Today’s edition of quick hits:
* USPS: “Numerous states have received letters from the U.S. Postal Service in recent days warning them that the agency that oversees mail in the United States will not be able to fulfill requests for mail-in ballots. The USPS said that there is not enough time for the ballots to be requested, completed and returned before the Nov. 3 presidential election, a startling development as many states have expanded mail-in voting because of the pandemic.”
* The Government Accountability Office’s striking findings: “The top two officials at the Department of Homeland Security, acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, the senior official performing the duties of deputy secretary, are not legally qualified to hold those positions, a government watchdog concluded Friday.”
* Durham probe: “A former FBI lawyer plans to plead guilty to falsifying a claim made to sustain government surveillance on a key figure in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, according to court documents.”
* CDC: “People who have recovered from COVID-19 can safely interact with others for three months, according to a recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — suggesting that immunity to the virus may last at least that long.”
* Georgia: “President Trump’s coronavirus task force warns that Georgia continues to see ‘widespread and expanding community viral spread’ and that the state’s current policies aren’t enough to curtail COVID-19.”
* In related news: “Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday withdrew his lawsuit challenging the city of Atlanta’s mask mandate and coronavirus restrictions, ending a legal feud between the Republican governor and the Democratic leader of the state’s capital city over how to contain the pandemic.” * Methane rule: “The Trump administration formally weakened a major climate-change regulation on Thursday — effectively freeing oil and gas companies from the need to detect and repair methane leaks — even as new research shows that far more of the potent greenhouse gas is seeping into the atmosphere than previously known.” * Wow: “The Secret Service sought to bolster its protection of the White House with surveillance aircraft and a Black Hawk helicopter carrying a ‘fast rope’ commando team after crowds protesting the police killing of George Floyd knocked down temporary barricades and one man got onto the complex grounds in late May, according to newly obtained government correspondence.” Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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