The EU's chief Brexit negotiator says a trade deal with the U.K. looks unlikely at this stage. https://bloom.bg/2Ymq6Cy

In his DNC speech, Joe Biden challenged Americans to embrace the “path of hope and light” as he accepted his party’s nomination. https://bloom.bg/2QfepZS

When billionaire Robert Smith pledged last year to pay off the student loans for hundreds of Morehouse graduates, he was already under U.S. investigation for potential tax crimes. https://bloom.bg/2Ymn8xC

💉 The Trump administration has authorized the use of a blood-plasma treatment for Covid-19, though there's no clear evidence it works. That could frustrate efforts to better understand the therapy’s benefits. https://bloom.bg/31orHJC

🥇The 2020 version of a gold rush is here and it's spelled with an E, T and F. Exchange-traded funds now hold more gold than every central bank with the exception of the Federal Reserve. https://bloom.bg/3aOKVeR

🖨 Time to reboot? Japan's creaking computer systems — and a penchant for using paper and physical stamps for official documents — may be hampering the nation's economic recovery. https://bloom.bg/3gsHFqp

🇺🇸 Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, is leaving the administration at the end of the month, citing family reasons. https://bloom.bg/3j8xbhJ

📺 The four-day Republican National Convention begins today, with Donald Trump planning to speak every night. Here’s a viewers guide. https://bloom.bg/3giEkuc

📈 European stocks climbed to a one-week high and equity futures rose after a thaw in U.S. and China relations and hopes of wider access to new coronavirus treatments. https://bloom.bg/34rrCXG

🐘 The Republic of Congo has imprisoned a well-known poacher for 30 years for the attempted murder of park rangers and the smuggling of elephant tusks: https://trib.al/seFbLR2 

👀 Tests show Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was poisoned, a German hospital treating him says: https://trib.al/EM6TjX7 

🏖 The Indonesian island of Bali will remain closed to foreign visitors for the rest of 2020: https://trib.al/OjWrU8n

🦠 You can indeed get the coronavirus twice. A man in Hong Kong was infected after recovering from an initial bout in April, which scientists say is the first such case. https://bloom.bg/2QlJcEh

💸 What would you do if you found an extra $2.45 billion in your bank account? That’s what happened to one Bank of America customer when he opened the mobile app. Spoiler alert: It was a display error. https://bloom.bg/3aSHu6M

📣 And if you haven’t been listening to our podcast Blood River, which follows a four-year quest to find the killers of a Honduran environmental activist, we highly suggest starting. (If you’re an avid listener, episode 6 is just out.) https://bloom.bg/2Qnh43O

📈 European stocks climbed on an increase in German business confidence and signs of progress in the trade deal between the U.S. and China. https://bloom.bg/3glM7HG

🦠️Germany’s new coronavirus cases increased at a pace close to Saturday’s four-month high, while the infection rate fell below a key benchmark of 1.0. https://bloom.bg/32rMfAB

🐘 The Republican National Convention opened with a dark portrait of fear in America painted largely for the benefit of Trumps base—mixing appeals to Black and Latino voters with warnings of “mobs” bent on destroying the status quo. https://bloom.bg/32rXQPS

✈️ American Airlines said it would slash 19,000 jobs October 1 if U.S. aid wasn’t extended: https://bloom.bg/3aWziSZ

🌀 A new study showed that tens of thousands more people could be infected by the coronavirus depending on how emergency planning is handled during hurricane evacuations: https://bloom.bg/3aXuGfs

🎮 The billionaire founder of Epic Games has made a habit out of picking fights with Big Tech. Inside his latest beef with Apple and Google: https://bloom.bg/32kFNLw

🇨🇳 Wuhan stamped out the virus — and now the Chinese city is embracing a new normal with parties, karaoke and dining out. But that's all happening under the cloud of strict surveillance and intense controls on speech. https://bloom.bg/2EADfkl

🐜 Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group warned that rising U.S.-China trade tensions threaten its business as it gears up for a monster IPO. The dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai could top oil giant Saudi Aramco’s record $29 billion debut. https://bloom.bg/3hvddNN

🎮 Meanwhile, Nintendo plans to release an upgraded model of its Switch console next year along with a lineup of new games, sources say. That means this year's holiday spotlight falls on rival devices from Sony and Microsoft. https://bloom.bg/2YQRBo3

🐘 Melania Trump used her RNC address to acknowledge the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s tortured racial history and soften her husband's image. https://bloom.bg/3aVh6t4

🇮🇹 Italy ruled out imposing a new nationwide lockdown despite an upsurge in coronavirus cases. https://bloom.bg/3jt17Wj

🍏 Apple is planning to add augmented reality content to its Apple TV+ streaming video service, seeking new ways to attract and retain subscribers. https://bloom.bg/2EtwwZx

💉 A growing contingent of Covid-19 patients whose symptoms were initially mild are now facing mysterious long-term neurological problems, including memory and sleep disturbances, dizziness, nerve pain: https://trib.al/QL6BjmB 

