# data[].attributes.headline
Chef Marcus Samuelsson celebrates the variety of Black food

# data[].attributes.subject
Chef Marcus Samuelsson celebrates the variety of Black food

# data[].attributes.body
This is a lifestyle story, not something as dramatic as the election coverage or COVID coverage.  Still, it's a needed respite from COVID and election news.  Also, the cookbook includes the work of activists, which sends a message of community and self-care.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
NEW YORK (AP) - If anyone asks chef Marcus Samuelsson what African food taste like, he has a ready answer: Have you ever had barbeque? Rice? Collard greens? Okra? Coffee?

"All of that food comes from Africa, has its roots in Africa," says the Ethiopian Swedish writer and restaurateur. "Everyone has had African American dishes, whether they know it or not."

Samuelsson is hoping to educate Americans and champion Black chefs in "The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food" from Little, Brown and Company's Voracious imprint.

The book has 150 recipes inspired by Black chefs, writers and activists, and includes profiles of 26. The recipes celebrate the legacy of Africa, the influence of migration and integration, and where cutting-edge Black chefs are going next.

"When I look at American food and I look at the Black experience, we've done so much but almost got erased," says Samuelsson, the chef of Harlem's famed Red Rooster. "There's never been a better time to tell those stories."

The book - with essays by Osayi Endolyn and recipe development by Yewande Komolafe - is a rich mix of stories and food, from citrus scallops with hibiscus tea to oxtail pepperpot with dumplings. As Samuelsson writes in the introduction: "This isn't an encyclopedia. It's a feast. And everyone's invited."

Readers will learn how Los Angeles-based chef Nyesha Arrington's cooking draws on family history from Mississippi and South Korea. They'll learn it takes just 45 minutes to make Eric Gestel's chicken liver mousse with croissants, a dish informed from his years cooking at the acclaimed Le Bernardin. And they'll learn how Mashama Bailey is reinventing traditional Southern dishes.

"Our pasts are so unique and it's so important to tell," says Samuelsson. "We needed to tell our very layered and beautiful, non-monolithic journey."

Samuelsson notes that many cookbooks celebrate European and Asian foods but hardly bring up Black dishes, meaning we know more about ricotta than ayib, the fresh cheese of Ethiopia.

"This is America's past. So for me, as much as we learn about Japan, as much as we learn about Italy and Spain and so on, wouldn't it be great to learn about our own food? This is America's food," he says.

Samuelsson compares the food in the book to popular music. He looks at New Orleans and hears the influence of France, Haiti, Africa and Spain - he hears jazz. Black food is no different.

"It comes from the continent first and then it lands here. And then, whether we went North or stayed in the South or went out West, it's going to have a different journey - a different flavor profile to it - depending on who we met and who we got together with," he says.

The book took four years to make and had to grapple with the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Samuelsson says in his author's note that the effects of COVID-19 will stay in the Black community for longer than elsewhere and that the nation must also fight the virus of systemic racism. But he marvels at the resiliency of the Black community and says "Black food matters."

"We still will cook," he vows. "Black food has always been controversial because the way we were brought here to work, the food and the land. We have always had to do it through different lengths and a different set of rules."

Readers will learn how wide and rich the food rooted in Africa can be, from the use of venison to pine nut chutney to roti. They'll learn that benne seeds are a delicious alternative to sesame seeds and make a vinaigrette sing.

"Whether this is your first experience making African-inspired dishes or you're familiar with them, my hope is this book will spark an interest - or continue one - and you'll want to learn more about the people redefining and celebrating this cuisine," said Endolyn.

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chef Marcus Samuelsson celebrates the variety of Black food

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NEW YORK (AP) - If anyone asks chef Marcus Samuelsson what African food taste like, he has a ready answer: Have you ever had barbeque? Rice? Collard greens? Okra? Coffee? "All of that food comes from Africa, has its roots in Africa," says the Ethiopian Swedish writer and restaurateur.

# data[].attributes.headline
Good News: You Can Sleep For One More Hour Tonight

# data[].attributes.subject
Good News: You Can Sleep For One More Hour Tonight

# data[].attributes.body
This story informs us about our daily life, it is the end of Daylight Saving Time on November 1st. This is relevant and newsworthy at the moment because while hour phones automatically change time, our clocks around our household, our cars, or other electronics, have to be changed by hand.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the U.S. adds nearly 100,000 new positive coronavirus cases in one day, and the never-ending election season strains our mystic chords of memory, there is at least a small bit of good news: You can have one extra hour of sleep tonight.

Some night owls might enjoy a fleeting moment of temporal delight as the clock flips from 1:59:59 to 1:00 a.m., ending the daylight saving time (DST) that started in March. But many Americans may just awake feeling a bit more refreshed.

(Residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona, and U.S. overseas territories aren't included; they'll just wake up as they normally do, though perhaps with a tinge of regret from eating too much candy the night before.)

According to National Geographic, the modern version of DST was suggested in the late 1800s by New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, who proposed a two-hour time shift so he could have more time to collect bugs. Some years later, various European countries adopted the policy as way to save energy.

The U.S. Congress first enacted DST in 1918, also adding time zones in the process. There have been several changes in the years since.

Most recently, in 2005, Congress extended DST by a month, by starting it three weeks earlier, in March, and ending one week later, in November. That was welcome news to the candy industry, which for decades has wanted to extend the length of time that kids can go trick-or-treating, hoping for increased candy sales.

Yet the time change has faced pushback in recent years. Studies are torn on whether the practice actually reduces energy consumption. But sleep researchers are in agreement that it does more harm than good.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine believes the U.S. should eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of standard time fixed throughout the year. Shifting from standard time to DST has been associated with increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and hospital admissions. Even the "fall back" causes problems, they say, including an increase in suicides.

"An abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks," the AASM wrote in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine this month. "These seasonal time changes should be abolished."

European sleep researchers agree. In a 2019 letter to the European Commission on DST, multiple European medical associations urged installing permanent Central European Time. They argued the change would improve sleep, be more heart-healthy, and reduce the incidence of cancer.

In fact, the European Parliament voted last year to discontinue the practice. It's up to individual EU member states to enact the change in their own countries.

In the U.S., several bills have been introduced in Congress to effectively implement year-round DST. But according to a September Congressional Research Service report, the House of Representatives is still awaiting feedback from the Department of Transportation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Good News: You Can Sleep For One More Hour Tonight

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the U.S. adds nearly 100,000 new positive coronavirus cases in one day, and the never-ending election season strains our mystic chords of memory, there is at least a small bit of good news: You can have one extra hour of sleep tonight.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Nation in Crisis Faces a Critical Moment in History this Election

# data[].attributes.subject
A Nation in Crisis Faces a Critical Moment in History this Election

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/01/politics/election-2020-donald-trump-joe-biden-history/index.html
This story informs the reader on how important the upcoming elections truly are for our country. We are facing some of the most difficult times our country has ever seen and this upcoming presidential election can decide how well we are able to pick ourselves up. This story is very newsworthy because it is important for the people to know that this election truly means something and it is vital that people go out and vote so our country can finally start to heal.

# data[].attributes.body
This news article serves us by showing us a something that is a big deal. It has been a big topic lately about finding missing children. I consider this newsworthy because it is a major deal and more people should know about what goes on with missing children.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/01/us/virginia-missing-children-recovered-trnd/index.html

# data[].attributes.headline
This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

# data[].attributes.subject
This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

# data[].attributes.body
I think this article serves all three purposes - it informs readers about daily life for those struggling with addiction, and one treatment option; it reports on the trend of addiction in the United States (an increasing trend during the pandemic); and it also socializes readers. On the latter point, the Times clearly believes that incentivized addiction treatment (which is what the article is about), and is telling readers it should be more widespread. I think it is newsworthy, because I think it is trying to illuminate what could potentially be a groundbreaking addiction treatment, even though its implications will most likely be socially divisive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An approach called contingency management rewards drug users with money and prizes for staying abstinent. But few programs offer it, in part because of moral objections to the concept.

Stephen Goldschmidt drawing a slip of paper from a bowl as part of his contingency management treatment at the Philadelphia V.A. Medical Center. Some slips offer encouraging messages; others, monetary rewards. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

PHILADELPHIA - Steven Kelty had been addicted to crack cocaine for 32 years when he tried a different kind of treatment last year, one so basic in concept that he was skeptical.

He would come to a clinic twice a week to provide a urine sample, and if it was free of drugs, he would get to draw a slip of paper out of a fishbowl. Half contained encouraging messages - typically, "Good job!" - but the other half were vouchers for prizes worth between $1 and $100.

"I've been to a lot of rehabs, and there were no incentives except for the idea of being clean after you finished," said Mr. Kelty, 61, of Winfield, Pa. "Some of us need something to motivate us - even if it's a small thing - to live a better life."

