Monday, October 5, 2020

The Rundown: POTUS Could Return Monday To TWH


Doctors on President Trump's medical team said yesterday that they'd given him dexamethasone, a steroid recommended for those seriously ill with Covid-19, after his blood oxygen level dropped twice in recent days. But they also said Trump's health is getting better and that he could go home to the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center as early as today. Hours later, Trump, who is still ill and contagious, briefly drove in a motorcade to wave from an SUV to supporters who'd gathered outside the hospital. Secret Service agents in the vehicle with him could be seen wearing masks, face visors and other personal protective equipment. In the face of criticism for the outing, a White House spokesman said it had been cleared by his medical team. Shortly before his drive, the White House released a video of Trump in which he said he'd learned a lot about the coronavirus. 



There remains a lack of clarity and questions about Trump's health, with Conley dodging some questions yesterday, such as what the president's lung scans show. Conley said, "There's some expected findings, but nothing of any major clinical concern," declining to say what those "expected findings" were. That came even as he acknowledged avoiding answering the day before about whether Trump had been given oxygen, something that it turns out did happen on Friday. Coney said, "I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, that his course of illness has had. Didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction." In addition to dexamethasone, Trump is also taking remdesivir and was given a single dose Friday of an experimental drug that provides antibodies.

Biden Tests Negative: Joe Biden's campaign said yesterday that the Democratic presidential nominee had again tested negative for the coronavirus, after testing negative twice on Friday following the news of Trump's illness. There's been some concern as Trump and Biden shared a debate stage, although distanced, last Tuesday for the first presidential debate.

Coronavirus Cases in Trump's Circle: In addition to Trump, there have been at least 10 people in his family, the federal government, his advisers and recent contacts who've also tested positive for the coronavirus in the past few days. They include: First Lady Melania Trump; aide to Trump Hope Hicks; assistant to the president Nicholas Luna; GOP Senators Mike Lee, Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson; former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway; Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien; RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel; and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

➤SENATE TO BE OUT FOR TWO WEEKS AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, BUT BARRETT HEARINGS TO GO FORWARD: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this weekend that the Senate will be out for two weeks, a move being taken amid the coronavirus outbreak that has affected President Trump, three senators, and others. However, the Senate confirmation hearings for Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, will still go forward as scheduled starting next Monday. McConnell has suggested that some senators may appear virtually, as has been done for other hearings during the pandemic. 


However, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for McConnell to delay the hearings, saying yesterday, "if it's not safe for the Senate to meet in session, it's not safe for the hearings to go forward," and said he doesn't believe Barret can be properly examined via a virtual hearing. This comes as the Democrats have been insisting that the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat shouldn't be filled before the election, and that instead whoever wins in November should appoint the new Supreme Court justice. 

The Supreme Court will begin its new term today -- the traditional first Monday in October -- with just eight justices, in the wake of Ginsburg's death last month. As it was doing at the end of last term, the court will be meeting by phone because of the coronavirus pandemic.

➤CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES HAVE BURNED RECORD FOUR MILLION ACRES: California officials announced Sunday that wildfires in this historic season have now burned a record four million acres in the state, more than double the previous record for a single year. And that record comes as the fire season still has some time to go. There have been more than 8,200 wildfires in California so far this season, which have killed 31 people and destroyed more than 8,400 buildings, and five of the six largest fires in state history were this year. Because of how many wildfires there've been, it's also brought historically unhealthy air and smoke even to areas not near the fires. Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in the U.S. to climate change.

➤TOP AIDES TO TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL ACCUSE HIM OF BRIBERY, ABUSE OF OFFICE: Seven top aides to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have accused him of bribery, abuse of office and other offenses, according to a letter dated last Thursday that was obtained by the Austin American-Statesman and local TV station KVUE on Saturday. The letter was a notice to Paxton's office that the aides had reported the alleged offenses to law enforcement. Paxton's office denied the allegations to CNN, claiming the accusations were intended to obstruct and inquiry into alleged criminal behavior by other officials. The statement said, "Making false claims is a very serious matter and we plan to investigate this to the fullest extent of the law."


🏀HEAT TOP LAKERS 115-104 TO CUT L.A.'S NBA FINALS LEAD TO 2-1: The Miami Heat topped the L.A. Lakers 115-104 last night to cut the Lakers' NBA Finals lead to 2 games to 1. Jimmy Butler lead the Heat with a triple double, getting 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, just the third 40-point triple-double in NBA Finals history. Miami got the win with starters Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic out with injuries. Game 4 will be played Tuesday night.



🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 4: Here are the results of this weekend's NFL games:
  • Philadelphia Eagles 25, San Francisco 49ers 20
  • Cincinnati Bengals 33, Jacksonville Jaguars 25
  • Cleveland Browns 49, Dallas Cowboys 38
  • New Orleans Saints 35, Detroit Lions 29
  • Seattle Seahawks 31, Miami Dolphins 23
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38, Los Angeles Chargers 31
  • Baltimore Ravens 31, Washington Football Team 17
  • Carolina Panthers 31, Arizona Cardinals 21
  • Minnesota Vikings 31, Houston Texans 23
  • Los Angeles Rams 17, New York Giants 9
  • Indianapolis Colts 19, Chicago Bears 11
  • Buffalo Bills 30, Las Vegas Raiders 23

Tonight's Monday Night Football games:
  • New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs(7:05pm ET)CBS
  • Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers (8:50 pm ET) ESPN

Cam Newton
➤PATS-CHIEFS GAME MOVED TO TONIGHT AFTER NEWTON POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS; TWO MORE POSITIVES ON TITANS: The NFL postponed the game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs from Sunday  to tonight after New England starting quarterback Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta'amu tested positive for the coronavirus. The Pats and Chiefs will play at 7:05 p.m. ET on CBS, while the scheduled Atlanta Falcons-Green Bay Packers game on ESPN will move to 8:50 p.m. ET. 

Newton posted on Instagram that he'll use his time off to, quote, "get healthy and self reflect on the other amazing things that I should be grateful for." Meanwhile, another Tennessee Titans player, fullback Khari Blasingame, and a staffer tested positive for the coronavirus, AP reported, the sixth straight day at least one member of the Titans' organization has turned up positive. Tennessee has now had 20 cases, 18 of them since last Tuesday. The game the Titans were supposed to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday was rescheduled for October 25th. 

⚾MLB POSTSEASON: Division Play-offs start Monday


➤SWISS SKYDIVER WINS PREAKNESS: Swiss Skydiver won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, beating favored Authentic by a neck. There were no fans to watch, with the stands empty because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Preakness was the third leg of the Triple Crown this year, after races were switched around because of the pandemic. The Kentucky Derby was run four weeks earlier and the Belmont three-and-a-half months ago. There were three different winners in the three Triple Crown races, with Tiz the Law winning the Belmont and Authentic the Kentucky Derby.
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