"NASA is set to announce on Monday what its calling 'an exciting new discovery' about Earth's moon… The space agency was tightlipped about further details, but did drop a clue."
"The oil company ConocoPhillips had a problem… It wanted to pump 160,000 more barrels of oil each day from a new project on Alaska’s North Slope. But the fossil fuels it and others produce are leading to global heating, and the Arctic is melting. The firm’s drilling infrastructure could be at risk atop thawing and unstable permafrost… A recent environmental review of the project describes the company’s solution: cooling devices that will chill the ground beneath its structures, insulating them from the effects of the climate crisis."
"The U.S. set a record Thursday as the number of new coronavirus cases rose to over 77,000, topping the previous record in July… Nationwide, 77,640 new cases were reported for the day, up from the previous record of 75,723 on July 29, according to the latest tally compiled by NBC News." Here it comes again.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has broadened the definition of what it means to be a 'close contact' of a person with COVID-19… Previous language defined a close contact as someone who spent at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of a person with a confirmed case… The CDC now defines a close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period." People seem to be wondering why the change. I guess they forget that one school system, to nominally maintain compliance with the "15 minutes or less" rule, mandated that students should change seats every 14 minutes.
"Settles was also uninsured and had just been sent home from an emergency room for the second time, and he was worried about medical bills. An investigation into his death found that, like many uninsured COVID-19 patients, he had never been told that cost shouldn't be a concern."
"Tens of millions more people across Europe face tougher coronavirus restrictions going into the weekend as countries across the region battle to bring down rising infection rates."
"But recent studies suggest that for-profit ownership may have endangered residents by skimping on care, while funneling cash to owners and investors… A chain of Midwestern nursing homes called Aperion Care provides a good example of the way for-profit nursing homes are run and why that business model is is coming under scrutiny in the wake of the pandemic. Their 45 facilities, mostly in Illinois and Indiana, get low ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), the federal agency that regulates nursing homes. Out of a possible 5 stars, most Aperion Care homes get just one or 2. They also get low marks for nurse staffing."
"A Black teen was killed and a woman was injured Tuesday night after a Waukegan police officer shot into a car that allegedly reversed toward him." Note that neither in the initial stop, or the subsequent stop do they say the police identified themselves or the reason why they believed the vehicle was "suspicious."
"Pope Francis’ call for legal recognition of same-sex relationships has raised both hope and doubts among LGBTQ Catholics."
"After fits and starts, the negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the White House's chief negotiator, have hit another roadblock with aides behind the scenes telling CNN that while the prospects for a deal Monday were always slim, they are growing harder to imagine now." This is my shocked face.
"For families living in or at the edge of poverty, the effects of the pandemic have been especially devastating. While child care centers and schools are closed and safety nets disintegrate under enormous demand, families that have been thrust into poverty see little hope of getting out. Meeting basic needs such as food and shelter has become a daily challenge; many are one eviction notice away from homelessness. Parents go without food to feed their children, relying heavily on free lunches from schools and food banks, many of which have strained to meet demand."
How goes Brexit? "Britain and Japan have formally signed a trade agreement, marking the UK's first big post-Brexit deal… The deal, unveiled last month, means nearly all its exports to Japan will be tariff free while removing British tariffs on Japanese cars by 2026."
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not answer questions about his health Thursday, only saying there were 'no concerns' after reporters asked him about what appeared to be bruises and bandages on his hands in recent days." Looks like circulation issues.
"A North Carolina man searched earlier this year for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s home online, traveled near the home and wrote a checklist that ended with the word “execute,” according to federal court documents… The information was contained in documents related to a detention hearing for Alexander Hillel Treisman, who was indicted last month on child abuse imagery charges, held in US district court in Durham. A magistrate, in an order signed 8 October, ordered Treisman to remain in custody." Put that in your QAnon pipe and smoke it. The article is a little sensational. But it demonstrates that the whackaloon quotient is off the charts.
Same guy, but some more details… "A man was arrested in Kannapolis with a van full of guns and explosives with plans to carry out an act of terrorism, including trying to assassinate Joe Biden."
"This face-off in Hailey, Idaho, wasn't a typical debate night. Beforehand, incumbent state Sen. Michelle Stennett, a Democrat, had sought assurances for her safety, fearing riled-up supporters of her Republican opponent, Eric Parker. He, in turn, posted guards outside to avoid a ruckus like the one at a recent GOP picnic. That time, a heckler interrupted Parker's speech to call him a domestic terrorist." It's a kinder, gentler militia leader. Fuck this guy, specifically.
"Five states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Oregon — have the highest risk of seeing increased militia activity around the elections: everything from demonstrations to violence… That's the conclusion of a new report by ACLED, a crisis-mapping project, and the research group MilitiaWatch. They worked together to map out potential hot spots for militia-style activities around the elections."
"In a foreword, Wolf wrote that he was 'particularly concerned about white supremacist violent extremists who have been exceptionally lethal in their abhorrent, targeted attacks in recent years. [They] seek to force ideological change in the United States through violence, death, and destruction.'"
The election threat report that flagged the vulnerability was written by cybersecurity experts at the cybersecurity firm RiskIQ and by Northrop Grumman, and compared voter registration websites around the country with those that appeared to have been hacked in 2016… The report makes clear that the threat today is hypothetical, and had no evidence of a current attack on American elections. U.S. intelligence officials contacted by NPR before last night's announcement, who read the contents of the report, agreed however that voter registration websites are a favored target of foreign hackers for a simple reason: They can be an easy target." Wow, we're starting with "the cat is on the roof" early this year.
"In an unusual move he had been teasing for days, President Trump on Thursday released his recent, unaired interview with the CBS News program '60 Minutes,' in which he complains repeatedly about the questions he is asked before abruptly ending the discussion." The whiner-in-chief releases the video.
"With less than two weeks until Election Day, more than 50 million people have already voted, and elections experts predict historic rates of turnout this cycle…It's possible that 85 million people could vote before Nov. 3, with 150 million voting in total. That would mean an eligible voter turnout rate of more than 62%." 62%. Historic. I wouldn't be happy, America. That's still pretty dismal compared to other countries.
"President Donald Trump won the final debate against Democrat Joe Biden, but that’s not going to be enough to get him reelected, Republican pollster and strategist Frank Luntz told CNBC on Friday." The president wasn't completely unhinged last night, so they're declaring victory. Also fuck Frank Luntz. He's an asshole and has been since he was a marketing person group testing phrases for the GOP in the early 90s.
"Election-related lawsuits have proliferated this election cycle. According to the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, which tracks Covid-19-related election litigation, almost 400 lawsuits have already been filed this election cycle. There are more than 35 lawsuits in the battleground state of Michigan, about 28 lawsuits in Texas in both the federal and state courts, almost 20 in Pennsylvania (which could be the state that decides the election) and 10 lawsuits in North Carolina, which President Donald Trump most likely also needs to win if he is to have any shot at re-election." Fighting in the courts. And here you have a template for how the GOP will try to win elections going forward as their base dwindles.
"President Donald Trump’s campaign spent some time last week surveilling and videotaping voters dropping off mail ballots at Philadelphia City Hall, prompting some swift pushback from Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor… Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, in a statement, warned Trump that his campaign’s actions are not covered by the state’s Election Code provisions for poll watching."
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