Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The AM Rundown: Election Day Finally Arrives

11/03/20

Election Day has arrived, with voters who haven't already cast their ballots early finally getting to have their say after a long campaign that ended with President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden holding their final events last night. 

Nearly 100 million Americans have already voted, either via early voting or mail-in ballots, a number that's much higher than usual due to people wanting to avoid long lines and crowded polling places amid the coronavirus pandemic. Biden ended the race holding on to a nationwide average lead in the polls in the upper single digits and with more paths to reaching 270 Electoral College votes for the win than Trump. But Biden's polling lead was narrower in the key battleground states, and Trump still had a chance to again pull off an upset. Control of the Senate is also on the ballot, with Democrats having the possibly of taking the majority from the Republicans if they have a net gain of three seats if Biden wins, or four seats if Trump gets a second term. Democrats are expected to retain control of the House. The presidential result may not be known tonight and could potentially take days, with so many more mail-in votes to count, and some states not legally allowed to begin counting them until Election Day, even if they came in earlier. 



Two tiny communities in New Hampshire cast their ballots just after midnight. In Dixville Notch, where it's a 60-year Election Day tradition, Biden got all five of the votes. Meanwhile, in nearby Millsfield, Trump got 16 votes and Biden got five. A third community that usually does midnight voting, Hart's Location, suspended it this year because of the coronavirus, and will vote later in the day.

➤BIRX URGES 'AGGRESSIVE' ACTION AGAINST CORONAVIRUS IN INTERNAL REPORT: Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, raised alarms Monday in an internal report about the new surge of the coronavirus, urging, quote, "much more aggressive action," the Washington Post reported yesterday. Birx said in the report, "We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic . . . leading to increasing mortality. This is not about lockdowns -- It hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April. It’s about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being implemented." The Post cited an administration official who works with Birx and says her increasingly urgent reports aren't getting much response, stating, "She feels like she’s being ignored." The "aggressive action" urged in her latest report includes on messaging, testing, and sending personnel around the country, quote, "before the crisis point," as well as, quote, "consistent messaging about uniform use of masks, physical distancing and hand washing with profound limitation on indoor gatherings especially with family and friends."


➤FIVE KILLED IN VIENNA TERROR ATTACK: Five people were killed and 17 wounded in terror attack in Vienna, Austria, yesterday evening. Among the dead was a suspect in the shooting attack, who had an assault rifle and a fake suicide vest, and was shot and killed by police. Officials said initial indications are that the suspect had sympathized with the Islamic State. Authorities were still trying to determine if other attackers may have been involved and are still at large. The attacks began near Vienna's main synagogue as many people were out for a last night before a month-long coronavirus lockdown. Social media footage showed a gunman apparently shooting people at random.

➤$2 MILLION BAIL SET FOR 17-YEAR-OLD ACCUSED IN KILLING OF TWO MEN IN KENOSHA: Bail was set a $2 million yesterday for Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois 17-year-old accused in the killing of two men during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August following the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse is also charged with wounding a third man. He was extradited to Wisconsin on Friday and made his initial court appearance yesterday. The attorney for Rittenhouse, who is also facing charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and being a minor in possession of a firearm, claims he fired in self-defense. Some on the right have championed Rittenhouse, and a legal defense fund has raised millions of dollars in donations.

🏈BUCCANEERS DOWN GIANTS 25-23: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers downed the New York Giants 25-23 in Monday Night Football last night at the Giants' MetLife Stadium. Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady went 28 of 40 for 279 yards and threw for two touchdowns, and Ryan Succop kicked four field goals, including one for 38 yards with 3:41 left that turned out to be the game's deciding points. 



🏈RAVENS' HUMPHREY HAS CORONAVIRUS, OTHER TEAMS REPORT POSITIVE TESTS: Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said Monday that he'd tested positive for the coronavirus, tweeting, "I got the Rona hopefully I’ll be back healthy soon." Several other NFL teams also reported positive tests: a Green Bay Packers player who is reportedly running back AJ Dillon; two Arizona Cardinals players, one of whom is linebacker Devon Kennard; and a Cleveland Browns player experiencing "Covid-19-related" symptoms.

🏈49ERS GAROPPOLO, KITTLE OUT INDEFINITELY: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tight end George Kittle are both out indefinitely after suffering injuries in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks that forced them to leave in the fourth quarter, according to reports Monday. Garoppolo reportedly aggravated his high right ankle sprain and is expected to be out for at least six weeks, and possibly longer if he needs surgery. Kittle has a broken bone in his foot and will be sidelined for about eight weeks.

🏀SILVER PUSHING FOR NBA TO START NEW SEASON BEFORE CHRISTMAS: Commissioner Adam Silver is pushing for the NBA to start its new season before Christmas, saying on a conference call with the league's general managers yesterday that, quote, "time is running out" on the possibility of starting by the holiday, and that hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue could be lost if it doesn't happen. The Players Association has been reluctant to agree to a December 22nd start, after the coronavirus-delayed season just ended in mid-October, and to a reduced 72-game regular season. The union has expressed a preference to start in mid-January. 


🏈SEC FINES FLORIDA COACH MULLEN $25K FOR BRAWL: The SEC announced Monday (November 2nd) that it had fined Florida coach Dan Mullen $25,000 for his role in Saturday's brawl with Missouri. The fight began between players as both teams were heading toward the locker rooms at halftime. Soon after it ended, Mullen appeared to hype up the home crowd on his way to the tunnel, and eventually returned to the field for more. Florida beat Missouri, 41-17.
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