IT’S MONDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at rbeitsch@thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin.

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TRUMP CARD: President TrumpDonald John TrumpTop intelligence officials release statements criticizing leaking of Russian bounties information Russian bounty intel was included in Trump’s daily briefing: reports Senators will have access to intelligence on Russian bounties on US troops MORE threatened to veto House Democrats’ $1.5 trillion green infrastructure plan on Monday, arguing it should eliminate or reduce environmental reviews and doesn’t route enough money to rural America.

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The bill contains billions to repair the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges while setting aside funds for broadband, schools and hospitals. It would also require states to commit to reducing greenhouse gasses and other climate measures in order to receive funding.

But Republicans have branded it as an iteration of the Green New Deal crafted without their input.

“This bill is problematic for several reasons. It is heavily biased against rural America. It also appears to be entirely debt-financed. And it fails to tackle the issue of unnecessary permitting delays, which are one of the most significant impediments to improving our infrastructure,” the White House wrote in a statement of administrative policy, saying the bill “is full of wasteful ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives.”

The veto message gives added fuel to Senate Republicans; Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOn The Money: Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid spike in COVID-19 cases | Spiking cases threaten fragile economic recovery | Supreme Court rules consumer bureau director can be fired at will Overnight Health Care: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law | Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 spike | WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ OVERNIGHT ENERGY: White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan | Supreme Court won’t hear border wall challenge | Witnesses describe ‘excessive force’ used by law enforcement in Lafayette Square MORE (R-Ky.) has not expressed a willingness to bring the bill to the Senate floor. 

The 2,300-page Moving Forward Act rolled out by Democrats this month is slated for a vote as soon as this week.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard NealRichard Edmund NealOn The Money: Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid spike in COVID-19 cases | Spiking cases threaten fragile economic recovery | Supreme Court rules consumer bureau director can be fired at will OVERNIGHT ENERGY: White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan | Supreme Court won’t hear border wall challenge | Witnesses describe ‘excessive force’ used by law enforcement in Lafayette Square White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan MORE (D-Mass.) has called it “the largest tax investment in combating climate change Congress has ever made.”

But the veto message reiterated Trump’s interest in paring down the environmental reviews that accompany major projects, calling the delays caused by permitting “one of the biggest roadblocks to improving the nation’s infrastructure.”

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The bulk of the Democrat’s infrastructure package is geared toward transportation measures that funnel money to public transit and would also require states to consider climate change when weighing projects.

“Those who don’t believe in climate change, tough luck. We’re going to deal with it,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazioPeter Anthony DeFazioOVERNIGHT ENERGY: White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan | Supreme Court won’t hear border wall challenge | Witnesses describe ‘excessive force’ used by law enforcement in Lafayette Square White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan Democrats detail their .5T green infrastructure plan MORE (D-Ore.) said when the bill was unveiled.

The White House memo called the bill “heavily skewed toward programs that would disproportionately benefit America’s urban areas” while appearing to be “financed solely by the government taking on additional debt.”

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Democrats have not outlined how to pay for the bill, but Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiSenators will have access to intelligence on Russian bounties on US troops House Dems to offer up road map to solve the climate crisis Feehery: On statues and statutes MORE (D-Calif.) stressed “with the interest rates where they are now there’s never been a better time for us to go big.”

Read more about the White House statement here.

SKIRTING SCOTUS: The Supreme Court has declined to take up a case challenging President Trump’s border wall, leaving in place a decision that rejected environmental groups’ quest to stop construction.

The court will not hear an appeal to a case seeking to block construction on 145 miles of wall running along Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and other environmental groups filed the cause in January, arguing the Department of Homeland Security did not have the authority to waive environmental requirements to speed construction.

“We’re disappointed that the Supreme Court won’t consider the Trump administration’s flagrant abuse of the law to fast-track border wall construction,” Jean Su, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a Monday statement.

“This administration has made a mockery of the Constitution to build an enormously destructive wall. We’ll continue to fight these illegal waivers and do everything possible to prevent further damage to the beautiful borderlands.”

The suit had challenged 16 waivers that exempted Homeland Security from considering 40 different environmental laws, the groups contended, nixing consideration of the wall’s many potential environmental impacts. Building the wall could block migration for Mexican grey wolves and jaguars and damage ecosystems of cacti and rare wetlands, they argued.

Defenders of Wildlife also pledged to continue to examine the legality of the waivers.

“The Trump administration’s waiver of federal and state law to expedite border wall construction raises serious constitutional issues and those issues deserve to be heard,” Jason Rylander, senior endangered species counsel for the group, said in a statement.

The administration has faced multiple suits from environmental groups, who have both challenged the wall’s funding and argued it will hurt habitats for threatened and endangered species.

Read more about the court’s decision here.

EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS: Witnesses testified Monday that Park Police met largely peaceful protests with escalating force during a now-infamous incident at Lafayette Square earlier this month. 

Protester Kishon McDonald and reporter Amelia Brace, during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, described a scene where officers aggressively cleared protesters, saying they did not hear any warnings before projectiles and chemical munitions were fired. 

“Police started throwing tear gas and flash-bang grenades at us for no reason. We were retreating,” McDonald said in his opening statement. 

