Fauci warns early Covid vaccines will only prevent symptoms . . . Dr Anthony Fauci has cautioned that early COVID-19 vaccines will be focused on preventing symptoms of the virus, not blocking it altogether. Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, made the point on Monday as at least four vaccine candidates near the end of clinical trials and the US reported a record number of new cases in the last week. While the end goal of the vaccines will be to eradicate the virus, Fauci noted that developers are aiming for a simpler goal in the first round of jabs. Daily Mail

 

Bobulinksi releases tape of Biden associate trying to silence him . . . A former Navy lieutenant who spent six months in 2017 in business with Hunter Biden, trying unsuccessfully to get a joint venture with a Chinese firm off the ground, has made public an audio recording from earlier this month, which he claims was a Biden associate trying to silence him. Tony Bobulinski appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show on Tuesday night and an audio was played of Rob Walker - whose wife works for Jill Biden - allegedly warning Bobulinski not to go public with the information. 'If he doesn’t come out on record I am providing the facts,' Bobulinski told Walker.  ‘You’re just going to bury all of us, man,’ Walker, described on the show as a Biden family representative, allegedly replied in the October 18 conversation. During the interview, Bobulinski also claimed that in 2017, he asked Joe Biden's brother Jim - who was part of their business consortium - how he could 'get away with' all their business dealings. Bobulinski claimed that Jim replied: 'Plausible deniability.' Bobulinski further claimed during the interview that he had met Joe twice - both times in Los Angeles, on the night of May 2, 2017, and the morning of May 3, 2017. Daily Mail

 

 

 

Biden looks to expand map as Trump plays defense . . . Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday traveled to Georgia, a state that has voted for the GOP nominee in every presidential election since 1992. Later in the week he will head to Iowa, which Mr. Trump won in 2016 by a sizable margin after former President Barack Obama won it twice. His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, will travel to Texas and Arizona later this week, states that voted for Republicans for the last 10 and five campaign cycles, respectively. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, is traveling this week to at least five states he won in 2016 and that are key to a victory this time around. Wall Street Journal

 

 

Democrats failing to hit make in early voting . . . New early voting data showed Democrats failing to hit their mark in several battleground states, giving Trump campaign officials more reasons for optimism Tuesday. In Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Arizona, Democrats are falling short of their target of 70% of early votes cast either in person or by mail. That is the lead they hoped to build up to stave off an expected higher Republican turnout on Election Day. Washington Times

 

Biden touts endorsement from leading anti-Semites . . . Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden touted an endorsement from a group of leading Muslim officials who have accused Jews of dual loyalty to America and praised anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. A group of nearly 50 Muslim elected officials across the country expressed support for Biden in a late-July letter sponsored by Emgage, an anti-Israel Muslim-American group funded by liberal billionaire George Soros. Emgage has drawn scrutiny in recent years for defending terrorist groups and collaborating with Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations. Washington Free Beacon

 

Trump denounces white supremacy 38 times in new campaign video . . . The Trump campaign on Tuesday released a video compiling more than three dozen times President Trump has denounced White supremacy, as his Democratic rival Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris of California continue to claim this week on the campaign trail that he has failed to do so. The Trump campaign rolled out a nearly 5-minute-long video of the president, featuring video clips from as recently as this month, to his 2016 presidential campaign, and dating all the way back to an interview Trump gave to Matt Lauer in the early 2000s. Fox News

 

 

Melania Trump blasts Biden, Democrats' "socialist agenda" . . . First lady Melania Trump, making her campaign debut, told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that her husband has taken the responsible approach to the coronavirus pandemic while Democrats were focused on “a sham impeachment.” She said Democrats “have chosen to put their own agendas ahead of the American people’s well-being. Washington Times

 

Tech CEOs to testify before Senate . . . Chief executives of the largest social media companies will testify Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee in a hearing examining their platforms’ role in shaping political discourse. Members of the Republican-led panel are expected to question Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and YouTube owner Alphabet Inc., about their treatment of politically charged content, from advertising to news to candidates’ posts. Wall Street Journal

 

Susan Collins trails challenger by four points . . . With less than a week until Election Day, Republican Sen. Susan Collins is trailing Democratic challenger Sara Gideon by a slim margin, according to a poll released Wednesday. Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House, is leading Collins, 47% to 43%, among likely voters, according to the poll by Colby College in Waterville, Maine. USA Today

 

Trump businesses made more than $8M off his presidency . . . Since his first month in office, Trump has used his power to direct millions from U.S. taxpayers — and from his political supporters — into his own businesses. The Washington Post has sought to compile examples of this spending through open records requests and a lawsuit. In all, he has received at least $8.1 million from these two sources since he took office, those documents and publicly available records show. Washington Post

 

Trump campaign website hacked . . . President Trump's campaign website is back online after it was partially hacked on Tuesday evening. Around 7 p.m. EDT, hackers attempting to steal cryptocurrency from gullible individuals digitally commandeered the “About” section of Trump's campaign website and posted an image that made it appear as if the FBI had seized the site. “The world has had enough of the fake-news spreaded daily by president donald j trump,” read part of the message posted to the site, “it is time to allow the world to know truth.” Washington Examiner

 

Satellite photos show construction at Iran nuclear site . . . Iran has begun construction at its Natanz nuclear facility, satellite images released Wednesday show, just as the U.N.’s nuclear agency acknowledged Tehran is building an underground advanced centrifuge assembly plant after its last one exploded in a reported sabotage attack last summer. Associated Press

 

EPA asks DOJ to probe foreign funding of enviro groups . . . The Environmental Protection Agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations that U.S. environmental groups have received covert funding from China and Russia. EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler made the request after Rep. Lance Gooden (R., Texas) alleged that left-wing environmental groups—including the Sea Change Foundation, Sunrise Movement, and Sierra Club—have functioned as conduits for "foreign influence, financial involvement, and election interference." Washington Free Beacon

 

France emerges as Europe Covid epicenter . . . 

