Health regulators to require strict review for Covid-10 vaccine . . . U.S. health regulators have drafted guidelines that would require a Covid-19 vaccine to meet rigorous standards to gain a speedy clearance for use, according to people familiar with the matter, an effort to ensure the shots work safely before they are widely distributed. Among the proposed requirements is that a coronavirus shot reduce the rate of infections by 50% compared with a placebo, which the regulators have already required for a regular approval of any Covid-19 vaccines. The regulators’ plans have been caught up in partisan fighting over the safety and timing of a Covid-19 vaccine, and they are unfolding amid concerns the Trump administration is putting politics ahead of science while interfering in the decisions of federal health agencies. Wall Street Journal

 

Deaths pass 200,000 but daily toll declines . . . More than 200,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19 - a bleak milestone reached on Tuesday that comes even as the national death rate continues to decline. The number of Americans dying from coronavirus per day, based on a weekly average, is now at just over 760. It is down from the peak 2,000 deaths being reported per day back in April. Daily Mail

 

Halloween is canceled . . . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines for Americans celebrating Halloween during the coronavirus pandemic. In the recommendations published on Monday, the CDC advised against trick-or-treating, attending a costume party or going to an indoor haunted house. 'Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses,' a statement on the website reads. Daily Mail

 

Matt Gaetz says Bloomberg bribery probe may be underway . . . House Judiciary Committee member Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told "Hannity" Tuesday that he has spoken with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody about potentially launching a bribery investigation into former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg has reportedly raised more than $16 million for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Under the Florida state constitution, convicted felons can regain their voting rights after having served their time. However, a law enacted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis states that felons must pay all fines, restitution, and other legal financial obligations before their sentences could be considered fully served. Under Florida law, "it’s a third-degree felony for someone to either directly or indirectly provide something of value to impact whether or not someone votes," Gaetz explained. Fox News

 

 

Trump mocks Biden for wearing face masks after alleged plastic surgery . . . President Trump on Tuesday mocked Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for allegedly getting plastic surgery — and then covering it up with a mask. “I mean, honestly, what the hell did he spend all that money on the plastic surgery [for] if he is going to cover it up?” Trump jeered at a campaign rally in Pittsburgh. “Seriously — the whole deal!” he said of Biden’s alleged makeover. New York Post

 

Watchdog finds 350,000 dead registered voters . . . An election watchdog has found that there may be as many as 350,000 dead individuals on voter rolls across 42 states. The Public Interest Legal Foundation, an Indiana-based election integrity group, conducted a nationwide study to identify the hundreds of thousands of deceased individuals on voter rolls. During its analysis, the group also found that nearly 40,000 likely duplicate registrants "appear to have cast second votes in 2018 from the same address." Washington Free Beacon

 

 

First presidential debate will cover coronavirus and Supreme Court . . . President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will face questions about the novel coronavirus, the Supreme Court and their respective records in elected office when they meet for the first 2020 presidential debate next week. Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, the moderator of the first debate, announced the list of topics on Tuesday. The debate will also cover the economy, race and violence in U.S. cities, and the integrity of the election, according to Wallace. The Hill 

 

 

Biden refuses to take a position on packing the Court . . . Biden is refusing to say whether he supports packing the Supreme Court, labeling the question a distraction, even though adding more justices has emerged as a top item on his liberal base’s wish list. The former vice president explicitly refused to take a position this week. He called it “a legitimate question” but said giving an answer would hurt his ability to complain about President Trump’s attempt to speed a nominee to the high court. Washington Times

 

 

 

Cindy McCain endorses Biden . . . Praising Joe Biden as a longtime family friend and an ally to military families like hers, Cindy McCain, the woman Republicans wanted to make first lady in 2008, is endorsing the Democratic presidential nominee. McCain on Tuesday avoided directly criticizing President Donald Trump, who had a stormy rivalry with her husband, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that lingered even after his death in 2018. USA Today

 

 

House passes bill funding government until December 11 . . . The House Tuesday passed a stopgap spending bill that will keep the government funded through Dec. 11 after working out a deal with Republicans on agriculture aid and food stamps. The measure now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass this week. The year’s funding expires on Sept. 30, and the emergency bill is needed to keep government departments and agencies running “on autopilot” at 2020 funding levels while lawmakers work out a yearlong deal. Washington Examiner

 

Pence plane forced to return to airport after striking bird . . . Vice President Mike Pence’s plane was forced to return to a New Hampshire airport on Tuesday night soon after takeoff because it struck a bird, the White House said. Pence was on his way back to Washington, DC, after campaigning at an airport hangar in Gilford, New Hampshire, earlier in the day. The vice president and others aboard were in no danger after the bird strike. New York Post