“I’ve seen footage of this kind of attack on African American protesters in the 1960s when we wanted change. The dogs and water cannons from the ’60s have turned into tear gas and flash bangs today,” his prepared statement read. 

He added during the hearing that he believed law enforcement used “excessive force.”

Footage has shown Brace, a reporter with Australia’s Seven News, and her cameraman Tim Myers being confronted by law enforcement. Video shows Myers being hit in the stomach with an officer’s shield and his camera being punched. 

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“Tim suffered what I would describe as a harder hit than what I did … with the shield to his stomach and then the camera was punched which put it back into his face. He also was hit with a nonlethal projectile in the back of the neck,” Brace testified on Monday. 

The reporter added that she was hit across the back with a baton and hit in the legs with projectiles. 

The Park Police have said they are investigating two officers in response to what happened to Brace and Myers.

Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan has said the Park Police’s actions were necessary due to “violent” protesters who threw objects such as bricks at law enforcement. 

McDonald and Brace said during the hearing that they did not see any violence at the protest prior to the clearing of protesters. 

Monahan was invited to testify at the hearing but declined. In a letter to Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Interior Department legislative affairs director Cole Rojewski suggested that Monahan could appear in July instead. 

“Assistant Chief Monahan would like to accept your request to appear before the Committee to present the facts that occurred on the ground that evening,” Rojewski wrote. “However, because of the ongoing protests and accompanying violence and destruction of memorials and monuments by some individuals, the United States Park Police must currently continue in its highest operational status.”

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He added that Monahan has been the subject of lawsuits in relation to the incident and wrote that “this discussion would be further constrained, if not completely circumvented in its entirety, were an adverse party to such a lawsuit also asked to testify at that same hearing.” 

McDonald is part of a lawsuit over the incident. 

During the hearing, Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University who was a Republican witness during the House impeachment hearings, testified that questions remain as to whether the Park Police’s tactics in dispersing protesters were legal. 

However, Turley, who is also an opinion contributor for The Hill, said that the actions toward Brace appeared to be illegal. 

Read more about their comments here.

STUDY GUIDE:

Particle pollution problems: A recent study found that stronger pollution regulations could save more than 143,000 lives over a decade. 

The study, published Friday in the Science Advances journal, determined that lowering the maximum standard for fine particulate matter, also known as soot, by 2 micrograms per cubic meter could save about 143,257 lives over a 10-year period.

The researchers used 16 years worth of data, including information about 68.5 million Medicare enrollees, to “provide strong evidence of the causal link between long-term [fine particulate matter] exposure and mortality.”

The study follows a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make no changes to Obama-era standards for this type of pollution.

At that time, EPA Administrator Andrew WheelerAndrew WheelerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan | Supreme Court won’t hear border wall challenge | Witnesses describe ‘excessive force’ used by law enforcement in Lafayette Square Stronger pollution standards could save 143k lives: study OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump nominates controversial, longtime acting head of BLM as director | Ernst sinks vote on Trump EPA nominee | Massive dust storm from Africa hits Texas, Louisiana MORE said the agency believes “that the current standard is protective of public health.”

However, EPA staff said in January that new evidence has been “calling into question” whether the standard for fine particulate matter is adequate. 

Read more about the particulate matter study here.

Flooded with risk: Nearly twice as many homes face a substantial risk of flooding than in earlier government predictions, according to new study.

The study from the First Street Foundation estimates some 14.6 million properties around the country are at risk, with nearly 6 million people “currently unaware of or underestimating the risk they face.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), by comparison, estimates just 8.7 million properties are at risk of a 100-year flood.

The new study, the first of its kind, pulls federal elevation and rainfall data along with flood claims and historic flood paths in an effort to offer a more robust picture of where major flooding could occur. It’s more comprehensive than the analysis by FEMA, which has been criticized for not continuously updating its predictions.

The study maps new areas previously not analyzed by the government — an important feature as climate change increases the risk for extreme weather that could cause flooding.

Appalachia and much of the West, along with Washington, D.C., had some of the biggest gaps between the FEMA and First Street estimates.

“The results shed light on the unevenness in which changing environmental factors will impact regions of the country differently, and prove the need to incorporate more localized data at a property level in order to fully understand flood risk,” the study’s authors said.

The research could mark a significant shift in how flood risk is evaluated and how homeowners assess the potential for damage at their property. 

Read more about flooding the study here.

OUTSIDE (AND INSIDE) THE BELTWAY:

Even the South Pole is warming, and quickly, scientists say, The New York Times reports

Mount Rushmore fireworks display too risky because of drought and ponderosa pines, wildfire expert warns, Weather.com reports 

Year’s first right whale death in U.S. reported, The Cape Cod Times reports

Pendley: Black Lives Matter based on ‘terrible lie’, E&E News reports

ICYMI: Stories from Monday and over the weekend…

Chesapeake Energy files for bankruptcy

BP sells petrochemicals division for $5B

Nearly twice as many homes face a substantial risk of flooding than the number in earlier government predictions, according to new study.

The study from the First Street Foundation estimates some 14.6 million properties around the country are at risk, with nearly 6 million people “currently unaware of or underestimating the risk they face.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), by comparison, estimates just 8.7 million properties are at risk of a 100-year flood.