The treatment is called contingency management, because the rewards are contingent on staying abstinent. A number of clinical trials have found it highly effective in getting people addicted to stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine to stay in treatment and to stop using the drugs. But outside the research arena and the Department of Veterans Affairs, where Mr. Kelty is a patient, it is nearly impossible to find programs that offer such treatment - even as overdose deaths involving meth, in particular, have soared. There were more than 16,500 such deaths last year, according to preliminary data, more than twice as many as in 2016.

Early data suggests that overdoses have increased even more during the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced most treatment programs to move online.

Researchers say that one of the biggest obstacles to contingency management is a moral objection to the idea of rewarding someone for staying off drugs. That is one reason publicly funded programs like Medicaid, which provides health coverage for the poor, do not cover the treatment.

Some treatment providers are also wary of giving prizes that they say patients could sell or trade for drugs. Greg Delaney, a pastor and the outreach coordinator at Woodhaven, a residential treatment center in Ohio, said, "Until you're at the point where you can say, 'I can make a good decision with this $50,' it's counterproductive."

Image

Sam Lookatch of the Philadelphia V.A. Medical Center with $1 voucher rewards for Mr. Goldschmidt, to recognize his time being drug free. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

Two medications used to treat opioid addiction, methadone and buprenorphine, have often been viewed with similar suspicion because they are opioids themselves, even though there is abundant research showing they substantially reduce the risk of death and help people stay in treatment. But the federal government has started aggressively promoting such treatment for opioid addiction, and has heavily invested in expanding access to it.

As of yet, there are no medicines proven to suppress the intense cravings that come with addiction to meth and cocaine. Instead, there are a raft of behavioral interventions, some of which have very little evidence of effectiveness.

"The most common treatment is to do whatever the hell you feel like," said Michael McDonell, an associate professor at Washington State University who has conducted a number of studies on contingency management. "We had two statewide meetings about meth recently, and at one, a colleague said, 'Why aren't we just doing contingency management? Why would we spend all this money on interventions that won't work?'"

The fact that no public or private insurer will pay for contingency management, except in a few pilot programs, is a major challenge to expanding it; the biggest obstacle is that offering motivational rewards to patients has been interpreted as violating the federal anti-kickback statute. A group of treatment experts recently asked the Department of Health and Human Services to waive the statute for two years as it pertains to contingency management, but the agency refused, saying programs that provide rewards need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Congress recently told states that they could start spending federal "opioid response" grants on treatment for stimulant addiction, but the agency that distributes the grants allows only $75 per patient, per year to be spent on contingency management - far less than what research has found effective.

"The biggest question is how do we get the payers on board with this," said Eric Gastfriend, the chief executive of DynamiCare Health, a technology company in Boston that has worked with BrightView and other treatment programs to provide contingency management through a phone app that patients can use to share saliva test results with providers in real time, via video. For rewards, patients can earn up to $600 over the course of a year through DynamiCare, on a debit card that blocks cash withdrawals and purchases at liquor stores and bars based on merchant category codes.

Dominick DePhilippis, a clinical psychologist overseeing the program at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Philadelphia, said he had seen new interest in the approach as meth addiction has surged over the past few years. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

"I was hesitant to try it - like, hey, is this legal?" said Dr. Shawn Ryan, the chief medical officer and president of BrightView Health, an addiction treatment provider with locations throughout Ohio, which started using contingency management last year. But the results have been striking, he said, adding, "I'm talking about significant improvements in attendance to therapy sessions, significant reductions in drug and alcohol use."

Rewarding people for changing a behavior or adopting a new habit is a familiar concept, used by everyone from parents who are trying to get their children to do chores to companies that are trying to get their employees to stop smoking. Research has found it also helps people who are addicted to opioids, but for them, there are other treatments that are equally or more effective. For addiction to stimulants like meth and cocaine, however, contingency management has the best outcomes - especially when combined with therapy that helps people find healthier ways to meet their social and emotional needs than using drugs.

A 2018 meta-analysis of 50 clinical studies of interventions for cocaine and amphetamine addiction, for example, found contingency management combined with an intervention called the community reinforcement approach was the most effective.

Federal officials say that they want to expand access to contingency management for stimulant addiction, but that finding an effective medication for it would be better.

"If we were paying for it, that would help," Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said of contingency management for meth addiction. "But we badly need medications to help strengthen the response to behavioral interventions. This is a highly, highly addictive drug."

One patient at BrightView Health, Jodi Waxler-Malloy, 47, of Toledo, tried contingency management treatment after participating in more than a dozen treatment programs for cocaine, heroin and meth addiction since starting to use drugs in her early 20s.

BrightView restarted her on buprenorphine for her heroin addiction and set her up with the DynamiCare app and debit card as an incentive to stay off meth. DynamiCare would add between $1 and $25 to her debit card whenever she went to BrightView for a doctor appointment or therapy, though she never knew the amount ahead of time.

Jodi Waxler-Malloy of Toledo, Ohio, tried contingency management for a few months last year. "Maybe I was going to the appointments and meetings for the wrong reason at that time, but it helped me in the long run," she said. Credit... Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

"Nothing's for free, so at first I said, 'Yeah, yeah,'" Ms. Waxler-Malloy said. "But the next day, I looked at the app on my phone and they'd given me $25 for detoxing. Wow, really? I went back the next day and I got $5 more."

Ms. Waxler-Malloy said the monetary rewards helped her get through the first month of sobriety in particular, a period when her housing was precarious, her cravings were intense and she needed to save whatever money she earned waitressing for rent at a sober living house that she was waiting to move into.

"It was enough to buy cigarettes or grab something to eat," she said. "Maybe I was going to the appointments and meetings for the wrong reason at that time, but it helped me in the long run - helped me meet people, have a support group."

Contingency management has been used the most by the Department of Veterans Affairs, where 110 clinics and hospitals have employed it since 2011 to try to help more than 5,100 veterans stay off drugs.

Dominick DePhilippis, a licensed clinical psychologist who oversees the program at the department, said he had seen new interest in the approach outside the department as meth addiction has surged again over the past few years. He published a paper in 2018 that found that, on average, patients in the department's contingency management program attended more than half of their scheduled sessions, and that the average percent of urine samples that tested negative for the target drug was 91.1.

"It's not a panacea - not all patients respond to contingency management," Dr. DePhilippis said. "But I think of it as a scaffolding. We can't provide this reinforcement indefinitely, but for a sufficient amount of time that the patient will begin to experience the naturally occurring benefits of recovery."

For rewards, the department's treatment programs give vouchers for $1, $20 or $100 donated by the Veterans Canteen Service, which runs cafeterias, coffee shops and retail stores in many of the department's medical centers. Patients receive an average $200 in coupons over 12 weeks, which they can spend only in those outlets. For now, these programs are suspended at most of the department's centers because of the pandemic; at those that have resumed, Dr. DePhilippis said, a clinician can make prize draws from the fishbowl on the patients' behalf.

An encouraging draw from the fishbowl. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

"In the drawings, I did pretty good," said Eric Alick, 63, of Philadelphia, who completed a contingency management program for cocaine addition at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz V.A. Medical Center in Pennsylvania. "I might get three 'good jobs' in a row, but then, bingo."

Among the things he bought with his rewards were a new drill set for his job as a handyman, perfume for his wife and coffee and meals for homeless veterans whom he had met in the hospital cafeteria.

One problem with contingency management, evidence suggests, is that people have less success staying abstinent after the treatment ends. For that reason, Richard Rawson, a researcher at the University of Vermont who has studied meth addiction for decades, believes it should be used indefinitely, just as medications for opioid addiction often are.

"Unfortunately, addiction is a chronic brain disease and treatments need to be designed to accommodate this reality," he said.

For Ms. Waxler-Malloy, losing the debit card when her four months of contingency management ended in early January was hard, although her therapy sessions and 12-step meetings helped. Then, in May, she lost her waitressing job because of the pandemic and she relapsed, using meth and heroin "full force," she said, for three weeks before stopping with help from Brightview.

Still, the eight months she went without using drugs was her longest stretch of abstinence in more than two decades. She believes she may not have relapsed if contingency management, with its promise of rewards, had still been part of her treatment regimen.

"That kept me real accountable," she said recently. "Even just to stop at McDonald's when you have that little bit of extra money, to get a hamburger and a fries when you're hungry. That was really big to me."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An approach called contingency management rewards drug users with money and prizes for staying abstinent. But few programs offer it, in part because of moral objections to the concept. PHILADELPHIA - Steven Kelty had been addicted to crack cocaine for 32 years when he tried a different kind of treatment last year, one so basic in concept that he was skeptical.

