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NEED TO KNOW

Postal Pause

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced yesterday a planned organizational overhaul to the US Postal Service would be suspended until after the November election. The move comes amid mounting fear the changes—including service reductions and limiting overtime—would cause delays in delivering mail-in ballots during the election. At least 20 states threatened to sue the USPS to block the changes. 

The agency has long faced financial woes, having lost $69B over the past 11 years (a 2006 law requiring it to prefund retirement liabilities hasn't helped). Appointed in May, DeJoy was tasked with cutting costs in a bid to make the office more competitive. At least 10% of the service's mail sorting machines were rumored to be decommissioned under the plan, which will now be paused, though it is unclear how many have already been removed or how it impacts delivery capacity. 

Roughly 25% of the ballots cast in 2016—about 33 million—were sent by mail. 

Senate Wraps Russia Report

The Senate Intelligence Committee released the fifth and final installment of its report on Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 election yesterday. While the Republican-led panel reiterated its conclusion that Russia actively attempted to influence and undermine the election, the newest volume focuses primarily on counterintelligence threats—opportunities for Russia to gain leverage or access sensitive intel. 

Investigators did not find evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, though the report excoriates Paul Manafort, referring to the former campaign chair as a "grave threat." In particular, Manafort is said to have shared campaign info with Konstantin Kilimnik, who has ties to Russian intelligence. The report also concluded Russia carried out a targeted "hack and leak" strategy against the Clinton campaign, and separately criticized the FBI for its reliance on the controversial Steele Dossier (see review). 

You can find the whole report here (it's almost 1,000 pages—we recommend just checking out the executive summary).

Verdict in Hariri Assassination

A United Nations-backed tribunal in the Netherlands found Salim Jalil Ayyash guilty in the 2005 bombing assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The long-awaited verdict was expected two weeks ago, but was delayed as the country grappled with the aftermath of a deadly blast that leveled the port in the capital city of Beirut. Judges acquitted three other men while determining Ayyash, a member of the militant group Hezbollah, helped lead the attack that killed 22 and injured more than 220. 

The decision was somewhat symbolic—all four were tried in absentia—but established a link between the assassination and Hezbollah, which now exerts a strong hand in Lebanese politics. At the same time, the court said no evidence was found implicating the group's senior leadership, which critics argued effectively places blame fully on Ayyash and other low-level foot soldiers. 

The news comes amid a spiraling political and economic crisis in the country.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of 2013 rape in civil lawsuit; the Oscar-winning actor is also awaiting trial on separate groping charges (More)

> Ben Cross, veteran stage and film actor best known for performances in “Chariots of Fire” and “Star Trek,” dies at 72 (More) | Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk dies at 57 (More)

> NBCUniversal fires top executive Ron Meyer after an alleged extramarital affair with actress Charlotte Kirk (More)

Science & Technology

> Study shows airborne viruses can travel on dust and other nonrespiratory particles (More)

> Scientists rediscover the elephant shrew in the Horn of Africa, last documented in the wild more than 50 years ago (More)

> Theorists establish a new quantum paradox that argues one of three commonly held assumptions—that there are no parallel universes, that perfectly random experiments can be held, and that information can't travel faster than light—must be wrong (More)

Business & Markets

Brought to you by The Ascent

> S&P 500 closes at new all-time high, recovering from a pandemic-induced 34% plunge in February and March; recovery represents the shortest bear market in the history of the S&P 500 (More)

> Walmart crushes earnings expectations as e-commerce sales surge 97% (More) | Home Depot sales rise 25%, nearly twice as much as expected, as consumers splurge on home improvement projects (More)

> Elon Musk’s SpaceX raises $1.9B at reported $46B valuation (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> University of Notre Dame suspends in-person classes eight days into semester after nearly 150 students and staff test positive for the coronavirus (More) | Weekly rolling average of new daily coronavirus cases in the US falls below 50,000 for the first time since July 7 (More)

> Joe Biden formally nominated as Democratic presidential candidate following speeches from wife Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, and others (More)

> President Trump grants posthumous pardon for women's rights advocate Susan B. Anthony, found guilty in 1873 for illegally voting (More)

ETCETERA

Tennis stars dominate the list of 2020's highest-paid female athletes.

The best up-close (and stunning) garden photos of the year.

Ride through a German village with incredibly crisp footage from 1902. 

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Cardboard thieves are making millions. 

House restoration uncovers trove of 600-year-old manuscripts. 

The National Zoo is on panda cub watch. 

College student rides AI-produced language to the top of the blogosphere.

The nationwide coin shortage is squeezing the tooth fairy.

Clickbait: The path to a millennial's heart is through recycling. 

Historybook: Fashion designer Coco Chanel born (1883); Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500, hosts first race (1909); HBD President Bill Clinton (1946); RIP comedian Groucho Marx (1977); Operation Iraqi Freedom is ended (2010).

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."

- Coco Chanel

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