Moment Of Weekness

Senate Concludes 2016 Election Interference Report

The Senate Intelligence Committee released a nearly 1,000-page report on Tuesday, resolving its more than three-year bipartisan investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference. The report, redacted in parts, concluded that members of the 2016 Trump campaign represented a major counterintelligence risk due to frequent communication with individuals connected to the Russian government. It details extensive contacts between former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, whom the report labels as a “Russian intelligence officer.”

Notre Dame Suspends Ongoing In-Person Classes

The University of Notre Dame abruptly canceled all in-person classes on Tuesday evening for at least two weeks amid a COVID-19 outbreak. On Monday, the school reported 80 new confirmed cases (with a 19.1% positivity rate), bringing the total number up to 147 cases since the school resumed in-person classes on Aug. 10. University officials said most of the cases could be traced to an off-campus party where students didn’t wear masks or practice social distancing.

More: Michigan State University switched its fall semester plans from in-person classes to remote learning on Tuesday and asked students who planned to live in dorms to stay home.

Postmaster General Suspends USPS Changes

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy released a statement on Tuesday saying he is suspending proposed operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service until after the November election to “avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chamber would still move ahead with a vote this Saturday on legislation that would block any changes to operations or level of service that the USPS had in place on Jan. 1, 2020, and provide $25B in additional funding.

Worth Noting: California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday in response to at least 27 wildfires currently raging across the state.

✅  In celebration of the 19th Amendment: Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. Women of the Century: 100 women who helped shape America as we know it.

🍹 A drink a day… A federal committee recommended changing the U.S. dietary guidelines to one alcoholic drink per day, regardless of gender (currently two drinks for men, and one for women).

Taking Stock

The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high on Tuesday, fully wiping out losses due to COVID-19 since the previous record high in February. Tuesday’s results officially cemented the end of the shortest bear market in S&P history. The Nasdaq also closed at a record high for the third time in the past week.

Employment Deployment

Amazon announced plans to create 3,500 new tech and corporate jobs in six major U.S. cities - Dallas, Denver, Detroit, NYC (Manhattan), Phoenix, & San Diego. Of the new roles, ~2,000 will be based in New York, where Amazon has acquired the Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue building. The company currently has 876,000 employees worldwide, making it one of the largest employers in the world.

$paceX $tatu$ Update

SpaceX raised $1.9B in new funding according to an SEC filing on Tuesday - its largest funding round to date. The participants in the round, which reportedly gives the company a post-money valuation of $46B, were not immediately made available.

More: SpaceX successfully launched its 11th batch of Starlink satellites on Tuesday, bringing the total in orbit to well over 600.

Worth Noting: The federal government approved funding for an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits for seven states - AZ, CO, IA, LA, MO, NM, & UT.

🚘 Product Launch… Uber Pass, Uber’s $25-per-month subscription service, is now available in over 200 cities across the U.S. - zero in California.

A Run For His Money

In some areas of the world, women and children spend hours each day searching for clean, drinkable water. When New Jersey native James Leitner first learned about the issue, he set out on a journey of his own to find a solution.

Three years ago, James founded the nonprofit MissionCleanWater, which builds sustainable water systems in areas where they are most needed. Since then, James has participated in several ultra-endurance events to raise money for the cause. His notable feats include walking 3,250 miles while pulling 10 gallons of water, running 100 miles in 24 hours, and running a marathon each month for a year - carrying 45 pounds of water over his head each time.

Blades Of Glory

Teammates Jacob Adkins, 21, and Andrew Walker, 22, are widely known for their ice skating prowess as members of UMass Boston’s D1 college hockey team. During the pandemic, however, the two friends ditched the skates in favor of rollerblades in an attempt to raise money for cancer research.

Jacob and Andrew started out rollerblading a few miles at a time, but the ambitious adventurers didn’t stop there. They came up with the idea to travel from Boston to Walker’s home in Mason, MI, entirely by rollerblade. The pair dubbed themselves the “Men in Blades” in a social media campaign that raised over $25,000 for the American Cancer Society by the time they completed the ten-day, nearly 900-mile journey.

On The Hop

When the pandemic lockdowns began in March, Kevin Blecher of Boulder, CO, started to struggle with boredom. At 14 years old, Kevin is not one to sit around – he loves bouncing around on his pogo stick and, since age nine, has been frantically fiddling with Rubik’s cubes. For the past five years, Kevin has been excitedly working to decrease the time it takes to solve one of the classic puzzles. With the extra time afforded by quarantine, he set out to refine his skills.

On July 20th, Kevin set the Guinness World Record for the fastest time solving a Rubik’s Cube while hopping on a pogo stick, completing the fantastic feat in just 16.7 seconds. Determined to turn his personal success into a way to help others, Kevin now offers free virtual lessons on how to solve a Rubik’s cube, accepting donations to support the CDC Foundation and No Kid Hungry.

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