# data[].attributes.body
This news article serves to inform American citizens on daily changes with the ongoing pandemic. It is definitely newsworthy as this topic relates to everyone.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Everything you need to know about coronavirus, including the latest news, how it is impacting our lives, and how to prepare and protect yourself.

# data[].attributes.headline
The World is Trapped in America's Culture War

# data[].attributes.subject
The World is Trapped in America's Culture War

# data[].attributes.body
This story serves to inform readers about topical issues such as race and politics and how they are viewed and discussed outside of the U.S. but those discussions, especially on the internet are colored by an American perspective.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
America won the internet, and now makes us all speak its language.

Arsh Raziuddin / The Atlantic

LONDON-Sharing the internet with America is like sharing your living room with a rhinoceros. It's huge, it's right there, and whatever it's doing now, you sure as hell know about it.

This month, Twitter announced that it would restrict retweets for a few weeks, and prompt its users to reconsider sharing content which has been flagged as misinformation. The reason for this change, of course, is the U.S. presidential election. The restricted features will be restored when its result is clear.

Anything that makes Twitter fractionally less hellish is welcome, as is the recent crackdown by Facebook and YouTube on QAnon conspiracy groups and Holocaust denial. But from anywhere outside the borders of the U.S., it is hard not to feel faintly aggrieved when reading this news. Hey guys! We have elections too!

After all, according to an anguished 6,000-word memo by Sophie Zhang, a departing Facebook data scientist, the political situations in Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Ukraine, and elsewhere have all been negatively influenced by online manipulation. "In the three years I've spent at Facebook, I've found multiple blatant attempts by foreign national governments to abuse our platform on vast scales to mislead their own citizenry," she wrote, adding that interference in Western Europe and the U.S. was taken more seriously than that in smaller, non-Western countries. (In a statement, Facebook told BuzzFeed: "We investigate each issue carefully, including those that Ms. Zhang raises, before we take action or go out and make claims publicly as a company.")

Every country using the English-language internet experiences a version of this angst-call it the American Rhino Problem. With so many dominant tech companies headquartered in Silicon Valley, the rules of the web are set there-and by politicians in Washington. The West once sent missionaries to bring Christianity to Africa; in 2013, Mark Zuckerberg promised to "bring the world closer together" by providing internet access to millions in the developing world. (That particular project failed, but there are now more Facebook users in India than anywhere else.)

Britain, where I live, cohabits particularly closely with the American rhino, because of our shared language and history. Brits watch Friends. We read John Grisham novels. We know what a sidewalk is, even though it should be called a "pavement." The website of the BBC, our national broadcaster, is always plastered with stories about the U.S., while Ireland, which was under British rule until a century ago and with whom we share a border, might as well be the moon. Ask 100 Britons to name the current Taoiseach, and you'll see 99 blank faces (and one inevitable smart-ass). Ask 100 Britons to name the U.S. president, and-well, I envy anyone who draws a blank there. Please give me directions to the rock under which they've been living.

The British political elite loves the United States: Every political adviser here goes to sleep hugging a West Wing box set. Our pollsters and political scientists become feverishly excited when they can switch from talking about our own elections-which have six-week campaigns, and have been tediously designed so the party with the most votes gets to be in charge-to the byzantine madness of the Electoral College. (Right now, everyone here has strong opinions on Florida.) And so the nonstop reality-television show that is the Trump White House has been inescapable in London, to a degree that is disproportionate even considering America's undoubted global influence. China makes our toys, our clothes, and our anti-COVID personal protective equipment, but occupies a fraction of our mental bandwidth.

Nowhere is the American rhino more obvious than in social-justice activism. "Over the past couple of months, many Britons have imported American discourse on race wholesale," the British writer Tomiwa Owolade argued at Persuasion, a newsletter edited by my colleague Yascha Mounk, in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests this summer. "When asked to analyze the experiences of Black people in the United Kingdom, we now talk with an American accent."

Here is one insignificant, but telling, example: In August, multiple stories focused on a photograph of the British singer-songwriter Adele with her hair in Bantu knots. She was "accused of cultural appropriation," the U.S. entertainment magazine Variety reported. According to the television channel ABC, the star was facing a "backlash" and was "caught in the crossfire." Fox News had her "slammed" and "taking heat" for the hairstyle. The gossip site PageSix claimed that "a new photo of Adele has sent the internet into a tizzy." Sensing the high level of interest in the story, British media websites covered it in similar terms.

Read: When the Culture War Comes for the Kids

Yet the controversy had an odd hollowness. One of the few named commentators quoted was Jemele Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, whose tweet expressing mild exasperation with the outfit received 27,000 likes. Incredibly, Fox News quoted "someone" who was offended. (Someone always is.)

But prominent Black Britons, including model Naomi Campbell and talent show winner Alexandra Burke, defended the singer. The politician David Lammy, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, pointed out that Adele was celebrating the annual Notting Hill Carnival, which has a long tradition of masquerade and "dress up." Most coverage was framed as a debate, but even the few pieces which offered straightforward criticism tended to be mild. One writer acknowledged the "differing responses to the star's misstep," while another argued that she could understand that Adele was "trying to be respectful at an event celebrating black culture with her Bantu knots," before concluding that the look nevertheless "left a bad taste in my mouth."

Related Stories

Sunder Katwala, the chair of the identity-focused think tank British Future, told me it was notable that when the British talk-radio station LBC discussed the controversy, it had to bring on the American writer Ernest Owens to make the case against the singer. "In the United States, Black women are often ridiculed for wearing their hair in cornrows and Bantu knots," Owens said. "But someone like Adele who is a white woman, she can choose to put that hairstyle on. It's a trend for her." Owens later conducted another interview with Talk Radio in London, and his Twitter replies show that the BBC was also trying to get in touch. Somehow, a man from Philadelphia had become the designated arbiter of whether it was appropriate for a British woman to wear a Jamaican flag bikini and a hairstyle named for people in southern Africa. (American readers: If you think being stuck in a culture war is bad, imagine being stuck in someone else's.)

The apparent absence of anyone in Britain who was truly outraged by Adele suggested to Katwala that there was something synthetic about the whole debate. He said he wondered whether it was an attempt by the British right to import American culture wars-which have benefited Republican politicians looking to drum up support among working-class voters. In the U.K., provocateurs such as Piers Morgan seek out the most eye-catching opinions of not only British activists to denounce, but American ones too. Morgan's new book, Wake Up, is a jeremiad against "the woke world view." It expresses fury at the British government's handling of COVID-19 and the failed police investigation into the disappearance of a British toddler, but also about Google removing the egg from its salad emoji, Rose McGowan's tweet apologizing to Iran for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the use of the N-word in rap music, and the opinion writer Bari Weiss's resignation from The New York Times.

The wall-to-wall coverage of the Adele story and of other apparent outrages reflects a simple demographic and economic truth: There are six times as many Americans as Britons, so English-language publishers around the world are keen to serve the U.S. market. Going viral on the British corner of the internet is less rewarding, in terms of web traffic and advertising revenue, than " breaking America."

But what happens when another country's conversation about race takes place in an "American accent"? In his article for Persuasion, Owolade argued that this risked cloaking "the reality of Black British lives behind an abstraction that flattens our humanity." He noted that while many Black Americans are descendants of slaves, the majority of Black Britons are immigrants, or the children of immigrants-which should influence our discussions of diversity initiatives here in Britain. While Black Britons are underrepresented in publishing and the arts, the same is not true in the kinds of professions toward which middle-class immigrants push their children. "In a country in which black people make up only 3 percent of the population, for example, 6 percent of junior doctors are black," Owolade wrote.

Katwala also stressed that British-born people from a Black Caribbean background are four times as likely as Black Americans to have a white partner, and those from a Black African background are twice as likely. The majority of mixed-race Britons are themselves in mixed-race relationships. As a result, he added, the "segregationist strand of Black American race thinking" is not really present in Britain. As for cultural appropriation: "I've got an Indian name. I grew up Irish Catholic and did Irish dancing. Where are the boundaries?"

This undisputed rule over the English-language internet is not just a problem for smaller countries such as Britain-it isn't good for the United States either. Being part of the dominant group always leads to shortsightedness: an assumption that your laws, culture, and taboos are universal, the default state of humanity.

Citizens of pretty much any other advanced democracy will find it strange to read an American journalist's claim that "we have long lines for voting for the same reason we have long lines for major concerts: it's a rare event for which demand occurs all at once." I have voted about a dozen times in Britain, in local and general elections, and have never had to get in line, despite a determinedly lo-fi system. Our polling stations are church halls and elementary schools, our ballots are strangely shaped pieces of paper, and the staff are largely volunteers and retired people. (Many Americans living in affluent, white-majority districts will have had the same smooth experience.) That voting takes so long in some parts of the United States is, itself, a political issue.

