10 things you need to know today: August 6, 2020

1. Facebook removes Trump post, citing coronavirus misinformation

Facebook on Wednesday for the first time removed a video clip posted by President Trump because the social network determined that it contained "false claims" about the coronavirus. The clip said children are "almost immune" to COVID-19. The post was "a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation," Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said. The Trump campaign accused Facebook of "flagrant bias." Facebook, where false information spread widely during the 2016 presidential campaign, has faced pressure to moderate its site more aggressively as Russia and other international actors allegedly mount efforts to influence this year's election. Twitter removed a tweet containing the video posted by a Trump campaign account. YouTube also took down the video, saying it violated its coronavirus misinformation policy.

The Washington Post The Hill

2. Biden to accept nomination remotely

Former Vice President Joe Biden won't appear at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee due to concerns about the coronavirus, organizers announced on Wednesday. Biden instead will accept the party's nomination for president and deliver his speech from Delaware, his home state. The decision was made "after ongoing consultation with public health officials and experts" regarding the pandemic, officials said. Most of the Democratic convention was already scheduled to be virtual due to the pandemic, and delegates were told in June they should prepare for a remote convention. President Trump, who canceled the Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention, said he may give his speech from the White House. Even some Republicans bristled at the idea. "Is that even legal?" asked Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

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NPR The New York Times

3. Esper confirms Beirut blast accidental despite Trump claim of 'attack'

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that "most believe" the explosion that killed at least 135 people in Beirut this week was an accident, even though President Trump claimed his "great generals" told him it was a "terrible attack." "We're positioning ourselves to provide them whatever assistance we can, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, you name it, to assist the people of Lebanon," Esper said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked to Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab and expressed the United States government's condolences, pledging assistance. The direct cause of the disaster was not immediately clear. Diab said that about 2,750 metric tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored at a warehouse by Beirut's port for six years "without preventive measures."

CNN

4. Fauci says family has faced death threats

White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that he and his family had face harassment and death threats over his calls for social distancing and other measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. He has occasionally offered advice contradicted by President Trump. "Getting death threats to my family and harassing my daughters to the point where I have to get security — it's amazing," Fauci told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta in an interview on Harvard's School of Public Health website that was streamed on Facebook live. "I wouldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams that people who object to things that are pure public health principles are so set against it and don't like what you and I say, namely in the world of science, that they actually threaten you." Fauci said.

CNBC

5. Sally Yates testifies that Flynn 'neutered' U.S. Russia policy

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that then incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn secretly "neutered" Obama administration policy toward Russia in late 2016. Flynn's actions, ahead of the inauguration of President Trump, helped fuel the investigation into contacts with Russia by Trump associates. Yates has been a frequent target for criticism by Trump and other Republicans. Before the hearing, Trump attacked Yates, tweeting that she "has zero credibility" and accusing her of being "part of the greatest political crime of the Century, and ObamaBiden knew EVERYTHING!" The review of the Russia investigation by the committee, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), is one of two inquiries being undertaken by GOP-led Senate committees into the Russia investigation.

The Washington Post

6. Progressives celebrate primary victories as evidence of momentum

Progressive Democrats on Wednesday celebrated two important victories in Tuesday's primaries, saying that the protests against racial injustice since George Floyd's death have given their movement new strength. In one of the wins, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) won a convincing victory over moderate Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, who had called Tlaib too divisive. Tlaib is a member of the "squad" of first-term congresswomen of color that includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). In the other win, Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush beat longtime incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) in a heavily Democratic St. Louis-area district. Tlaib and Bush have secured support from national progressive groups and rejected contributions from corporate political action committees.

The Associated Press

7. Aurora police chief apologizes after officers hold Black girls at gunpoint

Aurora, Colorado, Police Chief Vanessa Wilson apologized on Wednesday to the families of four Black girls after officers forced them to lie in a parking lot at gunpoint over the weekend. Officers had mistakenly believed they were riding in a stolen car, because a stolen motorcycle appeared to have the same license number. The incident was captured on video. The footage shows the girls, ages 6, 12, 14, and 17, on the ground surrounded by uniformed officers. The mother of the 6-year-old, 27-year-old Brittney Gilliam, is shown in the video being handcuffed by police. The Aurora department was already under intense scrutiny over the August 2012 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who had been walking home from a store, and died after being subdued by three policemen and injected with a sedative by paramedics.

Reuters

8. Iowa ends lifetime voting ban for people with felony convictions

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Wednesday signed an executive order ending the state's lifetime voting ban for anyone who has a felony conviction, giving them the ability to vote after they complete their sentences. The move comes after activists spent months protesting outside the state capitol. The nonprofit Sentencing Project estimated in 2016 that about 52,000 Iowans weren't able to vote because of their felony convictions, with almost 24,000 finished with their criminal sentences. "Today we take a significant step forward in acknowledging the importance of redemption, second chances, and the need to address inequalities in our justice system," Reynolds said in a statement. "The right to vote is the cornerstone of society and the free republic in which we live. When someone serves their sentence, they should have their right to vote restored automatically."

The Guardian

9. Report: Deutsche Bank complied with N.Y. subpoena over Trump's finances

The Manhattan district attorney's office, which is seeking President Trump's tax records, last year subpoenaed Trump's biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, for his financial records, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing four people familiar with the matter. Deutsche Bank complied, according to the Times. The news added to indications that the New York prosecutors' criminal investigation into Trump's business practices is broader than initially believed. The investigation long appeared to center on hush-money payments made in 2016 to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. A court filing this week suggested that the prosecutors were investigating Trump and his company for possible bank and insurance fraud. The filing cited "public reports of possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization."

The New York Times

10. Hiroshima mayor calls for unity on 75th atomic-bombing anniversary

The mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, said Thursday at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of his Japanese city that the world must fight a new rise of "self-centered nationalism" like that which led to World War II. He said people around the world have to unite to fight a new threat, the coronavirus pandemic. "When the 1918 flu pandemic attacked a century ago, it took tens of millions of lives and terrorized the world because nations fighting World War I were unable to meet the threat together," he said. "A subsequent upsurge in nationalism led to World War II and the atomic bombings." He said the global community can overcome the coronavirus crisis "with what we have learned from the tragedies of the past."

The Washington Post