| Russia and Iran try to influence the US election; Europe implements new lockdowns. Tonight's Sentences was written by Benjamin Rosenberg. | | | | | | | Russia and Iran are interfering in the 2020 US election | | | | | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | - Top US officials announced Wednesday that both Iran and Russia have obtained American voter registration data, providing evidence that both countries are actively interfering in the election. The data they obtained was mostly public, including voters' names and party affiliations. [NYT / Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger]
- Iranian operatives sent threatening emails to Democrats in four states, posing as the far-right militant group the Proud Boys, according to US intelligence officials. The emails came from the address "info@officialproudboys.com" but were sent from servers in Estonia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. [Vox / Sara Morrison]
- Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Christopher Wray both said no votes have been compromised yet. But Russia and Iran are actively spreading disinformation online about the election, just as Russia did in 2016. [Vox / Jen Kirby]
- Ratcliffe said the spoofed emails sent by Iran were meant to "intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President Trump." But Democrats have accused the former Republican Congress member of selectively declassifying intelligence to help Trump's campaign. [CNN / Jeremy Herb, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez, and Paul P. Murphy]
- The House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), tweeted that Americans should listen to Wray rather than Ratcliffe, emphasizing that Russia is a much bigger threat to election security than Iran. [Roll Call / Gopal Ratnam]
- Intelligence officials have started to provide real-time updates on election interference, after the Obama administration was hesitant to release information about Russian influence ahead of the 2016 election. [Washington Post / Carrie Cordero]
- These officials warned that if the presidential election is not called on November 3, Russian operatives could release protected information to sow doubts about the results. This could boost Trump's baseless claims that the election is being conducted unfairly. [NYT / Julian E. Barnes, Nicole Perlroth, and David E. Sanger]
- More than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter saying that the recent release of emails appearing to belong to Democratic nominee Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation." [Politico / Natasha Bertrand]
| | | European countries struggle with another Covid-19 surge, but India is improving | | - Italy, the first European country to experience a major Covid-19 outbreak, is preparing for another surge. As cases spike across the continent, Italy has imposed overnight lockdowns on its three largest cities: Rome, Milan, and Naples. [AP / Frances D'Emilio]
- Other European countries are taking similar actions. Residents of Athens, Greece, were ordered to stay off the streets from 12:30 to 5 am, and Ireland reimposed a nationwide lockdown for six weeks, although schools remain open. [Washington Post / Karla Adam]
- England and France have also instituted new curfews, and the Czech Republic and Belgium imposed limits on alcohol sales. Although Covid-19 cases are surging again in the US, the European Union recently pulled ahead of the US in its seven-day average of daily new cases. [Vox / Julia Belluz]
- In India, however, daily new cases began decreasing on September 17 for the first time since the pandemic began and have continued to do so since. India is no longer on track to overtake the US as the country with the most cases in the world, though significant challenges in controlling the outbreak remain. [Washington Post / Joanna Slater and Niha Masih]
| | | | | | | The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved remdesivir as the first antiviral drug that can be used to treat Covid-19. | | | [CNBC / Berkeley Lovelace Jr.] -
A judge dropped a charge of third-degree murder against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. Chauvin still faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. [NYT / John Ismay] -
Colorado is battling the largest wildfires in its history. For more than two months, the largest fire has been burning just west of Fort Collins; another blaze grew by 100,000 acres in a single day and forced the closure of Rocky Mountain National Park. [NPR / Reese Oxner] -
Chile will vote on Sunday on whether to write a new constitution, which would mean scrapping the current constitution adopted in 1980 under military dictator Augusto Pinochet. [Guardian / Charis McGowan] -
Santa Claus won't be coming to town this year — at least not at the flagship Macy's location in New York, which said it will not continue its 160-year-old tradition of having Santa greet kids there due to the coronavirus. [AP / Joseph Pisani] | | | | | "This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy." | | | | | | | | | | |
Last Christmas, I gave you my health. [Spotify] | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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