🦠 Moderna says its Covid-19 vaccine produced an immune response from older adults, in a promising sign for the clinical trials: https://trib.al/3766OcN

🏡 About 30 million people are at risk of being evicted in the coming months because they can’t pay rent: https://trib.al/SAOGV2j

Hello, here's what's making news right now:

The New Zealand mosque shooter who killed 51 people last year was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time such a penalty has been imposed there. https://bloom.bg/3jvaKnp

Hurricane Laura is close to becoming a Category 5 storm in the U.S., and is on the verge of becoming the most powerful hurricane to ever strike the state of Louisiana. It could cause $15 billion in insured losses and leave areas uninhabitable for weeks or months. Follow our live updates: https://bloom.bg/31ugTK6

And Singapore’s coveted expat jobs are under threat from a deepening recession and a government push to hire local staff. https://bloom.bg/3lpLqkb

BREAKING: Hurricane Laura slammed into Louisiana early on Thursday, becoming one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the state with a “catastrophic storm surge,” flash floods and devastating winds that could inflict more than $15 billion in insured losses.

The storm made landfall 1 a.m. local time near Cameron, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, matching a record set in 1856.

The hurricane has been weakening as it moves further inland, according to a statement from the National Hurricane Center. Follow here for the latest developments. https://bloom.bg/2FXj6Fz

🚦In the senior offices at Nissan, a powerful insider plotted a coup that brought down Carlos Ghosn, the man who had saved the company from ruin.

Known for aggressive tactics and strong cologne, Hari Nada was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to settle scores after Ghosn was arrested. The resulting chaos sent shockwaves through the corporate world and still haunts Nissan today. Computer systems were hacked and a top attorney's home was raided. Keep reading: https://bloom.bg/3hByF3T

🇯🇵 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned to undergo treatment for a chronic illness, ending his run as the country’s longest serving premier.

Abe confirmed reports that he was dealing with ulcerative colitis, a chronic digestive condition that also forced him to step down as premier in 2007.

“I am not confident of responding to the trust of the people while I am dealing with my illness and treatment and my health is not good,” Abe said. https://bloom.bg/3b4fT2q

🇺🇸 Capping a week of protests, thousands are gathering in Washington D.C. at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: https://trib.al/Z9aKRBl

🚘 Tesla is seeking a clean, low-cost version of the metal for its car batteries: https://trib.al/Doi9lwS

⛈ Hurricane Laura’s last-minute turn spared the U.S. Gulf Coast as much as $30 billion in damage: https://trib.al/DNIJUP5

📵 ByteDance won’t be allowed to sell TikTok to Microsoft, Walmart or anyone else without first getting approval from the Chinese government, according to a source. https://bloom.bg/34R8GBR

📚 What should colleges do with students when coronavirus breaks out on campus? Many public health experts say it’s better to keep them at school, making it easier to isolate sick or exposed students and trace their contacts. https://bloom.bg/2YMot0W

📈 Last week was one of the most lucrative weeks in history for some of the world’s richest people (looking at you, Jeff Bezos, the first $200 billion man). The growth has been largely driven by surging markets, particularly for tech shares. https://bloom.bg/3lAVuXF

🦠 Experts predict that India will soon pass Brazil, and ultimately the U.S., as the country with the worst Covid-19 outbreak: https://trib.al/TB4fxMw 

💰 After Tesla's stock split, Elon Musk is now richer than Mark Zuckerberg: https://trib.al/PlRaCbl 

✈️ Amazon's planned fleet of delivery drones received FDA approval: https://trib.al/1ZYd8rR

Hello 👋 Here's what we're following right now:

🇦🇺 Facebook says it will block people and publishers in Australia from sharing news if a law forcing the company to pay for articles is passed. https://bloom.bg/3bcNAPw

🇺🇸 More and more Americans abroad are renouncing their citizenship, but a recent report doesn’t tell the full story. These are the numbers behind the numbers, writes Andreas Kluth for Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/2GgOY8s

💹 The popularity of Robinhood Markets has brought about a litany of problems: trading outages, angry customers and regulatory probes. https://bloom.bg/2EWpsEA

📱 Apple is planning a bullish rollout of 5G iPhones for later this year, alongside new watches and a new iPad Air, in a sign that demand for the company’s most important product is holding up. https://bloom.bg/3bepgwA

🇺🇸 Investors should position for the rising odds of President Donald Trump winning re-election, according to JPMorgan. https://bloom.bg/3hQH3MQ

🎉 Happy birthday, here’s $93,000. How a generation of British teenagers is receiving tax-free nest eggs from the state. https://bloom.bg/34YbuNP

🦠 A panel of experts at the National Institutes of Health say there's not enough evidence to recommend using convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19: https://trib.al/V5fWzeJ 

💰 One Bitcoin miner is scoring 700% profits selling energy to the grid: https://trib.al/15wGQFM  

🌳 A strange phenomenon has emerged near Amazon delivery stations: smartphones dangling from trees:  https://trib.al/rh7Z4Gn