The Death Star explodes

Russian hackers are suspected of trying to steal research on a coronavirus vaccine; Trump gets a new campaign manager. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. TOP NEWS Russian hackers target vaccine research Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images - Russian hackers are targeting vaccine researchers in the US, Britain, and Canada in an attempt to steal information about potential coronavirus vaccines, intelligence officials announced Thursday. [[NYT / Julian E. Barnes](] - The hacking group — APT29, more often known as Cozy Bear — is believed to be a covert element of Russian government intelligence. It was one of two Russian groups implicated in the 2016 Democratic National Committee hack. [[Washington Post / William Booth, Adam Taylor, and Ellen Nakashima](] - No specific groups were identified as targets of a hack on Thursday, and it’s unclear how much information, if any, might have been stolen. But Russia likely isn’t alone in its efforts — US intelligence has indicated that China is engaging in similar hacking attempts. [[AP / Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka](] - But there's also good news on the vaccine front: On Tuesday, results from a US-based phase 1 vaccine trial were published, and the vaccine was shown to successfully induce an immune response. [[CNN / Jacqueline Howard and John Bonifield](] - Though it required two doses, the vaccine trial appears to have produced antibody levels in test subjects similar to those in Covid-19 survivors. Side effects were mild and transient. [[CBS News / AP](] - The next phase of trials for the vaccine, produced by Moderna, is set to begin on July 27. But while the phase 1 results are positive — according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, “the data really look quite good” — the vaccine is still in an early stage, and results shouldn’t be overinterpreted. [[Stat / Matthew Herper and Damian Garde](] - That’s because vaccine development can be a fraught business. As Vox’s Umair Irfan points out, there are lots of hurdles yet to come in the development process, and even once a vaccine is created, successfully distributing it presents a whole different set of challenges. [[Vox / Umair Irfan](] - Still, there are reasons to be optimistic: Not only have at least two US-based vaccine trials, from Moderna and Pfizer, reported good news, but a vaccine in production at Oxford University in the UK is even further along, with large-scale trials already underway. [[Bloomberg / Stephanie Baker](] A staffing shake-up in Trumpworld - With President Trump’s reelection campaign foundering, campaign manager Brad Parscale on Wednesday was replaced in the job by Bill Stepien, a former Chris Christie aide. Parscale will remain with the Trump campaign as a senior adviser. [[CNN / Kaitlan Collins, Ryan Nobles, Maegan Vazquez, Jeremy Diamond, and Jim Acosta](] - The switch-up follows a string of dire polls for the Trump campaign, with the president trailing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by double digits in some cases. Parscale has reportedly been out of the president’s good graces since a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, flopped last month. [[NBC News / Dartunorro Clark, Monica Alba, Shannon Pettypiece, and Peter Alexander](] - Currently, Biden’s lead over Trump stands at 9.1 points in the FiveThirtyEight national polling average. Must-win states, like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, are also starting to drift toward Biden’s column — his polling lead in both has grown to more than 7.5 over Trump. [[FiveThirtyEight](] - Swapping campaign managers is a big change — but, as Politico points out, it’s unclear if it will do anything to help Trump’s chances in November, which have been hurt more by plunging approval ratings amid a mishandled pandemic than by staffing issues. [[Politico / Alex Isenstadt](] - Parscale's demotion is particularly ironic when juxtaposed with his previous bravado: In May, he boasted in a tweet that he had built a "juggernaut campaign (Death Star)," a perhaps-tone deaf reference to the colossal fictional Star Wars superweapon built by an evil empire. [[Guardian / Adam Gabbatt](] - On Thursday, the Republican National Committee also changed up its convention plans. Attendance will be extremely limited for the convention’s first three days, and some events will be moved outside. [[Washington Post / Josh Dawsey](] - The convention is set to be held in Jacksonville, Florida, though coronavirus cases in the state are surging to record-setting levels. The pandemic risk posed by attending has already led some Republicans to decide against it, and many others are still noncommittal. [[NYT / Reid J. Epstein, Nicholas Fandos, and Patricia Mazzei](] MISCELLANEOUS In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court said on Thursday that Florida can prevent ex-felons from voting over unpaid court fees. [[Slate / Mark Joseph Stern](] - The coronavirus is poised to make Syria’s humanitarian crisis even worse. [[Vox / Jen Kirby](] - Despite a rising number of coronavirus cases, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp reversed municipal mask orders throughout the state on Wednesday. [[NPR / Scott Neuman](] - Black Lives Matter protests are still happening. [[Vox / Fabiola Cineas](] - No telescope needed: how to spot “one of the brightest comets in a generation.” [[NYT / Adam Mann](] VERBATIM "An undertaking as large as a national testing program required Washington’s help. We expected something more than constant heckling from the man who was supposed to be our leader. Trump soon disabused us of that expectation." [[Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland on Trump's mishandling of coronavirus testing in the US / Washington Post](] LISTEN TO THIS [Why Israel decided not to annex the West Bank — for now]( Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the stalled Israeli plan to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank. [[Spotify / Zack Beauchamp, Jennifer Williams, and Alex Ward](] [Read more from Vox](#) [America’s child care problem is an economic problem]( [Elizabeth Warren wants answers on Facebook’s fact-checking loophole]( [The White House’s cold war against Anthony Fauci has suddenly gotten very hot]( [Boycotts show us what matters to Americans]( [Hospitals are running out of resources for Covid-19 patients — and this time could be worse]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving all emails from Vox. 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