Covid "nano-particle" vaccine could trigger strong immune response . . . Scientists say they have developed an experimental coronavirus vaccine candidate that is far more potent than others currently being investigated. In trials conducted in mice, the team from the University of Washington School of Medicine said its vaccine triggered a 10-times stronger immune response to the infection than seen in COVID-19 survivors. What's more, it also provoked a strong memory cell response, in which the body remembers the invading virus to produce antibodies more quickly if infected. Daily Mail

 

Birx warns of "deadly new phase" . . . Dr. Deborah L. Birx, who has carefully straddled the line between science and politics as she helps lead the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, delivered a stark private warning on Monday, telling White House officials that the pandemic is entering a new and “deadly phase” that demands a more aggressive approach. The warning, contained in a private memo to White House officials as the nation’s daily coronavirus caseload has broken records and approached 100,000, amounted to a direct contradiction of President Trump’s repeated — and inaccurate — assertions that the pandemic is “rounding the corner.” New York Times

 

Study adds reassurance about long-term immunity . . . A small but key UK study has found that “cellular immunity” to the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus is present after six months in people who had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 - suggesting they might have some level of protection for at least that time. Scientists presenting the findings, from 100 non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Britain, said they were “reassuring” but did not mean people cannot in rare cases be infected twice with the disease. Reuters

 

Enthusiasm building for Trump . . . If anything, what we are seeing in the closing moments of this race is more passion than ever for President Trump. Some of you have noted to me that the support seems more fervent than it was in 2016. This is another reason I believe Trump is going to win, in addition to those I cited in my piece for NBC News. I submit that there has been no president in the modern era, and perhaps ever, has been elected as a protest against the other candidate and not because of who they are. Let’s face it. Nobody cares about Joe Biden. White House Dossier

 

 

Trump closes in on Biden in national poll . . . The point of this is not so much whether polls are wrong or right. It’s that the same pollsters, who have been polling daily, now find that Trump is within striking distance of actually winning the popular vote. According to Investors Business Daily: The latest Trump vs. Biden poll shows a much tighter race between former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump with just one day to go. The IBD/TIPP presidential poll suggests Trump has widened his advantage among rural voters, nosed ahead among independents, and narrowed the gap among black and Hispanic voters. Today’s Trump vs. Biden poll update finds the Democratic challenger leading the Republican incumbent by 3.2 points, 48.8%-45.6%, in a four-way presidential poll of likely voters. Biden’s lead was 5.1 points on Sunday. White House Dossier

 

 

Biden campaign: Trump cannot be declared winner on election night . . . So who is threatening not to accept the results of the election? According to the Washington Examiner: Joe Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, preemptively countered an expected move from President Trump to declare himself the victor of the presidential election on election night before all votes are counted and before analysts can accurately project a winner. White House Dossier

 

Biden joined by Lady Gaga to declare "big win" against Trump in final rally . . . Joe Biden gave the last speech of his presidential campaign just like Hillary Clinton did four years ago: with a rally headlined by pop star Lady Gaga and strong hopes of victory against Donald Trump. “Folks, I have a feeling we’re coming together for a big win tomorrow,” the Democratic nominee told a crowd at an Election Eve drive-in rally in Pittsburgh. “Tomorrow, we can put an end to a presidency that has left hard-working Americans out in the cold. Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has fanned the flames of hatred. Tomorrow we can put at end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation,” he went on. New York Post

 

 

Twitter warns on Trump tweet about Pennsylvania . . . Twitter and Facebook on Monday night added warnings to an election eve message from President Trump that called a Supreme Court decision on voting in Pennsylvania “very dangerous.” The president had bashed the recent ruling, which allowed absentee ballots in the crucial battleground state to be received for three days after Election Day. “The Supreme Court decision on voting in Pennsylvania is a VERY dangerous one,” Trump wrote in posts on both social media platforms. New York Post

 

Pennsylvania Democrat AG sparks outrage by saying Trump has lost the state . . . The Attorney General of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, who is a Democrat, has sparked outrage after suggesting on Twitter that President Trump may have lost the ability to win the crucial swing state, with 20 electoral votes, more than 24 hours before the polls even close. 'If all the votes are added up in PA, Trump is going to lose,' Shapiro wrote on Twitter on Monday evening. 'That's why he's working overtime to subtract as many votes as possible from this process.' Daily Mail

 

Mystery British businessman bets $5M on Trump victory . . . An unnamed British former-banker has bet £3.9million on Donald Trump coming out on top in the US presidential election. Betting insiders believe the businessman's enormous $5million pledge is the biggest number ever wagered in politics. The financier - who is based overseas and whose name has not been released - placed his bet with private bookmaker in Curacao in the Caribbean after speaking to 'Trump camp insiders'. Daily Mail

