Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, August 19, 2020:
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
LAST NIGHT: Joe Biden was formally nominated to be the Democratic presidential candidate by way of a virtual roll-call vote that highlighted both the natural diversity of the country and the generational and cultural diversity of the party. Two more Republicans, Cindy McCain and Colin Powell, recorded speeches in support of Biden -- a sign the Democrats see their path to the White House going through moderate Republicans who may be disaffected with President Trump. Jill Biden delivered the keynote from her former high school classroom, recalling her husband’s personal losses and saying he would “make the nation whole.” HIGHLIGHTS
TONIGHT: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gabby Giffords are on the schedule, teeing up Barack Obama and Sen. Kamala Harris in primetime. ABC NEWS
USPS ABOUT-FACE: The Postmaster General has reversed course and now says all changes at the Postal Service will be paused until after the presidential election. Louis DeJoy, who will testify in front of House Democrats next week, is suspending any decisions that would have affected post office hours, mail-sorting equipment changes and processing facility closures (though changes that already took effect won't be reversed). Attorneys general from 20 states have joined or filed lawsuits to push back on changes at the USPS that many fear could undermine mail-in voting. CNN
COVID-19: BACK TO SCHOOL: Notre Dame and Michigan State are the latest universities to reverse course on their plans after seeing spikes in positive cases. Notre Dame is moving all classes online for at least two weeks; MSU is going fully remote for the semester. At least 250 new cases nationwide have been tied to fraternity parties. Officials in NYC, the only big city planning to open public schools in a couple weeks, are under growing pressure from teachers to delay the school year. NY TIMES
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION: A Republican-led Senate committee found that President Trump’s former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence agents in the lead up to the 2016 election and represented a “grave counterintelligence threat” to the U.S. The 1,000-page report closes the book on the long-running investigation by laying out extensive evidence of a Russian plot to help Trump win, and Trump advisers who were open to the help. Like the Mueller report, it did not conclude that the Trump campaign conspired with the Kremlin. WASH POST
BULL MARKET IS BACK: The longest bull market in history was replaced by what is now officially the shortest bear market in history. The S&P 500 closed at a record high after flirting with the level for weeks, officially ending the pandemic-induced plunge that began just 126 trading days ago. Despite tens of millions of people who are still out of work, the benchmark stock index is now about 5 percent higher for the year. REUTERS
AMAZON HIRING SPREE: For everyone saying remote work is the future, Big Tech is saying: not so fast. Amazon says it is adding 3,500 white-collar jobs at offices in six cities: Phoenix, Denver, San Diego, Detroit, Dallas and NYC. New York will get 2,000 of those jobs and they will be based out of the former Lord & Taylor flagship store, which was sold to WeWork and then Amazon. Facebook recently signed a major lease of space on the west side of Manhattan, and Google continues to build a new campus down the street. UPI
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Two weeks until the first kickoff, there are six of 10 FBS conferences planning to play football this season. Leading the way is the SEC, which has unveiled its stadium guidelines for the fall: attendance decisions are up to the schools, but masks will be mandated for fans and game-day workers. SI
STUDIO EXEC OUSTED: NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer, an influential and long-serving Hollywood executive, was forced out of his job after failing to disclose a settlement with an actress with whom he admits he had a consensual affair years ago. That actress is reportedly Charlotte Kirk, who also had an affair with former Warner Bros. chief Kevin Tsujihara last year that led to his ouster. Meyer said he told NBC about the affair because he was being extorted by an unnamed third party. VARIETY
SPOTTED...Kanye West and Steve Harvey, having lunch at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A. The CEO of the fast-food chain was there too, singing hymns: SEE IT
LEFTOVERS: COOKIE ALERT: The Girl Scouts are introducing a new cookie flavor for next year. It’s called Toast-Yay!, and it tastes like french toast. The new flavor will be available in January, when the cookie-selling season kicks off. If you don’t have a neighborhood hookup, the Girl Scouts plan to bring back online ordering in 2021. THRILLIST
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