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The new study, the first of its kind, pulls federal elevation and rainfall data along with flood claims and historic flood paths in an effort to offer a more robust picture of where major flooding could occur. It’s more comprehensive than the analysis by FEMA, which has been criticized for not continuously updating its predictions.

The study maps new areas previously not analyzed by the government — an important feature as climate change increases the risk for extreme weather that could cause flooding.

Appalachia and much of the West, along with Washington, D.C., had some of the biggest gaps between the FEMA and First Street estimates.

“The results shed light on the unevenness in which changing environmental factors will impact regions of the country differently, and prove the need to incorporate more localized data at a property level in order to fully understand flood risk,” the study’s authors said.

The research could mark a significant shift in how flood risk is evaluated and how homeowners assess the potential for damage at their property.

The grimmer outlook might make it tougher to get mortgages on certain properties as banks increase down payments required on homes that are more at risk of flooding.

It could also mean more property owners have to take on more robust and expensive flood insurance.

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A group of Senate Democrats on Monday introduced a measure that would strengthen cybersecurity protections for states vulnerable to malicious cyberattacks as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

The proposed amendment to the Senate version of the 2021 NDAA would fund a cybersecurity coordinator for every state who would be responsible for working with all levels of government to prevent and respond to escalating cyberattacks on schools, hospitals and other groups. 

The amendment was introduced by Sens. Maggie HassanMargaret (Maggie) HassanHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Hillicon Valley: Facebook to label ‘newsworthy’ posts that violate policies | Unilever to pull ads from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram | FEC commissioner steps down MORE (D-N.H.), John CornynJohn CornynHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Trump administration grants funding extension for Texas testing sites MORE (R-Texas), Gary PetersGary Charles PetersHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Democrats optimistic about chances of winning Senate MORE (D-Mich.), and Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Bipartisan Senate group offers bill to strengthen watchdog law after Trump firings MORE (R-Ohio) and is based on previous legislation introduced by the senators in January. 

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The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the massive annual defense spending bill earlier this month, with the bill also being negotiated in the House Armed Services Committee, which is set to debate and approve its version of the legislation later this week. The Senate will begin debating the overall bill this week. 

The amendment was introduced following a year of mounting cyberattacks on state and local government entities across the nation, including on school districts, libraries and governments in cities such as New Orleans and Baltimore.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the vulnerabilities at the state and local levels to cyberattacks due to budget shortfalls, and hospitals and research groups involved in fighting and studying COVID-19 have also become targets. 

Peters, who serves as the ranking members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that the amendment would help create “clear lines of communication and an understanding of what federal resources are available” for vulnerable state and local governments. 

“Bad actors will always target the path of least resistance – which is why we must boost cyber-security at all levels of government,” Peters said.

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“Cybersecurity for state and local governments is just as important as federal cybersecurity, and frequently, they lack the resources, technical know-how, and situational awareness to secure their systems, or respond in the event of an attack,” Portman said in a separate statement. 

Hassan and Cornyn also introduced a second amendment to the NDAA this week that would increase the ability of the National Guard to assist state and local governments in responding to debilitating cyberattacks.  

“Cyberattacks can cause enormous disruption at any time, but they can be particularly devastating during a public health crisis,” Hassan said Monday. “The federal government needs to do more to strengthen cybersecurity preparedness in communities across the country, and both of these bipartisan amendments would help do so.” 

Cornyn said separately that “the United States faces a barrage of cyber threats every day, and state and local governments have a role to play in keeping our infrastructure secure. Having one point of contact in each state working to coordinate their response to cybersecurity breaches will ensure everyone is on the same page during a crisis.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2021 NDAA already includes multiple cybersecurity enhancements. Most of them stem from the recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a group established by Congress and made up of members of Congress, the federal government and industry to create a plan to defend the U.S. in cyberspace. 

These recommendations include reviewing the National Guard’s ability to respond to cyberattacks, assessing the potential to establish a national cyber director and assessing cyber vulnerabilities in critical weapons systems.

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Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with this LINK.

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech reporter, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills), for more coverage.

TWITCH VS. TRUMP: Twitch, the livestreaming service owned by Amazon, on Monday temporarily suspended President TrumpDonald John TrumpTop intelligence officials release statements criticizing leaking of Russian bounties information Russian bounty intel was included in Trump’s daily briefing: reports Senators will have access to intelligence on Russian bounties on US troops MORE‘s account for violating the company’s policy on “hateful conduct,” a company spokesperson told The Hill.  

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The company said the decision stemmed from comments made on streams shared by an account associated with the Trump campaign. One stream was a rebroadcast of 2015 remarks from Trump during which he referred to Mexicans as “rapists.” Twitch also flagged a stream that included comments Trump made during his a recent campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla. 

In that stream, Trump had asked the crowd to imagine a “very tough hombre” breaking into someone’s home.

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch,” a Twitch spokesperson said. “In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”

The spokesperson said that “politicians on Twitch must adhere to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines” and noted the company conveyed this message to the president’s team when he joined the service last year. 

