Tuesday, October 20, 2020

The Rundown: U-S Passes 220K COVID-19 Deaths


WORLD CASES TOP 40 MILLION: The U.S. passed 220,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Monday, 19.7 percent of the world's reported fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, which also has the number of confirmed cases at more than 8,214,000. At the same time, the number of global cases passed 40 million yesterday, although the actual total is likely significantly higher, since widespread testing hasn't been available, many people are asymptomatic, and some governments have hidden the real counts. The U.S., Brazil and India have reported the highest number of cases.

Meanwhile, President Trump, on a call with his presidential campaign staff yesterday, blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist who's become a trusted figure amid the pandemic. He said, "People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots. Every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb. But there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him. But Fauci’s a disaster." Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign praised Fauci in response and criticized Trump for what it called "reckless and negligent leadership." 

➤CANDIDATE MICS TO BE MUTED AT TIME DURING DEBATE: The Commission on Presidential Debates announced yesterday that President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will have their microphones muted during parts of their final debate on Thursday. The step is being taken after constant interruptions during the candidates' first debate last month, mostly by Trump of Biden, made it frequently difficult to follow what was being said. Trump and Biden's microphones will be muted only during two-minute opening remarks at the start of each 15-minute segment of the 90-minute debate. They won't be muted the rest of the time to allow an open discussion, with the Commission saying it hopes, quote, "the candidates will be respectful of each other’s time, which will advance civil discourse for the benefit of the viewing public." Trump's campaign complained about the change, but said the president will still take part in the debate. There were supposed to be three presidential debates, but Trump backed out of the second one planned for last week after the Commission changed it to a virtual format following his illness with the coronavirus. Trump and Biden ended up both having separate televised town halls at the same time instead.

➤SENATE TO HOLD WEEKEND SESSION, AIMING TO CONFIRM BARRETT BY MONDAY: The Republican-led Senate is planning to hold a rare weekend session, moving quickly towards confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by as soon as next Monday. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday (October 19th) that he'll begin the process as soon as the Senate Judiciary Committee votes Thursday on whether to send Barrett's nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer slammed what he called a "farcical" process, saying, "The Republican majority is running the most hypocritical, most partisan and least legitimate process in the history of Supreme Court confirmations." 


➤SUPREME COURT ALLOWS PENNSYLVANIA TO COUNT MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED UP TO THREE DAYS AFTER ELECTION: The Supreme Court yesterday divided 4-4 on an issue related to Pennsylvania's counting of mail-in ballots, the tie allowing the state Supreme Court's ruling to stand that requires mail-in ballots to be counted if they arrive up to three days after Election Day, November 3rd. Republicans had challenged the three-day extension, but Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the three liberal justices in rejecting the challenge. Because late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat has not yet been filled, the high court currently only has eight members. Eighteen states have a post-Election Day deadline for mail-in ballots. 




➤U.S. CHARGES SIX RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS IN BROAD HACKING CAMPAIGN: The Justice Department announced charges yesterday against six Russian intelligence officers for a broad hacking campaign involving cyberattacks that targeted, among other things, the 2017 French presidential election, the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, Ukraine's power grid, and U.S. businesses. The Russian intelligence unit involved, GRU, is the same one that interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections. Prosecutors said the cyberattacks were aiming at furthering Russia's global political interests and destabilizing or punishing its perceived enemies. FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich said, "Time and again, Russia has made it clear: They will not abide by accepted norms, and instead, they intend to continue their destructive, destabilizing cyber behavior." None of the six people charged are in custody. 

➤DISNEY ADDING RACIAL STEREOTYPE WARNINGS TO SOME CLASSICS: Disney is adding a warning at the start of some of its mostly older movies on its Disney-Plus streaming service, according to the New York Times. The 12-second, unskippable warning will say: "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together." The warning appears before Dumbo, Peter Pan, Aladdin, The Aristocats, Fantasia, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp and Swiss Family Robinson. The warning also shows a website where viewers can see some of the problematic scenes explained. In one example, the site says one cat in The Aristocats is shown as, quote, "a racist caricature of East Asian peoples with exaggerated stereotypical traits such as slanted eyes and buck teeth," and in another, Dumbo, the site says a group of crows, quote, "pay homage to racist minstrel shows."



🏈CARDINALS, CHIEFS WIN MONDAY NFL GAMES: The Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs won in the two NFL games played last night, one of which had been rescheduled due to the coronavirus. The Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-10, with quarterback Kyler Murray throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for a third in the scheduled Monday Night Football game. Andy Dalton started in his first game at quarterback for the Cowboys in place of Dak Prescott, who suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle during a game against the New York Giants on October 11th. 



The Chiefs downed the Buffalo Bills 26-17 in game that had originally been scheduled for last Thursday, but that was moved because the Bills had played in a delayed game Tuesday against the Tennessee Titans, who had a Covid outbreak. Rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 161 yards rushing for the Chiefs, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for two touchdowns. The first was the 90th of his career, which he reached in his 37th game, breaking the NFL record that had been held by Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who reached 90 touchdowns in 40 games.

⚾WORLD SERIES BEGINS TONIGHT BETWEEN RAYS AND DODGERS: The World Series begins tonight between the Tampa Bay Rays and L.A. Dodgers, which will be entirely played at the neutral ground of Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers' new home, amid the coronavirus pandemic. There will be some fans allowed, but only around 11,000, about 28 percent of capacity. This is the Dodgers' third trip to the World Series in four years, but they last won in 1988. Tampa Bay has only been in World Series once, in 2008, when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. The championship series will cap a coronavirus-shortened season in which the teams played a 60-game regular season.

➤LARSON CAN RETURN TO NASCAR NEXT SEASON AFTER SUSPENSION: Kyle Larson will be allowed to return to competition next season after he was punished by NASCAR with a long suspension for using the n-word in April while playing an online racing game in which viewers could follow along. In addition to his suspension, Larson was dropped by his sponsors and fired by Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson, who has been going through diversity programs over the past six months, applied for reinstatement last week and it was approved on Monday. 


🎤HOCKEY BROADCASTING LEGEND EMRICK RETIRING: Hockey broadcasting legend Mike "Doc" Emrick announced Monday that he's retiring after 50 years. The 74-year-old has called 22 Stanley Cup Finals, six Winter Olympics, has worked NHL games on NBC and NBC Sports for 15 years, and was the play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils for 21 years, among other accomplishments in his career. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.
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