Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Wildfires: “Multiple blazes were burning out of control in California early Monday, prompting fresh evacuation orders for a state already battered by wildfires in recent months.”
* Coronavirus: “The number of tests coming back positive for COVID-19 is topping 25% in several states in the U.S. Midwest as cases and hospitalizations also surge in the region, according to a Reuters analysis.”
* Breonna Taylor story: “A Kentucky State Police ballistics report does not support state Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s assertion that Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot a Louisville police officer the night she was killed.”
* USPS: “A third federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to halt changes that have delayed mail delivery nationwide, handing the latest judicial rebuke to unilateral service cuts that critics allege would suppress mail-in voting in November’s elections.”
* On a related note: “[A] Washington Post-University of Maryland poll showed that Americans, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, reject the notion that the U.S. Postal Service should be ‘run like a business,’ to use a phrase prevalent in conservative policymaking circles. Instead, most said the USPS should be run as a ‘public service,’ even if doing so would cost the government money.”
* Biden’s right: “Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday chided President Donald Trump for not speaking out about repression of democratic protests in Belarus, a country he said is being run by a ‘dictator.’”
* A huge step backward: “This week, President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled proposed rule changes that would alter student visas, leaving the international student community reeling a few weeks into the 2020-21 academic year. The proposed changes — which are detailed in a 256-page document online and have drawn hundreds of public comments — could devastate science research and tech innovation nationwide, experts warn.” * Team Trump still isn’t a fine-tuned machine: “Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson inadvertently made public his anger with the White House hiring office when cameras captured writing on the back of a page he was consulting during a speech. In a reference to the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Carson’s notes said: ‘I am not happy with the way PPO is handling my agency.’ The office, run by John McEntee, makes political appointments to federal agency positions.” * Good advice: “Two influential Democrats on Capitol Hill have urged Facebook to take stronger action against misinformation, voter suppression and incitements to violence ahead of the 2020 election. In a letter sent to the company on Sunday, U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and David Cicilline accused Facebook of failing to enforce its own rules when it comes to false claims about the election, and not doing enough to stop right-wing militias and white supremacist groups from using the platform to organize potentially violent events.” See you tomorrow.
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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