“To hear directly from the President, people should download the Trump app and text ‘Trump’ to 88022,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told The Hill when asked for comment about the Twitch suspension.

Twitch’s community guidelines define hateful conduct as any content that promotes, encourages or facilitates discrimination, harassment or violence based on race, ethnicity or gender, among other things. The platform said last week that it was creating more tools “to combat harassment and hate” after some Twitch streamers came forward with allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. Twitch said it was also reviewing its Hateful Conduct and Harassment policies.

Read more about the decision here. 

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REDDIT VS. TRUMP: Reddit updated its policies against hate speech Monday and banned 2,000 communities or “subreddits,” including one devoted to President Trump.

The forum r/The_Donald had over 700,000 users, although activity on it had declined since the 2016 election. Several of the most popular posts on the forum on Monday morning were months old.

The new policy explicitly bans subreddits and users that “promote hate based on identity or vulnerability.”

“All communities on Reddit must abide by our content policy in good faith. We banned r/The_Donald because it has not done so, despite every opportunity,” the company wrote in a post announcing the changes.

“The community has consistently hosted and upvoted more rule-breaking content than average, antagonized us and other communities, and its mods have refused to meet our most basic expectations. Until now, we’ve worked in good faith to help them preserve the community as a space for its users—through warnings, mod changes, quarantining, and more.”

The community, which was created in the run-up to the 2016 election, has a history of hateful posts and conspiracy theories.

It has been influential, with some content created on it ending up on Trump’s Twitter account.

Reddit had previously “quarantined” the community, making it harder for users to stumble upon it in searches.

Among the 2,000 subreddits banned, only 200 had more than 10 daily users.

Read more about Reddit’s decision here. 

 

BAD NEWS FOR TIKTOK: India on Monday banned dozens of Chinese apps including TikTok, pointing to privacy and security concerns, a move that comes less than two weeks after a deadly skirmish along the border of the two nations.

The Ministry of Electronics & IT said that the 59 apps were “engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, and security of state and public order.”

“The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) has also received many representations from citizens regarding security of data and breach of privacy impacting upon public order issues,” the Indian government agency also said.

The bans are the latest digital standoff between the world’s two most populous countries.

They also come a few weeks after more than 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces in the Himalayas.

Read more about the apps banned here. 

 

PENNSYLVANIA VS. TRUMP: President Trump’s reelection campaign is suing Pennsylvania’s secretary of state and 67 county election boards in an effort to change how mail-in ballots are sent and counted. 

The federal lawsuit was filed in Pittsburgh on Monday by the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and four Pennsylvania Republican members of Congress: Glen Thompson, Mike KellyGeorge (Mike) Joseph KellyHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Trump campaign sues Pennsylvania, county election boards over mail-in voting Pelosi asks House chairs to enforce mandatory mask-wearing during hearings MORE, John JoyceJohn JoyceHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Trump campaign sues Pennsylvania, county election boards over mail-in voting House GOP to launch China probes beyond COVID-19 MORE and Guy ReschenthalerGuy ReschenthalerHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Trump campaign sues Pennsylvania, county election boards over mail-in voting House panel advances police reform bill MORE. 

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“To be free and fair, elections must be transparent and verifiable. Yet, Defendants have inexplicably chosen a path that jeopardizes election security and will lead -and has already led – to the disenfranchisement of voters, questions about the accuracy of election results, and ultimately chaos heading into the upcoming November 3, 2020 General Election,” the lawsuit reads. 

The suit claims the issues are a “direct result” of Pennsylvania’s “hazardous hurried, and illegal implementation of unmonitored mail-in voting” that the Trump campaign and Republicans claim can lead to fraud and “chaos.” 

A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, said the department will not comment on pending litigation.

Pennsylvania passed a law last year that expanded mail-in ballot voting options to allow anyone to vote by mail without providing a reason.

The lawsuit argues, however, that during the June 2 primary voters used procedures that were not outlined in the new law including submitting absentee and mail-in ballots at locations such as shopping centers, parking lots, fairgrounds, parks, retirement homes, college campuses, fire halls, municipal government buildings and elected official’s offices. 

Read more about the case here. 

 

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BOOSTING CYBER DEFENSES: A group of Senate Democrats on Monday introduced a measure that would strengthen cybersecurity protections for states vulnerable to malicious cyberattacks as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

The proposed amendment to the Senate version of the 2021 NDAA would fund a cybersecurity coordinator for every state that would be responsible for working with all levels of government to prevent and respond to escalating cyberattacks on schools, hospitals, and other groups. 

The amendment was introduced by Sens. Maggie HassanMargaret (Maggie) HassanHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Hillicon Valley: Facebook to label ‘newsworthy’ posts that violate policies | Unilever to pull ads from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram | FEC commissioner steps down MORE (D-N.H.), John CornynJohn CornynHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Trump administration grants funding extension for Texas testing sites MORE (R-Texas), Gary PetersGary Charles PetersHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Democrats optimistic about chances of winning Senate MORE (D-Mich.), and Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanHillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok Senators move to boost state and local cybersecurity as part of annual defense bill Bipartisan Senate group offers bill to strengthen watchdog law after Trump firings MORE (R-Ohio), and is based on previous legislation introduced by the senators in January. 

