DBON - September 20, 2020

Topics & Sources: 

President Trump pressed Senate Republicans on Saturday to confirm his choice to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “without delay,” as he seeks to force through an appointment in the weeks before the election on Nov. 3. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/19/us/politics/supreme-court-trump.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage)

The Biden campaign will have an unusually direct role in the confirmation fight through Senator Kamala Harris of California, Mr. Biden’s running mate. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ms. Harris will serve as an interrogator for whomever Mr. Trump nominates.  (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/19/us/politics/joe-biden-supreme-court-ginsburg.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage) 

Police arrested 86 protesters at tense Abolish ICE demonstrations in Times Square and near NYPD headquarters in Manhattan Saturday.  (https://www.foxnews.com/us/nearly-100-protesters-arrested-at-abolish-ice-protests-in-nyc) 

President Donald Trump approved a deal Saturday that will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States. (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/19/trump-gives-blessing-tiktok-deal-418528) 

China’s ByteDance Ltd. is seeking a valuation of $60 billion for TikTok as Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. take stakes in the short-video app’s business. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-20/tiktok-owner-is-said-to-seek-60-billion-valuation-in-u-s-deal?sref=Ig8525Pv) 

Federal officials intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained the poison ricin.  (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-19/ap-source-envelope-addressed-to-white-house-contained-ricin?sref=Ig8525Pv) 

Over recent days, officials from the U.S. Space Force and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence briefed multiple congressional committees on an “uptick” in Russian military activity in space targeting U.S. defense and intelligence satellites (https://www.yahoo.com/news/sources-russian-aggression-against-us-intelligence-satellites-sparks-congressional-briefing-214104043.html) 

Congressional leaders missed a self-imposed deadline on Friday to strike an agreement on legislation that would keep the government open through Dec. 11, with House Democrats now hoping to file the stopgap spending bill by Monday. (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/18/congress-clash-shutdown-measure