The Daily Valet. - 9/10/20, Thursday

✔️ This Isn't Normal

Thursday, September 10th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Will we ever know what is “normal” again?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

A Whistleblower Bombshell

The complaint says top DHS officials distorted intel to match Trump statements and lied to Congress

A whistleblower complaint released Wednesday is accusing top Department of Homeland Security officials of violating laws and policies by lying to Congress and manipulating intelligence reports to conform with President Trump’s political agenda.

Brian Murphy, who was a top Department of Homeland Security intelligence analyst, said in the complaint that acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told him in mid-May to begin reporting instead on political interference threats posed by China and Iran, and to highlight the involvement of left-wing groups in domestic disorder, reports Reuters.

Murphy, a former FBI agent and Marine Corps veteran, says he was demoted for refusing to cover up Russian intelligence attacks, insisting on reporting accurately on white supremacist terrorists and southern border security.

Murphy said he declined to censor or manipulate the intelligence, believing this would be “improper administration of an intelligence program,” and that he warned one of the officials that doing so would constitute a felony. In July, he was told an intelligence notification on Russian disinformation efforts should be “held” because “it made the president look bad.”

According to the Associated Press, Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, released the complaint, which he said contained “grave and disturbing” allegations. He said Murphy has been asked to testify in private on September 21—a possible precursor to a public hearing in the weeks before Election Day.

The White House and Department of Homeland Security each denied the claims.

↦ FYI: What is a whistleblower, exactly? This explainer outlines how it works and what protections are guaranteed.

Trump Admits to Downplaying the Dangers of COVID-19

It was said in taped interviews with the journalist Bob Woodward for his new book

President Trump acknowledged to the Washington Post's Bob Woodward that he knowingly downplayed the coronavirus earlier this year even though he was aware it was life-threatening and vastly more serious than the seasonal flu.

“This is deadly stuff,” the president said in early February during one of the 18 interviews Woodward conducted for his coming book, Rage. “You just breathe the air and that's how it's passed.”

Trump, of course, called the release of the audio “another political hit job,” reports NBC News. But why would he admit that to Woodward—one of the reporters who took down Richard Nixon—who was openingly recording their conversation?

Of course, Woodward came under some fire himself for withhold Trump's virus comments until publication of his book. “If I had done the story at that time about what he knew in February, that's not telling us anything we didn't know,” Woodward told the Associated Press. At that point, he said, the issue was no longer one of public health but of politics. His priority became getting the story out before the election in November.

↦ Dig Deeper: The Intelligencer looks closer at five of the wildest revelations in Woodward's new book.

Wildfires Rage On

At least six dead as flames sweep the West Coast

Intense wildfires are ravaging large swaths of the West Coast, prompting thousands of people to flee parts of Oregon and forcing power outages in California, where fires have already burned a record of more than 2.3 million acres this year, reports NPR.

Dystopian images of San Francisco blanketed under a red sky dominated social media Wednesday. (You no doubt caught a few of the Bladerunner-eque photos.)

As of Wednesday evening, the flames continued to spread out of control, killing at least six people and devastating half a dozen towns in Oregon. In Northern California, residents were told to prepare for possible evacuations.

Michael Gollner, a fire scientist at the University of California Berkely, labeled the events as “unreal fire behavior,” while Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, said “the geographic scale and intensity of what is transpiring is truly jarring.”

↦ FYI: In California alone, there were 14,000 firefighters battling 28 major wildfires statewide on Wednesday.

The Kids Aren't Vaping

A big drop in vaping reported in US teenagers

Vaping by U.S. teenagers fell dramatically this year, especially among middle schoolers, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

Experts think last year’s outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths may have scared off some kids, but they believe other factors contributed to the drop, including higher age limits and flavor bans.

According to the Associated Press, the new figures were disclosed on the same day that all U.S. vaping manufacturers faced a long-delayed deadline to submit their products for FDA review. Generally, that means the vaping companies must show that their products help smokers reduce or quit their use of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

↦ FYI: Young adults who vape face a much higher risk of COVID-19 than their peers who do not.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Making cooking easier

The gentrification font

Kim Jones’ industrial London home

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 Reviews are In

It's expensive, yes, but Samsung has finally legitimized foldable phones

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is almost here. The folding phone/tablet, which will be released on September 18, comes with two screens, five cameras, one hinge ... and one very large price tag: $2,000.

And while this is technically the brand's fourth iteration of a folding phone design, it appears Samsung finally got it right. Because the reviews are in and the tech set are digging it.

Input calls it “a blast of freshness in the stale phone world.” Tom's Guide says that it beats the iPhone 12 in a few key spots: Flex mode delivers laptop-like productivity, while the larger screen allows multitasking with three apps at once.

The Verge wraps it succinctly, saying it's an extravagant success. They say it's not exactly worth the money, but it’s worth looking at as the new foundation for a category of device I expect to stick around for a long time.

↦ Buy: Preorder the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G at Samsung.