• Trump is clearly trying to use the CDC to promote the idea that a vaccine will be ready before the election, even though this realistically may never happen. The CDC recently mailed out documents to state public health officials saying they should be readying to distribute a potential vaccine by late October or early November, even though having an approved vaccine by then may not be possible, and it sounds like pure politics. [New York Times / KRON4]
  • The new four-tier county-rating system at the state level is providing adjustments to counties, like San Francisco, where an above-average level of COVID testing is occurring. The number of new cases per 100,000 residents metric is getting adjusted downward for these counties, which means more Bay Area counties may enter the "red" tier soon. [SFGate]
  • Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley has filed manslaughter charges against the San Leandro police officer who fatally shot a man inside a Walmart back in April. The officer, Jason Fletcher, killed 33-year-old Steven Demarco Taylor, who was wielding a baseball bat but "did not pose an imminent threat" to officers, according to O'Malley. [CBS SF]
  • Mayor London Breed reacted to the uproar over Nancy Pelosi's illegal hair appointment in a radio interview, saying it's "unfortunate" that Republicans are trying to distract everyone with this. [SFGate]
  • Firefighters fighting the Dolan Fire in Big Sur used "condor cams" set up by biologists to monitor the endangered birds' nests in order to ass the location of the growing fire — and it's still not clear how many condors may have died. [KRON4]
  • The company that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy used to work for, and in which he holds a $30 million financial stake, has received $386 million from the US Postal Service in the last seven years. [New York Times]
  • More studies have confirmed that easy-to-procure corticosteroids are key to reducing mortality among severely ill COVID patients. [New York Times]
  • ABC 7 talked to the SF designer responsible for two of the high-fashion face masks worn by Lady Gaga at the VMAs on Sunday. [ABC 7]

Photo: CDC