Used masks and gloves are ending up in the oceans, so remember to dispose of your pandemic PPE properly!
Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.
(You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)
The pandemic is getting so bad again in Europe, France and Germany have both announced new four-week partial lockdowns to curb the spread. Under the French lockdown, people will need a certificate to move around, and non-essential businesses, restaurants and bars will be closed. German restaurants, bars and clubs will also be closed in order to, as Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “avoid a national health emergency” as new daily cases hit a record high. The Czech Republic is also in dire straits and has the highest new infection rate and Covid-19 death rate in the EU. Meanwhile, Mexico’s reported Covid-19 death toll has surpassed 90,000, and India’s case total has surged past 8 million. Only the US has had more cases, with 8.8 million.
The Supreme Court has decided that North Carolina can count votes for up to nine days after the election, as long as ballots were postmarked by Election Day. The court preserved a similar state ruling in Pennsylvania, allowing the counting of ballots received up to three days after next Tuesday, even if there is no legible postmark. Those are wins for Democrats, but they also are reminders of an uncomfortable truth: We may not have a clear presidential victor on election night. In Nebraska, another kind of uncertainty reigned this week: After President Trump’s rally there, hundreds of supporters were stranded in the dark for hours because buses had trouble getting through a clogged road to the remote rally site. Meantime, Joe Biden held a virtual public health briefing yesterday and said mask wearing is “not political. It’s patriotic. … Wear one, period.”
The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and a lawyer for the ex-police officer charged in connection with the raid that left killed Breonna Taylor dead are arguing against releasing investigative materials from the case to the public. The Louisville Courier-Journal has asked for discovery materials to be filed as part of the court’s public record. They say the public deserves to know how the case is being handled. A grand jury indicted former Officer Brett Hankison for first-degree wanton endangerment for allegedly shooting through Taylor’s home in March. He has pleaded not guilty. In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam has signed police overhaul legislation that includes a ban on no-knock warrants. Taylor’s case brought new scrutiny of the controversial tactic, and three states so far have banned it.
The CEOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday in the latest clash between lawmakers and big tech giants. Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey were grilled about their content moderation policies as part of a discussion about the Communications Decency Act, a law that limits platforms’ liability for content posted by users and allows them to freely moderate content. Republicans want to limit the scope of this law and spent the hearing accusing the platforms of liberal bias — a claim no major research has been able to support. Meanwhile, Democrats called out the CEOs for what they see as their failure to moderate hate speech and disinformation.
Zeta hit Louisiana as a Category 2 storm yesterday, leaving millions of people on the Gulf Coast without power and causing at least two deaths. It’s since weakened to a tropical storm, but because of its speed, it will likely stay strong as it travels over the Southeast today. About 38 million people are under a tropical storm warning early this morning as Zeta makes its way near metro Atlanta (where we can feel it, sitting in the basement without power) and other inland cities. Zeta is the 27th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, one shy of tying the record for the most storms in a season.
Check your local forecast here>>>
Knife attack in France
At least two people have been killed in a knife attack at a church in the southern French city of Nice. A suspect has been taken into custody, according to Nice’s mayor, who said “everything points” to the incident being terrorism-related. Follow live updates here.
LA Dodgers’ Justin Turner pulled mid-game during World Series after testing positive for Covid-19, but then returned to the field to celebrate
It wouldn’t be a true 2020 event without some chaotic, pandemic-related controversy.
Even vampire bats know to socially distance when they get sick, study says
Panera is adding pizza to its menu
You can never have enough breadstuffs.
Juno mission observes ‘sprites’ dancing in Jupiter’s atmosphere
Fun fact of the day: “Sprites” and “elves” are types of quick, bright flashes of light. They happen on Earth, too.
Kim Kardashian West humbly threw a party on a private island, and the internet is having a field day
“The proof is in the poop.”
Rosa Inchausti, a city official in Tempe, Arizona, which is testing its sewage for evidence of coronavirus. The virus can be found in human waste even before infected people show symptoms, so this kind of testing, being done by cities and universities across the country, can be a leading indicator of future infection rates in an area.
The history of Halloween’s most polarizing candy
Love it or hate it, candy corn is a pretty fascinating little confection. (Click here to view.)
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.