The Evening: Covid Data, Campaigns Targeted, One Nation Under A Groove and More

June 4, 2020

U.S. Orders States to Report Demographic Data, after Disproportionate Effects of the Virus

The Trump administration today released new requirements for states to report coronavirus data based on race, ethnicity, age, and sex of individuals tested for the virus, in an effort to respond to demands from lawmakers for a better picture of the pandemic, as the NYT reports.

Campaigns Targeted by Iranian and Chinese Hackers

Campaign staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been targeted with online attacks coming from Iran and China respectively, Google said today, as the WSJ reports.

Carbon Dioxide at Record Level

The coronavirus-related economic downturn may have set off a sudden plunge in global greenhouse gas emissions, but another crucial metric for determining the severity of global warming—the amount of greenhouse gases actually in the air—just hit a record high.

According to readings from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the amount of CO2 in the air in May 2020 hit an average of slightly greater than 417 parts per million (ppm). This is the highest monthly average value ever recorded, and is up from 414.7 ppm in May of last year, as the Washington Post reports.

CSIS Executive Education

Enrollment is now open for CSIS and Syracuse University’s joint Executive Master’s in International Relations. This first-of-its-kind degree allows working professionals in the nation’s capital to benefit from the academic strengths of the #1 graduate school in public affairs and the policy know-how of #1 think tank in the U.S. Learn more and apply today.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

20.5%

U.S. exports dropped 20.5% in April from March, the largest declines since record-keeping began in 1992.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

"We have evidence that antifa and other similar extremist groups as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity. And we are also seeing foreign actors playing all sides to exacerbate the violence."

— William Barr, attorney general

iDeas Lab

In order to reach UNAIDS’s Fast Track goal, the rate of new infections must decrease by over two thirds by the end of 2020—a momentous effort even before the interference of Covid-19. Approximately 1.7 million people, primarily young adults, were newly infected in 2018. To learn more, read this brief from the Global Health Policy Center.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images). Senate Democrats take a knee as they participate in a moment of silence today.

Recommended Reading

"How Viktor Orban turned a century of Hungarian history into a secret weapon," by CSIS's Heather Conley for the Washington Post.

Online Events

Tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m., CSIS will hold a panel discussion on how to effectively safeguard the United States' Covid-19 response programs against fraud.

Later, at 1:00 p.m., join CSIS for a panel discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on democracy and governance, as part of the 2020 Future Strategy Forum.

And, at 2:30 p.m., Brookings will host a webinar discussing employment after incarceration and fair-chance hiring in a post Covid-19 environment, featuring remarks from Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Video

CSIS's Europe Program hosted Tone Skogen, state secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, and Tobias Ellwood, chair of the United Kingdom's Defense Select Committee, for a discussion of the security dynamics in the High North today. Watch the full event here.

Podcasts

Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, discusses how the hospitality business will be reimagined and revitalized as guests return with new expectations.

Listen on Spotify, Google Play, & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“One nation under a groove
Gettin' down just for the funk of it”

My friend Parker asked me the other day for a list of the ten albums that changed my life after he sent me his. I’m still working on mine because I take this stuff seriously!

At the very top of the list is Funkadelic’s 1978 record “One Nation Under A Groove.” My friend Steven Smith introduced me to this album when we were about 10 or 11 years old when it came out. We used to listen to it from a boom box on the side of the basketball courts we played on in our neighborhood. I’d never heard anything that sounded like it. Still haven’t, really. Steve went on to become a star basketball player at George Mason and to play professionally in Europe. Every time I hear the song “One Nation Under A Groove” I think of Steve and our days playing ball together. It’s the second track in this incredible performance by George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars at NPR’s Tiny Desk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAcW7zgAD4.