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the massive annual defense spending bill earlier this month, with the bill also being negotiated in the House Armed Services Committee, which is set to debate and approve its version of the legislation later this week. The Senate will begin debating the overall bill this week. 

The amendment was introduced following a year of mounting cyberattacks on state and local government entities across the nation, including on school districts, libraries, and city governments including those of New Orleans and Baltimore.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the vulnerabilities at the state and local levels to cyberattacks due to budget shortfalls, and hospitals and research groups involved in fighting and studying COVID-19 have also become targets. 

Read more about the amendment here. 

 

NYT DITCHES APPLE NEWS: The New York Times announced Monday that it has terminated its relationship with Apple News.

Articles from the Times will no longer appear on the Apple News feed available on the company’s devices.

In a memo announcing the change, the Times’ chief operating officer, Meredith Kopit Levien, said that the Apple partnership has failed to bring in more readers.

“Core to a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers and the nature of our business rules,” she wrote.

“Our relationship with Apple News does not fit within these parameters.”

A spokesperson for Apple shrugged off the Times’s decision, saying the outlet was only offering “a few stories per day.”

“We are committed to providing the more than 125 million people who use Apple News with the most trusted information and will continue to do so through our collaboration with thousands of publishers,” Apple said in a statement to The Hill, listing major outlets including The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.

Read more about the move here. 

 

Lighter click: Some actually uplifting news

An op-ed to chew on: The EARN It Act threatens encryption and national security

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: 

The real cost of Amazon (Recode / Shirin Ghaffary and Jason Del Rey)

‘Boogaloo’ Believers Think a Civil War Is Coming. These Gun Firms Are Openly Marketing to Them. (The Trace / Ian Karbal)

Zuckerberg once wanted to sanction Trump. Then Facebook wrote rules that accommodated him. (Washington Post / Elizabeth Dwoskin, Craig Timberg and Tony Romm)

California university conducting coronavirus research pays over $1 million in ransom to hackers (CyberScoop / Jeff Stone) 

TikTok Is Shaping Politics. But How? (New York Times / John Herrman)

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Welcome to Monday’s Overnight Health Care.

The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. is not improving as the death toll surges towards 126,000. More states are pausing reopening measures, most notably bars. Gilead finally put a price tag on remdesivir, but drug pricing legislation in Congress is falling apart.  

We’ll start with non-virus news, at the Supreme Court: 

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Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion restrictions

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana abortion law, handing a win to abortion rights advocates who feared the conservative court would break with past rulings to rein in protections that emerged from the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade.

The justices voted 5-4 to invalidate Louisiana’s admitting-privilege law in the first major abortion ruling of the Trump era, which came after the court struck down a nearly identical Texas restriction four years ago.

Why it matters: The plaintiffs in the case argued the requirements would not improve a woman’s health or safety and would result in the closure of nearly every abortion clinic in Louisiana. The law required physicians who perform abortions to hold “active admitting privileges” at a hospital within 30 miles of their facility.

Narrow concurrence: Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s four liberals in ruling against Louisiana. In a concurring opinion, Roberts said his vote was guided by deference to prior rulings, particularly the court’s 2016 decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down a nearly identical Texas law. Roberts dissented in that case, which teed up his vote in the Louisiana case as a crucial assessment of his image as an “institutionalist” justice dedicated to honoring prior Supreme Court opinions, especially recent ones.

Read more here.

Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid spike in COVID-19 cases

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State and local officials are facing pressure to keep bars and indoor dining closed as the U.S. reckons with another upswing in COVID-19 infections weeks after lockdown measures were lifted. 

Indoor venues where people eat, drink and socialize have become a source of COVID-19 spread in several states where cases are rising, forcing leaders to reevaluate their decisions to allow bars and indoor restaurants to reopen during a pandemic. Meanwhile, governors that have not yet allowed those facilities to reopen said they will reconsider their plans to do so. 

“I think across all these states, we just can’t have bars — I’m not sure that we can even run restaurants where people are sitting indoors, nightclubs — anything that gathers people indoors I think at this moment is way too risky and has to be dialed back,” said Ashish Jha, professor of global health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on NBC’s “Today” on Monday.

Context: Governors in Texas, California and Florida mandated bar closures this weekend, and other governors are likely weighing whether they will do the same. Bars and indoor restaurants still remain open in much of the country, including in other states seeing rises in cases, like Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Nevada and most counties in Pennsylvania. 

Read more here. 

Related: New Jersey halts plan to allow bars and restaurants to begin indoor dining

WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ 

More than 10 million people across the globe have tested positive for the coronavirus, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday, nearly 180,000 of whom tested positive in the last 24 hours.

Almost half a million people have died worldwide.

“The reality is this is not close to being over,” Tedros told reporters. “Globally, the pandemic is actually speeding up.”

About half the cases, and nearly half the deaths across the globe, have come in the Americas. The United States, which accounts for about 4 percent of the global population, has nearly a quarter of the total confirmed cases, 2.4 million.

States reported more than 44,000 new cases on Sunday, the WHO said in their daily situation report on Monday, higher than any nation on earth. Brazil reported 46,000 new infections on Saturday, and almost 39,000 new infections on Sunday.