 

Philippines President Duterte moves closer to US amid China threat . . . After years of shifting the Philippines closer to China, President Rodrigo Duterte appears to be leaning back toward the U.S. The 75-year-old leader on Tuesday gave his most forceful defense yet of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 2016 ruling in favor of the Philippines that said Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea breached international law. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Duterte said the decision “is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon.” Bloomberg

 

Kremlin critic Navalny discharged fro hospital . . . Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny made his first public appearance on Wednesday after being discharged from a Berlin hospital where Germany said he was being treated for poisoning by a potentially deadly nerve agent. Navalny was flown from Russia to Berlin last month after falling ill on a domestic flight in Siberia. The West has demanded an explanation from the Kremlin, which has denied any involvement in the incident and said it has yet to see evidence of a crime. Reuters

 

Tesla value plunges $50B after battery delay . . . Investors slashed $50 billion from Tesla's market value on Tuesday despite Elon Musk's promise to cut electric costs so radically that a $25,000 self-driving electric car will be possible - but not for at least three years.  Musk shared that the firm is currently producing the cell, dubbed 4680, at its pilot Fremont gigafactory that will reduce cost and lower the sales price of its electric vehicles closer to gasoline-powered cars. Daily Mail

 

Wells Fargo CEO under first for saying there are not enough qualified minorities . . . Wells Fargo & Co.’s top executive created a firestorm on social media over comments that the bank has had trouble meeting its diversity goals because there isn’t enough minority talent. Charles Scharf exasperated some Black employees this summer when he made the comments in a virtual meeting. “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of black talent to recruit from,” Scharf added. Bloomberg

 

Uncle Ben is canceled . . . The Uncle Ben's rice brand is getting a new name: Ben's Original. Parent firm Mars Inc. unveiled the change Wednesday for the 70-year-old brand, the latest company to drop a logo criticized as a racial stereotype. Packaging with the new name will hit stores next year. Fox Business

 

Seattle pays former pimp $150K to work as "street czar" . . . A pimp turned activist who once vowed to 'go to war' with Seattle is being paid $150,000 by the city to work as a 'street czar' and come up with 'alternatives to policing' because he said he can talk to 'gang members, pimps and prostitutes who won't sit down with anybody else'. Andrè Taylor, who set up nonprofit Not This Time after his brother Che Taylor was shot dead by Seattle cops in 2016, signed a deal with the city on July 27 to work as its community liaison. Daily Mail

 

 

Ann Arbor decriminalizes psychedelics . . . The Ann Arbor, Mich., City Council unanimously voted this week to essentially decriminalize a wide range of psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and ayahuasca. Much of the resolution is framed around the potential for psychedelic plants to treat disorders such as "substance abuse, addiction, recidivism, trauma, post-traumatic stress symptoms, chronic depression, severe anxiety, end-of-life anxiety, grief, cluster headaches, and other debilitating conditions." Fox News

 

 

Convicted NYPD cop killer to be released . . . The last of three convicted Black Revolutionary Army members behind bars for murdering two NYPD cops nearly 50 years ago is set to be freed on parole in October, police union officials said Tuesday. Anthony Bottom, who has spent more than 43 years in prison for his role in the assassinations of Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones in 1971, will be sprung by Oct. 20, a source told WPIX-TV. The board’s decision infuriated Piagentini’s widow, Diane Piagentini. Fox News

 

RBG returns to the Court for the last time . . . The casket of the 87-year-old justice was to be escorted up the stairs to the Supreme Court's Great Hall, just outside the courtroom – its entrance draped in black – where she served for 27 years. After a brief ceremony, it will be returned to the front portico of the court for two days of public viewing, with appropriate social distancing to guard against the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. USA Today

 

Defund the Police activist Alyssa Milano calls 911, gets massive police response . . .  Actress and 'Defund the police' activist Alyssa Milano was quick to call cops when she believed an armed gunman was on her Bell Canyon property on Sunday morning. The call ignited a response that included seven Ventura County Sheriffs' vehicles, one K-9 unit, a police helicopter and one Los Angeles Fire Department team that sat down the street on standby. 'It turned out it was a neighborhood teen with an air gun shooting at squirrels,' a resident said. Daily Mail

 

Sex improves chances of heart attack survival over following two decades . . . It's been portrayed in movies as a way of triggering a heart attack. But experts now say lovemaking can actually boost the chances of survival. The 2003 Jack Nicholson film Something’s Gotta Give showed his music mogul character rushed to hospital after suffering an attack as he began to make love. However, a study has found having an active sex life in the months after a heart attack is linked with a 35 per cent lower risk of death over the next two decades. Daily Mail