cory founded and led SharedLabs, a company that grew rapidly by buying a number of IT, staffing and digital marketing firms. Cory’s July 22 indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida accuses him of three counts of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction. The counts refer to three transfers of about $5,500 each and an $11,630 purchase of a gold Rolex watch using ‘criminally derived’ funds.” US Charges Trustify CEO With Defrauding Investors. Virginia Business Magazine (7/27, Foster, 80K) reports, “Daniel Boice, CEO and founder of Arlington-based tech startup Trustify Inc., was charged by federal prosecutors Monday with fraud and money laundering charges related to a scheme to defraud investors of $18.5 million. In a parallel action, the Securities and Exchange Commission also charged Trustify Inc. and Boice with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities law.” VBM adds, “In an indictment unsealed Monday, Boice was charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud and two counts of money laundering. FBI officials and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia G. Zachary Terwilliger allege in the indictment that Boice fraudulently solicited $18.5 million from more than 90 investors in his company, which connected customers with private investigators, by falsely overstating Trustify’s financial performance.” Infosecurity Magazine (7/27, Coble) reports, “An indictment unsealed in federal court on July 24 alleges that Boice fraudulently solicited investments in Trustify from 2015. The 41-year-old resident of Alexandria, Virginia, allegedly lied about how much money the business was making in order to secure funds from multiple investors. The Department of Justice claims that via means that included overstating Trustify’s financial performance, Boice fraudulently raised approximately $18.5m from over 90 investors. In total, Boice is accused of committing five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and two counts of money laundering.” New York Man Charged With Defrauding Drug Maker. The Queens (NY) Chronicle (7/27, Russell, 157K) reports, “A Forest Hills man was indicted last Friday for defrauding a pharmaceutical manufacturer, the U.S. attorney Eastern District of New York announced.” Arkadiy Khaimov, 37, “allegedly submitted approximately $6.9 million in fraudulent claims under a reimbursement program. As alleged in the indictment, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, referred to in the indictment as ‘John Doe Company 1,’ established the co-pay program to reimburse pharmacies for dispensing a prescription medication.” The Chronicle adds, “Between approximately February 2017 and July 2018, Khaimov and his co-conspirators submitted claims for approximately $6.9 million in reimbursements under the program, for medications the pharmacies operated never actually dispensed. ‘It’s utterly discouraging to see people capitalize on any initiative designed to contribute to the greater good, but when the crime is healthcare related, and manufacturers stand to lose millions, nobody wins in the long run,’ said Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI New York Field Office William Sweeney Jr.” Top Tech CEOs To Be Grilled On Antitrust Issues At House Hearing. The Washington Post (7/27, EFTA00136176 A1, Romm, 14.2M) reports members of Congress are “set to turn their attention to technology, channeling long-simmering frustrations with Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google into a high-profile hearing that some Democrats and Republicans hope will usher in sweeping changes throughout Silicon Valley.” The Post says that on Wednesday, “the industry’s four most powerful chief executives are set to...submit to a grilling from House lawmakers who have been probing the Web’s most recognizable names to determine whether they have become too big and powerful.” According to the Post, “The focus is antitrust, and the extent to which a quartet of digital behemoths – representing a nearly $5 trillion slice of the U.S. economy – has harmed competition, consumers and the country writ large.” Under Armour Receives SEC Wells Notice Of Possible Enforcement Action. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Safdar, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports two Under Armour executives have received Wells notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission signaling that the company may be the target of an enforcement action by the regulator. Under Armour Executive Chairman Kevin Plank and CFO David Bergman received notices that they could face civil-enforcement action over the company's accounting practices in 2015 and 2016 and "pull forward" sales during those periods. ## Cyber Division Garmin Says Cyberattack Made Its Software Unavailable. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Choi, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Garmin announced it was targeted in a cyberattack that took its software offline for a number of days. The company stated no customer data appears to have been accessed or stolen. The company reported their systems are coming back online and should return to normal in coming days. The New York Post (7/27, Manskar, 4.57M) reports a gang of Russian hackers “may be behind the cyberattack that disabled Garmin’s fitness-tracking services for several days.” The attackers reportedly “crippled the smartwatch maker’s Garmin Connect service last week with malicious software tied to Evil Corp., a Moscow-based hacker group run by alleged cybercriminal Maksim Yakubets.” Evil Corp. runs the “WastedLocker ransomware responsible for the Garmin outage, which encrypts the target’s files and demands a ransom to unlock them.” Hackers have sought “as much as $10 million to release affected data, though companies can get around such an attack if they’ve backed up the files, according to the outlet.” CNN (7/27, Effron, 83.16M) reports Sam Curry, chief security officer of cybersecurity company Cybereason, “said the ransomware attack on Garmin was ‘crippling,’ and called it ‘the corporate equivalent of a heart attack.’” He said, “The longer Garmin is offline, the cost of recovery increases and could cost tens of millions of dollars more,” Garmin, however, “said that it does not expect the blackout to have a material impact on its financial results.” Also reporting on the story is U.S. News & World Report (7/27). Fund Administrator To Pimco, Others Saw Breach At Vendor. EFTA00136177 Bloomberg (7/27, Massa, McDonald, 4.73M) reports a fund administrator for Pacific Investment Management Co., Angelo Gordon & Co., Centerbridge Partners and other money managers “said a cyberattack at one of its key vendors exposed data.” According to a statement from an SEI spokesperson, the attack involved data “on clients of SEI Investments Co.” The spokesperson “said one of SEI Investments’ vendors, M.J. Brunner Inc., was breached in a ransomware attack that occurred on May 17, and the root cause was not related to vulnerability of SEI’s systems.” The spokesperson said, “We take our clients’ security very seriously, and we are working with Brunner, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and our impacted clients to understand the extent to which SEI’s or our clients’ data has been exposed.” A representative for M.J. Brunner “said the firm is ‘confident that we have contained the incident and there is no further risk to our network.’” The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Tokar, Rundle, Chung, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the ransomware attack uncovered in May exposed the personal data of investors in about 100 of the fund administrator’s clients. Angelo Gordon & Co., Graham Capital Management, Fortress Investment Group LLC, Centerbridge Partners and Pacific Investment Management Co. were cited as funds effected by the attack. House Spending Bill Details Funding For Cyber Defenses. Politico (7/27, Starks, 4.29M) reports in its Cybersecurity newsletter that the House this week “is set to consider a $1.4 trillion, seven-bill spending package (H.R. 7667) – although one of them, the DHS bill, is so controversial it might derail the whole shebang, what with constant border fights and disputes over the Trump Administration deploying federal officers to protests.” The division-by-division summary “said the bill would provide nearly $12 million to create a Joint Cyber Center for National Cyber Defense, but doesn’t say much about what it would do.” The committee report “said it would ‘serve as a coordinating entity that will help the Department identify strategic priorities and synchronize cyber-related activities across the operational components.’” It also “spells out cyber-spending increases at CISA for specific purposes, such as ransomware against state and local governments, awareness campaigns, supply chain risks, vulnerability management and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center.” Cyberstalker Gets Four Years In Prison For “War” On Woman. The AP (7/27, Kunzelman) reports that, “less than two months after their office romance ended, Ahmad Kazzelbach began tampering with the email and social media accounts of the Baltimore woman who broke up with him.” He “changed her Instagram username to include the word ‘whore.’” That was only the “start of a vicious cyberstalking campaign that would escalate steadily over the next year.” Before FBI agents “arrested her ex-boyfriend, the woman was wrongfully arrested twice and spent four nights in jail based on a string of false police reports that he made.” Kazzelbach “was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison for his online harassment of the woman, who is identified by her initials “J.K.” in court records.” US District Judge James Bredar “said Kazzelbach repeatedly lied to police and court officials to essentially ‘wage war’ against his ex-girlfriend.” DOD Issues RFI With Goal Of Advancing Cybersecurity Technology. FedScoop (7/27, Mitchell) reports that the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering “issued a request for information late last week, EFTA00136178 asking for help building out a roadmap of science and technology activities related to advances in cybersecurity over the next two-and-a-half decades in line with the 2018 National Defense Strategy.” The solicitation “asks interested parties to help inform the Pentagon’s future cybersecurity guideposts by sharing ‘their R&D projections, technical capabilities, and demonstrated experiences in cybersecurity and cyberspace operations,’ the RFI says.” Under the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act – not yet passed – the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering “will be required to submit annual reports on cyber S&T starting in fiscal 2021.” CISA Says 62,000 QNAP NAS Devices Have Been Infected With The QSnatch Malware. ZDNet (7/27, Cimpanu, 299K) reports cyber-security agencies from the UK and the US “have published today a joint security alert about QSnatch, a strain of malware that has been infecting network-attached storage (NAS) devices from Taiwanese device maker QNAP.” In alerts [1, 2] by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the two agencies “say that attacks with the QSnatch malware have been traced back to 2014, but attacks intensified over the last year when the number of reported infections grew from 7,000 devices in October 2019 to more than 62,000 in mid-June 2020.” Of these, CISA and the NSCS “say that approximately 7,600 of the infected devices are located in the US, and around 3,900 in the UK.” CISA and the NCSC “say that the two campaigns used different versions of the QSnatch malware (also tracked under the name of Derek).” NDAA Would Create National Cyber Director Position In White House. Federal News Network (7/27, Serbu, 220) reports in the DOD reporter’s Notebook that the US “may have a new top cybersecurity position within the White House as Jim Langevin, chairman of the House Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, got an amendment to the House version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that will create a National Cyber Director within the executive office of the president.” The position would serve “as the principal advisor to the president on cybersecurity strategy and policy.” The role “would also consult with federal departments to develop the US national cyber strategy and supervise its implementation.” Langevin “told Federal News Network that he pushed for the role because the Trump Administration got rid of the cybersecurity coordinator position on the National Security Council, and because cybersecurity needs