Read more here.

House fires back at Trump by passing ObamaCare expansion

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The House on Monday passed a bill to expand the Affordable Care Act as Democrats seek to hammer President TrumpDonald John TrumpTop intelligence officials release statements criticizing leaking of Russian bounties information Russian bounty intel was included in Trump’s daily briefing: reports Senators will have access to intelligence on Russian bounties on US troops MORE and Republicans on health care heading into the November elections.

The legislation, which passed in a largely party-line vote of 234 to 179, would increase the 2010 health law’s subsidies that help people afford their premiums and add more federal funding for Medicaid expansion.

Democrats timed the vote to contrast with the Trump administration’s legal brief filed with the Supreme Court last week calling for the ACA to be struck down, a move Democrats said would be even more harmful during the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure steers clear of the internal Democratic debate over “Medicare for All” and does not include any kind of government-run health insurance program, often called a “public option.”

Caveat: The bill is not expected to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled Senate given Republican opposition to the ACA, also known as ObamaCare.

Read more here. 

Trouble in drug-pricing land

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Sen. Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenOvernight Health Care: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law | Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 spike | WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ Companies have raised prices on 245 drugs during pandemic, advocacy group says Top Democrat dropping support for previously bipartisan Senate drug pricing effort MORE (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, will not co-sponsor an updated version of what had been a bipartisan measure to lower drug prices, as his partnership with Sen. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOvernight Health Care: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law | Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 spike | WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ Companies have raised prices on 245 drugs during pandemic, advocacy group says Top Democrat dropping support for previously bipartisan Senate drug pricing effort MORE (R-Iowa) on the issue appeared to fall apart on Monday.

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Wyden last year introduced a bipartisan bill to lower drug prices that he negotiated with Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Grassley is now preparing to introduce an updated version of the bill with relatively minor changes, but Wyden is dropping off as a co-sponsor. 

Not a great sign for drug pricing chances: The move set off a round of finger-pointing on Monday, as the already long odds for a bipartisan breakthrough on drug prices this year appeared to get even longer. 

The competing sides: Grassley said Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerFeehery: On statues and statutes Top Democrat dropping support for previously bipartisan Senate drug pricing effort Political establishment takes a hit as chaos reigns supreme MORE (D-N.Y.), were walking away from the negotiations to preserve drug pricing as a campaign issue, while Wyden said Republicans were never really at the table to begin with given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOn The Money: Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid spike in COVID-19 cases | Spiking cases threaten fragile economic recovery | Supreme Court rules consumer bureau director can be fired at will Overnight Health Care: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law | Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 spike | WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ OVERNIGHT ENERGY: White House threatens veto on Democrats’ .5 trillion infrastructure plan | Supreme Court won’t hear border wall challenge | Witnesses describe ‘excessive force’ used by law enforcement in Lafayette Square MORE (R-Ky.) does not support the bill. 

Read more here. 

In other drug-pricing news

Gilead will start charging U.S. patients for the experimental drug remdesivir, the company and the Trump administration announced Monday.

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A five-day course of remdesivir will cost the U.S. government and other developed countries $2,340 per patient. 

Private insurers, but also Medicare and Medicaid, will pay a markup: $3,120 for a five-day course of the drug, and $5,700 for the longer 10-day course. The company intends to begin charging for the drug in July.

The federal government will get a cheaper price than private insurers, CEO Daniel O’Day wrote, because “of the way the U.S. system is set up and the discounts that government health care programs expect.” The U.S. is the only country where Gilead will charge two different prices.

Remdesivir has shown promise in helping hospitalized COVID-19 patients recover faster, but the benefits have been fairly modest, and there was no impact on mortality. Still, it is the only therapy authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID patients. 

Pushback: The price point was immediately criticized by advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers as far too high, given the major level of taxpayer support for developing the drug. 

The Department of Health and Human Services acquired 500,000 additional doses of the drug and will distribute them through September to state health departments based on the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the agency said.

Read more here

The Hill event

On Tuesday, June 30 The Hill Virtually Live hosts a Pride month summit to discuss the fragility of civil rights in America today with a focus on the LGBTQ+ community. Olympic medalist Adam Rippon, Rep. Sharice DavidsSharice DavidsOvernight Health Care: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law | Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 spike | WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Cure Violence Global founder Gary Slutkin says violence and epidemics follow same patterns; Global death toll surpasses half a million The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Supreme Court ruling marks big win for abortion rights groups MORE, Chasten Buttigieg, Alphonso David, Sen. Kirsten GillibrandKirsten GillibrandOvernight Health Care: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law | Governors rethink opening bars, restaurants amid COVID-19 spike | WHO director warns pandemic ‘speeding up’ Trump faces bipartisan calls for answers on Russian-offered bounties The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Cure Violence Global founder Gary Slutkin says violence and epidemics follow same patterns; Global death toll surpasses half a million MORE and more join Editor-at-Large Steve Clemons. Register Now!  

