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Wednesday, October 7, 2020

The Rundown: Recovering Trump Stops Pandemic Relief


President Trump was continuing to improve in his Covid-19 recovery on Tuesday, his first full day back at the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center, with his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, saying in a letter than Trump had a "restful" night Monday and, quote, "reports no symptoms."

As he recovered, Trump was back to sending out a stream of tweets, including one in which he said he was stopping ongoing negotiations between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a new coronavirus relief package and said there'd be no action on aid legislation before the election. That announcement came not long after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said such relief was essential for the economic recovery, and Trump's announcement caused stocks to immediately plunge. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden blasted Trump, saying in a statement, "Make no mistake: if you are out of work, if your business is closed, if your child’s school is shut down, if you are seeing layoffs in your community, Donald Trump decided today that none of that -- none of it -- matters to him." Trump appeared to pull back a few hours later, tweeting that he'd sign legislation sending another $1,200 stimulus check to Americans, as well as $25 billion for airlines and $135 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses. Pelosi has been opposed to passing piecemeal items instead of a comprehensive aid package.

 

Meanwhile, the White House cluster of coronavirus cases continued to expand, with Stephen Miller, a top Trump policy adviser and speechwriter, testing positive. Additionally, the nation's top military leaders including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, and the vice chairman, General John Hyten, were in quarantine after being exposed to Admiral Charles W. Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, who tested positive on Monday. 

Newsday 10/7/2020

➤VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE TONIGHT BETWEEN PENCE AND HARRIS: The lone vice presidential debate will be held tonight in Salt Lake City, Utah, between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Senator Kamala Harris. Pence and Harris will be 12.25 feet apart on stage and separated by plexiglass barriers as protection against the spread of the coronavirus, and all audience members will be required to wear a mask. There have been questions about whether Pence should participate because of his exposure to President Trump and others who've tested positive, but he's repeatedly tested negative and his staff and doctors say he doesn't need to quarantine, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

➤FDA PUBLISHES VACCINE GUIDELINES DESPITE WHITE HOUSE EFFORTS TO BLOCK: The Food and Drug Administration released updated safety guidelines for coronavirus vaccine candidates yesterday despite efforts by the White House to block them. Doing so clears the way for requirements that are expected to prevent any vaccine being approved before Election Day. The new guidelines that the FDA posted on its website advise vaccine makers that trial participants should be followed for at least two months to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective before seeking emergency approval. 

Weather.com graphic

➤HURRICANE DELTA HEADED FOR MEXICO LANDFALL, THEN WILL TARGET U.S.: After rapidly intensifying on Tuesday Hurricane Delta is heading for a landfall on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula south of Cancun this morning as a dangerous Category 3 storm with winds of 120 miles per hour. Delta is then expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico, where it will re-strengthen and take aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast, with Louisiana in its sights for a late Friday or early Saturday landfall.

➤REPORT: WHITE SUPREMACISTS BIGGEST DOMESTIC TERROR THREAT: The Department of Homeland Security's first annual homeland threat assessment says that white supremacist extremists are the deadliest domestic terror threat to the U.S. The report said white supremacists have since 2018 conducted more deadly attacks in the U.S. than any other domestic extremist movement, targeting racial and religious minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, politicians and those they believe promote multi-culturalism and globalization. The report also speaks out the exploitation of nationwide protests what it calls anti-government and anarchist groups. It says a significant increase in violence against law enforcement and government symbols in 2020 has been in part linked to an influence of anarchist ideology.

➤TEXAS POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SHOOTING OF BLACK MAN: A 22-year-old white police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Jonathan Price, a 31-year-old Black man, at a convenience stores in the town of Wolfe City, Texas, Saturday night after a reported disturbance. The Texas Rangers said in a statement that Price was walking away from Officer Shaun Lucas when Lucas opened fire, killing him. Lucas' attorney stated that his client fired, quote, "when he was confronted with an aggressive assailant who was attempting to take his" stun gun. The Rangers' statement said Lucas responded to a disturbance call following a report of a possible fight. He encountered Price, who was reportedly involved in the disturbance, and who, quote, "resisted in a non-threatening posture and began walking away." Lucas used a stun gun before fatally shooting Price. Officials haven't released details about the disturbance, but AP cited family and friends of Price as saying he was intervening in a domestic disturbance.



🏀LAKERS BEAT HEAT 102-96 TO TAKE 3-1 NBA FINALS LEAD: The L.A. Lakers beat the Miami Heat 102-96 last night to take a 3 games to 1 NBA Finals lead, putting them one win away from a 17th NBA championship. LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points and Anthony Davis had 22 points, including a key three-pointer with 39.5 seconds left. The Heat's Jimmy Butler had 22 points and Tyler Herro had 21. Game 5 will be played Friday night. [Look in "Last Night's TV" audio for sound from the game.]


⚾MLB PLAYOFFS: Results from Division Series yesterday:
  • Houston Astros 5, Oakland A's 2 -- Houston leads series 2 games to (AL)
  • Atlanta Braves 9, Miami Marlins 5 -- Atlanta leads series 1 game to 0 (NL)
  • Tampa Bay Rays 7, New York Yankees 5 -- Series tied at 1-1 (AL)
  • L.A. Dodgers 5, San Diego Padres 1 -- L.A. leads 1 game to 0 (NL)

🏀STORM WIN WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 92-59 WIN TO SWEEP ACES: The Seattle Storm beat the Las Vegas Aces 92-59 last night to complete a three-game sweep for the WNBA championship, the Storm's second in three years and fourth in franchise history. Breanna Stewart, who scored 26 points, won the WNBA Finals MVP, the second time the 26-year-old has won it in her career.

🎾NADAL WINS, THIEM, SVITOLINA UPSET IN FRENCH OPEN QUARTERFINALS: Second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain won his quarterfinal match at the French Open Tuesday, beating unseeded Jannik Sinner of Italy in straight sets. Third-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria was upset in the other men's quarterfinal, falling to Number 12 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in a five-set loss. In the day's two women's quarterfinals, third-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine was upset by unseeded Nadia Podoroska of Argentina in straight sets, and Poland's Iga Swiatek defeated Italian Martina Trevisan, both of them unseeded, also in a straight-set loss.

🏒NHL LOOKING TO START NEXT SEASON ON JANUARY 1ST: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last night that the league is aiming to start the new season on January 1st. That could potentially mean kicking off the season with the annual Winter Classic that's played on New Year's Day. Bettman has said the NHL hopes each team will be able to play a full 82-game schedule. Last season, which was shut down for months because of the pandemic, just ended on September 28th when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup championship over the Dallas Stars.

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