a leadership position in the White House.” ## Laboratory FBI Joins Probe Of Human Remains Found In Kentucky. The Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader (7/27, 257K) reports, “The Nelson County sheriff’s office called in federal agents on Friday to help retrieve possible human remains, leading some in the community to wonder if authorities had found Crystal Rogers, a Bardstown resident missing since 2015.” The sheriff’s office “said in a Facebook post Sunday that possible remains were recovered and sent to the FBI lab at Quantico, Va., for testing. Investigators wouldn’t be able to say if the remains are connected to Rogers until they get results back. ‘Out of respect for family members of multiple missing persons in these areas, we will not be commenting on this until we have more information from the lab,’ representatives from the sheriff’s office said.” The Herald-Leader adds, “Nelson County law enforcement became aware of the possible human remains near the border of Nelson and Washington counties on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office. The FBI’s Evidence Response Team was called in because the location of the EFTA00136179 potential remains was difficult to reach, according to the sheriff’s office.” WDRB-TV Louisville, KY (7/27, 179K) also reports. NIST Study Finds Pandemic Masks Thwarting Face Recognition Technology. The AP (7/27, O'Brien) reports a preliminary study “published by a US agency on Monday found that even the best commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50% when trying to identify masked faces.” The mask problem is why “Apple earlier this year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID.” It could also be “thwarting attempts by authorities to identify individual people at Black Lives Matter protests and other gatherings.” The National Institute of Standards and Technology “says it is launching an investigation to better understand how facial recognition performs on covered faces.” Its preliminary study “examined only those algorithms created before the pandemic, but its next step is to look at how accuracy could improve as commercial providers adapt their technology to an era when so many people are wearing masks.” Law Enforcement Services US Launches Minnesota Office On Missing Indigenous Cases. The AP (7/27) reports from Minneapolis, “Ivanka Trump and Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt visited a Minneapolis suburb on Monday to open an office dedicated to investigating cold cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.” The AP adds, “The new office in Bloomington is part of the Operation Lady Justice Task Force created via executive order by President Donald Trump in November to address violence against Native Americans, particularly women and girls, which advocates say are often overlooked by law enforcement across the country. The task force, co-chaired by Bernhardt and U.S. Attorney General William Barr, aims to develop protocols for law enforcement to respond to missing and slain Native American persons cases and to improve data and information collection.” NBC News (7/27, Ortiz, 6.14M) reports, “Pledging to bring justice for Native American families afflicted by higher rates of violence, homicide and human trafficking, Ivanka Trump announced the opening Monday in Minnesota of the nation’s first Indian Affairs task force office dedicated to solving cold cases of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.” Trump “joined Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to promote the office and the launches of six other task force locations next month in Rapid City, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; Nashville, Tennessee; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Phoenix; and Anchorage, Alaska. But Trump’s arrival in Bloomington, a Twin Cities suburb, drew rebuke from Democratic lawmakers and dozens of protesters, including Native American women who remain skeptical of the Trump administration’s commitment to resolving the root causes of violence against Indigenous women and providing adequate federal resources.” The Rapid City (SD) Journal (7/27, Zionts, 106K) reports, “Rapid City is one of seven cities set to house a federal task force focused on solving cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people.” President Trump “created the task force to ‘reduce the staggering number of violent crimes committed against American Indians and Alaska Natives and close out hundreds of cold cases,’” Bernhardt said in a news release from the Department of Interior. EFTA00136180 International Relations Former Malaysian PM Convicted In First 1MDB Trial. The AP (7/27, Ng) reports from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “Former Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted Tuesday of crimes involving the multibillion-dollar looting of a Malaysian state investment fund that brought down his government in a shocking election ouster two years ago.” The AP adds, “Najib was calm and stone-faced as he became the first Malaysian leader convicted. He has vowed to appeal the verdict that could bring many years in prison.” The ruling in the “first of his five corruption trials came five months after Najib’s Malay party returned to government as the biggest bloc in an alliance that took power from the reformist government that ousted Najib’s in 2018. Analysts said the ruling would bolster the prosecution’s case in Najib’s other trials and would signal to the business community the Malaysia’s legal system has strength in tackling international financial crimes. But others cautioned the ruling could be overturned and his political party remains in office.” Reuters (7/28, Latiff) reports, “The case has been widely seen as a test for Malaysia’s efforts to stamp out corruption and could have big political implications for the Southeast Asian nation. ‘After considering all evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a resonable doubt,’ Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali said.” Najib “faced seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power for allegedly illegally receiving nearly $10 million from former 1MDB unit SRC International. He had pleaded not guilty.” Reuters adds, “That’s only a fraction of the money that Najib is alleged to have misappropriated from 1MDB. Prosecutors say more than $1 billion of 1MDB funds made its way into his personal accounts – over which he faces a total of 42 criminal charges.” Operation Conducted By Honduran, Colombian Authorities Leads To Big Cocaine Seizure. AFP (7/27) reports a joint operation conducted by Colombian and Honduran authorities led to the recent seizure of 1,984 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat that was “intercepted...in the eastern department of Gracias a Dios.” Three Hondurans who were allegedly found on the boat have been arrested, according to the AFP article, which highlights that the DEA and Colombian authorities “are working with Honduras to try to prevent drug smugglers from using Gracias a Dios as a launchpad to” transport cocaine from South America to the US. Bulletin: Cartel Likely Used Phones That Were Compromised By Law Enforcement. Vice (7/27, 2.11M) reports, “A bulletin written by the FBI for law enforcement” organizations “said that members of the Sinaloa drug cartel were likely using” an encrypted phone network that was compromised by law enforcement earlier this year. The bulletin “notes that traffickers from the Sinaloa transnational crime organization (TCO) were using Encrochat cryptophones as recently as October of last year, according to an unclassified case citation that was marked DEA sensitive and also law-enforcement sensitive by the FBI.” EFTA00136181 Other FBI News Senate GOP’s COVID-19 Stimulus Proposal Includes $1.75B For New FBI Headquarters. The Washington Post (7/27, O'Connell, Kim, Werner, 14.2M) reports, “Under intense White House pressure, Senate Republicans agreed Monday to allocate $1.75 billion in their coronavirus relief bill towards the construction of a new D.C. headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” This reflects President Trump’s “ongoing interest in building a new headquarters for the FBI downtown, rather than a secure campus in the suburbs that was envisioned before he took office.” The article says while “the provision says the money would enable the bureau to ‘prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally,’ the request did not appear to be related to the economic fallout of the pandemic, which lawmakers are rushing to address before expanded jobless aid expires later this week.” The Hill (7/27, Bolton, 2.98M) reports, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday accused President Trump of self-dealing in pressing Senate Republicans to include in their coronavirus relief proposal $1.75 billion to rebuild the FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington.” The Hill adds, “Democrats suspect Trump is pressing for the money to rebuild the FBI headquarters in downtown D.C. so that it doesn’t move out from its space on 9th Street and Pennsylvania and leave open a prime piece of real estate that could be occupied by a new hotel that would pose serious competition to the Trump International Hotel across the street. ‘They don’t have money for food stamps but they have money for an FBI building just so that they can diminish competition for the president’s hotel,’ Pelosi said to reporters after meeting with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Monday evening.” The Washington Times (7/27, Boyer, 492K) reports, “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who unveiled the roughly $1 trillion package on Monday, initially said he didn’t believe the money for the FBI construction was in the legislation. Told that it was, the Kentucky Republican said the administration insisted on it. ‘You’ll have to ask them why they insisted that be included,’ he told reporters.” The Times adds, “President Trump has expressed an interest in rebuilding the headquarters, which is located about a block from the Trump International Hotel. Earlier plans envisioned relocating the agency’s headquarters outside Washington.” CQ Roll Call (7/27, Lerman, 154K) reports, “Democrats have suggested that the president’s interest in the Trump Hotel, also on Pennsylvania Avenue, may have influenced the decision to not redevelop the FBI site, potentially as a competing hotel. Top Senate Republicans were at pains to defend the provision in the coronavirus relief package, which the White House pushed for.” CNN (7/27, Mattingly, Raju, Barrett, Kelly, 83.16M) reports, “McConnell initially indicated at a news conference Monday that he was not aware the FBI provision was in the bill but then moments later said the White House ‘insisted that be included.’ ‘I’m not sure that it is,’ McConnell replied to a reporter when he was first asked why the money was in the Senate GOP proposal. An appropriations aide to McConnell then interjected and explained off camera to everyone in the room: ‘There’s a limitation to honing specifically to Covid-related matters, so we’ll get more information for you.’” McConnell “was then asked if it was possible an almost $2 billion could be in the measure without his knowledge, and he seemed to suggest he was aware. ‘Well, in regard to that proposal, obviously we had to have an agreement with the administration in order get started. And they will have to answer the question as to why they insisted on that.’” Bloomberg (7/27, House, 4.73M) reports, “Plans to move the FBI from its current location about four blocks from the White House had been in the works since about 2012, but were scuttled after Trump took office. The president told reporters last week that other potential sites in nearby Maryland and Virginia were not preferable because ‘you have to be near the Justice Department’ and ‘there’s nothing better than the site,’” but Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) “and other Democrats have accused Trump of trying to keep the bureau’s headquarters at its current site because it occupies a significant chunk of real estate near the Trump International Hotel, and keeping it there would prevent other commercial development in the spot.” Barr To Defend Administration In Congressional Testimony. The Washington Post (7/27, Zapotosky, Demirjian, 14.2M) reports Attorney General Barr “will tell the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that President Trump has not inappropriately intervened in Justice Department business – even though Barr has more than once moved in criminal cases to help the president’s allies – and he will defend the administration’s response to civil unrest in the country, according to a copy of his opening statement.” Barr, according to the statement, “will take a defiant posture as he testifies before the panel for the first time since Democrats took control of it, alleging that they have attempted to ‘discredit’ him.” Barr is quoted as saying in his opening statement, “From my experience, the President has played a role properly and traditionally played by Presidents.” The New York Times (7/27, Savage, Fandos, 18.61M) says Tuesday’s testimony “is expected to be a showdown over his interventions in the criminal cases of President Trump’s allies and his role in deploying federal agents to confront protesters demanding racial justice in Washington and across the country.” For Barr, the hearing “will offer the highest-profile platform to date to explain his rationale for the protest response and other issues, like voter fraud and the special counsel’s Russia investigation.” The Washington Times (7/27, Mordock, 492K) reports Barr is expected to “call on committee Democrats to condemn the violence.” Barr will say, “To tacitly condone destruction and anarchy is to abandon the basic rule-of-law principles that should unite us even in a politically divisive time.” Other Washington News Trump Touts “Tremendous Success” In Development Of Coronavirus Vaccine. President Trump on Monday visited a Research Triangle Park company in North Carolina and touted progress toward treatments and a potential vaccine for COVID-19. The Raleigh News & Observer (7/27, Eanes, Murphy, Shaffer, 425K) quotes the President as saying at the beginning of his remarks at Fujifilm Diosynth in Morrisville, “We will achieve a victory over the virus by unleashing American scientific genius.” Fujifilm Diosynth, the News & Observer notes, “is manufacturing a vaccine for the biotech company Novavax, which was awarded $1.6 billion from the federal government as part of an effort to speed up coronavirus vaccine development.” Trump later told WRAL-TV Raleigh, NC (7/27, 170K) in an interview, “We’re having tremendous success. That is why we are North Carolina today, because this is a great plant and great scientists and they are very close to having the vaccine. When that happens, we are going to distribute it in record time” and “if we can do that, that will be a great achievement. ... We are going to have a vaccine very soon, by the end of the year, maybe even a little sooner than that. That will be a great achievement. That would have been years ahead of schedule.” Says Newsweek EFTA00136183 ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 3, 2:25, Muir, 7.11M) reported that in North Carolina, “the President did wear a mask, EFTA00136184 just the second time he has done so in public, as he visited a vaccine production facility.” Trump was shown saying, “A second vaccine is likely to enter Phase 3 in a matter of days.” However, added ABC, “the President also seemed to contradict health experts who say much of the country is dealing with an alarming spike in new infections, largely because the states reopened too quickly.” Trump, on the other hand, “suggested some states are not opening quickly enough.” Said Trump, “I really do believe a lot of the governors should be opening up states that they’re not opening, and we will see what happens with them.” Along those lines, Yahoo! News (7/27, Stableford, 12.82M) recounts “Trump continued to urge states to reopen their economies Monday despite the sharp increase in the number of Americans testing positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks.” The New York Post (7/27, Bowden, 4.57M) similarly reports “Trump donned a mask,” and that he “has embraced wearing masks in recent weeks, pulling it out of his pocket at the rebooted coronavirus briefings and calling it an act of patriotism after mocking...[Joe] Biden for wearing one in May.” WWAY-TV Wilmington, NC (7/27, 10K) reported, meanwhile, that when he took questions from the media, Trump “was asked about the state’s decision regarding the Republican National Convention and how the nomination night will be going ahead as planned.” Trump was shown saying, “We are having a very major – I guess that would be the nomination night, so that is Monday, that will be Monday, they are going to be here and the rest we will do in a different form. We could have done it many different ways, but I think we did the right thing, and I’m really happy that we’re going to be having a piece of it, at least , and a very important piece in North Carolina.” Moderna Begins Final-Stage Testing Of Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate. The AP (7/27, Neergaard, Hill, Noveck) reports that “the biggest test yet of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine got underway Monday with the first of some 30,000 Americans rolling up their sleeves to receive shots created by the US government as part of the all-out global race to stop the outbreak.” The AP adds “final-stage testing of the vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., began with volunteers at numerous sites around the US given either a real dose or a dummy without being told which.” Reuters (7/27, Maddipatla, O'Donnell) indicates that NIH Director Collins said in a release announcing the start of Moderna’s Phase 3 trial, “Having a safe and effective vaccine distributed by the end of 2020 is a stretch goal, but it’s the right goal for the American people.” Reuters reports that the trial is “the first such late-stage study under the Trump administration’s program to speed development of measures against the novel coronavirus, adding to hope that an effective vaccine will help end the pandemic.” The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Loftus, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that NIH’s Collins said on Monday, “Yes, we’re going fast, but no, we are not going to compromise safety or efficacy.” In its lead story, the CBS Evening News (7/27, lead story, 3:25, O'Donnell, 4.46M) referred to the trials as “a huge leap forward in the development of a vaccine,” and showed Collins saying, “This is a very significant milestone. ... This is the first of several vaccines that are going to be coming along quite quickly. So people are going to be hearing a lot about this.” ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 2, 1:15, Muir, 7.11M) showed Collins saying to the volunteers, “You’re contributing to the kind of scientific advance that might ultimately save hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of lives.” NBC Nightly News (7/27, lead story, 2:55, Holt, 6.32M) reported, meanwhile, that “there is growing reason to hope tonight that medicine can soon do what all those changes in human behavior seemingly can’t: prevent COVID infections. ... What once seemed so far away may now be in sight as our current best defense from the virus, social distancing, seems to be crumbling against a wall of denial.” EFTA00136185 CNBC (7/27, Lovelace, 3.62M) reports on its website that NIAID Director Fauci “said Monday he is ‘not particularly concerned’ about the safety risk of a potential coronavirus vaccine by Moderna, despite the fact that it uses new technology to fight the virus.” According to CNBC, Moderna’s vaccine candidate “uses messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA molecules, to provoke an immune response to fight the virus,” and “while early studies show promise, mRNA technology has never been used to make a successful vaccine before.” USA Today (7/27, Weintraub, 10.31M), the Washington Times (7/27 Neergaard, 492K), CQ Roll Call (7/27, Siddons, 154K) and New York Times (7/27, Grady, 18.61M), among other news outlets, also report the story. CNBC (7/27, Lovelace, Feuer, 3.62M) reports on its website, meanwhile, that Moderna shares "rose nearly 6% on Monday after the biotech company announced it received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government to support the development of its potential coronavirus vaccine." Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel indicated Monday that “the results from Moderna’s late-stage trial could be released as soon as October.” The AP (7/27, Neergaard, Hill) has more details of the vaccine candidate’s Phase 3 trial. Pence Hails “Historic Day” Of “Hope” And “Promise” As He Visits Miami For Launch Of Vaccine Trial. The Miami Herald (7/27, Chang, Smiley, 1.09M) reports Vice President Pence “visited the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine on Monday to focus attention on one of the pandemic’s few potential bright spots: the rapid development of a vaccine against the disease.” The Herald adds that “noting the president’s emphasis on speed, Pence said the federal government has positioned itself through public-private collaborations with drug makers to ramp up mass production of a vaccine at the first sign of its safety and effectiveness.” The South Florida Sun Sentinel (7/27, Goodman, 545K) recounts that “the University of Miami is one of 89 sites in the country that will enroll volunteers for the 30,000-person study, which will look at the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine manufactured by Moderna.” Said Pence, “This is a statement of confidence in the professionalism of the great healthcare team at the University of Miami. ... Today is a historic day. It’s a day of hope, a day of promise.” Navarro: No Other President Would Have Made As Much Progress On Vaccine. On Fox News’ Fox & Friends (7/27, 831K), Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Navarro said the President “is shooting for January 2021 to have three million doses of vaccine. And here is the thing, this is the only President who really could have got this done and what’s going to be effectively half or a third of the time that it usually takes. And the reason why [is] in the old days the way vaccines were developed it was a sequential process. ... President Trump said, ‘No, we are not going to do it that way, what we will do simultaneous development of the whole process,’ and be ready so that if that vaccine from Novavax or Pfizer is ready to go, we would have tremendous bandwidth to manufacture at scale.” ## Global Alliance Says Vaccine Should Cost No More Than $40 Per Shot. Reuters (7/27, Kelland, Steenhuysen) reports that “coordinators of a global coronavirus vaccines funding scheme are looking at a wide range of potential prices for COVID-19 shots, with a reported $40 per dose price tag the ‘highest number’ in that range.” Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI vaccine alliance, “which is co-leading the COVAX facility designed to ensure fair global access to COVID-19 shots, said the facility had no specific target price and would also seek EFTA00136186 to negotiate tiered pricing for richer and poorer countries.” According to Reuters, COVAX is “co-led by GAVI, the World Health Organization and the CEPI Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and is designed to guarantee fast and equitable access globally to COVID-19 vaccines once they are developed.” WPost Analysis: Advisers And Opponents Say Trump Has Failed To Show Leadership On Pandemic. The Washington Post (7/27, Parker, Rucker, 14.2M) says President Trump’s advisers and those working to defeat him agree that the “best way for him to regain his political footing is to wrest control of the coronavirus.” The Post says Trump’s “allies and opponents agree he has failed at the one task that could help him achieve all of his goals – confronting the pandemic with a clear strategy and consistent leadership.” The Post cites “people close to Trump,” many of whom spoke anonymously, who “say the president’s inability to wholly address the crisis is due to his almost pathological unwillingness to admit error; a positive feedback loop of overly rosy assessments and data from advisers and Fox News; and a penchant for magical thinking that prevented him from fully engaging with the pandemic.” O’Brien Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Is “Self-Isolating.” The AP (7/27, Miller, Colvin) reports that National Security Adviser O’Brien “has tested positive for the coronavirus – making him the highest-ranking official to test positive so far.” The White House “confirmed that O’Brien has mild symptoms and ‘has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site.’” The AP adds, “Officials did not respond to questions about the last time the president and O’Brien had contact.” The Washington Post (7/27, Wagner, 14.2M) reports that on Monday, President Trump “said...that he had not seen O’Brien recently. ... ‘I haven’t seen him lately,’ Trump said as he left the White House for a trip to North Carolina.” All three major network newscasts covered the story last night. ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 3, 2:25, Muir, 7.11M) reported “the coronavirus is now reaching deeper into the President’s inner circle,” while Ben Tracy of the CBS Evening News (7/27, story 3, 1:20, O'Donnell, 4.46M) said “the President did not explain why he has not recently seen his own National Security Adviser,” and NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 4, 1:45, Holt, 6.32M) that “it's unclear how much contact...Trump and O’Brien have had in recent weeks,” though “their last public appearance together was 17 days ago in Florida.” CNBC (7/27, Breuninger, 3.62M) reports on its website that the White House released a statement reading, “There is no risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President. The work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted.” Politico (7/27, Lippman, 4.29M) reports that NEC Director Kudlow “told reporters on Monday morning that O’Brien got infected from his daughter.” Politico goes on to report that O’Brien, along with his deputy, Matt Pottinger, were “early internal advocates of swift action to combat the outbreak,” and “more recently, he has focused on coordinating the administration’s pushback against a rising China.” Bloomberg (7/27, Jacobs, Mohsin, 4.73M), which first reported that O’Brien had tested positive, says, “Since his diagnosis, O’Brien has been isolating at home while still running the National EFTA00136187 Security Council, doing most of his work by phone.” Bloomberg adds, “NSC staff weren’t informed that O’Brien had tested positive,” and “some found out through press reports.” Likewise, Reuters (7/27, Holland) indicates that the announcement that O’Brien had tested positive “caught some White House staff off guard, as there had not been an internal memo about it.” USA Today (7/27, Jackson, 10.31M), the Los Angeles Times (7/27, Bierman, 4.64M), The Hill (7/27, Samuels, 2.98M), and McClatchy (7/27, Wilner, 19K), among other news outlets, also reports the story. Commerce Department: Ross Hospitalization Was Not Related To Coronavirus. CNBC (7/27, Breuninger, 3.62M) reports on its website that the Commerce Department announced on Monday that Secretary Ross “has left the hospital where he had been admitted for health reasons unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic.” The 82-year-old Ross “had been working from his home in Palm Beach, Florida, since at least late March.” Birx Advocates Mask-Wearing, Bar Closures In Tennessee Visit. WKRN-TV Nashville, TN (7/27, 25K) that White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx visited Nashville Monday “with a message for Tennessee.” Birx “said bars should be closed, indoor dining should be limited and everybody should be wearing a mask always.” Birx: “So, it’s calling on all Tennessee to make that sacrifice for your family, for your children – so they can go back to school to really wear a mask and protect each other.” ## Miguel Almaguer of NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 2, 2:25, Holt, 6.32M) reported that Birx made a “public plea” for rural mayors to mandate masks, and WSMV-TV Nashville, TN (7/27, 422K) reported that Birx “had an urgent message to mayors who haven’t imposed a mask mandate, particularly rural mayors who have not imposed a mask mandate.” Birx: “If every rural mayor could mandate mask-wearing. The virus is there. You may not see it today because it may still be in young people, but it’s spreading and it will hit your nursing homes and it will hit those that have serious consequences to this virus.” WZTV-TV Nashville, TN (7/27, 28K) reported that Birx “emphasiz[ed] social distancing, closing bars and wearing masks” but “she stop[ped] short of supporting a state-wide mandate.” Birx: “We are asking everybody to make a personal sacrifice of responsibility to one another, to really decrease these caseloads by doing these recommendations.” WTVF-TV Nashville, TN (7/27, 7.33M) reported that Birx “was asked multiple times if she recommended the state implement a mask mandate, and she wouldn’t say yes or no. She did stress that that wearing masks and closing bars are some of the most effective ways of flattening the curve.” WTVF added that Birx said Tennessee “is at the inflection point” and “she urges every mayor to mandate masks, to which once again she was asked, why shouldn’t the state issue a mandate across the board.” Birx: “I think in this case, we know that the rural mayors understand their EFTA00136188 communities the best and would know how to mandate masks specifically. We’ve talked to the governor about the importance of mask mandates. I think he has a sound strategy that he’s working through the state.” The Tennessean (7/27, Kelman, 458K) reports that while Birx said the state should close bars and limit indoor dining, moments later, Gov. Bill Lee (R) “said he had no plans to follow this recommendation. Lee said he would not close bars or limit restaurants or give county mayors the authority to take these actions locally.” Lee said, “I’ve said from the very beginning of this pandemic that there’s nothing off the table. I’ve also said that we are not going to close the economy back down, and we are not going to. But I appreciate their recommendations and we take them seriously.” Azar Credits Mask-Wearing For “Plateauing” Of COVID Cases In Key States. HHS Secretary Azar said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends (7/27, 831K) that while White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx “says we are seeing signs of plateauing, we are not out of the woods yet. It is really important that people remain vigilant. We think it’s due to the fact that people are actually wearing their masks. ... They are social distancing. They are engaging in good personal hygiene. The governors have closed some of these bars where you just can’t keep socially distant, and you are not going to wear a face covering.” Azar added, “I really hope people will remain vigilant and we go through this because we need to make it through the next several months because we have so much promise there in terms of just really credible shots at therapeutics, the next generation of therapeutics, as well as vaccines.” Report: 4,000 Federal Workers Seeking Disability Compensation For Contracting COVID-19 At Work. The Washington Post (7/27, Yoder, 14.2M) reports that “about 4,000 federal employees are seeking disability compensation” because they “contracted the novel coronavirus at work,” and the “survivors of 60 deceased employees are seeking death benefits for the same reason.” According to a report from the Labor Department’s inspector general, which “amounts to one of the first accountings of the pandemic's impact on the health of the federal workforce.” The total number of claims “is expected to increase to 6,000 within weeks.” Ten States Set Single-Day Records For New Infections. NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 2, 2:25, Holt, 6.32M) reported that as Florida “surpassed New York, becoming the second state in the nation with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases,” across the country, “at least 10 other states have now set single day records for new infections.” NBC added that many of the new cases are due to “the disregard to follow social distancing mandates nearly five months into the US COVID crisis.” ABC World News Tonight (7/27, lead story, 3:30, Muir, 7.11M) reported in its lead story that in the US, there are “more than 4.2 million confirmed cases and more than 147,000 lives now lost.” Manuel Bojorquez of the CBS Evening News (7/27, story 2, 2:20, O'Donnell, 4.46M) reported that “social interactions appeared to be fueling the spread. Nearly three dozen life guards in two New Jersey towns tested positive after gatherings, as did 40 members of a church in Alabama after attending services.” EFTA00136189 Florida Reports Lowest Number Of New COVID Cases In Three Weeks. The Tallahassee Democrat (7/27, Kennedy, 180K) reports that Florida on Monday “reported its lowest daily number of new cases in three weeks. The 8,892 additional cases were the fewest since July 9. The 77 Floridians reported dead overnight from COVID-19 also is the state’s lowest daily toll in two weeks.” The Miami Herald (7/27, Marchante, 1.09M) reports, “As of 3 p.m. Monday, there were 9,098 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard.” DC Mayor's Quarantine Order Takes Effect. The Washington Post (7/27, Hedgpeth, Zauzmer, 14.2M) reports an order from District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) took effect Monday putting “restrictions on anyone coming into Washington from a state that’s considered high-risk due to its coronavirus outbreak.” Under the order, anyone coming to the District after “nonessential activities” in one of the high-risk states must self-quarantine for two weeks. The Post adds, “The list of 27 hot-spot states includes Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.” While city officials “acknowledged that local authorities would not be able to widely enforce the order,” they “said they expect residents and visitors to follow it.” Coronavirus Outbreak Could Endanger Baseball Season. ABC World News Tonight (7/27, lead story, 3:30, Muir, 7.11M) reported in its lead story that the coronavirus is “derailing Major League Baseball’s new season.” Eleven players and two coaches on the Miami Marlins are “infected, forcing them to cancel their home opener.” The Marlins “played despite four players testing positive on Sunday. Their opponent, the Phillies, now getting tested.” NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 6, 1:50, Holt, 6.32M) reported that the Phillies “so far not confirming any new positive tests, but the domino effect already underway, with the team pulling the plug on their game tonight against the New York Yankees.” NBC said that less than a week after the season began “the sport could be on the brink of closure.” Manuel Bojorquez of the CBS Evening News (7/27, story 2, 2:20, O'Donnell, 4.46M) reported, “The ripple effect is already putting the new season in question.” Cain Still Hospitalized For Coronavirus. Axios (7/27, Fernandez, 521K) reports, “Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is still in the hospital undergoing oxygen treatment more than three weeks after first being hospitalized with the coronavirus on July 2, according to an update from his Twitter https://twitter.com/THEHermanCain/status/1287819710025916417> account on Monday.” Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/politics/herman-cain-hospital-coronavirus-weeks> (7/27, Phillips, 27.59M) indicates EFTA00136190 on its website that Cain “had been notified he tested positive for the virus on a Monday and his symptoms were serious enough to require medical care by that Wednesday.” NYTimes Analysis: Expanding Data Set Helps Americans Make Sense Of Pandemic. The New York Times (7/27, Bosman, 18.61M) reports that Americans have “an expanding set of data to help them interpret the coronavirus pandemic.” It includes “the number of sick and dead” as well as “daily case counts in their cities and states, the percentage of positive tests, the number of people hospitalized and the weekly change in cases.” The availability of the data is the result of “sophisticated data-gathering operations by newspapers, research universities and volunteers” that have “sprung up in response to the pandemic, monitoring and collecting coronavirus metrics around the clock.” for many Americans, it provides “a way to make sense of the pandemic – which is spreading in the South, West and much of the Midwest, but calming in the Northeast – and to gauge whether things are better or worse in their own cities.” Some Patients With Coronavirus Suffer From Symptoms, Effects Months After Initial Infection. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Reddy, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports on so-called long-haul patients with coronavirus who continue to experience symptoms or effects of the disease for months after being initially infected. Colleagues Say Doctor Responsible For Discredited Studies Has History Of Cutting Corners. The New York Times (7/27, Gabler, Rabin, 18.61M) reports that Sapan Desai, along with a Harvard professor, “produced two studies in May that almost instantly disrupted multiple clinical trials amid the pandemic.” One study’s findings reported that “anti-malaria drugs like hydroxychloroquine, which President Trump promoted, were linked to increased deaths of Covid-19 patients. But that study and another were retracted in June by the renowned journals that had published them, weeks after researchers around the world suggested the data was dubious.” The Times adds that “many people who have known [Desai] described him as a man in a hurry, a former whiz kid willing to cut corners, misrepresent information or embellish his credentials as he pursued his ambitions.” More than “a dozen doctors who worked with him during training and residency said they had often found him to be an unreliable physician.” Republicans Say Border-Crossers Responsible For Rise In Coronavirus Cases. The Washington Times (7/27, A1, Dinan, 492K) reports that several Republican lawmakers have suggested that both migrants “and legal border crossers might be responsible for part of the spike in cases in Texas, California and Arizona,” and Acting DHS Secretary Wolf “has said U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents in northern Mexico are fleeing overrun hospitals south of the border and heading north for care in the U.S. That is contributing to higher numbers in border states.” However, “immigration rights activists say there is no evidence to back up those claims,” and that “U.S. policies are making the situation in northern Mexico worse by invoking a part of public health law to immediately expel unauthorized border crossers and make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for their hearings. ... Administration officials say the expulsions have likely saved many lives in the EFTA00136191 U.S." DOJ Reaches Settlement With Company That Discriminated Against Permanent US Residents. The Washington Examiner (7/27, Mastrangelo, 448K) reports that the Justice Department has reached a settlement with Asta CRS Inc., “a Virginia-based technology staffing company that it says discriminated against permanent residents in favor of candidates on temporary work visas during a recent hiring process.” The settlement “is one in a string of deals cut with various American companies as part of the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative,” which “targets, investigates, and prosecutes companies that discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa workers.” Trump Lawyers File To Block Manhattan DA's Subpoena For President's Tax Records. CNBC (7/27, Mangan, 3.62M) reports on its website that President Trump’s lawyers on Monday “doubled-down on their efforts to block Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. from obtaining his tax records from the president’s accountants with a grand jury subpoena.” In a new filing in Manhattan federal court, “Trump’s lawyers said that subpoena for the tax returns and other records from the accounting firm Mazars USA is ‘wildly overboard,’ and ‘is not remotely confined to the grand jury investigation that began in 2018’ at the direction of Vance.” The filing argued that “the subpoena demands voluminous documents that relate to topics and entities far beyond the District Attorney’s limited jurisdiction under New York law. ... This is not a properly tailored subpoena for the President’s records.” They also claim the subpoena “was issued in bad faith.” The New York Times (7/27, Weiser, Rashbaum, 18.61M) describes the filing as Trump’s “most forceful and detailed legal attack yet on the subpoena for his tax returns from the Manhattan district attorney.” Trump’s lawyers “asked that the judge issue an order barring Mr. Vance from ‘taking any action to enforce’ the subpoena...and that he block Mr. Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, from turning over any of the information.” The Washington Post (7/27, Jacobs, 14.2M) says Trump’s lawyers “are expected to push for Vance’s office to reveal more about the scope of its investigation, a move the district attorney opposes.” Senate GOP Relief Plan Would Cut Weekly Unemployment Aid To $200 Per Week. ## David Muir reported on ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 5, 1:40, 7.11M), “Millions of Americans on unemployment, out of work in this pandemic, are waiting for word from Washington, with that $600 supplemental payment now running out. Two months after the Democrats unveiled their plan, Republicans are out with theirs tonight. It proposes a cut in that payment.” Peter Alexander said on NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 5, 0:20, Holt, 6.32M), “Top Senate Republicans unveiled their proposal for the next economic relief package that would cut emergency unemployment benefits for now from $600 to $200, and would green-light another round direct payments to Americans.” Norah O’Donnell said on the CBS Evening News (7/27, story EFTA00136192 5, 1:50, 4.46M), “A final agreement with Democrats could be weeks away, but...for millions of unemployed workers, time is running out.” The AP (7/27, Mascaro, Taylor) reports that the GOP plan is “to cut the jobless boost to $200 a week as it phases out to a new system that ensures no more than 70% of an employee’s previous pay,” and “the boost would be available for up to four months to give states time to transition to the new system.” The New York Times (7/27, 18.61M) says the “proposal to slash the jobless aid by two-thirds, part of a Republican plan they began rolling out on Monday afternoon, is likely to be among the most bitterly contested issues in bipartisan negotiations over the next round of pandemic relief.” According to the Times, “Many Republicans detest the supplement to state jobless aid, put in place by the $2.2 trillion stimulus law, arguing that it is a disincentive to returning to work because it exceeds what some workers can earn in regular wages.” The Washington Post (7/27, A1, Werner, Stein, Kim, 14.2M) reports House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer were set to speak with Chief of Staff Meadows and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Monday evening “as they rush to begin negotiations...bumping up against a tight deadline before expanded jobless aid expires later this week.” The Wall Street Journal (7/27, A1, Duehren, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says the proposed cut to the emergency jobless benefit will be the focus of negotiations. Schumer said, “Now our Republican friends are saying a bunch of things, some say they don’t want to expand it at all, some are saying, ‘Let’s give a 30% pay cut to these folks.’ Well, they’re losing their jobs through no fault of their own, and they should get a pay cut?” The Washington Times (7/27, Muñoz, 492K) reports Pelosi criticized the “‘piecemeal’ coronavirus spending proposal Monday morning, blaming [Republicans] for slow rolling Congress’ response to continued economic hardship.” The New York Post (7/27, Bowden, 4.57M) reports the proposed cut was the result of an effort by Senate Majority Leader McConnell “to cap a fourth wave of stimulus spending to around $1 trillion.” Politico (7/27, Levine, Bresnahan, 4.29M) reports that McConnell “outlined the pillars of the proposal, which will include another round of $1,200 in direct payments, more money for the Paycheck Protection Program, a reduction in boosted federal unemployment benefits, liability protection and more than $100 billion for reopening schools and colleges.” The Washington Times (7/27, Swoyer, 492K) reports McConnell said on the Senate floor Monday, “Health, economic assistance, liability. and schools. Another historic package for the next stage of this historic national fight.” Politico (7/27, Bresnahan, Desiderio, 4.29M) says GOP divisions “forced McConnell to delay the unveiling of the $1 trillion proposal he released on Monday, an embarrassing setback for the party at a critical moment. McConnell has also openly said that the plan would have ‘fairly significant support’ among Senate Republicans but ‘probably not everyone’ – which is as close to a tell as McConnell gets to admitting his cards aren’t very strong.” USA Today (7/27, King, Wu, 10.31M) reports that “it appeared [GOP] divisions had not fully healed.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told reporters, “There is significant resistance to yet another trillion dollars. The answer to these challenges will not simply be shoveling cash out of Washington. The answer to these challenges will be getting people back to work.” CNN (7/27, Mattingly, 83.16M) says on its website, “For most recipients of the $600 federal unemployment benefit enhancement, the final checks went out a few days ago,” and yet Republicans are, “just on Monday, releasing their opening bid, which...Trump’s administration is already moving away from in order to pitch a scaled-back EFTA00136193 proposal Democrats have already rejected.” Bloomberg (7/27, Dorning, Davison, 4.73M) reports, “Replacing the expiring $600-a-week supplements with a percentage of a worker’s former wages could take most states eight to 20 weeks to implement, after they receive Department of Labor Guidance,” according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. The AP (7/27, Rugaber) reports, “As Congress and the White House resume their efforts to agree on a new economic aid package, evidence is growing that the U.S. economy is faltering. And so is concern that the government may not take the steps needed to support hiring and growth.” Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said, “We’re in a pretty fragile state again. The economy needs another shot in the arm.” Reuters (7/27), The Hill (7/27, Carney, 2.98M), and Axios (7/27, Allassan, 521K) are among the other outlets reporting. Kudlow Says Trump “Disappointed” By Absence Of Payroll Tax Cut. NEC Director Kudlow said on Fox Business’ Varney & Co. (7/27, 64K), “The President was disappointed he didn’t get the payroll tax for political reasons. I’m disappointed. I will just say this as a bit of an editorial coming from me. You know, at some point, the White House and the Republicans, Congress, Senate and House, have got to put some investment incentive, tax rate incentives and regulatory reduction incentives, for long-term economic growth. The checks may be essential, but the fact is, you can’t spend your way into long-term prosperity.” NYTimes Analysis: GOP Bill May Contain “Benefit For Big Banks.” The New York Times (7/27, Flitter, Smialek, Eavis, 18.61M) reports under the headline “Republican Stimulus Package May Come With A Benefit For Big Banks” that Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo “is working on legislation that would give regulators the discretion to let banks exclude certain items on their balance sheets when calculating how much capital they are required to hold.” That “could be particularly useful for banks with large Wall Street trading operations, because it would let them increase their holdings of certain kinds of financial assets, like government bonds, without requiring a corresponding increase in capital reserves.” Kudlow: “V-Shaped Recovery” Is “Very Much Intact.” NEC Director Kudlow said on Fox Business' Varney & Co. (7/27, 64K), “So far, what we know, there’s a huge housing boom. There’s a retailing boom, there’s an automobile boom. Trucking is still very strong. You saw the equipment numbers, the manufacturing equipment numbers up the chart, beating all expectation. We have had a jobs boom so far. And contrary to some poor reading, unemployment claims and continuing claims are falling rapidly and the July jobs number on unemployment and job increases I think is going to look pretty good.” Kudlow added, “I think the V-shaped recovery and the 20% second half growth is still very much intact.” Stocks Finish Higher. Reuters (7/27, Carew) reports “Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Monday as investors monitored progress in US government stimulus efforts along with rising US COVID-19 cases and bet on some of the market’s most high-profile stocks ahead of earnings reports.” The Dow “rose 116.26 points, or 0.44%, to 26,586.15, the S&P 500 gained 23.88 points, or 0.74%, to 3,239.51 and the Nasdaq Composite added 173.09 points, or 1.67%, to 10,536.27.” The AP (7/27, Choe, Troise, Veiga) says “Wall Street’s rally got back on track Monday, while gold rushed to a record at the start of a week packed with potentially market- EFTA00136194 moving events.” The Fox Business (7/27, Garber, 1.73M) website, among other news outlets, also reports the story. Orders For Capital Goods Up By Most In Nearly Two Years. Reuters (7/27, Mutikani) reports, “New orders for key US-made capital goods increased by the most in nearly two years in June and shipments accelerated, but the gains were likely insufficient to avert the deepest plunge in business investment and economic activity since the Great Depression in the second quarter because of the COVID-19 crisis.” Reuters adds “the improvement in manufacturing reported by the Commerce Department on Monday