Monday, October 26th, 2020
New COVID-19 Record, Early Winter Weather & Credit Scores Rising
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by MunkPack.com and NativeDeo.com/newsworthy (Listen for the discount codes)
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...
New One-Day COVID Record
The U.S. had its worst day for new COVID-19 cases within 24 hours. More than 85,000 new cases were reported around the country Friday. Another 84,000 new cases were reported Saturday. At rallies and on Twitter over the weekend, President Trump said cases are only going up because the amount of testing is going up. However, it’s important to note that the number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 has also increased by 40% in the last month. Some hospitals have reached capacity.
Read More: Vox, NY Times, WSJ, Johns Hopkins
El Paso Curfew
El Paso, Texas has seen hospitalizations spike 300% in the last three weeks. County authorities put a nightly curfew in effect. They are also asking people to stay home for the next two weeks, expect to work and vote. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says there are plans to build a makeshift medical facility at El Paso’s convention center. The state health department is also sending teams of medical professionals to help overwhelmed hospital staff. Curfews are also in effect in more populous areas like Chicago and Miami-Dade County.
Read More: Texas Tribune, NBC News, KFOX, WaPo
Pence Staffers Test Positive
Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short and four other Pence staffers tested positive for COVID-19. Short is experiencing symptoms and all five have gone into isolation. However, Pence decided not to quarantine. He’s still testing negative but has been in close contact with more than one of the sick personnel. Still, Pence is keeping up his travel schedule, since he has a lot of campaign events scheduled every day in the run-up to the election.
Read More: WSJ, USA Today, WaPo, CNN
Full Senate Vote on Amy Coney Barrett
It’s expected that by the end of the day today, the U.S. Supreme Court will have a new justice in Amy Coney Barrett. A final Senate vote is set for tonight. Republicans are celebrating early since it looks like they’ll have enough votes to approve her nomination. After a procedural vote yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “We made an important contribution to the future of the country.” Democrats disagree. Barrett is President Trump’s third nominee to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, as expected, the court will have a 6-3 conservative majority.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo, AP, Vox
Cyberattack in Louisiana
Louisiana has reportedly been dealing with a series of cyberattacks. Reuters says the Louisiana National Guard had to be called in to stop them. It’s not clear if hackers are looking to target the election system, or if they’re just hoping for a payday. Hackers have been using a type of malware that locks up systems and demands payments for the user to regain access. Officials say the cyberattacks were stopped before any harm. Investigations are still underway.
Read More: Reuters, Politico, New Orleans Advocate
Early Winter Weather
Millions of Americans are getting an early dose of winter weather this week. Cities from Bismark, North Dakota to Denver, Colorado, to San Angelo, Texas, and everywhere in between will see temperatures 25-40 degrees below normal today. Parts of the Rocky Mountains could pick up more than a foot of snow. The good news is the snow will help firefighters get ahead of some of the wildfires that have been burning in places like Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.
Read More: CNN, WaPo, Weather Channel
FB Prepares for Election Unrest
Facebook is preparing for the possibility of unrest in the aftermath of the election. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the social media network is readying emergency measures. For example, it could decide to slow the spread of certain viral posts or lower the bar for what kind of content is considered dangerous. The journal says these measures would only be activated in “dire circumstances,” but the tools have been used before in other countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Read More: WSJ, FOX Business
Tech CEOs to Testify Over Election
The CEOs of Facebook and Twitter are set to testify before lawmakers next month. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey will be grilled over how they’ve handled the election and why they’ve censored certain content. The hearing is set for November 17th, two weeks after Election Day.
Read More: The Verge, TechCrunch, CNN, U.S. Senate
First Black American Cardinal
Pope Francis named Archbishop Wilton Gregory, from Washington, D.C., the Catholic Church’s first Black American cardinal. He and 12 other men will officially become cardinals next month. Cardinal is ranked just below the pope. Archbishop Gregory has been an outspoken leader in the church or a while. He’s called on the U.S. Congress to help undocumented immigrants become citizens. He’s also been a supporter of the LGBTQ community, and he commissioned a climate action plan.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo, AP, Axios
Tennessee Titans Fined for COVID Violations
The Tennessee Titans are now facing a fine for breaking COVID-19 rules. The NFL ordered the team to pay $350,000. This is mainly because there were times people didn’t wear masks when they were supposed to. There also wasn’t enough communication about the rules outside team facilities. 24 people from the Titans tested positive for COVID-19 so far, forcing the league to reschedule games. The NFL is reportedly investigating the Las Vegas Raiders too for possible COVID-19 violations.
Read More: WaPo, AP, ESPN
AA to Give Customers 737 Max Tours
Before the Boeing 737 Max gets the official okay to fly, one airline wants to help people feel safe around it again. American Airlines will give customers tours of the plane at select airports. The tours will reportedly include pilots and mechanics too so people can ask them questions. The airlines says it will also set up calls and video chats between travelers and pilots. The 737 Max has been grounded for over a year after two deadly crashes. Boeing made several changes to the plane’s software. The aircraft could get the required FAA approval next month.
Read More: CNBC
Crews Gather ‘Murder Hornets’ from Nest
A team of researchers in Washington captured an entire nest of murder hornets. It had about 100-200 hornets inside. Scientists vacuumed them out. They had to wear thick, protective suits because the hornets have massive stingers and can spit venom. The insects are native to Asia but have turned up in the U.S. in recent months. Even though this first nest was destroyed, researchers say they’re sure there are more nests out there. They’ll keep hunting.
Read More: AP, CBS News, FOX News