France has emerged as the epicenter of the second wave of coronavirus infections now sweeping much of Europe, causing hospitals to brace for a surge of new patients and pushing the government to consider tough new restrictions in some places. The country saw daily cases top 50,000 over the weekend, while the seven-day average of new daily cases has increased by more than 50% over the past week, reaching 38,278 on Tuesday. That compares with a seven-day average of 69,967 cases in the U.S., whose population is around five times as big. Wall Street Journal

 

Bezos may buy CNN . . . The richest man in the world Jeff Bezos has set his sights on CNN amid claims that its owner AT&T wants to offload massive debt, according to a report. The Amazon boss, who owns The Washington Post, is the subject of 'pretty hot and heavy' speculation and 'rampant' Wall Street chatter. The 56-year-old worth $193 billion would need to shell out an estimated $10 billion for the cable news company but top Republicans have already come out hard against any such acquisition. Daily Mail

 

Trump tax cut helped middle class . . . Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign website says, “Tax experts estimate that over the long run, 83% of Trump’s tax giveaway will flow to the top 1% of earners in this country.” That’s not quite fair to the president, though. While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was far from perfect, it did cut taxes on the middle class and fueled the economic growth that brought unemployment rates to half-century lows before the pandemic. Bloomberg

 

Violence flares in Philly, Washington, and New York . . . Looters ransacked stores in Philadelphia for a second night on Tuesday as Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets of the city, as well as Washington DC and New York, following the deaths of two black men.  Walter Wallace, 27, was killed Monday when Philadelphia police officers fired after he approached them with a knife. His family had called for an ambulance to get him help with a mental health crisis, not for police intervention, their lawyer said Tuesday. And Karon Hylton, 20, died Monday after crashing into a car while being chased on a Revel scooter by police in DC. Daily Mail

 

Security guard stabbed 27 times by sisters he asked to wear masks . . . He just asked them to wear masks and use hand sanitizer.

And for that, a security guard was stabbed 27 times by a woman while her younger sister held him by his hair in Lawndale over the weekend, Cook County prosecutors said. “It’s the complete randomness of this. It’s terrifying,” Judge Mary Marubio said Tuesday before ordering the siblings held without bail on attempted murder charges. Chicago Sun-Times

 

DHS officials warn of border "invasion" if Biden wins . . . Immigration authorities released more than 400,000 illegal migrants into the U.S. under catch-and-release border policies in 2019. This year, that has been cut to fewer than 15,000 — and most of those were humanitarian cases, such as those involving a need for urgent medical care. It all could come roaring back next year, though, the Department of Homeland Security said this week, warning of a looming “invasion” of illegal immigrants should the next administration roll back President Trump’s accomplishments. Washington Times

 

NXIVM sex cult leader sentenced to 120 years in prison . . . NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere has been sentenced to 120 years behind bars after a dramatic hearing where he was confronted by 15 of his victims. Raniere, 60, had been facing a maximum sentence of life in prison after being convicted of sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor in June 2019. As the founder of NXIVM, the court had heard how the cult-like group kept women on starvation diets, branded them with his initials, and ordered them to have sex with him. Daily Mail

 

Dodgers win World Series . . . The Los Angeles Dodgers were the best team in baseball all season, and Tuesday night, walked away with the ultimate prize, holding the World Series championship trophy for the first time in 32 years. Dodgers’ fans, who took over Globe Life Field, danced in the aisles, and screamed into the night, celebrating as if Orel Hershiser was back on the mound and Kirk Gibson was at the plate. The Dodgers, defeating the Rays, 3-1 to win the World Series in six games, finally have their own heroes and piece of history to celebrate. USA Today

 

Dodgers' player tests positive for Covid, celebrates anyway . . . 

Amid the chaos of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrating their first title since 1988 on Tuesday night, third baseman Justin Turner made his way to the middle of the festivities. He sat inches away from manager Dave Roberts—without a mask—to take part in a team photo. He wasn’t supposed to be there. Partway through Game 6 of the World Series, the Dodgers learned that Turner had tested positive for the coronavirus, the first Major League Baseball player to do so in nearly two months. Per MLB’s pandemic protocols, the Dodgers immediately removed Turner from the lineup and instructed him to isolate. Wall Street Journal

 

Costco drops coconut milk over monkeys being used as forced labor . . . Don't expect to find coconut milk on Costco shelves on your next shopping trip. The Issaquah, Washington-based wholesale club is the latest retailer pledging not to stock coconut products from Thai suppliers who have been accused of using monkeys as forced labor. Costco follows Walgreens, Food Lion, Giant Food and Stop & Shop, who also stopped stocking brands of coconut milk including Chaokoh after an investigation from PETA in Asia found monkeys in Thailand were picking coconuts. USA Today

 

Okay, but we'll buy stuff from China, which uses slave labor and has locked up an entire province in prison camps.

 

Restaurant thief caught snoozing with half-eaten cheesecake . . . A man broke into a restaurant in the UK — and was found passed out in the bathroom the next day, beside a mop-bucket filled with bottles of booze and a half-eaten cheesecake. The owner of 808 Bar and Kitchen in Sunderland discovered the would-be thief early Saturday after following the sound of his snoring. "We opened the toilet foyer door and there he was, our very own Sleeping Beauty knocking out some zzzzzz’s and leading us to his very position thanks to some very hefty snoring,” the owner wrote in a Facebook post describing the incident. New York Post