The Evening: CDC, Fed, Wildflowers and More

August 27, 2020

CDC Clarification

The director of the CDC tried to clarify the agency’s recommendation advising some people not to get tested after exposure to Covid-19, as the NYT reports.

Hill Talks Go Nowhere

An effort to restart stalled coronavirus negotiations between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House went nowhere today, with the top House Democrat saying the talks are fruitless until GOP negotiators agree to a massive $1 trillion concession, as Politico reports.

Fed Shift

The Federal Reserve approved a major shift in how it sets interest rates by dropping its longstanding practice of pre-emptively lifting them to head off higher inflation, a move likely to leave U.S. borrowing costs very low for a long time, as the WSJ reports.

CSIS Executive Education

Join CSIS’s Trade Guys for their next crash course on trade policy. This two-day program breaks down the fundamentals of how U.S. trade policy is formulated, the legalities of trade in an international arena, and the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains. Register here.

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

1/3

At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren are unable to access remote learning when their schools are closed.

Source: UNICEF

Critical Quote

“Everyone who needs a Covid-19 test, can get a test. Everyone who wants a test does not necessarily need a test; the key is to engage the needed public health community in the decision with the appropriate follow-up action.”

— Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC Director

iDeas Lab

The Pyongsan Uranium Concentrate Plant represents a critical component of North Korea’s nuclear research and weapons development programs. It is the only verified producer of uranium concentrate (yellowcake) in the country. A new CSIS report provides sweeping analyses on the history and current status of the facility.

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: Joe Raedle/Getty Images.) Smoke rises from what is reported to be a chemical plant fire after Hurricane Laura passed through Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Recommended Reading

"How Will a Central Bank Digital Currency Advance China’s Interests?" from CSIS's China Power microsite.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 11:00 a.m., the CSIS International Security Program will host Michael Kanaan to discuss his new book, T-Minus AI: Humanity’s Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power.

And, at 10:00 a.m., the Atlantic Council holds a webinar with National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien on how the administration is confronting the various security challenges it faces.

Also, at 10:00 a.m., the Elliott School of International Affairs holds a webcast exploring state responses to Covid-19 in Eurasia.

Video

CSIS's Korea Chair hosted a discussion with Markus Garlauskas, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, on his work as national intelligence officer for North Korea. Watch the video here.

Podcasts

CSIS’s Heather A. Conley sits down with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius of Lithuania and David J. Kramer, senior fellow in the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy at Florida International University, to discuss the current situation in Belarus.

Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Before Tom Petty’s untimely death in early October of 2017, he told the LA Times that his next big project would be a comprehensive reissue of his 1994 solo masterpiece “Wildflowers.” Produced by Rick Rubin and longtime Heartbreaker lead guitarist Mike Campbell, “Wildflowers” featured some of Petty’s greatest songs, “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “You Wreck Me,” and “It’s Good To Be King” to name just a few.

Petty wouldn’t live to see the reissue of “Wildflowers” realized, but on October 16, Petty’s family will release “Wildflowers & All The Rest,” which features unreleased songs, demos, home recordings and live tracks.

Last week, the Petty family released a home recording of the album’s title track and a video of never before seen footage of Tom Petty around his home. For those of us who miss Tom Petty, this is such a gift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2OFxeg4spU&feature=emb_logo.