The Evening: Russian Hackers, Stimulus Fails, New Tom Petty and More

Russian Hackers Have Targeted 200 Groups Tied to U.S. Election

Russian government hackers have targeted at least 200 organizations tied to the 2020 U.S. election in recent weeks, including national and state political parties and political consultants working for both Republicans and Democrats, according to Microsoft. China has also engaged in cyberattacks against “high-profile individuals” linked to Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign, while Iranian actors have continued targeting personal accounts of people associated with President Trump’s campaign according to Microsoft, as the WSJ reports.

GOP Stimulus Fails in Senate

Senate Republicans today failed to advance their substantially scaled-back stimulus plan amid opposition by Democrats who called the measure inadequate, underscoring the rapidly dwindling chances that Congress will enact another economic recovery measure to address the toll of the pandemic before November’s elections, as the NYT reports.

Massive Beirut Fire

Panicked residents fled the area surrounding the Beirut port today after a massive fire broke out at a warehouse storing oil and tires, stoking anxieties in a city still reeling from a deadly explosion ignited by a fire at the same port last month, as the Washington Post reports.

Climate Check

"Making banks react to hypothetical future GHG policies is inferior to having them react to actual GHG policies that are well designed and send predictable long-term signals," write CSIS's Kyle Danish and Sarah Ladislaw in a new commentary about climate-related bank regulation.

CSIS Executive Education

Join CSIS’s Trade Guys for their next crash course on trade policy. This two-day program breaks down the fundamentals of how U.S. trade policy is formulated, the legalities of trade in an international arena, and the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains. Register here.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

900,000

The global death toll from the virus has surpassed 900,000 and the virus had sickened at least 27.8 million people as of this morning.

Source: NYT

Critical Quote

"It is critical that everyone involved in democratic processes around the world, both directly or indirectly, be aware of these threats and take steps to protect themselves in both their personal and professional capacities."

— Tom Burt, Microsoft’s vice president of consumer safety and trust.

iDeas Lab

A newly updated map from CSIS's Missile Defense Project shows Israel's ballistic and cruise missile capabilities. Much of Israel's capabilities are short-range tactical systems.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Haytham Al Achkar/Getty Images.) An aerial view following a large fire that broke out in Beirut's port today.

“Labor Market Woes Continue in August," by CSIS's Matthew Funaiole.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m., the Brookings Institution's Center for Middle East Policy will hold a webinar on the current status of jihadi groups.

And, at 10:00 a.m., the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute will host a panel discussion on the politics of the Mulan remake.

Later, at 11:00 a.m., the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will webcast a rollout of a new report on the respiratory health impacts of military service in Southwest Asia.

Video

The CSIS Korea Chair today hosted a discussion with General Robert B. Abrams, commander of United Nations Command, ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea, on the U.S.-South Korea alliance and the U.S. policy toward North Korea. Watch the event here.

Podcasts

On the latest episode, the Trade Guys and I explain why the U.S. trade deficit continues to expand years after the Trump administration pledged to shrink it. Plus, we unpack Biden’s new tax plan.

Listen on Spotify, Google Play, & Apple Podcasts

Smiles

“One of these nights it’ll all wash away
And we’ll wake up singing a brand-new song.”

Today, the late Tom Petty’s family released the first song available from Petty’s long-awaited second, unreleased half of his seminal solo album “Wildflowers.” The collection is called “All The Rest,” and these are the songs that didn’t make Petty’s hit 1994 record. This song is called “Confusion Wheel,” and it will instantly remind you of how great Tom Petty was and how much so many of us miss him. It’s hard to believe a song that is this good hasn’t surfaced until now.