Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, October 12, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are up across the country, with only three states -- Texas, Washington and Maine -- reporting a decline in new cases week-over-week. Some 58,000 new infections were reported on Friday, a two-month high. The situation is no better in Europe, where health officials are warning that a combination of a spike in cases and widespread “COVID fatigue” could hamper mitigation efforts into the winter. Italy has mandated masks outdoors as hospitals warn that beds are filling back up, and the UK is expected to introduce a three-tier lockdown system today. CNN
SCOTUS CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings begin on Capitol Hill today. Sen. Kamala Harris, who has not said whether she or Joe Biden support court packing, will attend remotely because of a lack of COVID safety protocols in the Senate, where two Republicans on the Judiciary Committee tested positive. Democrats are going into the hearings with the baseline goal of not doing anything to upset Biden’s lead in the polls, as they do not have the votes to sink the nomination. AXIOS
THE HOMESTRETCH
With three weeks until Election Day, President Trump is at his lowest point in the polls in months. The latest national poll from the Washington Post/ABC News has Joe Biden ahead by 12 points. FiveThirtyEight’s national polling average now puts Biden up by 10.3 with an 86 percent probability of winning. Meanwhile, the president’s doctor has declared him no longer a transmission risk, but would not say whether he has tested negative. Trump will hit the campaign trail today with a rally in Florida. WASH POST
DELTA DISSIPATES
The remnants of Hurricane Delta will soak the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast today after kicking up tornadoes and funnel clouds in the Southeast. Residents of Louisiana are cleaning up from the storm’s landfall, which killed one person and left hundreds of thousands without power. NBC NEWS
STIMULUS NEGOTIATIONS
After President Trump took any new stimulus off the table before Election Day, the White House reversed course and reopened a push for a narrow $1.8 trillion bill. That was rejected by both parties in Congress, with House Democrats saying it doesn’t do enough and Senate Republicans calling it a betrayal of GOP priorities. CNET
SUMMER OF NORMALCY
There seems to be a growing sense among the country’s biggest and most influential companies and institutions that life won’t be “back to normal” in the U.S. until next summer. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said over the weekend that the bank’s offices almost certainly won’t be fully staffed until then, and that’s assuming a vaccine becomes available. Facebook and Google have been telling employees they can work from home through June 2021. And Broadway just announced it will stay closed until next summer. MARKETWATCH
CHAMPIONS
NBA: The L.A. Lakers have claimed their 17th championship, beating the Miami Heat in six games to close out a season that has lasted nearly a whole year. LeBron James was named Finals MVP for the fourth time, putting him behind only Michael Jordan. The team dedicated its win to Kobe Bryant, who died earlier this year. YAHOO SPORTS
TENNIS: Rafael Nadal is now tied with Roger Federer for most Grand Slam titles after he crushed Novak Djokovic on the clay courts at the French Open. Federer congratulated his “greatest rival” for his 20th win, saying they’ve both pushed each other over the years to become better players. ESPN
'SNL' RECAP
Comedian Bill Burr is being both cheered and condemned for his polarizing SNL monologue about white feminism and cancel culture. Burr hosted an episode that was better received than the season premiere and featured Jack White filling in as the last-minute musical guest after Morgan Wallen was bounced for breaking COVID protocols: WATCH THE MONOLOGUE
QUEEN OF THE NILE
Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins will reunite for a reboot of the period epic Cleopatra. Paramount won an auction for the big-budget film, which will have Gadot wearing the crown of the Egyptian queen. DEADLINE
LEFTOVERS: MILLENNIAL SAINT
An Italian teenager who dedicated his life to the poor before he died of leukemia at 15 is one step away from becoming the world’s first millennial saint. The Catholic Church beatified Carlo Acutis on Saturday in Assisi, the home of his idol, St. Francis, putting him “one miracle away” from sainthood. Acutis was a computer whiz who spent his time building websites documenting supposed miracles and tending to the homeless. The Vatican ruled that he posthumously intervened to cure a young Brazilian boy’s disease, setting him to become a saint. EURONEWS
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