Monday, October 12th, 2020
Trump Restarts Rallies, Controversial Federal Holiday & 2020 NBA Champs
All the news you need in about 10 min:
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Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want to review the latest happenings...
Trump Rallies this Week
President Trump is heading back out on the campaign trail for the first time since his COVID-19 diagnosis became public. He’s headed to Central Florida for a rally today. He’ll also make campaign stops in Pennsylvania tomorrow, Iowa on Wednesday, and other parts of Florida later in the week. Axios says President Trump hopes to be on the road every day until Election Day.
Read More: Orlando Sentinel, Axios, The Hill
Trump’s Doctor Gives Update
President Trump’s doctor says Trump is no longer at risk of infecting others, so he was cleared to come out of isolation. However, it’s still not clear if the president has taken a coronavirus test that’s come back negative. Other medical experts have voiced concerns about the president returning to the campaign trail. One infectious disease specialist told the Wall Street Journal Dr. he would recommend the president isolate for 20 days, which the CDC recommends for severe cases.
Read More: WSJ, USA Today, Politico, Full Memo
Trump Holds White House Event
President Trump says he feels good and is no longer taking any medications. Over the weekend, he went out on a White House balcony to talk to hundreds of his supporters. They were encouraged to wear masks. However, many didn’t. During his speech, President Trump called Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden a socialist. He also said the coronavirus will “disappear” soon and he urged his supporters to vote.
Read More: NY Times, CNN, WaPo
Coronavirus Cases Set Records
New coronavirus infections are still on the rise in more than half of the U.S. Over the weekend, health officials reported the highest number of new cases in almost two months. There were four days in a row of more than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and six states set new records for single-day increases: Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Dr. Deborah Birx says the rise is likely due to people taking their guards down around family and friends.
Read More: CNN, NBC News, NY Times, Johns Hopkins
Judge Amy Coney Barrett Hearings Begin
Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be on Capitol Hill today to talk with the Senate Judiciary Committee. It’s the start of the Senate confirmation process, which is necessary for Barrett to become a Supreme Court justice. Barrett released a written version of her planned opening statement yesterday. It seems she plans to talk about her seven children and praise legal mentors, like the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. After opening statements today, Senators will ask Barrett questions tomorrow and Wednesday.
Read More: CBS News, CNBC, FOX News, Axios, Watch Live
Hurricane Delta Impacts
Hurricane Delta tore through the U.S. Gulf Coast over the weekend. The National Weather Service says what’s left of the storm could end up bringing heavy rain to parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Flash flooding is possible in some areas. Already, one Louisiana man died in the storm. Parts of southwestern Louisiana got up to 17 inches of rain and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the area are still without power. Still, Hurricane Delta did not bring as much damage as Hurricane Laura did, in that same area, six weeks ago.
Read More: NBC News, Weather Channel, FEMA
Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Today is a federal holiday known by a couple of different names. Traditionally, it’s Columbus Day, marking Christopher Columbus’ voyage to America. Many Italian American organizations say this is a time to celebrate their ethnic heritage. However, many historians have concluded that Columbus wasn’t the first person to discover the Americas and Native Americans had been living here for centuries earlier. Now, many cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Read More: CNN, WSJ, Smithsonian
Lakers Win the NBA Championship
The Los Angeles Lakers are now the 2020 NBA Champions. They defeated the Miami Heat 106-90 last night in game six. The victory marks the Lakers first championship win in a decade and the team’s 17th championship overall, tying the Boston Celtics for a record number of NBA titles. The Heat did give the Lakers a run for their money in the NBA Finals, but in the end, they were outmatched by Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the Lakers.
Read More: CBS News, ESPN, KNBC
French Open Winners
Rafael Nadal beat out a top rival, Novak Djokovic, to win this year’s French Open. This is Nadal’s 20th Grand Slam title, tying Roger Federer’s record. Afterward, Djokovic said Nadal played a “perfect match.” On the woman’s side, an unlikely winner came out on top. 19-year-old Iga Swiatek, who is ranked 54th, took home the trophy. She beat the fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin. This was Swiatek’s first tour-level title.
Rafael Nadal Wins for Men: CNN, USA Today, WaPo
Iga Swiatek Wins for Women: SI, NY Times, AP
Yelp Labeling Businesses Accused of Racism
Yelp is now labeling businesses accused of racist behavior. The site will put an alert on a business page when there’s clear evidence from racist actions from the business owner or an employee. That includes the use of racial slurs or symbols. The alerts will reportedly only be used in rare circumstances. They will include a news article from a credible outlet so people can learn more about the incident. The new feature is now live.
Read More: Engadget, NPR, Yelp
TikTok Star Gets New Truck
A skateboarder and his bottle of Ocean Spray have made a big impression on TikTok. Nathan Apodaca posted a video of himself leisurely skating and sipping from a jug of juice while lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” The song, which first came out in 1977, has since soared on the Billboard charts once again. Nearly 8.5 million people streamed “Dreams” in the U.S., up 125% from the week before. Also, Ocean Spray gifted Apodaca with a brand new truck, loaded with cans and bottles of his favorite drink.
Read More: TMZ, NPR, Today, Billboard, TikTok
Monday Monday: Holiday Shopping Starting Early
This year, stores like Macy’s, Best Buy, and Target are rolling out holiday shopping deals early in hopes of avoiding massive crowds at Christmas. They are also hoping to avoid getting overwhelmed by a surge of last-minute online orders. Usually, the holiday shopping season doesn’t officially start until the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. But this year, deals are starting today. Also, Amazon Prime Day starts tomorrow.
Read More: AP, NBC News