On Monday, the U.S. Postal Service scandal exploded. State attorneys general are considering suing the Trump administration and members of Congress are calling for a federal criminal investigation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump megadonor who has been implementing policies that are slowing mail service ahead of the general election. A federal lawsuit has already been filed seeking to ensure sufficient funding for the USPS handling of mail-in ballots. DeJoy’s moves to reduce worker hours, dismantle sorting machines nationwide and even remove neighborhood mailboxes have triggered accusations of sabotage on behalf of President Donald Trump: that he is allegedly trying to disenfranchise voters fearful of the coronavirus. Critics also point out that voters reliant on speedy mail service for critical medicines are increasingly being put at risk by his new policies. DeJoy has said he is trying to make the USPS more efficient. On Monday, the House of Representatives returned to Washington to vote for $25 billion in aid to the Postal Service, but Senate support is uncertain. —David E. Rovella

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Here are today’s top stories

Chances for a deal in Congress on a new recession bailout package before September are fading with each passing day, leaving the U.S. economy limping, and millions of Americans in deep trouble.

Southeast Asia is potentially facing a more infectious strain of the new coronavirus. In the U.S., gyms in New York state can reopen on Aug. 24, a major milestone for a state where more than 30,000 have lost their lives to the pandemic. Here is the latest on the coronavirus.

Federal Housing Administration mortgages, the affordable path to homeownership for many first-time buyers, minorities and low-income Americans, now have the highest delinquency rate in at least four decades.

While hedge funds largely rejected the age-old adage “don’t fight the Federal Reserve” in the second quarter, there were a few notable exceptions. One of them is billionaire investor George Soros, who bet big.

George Soros

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

The operator of California’s power grid warned another round of rolling blackouts could hit Monday afternoon as a heat wave smothers the region. The outages, which could come as early as 3 p.m. local time, would be the third time in four days that utilities intentionally cut power to cope with a crush of demand for air conditioning. Governor Gavin Newsom has called for an investigation into why officials failed to anticipate the need for blackouts, which have plunged millions of people into darkness.  

Citigroup has started briefing bank regulators on how it mistakenly sent almost $900 million in payments to Revlon’s lenders amid a bitter a fight between the cosmetics company and creditors.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• DNC Convention: Senator Bernie Sanders comes in from the cold.
• Big Oil is starting to wonder if it’s not worth looking for oil anymore.
• Goldman Sachs is boosting its 2020 S&P 500 prediction by 20%.
• Trump’s plane may have been nearly hit by a drone.
• Millions of beetles are wiping out forests all over the world.
• “Link Marines” are making an obscure cryptocurrency red hot.
• Bitcoin surges past $12,000 to its highest level in more than a year.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

New Hotels Are Opening Despite Industry Woes

The new White Water hotel on California’s central coast has a lot going for it: a location on a moonstone-studded beach, generously sized rooms and Scandinavian-inspired interiors by Los Angeles designer Nina Freudenberger. Going against it? Oh, just the worldwide collapse of the hospitality industry. But a funny thing is happening: new hotels are opening despite the global pandemic.

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