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Monday, October 19, 2020

The Rundown: Worst May Yet To Be


EX-FDA COMMISH WARNS CURRENT CORONAVIRUS WAVE LIKELY TO BE BIGGEST:
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned yesterday that the current surge of new coronavirus cases across the country, the fall surge that experts have been warning was coming, is likely to be the, quote, "biggest wave" we will have before a vaccine arrives. Gottlieb said on CBS' Face the Nation, "[I]t's probably likely to be the biggest wave that we endure without the benefit of a vaccinated population," and called it the "most difficult phase of this epidemic." Gottlieb said that 45 states have expanding epidemics, and that hospitalizations are rising in 42 states. 

There have been more than 219,600 deaths in the U.S. as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 8,154,000 confirmed cases.

➤TWITTER BLOCKS TRUMP ADVISOR POST THAT SAID MASKS DON'T WORK: Twitter blocked a post yesterday from Dr. Scott Atlas, a science adviser to President Trump, who suggested that face masks don't work to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Atlas, who joined the White House in August, had tweeted, "Masks work? NO," and said widespread use of masks isn't supported. The tweet violated Twitter's policy that bans sharing false or misleading misinformation about the coronavirus that could lead to harm. Atlas, a neuroradiologist who has no expertise in infectious diseases or public health, called Twitter's actions censorship. 

LA Times 10/19/20

➤TRUMP, BIDEN TRYING TO WIN STATES THE OTHER SIDE USUALLY DOES: With just over two weeks to go until the presidential election, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were both campaigning in states Sunday that their party hasn't won recently. Trump was in Nevada, which hasn't voted for a Republican president since 2004, and Biden was in North Carolina, which last voted for the Democratic nominee in 2008. Trump first visited the International Church of Las Vegas, where the senior associate pastor said God told her that morning that he would be re-elected. He held an evening rally in Carson City, where he bashed Biden for saying he'd listen to the scientists in dealing with the coronavirus, saying, "He’ll listen to the scientists. If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression." Biden held a virtual discussion with African-American faith leaders, and then held a drive-in rally in Durham. He blasted Trump for having said that the country has turned the corner on the pandemic, saying, "As my grandfather would say, this guy’s gone around the bend if he thinks we’ve turned the corner. Turning the corner? Things are getting worse." 

➤PELOSI OPTIMISTIC ON AID BILL DEAL, BUT SAYS HAS TO COME WITHIN 48 HOURS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC's This Week yesterday that although there are still differences with the administration on a new coronavirus relief package, she's optimistic legislation could be passed before Election Day. However, she said an agreement would have to be reached within 48 hours for that to happen. The person Pelosi has mainly been negotiating with for weeks, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is in the Middle East and won't be back until Tuesday, making that deadline difficult to meet. President Trump told reporters yesterday about a possible agreement, "I want to do it at a bigger number than [Pelosi] wants. That doesn't mean all the Republicans agree with me, but I think they will in the end." Senate Republicans have been objecting to passing another big relief bill. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will vote Wednesday on a $500 billion proposal, significantly smaller than what Mnuchin has offered or Pelosi wants, that will targeted at specific areas. But Democrats oppose such smaller bills, saying larger, more comprehensive legislation is needed.

Wall Street Journal 10/19/20

➤RALLIES IN FRANCE IN TRIBUTE TO TEACHER BEHEADED AFTER DISCUSSING MUHAMMAD CARICATURES IN CLASS: Rallies were held across France yesterday in tribute to 47-year-old history teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded near Paris on Friday after discussing caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad with his class. The demonstrators were also supporting free speech, with some holding signs that said, "I am Samuel," echoing the "I am Charlie" motto after the deadly 2015 attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo after it published Muhammad caricatures. The 18-year-old Chechen refugee who carried out the beheading was shot and killed by police. A Twitter account belonging to the suspect had posted a photo of Paty's decapitated head minutes after the attack with the message, "I have executed one of the dogs from hell who dared to put Muhammad down."


⚾DODGERS ARE NLCS CHAMPS AFTER 4-3 GAME 7 WIN, TO PLAY RAYS IN WORLD SERIES: The Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Championship Series last night with a 4-3 Game 7 win over the Atlanta Braves. They will play the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series starting tomorrow night after the Rays put away the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday. Cody Bellinger hit a tiebreaking solo home run for the Dodgers in the seventh inning that turned out to be the winning run as L.A. held on to get the win. The Dodgers came back to win the NLCS after having been down 3 games to 1 to the Braves. This is the third time in four years Los Angeles is going to the World Series, but they haven't won the championship since 1988.

🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 6:
  • Tennessee Titans 42, Houston Texans 36 (OT)
  • Indianapolis Colts 31, Cincinnati Bengals 27
  • Atlanta Falcons 40, Minnesota Vikings 23
  • Denver Broncos 18, New England Patriots 12
  • New York Giants 20, Washington Football Team 19
  • Baltimore Ravens 30, Philadelphia Eagles 28
  • Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Cleveland Browns 7
  • Chicago Bears 23, Carolina Panthers 16
  • Detroit Lions 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 16
  • Miami Dolphins 24, New York Jets 0
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38, Green Bay Packers 10
  • San Francisco 49ers 24, Los Angeles Rams 16
Tonight's games:
  • Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills (5:00 pm ET on Fox)
  • Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys (8:15 pm ET on ESPN)

🏈STEELERS' BUSH TO HAVE SEASON-ENDING SURGERY AFTER TEARING ACL:
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush will have to undergo season-ending surgery after tearing his ACL in the Steelers' 38-7 win yesterday over the Cleveland Browns, according to ESPN. Bush, who was drafted by the Steelers in 2019 with the Number 10 pick, was injured on a play near the end of the first half.

🏈FLORIDA COACH MULLEN POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: Florida football head coach Dan Mullen announced Saturday that he'd tested positive for the coronavirus, saying a first test was confirmed by a second. The 48-year-old said he was self-isolating and had "mild to no symptoms." The news came after Florida had at least 21 players and coaches test positive earlier in the week, which led to the postponement of its next two games. It also came after Mullen had said last week he wanted 90,000 fans packed into Florida's stadium against LSU, and doubled down for days before finally apologizing for making those comments amid the pandemic.

➤LOGANO WIN CLINCHES CUP SERIES FINALE SPOT: Joey Logano held off Kevin Harvick to win at Kansas Speedway yesterday and clinch a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series finale at Phoenix. It was the third win of the season for Logano and his first since the pandemic began. 

➤KOKRAK GETS FIRST PGA TOUR WIN IN 233 TOURNAMENTS: Jason Kokrak won the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas Sunday, getting his first PGA Tour victory in 233 tournaments over 10 seasons. The 35-year-old finished at 20-under 268, winning by two strokes over fellow American Xander Schauffele.

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