Thursday, October 29, 2020

The AM Rundown: Zeta Storms Ashore


➤HURRICANE ZETA MAKES LANDFALL IN LOUISIANA AS CATEGORY 2 STORM: Hurricane Zeta made landfall in Louisiana yesterday afternoon as a strong Category 2 storm, coming ashore in the small town of Cocodrie in the southeastern part of the state with top sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. The fast-moving hurricane moved quickly across the New Orleans area and into Mississippi. Zeta brought strong winds and a storm surge as well as heavy rains as times, but because it was moving so rapidly, there wasn't much flooding from rainfall. It weakened over Alabama to a tropical storm as it headed northeast. At least one person was killed by Zeta, a New Orleans man electrocuted by a downed power line. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards will today tour coastal regions hardest hit by the storm, saying in a radio interview yesterday evening that the winds had caused extensive structural damage. Much of New Orleans and the surrounding area didn't have power last night. 
Zeta set a new record as the 11th named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in one season. 


 
➤TRUMP AND BIDEN BOTH IN TAMPA TODAY: With just five days left before the election, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will both be in the key swing state of Florida today, and both will be speaking in Tampa just hours apart. Biden voted in his home state of Delaware yesterday and also spoke in Wilmington, speaking about the coronavirus, the handling of which has been a central part of his criticism of Trump. Biden said, "Even if I win, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to end this pandemic I do promise this: We will start on day one doing the right things." Trump spoke at a rally yesterday in Arizona, continuing his focus on the economy as he said, "This election is a choice between a Trump super-recovery and a Biden depression."



➤PHILADELPHIA POLICE TO RELEASE 911 TAPES, BODY CAM FOOTAGE IN WALLACE'S FATAL SHOOTING: Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw yesterday pledged to release the 911 tapes and police body camera footage in the police shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man with a history of mental health problems. Wallace's family says he was having a mental health crisis and that they'd called for an ambulance Monday afternoon when police arrived and shot him when he wouldn't put down a knife he was wielding. Outlaw and Mayor Jim Kenney both pledged to addressed the lack of coordinated mental health services in the city. Wallace's death led to protests both Monday and Tuesday night that led to clashes with police and looting in another part of the city. City officials announced yesterday they would enact a curfew from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. and that the Pennsylvania National Guard would be deployed to help protect property and assist the police.

➤DOW JONES FALLS 943 POINTS, MOST SINCE JUNE, AMID RISING CORONAVIRUS CASES: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 943 points on Wednesday, the biggest one-day drop since mid-June, amid concerns about rising coronavirus cases and the effect on the economy. It was the fourth straight day of declines in the Dow. Coronavirus cases have risen by a record daily average of 71,832 over the past week, and coronavirus-related hospitalizations are up five percent or more in three dozen states, while cases are also surging in Europe.

➤FBI WARNS OF RANSOMWARE THREAT TO U.S. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: The FBI warned yesterday that cybercriminals are set to launch a wave of ransomware attacks on the U.S. healthcare system, which could hurt patient care. The attacks are aimed at locking up hospital information systems to make them inaccessible and then demanding money to release them. AP cited independent security experts as saying at least five U.S. hospitals have been attacked this week, and hundreds more could potentially be targeted in the attacks by a Russian-speaking criminal gang.


➤GIRL SCOUTS REMOVE POSTS AFTER CRITICISM: The Girl Scouts of America deleted posts from its Twitter and Facebook pages yesterday evening that congratulated Amy Coney Barrett on becoming a Supreme Court justice after they came under criticism. The post showed an image of Barrett along with the other four women who've been appointed to the nation's highest court, along with the caption: "Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the 5th woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789," and included an emoji of hands raised up. The post quickly drew a backlash, with critics including Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who tweeted: "What kind of patch does one earn for uplifting a woman who is the antithesis of justice?" But the post also got support, with one conservative woman tweeting: "Those of you bashing the organization, please remember there are conservatives that support Girl Scouts too. I was grateful to see the post in support of WOMEN, regardless of who they are." The Girl Scouts explained removing the post, saying that it was, quote, "quickly viewed as a political and partisan statement," which wasn't the intent. They added, "Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization. We are neither red nor blue, but Girl Scout GREEN. We are here to lift up girls and women."



⚾MLB: DODGERS' TURNER VIOLATED CORONAVIRUS PROTOCOLS WHEN RETURNED TO FIELD: Major League Baseball said Wednesday that L.A. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner violated the coronavirus protocols when he came back on the field to celebrate with his teammates after they won the World Series Tuesday night, including posing for the team photo, and refused directives from security to leave the field. Turner had been pulled after the seventh inning of the Series-winning game after his coronavirus test came back positive. MLB said it's starting a full investigation. The league said, "While a desire to celebrate is understandable, Turner’s decision to leave isolation and enter the field was wrong and put everyone he came in contact with at risk. When MLB Security raised the matter of being on the field with Turner, he emphatically refused to comply."

🎤WORLD SERIES RATINGS 32 PERCENT BELOW PREVIOUS LOW: The six-game World Series between the champion L.A. Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays had an average TV rating 32 percent below the previous low for a World Series. The games on Fox averaged a 5.2 rating, and the previous low was 7.6 for the San Francisco Giants’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in 2012. Ratings have been lower for sports overall this fall, possibly because of lower viewership during the pandemic and competition from election-related programming.

🏈REPORT: SUPER BOWL TO HAVE FANS AT 20 PERCENT CAPACITY: The NFL is expecting to have fans at the Super Bowl on its scheduled February 7th date, but their capacity will be set at 20 percent at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, ESPN reported yesterday. The report said the fans will sit in pods six feet apart and be required to wear face masks.

🎌NASCAR PLAYOFF RACE FINALLY COMPLETED, BUSCH WINS: After being delayed for three days because of bad weather, NASCAR's playoff race at Texas was finally completed Wednesday, and won by Kyle Busch. The race was stopped Sunday after 52 laps due to weather, and no racing was able to be done Monday or Tuesday. There are still three open spots for the four-driver championship race to join Joey Logano in the season finale at Phoenix. The only race before that is on Sunday at Martinsville.

🏈WISCONSIN CANCELS NEBRASKA GAME DUE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: Number 9 Wisconsin yesterday canceled its game against Nebraska and paused football activities for at least a week after six players and six staffers, including coach Paul Chryst, tested positive for the coronavirus. Wisconsin is the first Big Ten school to cancel a game due to the coronavirus since the league started its pandemic-delayed season five days ago. The news came following reports that quarterback Graham Mertz had tested positive twice, which would require him to sit out at least 21 days, and that backup quarterback Chase Wolf had tested positive at least once.

🏃2021 BOSTON MARATHON POSTPONED: Next year's Boston Marathon is being postponed, with organizers saying yesterday that it won't be run on its traditional Patriots Day date in April because of the coronavirus pandemic for a second straight year. The organizers said the marathon would be postponed at least until next fall. This year's Boston Marathon was originally postponed from April to September, but then canceled altogether two months later.
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