Coronavirus fatigue takes hold . . . From the corridors of Washington to the cobblestones of Paris, the coronavirus is roaring back and authorities are ramping up restrictions again. This time around, however, everyone is tired. Hospital staff world-wide are demoralized after seven months of virus-fighting triage. The wartime rhetoric that world leaders initially used to rally support is gone. Family members who willingly sealed themselves off during spring lockdowns are suddenly finding it hard to resist the urge to reunite. Wall Street Journal

 

Meadows: We're not going to control the pandemic . . . The Trump administration signaled on Sunday that it had given up on controlling the spread of the coronavirus, even as Covid-19 makes its second run through the White House, three in four Americans are concerned that they or someone they know will contract the disease, and millions of American families are suffering as negotiators struggle to clinch an elusive relief deal. “We’re not going to control the pandemic,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said. “We are gonna control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.” Politico

 

Pediatricians say it is riskier to keep schools closed . . . The COVID-19 pandemic is poised to make the 2020-21 school year as challenging as the last but now doctors believe the benefits for children being in school far outweigh the risks of catching coronavirus. Apart from missing out on their education, children are suffering mental health problems, hunger, obesity due to inactivity, missing routine medical care and some are at a greater risk of being abused. Daily Mail

 

The big Trump rallies you don't see . . . "I can't believe there aren't any newspeople here," said Linda of Greene County, Pennsylvania, as she stood among hundreds of cars and pickup trucks idling in long parallel lines in a vast big-box-store parking lot Saturday, waiting to join the Interstate 70 Trump Train. Indeed, although there were carloads of Trump supporters as far as one could see, and many more on the way from Ohio and West Virginia, and this enormous political event was happening less than two weeks before the presidential election, as far as I could tell, I was the only newsperson there. It was the biggest political rally no one saw. And gatherings like it have been happening for months in some of the places President Trump needs most to win if he is to be reelected. And, remarkably, the rallies are not the work of the Trump campaign. Washington Examiner

 

 

Biden lead unchanged after Hunter Biden email release . . . Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump has remained largely unchanged since the New York Post published emails from Hunter Biden. Biden leads Trump by 9.1 points nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight, down about one point since the story was published on Oct. 14. The Post’s report alleged that Hunter Biden introduced his father to an executive at Burisma Holdings before Biden, as vice president, pressured Ukrainian officials into firing a prosecutor investigating the company. Daily Caller

 

Soros steers last-minute cash to boost black, Latino turnout . . . Liberal billionaire George Soros is pumping last-minute cash into efforts to boost black and Latino turnout in battleground states. Soros's Democracy PAC gave $500,000 apiece to both the Black PAC and the Somos PAC, which work to mobilize black and Latino voters, respectively. The cash adds to the $70 million that Soros has already poured into the 2020 elections. Washington Free Beacon

 

AOC balks on supporting Pelosi for Speaker . . . Tensions between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may flare up once again if Democrats retain control of the House in 2020. During an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper Sunday morning, the freshman congresswoman from New York made clear that she intends to support the "most progressive" option for House speaker, examining other Democratic candidates for the role other than Pelosi. Washington Examiner

 

Mike and Karen Pence negative for coronavirus after aides test positive . . . Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 on Sunday after multiple people in the vice president's orbit contracted the coronavirus. “This morning, both Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19," Pence's office said in a brief statement. Marc Short, his chief of staff, and others tested positive for the virus in recent days, reports revealed late Saturday. Washington Examiner

 

Trump tells donors it will be "very tough" to hold the Senate . . .  President Trump privately told donors this past week that it will be “very tough” for Republicans to keep control of the Senate in the upcoming election because some of the party’s senators are candidates he cannot support. “I think the Senate is tough actually. The Senate is very tough,” Trump said at a fundraiser Thursday at the Nashville Marriott, according to an attendee. “There are a couple senators I can’t really get involved in. I just can’t do it. You lose your soul if you do. I can’t help some of them. I don’t want to help some of them.” Washington Post

 

