Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, September 18, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The official U.S. death toll is expected to cross the 200,000 milestone this weekend, with the daily toll remaining between 1,000 and 1,300. In NYC, the mayor delayed the reopening of public schools at the last minute, infuriating parents. The WHO is warning that “alarming rates of transmission across Europe” are creating a “very serious situation” on the continent. Newly revealed documents show the USPS was planning to send every American household five reusable face masks back in April, but the White House nixed the plan over worries it would create a panic. WASH POST
CLIMATE CHANGE
AIR QUALITY: From Seattle to L.A., residents are going on 10 days or longer with hazardous air quality from the wildfires that is making it difficult to breathe. Light rain has been moving through the Pacific Northwest, bringing much-needed relief from the smoke, but also a risk of landslides. SEATTLE PI
FLOODING & STORMS: The remnants of Sally have finally dissipated, but not before drenching the Southeast with days of unrelenting and torrential rain. The Gulf Coast is now dealing with the risk of a second round of flooding from all the swollen creeks and rivers. Meanwhile, forecasters are turning their attention to two new tropical cyclones: Teddy, which is already a Cat 4 hurricane in the Atlantic, and a depression in the Gulf that will likely become Wilfred today. TRACK
ELECTION 2020
Joe Biden faced voters at a CNN drive-in town hall event outside Scranton, Penn. that features much less aggressive questions than the ABC event with President Trump earlier this week. Biden repeatedly slammed Trump for the coronavirus response -- a preview of what to expect in the first debate. Meanwhile, a former top aide to Vice President Pence, Olivia Troye, is the latest Republican to endorse Joe Biden. In a blistering ad, Troye says her first-hand experience on the coronavirus task force made her believe the president has a “flat-out disregard for human life.” POLITICO
FBI DIRECTOR ON THREATS
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to Congress that Russia is actively trying to interfere in the election, mostly to “denigrate Joe Biden.” Wray also said that the majority of domestic terrorism threats in the U.S. are coming from white supremacist groups. He made clear that Antifa is a “real thing” but that it’s an ideology and not an actual organization or terror group, as the president has said. AP
EMPTY OFFICES
While factories, warehouses and retail operations have had workers back for weeks now in many places, American office buildings are still mostly empty. Data from a company that makes the badges you need to “swipe” in show that swipes are down 51 percent in office buildings nationwide compared to February. Those numbers are even higher in cities like San Francisco and NYC. As of last month, fewer than 10 percent of officer workers in New York have returned and only a quarter of employers expect to bring people back by the end of the year. WSJ
TIKTOK LATEST
Walmart is reportedly still in the mix for a minority stake in the new TikTok-Oracle partnership, which is still in the process of being finalized. One of the people reportedly in the running to be the CEO of the new organization: Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram who famously quit in 2018 after a falling out with Mark Zuckerberg. The deadline for a final deal to be hammered out is Sunday. FORBES
SPORTS WRAP
NBA: The Nuggets and Lakers open the Western Conference Finals tonight in what’s expected to be one of the most exciting series of the bubble given Denver’s incredible hot streak. In the East, the Heat came back from behind to go up 2-0 against the Celtics. ESPN
NHL: The Tampa Bay Lightning will meet the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final after putting away the NY Islanders in OT. The battle for the Cup begins tomorrow night. NBC SPORTS
NFL: No. 1 pick Joe Burrow made his primetime debut last night as the Bengals lost to the Browns, falling to 0-2. This weekend features Cam Newton and the Patriots vs. Russell Wilson and Seahawks for Sunday Night Football. SPORTING NEWS
CFB: The first game of the season between two ranked teams -- No. 17 Miami at No. 18 Louisville is the match to beat in Week 3. There’s also Houston vs. Baylor and Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State. YAHOO SPORTS
GOLF: Justin Thomas is in the lead after the first round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Tiger Woods, playing his 22nd Open, shot a dismal 73 to put him three-over when he tees off in Round 2 today. CBS SPORTS
PRIMETIME EMMY PREVIEW
The Emmy season has been going on so long that the first entries were submitted back in February -- aka, the Before Times -- and the biggest change to the process was the lack of DVD screeners. Now, organizers are putting the finishing touches on the first of the pandemic-era major award shows: 130 cameras in over 100 locations around the world for the live ceremony Sunday night, which Jimmy Kimmel will host from a largely empty Staples Center. Watchmen, Succession and Schitt’s Creek are among the favorites to clean up. PREDICTIONS, BALLOT
'A PROMISED LAND'
Barack Obama’s memoir has finally been given a release date. A Promised Land, the first in a two-volume series, will hit shelves just after the election. The former president has been writing it since just after he left office, when he and Michelle sold their memoirs to Crown for a record-breaking $65 million. The 768-page tome is expected to be an instant bestseller, with Crown ordering three million copies for a U.S. first edition. SEE THE COVER
LEFTOVERS: THAT'S CHEEKY
More than 200 volunteers stripped down to their birthday suits and masks for a new photography installation in the UK. Directed and shot by Spencer Tunick -- famous for his images of mass nudity in public places -- the piece was about capturing the desire for “natural connectivity” that remains part of humanity even during a pandemic. SEE PICS
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