Russian hackers target vaccine trials
It should be no surprise to anyone that Vladimir Putin's malign activities continue. This time, his state-backed hackers are targeting pharmaceutical companies, healthcare and academic research centers, and scientists in an effort to steal coronavirus vaccine data. And what would stop them? What price has Putin paid for his past incursions? Very little, thanks to the current administration. If we won't even rebuke Russia for paying the Taliban to kill our troops, what difference does yet another cybersecurity breach make? Until we have new leadership that once again stands up forcefully against Russian aggression, we can expect more of the same from Putin and others. —Evan McMullin
1. It's not just for elections anymore
Russian hackers have had some remarkable success in interfering in elections around the world, so why stop there? Today, the U.S., Britain, and Canada accused hackers backed by Moscow of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a vaccine for COVID-19. Intelligence agencies in the three countries are warning scientists and pharmaceutical companies to be on the lookout for suspicious activity by the hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear, which is said to be part of the Russian intelligence services. It is unclear whether any information has been successfully poached. —Associated Press
— And just like that, it's gone. Previously public data about COVID-19 has already disappeared from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website, after the Trump Administration shifted control of the information to the Department of Health and Human Services. —CNBC
— Going in the wrong direction. As other states relent and institute mask mandates, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is taking the opposite approach. Yesterday, he issued an executive order prohibiting local municipalities from mandating masks in public, effectively voiding orders issued by at least 15 local governments across the state. —The Hill
— "Pretty shocked." Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is surprised to be the first governor to test positive for the coronavirus, saying he "feels fine." A maskless Stitt attended the president's campaign rally in Tulsa on June 20. —Tulsa World
MORE: Don't be deceived: How to spot and stop COVID-19 disinformation —Union of Concerned Scientists
2. Briant: What's next in the war on disinfo?
"Two years after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, propaganda, data misuse, disinformation, and strategic influence present some of the most complex and rapidly evolving challenges for researchers, civil society, and policymakers in our time. But how well are we tackling this problem, and what’s left to do?" —Brookings
Ed. Note: Dr. Emma Briant is a Bard College researcher and the author of "Propaganda and Counter-terrorism: Strategies for Global Change."
3. A 'tough day' at Twitter
— In a statement, Twitter said it detected "a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools."
— Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey requesting the company's cooperation with the Department of Justice and the FBI to secure the platform and investigate the hack. —CBS News
MORE: Twitter silences some top accounts after internal systems hacked —Reuters
4. What happened to DACA?
— "Last month the Supreme Court ordered the Trump Administration to reopen DACA for new applicants. A month later, that still hasn't happened. This is unacceptable," Sen. Dianne Feinstein tweeted yesterday.
— The Supreme Court had given the government 25 days to reopen the program and start accepting applications again. That deadline passed this week. —Newsweek
MORE: Trump will further challenge Manhattan DA's subpoena following Supreme Court decision on tax records —CNN
5. Washington: How business can address BLM
"Doing better means cleaning up your own house. Racism is both systemic and personal. For organizations, it means talking to your Black employees first, before that Black Lives Matter press release goes public. You can't combat the system if you haven't addressed matters within your own network." —CNN
Ed. Note: Irving Washington is executive director/CEO of the Online News Association and co-host of Texts to Table, a YouTube series on race and leadership.