Trump planning to fire FBI, CIA, and Defense chiefs if reelected . . . Donald Trump is planning on immediately firing FBI Director Christopher Wray, and also intends to replace CIA director Gina Haspel and Defense Secretary Mark Esper if he wins re-election next month. Firing Wray, who has been in charge of the FBI since 2017, will reportedly be Trump's first course of action, followed by the ousting of Haspel from the CIA. Both Wray and Haspel are almost unanimously 'despised and distrusted' by Trump's inner circle. Daily Mail

 

Facebook prepares measures in case of election unrest . . . Facebook teams have planned for the possibility of trying to calm election-related conflict in the U.S. by deploying internal tools designed for what it calls “at-risk” countries, according to people familiar with the matter. The emergency measures include slowing the spread of viral content and lowering the bar for suppressing potentially inflammatory posts, the people said. Previously used in countries including Sri Lanka and Myanmar, they are part of a larger tool kit developed by Facebook to prepare for the U.S. election. Wall Street Journal

Biden says Russia biggest threat to national security . . . Joe Biden said in an interview Sunday that in terms of countries presenting a threat to the U.S., Russia takes the cake. "Well, I think the biggest threat to America right now in terms of breaking up our -- our security and our alliances, is Russia," Biden told "60 Minutes" correspondent Norah O'Donnell. The Democratic presidential nominee has criticized Russia throughout the campaign and during his time as vice president. Fox Business

 

Trump administration announced Azerbaijan and Armenia ceasefire . . . The United States on Sunday said a new humanitarian ceasefire will take effect on Monday in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, even as fresh fighting erupted between the two sides. The latest ceasefire is due to take effect at 8am local time on October 26, the U.S. State Department and the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia said in a joint statement. The latest fighting that began September 27 has involved heavy artillery, rockets and drones, killing hundreds in the largest escalation in more than 25 years. Reuters

 

GDP likely grew 30% in third quarter, economists say . . . The Covid-19 pandemic caused the deepest U.S. recession since at least World War II. Gross domestic product shrank at an annual rate of 31.4% in the second quarter. Covid-19 is infecting more than 50,000 Americans a day, the most since early August. Somehow, though, the economy has roared back. On Oct. 29, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg, the government is likely to report that GDP rose an annualized 30% in the third quarter—also a postwar record. Bloomberg

 

 

Nightmare weather expected this week . . . Tumultuous weather is expected across the country this week, with historic wildfires burning in the West, a tropical storm heading toward the Gulf Coast by mid-week and an early-season winter storm expected to bring snow and ice from the Rockies into the Plains. California, which has endured its worst wildfire season in history, is bracing for the most dangerous winds of the year, a forecast that prompted the largest utility to announce plans to cut power Sunday to nearly 1 million people to guard against its equipment sparking new blazes. Fox News

 

Nests of murder hornets wiped out in Washington state . . . The first nest of "murder hornets'' to be found in the United States was sucked into oblivion over the weekend by authorities in Blaine, Washington. Asian giant hornets – dubbed murder hornets – kill about a dozen people a year in Asian countries, where the insect is more common. But this nest was wiped out Saturday to protect honeybees in the Washington state area. The world’s largest hornets, which measure two inches long, can destroy entire hives of honeybees, critical to crops like raspberries and blueberries because they provide needed pollination. USA Today

 

 

Wildlife expert poses as elderly lady to trap an aggressive turkey . . . Gerald, the inordinately aggressive turkey that forced the closure of Oakland's Morcom Rose Garden, is off to greener pastures. After five months of attacking unsuspecting Grand Lake residents, Gerald was captured Thursday and released onto wild land near Orinda. The solution to this months-long saga was quite similar to the problem that started it, when a wildlife capture expert posed as a frail, old woman to lure Gerald in. His preferred victims seem to be older women. KGO San Francisco

 

Cat plugs up sink, turns on water, and floods house . . . A Bengal cat’s curiosity ended up potentially costing its owners thousands of dollars in flood damage after it plugged up the bathroom sink’s drain hole and turned on the tap. The cat, Amber, had learned how to turn the sink on the week prior, it’s owner Jasmin Stork, 26, told Kennedy News and Media outlet. Though initially charmed by the 1-year-old feline’s trick, Stork was hardly laughing when she returned home for lunch to find water flooding from the second-floor, and through the ceiling, into the living room downstairs. Fox News