was driven by pent-up demand following the reopening of businesses.” Sen. Collins Joins Romney In Opposing Fed Nominee Shelton. In what is heralded as a “News Exclusive,” the Wall Street Journal (7/27, Timiraos, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that on Monday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced that she will vote against economist Judy Shelton’s nomination to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Collins becomes the second GOP senator to oppose Shelton, following last week’s announcement from Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) that he could not support the nomination. The Journal says Shelton can still be confirmed if no more than one additional Republican joins with Senate Democrats in opposition to Shelton’s nomination. Citing the Journal, the Bangor Daily News (7/27, Andrews, 198K) also reports the story, adding that “Shelton squeaked through the initial nomination hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs last week with a 13-12 vote along party lines. All Senate Democrats are expected to oppose the nomination.” Reuters (7/27, Dunsmuir) quotes Collins as saying, “Ms. Shelton has openly called for the Federal Reserve to be less independent of the political branches, and has even questioned the need for a central bank.” The Hill (7/27, Carney, 2.98M) and Bloomberg (7/27, Wasson, Dennis, 4.73M), among other news outlets, also cover Collins’ announcement. Trump Retweets Praise For Defense Bill He Has Threatened To Veto. The Washington Post (7/27, Wagner, 14.2M) reports that on Monday, President Trump “shared tweets...from Republican senators touting the benefits of a $740 billion defense authorization bill – legislation he has threatened to veto if it retains a provision instructing the Pentagon to rename military installations honoring Confederate generals.” Trump’s “Twitter activity was the latest twist in Trump's efforts to simultaneously claim credit for legislation authorizing pay increases for troops and other investments in the military while waging a battle over what he has characterized as an effort to erase US history.” Trump “retweeted tweets from 19 Republican senators making the case for passage of the bill, although none of them mentioned the renaming provision.” Politico Report: White House Aides Struggle To Revise List Of Potential SCOTUS Nominees. EFTA00136195 Politico (7/27, Orr, 4.29M) reports that in an effort to “give disgruntled conservatives a dash of hope after crushing Supreme Court losses on abortion and LGBTQ protections this summer,” President Trump “made a promise: He would unveil a new list of reliably conservative jurists before presidential debate season kicked into high gear. ‘I will only choose from this list,’ he pledged in a tweet last month.” The President’s tweet “caught top White House aides and conservative legal figures off guard. But they quickly mobilized to review the existing 25 names and decide who should remain in contention, who should be removed and who might qualify as an acceptable addition.” Trump Says Twitter’s “Trending” Tweet Listing Is Illegal. The President tweeted Monday evening, “So disgusting to watch Twitter’s so-called ‘Trending’, where sooo many trends are about me, and never a good one. They look for anything they can find, make it as bad as possible, and blow it up, trying to make it trend. Really ridiculous, illegal, and, of course, very unfair!” Commerce Department Enlists FCC In “Tech Crackdown.” Politico (7/27, Hendel, 4.29M) reports under the headline “Administration Asks FCC To Carry Out Trump’s Tech Crackdown” that the Commerce Department has petitioned the FCC “to narrow the liability protections of online companies,” as President Trump “directed in May in what he pitched as a crackdown on anti-conservative bias. Monday’s petition includes a request that the FCC impose a regulatory requirement on social media companies, even though the agency doesn’t regulate them.” Commerce Secretary Ross said in a statement, “President Trump is committed to protecting the rights of all Americans to express their views and not face unjustified restrictions or selective censorship from a handful of powerful companies.” EPA IG Investigating Rollback Of Auto Emissions Standards. The New York Times (7/27, Davenport, Friedman, 18.61M) reports the EPA Inspector General has “opened an investigation into the agency’s weakening of Obama-era regulations that would have limited automobile emissions by significantly raising fuel economy standards.” The IG “demanded that top E.P.A. officials turn over briefing materials and other documents pertaining to the regulation, which was finalized in late March as the Trump administration’s single largest rollback of federal climate change rules.” Lewis Lies In State At Capitol; Trump Says He Will Not Pay Respects. USA Today (7/27, Groppe, Santucci, 10.31M) reports President Trump said Monday that he “will not be attending memorial services for civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis this week. Lewis will lie in state at the Capitol as part of six days of funeral proceedings.” Asked by reporters “if he would pay respects to Lewis Monday or Tuesday” at the Capitol, Trump said, “No, I won’t be going, no.” Vice President Pence and Karen Pence were scheduled to pay their respects late Monday, as were Joe and Jill Biden. Lester Holt said on NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 3, EFTA00136196 2:35, 6.32M), “He helped change the course of history. And tonight, 10 days after he died, John Lewis is making history as the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the US Capitol Rotunda.” ABC World News Tonight (7/27, story 4, 2:50, Muir, 7.11M) reported Lewis is “lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda, his casket resting on the same wooden platform used for Abraham Lincoln.” ABC’s Pierre Thomas: “Today, Rep. John Lewis came to Washington, his entire legacy fully embraced by the nation and saluted by his peers as the ‘conscience of Congress.’” On the CBS Evening News (7/27, story 6, 2:25, 4.46M), Norah O’Donnell called it a “hero’s farewell” for the “civil rights icon.” The Washington Post (7/27, Kane, Sonmez, Flynn, Brice-Saddler, 14.2M) reports, “Lawmakers paid tribute to the late congressman and delivered a standing ovation when a recording of his booming voice – a clarion call for racial justice – echoed through the Rotunda.” House Speaker Pelosi said, “It is fitting that John Lewis joins this pantheon of patriots, resting upon the same catafalque as President Abraham Lincoln. We knew that he always worked on the side of the angels – and now, we know that he is with them.” The New York Times (7/27, Broadwater, 18.61M) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell “invoked the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a friend of Mr. Lewis’s, who once said that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’” McConnell said, “But that is never automatic. History only bent toward what’s right because people like John paid the price to help bend it.” Politico (7/27, Caygle, Ferris, 4.29M) also reports. NBC Nightly News (7/27, story 10, 1:45, Holt, 6.32M) also aired a piece on the Bloody Sunday protest in Selma, Alabama in 1965, while the CBS Evening News (7/27, story 11, 1:40, O'Donnell, 4.46M) looked at the history of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which some want renamed to honor Lewis. ## International News Cases Surge Around World, Prompting Lockdowns And Travel Bans. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Wen, Wang, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that areas such as Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan, which had seen minimal cases earlier in the spring and summer, reported new highs in daily infections in the past week, illustrating the difficulty of keeping the virus under control. Reuters (7/27, Coates, Graff) reports that on Monday, “nations in Asia imposed new restrictions...while an abrupt British quarantine on travellers from Spain threw Europe’s vaunted summer reopening into disarray, as the world confronted the prospect of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.” According to Reuters, “Surges were reported in a number of countries previously singled out as places where the virus was under control.” Reuters reports that Vietnam “locked down the city of Danang, forcing tens of thousands of visitors to evacuate,” and China “confirmed the most locally transmitted cases since early March.” Meanwhile, Hong Kong “banned gatherings of more than two people,” and “a surge in infections in Spain prompted Britain to order all travellers from there to quarantine for two weeks.” EFTA00136197 Bloomberg (7/27, 4.73M) also says that on Monday, China “reported the most domestic coronavirus infections in more than four months as it battles outbreaks in its western and northeastern regions, raising fears of a serious resurgence.” According to Bloomberg, “Of the 61 infections reported Monday, 57 were local cases with 41 of them in Xinjiang, the politically fraught western province where China’s treatment of the local Muslim Uighur population has come under global criticism.” Reuters (7/27, Strauss, Blenkinsop) reports, “Belgium announced measures on Monday including a sharp reduction in permitted social contact designed to prevent a return to a nationwide lockdown after a surge of coronavirus infections in the past three weeks.” Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes said that, “from Wednesday, a Belgian family or those living together would only be able to meet five other people, sharply down from 15 now.” Wilmes said, “We are acting again today to keep the situation under control and to prevent a general lockdown.” Navarro Says He Predicted China Would Create A Deadly Pandemic. Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Navarro said on Bannon’s War Room Podcast (7/27) that in his 2006 book “The Coming China Wars,” he said that “because of the way the Chinese Communist Party runs that country, there was a high likelihood...that China would create a viral pandemic that could possibly kill millions. ... The reason why I made that prediction was because of a close study of how China operates. And back then, the big concern there was the animal husbandry, the way they did their fisheries, just the filthiness with which they created what I called a viral soup. This was a couple of years after SARS. I looked at it, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is coming again.’” Iran Moves Mock Aircraft Carrier Into Strait Of Hormuz. The AP (7/27, Gambrell) reports satellite photos released Monday show that Iran “has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with the United States.” The AP describes the move as a signal that Iran “soon plans to use it for live-fire drills.” While “Iranian state media and officials have yet to acknowledge bringing the replica out to the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes,” its “appearance there suggests Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is preparing an encore of a similar mock-sinking it conducted in 2015.” Israel Says It Fired On Hezbollah Fighters Who Crossed Over From Lebanon. The New York Times (7/27, Kershner, 18.61M) reports that on Monday, the Israeli military “said...that it had thwarted a raid by a Hezbollah ‘terrorist squad’ in a disputed area along its northern border with Lebanon, resulting in an exchange of fire that capped days of mounting tension there.” Hezbollah “denied that there had been an exchange of fire, saying the only firing had come from the Israeli side.” The Times says Israel “had been bracing for retaliation from Hezbollah since the killing of one of its operatives in a strike in Syria last week that was attributed to Israel.” The Washington Post (7/27, Eglash, Dadouch, 14.2M) reports Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli army spokesman, “said the flare-up was EFTA00136198 sparked by an ‘infiltration attempt by a terrorist squad that crossed the Blue Line by a few meters.’” The Post reports that Conricus” said that the group was monitored by Israeli army field observers and that the ‘infiltration was successfully thwarted.’” The Post adds that although the Israel Defense Forces “identified the fighters as a Hezbollah cell...there were doubts in Lebanon” because Hezbollah “does not shy from claiming its operations or losses.” Reuters (7/27) reports that “the incident occurred in the Shebaa Farms area, occupied by Israel and claimed by Lebanon.” Reuters says the United Nations “regards the territory as part of Syrian land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.” Taliban