Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, October 29, 2020:

COVID-19: EUROPEAN LOCKDOWNS

Germany and France are both going back into partial lockdowns as they try to beat back outbreaks that are now overwhelming hospitals. German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that the spread was out of control and ordered more businesses closed and restrictions on gatherings for a month. France is taking it a step further, closing all non-essential businesses and banning inter-country travel for five weeks. Schools will remain open in both countries. The Spanish newspaper El País published a viral (no pun intended) graphic showing how the coronavirus is is spreading through the air in three indoor situations: a room, a bar and a classroom: SEE IT

5 DAYS

Tampa, Fla. will be the scene of dueling campaign events today as both President Trump and Joe Biden visit the city in a state that's a must-win for the president. The Supreme Court will allow ballots in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to be counted for several days after Election Day, a setback for the president, who has been making unsubstantiated claims that votes counted past Nov. 3 could be fraudulent. A day after NBC News moved Texas from “lean Republican” to “toss up,” the Cook Political Report has done the same. SEE THE MAP

DEVELOPING: FRANCE KNIFE ATTACK

Three people have been killed in a knife attack outside a church in the French city of Nice, according to media reports. At least one of the victims was reportedly decapitated. The suspect has been arrested and the authorities say “everything suggests” terrorism. This is the second such attack in France in two weeks. SKY

ZETA LANDFALL

Hurricane Zeta slammed into the Gulf Coast as a Cat 2 storm, killing at least two people and cutting power to nearly one million homes across several states. The storm brought 90+ mph winds to New Orleans and breached a levee in Grand Isle, La. What’s left of Zeta is now racing up toward the Northeast, bringing drenching rains and heavy winds with it. ACCUWEATHER

STOCKS PLUMMET, AGAIN

The three major market indexes are on pace for their worst week since mid-March, each losing another 3.5 percent or so despite a steady stream of corporate earnings reports that have ranged from not-too-bad to flat-out-great. So what’s happening? COVID, of course. Investors are worried that the pandemic is surging again, more lockdowns and restrictions could be coming and this time they won’t be buttressed by federal aid. That is a recipe for a continuing sell-off. CHEDDAR

HOLIDAY SHOPPING ALERT

What happens when a months-long surge in online purchases collides with the usual surge from the holiday shopping season? Delivery companies like FedEx and UPS are still dealing with bottlenecks related to the pandemic, and industry watchers are concerned about the possibility of supply and logistics chains collapsing under the added stress of the upcoming holidays. Consumer Reports has tips for making sure you get your gifts delivered on time, which basically boil down to: whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute this year. CR

BIG TEN TROUBLE

Wisconsin’s Saturday game against Nebraska has been cancelled as the Badgers deal with a coronavirus outbreak on the team, the first big bump in the road for the Big Ten since the conference kicked off its delayed start last weekend. Wisconsin’s head coach and star quarterback have both tested positive, along with 10 other team members. The game will not be rescheduled and will instead be declared a "no contest." ESPN

SPOTTED...

… Shawn Mendes, gushing to Jimmy Fallon about how great it’s been quarantining with his girlfriend Camila Cabello, and how lockdown has been good for his creative process: WATCH

'BORAT' BABYSITTER DUPED

If you’ve seen the Borat sequel, you’d probably agree that one of the breakout stars was Jeanise Jones, the grandmother in the film who is hired to babysit Borat’s teenage daughter. Many have wondered if Jones was in on the joke, given her calm and reassuring demeanor during some outrageous scenes. Jones says she wasn’t, and just thought she was participating in a foreign documentary for which she was paid $3,600. Jones lost her job during the pandemic, and fans have now raised more than $50,000 for her on GoFundMe.

THE WRAP

LEFTOVERS: SPOOKY SEASON

A Texas man put up a Halloween display in his front yard that was so realistically and horrifyingly gory that the police have had to make multiple calls to his house. Steven Novak, an artist in Dallas, says he’s “very immature” for his age and remains pleased with his decor this year, which involves multiple staged murder scenes and gallons of fake blood that he reapplies whenever it rains: SEE IT

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

Share:
More In Culture
Fable Shifts from Virtual Reality to 'Virtual Beings'
Step aside, Siri and Alexa. VR studio Fable is relaunching as a "virtual beings" company to bring the public its first A.I.-powered character with whom users can have a two-way relationship. According to co-founders Edward Saatchi and Pete Billington, the rebranding ー which the two announced at the 2019 Sundance Festival ー is partly an effort to educate consumers about machine learning.
Killer Mike: The African-American Community Must Be Strong for America to Thrive
Rapper, entertainer, and activist Michael Santiago Render, a.k.a Killer Mike, is helping rival gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, start rival soda brands ー and he says there's no shame in that. The conceit that outlandish stunts can lead to teachable moments is the basis for Render's new show, "Trigger Warning with Killer Mike," on Netflix.
The Purrr-fect Super Bowl Alternative: Kittens!
On Super Bowl Sunday, the Hallmark Channel will be home to the sixth annual Kitten Bowl, the annual matchup of cat-letes held to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Beth Stern, host of the Kitten Bowl and spokesperson for North Shore (and wife to Howard), brought a pair of 12-week Siamese kittens to Cheddar Thursday to help promote a new event this year: the first-ever Cat Bowl.
'Call It What It Is:' Entertainment Reporter Responds to 'Empire' Star Attack
'Empire' star Jussie Smollett is receiving an outpouring of support from Hollywood and beyond following news that he was the victim of a horrific attack in Chicago. Everyone from Ellen Degeneres to John Legend took to social media to offer their well wishes to the actor. Chicago Police say they are still investigating the attack as a "potential hate crime," but entertainment correspondent Micah Jesse says, "call it was it is: a homophobic and racist attack."
#LikeAGirl's Lauren Greenfield Starts Production Company for Women Directors
Filmmaker and commercial director Lauren Greenfield spent the early part of her career critically examining how media and advertising shape youth culture. But it wasn't until she was hired to do her first ad ー a Nike campaign ー that she realized marketing can actually change public perception for the better. "I realized if you do something positive or different in advertising, you can have this incredible effect," she told Cheddar.
In Post-Print Era, Glamour EIC Focuses on Building a Site Women Will Pay to Visit
As digital advertising is increasingly beholden to the Google/Facebook duopoly, Glamour is experimenting with what it sees as the future of the industry: a multi-faceted revenue model that uses a combination of traditional ads, metered or niche paywalls, events, audio and e-commerce, even as it kills off its one-time moneymaker, the monthly print edition. Samantha Barry, Glamour's editor-in-chief, told Cheddar in an interview Wednesday that she sees the 80-year-old iconic brand as a "service for women."
Pelosi to Cheddar: GOP Has Saddled Millennials with 'Unconscionable' Debt
Young Americans face a double burden from crushing student debt and the ballooned federal deficit that is the result of President Trump's tax cut, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin in an interview that aired Wednesday. Pelosi called the economic position many millennials find themselves in, even as the economy remains strong, "unconscionable." "Republicans foisted onto future generations [an] economy that is unfair, that is not really lending itself to growth in a strong, predictable, confident, certain way," Pelosi said.
Pot Glut Creates Gathering Economic Crisis in Oregon
Oregon has too much pot. In the three years since cannabis became fully legal in the Beaver state, deliberately lax regulation and a confluence of outside factors have created a glut of product that is threatening small businesses across the state.
Load More