FDA authorizes Covid plasma treatment amid Trump pressure . . . President Trump announced Sunday that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized convalescent plasma for emergency use to treat patients sickened by the novel coronavirus. Trump touted the news as a “historic breakthrough” at a White House news conference on Sunday, saying it would “dramatically expand access to this treatment.” Experts have expressed optimism about the treatment, but former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called the move “incremental” earlier on Sunday, noting that convalescent plasma is already available to thousands of patients, though the new announcement might make it more widely available. The move also comes amid concerns about political pressure from Trump on the FDA and whether the agency is authorizing the treatment prematurely without adequate data about how well it works. The Hill

 

Trump could fast-track Oxford University vaccine . . . Trump could fast-track the experimental coronavirus vaccine being made by Oxford University to get it into use before the election in the US this autumn. White House insiders claim the president is considering pushing for approval for emergency use of the jab, which is one of the world's most promising candidates. Early trials have shown promising results, with tests showing the vaccine — being mass-produced by pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca — is safe to use in humans and appears to provoke an immune response. Daily Mail

 

New US Covid cases falls to lowest level in more than two months . . . The number of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. declined from a day before, reaching its lowest level in more than two months and notching a ninth straight day with fewer than 50,000 new cases. The nation reported 34,567 new cases on Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That is down from 44,572 on Saturday and the lowest since June 22, when the U.S. reported 30,536 new cases. Total infections in the U.S. have now passed 5.7 million. Wall Street Journal

 

Trump to kick off positive, patriotic convention . . . The Republican National Convention kicking off Monday will be a four-day celebration of President Trump – and a visceral four-day condemnation of Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his party. Coming off a week during which Democrats used their quadrennial confab to hammer the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and warn that another four years of Trump in the White House would threaten the nation’s democratic foundations, Trump is promising to counter the message with a positive vision of “American greatness.” Trailing the former vice president in the national public opinion polls – and more importantly also down by single-digit margins in many of the key general election battleground states that will decide the White House contest – Trump is working to create game-changing moments that can alter the long-standing dynamic in the 2020 presidential race.

“Where Joe Biden sees American darkness, I see American greatness,” the president said Friday. Fox News

 

Today's Trump schedule 

 

Biden pushes back against suggestions that he is in mental decline . . . Joe Biden laughed off the suggestion he’s lost any of his mental capabilities. “Watch me,” Mr. Biden told the American people in an interview on Sunday with ABC News. The president is not to blame for the coronavirus, Mr. Biden said, but he suggested Mr. Trump has failed to get the pandemic under control. “We can’t get the country moving until we control the virus — that is the fundamental flaw of this administration’s thinking,” Mr. Biden told ABC. He said he would "absolutely" serve two terms. Washington Times

 

Yes, that's the issue, we're watching you. And you are staying in your basement so that we won't.

 

Obama failed with swine flu worse than Trump did with Covid . . . The Democratic convention amounted in part to a forum for blaming President Trump for every coronavirus death in the United States so far. But as Kimberly Strassel points out in the Wall Street Journal, the Obama-Biden administration fell down much harder with their own attempt to curtail the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. But they got lucky. It turned out not to be as virulent as the coronavirus. Of course, they did release the stockpile of emergency protective supplies and never replenished it. White House Dossier

 

 

Trump poised to win more Hispanic votes despite immigration stance . . . Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden is certain to carry the Hispanic vote overall, but Mr. Trump polls anywhere from about a quarter of the Hispanic vote up to 38% in one survey. On average, he hovers in the low 30s. That would be an improvement over his showing in 2016, when exit polls suggested that he won the vote of 28% of Hispanics who turned out. Washington Times

 

Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware goes postal at postal hearing . . . Sen. Tom Carper, Democrat from Delaware, got a little frustrated Friday with a technical glitch during a hearing with President Trump’s postmaster general. After he was called on the offer his questions, there was silence. But the silence mercifully ended with Carper turning toward a staffer, who either was on the receiving end of a curse-laden tirade or whose name is “Fuck Fuck Fuck.” She was forced to come over next to the unmasked Carper and try to fix the problem. White House Dossier

 

Dozens of universities take millions from Chinese front group . . . Dozens of universities, including Columbia and Stanford, are hosting the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institute despite increasing scrutiny from the federal government. Many elite universities with Confucius Institute programs appear to be unfazed by the Trump administration's decision last week to designate the D.C-based headquarters of the program as a "foreign mission"—a label the U.S. government applies to entities it finds to be directly controlled by a foreign power. Despite the announcement, nearly 50 colleges and universities will continue their partnership with Confucius Institute programs, which comes with up to $1 million in Chinese government funding. Washington Free Beacon