Executes Prison Guard As UN Releases Report On Violence Against Civilians. The New York Times (7/27, Mashal, Rahim, 18.61M) reports, “The Taliban abducted and executed a female prison guard in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni, officials and relatives said Monday, as the United Nations expressed concern over the war’s unending toll on civilians.” Fatima Rajabi, 23, was abducted “on her way to her home village in the Jaghori district two weeks ago,” and after keeping her in captivity “for two weeks, the Taliban executed the young woman and sent her body to her family, her brother, Samiullah Rajabi, said.” The United Nations, “in a report released on Monday on civilian harm in the Afghan conflict in the first six months of the year, expressed particular concern about the rise of abductions and executions by the Taliban.” China Takes Control Of US Consulate In Chengdu. Reuters (7/27, Pollard, Peter) reports that China on Monday took control of “the premises of the U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu...after ordering the facility to be vacated in retaliation for China’s ouster last week from its consulate in Houston, Texas.” The US consulate “was closed as of 10 a.m (0200) on Monday, and Chinese authorities had entered the building from the front door, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.” Reuters says the move “capped a dramatic escalation in tensions between the world’s two biggest economies that began when employees at China’s Houston consulate were seen burning documents in a courtyard last Tuesday, hours before Beijing announced that it had been ordered to leave the facility.” Freedom Summit Speakers Paint “Alarming Picture” Of China’s Increasing Power. The Washington Times (7/27, Wolfgang, 492K) reports that at Liberty University’s Freedom Summit in Washington Monday, “prominent conservatives and defense experts painted an alarming picture of China’s growing power and influence across the globe and what it means for America’s future.” Russian Fighter Intercepts US Spy Plane Over Black Sea. Reuters (7/27) reports that on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry “said it had sent a Su-27 fighter plane...to intercept a U.S. surveillance plane over the Black Sea that it said was approaching the Russian border.” The Defense Ministry said the US P-8 Poseidon subsequently “changed course to move away from the Russian border.” Experts Worry North Korea’s Undelivered “Christmas Gift” Will Become An “October Surprise.” EFTA00136199 The Washington Times (7/27, Taylor, 492K) reports that North Korea’s threat last year of an unpleasant “Christmas gift” never materialized, and now “national security sources worry that the Christmas gift may become an ‘October surprise’ engineered by North Koreans to capitalize on the rare moment presented by the impending U.S. presidential election.” However, there is disagreement among analysts over “whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime will seek to project power violently or surprise everyone by engaging in sudden diplomatic overtures – or perhaps do both with the ultimate goal of tempting Mr. Trump into a third face-to-face summit.” Ambassador To South Korea Shaves Off Controversial Mustache. The New York Times (7/27, May, 18.61M) reports that US Ambassador to South Korea Harry B. Harris Jr. has shaved off his mustache, which he “had held fast to for two years, even as it threatened to escalate diplomatic tensions.” According to the Times, “Some in South Korea had viewed the mustache worn by Mr. Harris, a Japanese-American, as a distasteful reminder of those worn by the colonial Japanese governors who ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945, a period that holds traumatic memories on the peninsula.” The Times says Harris “long maintained that he meant no disrespect with his mustache,” but “this weekend...he said that the facial hair had become intolerable under the masks he had been wearing in the muggy heat.” The Big Picture Headlines From Today's Front Pages. Wall Street Journal: GOP Releases Coronavirus Relief Proposal After Delay Google To Keep Employees Home Until Summer 2021 Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Vanguard Challenges Bond Behemoths With Active Funds Walmart, Kroger Bottle Their Own Milk And Shake Up American Dairy Industry New York Rats Emboldened By Lockdowns Have A New Enemy: Sundrop New York Times: As Republicans Embrace Cut In Jobless Aid, Divisions Weaken Their Leverage A Small Georgia City Plans To Put Students In Classrooms This Week The Doctor Behind The Disputed Covid Data Hoping To Understand The Virus, Everyone Is Parsing A Mountain Of Data EFTA00136200 Miami Marlins Outbreak Postpones 2 Games And Rocks MLB’s Return Susan Rice Wants To Run For Office. Will Her First Campaign Be For VP? ## Washington Post:
Coronavirus Relief Talks Ramp Up As GOP Unveils Plan <https://www.washingtoost.com/us-policy/2020/07/27/senate-stimulus-coronavirus>
Virus Fuels Widening Gap Between Buyers, Renters<https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/27/housing-inequality-coronavirus>
More Federal Agents Being Dispatched To Portland<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/more-federal-agents-dispatched-to-portland-as-protests-rise-in-other-cities/2020/07/27/20a717be-d03c-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html>
Big Tech Is Next Industry To Face Congress's Glare<https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/27/congress-tech-hearing>
Fragmented Virus Rules Stir Tensions<https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/27/states-with-stricter-covid-19-restrictions-watch-lax-neighbors-warily-knowing-virus-does-not-respect-borders>
For Now, Outbreak Won't Derail MLB Season<https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/26/marlins-delay-return-miami-after-apparent-coronavirus-outbreak-among-players>
## Financial Times:
Dollar Sinks To Two-Year Low On Concern Over US Virus Toll<https://www.ft.com/content/9d9fa97c-154f-46fb-affd-51f45a0de08a?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
Tesla's Market Ride Reflects Larger Forces At Work<https://www.ft.com/content/37eb5195-c85c-47d9-b02c-ac545bde7377?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
European Travel Shares Slide As New Curbs Hit Recovery Hopes<https://www.ft.com/content/fe7d58eb-1327-4f83-9e98-11de792986bc?FTCamp=engage/CAPI/email/Channel_Bulletin//B2B>
## Washington Times:
Danger Zone: US Finds F-35 Breakup With Frenemy Is Hard To Do
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/27/turkey-and-f-35-us-finds-breaking-hard-do/>
Black Lives Matter’s Anti-Police Brutality Crusade Obscures Violent, Marxist Agenda
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/27/black-lives-matter-anti-police-brutality-crusade-o/>
Experts Fear North Korea’s Undelivered ‘Christmas Gift’ May Become ‘October Surprise’
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/27/north-korea-christmas-gift-may-become-october-surp/>
Border Crossers Driving Coronavirus Spike In Texas, California And Arizona, Lawmakers Says
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/27/chad-wolf-blames-coronavirus-spike-mexico-border-c/>
White House, Democrats Start Negotiations Over New Coronavirus Relief
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/27/steven-mnuchin-mark-meadows-negotiate-nancy-pelosi/>
Trump: American ‘Genius’ Will Unleash Coronavirus Vaccine In ‘Record Time’
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/iul/27/trump-american-genius-will-unleash-coronavirus-vac/>
## Story Lineup From Last Night's Network News: ABC: Coronavirus-Rising Cases; Coronavirus-Vaccine; National Security Adviser-Coronavirus; John Lewis Tribute; Congress-Relief Bill; Hurricane Hanna; FDA-Hand Sanitizers; Violent Protests; California-Pilot Makes Emergency Landing; New York-Changes to 9/11 Commemoration; Remembering Regis Philbin. CBS: Coronavirus-Vaccine; Coronavirus-Rising Cases; National Security Adviser-Coronavirus; Trump-Racial Issues; Congress-Relief Bill; John Lewis Tribute; Violent Protests; Hurricane Hanna; FDA-Hand Sanitizers; Louisiana-Mom & Daughter Graduate Med School Together; Alabama-Edmund Pettus Bridge. NBC: Coronavirus-Vaccine; Coronavirus-Rising Cases; John Lewis Tribute; National Security Adviser-Coronavirus; Congress-Relief Bill; Coronavirus-Sports; Coronavirus-Schools; Violent Protests; Remembering Regis Philbin; Alabama-Edmund Pettus Bridge. EFTA00136201 Network TV At A Glance: Coronavirus – 19 minutes, 40 seconds John Lewis Tribute – 7 minutes, 50 seconds National Security Adviser-Coronavirus – 5 minutes, 30 seconds Congress-Relief Bill – 3 minutes, 50 seconds Violent Protests – 3 minutes, 20 seconds Story Lineup From This Morning’s Radio News Broadcasts: ABC: Coronavirus-Rising Cases; Trump-FBI Headquarters; LAPD-New Bureau; John Lewis Tribute; Hurricane Douglas. CBS: GOP-Relief Bill; Coronavirus-Vaccine; Brian Kemp-Atlanta Lawsuit Dropped; John Lewis Tribute; Unsolicited Foreign Seeds Shipments; Stocks. FOX: Coronavirus-Vaccine; Congress-Relief Bill; Smithsonian Museum for Latinos. NPR: Portland-Federal Agents; Coronavirus-California; Coronavirus-Kentucky; GOP-Relief Bill. Washington's Schedule Today's Events In Washington. White House: - President Trump — Has no public events scheduled - US Senate: - Vice President Pence — Has no public schedule released - Dem Rep. John Lewis continues to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol – Democratic Rep. John Lewis continues to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, following his death 17 Jul, from pancreatic cancer, aged 80 * Agenda includes second day of public viewing at the top of the East Front Steps (8:00 AM EDT – 10:00 PM EDT) * Lewis died on the same day as late civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, whose funeral was held last week * He is the second Black lawmaker to lie in state, alongside late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October 2019 - Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 8:00 AM - Senate Natural Resources Committee hearing on large-scale carbon dioxide management technologies – Hearing ‘To Examine Development and Deployment of Large-Scale Carbon Dioxide Management Technologies’, with testimony from Assistant Secretary of Energy for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg; Energy Futures Initiative President and CEO Ernest Moniz and Principal Joseph Hezir; Carbon Utilization Research Council Executive Director Shannon Angielski; Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy’s Dr S. Julio Friedmann; and Bipartisan Policy Center Director of The Energy Project Sasha Mackler Location: Rm 366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM * Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on the PACT Act and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Subcommittee hearing on ‘The PACT Act and Section 230: The Impact of the Law that Helped Create the Internet and an Examination of Proposed Reforms for Today’s Online World’, with testimony from NetChoice director Christopher Cox; U.S. Naval Academy Cyber Science Department assistant professor Jeff Kosseff; Fordham University professor of law Olivier Sylvain; and Internet Association deputy general counsel Elizabeth Banker EFTA00136202 Location: Rm 106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM - Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on ‘How Does the DMCA Contemplate Limitations and Exceptions Like Fair Use?’ – Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing on ‘How Does the DMCA Contemplate Limitations and Exceptions Like Fair Use?’, with testimony from Wikimedia Foundation Lead Public Policy Manager Sherwin Siy; National Press Photographers Association General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher; Columbia University School of Law Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law Jane Ginsburg; Software and Information Industry Association Vice President for Intellectual Property and General Counsel Christopher Mohr; songwriter, producer, engineer, and educator Rick Beato; GRAMMY Award winner Yolanda Adams; Durie Tangri partner Joseph Gratz; Caplin & Drysdale Political Law Group Co-lead Matthew Sanderson; and Alter, Kendrick & Baron partner Jacqueline Charlesworth - Location: Rm 226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM - Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on coronavirus financial relief packages – Hearing on ‘Oversight of COVID-19 Financial Relief Packages’, held via videoconference, with testimony from former Sen. Phil Gramm; Project on Government Oversight Executive Director Danielle Brian; Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas; George Mason University Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Dr Veronique De Rugy; and former Troubled Asset Relief Program Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky; 10:00 AM - Senate Finance Committee first hearing on protecting the reliability of the medical supply chain during coronavirus – Hearing on ‘Part 1: Protecting the Reliability of the U.S. Medical Supply Chain During the COVID-19 Pandemic’, with testimony from Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations Executive Director of Cargo and Conveyance Security Thomas Overacker; Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Global Trade Investigations Division Assistant Director Steve Francis; and Department of Homeland Security Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa - Location: Rm 215, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 10:15 AM - Senate Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing on telework and coronavirus – Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Subcommittee hearing on ‘Modernizing Telework: Review of Private Sector Telework Policies during the COVID-19 Pandemic’, held via videoconference, with testimony from Deloitte Consulting Principal Sean Morris; The Williams Companies Senior Vice President and General Counsel T. Lane Wilson; Reconciled CEO Michael Ly; and Acronis SCS CEO John Zanni; 2:30 PM - Senate Armed Services Committee nominations hearing – Nominations hearing considers Lt. Gen. Glen VanHerck to be a general and U.S. Northern Command Commander and North American Aerospace Defense Command Commander; and Lt. Gen. James Dickinson to be a general and U.S. Space Command Commander - Location: Rm 106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC; 2:30 PM - Closed Briefing: Intelligence Matters Location: CVC 217, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington, DC; 2:30 PM US House: * Dem Rep. John Lewis continues to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol – Democratic Rep. John Lewis continues to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, following his death 17 Jul, from pancreatic cancer, aged 80 * Agenda includes second day of public viewing at the top of the East Front Steps (8:00 AM EDT – 10:00 PM EDT) * Lewis died on the same day as late civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, whose funeral was held last week * He is the second Black lawmaker to lie in state, alongside late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October 2019 EFTA00136203 Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 8:00 AM - House Infrastructure subcommittee hearing on experiences of vulnerable populations during disaster – Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee hearing on ‘Experiences of Vulnerable Populations During Disaster’, with testimony from Virginia State Coordinator of Emergency Management Curtis Brown (on behalf of Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management); Second Harvest Community Food Bank CEO Chad Higdon; World Institute on Disability Executive Director and CEO Marcie Roth; and National Low Income Housing Coalition President and CEO Diane Yentel; 10:00 AM * House Technology subcommittees joint online hearing on countering people trafficking – Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee and Research and Technology Subcommittee joint online hearing on ‘The Role of Technology in Countering Trafficking in Persons’, held via Cisco Webex, with testimony from Polaris CTO Anjana Rajan; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Systems Group Technical Staff Dr Matthew Daggett; Marinus Analytics President and co-founder Emily Kennedy; and Business for Social Responsibility Associate Director of Ethics, Technology, and Human Rights Hannah Darnton; 10:00 AM - House Administration subcommittee virtual hearing on voting rights and election administration in the U.S. territories – Elections Subcommittee hearing on ‘Voting Rights and Election Administration in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Other Territories’, held via Cisco Webex; 10:00 AM - AG Barr testifies to House Judiciary Committee on DoJ oversight – Hearing on ‘Oversight of the Department of Justice’, with testimony from Attorney General William Barr * Committee follows guidelines including maintaining six-foot social distance spacing as much as practicable, use of a face covering required for all attendees, and no allowance for the general public to attend in person * AG Barr agreed to testify after Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler threatened to subpoena him to appear, amid accusations that he has ‘politicized’ the DoJ, over cases including those of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn plus the removal from office of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman - Location: CVC 200, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM - House Natural Resources Committee hearing on U.S. Park Police response to Lafayette Square protests – Hearing on ‘Unanswered Questions About the US Park Police’s June 1 Attack on Peaceful Protesters at Lafayette Square’, with testimony from U.S. Park Police Acting Chief Gregory Monahan; and District of Columbia National Guard Major Adam DeMarco * Held via Cisco Webex and in Rm 1324, Longworth House Office Building; 10:00 AM - House Commerce subcommittee remote hearing on reforming the nation’s drinking water standards – Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee remote hearing on ‘There’s Something in the Water: Reforming Our Nation’s Drinking Water Standards’, held via Cisco Webex, with testimony from Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Water Quality Division Director Shellie Chard (on behalf of Association of State Drinking Water Administrators); Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) CEO Diane VanDe Hei; and Natural Resources Defense Council Healthy People and Thriving Communities Program Senior Director of Health and Food Mae Wu; 11:00 AM - House Rules Committee hearing – Hearing on ‘H.R. 7617 – Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021’, held via Cisco Webex; 11:00 AM - House Homeland Security Committee hearing on ‘Protecting the Integrity of the 2020 Elections’ – NO LONGER ON CALENDAR: Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation Subcommittee hearing on ‘Secure, Safe, and Auditable: Protecting the Integrity of the 2020 Elections’, with testimony from German Marshall Fund of the United States Alliance for Securing Democracy Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine; Common Cause Director of Voting and Elections Sylvia Albert; National Vote at Home Institute CEO Amber McReynolds; and Center for Internet Security President and CEO John Gilligan Location: Rm 310, Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC; 12:00 PM * House Climate Crisis Committee remote hearing on ‘Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy Economy’ – EFTA00136204 Remote hearing on ‘Solving the Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy Economy’, held via Cisco Webex, with testimony from The New School Tishman Environment and Design Center Associate Director Dr Ana Baptista; BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh; Clean Grid Alliance Executive Director Beth Soholt; and Environmental Progress founder and President Michael Shellenberger; 2:00 PM Cabinet Officers: - Annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations in the U.S. conclude – Annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN 2020), with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper co-hosting Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, conclude - Location: State Department, Washington, DC - AG Barr testifies to House Judiciary Committee on DoJ oversight – Hearing on ‘Oversight of the Department of Justice’, with testimony from Attorney General William Barr * Committee follows guidelines including maintaining six-foot social distance spacing as much as practicable, use of a face covering required for all attendees, and no allowance for the general public to attend in person * AG Barr agreed to testify after Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler threatened to subpoena him to appear, amid accusations that he has ‘politicized’ the DoJ, over cases including those of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn plus the removal from office of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman Location: CVC 200, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM Visitors: - Annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations in the U.S. conclude – Annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN 2020), with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper co-hosting Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, conclude Location: State Department, Washington, DC This Town: - Dem Rep. John Lewis continues to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol – Democratic Rep. John Lewis continues to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, following his death 17 Jul, from pancreatic cancer, aged 80 * Agenda includes second day of public viewing at the top of the East Front Steps (8:00 AM EDT – 10:00 PM EDT) * Lewis died on the same day as late civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, whose funeral was held last week * He is the second Black lawmaker to lie in state, alongside late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October 2019 Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 8:00 AM * USIP Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue on ‘Advancing International Religious Freedom’ – ‘Advancing International Religious Freedom’ online Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace, with National Prayer Breakfast honorary co-chairs Republican Rep. John Moolenaar and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi sharing their experiences advancing issues of international religious freedom in Congress and abroad, and how international religious freedom impacts fragile states, from violent extremism to human rights to the protection of vulnerable communities; 9:00 AM * DoJ virtual public workshop on competition in the licensing of public performance rights in the music industry - Department of Justice holds virtual public workshop on competition in the licensing of public performance EFTA00136205 rights in the music industry, to ‘provide a further venue for industry stakeholders to weigh in on the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) consent decrees and their implications for antitrust law enforcement and policy as we enter the third decade of the 21st century and as music distribution continues to evolve through technological innovation’. Day one speakers include LeAnn Rimes and Pharrell, National Music Publishers’ Association President and CEO David Israelite, Songwriters of North America Executive Director Michelle Lewis, ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews, BMI President and CEO Michael O’Neill, National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Gordon Smith, Universal Music Publishing Group Chief Counsel David Kokakis, and Nashville Songwriters Association International Executive Director Bart Herbison; 12:30 PM - CFA Virtual National Food Policy Conference – Consumer Federation of America Virtual National Food Policy Conference, focusing on how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting the food system, with day one keynote from Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn; 1:00 PM - Chilean president speaks as part of Washington Conference on the Americas Virtual Series – Washington Conference on the Americas Virtual Series – ‘After the Pandemic: Restoring Hope and Growth in the Americas’ – continues with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera * Event held in partnership with the State Department Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs * Virtual series replaces in-person conference, originally scheduled for May, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic - U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting – Federal Open Market Committee meeting, first day of two-day meeting, with interest rates decision tomorrow * The FOMC decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0-0.25% at its last meeting in June as it continued to deal with the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the U.S. economy ## Location: Washington, DC Copyright 2020 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. 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