Thursday, October 22 top news briefs
It is Thursday, October 22.
62,751 new Covid-19 cases; 1,170 new deaths
There were 62,751 new cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. yesterday and we’re seeing cases rise by a 30% increase over the past two weeks. There were 1,170 new deaths reported yesterday, and deaths are up 9% over the past two weeks.
12 days left to Election Day, 47 million already voted
We’re 12 days away from election day on November 3, but 47 million people have already voted. 33 million of them voted via mail ballots, while 13.5 million have voted in-person.
Barack Obama criticizes Donald Trump
The 44th president Barack Obama gave a speech yesterday in Philadelphia to support Joe Biden’s campaign. Obama said Trump can’t protect America from the coronavirus because he couldn’t take basic steps to protect himself. He mocked Trump’s $750 in income taxes in 2016 by saying that he paid more taxes when he was 15 and working at Baskin Robbins. Obama said it was shameful that Trump wanted to take health care (Affordable Care Act) from people when they need it the most.
Donald Trump hits back at Barack Obama
President Trump gave a speech in North Carolina last night and mocked Obama for campaigning for Biden by bringing up the fact that Obama campaigned hard for Hillary Clinton in 2016 but lost. Trump said he thought the only one more unhappy than Clinton that election night was Obama. This morning Trump tweeted that Obama is causing people to come to Trump’s side.
DNI sounds alarm on Iran and Russia election interference
Last night the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced that Iran and Russia illegally obtained U.S. voter registration information and could use the information to interfere with the elections. Ratcliffe said Iran sent threatening emails to voters in Florida and Alaska and made it seem like the emails were from the Proud Boys group. Iran denied the allegations.
Unrest in Nigeria over police brutality
In Lagos, Nigeria, there is unrest in the streets with protesters clashing with police and soldiers. They are protesting against a police unit named SARS, short for Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Protesters say the SARS unit has abused its authority and got away with murdering citizens. On Wednesday soldiers fired tear gas and bullets into crowds, killing a reported 12 people at a toll checkpoint in Lekki. People on social media have used the #EndSARS hashtag to raise awareness or show support.
Teacher killed by terrorist in France
In Paris, a middle school teacher named Samuel Paty was killed on Friday by a 18-year-old suspect named Abdoullakh Anzorov. French authorities said Anzorov was a radicalized person who was angry with the teacher because he showed cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad to children, which is taboo according to Muslim beliefs. Anzorov paid two students 300 euros to point out the teacher at the school and then used a 12 inch knife to kill and behead him at a nearby street. Police shot and killed him a few minutes later.
The French president Emmanuel Macron said the killing was an Islamist terrorist attack and honored the teacher in a vigil. News reports say the French government has started a crackdown of Muslim individuals and organizations in the country.
Muslim women attacked near Eiffel Tower
News reports say that on Sunday night, two Muslim women wearing a hijab near the Eiffel Tower were stabbed by two white women after an argument about the women’s dogs not being leashed. Reports said the suspects yelled racist slurs were arrested and is held on suspicion of attempted murder. Muslims said there is a rise in Islamophobia.
Black man killed by police officer in Waukegan
In Waukegan, Illinois, a police officer shot and killed a 19-year-old Black man named Marcellis Stinnett on Tuesday night. News reports said he was in a car that reversed at the officer during a traffic stop and that the officer feared for his life. Stinnett was in the passenger seat of the car. The driver is a woman who was not identified except for her race — she was also Black. The woman was also shot and was hospitalized but is expected to recover. There were several protests in the city. There is an investigation and the officer is on administrative leave.
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Final presidential debate, mics will be muted
Tonight is the final presidential debate between Trump and Biden. The debate will begin at 9 p.m. ET at Belmont University in Nashville. The moderator will be Kristen Welker from NBC News. Both men will be together onstage and socially distanced. There will be a new rule to deter interruptions — one candidate’s mic will be muted for the first two minutes to allow the other candidate to speak, then both mics will be on for open discussion. The debate will continue for 90 minutes straight. The moderator plans to bring up six topics: Covid-19, American families, race, climate change, national security, and leadership.
DPAN.TV will livestream the debate and provide ASL interpreters, you can watch it on their Facebook page or website. Gallaudet University’s Center for Democracy in Deaf America will have a pre-debate panel at 8:15, you can watch it on Gallaudet’s Facebook page.
I plan to watch the debate, of course, and I’ll provide a recap on “The Daily Moth” tomorrow.
That is all the top news briefs for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Obama-delivers-blazing-critique-of-president-in-15665854.php
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1319299079264940039
https://twitter.com/TheCDDA/status/1318622395809267713/photo/1
https://electproject.github.io/Early-Vote-2020G/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/20/proud-boys-emails-florida/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54625270
https://nypost.com/2020/10/21/muslim-women-stabbed-called-dirty-arabs-in-eiffel-tower-attack/