The Morning Rundown: Today's top headlines

Rachel Elbaum
Updated ·6 min read

President Donald Trump requested an absentee ballot amid criticism over mail-in voting; the CDC director says school reopenings are “going to have to be decided one school at a time,” and the U.S. brokers an historic agreement in the Middle East.

Here's what we're watching today.

Trump requests absentee ballot as mail-in voting controversy continues

President Donald Trump, whose campaign has tried to thwart mail-in voting, has requested an absentee ballot that will allow him to cast a ballot in Florida's Aug. 18 primary via the U.S. Postal Service.

On Thursday, the president continued his longstanding tirade against mail-in voting ahead of the Nov. 3 election at Thursday's White House press briefing.

He has also so far resisted congressional Democrats' efforts to add billions of dollars to U.S. Postal Service budget to help fund the extra work needed to process more voting by mail as a result of the pandemic. However, he said at the briefing that he would not veto a bill that would give the Postal Service extra funding.

Meanwhile, the Postal Service said it's unlikely there will be enough time to request, complete and return mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania to be counted for the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Pennsylvania last year passed a law that allows all its voters to vote by mail. Social distancing because of the pandemic has inspired officials coast-to-coast to limit polling places and encourage citizens to use the mailbox.

CDC Director Robert Redfield says 'we don't want to pressure anybody' as schools weigh reopening

Returning students to the classroom shouldn't be done hastily, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

"We're going to need to do it safely. We're going to need to do it sensibly. And we're going to have to do it based on the unique circumstances, the kinetics of the epidemic and in the areas that the schools are beginning to try to wrestle with this reopening," CDC Director and virologist Robert Redfield told "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt.

President Donald Trump has insisted that schools across America should reopen, as have some state governors.

Redfield added that in communities where the virus continues to be transmitted at high rates, districts shouldn't feel pressure from the CDC or the White House to welcome students back without measures in place.

"We don't want to pressure anybody," he said. "Our guidance is there to help them begin to open, as I said, safely and sensibly. The timing of that is going to have to be decided one school at a time."

In other coronavirus developments:

  • Track U.S. hot spots where COVID-19 infection rates are rising

Israel to sign historic agreement with Gulf state in U.S.-brokered breakthrough

Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize ties in a major diplomatic breakthrough brokered by President Donald Trump.

As part of the agreement, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the Trump administration's Mideast peace plan, a joint statement said, adding the country would focus on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

Currently, Israel officially has peace deals with only two Arab countries — Egypt and Jordan — where it has fortified embassies.

Relations between Israel and Gulf States have quietly warmed in recent years as they have been pushed together by their common enemy, Iran, and by an ally in the Trump administration. The agreement could lead other states, such as Saudi Arabia, to potentially follow suit.

Trump echoes baseless, racist birther conspiracy theory on Harris

President Donald Trump on Thursday peddled a factually baseless and racist conspiracy theory that Sen. Kamala Harris isn't eligible to be vice president.

"I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements," Trump said during a White House briefing in response to a question about Harris' citizenship. The question referred to an op-ed essay in Newsweek that falsely claims the California senator is ineligible to serve as president because her parents came to the U.S. from other countries.

Harris is a U.S. citizen who was born in Oakland, California. Her mother emigrated from India and her father from Jamaica. If elected, Harris would become the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

Here's how her identity has shaped her and what it means for voters.

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Plus

THINK about it

The coronavirus has had a disproportionately heavy toll on some Americans. As we move with unparalleled speed toward a COVID-19 vaccine, Black and brown people run the risk of being left behind, write Dr. Donn Spight, Delvin Akins, Dr. Letisha Wyatt, and Dr. Esther Choo in an opinion piece.

Live BETTER

The invisible racism that makes Black women dread the doctor's office as they are forced to play against sterotypes.

Shopping

If at-home cooking has you considering upgrading to an Instant Pot, you might want to consider this guidance from food experts before buying the right model for you.

One fun thing

After the game plan changed for group sports because of the pandemic, one young girl ran with a different idea.

In Texas, 8-year-old Caroline Cary decided to lead weekly workout classes in her neighborhood. Now, every Saturday, kids start their morning off with a boot camp in her front yard. Laps, stretches, burpees and frog jumps are all part of the workout.

“You need to get your body grooving and it’s fun to exercise a lot,” said Caroline.

But there’s more to these classes than just exercise. Caroline is donating the sign-up fees to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, in honor of her grandmother living with the condition.

See Caroline's boot camp, get your coronavirus questions answered and meet kids who are sharing tips for starting the new school year remotely on Nightly News Kids Edition.

Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.

I’m filling in for Petra Cahill while she’s taking a break. If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: rachel.elbaum@nbcuni.com

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