What we’re reading

Fauci warns U.S. “unlikely” to reach herd immunity if too many refuse vaccine (CBS News) 

Broadway to remain closed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic (Axios) 

U.S. pediatricians call for in-person school this fall (NPR) 

CDC says U.S. has ‘way too much virus’ to control pandemic as cases surge across country (CNBC)

State by state

At least 85 people connected with visit to Michigan bar test positive for coronavirus (NBC News)

Two friends in Texas were tested for Coronavirus. One bill was $199. The other? $6,408 (New York Times)

Only two US states are reporting a decline in new coronavirus cases (CNN.com) 

‘Exhausted’ by customers’ rage over wearing masks, California taco chain shuts down (Sacramento Bee) 

Op-eds in The Hill

Why many small businesses are to blame for rising coronavirus cases

Turn back the pandemic

Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoAn argument for U.S. health diplomacy US ends defense exports to Hong Kong over China’s national security law Voters must strongly reject the president’s abuses by voting him out this November MORE on Monday announced the U.S. will end its agreement allowing export to Hong Kong of defense equipment and will impose restrictions on dual-use technology typically allowed in the semi-autonomous territory.

The move by the Trump administration comes in response to Beijing pushing forward on national security legislation for Hong Kong, saying the proposed law violates the territory’s autonomy under the “one country, two systems” agreed with the signing of the Sino-British declaration in 1984.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s decision to eviscerate Hong Kong’s freedoms has forced the Trump Administration to re-evaluate its policies toward the territory,” Pompeo said in a statement.

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“As Beijing moves forward with passing the national security law, the United States will today end exports of U.S.-origin defense equipment and will take steps toward imposing the same restrictions on U.S. defense and dual-use technologies to Hong Kong as it does for China.”

The secretary said “it gives us no pleasure to take this action,” but that the administration was “forced” to take this decision to protect U.S. national security.

“We can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong Kong or to mainland China. We cannot risk these items falling into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army, whose primary purpose is to uphold the dictatorship of the CCP by any means necessary,” he said.

The latest restrictions follow the administration’s announcement last week to impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials that are found to be involved in Beijing’s efforts to exert more control over Hong Kong. 

The actions are in response to Beijing’s expected passage of a National Security Law against Hong Kong, that critics say criminalize vague acts of treason, secession and terrorism.

The U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, the E.U. and Japan have all spoken out against the national security law.

Amnesty International warned on Sunday that the national security law for Hong Kong “will put everybody in the city at risk of arbitrary detention and unfair trial” unless it is underpinned by guarantees to protect human rights. 

The Chinese government is expected to finalize the text of the law during the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s top legislature, and is set to conclude on Tuesday.

White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday said that President TrumpDonald John TrumpTop intelligence officials release statements criticizing leaking of Russian bounties information Russian bounty intel was included in Trump’s daily briefing: reports Senators will have access to intelligence on Russian bounties on US troops MORE was not briefed on reports that Russian intelligence services offered bounties to Afghan militants for the death of coalition forces.

“Over the past several days, the New York Times and other news outlets have reported on allegations regarding our troops in Afghanistan,” O’Brien said in a statement. “While we do not normally discuss such matters, we constantly evaluate intelligence reports and brief the President as necessary.”

“Because the allegations in recent press articles have not been verified or substantiated by the Intelligence Community, President Trump had not been briefed on the items. Nevertheless, the Administration, including the National Security Council staff, have been preparing should the situation warrant action,” he added.

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O’Brien also excoriated the intelligence leak, saying “To those government officials who betray the trust of the people of the United States by leaking classified information, your actions endanger our national security. No matter the motivation, there is never a justification for such conduct.”

The New York Times first reported on the alleged bounties on Friday, prompting Trump to deny on Sunday that he had been briefed on them. However, several outlets have reported he was briefed on the allegations and that the administration authorized no further action.

The Washington Post on Sunday reported that U.S. intelligence has concluded the alleged offer has led to the deaths of multiple service members, while The Associated Press reported Monday that the White House was aware of intelligence concerning the alleged bounties as early as 2019.

The White House on Monday briefed several House Republicans, including House Republican Conference Chairperson Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyOvernight Defense: Lawmakers demand answers on reported Russian bounties for US troops deaths in Afghanistan | Defense bill amendments target Germany withdrawal, Pentagon program giving weapons to police Trump faces bipartisan calls for answers on Russian-offered bounties McEnany sidesteps questions on Russian bounty intel MORE (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Michael McCaulMichael Thomas McCaulOvernight Defense: Lawmakers demand answers on reported Russian bounties for US troops deaths in Afghanistan | Defense bill amendments target Germany withdrawal, Pentagon program giving weapons to police Trump faces bipartisan calls for answers on Russian-offered bounties McEnany sidesteps questions on Russian bounty intel MORE (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on the matter. A group of their Democratic colleagues is set to be briefed Tuesday morning.

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Pepsi reportedly joined the advertising boycott that several companies are taking against Facebook, people close to the matter told Fox Business Sunday.

The second largest food and beverage company in the world is reportedly pulling ads from Facebook through July and August as part of a “global boycott,” sources told Fox Business. Pepsi has not yet made an official announcement on the subject. 

Pepsi’s boycott could have a large impact because of its large size, as it is reported to spend as much as $2.6 billion every year on marketing, promotion and advertising, the news outlet noted. Like most companies, Pepsi is spending an increasing portion of its advertising on social media websites. 