The situation reminds me of the caustic headline that The Onion, a satirical website, runs every time a mass shooting occurs in the U.S.: "'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens." In fact, guns may be the best example of how hegemony breeds insularity, as Americans forget how unusual their gun laws are compared with those in other liberal democracies. For that reason, internet discussions of social justice usually treat the widespread presence of guns, and high murder rates, as a given. "Something is weirdly absent from the general discussion about police violence in America: the weapon most commonly used to inflict it," as my colleague Derek Thompson wrote this summer.

From here, that omission looks weird indeed. Although London's Metropolitan Police Service was notoriously described as " institutionally racist" in 1999, following its bungled investigation into the murder of a young Black man, far fewer officers carry guns in the U.K. than in the U.S. From April 2017 to March 2018, there were only four fatal police shootings in Britain. "American police are always armed, are frequently seen in combat gear, and are instructed that their first duty is to protect fellow officers, not to protect the public," Kathleen Burk, a professor emerita of modern and contemporary history at University College London, wrote this summer. "Conversely, most policemen in the U.K. are not normally armed and are trained to police with the consent of the population: their main role is to protect the public." In other words, it's not that American police are racist and British officers aren't, but that racism manifests differently in each country-and here, any police bias is far less likely to lead to a death.

Still, there are some upsides to living alongside the American rhinoceros. Every few months, British journalists have a good laugh at one of The New York Times' irregular forays into describing our country, with its swamps (no), petty crime (cheeky) and taste for boiled mutton (absolutely not). We know that Britain occupies a particular place in the American imagination, because of your interest in our royal family, The Great British Baking Show, and Downton Abbey. You need us to be quaint and backward, because it flatters your own self-image. We are the old country. You are the New World.

Living on the American internet is a reminder that for much of Britain's recent history, we were the ones turning up in foreign countries, lazily declaring them to be a "land of contrasts," and their people "simple but happy." As a former colonial power, the current situation is no more than we deserve. America, our former colony, won the internet, and now makes us speak its language.

Helen Lewis is a London-based staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The World Is Trapped in America's Culture War

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
America won the internet, and now makes us all speak its language. LONDON-Sharing the internet with America is like sharing your living room with a rhinoceros. It's huge, it's right there, and whatever it's doing now, you sure as hell know about it.

# data[].attributes.body
This does not at all inform us about our daily life, but it socializes us. I believe this is newsworthy because similar to the video we love a story where the underdog comes out on top. The expectations for the Lions winning games are low, even people on the team predicted this game as a loss. Having missed the game and hearing that they actually won was indeed news to me!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ATLANTA - It took 57 seconds for T.J. Hockenson to go from potential goat to hero of the Detroit Lions' 23-22 win over the Atlanta Falcons, and naturally he did it on the corniest of made-up holidays, National Tight Ends Day.

Hockenson failed to get out of bounds while fighting for extra yards on the second play of the Lions' desperation final drive Sunday, then caught the winning touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford as time expired.

"We've talked about dagger time all the time and we obviously showed it today," Hockenson said. "Just trying to believe in what we've done in practice and what we've done throughout the week. We work on drives like that, situations like that all the time."

The Lions (3-3) rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 1:04, thanks in part to two big catches from Hockenson.
[ Lions grades: Stafford gets first A of season after clutch TD vs. Falcons ]
On second-and-10 from the Lions' 25, Hockenson caught a 13-yard pass near the visiting sideline for a first down. The tight end failed to get out of bounds, though, allowing an extra 15 or so seconds to run off the clock.

Stafford spiked the ball on the ensuing play with 34 seconds left, then hit two long passes to Danny Amendola and Kenny Golladay to give the Lions one final shot at the end zone with 2 seconds on the clock.

On second-and-10 from the 11, Stafford stepped up in the pocket to avoid a sack then side-armed a pass to Hockenson streaking across the front of the end zone for an easy touchdown.

Hockenson said the play, which called for vertical routes by the Lions' two outside receivers and a tight end pick in the middle of the field, is a staple of the Lions' red zone offense and hurry-up offense.

"Usually it's a bang-bang play at the goal line," he said. "That's kind of what usually happens, what we practice on, and then today they played a different coverage than we thought. It ended up being zone and (Falcons linebacker Deion Jones) was just sitting right in the middle at the goal line. I turned around and saw Staff scrambling and I just continued on the route and he ended up finding it and it was history from there."
[ Lions' gift TD from Atlanta Falcons' Todd Gurley makes him 'mad as hell' ]
In his second NFL season, Hockenson has become one of the Lions' most dependable red zone threats. He leads the team with four touchdown catches this year and had five receptions for 59 yards Sunday, one that he celebrated as National Tight Ends Day.

"Last Sunday in every October," Hockenson said. "George (Kittle, the San Francisco 49ers tight end), came up with it a few years ago and it's kind of caught on. So it's a lot of fun just being out there and kind of just saying whatever. And they talk about our position, and we block, we run routes, we kind of do everything, so it's super cool to just have a day and obviously I appreciate George for that."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
T.J. Hockenson delivers game-winning touchdown for Detroit Lions on National Tight Ends Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ATLANTA - It took 57 seconds for T.J. Hockenson to go from potential goat to hero of the Detroit Lions' 23-22 win over the Atlanta Falcons, and naturally he did it on the corniest of made-up holidays, National Tight Ends Day.

# data[].attributes.body
This story is topical to the season of Halloween, but is also informational about some of the history and psychology around clowns and the fear that they inspire in some. I'm not sure it is newsworthy, but it is certainly entertaining.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Latest: Trump tweets support for France after attack

# data[].attributes.subject
The Latest: Trump tweets support for France after attack

# data[].attributes.body
This story reports on a topical trend: France's "terror" attack and aftermath and Donald Trump's tweets in response. The story also does a good job of informing its readers of the events that happened chronologically since the event. However, although this story is newsworthy, it is biased in nature; this is an important thing to watch out for when reading news stories.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-latest-pope-prays-for-nice-church-attack-end-to-terror/ar-BB1avJVJ?fbclid=IwAR1NA-19d2jmRA5frgxluFQub2YvkzoLdw8xIDZA1PH9YYQMm1gNVuhv1yA&ocid=BingNews

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Associated Press 5 hrs ago

PARIS (AP) - The Latest on a knife attack in Nice, France, (all times local):

5:55 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to express his support for France after a knife-wielding man killed three people in an attack at a church in the southern French city of Nice.

Trump tweeted: "Our hearts are with the people of France. America stands with our oldest Ally in this fight. These Radical Islamic terrorist attacks must stop immediately. No country, France or otherwise can long put up with it!"

5:20 p.m.

Pakistan's foreign minister has condemned the killing of three people in a knife attack inside a church in the southern France city of Nice.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressed reporters Thursday after leading a rally in Multan to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

He said that Pakistan is "against any such incidents and we condemn violence wherever it happens."

Qureshi congratulated about 1,000 rallygoers for peacefully expressing their love for the prophet.

Many attendees chanted slogans against France. Earlier Thursday, dozens of Pakistani students rallied in the capital, Islamabad, to denounce the French president's support of secular laws that protect caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad as freedom of expression.

5:10 p.m.

Twitter removed a tweet from former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad for glorifying violence but France's digital minister demanded the company also ban him from its platform.

Cedric O said he told the managing director of Twitter in France that Mahathir's account "must be immediately suspended," O tweeted on Thursday. "If not, @twitter would be an accomplice to a formal call for murder."

Mahathir, 95 and a former Malaysian prime minister, appeared to say the deaths of French people would be justified, in the wake of attacks that French authorities attributed to Muslim extremists.

"Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of people for the massacres of the past," he said Thursday, in a series of tweets that began with his thoughts on the beheading of a middle school teacher who showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a class on free speech.

Twitter at first put a label on the tweet saying it glorified violence but left it up because it "may be in the public's interest."

The tweet was later removed and replaced with a tag saying it broke the rules. The company said it took action for violating its policy on glorification of violence, which doesn't allow threats against individuals or a group of people.

Mahathir was twice prime minister, and his second stint lasted from 2018 until he quit in February 2020. He has been viewed as an advocate of moderate Islamic views and a spokesman for the interests of developing countries. But at the same time, he pointedly criticized Western society and nations and their relationships to the Muslim world.

4:45 p.m.

Somalia's presidency says it "deeply regrets any violation against the faith and sanctity of the Muslim people, including insults to Prophet Mohammed under the pretext of freedom of speech," but it does not mention Thursday's attack at a church in France.

The Horn of Africa nation has seen protests this week after French President Emmanuel Macron defended laws that protect cartoons of the prophet as freedom of speech.