 

Trump "public charge" immigration rule tossed by judge . . . A federal judge in Chicago issued a nationwide halt Monday to President Trump’s attempt to make more immigrants have to prove self-sufficiency in order to win a path to citizenship. Judge Gary Feinerman ruled the government cut too many procedural corners in issuing what was known as the “public charge” rule. Homeland Security had asked him to confine his ruling to a limited geography and to delay its effectiveness while it was appealed. The Obama appointee rejected both requests, announcing a nationwide policy. Washington Times

 

 

Yale professor compares Hitler favorably to Trump . . . A Yale University professor and psychiatrist compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in a series of tweets and said Hitler, unlike Trump, improved the lives of his followers. "Donald Trump is not an Adolf Hitler," Bandy X. Lee tweeted Monday. "At least Hitler improved the daily life of his followers, had discipline, and required more of himself to gain the respect of his followers. Even with the same pathology, there are varying degrees of competence." She continued: "A refusal to make comparisons has been a problem, when they have such similarities. Donald Trump’s death count is higher than Hitler’s at the same period." Washington Free Beacon

 

Cities prepare for rioting and looting . . . Businesses in major U.S. cities are preparing for another round of rioting, looting, and vandalism, which they anticipate will follow Tuesday's presidential election. Plywood boards now cover blocks of storefronts in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, as some business owners worry the election could stoke another wave of civil unrest that strained the country this summer. Business associations and local police are coordinating safety strategies with retailers to prepare for violent protests. Stores and restaurants in New York City's Times Square boarded up their windows as of Monday afternoon. Washington Free Beacon

 

 

Four killed in Islamist attack in Vienna . . . 

At least four people were killed and more than a dozen seriously injured in Austria's capital Vienna late Monday in an assault that government officials said was connected to a radicalized person who "sympathized" with the Islamic State terror group. Police shot and killed one suspected attacker – his death brought the total death toll to five – who was carrying an assault rifle and a fake suicide vest. Authorities were still trying to determine Tuesday whether further attackers may be on the run. People in Vienna were urged to stay at home if possible. USA Today

 

Apple to launch MacBooks with own chip . . . Apple’s 15-year relationship with Intel Corp. will officially begin to unwind next week when new Mac computers are revealed. Apple and overseas suppliers are ramping up production of three Mac laptops with Apple processors: new 13-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and a new 13-inch MacBook Air, according to people familiar with the matter. Foxconn, known also as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is assembling the two smaller laptops, while Quanta Computer Inc. is building the larger MacBook Pro. The smaller models are further ahead in production and at least those two laptops will be shown at next week’s event. Beyond the processor switch, the devices won’t have significant design changes. Bloomberg

 

Trump creates 1776 commission to promote patriotic eduction . . . President Donald Trump on Monday created a “1776 Commission” to promote "patriotic education” and counter lessons that he says divide Americans on race and slavery and teach students to “hate their own country." On the eve of Election Day, Trump directed the commission’s creation, via executive order, to “better enable a rising generation to understand the history and principles of the founding of the United States in 1776 and to strive to form a more perfect Union.” Politico

 

Blacks now less likely to be violent crime victims than whites . . . Violent crime against Black Americans has dropped 43% over the past 14 years, and they are now less likely to be victims of violent crime than White or Hispanic people, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The surprising study undercuts claims by racial justice activists that there is a war on Black people and the Trump administration’s narrative that violent crime is rising in urban areas. “If you look at this data, it refutes the idea that crime is out of control in Black communities but also the racial justice narrative that Whites are murdering us,” said Wilfred Reilly, who teaches political science at Kentucky State University and is also a Black man. Washington Times

 

2020 is the best year ever for gun sales . . . With the election looming, 2020 became the all-time best year for gun sales in American history.More than 16.5 million guns were sold through the month of October, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis of FBI data released on Monday. That's about 1.6 million more than all of 2016—the previous record holder. It also represents four million more sales than in 2019—an increase of over 33 percent. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry's trade group, also estimated nearly seven million people purchased a gun for the first time between January and October. Washington Free Beacon

 

US reviewing first new Alzheimer's treatment in decades . . . U.S. health experts this week will decide whether to recommend approval for Biogen's Alzheimer's drug, which could become the first new treatment for the mind-wasting disease in decades even as serious questions persist over whether data show if it works. In a field littered with unrelenting failure, Biogen believes in aducanumab it has the first drug that can treat an underlying cause, and therefore slow progression, of Alzheimer’s. But its path to approval has been anything but smooth or assured. Reuters