MORE: Footage of police body cameras offers devastating account of Floyd killing —The New York Times
6. Voting misinfo thrives on social media
Facebook's community standards ban "misrepresentation of who can vote, qualifications for voting, whether a vote will be counted, and what information and/or materials must be provided in order to vote." Yet, according to a review of engagement data from the analytics tool CrowdTangle, false claims, including conspiracy theories about stolen elections or outright misrepresentations about vote-by-mail by President Trump and others, are often among the most popular posts about voting on Facebook. —ProPublica
— RCV lives on in Maine. A veto effort to repeal ranked-choice voting in the state's presidential primary and general election failed to gain enough signatures to move forward to a vote, so RCV will be in effect for the Nov. 3 presidential election. —Independent Voter News
— Anti-gerrymandering petition gets a lifeline. An Oregon initiative called "People Not Politicians," aimed at creating a bipartisan redistricting process in the state, is a step closer to appearing on statewide ballots after a federal judge extended the deadline to gather signatures. —KDRV
MORE: Runoff elections show Texas not quite ready for November's main event —The Texas Tribune
7. The Economist: On press objectivity
"The danger is that advocates of moral clarity slide self-righteously towards crude subjectivity. This week Bari Weiss, a New York Times editor, resigned, criticizing what she said was the new consensus at the paper: 'that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.' Earlier [Tom Rosenstiel of the American Press Institute] warned...that 'if journalists replace a flawed understanding of objectivity by taking refuge in subjectivity and think their opinions have more moral integrity than genuine inquiry, journalism will be lost.'" —The Economist
MORE: Bari Weiss quits New York Times Opinion, alleging hostile work environment —The Wall Street Journal
8. Loyalty trumps competence and ethics
Are you loyal enough to President Trump? That's the most important qualification to work in the Trump Administration. Ensuring staff compliance, the White House’s presidential personnel office is conducting one-on-one "loyalty tests" with health officials and hundreds of other political appointees across federal agencies to root out threats of leaks and other potentially subversive acts ahead of the presidential election. —Politico
— Ivanka's unethical love of beans. Government ethics watchdogs are calling out White House adviser and presidential daughter Ivanka Trump for tweeting a photo of herself holding up a can of black beans by Goya Foods, the Hispanic-owned business whose CEO controversially praised the president last week. —The Guardian
— Yes, it's the "COVID burka" guy. Trump has announced his intent to appoint far-right radio host Sebastian Gorka to a four-year term on the National Security Education Board, despite Gorka's previous failure to obtain a security clearance. —The Independent
— The polls finally got to him. In a tacit acknowledgment of his recent poor showing in polls, Trump replaced his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, with Bill Stepien, currently the deputy campaign manager. Parscale will stay on as a senior adviser for data and digital operations. —The New York Times
MORE: Drezner: The beclowning of the executive branch —The New York Times
9. Balfour: Populism is down but not out
"Given the poor performance of many populist governments in dealing with the coronavirus, populism looks like it could be magically swept away. But such wishful thinking ignores the reasons for the rise of populism and its likely endurance. To rid the world of populism, its root causes must be addressed." —Carnegie Europe
Ed. Note: Rosa Balfour is director of Carnegie Europe.
10. An American Story: A generous tip
— The tip was accompanied by a note that read, "Thank you so much for working through this tough time. You are a big part of our [Ocean Grove] community. We are grateful for your delicious food, warm smiles, and great atmosphere ... Please know we appreciate you all very much. It wouldn't be a good summer without the Starving Artist."
— The anonymous customer and his family ate their meal and left without saying a word, and their generous tip was split amongst staff.
— "This tip restored our hope in humanity. It made us feel so good about what we're doing. We go through a lot of steps to protect our customers, and it gets exhausting after a while, but now we know our efforts have actually been noticed," said Teixeira. —CNN
Ed. Note: Would you like to suggest "An American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to editor@thetopline.com. Thank you!
Reflecting on Election Day in Texas this week: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. Among the rights granted to citizens is the right to vote, which shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or sex.
No outside source can compel a citizen to vote for a certain candidate any more than any outside source can compel a citizen to profess a certain creed. The citizen is entrusted with the ability to discern with their personal conscience what policies and candidates are deemed acceptable. No amount of money, endorsements, or peer pressure can ever change that or predetermine results. Disagreements are inevitable, but citizens must remain strong in their conscience when casting their ballot.
Borrowing words from the film "Kingdom of Heaven": When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember your vote is in your keeping alone. —Leonard C., Texas
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