Somalia's presidency warns that "any act that hurts the feelings of Muslims will serve the interests of extremist groups" and should be avoided at any cost. It urges world leaders to clearly differentiate between freedom of speech and violation of religious beliefs.

4:40 p.m.

Nordic and Baltic leaders expressed dismay after the attack in the southern French city of Nice where three people were stabbed to death inside a church, with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen saying she was "deeply saddened."

"Denmark stands shoulder to shoulder with our French friends in this difficult time," Frederiksen wrote on Twitter.

Her Norwegian counterpart, Erna Solberg, wrote that "we must protect human rights and not be threatened by terrorists."

"We urge political and religious leaders in the Muslim world to distance themselves from extremism and protect freedom of expression," Solberg said.

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said on Twitter that "acts of terror can never be justified."

4:10 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended his condolences to French President Emmanuel Macron and families of the victims of the attack in Nice. In a telegram quoted by the Kremlin, Putin called the attack "a cynical and a cruel crime inside a church" and said that "the notions of human morals are absolutely alien to terrorists."

Also on Thursday, several dozen people gathered in front of the French embassy in Moscow, denouncing the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Asked by reporters whether a newspaper like Charlie Hebdo could exist in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was impossible, pointing out that around 20 million Muslims live in Russia and the country has legislation that outlaws insulting religious beliefs. At the same time Peskov called the killings in Nice "an absolutely horrifying tragedy."

3:55 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he will more than double the number of soldiers deployed in the country to protect against attacks, sending 7,000 to guard schools and religious sites in particular after a man armed with a knife killed three people at a church in Nice.

Macron's announcement to increase deployments from around 3,000 currently to 7,000 came hours after the attack in the Mediterranean city left two women and a man dead at the Notre Dame basilica. The killings put France on its highest level of alert and come at a time of extreme tension over the republication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

3:45 p.m.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades says he was "horrified and saddened" by the deadly knife attack in Nice. Addressing his French counterpart and the people of France, Anastasiades posted on his official Twitter account that Cypriots "share your pain and stand in solidarity with you."

He said Cyprus stands "united against hatred and terrorism." "Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones," Anastasiades said

2:55 p.m.

Dozens of Pakistani students have rallied in the capital, Islamabad, to denounce the French president's support of secular laws that protect caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad as freedom of expression.

The protesters on Thursday held banners and chanted slogans against President Emmanuel Macron, saying Muslims are ready to die to protect the honor of Islam's prophet.

The rally came on the day an attacker armed with a knife killed three people inside a church in the French city of Nice.

Authorities deployed police to prevent demonstrators from marching toward the French Embassy and the protesters eventually dispersed peacefully.

2:45 p.m.

Saudi Arabia, the scene of an attack on a guard at the French Consulate in Jiddah on Thursday, has condemned the knife attack at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice that left three people dead. Its Foreign Affairs ministry tweeted that it condemned the attack and also offered condolences for victims of the attack.

2:40 p.m.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri posted on Twitter "the strongest condemnation" of the attack in Notre Dame Church in Nice, calling it a heinous crime. "Terrorism has no religion, and all Muslims are called on to reject this criminal act that is not related to Islam or to the prophet of love," he wrote.

2:35 p.m.

The European Union's top officials have strongly condemned the knife attack in Nice and expressed their support to France, a founding member of the 27-nation bloc.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU's executive arm, said the whole of Europe stands behind France, "determined in the face of barbarism and fanaticism."

EU Council president Charles Michel, who chairs the meetings of the EU's 27 leaders, expressed his "solidarity with France and the French" in a message posted on Twitter.

"My thoughts are with the victims of the heinous attack on Nice and their loved ones. All of Europe is with you," Michel wrote.

EU leaders were expected to meet later Thursday during a video conference. The Elysee press service said French President Emmanuel Macron was still planning to attend the meeting despite a planned trip to Nice in the afternoon.

2:30 p.m.

The energy-rich country of Qatar has offered its "strong condemnation and denunciation" of the attack in France.

The country's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that it wanted to reiterate "Qatar's firm position on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and reason."

Many Muslims are marking Thursday as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

A top Emirati diplomat, Anwar Gargash, has tweeted noting the Prophet's birthday and saying that "we affirm that the speech of violence and extremism does not represent us."

2:10 p.m.

Turkey has condemned the attack in Notre Dame Basilica in Nice amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

"We stand in solidarity with the people of France against terror and violence," a Turkish foreign ministry statement said, while strongly condemning the attack.

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted in Turkish and French, expressing his condolences. "We will fight all kinds of terror and extremism with determination and in solidarity," he said.

Relations between Turkey and France have been tense in recent months over Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean. They hit a new low after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of Islamophobia and questioned his mental health, prompting Paris to recall its ambassador to Turkey for consultations.

Erdogan's criticism came after French President Emmanuel Macron's firm stance against Islamism following the beheading of a teacher who showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a class lesson on free speech.

1:55 p.m.

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod has condemned the deadly attack at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice and said on Twitter that "Denmark stands shoulder to shoulder with our French friends and allies."

The Foreign Ministry quickly warned on Twitter that Danes in Nice should "avoid the area around the church" and follow local authorities' news updates.

Across the Baltic Sea, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius wrote on Twitter in French that "terrorism will never win over European values and our unity."

1:50 p.m.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has expressed solidarity with France in a tweet sent in French and Dutch following the Nice church attack.

"For the second time in a short time, France is startled by a gruesome act of terrorism, this time in Nice. Our thoughts go out to the next of kin. And we say to the French people: you are not alone in the fight against extremism. The Netherlands is next to you," Rutte tweeted.

1:47 p.m.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is "appalled" by the "barbaric attack" at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and the U.K. stands steadfastly with France against terror and intolerance," Johnson said in a tweet sent in both French and English.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the U.K. "stands with France today in sorrow, shock and solidarity."

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and we offer every support to the French people in pursuing those responsible for this appalling attack," he said in a statement.

1:45 p.m.

Officials across the political spectrum in Germany have condemned the attack in the southern French city of Nice, with some calling for a solidarity rally outside the French embassy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "deeply shaken by the terrible murders in a church in Nice," adding that her thoughts were with the relatives and those injured.

She added: "The French nation has Germany's solidarity in these difficult hours."

An attacker armed with a knife killed three people in the southern French coastal city Thursday.

German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement that she was "shocked at the news of another terrible crime in France" and expressed her sympathy to the victims.

She added that if the attack is confirmed to be an Islamist terror attack, then it would be "an attack on our way of life and our core values."

Social Democratic lawmaker Konstantin Kuhle called for people to gather for a minute's silence later Thursday to commemorate recent victims of attacks in Paris, Dresden and Nice.

His call was backed by Berlin state official Sawsan Chebli, who encouraged fellow Muslims to participate and send a signal against what she described as "those Islamist monsters."

___

1:30 p.m.

Pope Francis is praying for the victims of the knife attack at a Roman Catholic basilica in the southern French city of Nice and for an end to all "terrorist" violence.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says Francis was informed about Thursday's attack at the Notre Dame Basilica and expressed his solidarity with the Catholic community in France.

In a statement, Bruni said the attack "sowed death in a place of love and consolation."

He said Francis was praying for an end to such violence and "for people to look at each other again as brothers and sisters and not as enemies."

An attacker armed with a knife killed three people. It was the third such attack in recent weeks following furor over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were republished by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

___

11:20 a.m.

An attacker armed with a knife has killed three people at a church in the southern French city of Nice.

It was the third attack in two months in France amid a growing furor over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were republished by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Other confrontations and attacks were reported Thursday in the southern city of Avignon and in the Saudi city of Jiddah, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the attack in Nice.

Thursday's assailant in Nice was wounded by police and hospitalized after the killings at the Notre Dame Basilica, less than a kilometer (half-mile) from the site in 2016 where another attacker plowed a truck into a Bastille Day crowd, killing dozens of people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Latest: Trump tweets support for France after attack

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PARIS (AP) - The Latest on a knife attack in Nice, France, (all times local): 5:55 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to express his support for France after a knife-wielding man killed three people in an attack at a church in the southern French city of Nice.

# data[].attributes.headline
Stocks have their worst day in a month as virus cases surge

# data[].attributes.subject
Stocks have their worst day in a month as virus cases surge

# data[].attributes.body
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/10/26/national-business/stocks-have-their-worst-day-in-a-month-as-virus-cases-surge/
This article would fall under the category of topical events. It tells us about an abnormal event that affects the US economy. It could also be considered information for daily life because many people have investments in the stock market and news can help them make decisions on when to buy, sell or hold. The article is newsworthy because the stock market is something that effects many people and is also an indicator for how the economy of the country is doing. It is important that people are informed of major changes in the economy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Supreme Court Won’t Speed a Do-Over on Pennsylvania’s Ballot Deadlines

# data[].attributes.subject
Supreme Court Won’t Speed a Do-Over on Pennsylvania’s Ballot Deadlines

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/us/supreme-court-pennsylvania-ballots.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Functions to inform readers of topical issues. In this case, the much anticipated Supreme Court decision about whether Pennsylvania could have extra days to count record breaking number of ballots.