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Facebook has been consistently criticized for not taking enough action to remove or addressing hate speech or comments considered inappropriate. As of Sunday, more than 150 companies, including Ben and Jerry’s and Patagonia, have vocally expressed their concerns about the platform and vowed to pull their Facebook ads.

Ad agency Goodby Silverstein announced last week that it would join the boycott against Facebook and is urging clients like Adobe, HP, PayPal and BMW to do the same. Pepsi is also one of the agency’s clients, according to Fox Business.

“We will join #StopHate4Profit and stop posting on @Facebook for the month of July,” the agency tweeted. “We are taking this action to protest the platform’s irresponsible propagation of hate speech, racism, and misleading voter information.”

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Meanwhile, other companies like Starbucks and Coca-Cola have said their boycotts will apply to all social media platforms. 

Pepsi and Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Recent criticism of Facebook came when President TrumpDonald John TrumpIntelligence suggests Russian bounties led to deaths of several US troops in Afghanistan: report Obama called Philonise Floyd before brother’s memorial service: NYT President Trump tries to cover his tracks by attacking the rule of law MORE said on social media as the protests broke out over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

Twitter decided to label the president’s tweet with a warning that it was “glorifying violence” hours after it was posted. 

Facebook makes about $1 billion per quarter on advertising, and the social media platform’s stock fell more than 8 percent on Friday as more companies joined the boycott, according to Fox Business. 

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President TrumpDonald John TrumpIntelligence suggests Russian bounties led to deaths of several US troops in Afghanistan: report Obama called Philonise Floyd before brother’s memorial service: NYT President Trump tries to cover his tracks by attacking the rule of law MORE in a tweet Sunday morning pushed back on criticism from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden’s record-setting tax increases will take your money — and your job Cable networks pooling convention coverage to reduce number of employees Biden on Trump sharing video of protester shouting ‘white power’: He ‘has picked a side’ MORE over reported Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, saying Russia “ate his and Obama’s lunch during their time in office.”

“Funny to see Corrupt Joe Biden reading a statement on Russia, which was obviously written by his handlers,” the president said.

“Russia ate his and Obama’s lunch during their time in office, so badly that Obama wanted them out of the then G-8. U.S. was weak on everything, but especially Russia!” he added.

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During a virtual town hall Saturday, Biden said a Friday report from The New York Times that a U.S. intelligence assessment found that Russian military operatives offered payments to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including U.S. troops, amid peace talks represented a “truly shocking revelation” if true.

The former vice president also bashed Trump for not sanctioning Moscow.

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“Not only has he failed to sanction or impose any kind of consequences on Russia for this egregious violation of international law. Donald Trump has continued his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinJust because Democrats are paranoid about the election doesn’t mean there aren’t problems Top GOP lawmaker calls for answers from White House after report on Russian bounties on US forces Trump pushes back on Biden criticism: ‘Russia ate his and Obama’s lunch’ MORE,” Biden said.

Biden also said he was “outraged” by the report and added that Trump’s “entire presence has been a gift to Putin.”

“This is beyond the pale. It’s a betrayal of the most sacred duty in the nation: to protect our troops when we send them into harm’s way,” Biden said.

Trump early Sunday denied that he had been briefed on the reported bounties and called for The New York Times to identify its source.

“Nobody briefed or told me, @VP Pence, or Chief of Staff @MarkMeadows about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an ‘anonymous source’ by the Fake News @nytimes,” Trump tweeted.

“Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us. Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden & Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine – Where’s Hunter? Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax. Who is their ‘source’?” he added.

A New York Times spokesperson on Sunday said the newspaper stands “by our story, the details of which have not been denied by the President’s own National Security agencies.”

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Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said a decline in coronavirus deaths even as cases spike is likely temporary.

The concentration of new cases among younger patients, and thus the decline in mortality, is “not likely to stay that way,” Gottlieb said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “We’re likely to see total daily deaths start to go back up again.”

In states that have imposed restrictions in response to increased cases, Gottlieb said, “the action is much weaker than a stay-at-home order.”

“I think that these states have some difficult weeks ahead,” Gottlieb added, saying that Florida in particular “looks like they may be tipping over into exponential growth.”

“In think the next weeks we’re going to know just how pervasive the spread is” in several states, he said.

Gottlieb said that the issue in many states may not necessarily have been premature reopening, but rather insufficient time between stages of reopening.

“The speed of the opening in some of these states… they didn’t really pause in between steps of the reopening for a sufficient amount of time to see if it was having an untoward effect,” he said.

Asked about steps by the European Union to restrict entry by travelers from the U.S., Gottlieb added “I think states that have crushed their epidemic are going to start to put more stringent restrictions on travel” as well, pointing to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which have instituted a quarantine period for travelers from states experiencing outbreaks.

“The easiest thing we could do is universal masking and I don’t know why we can’t… that alone could reverse the epidemic,” the former FDA chief added, noting that it was the best solution particularly over the next several months.

“After about 6 or 7 months we’re going to get to a vaccine or a therapeutic…. But it’s going to be a 2021 event,” he added.

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