Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Middle East diplomacy: “Israel struck a diplomatic agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to establish ‘full normalization of relations’ even as it forgoes for now plans to annex occupied West Bank territory in order to focus on improving its ties with the rest of the Arab world.”
* Pandemic: “Officials across the United States reported at least 1,470 deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day total yet in August, according to a New York Times database, and a reflection of the continued toll of the early-summer case surge in Sun Belt states.”
* Capitol Hill: “The Senate has given up on its August legislative session without any agreement on a new COVID-19 relief bill as jet fumes — leaving town in Senate parlance — have overtaken any hope for a bipartisan deal.”
* Belarus: “On Thursday, thousands of women, many dressed in white and carrying flowers, turned out in the streets across Belarus for a second day of protests. They’re reacting to a violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations triggered by a weekend election widely viewed as fraudulent.”
* Admissions policy: “The Justice Department on Thursday accused Yale University of illegally discriminating against Asian American and white students in admissions, a major escalation of the administration’s attacks on affirmative action.”
* Michael Pack: “The man appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. global media agency suspended seven senior managers at the organization late Wednesday in a move that a senior House Democrat called a bid to ‘purge’ government-funded media outlets.”
* This sounds quite a bit like what Trump asked for: “The U.S. is cutting back on coronavirus testing. Nationally, the number of tests performed each day is about 17% lower than it was at the end of July, and testing is also declining in hard-hit states.” * Catherine Rampell on the White House’s unemployment-aid plan: “It’s never a good sign when a president announces five versions of the same policy within 48 hours and still doesn’t land on one that’s legal.” * Migratory Bird Treaty Act: “A U.S. judge in New York has invalidated rule changes put in place by the Trump administration that scaled back a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.” 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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