This is newsworthy because it was new justice Amy Barrett’s first showing in her new role and she unexpectedly did not participate, seeming to signal a measure of judicial rectitude.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is a relevant topic since we are currently having a presidential election and the two presidential candidates have very separate viewpoints when it comes to the conversation on taxes which effectives all us citizens in all economic classes. As President, Biden will require corporations and the wealthiest Americans to finally pay their fair share. He won’t ask a single person making under $400,000 per year to pay a penny more in taxes, and will in fact enact more than one-dozen middle-class tax cuts that will finally give working families the financial support they deserve. If Trump succeeds, 99% of this giveaway will flow to the top one percent. Billionaires will pay a lower tax rate than tens of millions of essential workers and middle-class Americans. In Trump’s America, a working family making $65,000 will pay 22% on every extra dollar they earn, not including payroll taxes, while billionaires will pay just 15% on their profits from investments.

-Bryce Dorsey

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
During the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump promised tax cuts that would create jobs and provide substantial savings for working families. What did he deliver?

For four years, Trump has relentlessly pursued an economic agenda that rewards wealth over work and favors multinational corporations over small businesses. After first trying to strip health care protections away from more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, President Trump spent the remainder of his first year in office fighting for a $1.5 trillion tax giveaway primarily for large corporations and the wealthy. His Republican allies in Congress even admitted they needed to pass the bill to satisfy their donors . Almost immediately after signing the bill into law, Trump flew to Mar-a-Lago to tell his club's wealthy members, " you all just got a lot richer. "

But middle-class Americans were largely left out. Tax experts estimate that over the long run, Trump's tax giveaway will flow to the top 1% of earners in this country. And, while our country faces an unconscionable racial wealth gap , the average Black and Latino family received less than half the tax savings as the average white family. Trump even snuck in a hidden middle-class tax hike that will kick in after he leaves office to pay for this permanent corporate tax giveaway.

As President, Biden will require corporations and the wealthiest Americans to finally pay their fair share. He won't ask a single person making under $400,000 per year to pay a penny more in taxes, and will in fact enact more than one-dozen middle class tax cuts that will finally give working families the financial support they deserve. But struggling families need support immediately, which is why Biden is demanding that Trump get off the golf course and provide emergency tax relief to middle class families as part of a new COVID-19 response package.

Trump has not only refused to deliver for struggling working families, he is now pushing for another misguided tax giveaway for America's wealthiest families. That's the fundamental difference between Trump and Biden - Trump is focused on further enriching billionaires like himself, while Biden wakes up every day asking how he can help the middle class.
I. Trump's Tax Proposal In An Economic Crisis: A New Billionaire Tax Cut
While 2020 has brought untold pain and economic hardship for tens of millions of working families, America's richest billionaires have seen their fortunes swell. Trump should be focused on helping struggling Americans make their rent and mortgage payments, keep their lights on, and put food on the table for their children. Instead, he is focused on delivering yet another tax giveaway for the wealthy. Trump has pledged to lower the maximum capital gains rate - the tax paid on profits from investments - to just 15% for wealthy Americans.

If Trump succeeds, 99% of this giveaway will flow to the top one percent. Billionaires will pay a lower tax rate than tens of millions of essential workers and middle-class Americans. In Trump's America, a working family making $65,000 will pay 22% on every extra dollar they earn, not including payroll taxes, while billionaires will pay just 15% on their profits from investments. Trump's billionaire tax giveaway will mean untold hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires over time. Indeed, it provides tens of billions of dollars in tax giveaways to billionaires just for their gains during the COVID year of 2020. In effect:

Trump wants to give the 10 richest billionaires - who have made a total of $196 billion this year amid the COVID-19 crisis - a combined $17.2 billion tax cut.

Trump wants to give the 50 richest billionaires - who have made $312 billion during the COVID-19 crisis - a combined $27.5 billion tax cut.

Trump wants to give the 100 richest billionaires - who have made $334 billion during the COVID-19 crisis, a combined $29 billion tax cut.

Table 1 - The Trump Billionaire Tax Cut, By The Numbers

Wealthiest American Billionaires Wealth Gain in 2020 Trump Billionaire Tax Cut Biden Stops Trump Tax Giveaway & Makes Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share

Source: Bloomberg Billionaires, September 8, 2020,

Available at https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/?sref=Yt1f10Jr

Notes: The Trump Billionaires Tax Cut is calculated by lowering the capital gains rate from its current level of 23.8% to Trump's proposed 15% rate. The difference between Trump's Billionaire Tax Cut and Biden's proposal shows how a Biden level of 39.6% compares to current law as well.

II. Trump's Tax Record: Billions For Foreign Investors And Large Multinational Corporations
Trump's original tax cut blatantly prioritized wealth over work, large corporations over small businesses, and even foreign investors over the American middle class. It is no wonder that:

43% of the benefits of Trump's corporate tax giveaway goes to foreign investors.

$134 billion in tax giveaway s went to foreign investors in fewer than three years after Trump signed this bill into law.

Foreign investors received a bigger tax cut than the 95 million most-hard pressed working households in our nation - combined!

Corporations that pocketed billions of dollars from the tax giveaway still slashed jobs, shifted production overseas, and passed profits through to wealthy investors.

In 2018, in the wake of the Trump tax giveaway, 91 companies in the Fortune 500 paid no federal taxes on their income and another 56 paid less than 5 percent. These firms could have used their tax windfall to raise wages, purchase new equipment, or invest in research and development. But Trump's tax giveaway had no strings attached: many of these corporations simply passed their higher profits through to investors and executives by repurchasing more than worth of their own stock. Even worse, many of these companies took advantage of Trump's new tax incentives for offshoring and shipped jobs overseas.

Just a few examples of the harmful impact of Trump's corporate tax giveaway include:

To help pay for his permanent tax giveaway to corporations, Trump imposed a secret tax hike on middle-class Americans. Trump and his allies needed to sacrifice something in order to satisfy congressional rules and pass their tax giveaway for large corporations and the wealthy. Their solution was to raise taxes on the middle class by slowing the rate of inflation in the tax code, which will push working families into higher and higher tax brackets over time and devalue the amount of their tax credits. The result is that by 2027, around 70% of middle-class families will have to pay higher taxes.
III. Biden's Plan: Make The Wealthy And Corporations Pay Their Fair Share, And Provide Tax Relief For Working Families
While Trump and his allies have sought to mislead, deceive, and flat-out lie by suggesting Biden will raise taxes on ordinary Americans, fact-checkers have called this desperate line of attack what it is - false.

According to Politifact , "Donald Trump Jr. claimed in a widespread tweet that former Vice President Joe Biden 'wants to raise taxes on 82% of all Americans.' The eldest son of President Donald Trump was repeating a refrain from the Republican National Convention, where Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and Eric Trump made similar claims . . . We rate this statement False."

wrote "this claim is FALSE, based on our research. Biden said he will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. A taxpayer making $75,000, or making $3,000 biweekly, would not move to a higher tax bracket, as claimed. Analysts concluded that Biden's tax plan would apply to wealthy individuals and corporations."

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget stated , "During the 2020 Republican National Convention, several speakers claimed that Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden would substantially raise middle-class taxes if elected President . . . We find that these statements range from somewhat misleading to largely false."

Joe Biden will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. Period. But he will ask wealthy Americans and big corporations to pay their fair share, including by:

Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% - TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

Joe Biden will provide meaningful tax relief for working families. For years, these Americans have felt the squeeze of stagnating wages and an ever-increasing cost-of-living . Now, Trump's tragic mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic has produced an almost unprecedented economic crisis. Almost half of all Americans live in a household that has lost employment income since mid-March and 1 in 4 expect to lose income in September. Approximately 47% of renters believe they will likely face eviction over the next two months and more than 1 in 5 homeowners consider foreclosure likely.

Biden is proposing more than a dozen bold policies to bolster financial security and spur economic growth by reducing taxes on the middle class.

Expand the Child Tax Credit to help families through the crisis. Biden understands the urgency of delivering immediate financial assistance to working families. As President, he will support a significant expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for the duration of the crisis, as proposed in the House-passed HEROES Act. Biden's CTC expansion will provide thousands of dollars of tax relief for middle-class households. It will also help the most-hard pressed working families avoid poverty and attain greater economic security. Specifically, Biden will increase the CTC to $3,000 per child for children ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 for children under 6. He will also make the CTC fully refundable so that hard-pressed families can access these resources quickly. And, he will allow families to receive monthly payments if they choose. Under the Biden plan, for 2021 and then as long as economic conditions require:

A teacher and an electrician with a 7th grader and a newborn will receive an additional $2,600 - or $6,600 total.

