10 things you need to know today: August 18, 2020

1. Michelle Obama headlines 1st night of Democrats' virtual convention

Democrats launched their virtual presidential nominating convention on Monday night with sharp criticism of President Trump. In her keynote speech, former first lady Michelle Obama said Trump had left the strong economy he inherited from former President Barack Obama "in shambles," and emboldened "torch-bearing white supremacists" with his divisive rhetoric. "Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country," she said. "He cannot meet this moment." Then, echoing what Trump said recently about COVID-19 deaths, she added: "It is what it is." Mrs. Obama said Americans must "vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it," a theme hammered by other speakers. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, urged voters to set aside ideological differences to beat Trump.

The Washington Post The New York Times

2. UNC cancels in-person classes after one week

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced Monday that it is canceling in-person undergraduate classes and switching to remote learning exclusively by Wednesday following a coronavirus outbreak on campus just one week into the fall term. UNC, a public university with 30,000 students, was one of the biggest universities in the nation to opt for in-person classes despite stubbornly high rates of COVID-19 infections in the state and across the country. Administrators said its positivity rate in COVID-19 tests had risen to 13.6 percent by Sunday, up from 2.8 percent a week earlier. The news came as colleges around the country scramble to respond to coronavirus clusters that are underscoring the risk of infection as young people return to close quarters on campus.

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3. Ex-CIA officer accused of spying for China

Federal authorities have charged 15-year CIA veteran Alexander Yuk Ching Ma of Honolulu with selling U.S. secrets to China. According to court documents, Ma worked for the CIA for 22 years, retiring in 1989. Twelve years after his retirement, he "disclosed a substantial amount of highly classified national defense information" to at least five officers of China's Ministry of State Security in a Hong Kong hotel room. The secrets he divulged concerned the CIA's internal organization, covert communication methods, and the identities of CIA officers and informants, prosecutors said. He also allegedly copied classified documents concerning guided missile systems and other secrets, and gave them to his Chinese handlers.

NBC News

4. States plan to sue over USPS cutbacks

More than a dozen states plan to sue the Trump administration as early as this week over cutbacks at the U.S. Postal Service that could delay mail-in voting in November, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said Monday. "We are talking with other AG offices and expecting to take action soon," Frosh said, adding that 15 to 20 Democratic attorneys general are reviewing legal arguments under consideration in one or more lawsuits. President Trump said last week he opposes agreeing to Democrats' demand for Postal Service funding in a coronavirus relief package because he said they want it to pay for universal mail-in voting. Trump denied his position amounted to election tampering and voter disenfranchisement. "No, we're not tampering," Trump told Fox News. "We want to make it run for less money, much better, always taking care of our postal workers."

Reuters

5. Conservation push helps California avoid anticipated blackouts

California utility officials said they managed to avoid rolling blackouts that had been expected to affect more than three million homes on Monday thanks to conservation efforts. The California Independent System Operator on Monday night rescinded an emergency declaration issued over the weekend, although an ongoing heat wave is continuing to overburden the state's electric grid, as Californians rely on air conditioners to stay cool. Pacific Gas and Electric warned that brief outages that have helped ease the pressure could continue through Thursday, but CISO President Steve Berberich said that with "continued help from California residents in conserving energy, much like today, we can reduce the risk of power outages." Earlier in the day, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called the severe power shortages "unacceptable" and promised an investigation.

Los Angeles Times SFGate

6. Trump administration finalizes plan for Arctic refuge drilling

The Trump administration on Monday finalized its plan to let energy companies drill for oil and gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The government is paving the way to issue decades-long leases in the pristine wilderness area before the end of President Trump's term. The energy industry and Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy (R) said allowing drilling in the refuge will create jobs and benefit the economy of a state dependent on the industry. Environmental organizations slammed the plan as a gift to oil companies that would devastate the refuge's unique ecosystem, and harm native people. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the government could start selling oil and gas leases by the end of the year, and production in ANWR could start in eight years, boosting U.S. energy independence.

Reuters CNN

7. Flurry of polls shows Biden's lead over Trump narrowing

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden entered his virtual nominating convention with a narrowing polling lead over President Trump, according to three newly released surveys. A CNN poll showed the sharpest shift, with Biden's lead shrinking to just 4 percentage points, 50 percent to 46 percent, down from a 14-point lead in June. In 15 battleground states, Biden led by 1 point. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday showed Biden with a 12-point lead, down from a 15-point advantage in the same poll in July. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll gave Biden a 9-point lead, down from 11 points last month. Trump polls badly on his response to the COVID-19 pandemic but narrowly leads Biden on the economy and crime. Biden leads on all other issues.

CNN The Washington Post

8. Nasdaq surges to record with boost from Big Tech

The Nasdaq rose by 1 percent on Monday to close at a record high thanks to a surge by technology stocks that have made huge gains as Americans increased their dependence on the internet during the coronavirus crisis. Nvidia jumped by 6.7 percent after two analysts raised their price targets for the chip maker. The surge gave a big boost to both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, which continued to move closer to record levels it hit in February. The Nasdaq was the first of the three main U.S. indexes to recover the losses it suffered due to the coronavirus, as Amazon, Netflix, and other companies benefited from a boom in streaming entertainment, as well as remote work and learning under coronavirus lockdowns. "Tech is the only trade," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

CNBC Reuters

9. Judge blocks Trump administration bid to limit transgender health protections

U.S. District Judge Frederic Block on Monday rejected a Trump administration push to roll back protections for transgender patients against discrimination by health-care providers and health insurance companies. Block said a rule, due to take effect Tuesday, that was finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights in mid-June, appeared to be incompatible with a subsequent Supreme Court ruling that employers can't discriminate against transgender people. "When the Supreme Court announces a major decision, it seems a sensible thing to pause and reflect on the decision's impact," Judge Block wrote. "Since H.H.S. has been unwilling to take that path voluntarily, the court now imposes it." An H.H.S. Office for Civil Rights spokesperson said the agency was disappointed in the judge's decision.

The New York Times

10. Two suspects charged with murder of Run-D.M.C.'s Jam Master Jay

Prosecutors on Monday announced two men have been indicted in connection with the 2002 killing of Run-D.M.C.'s Jam Master Jay. Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. were charged with murder while engaged in drug trafficking, almost two decades after the DJ was shot and killed in a recording studio in Queens. Questions surrounding Jam Master Jay's killing have remained unanswered for years, but prosecutors alleged on Monday that Washington and Jordan broke into his studio and "murdered him in cold blood" after he threatened to cut them out of "a multi-kilogram, multistate narcotics transaction." Washington was already in prison for robbery prior to the indictment, while Jordan was arrested on Sunday.

The New York Times CNN