 

Europe tried to limit mass layoffs, but they're coming anyway . . . When European countries ordered businesses to shutter and employees to stay home as the coronavirus spread, governments took radical steps to shield workers from the prospect of mass joblessness, extending billions to businesses to keep people employed. The layoffs are coming anyway. A tsunami of job cuts is about to hit Europe as companies prepare to carry out sweeping downsizing plans to offset a collapse in business from the outbreak. New York Times

 

Companies scuttle plans to reopen offices . . . Expecting the virus to be under control by Labor Day, many employers had hoped to bring white-collar workers back to the office next month. But as cases rose in dozens of states throughout the summer, major school districts settled on remote or hybrid instruction, complicating the picture for working parents. Some employers have already scuttled plans to force office workers back so soon. In an August survey of 15 major employers that collectively employ about 2.6 million people, 57% said they had decided to postpone their back-to-work plans because of recent increases in Covid-19 cases. Wall Street Journal

 

Zuckerberg stoked Washington fear about TikTok . . . When Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg delivered a speech about freedom of expression in Washington, D.C., last fall, there was also another agenda: to raise the alarm about the threat from Chinese tech companies and, more specifically, the popular video-sharing app TikTok. That was a message Mr. Zuckerberg hammered behind the scenes in meetings with officials and lawmakers during the October trip and a separate visit to Washington weeks earlier, according to people familiar with the matter. In a private dinner at the White House in late October, Mr. Zuckerberg made the case to President Trump. Wall Street Journal 

 

Anarchy in Portland: A police precinct is set on fire . . . A police precinct was set on fire and protesters pelted cops with rocks and bottles during a protest in Portland last night prompting authorities to declare a riot and deploy tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. Footage from the scene shows a fire burning an awning at the north precinct late Sunday night and protesters chanting 'burn baby burn' while police tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.  Police ordered demonstrators to clear the area, saying that rocks and glass bottles had been thrown at officers, as well as lasers pointed their direction. Daily Mail

 

Schools revamp curricula in response to Black Lives matter . . . Schools around the United States are modifying their curriculum in response to the Black Lives Matter movement as students return following a summer of protest. The weeks of unrest sparked by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor has jumpstarted the response from educators. It has also led to increased demands for teaching materials and practices that help black students better understand their history and place in the country. A June survey found that 81 percent of US teachers support Black Lives Matter. Daily Mail

 

Kenosha, Wisconsin police shoot black man, setting off protests in the city . . . Kenosha police shot a man Sunday evening, setting off unrest in the city after a video appeared to show the officer firing several shots at close range into the man's back. The shooting victim has been identified as Jacob Blake, a black man, by Wisconsin officials. He was in serious condition at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as of early Monday morning. Police had been called to a domestic incident in the 2800 block of 40th Street at 5:11 p.m. where the shooting later occurred. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

Two storms barrel toward the Gulf Coast . . . As one storm heading toward the US Gulf Coast is weakening, another is growing stronger. Louisiana is likely to be spared from the one-two punch of back-to-back hurricanes this week as Marco was downgraded to a tropical storm Sunday night. But the state is still in the path of Tropical Storm Laura, which is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall in the US.  Both storms were previously predicted to strike the Louisiana coast as hurricanes within miles of each other and in a 48-hour period. CNN

 

Americans seized with cooking fatigue . . . With all the increased time at home, it’s no surprise 55% said cooking during COVID-19 has left them feeling fatigued. A new study of 2,000 Americans found, due to restrictions when dining out, that people are eating at home more than ever and are cooking an average of nine meals a week. But Americans may be looking for more variety in what they cook and eat, as results revealed the average respondent has cooked the same meal 28 times since the start of COVID-19. Fox News

 

Jerry Falwell Jr. says wife had affair with the pool boy . . . Jerry Falwell Jr. claimed in a statement Sunday that his wife Becki was guilty of an affair in 2012 with a pool boy who was formerly a friend of the family. Falwell, one of the most influential right-wing Christian leaders in the United States, said the couple had chosen to make the affair public as he alleged the pool boy had been blackmailing them for years about keeping the secret. He claimed that the 'threatening behavior' left him with 'trauma' and had greatly affected him as he tried to run Liberty University. Daily Mail