A nurse and a grocery store clerk with a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old will receive an additional $3,200 - or $7,200 total.

A firefighter with three teenagers will receive an additional $3,000 - or $9,000 total.

A letter carrier and a child care worker with children ages three, five, seven, and nine will receive an additional $5,200 - or $13,200 total.

As a long-term strategy to ease the financial burden on working families, Biden is committed to offering specific tax cuts for major costs these families face, including:

Tax credits that help working families afford health insurance. In addition to his bold policies to protect and expand Obamacare, Biden will ensure that no family spends more than 8.5% of their income on health insurance by expanding access to refundable health premium tax credits.

Tax credits that help working families afford child care. Biden will offer up to $8,000 in tax credits to help low-income and middle-class families pay for child care as part of his comprehensive plan to create a 21st century caregiving economy. This is a major expansion of the existing tax credit which could mean up to $6,800 in additional tax relief each year for such families.

Tax credits that help working families pay for the cost of caring for an aging loved one, modeled off of legislation supported by AARP . Biden will also increase the generosity of tax benefits for older Americans who choose to buy long-term care insurance.

Tax credits to help families buy their first homes and build wealth - up to $15,000. Building off of a temporary tax credit expanded as part of the Recovery Act, Biden's tax credit will be permanent and advanceable, meaning that homebuyers receive the tax credit when they make the purchase instead of waiting to receive the assistance when they file taxes the following year.

Equalizing the tax benefits of retirement plans. Current tax benefits for retirement savings provide upper-income families with a significant tax break, while providing a limited benefit for low- and middle-income workers. Biden will equalize benefits across the income scale, so working families also receive substantial tax benefits when they put money away for retirement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Tale Of Two Tax Policies: Trump Rewards Wealth, Biden Rewards Work

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
During the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump promised tax cuts that would create jobs and provide substantial savings for working families. What did he deliver? For four years, Trump has relentlessly pursued an economic agenda that rewards wealth over work and favors multinational corporations over small businesses.

# data[].attributes.headline
Manufacturer did not report customer complaints of screws in pizza dough

# data[].attributes.subject
Manufacturer did not report customer complaints of screws in pizza dough

# data[].attributes.body
This article  serves mostly in the category of socialization, implying that the public has a right to know immediately if something is wrong with a company's product. (It includes the claim by the company that there is no requirement as to when or how tampering is reported, but doesn't provide any substantiation)
Because this is a followup to the original story that detailed the discovery of tampering and the recall of the pizza dough, it doesn't really serve your daily life unless you hadn't heard of the original story. I think it has some newsworthiness, although probably mostly just makes the reader angry.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A pizza dough manufacturer did not report three complaints made in September about screws found in its product sold at Hannaford stores.

That revelation, first reported by the Portland Press Herald, comes amid a multi-agency investigation into allegations that a man inserted razor blades and other metal objects into pizza dough at Hannaford stores.

Scarborough-based It'll Be Pizza did not report the complaints back in September because it was conducting its own internal investigation, according to the Portland Press Herald.

It'll Be Pizza told the Press Herald the screws did not match any of the machinery it used during production, and customer reports were inconsistent. In addition, it claimed that federal requirements do not specify how or when a case of tampering must be reported - only that it must be reported at some point.

"In hindsight, IBP appreciates that it could have done better when it comes to more timely reporting of consumer product tampering," Tim Bryant, a Portland attorney for It'll Be Pizza, told the Press Herald. "It could have done better. For that, IBP would like to apologize to everyone who was impacted."

The three complaints to It'll Be Pizza were all made in September at different Hannaford locations: one in Wells, one in North Berwick and one in Dover, New Hampshire.

The company claims that after the third complaint, it hired a private investigator to track down Nicholas Mitchell, a former employee who had been fired for tardiness and whose unemployment claim It'll Be Pizza had successfully denied. Mitchell has been charged in connection with the tampering and is being held at the York County Jail in Alfred without bail.

Bryant told the Press Herald this was the first time in 20 years that It'll Be Pizza had ever received a report of a foreign object found in any of its products.

The dough manufacturer isn't the only company under scrutiny for its handling of the tampering. Hannaford may have violated Maine food regulations when it failed to immediately report screws and razor blades found in the dough in its stores back in August.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Manufacturer did not report customer complaints of screws in pizza dough

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A pizza dough manufacturer did not report three complaints made in September about screws found in its product sold at Hannaford stores. That revelation, first reported by the Portland Press Herald, comes amid a multi-agency investigation into allegations that a man inserted razor blades and other metal objects into pizza dough at Hannaford stores.

# data[].attributes.headline
Indigenous murdered, missing acts signed into law

# data[].attributes.subject
Indigenous murdered, missing acts signed into law

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.enidnews.com/news/state/indigenous-murdered-missing-acts-signed-into-law/article_e9637edd-30f1-5f71-b596-489a5adeb680.html

This article covers the topical issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. It covers two bills that have recently be signed into law, Savanna's Act and The Not Invisible Act. The article explains how the new laws are meant to work as well as how some tribal members are "a little skeptical" they will make much difference. The article is very news worthy and this topic and been under the radar for most people for decades.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose this news article because it is about a current event that has a significance on everyone's future for the next 4 years. This election will effect our everyday lives depending on who is elected. It is important that everyone feels free and unintimidated to go to the polls and cast their vote.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With the presidential election just days away, record voter turnout is being met with the specter of voter intimidation, leaving some Americans with fears of confrontation at the polls from now until Nov. 3.

Civil rights advocates, election experts, and government officials have expressed heightened concerns following President Donald Trump's recent call for his supporters to "go into the polls and watch" for possible voting fraud, as well as his reelection campaign's recruitment and training what it has called an "army" of supporters to become poll watchers. And they are working hard to make sure Americans know their rights when they get to the polls and know how to protect them.

"Voter intimidation is against the law, period," Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told ABC News. "In the current political environment, there's a palpable concern about voter intimidation that should not be understated, and there's a genuine need for good-faith poll observers to be on alert for threats to the most fundamental aspect of our democracy: free and fair elections," she said.

While experts say the overwhelming majority of voters will not experience intimidation, there are a few factors that make this election cycle stand out: the expiration of the 1981 consent decree that limited the RNC's ability to engage in what it called "ballot security measures" following allegations of voter intimidation, and the rise of far-right armed groups and Trump's reluctance to distance himself from them.

The concern is particularly acute for voters of color, who have historically been targeted by voter intimidation efforts. But experts say that voter intimidation will not be pervasive, despite the environment -- and that there is a good deal that individuals can do to counter it.

"I hope that most voters in most places won't encounter anything like this. They will go to the polls, they will have the experience that every American is entitled to have, which is a peaceful chance to cast a constitutionally protected vote," said Joshua Geltzer, executive director of the Institute of Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University. "But there's reason to ensure that those who might not have that experience know what to do this cycle, because this cycle is at least raising the possibility that it won't unfold that way for every American."

Here's what to know about potential voter intimidation efforts this election cycle, what states and other authorities are doing to counter them, and what you can do.
Increased reports of intimidation
For the first time, the Institute of Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University is partnering with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the lead civil rights advocacy group that runs the Voter Protection Hotline, to respond to calls from voters who report seeing armed groups patrolling around polling locations.

Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told ABC News that the Committee has, through its hotline, seen a rise in complaints of voter intimidation, including reports of militia activity.

"The work is now intersecting with the election cycle. It is clear that these groups not only feel emboldened generally, but they feel emboldened specifically in relation to voting and specifically in relation to people going to the polls," Geltzer said.

"And while of course there are legitimate poll watchers authorized by law in various states, that is a far cry from encouraging just anyone to show up and cause problems at the polls, which is what the president seems to be doing," he added.

Geltzer told ABC News that the orientation of these armed groups, which he said are often white supremacist in nature, leaves communities of color vulnerable to intimidation.

Despite the heightened chatter about possible intimidation, Clarke says she doesn't believe "there is a systemic national voter intimidation campaign underway."

Still, she said she believes it's important to call out any concerns. "We want to ensure that voters feel free to cast their ballots, but when an incident of intimidation arises, we believe it's important that people report it to election officials, report it to our nonpartisan hotline, and report it to local law enforcement if they feel threatened," she said, adding that voters need not be worried but should remain on alert.
What should voters do?
Federal law states that "no person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for voting or attempting to vote."

Asked what constitutes voter intimidation, Geltzer told ABC News that "the answer is a pretty wide array of activity that is impermissible, so certainly violent behavior in or near a polling site."

"Confronting voters, especially doing so in military-style uniforms, brandishing firearms to intimidate voters from approaching a polling station or casting a vote, verbally threatening violence, all of this is the type of conduct that would constitute voter intimidation," he said.

The ability for licensed gun owners to carry a firearm at a polling place varies around the country. Roughly a dozen states, including Georgia, California, Arizona, and Florida explicitly ban concealed or open-carry guns at a polling place. In light of the increased concerns, some state officials have taken precautionary measures, including Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whose office now faces a civil lawsuit after banning open-carry firearms at polling sites -- a measure she said would "protect our voters from intimidation, threats, and harassment."

Sarah Brannon, managing attorney of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project, says states also have varying laws and specific regulations designed to protect voters and ensure an orderly polling place.

"All states have a rule about how close you can get to the polling place if you are not a voter. So if you're there protesting or supporting your candidate, you have to stay, in many circumstances, 50 to 75 feet away from the door of the polling place, so that people can go in and out of the place without feeling obstructed."
What poll watchers are and aren't
Though statutes vary from state to state, certified poll watchers are generally appointed by political parties, or candidates on the ballot to oversee the voting process and report any issues to election officials or party officials.

While poll watchers can closely monitor voting, they can't campaign inside a precinct, or interfere with the voting process beyond reporting an issue, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Even with the right certifications, the ACLU stresses that poll watchers cannot "aggressively ask voters about their citizenship, criminal record, or other qualifications in a manner that interferes with a person's voter rights."

"If somebody were to ask that kind of a question of you, you can just sign [a sworn statement] to affirm the truth of who you are and your eligibility. So there's a mechanism that will allow you to vote, even if somebody is asking questions," Brannon said.

Brannon advised that people should educate themselves about the voting process and know the federal and state laws so that they're well-informed and not influenced by rhetoric.

Experts say they expect a mostly peaceful election day, but in case you feel threatened, or encounter violence, call 911 immediately. Law enforcement and local authorities should be able to help you address any immediate threat or attempts of voter suppression you might face while trying to cast your vote.

If it's "something short of the fear of imminent violence," Geltzer says, then he advises telling a poll worker or an election official if you feel you're experiencing any coercion or voter suppression.

"It may be worth documenting it because campaigns themselves, or others who assess after the fact, will want to know whether voting unfolded fairly," Geltzer noted, adding that you can also contact the Election Protection Hotline by dialing 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

Brannon says she wants Americans to feel confident knowing that attempts to intimidate voters are "not as easy to do as some of the rhetoric might suggest."

"It's very important that everybody votes in the election and we hope people know and feel comfortable knowing that even if there are protests or people at a polling place who are supporting their candidate and being loud, that there are rules about what they can and cannot do so that people casting their ballot can have some level of protection in that environment," Brannon said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Election 2020: How to spot voter intimidation and what to do

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn the voting process so you're not influenced by rhetoric, experts advise. With the presidential election just days away, record voter turnout is being met with the specter of voter intimidation, leaving some Americans with fears of confrontation at the polls from now until Nov. 3.

# data[].attributes.body
https://bocanewsnow.com/2020/10/27/now-179-covid-cases-in-palm-beach-county-schools/     The purpose is to inform about local health.  Awareness

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/us-election-news-10-26-2020/index.html
This video shows a CNN reporter discussing how the election is going. It also gives some insight as too how the financial part of the campaign is going. CNN is not a reliable source because they are a far left organization. When providing news for people, it shouldn't be pushing any beliefs, but instead informing people as to what is actually happening.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose this news article because it connects a lot of current events with the election and voting laws to the supreme court nominee. It helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how important the timing of the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett has been and the huge effect that it could have on America in the future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
republicans push for supreme court hearing of pennsylvania voting case - cnnpolitics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
With Barrett seated, Republicans push for Supreme Court hearing of Pennsylvania voting case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With Amy Coney Barrett now seated on the Supreme Court, Republicans are pushing for reconsideration of a Pennsylvania case on mail-in voting -- the first potential test of how the new justice will handle election challenges.

# data[].attributes.body
This news tells me what is happening in the rest of the country. Where I might send donations, who is in need of help.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Zeta will strengthen on its way across the Gulf of Mexico, likely hitting the U.S. coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center says. Parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are now under hurricane warnings,including metropolitan New Orleans.

"This is a life-threatening situation," the NHC said on Tuesday, urging people to take precautions against the risk of flooding and other hazards.

The system is currently a tropical storm, weakened by its landfall overnight on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Zeta has sustained winds up to 65 mph, the NHC said in its 2 p.m. ET update. The storm is traveling northwest at 14 mph.

Zeta will make landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Wednesday afternoon or Wednesday night before moving across the Southeast early Thursday, the NHC said. The forecast path sees the center of the storm passing near Biloxi.

If Zeta hits the U.S. coast as a hurricane, it would be latest hurricane landfall on the continental U.S. since Kate in 1985, according to meteorologist Philip Klotzbach. It's following a path that's very similar to other recent storms such as Hurricane Delta, which passed over Mexico's state of Quintana Roo before spinning its way to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

No major changes at the 1PM CT update as Zeta remains a Tropical Storm. It has just now moved back into the Gulf and should strengthen back into a hurricane today. pic.twitter.com/PqO5jvMq6B
- NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) October 27, 2020

Zeta's large size and angular approach to the shore mean a broad area is under alert. Tropical storm warnings extend inland to an area just south of Montgomery, Ala.

A hurricane warning was issued early Tuesday morning from Morgan City, La., eastward to the Mississippi/Alabama border - a warning area that includes New Orleans. Such warnings are normally issued 36 hours before the anticipated first arrival of tropical-storm-force winds.

Zeta could bring a storm surge of 5-8 feet of water in worst-hit areas, the hurricane center said. A storm surge warning is in effect from Intracoastal City, La., to Navarre, Fla., including several bodies of water that are near the shore, such as Mobile Bay, Lake Pontchartrain and Pensacola Bay.

"It's real important," NHC Director Ken Graham said Tuesday in an online briefing. "If the local officials tell you to get out of these low areas, you've got to listen to them, because the storm surge is historically the most deadly part of these tropical systems."

The storm is expected to speed up a bit as it nears the coast, a shift that could lessen the impact of its heavy rains. A wide area of the shore will be affected: Zeta is extending tropical-storm-force winds outward for up to 140 miles, the hurricane center said.

Zeta is the 27th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. The most ever in a single season was 28, a mark that was set in 2005, the hurricane center says.

The next three storms on the official list, drawn from the Greek alphabet because the roster of full names is exhausted, would be called Eta, Theta and Iota.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Zeta Triggers Hurricane Warning For New Orleans, As Gulf Coast Awaits Storm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Zeta will strengthen on its way across the Gulf of Mexico, likely hitting the U.S. coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center says. Parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are now under hurricane warnings,including metropolitan New Orleans.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/26/us/california-fires-monday/index.html I choose a News story about the wildfires in Southern California. This news story reports on the sad trend of wildfires springing up all through California as it’s just not Southern California this has happened in. This story is most definitely News worthy as over 90,000 people were told to evacuate which shows the mass size of this fire. Also the effect this has on the environment is news worthy on it’s own

# data[].attributes.headline
Channel migrants: Four dead as boat sinks near Dunkirk         Two adults and two children have died after a boat carrying migrants sank, French officials have said.A large search and rescue operation began earlier after the vessel was seen in difficulty near Dunkirk.Two children - aged five and eight - and a man and a woman have died. Fifteen others have been taken to hospital, French officials said.

# data[].attributes.subject
Channel migrants: Four dead as boat sinks near Dunkirk         Two adults and two children have died after a boat carrying migrants sank, French officials have said.A large search and rescue operation began earlier after the vessel was seen in difficulty near Dunkirk.Two children - aged five and eight - and a man and a woman have died. Fifteen others have been taken to hospital, French officials said.

# data[].attributes.body
So sad - trying to flee from war, poverty etc. to find a better life for your family

# data[].attributes.body
Daily (personal - do I need to evacuate & weather) and Topical (an event, among others in the state)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Silverado Fire and the Blue Ridge Fire grew rapidly overnight, forcing more evacuations in Irvine and other parts of Orange County.

Video

Back

transcript

Firefighters Injured, Thousands Forced to Evacuate From California Fires

Tens of thousands of Californians were forced to flee their homes as two wildfires continued to spread on Tuesday through Orange County.

Well with most of these fires, the wind is the biggest problem so - mother nature controls that. So, we just try to do what we can.

Tens of thousands of Californians were forced to flee their homes as two wildfires continued to spread on Tuesday through Orange County. Credit Credit... Eric Thayer for The New York Times

LOS ANGELES - As two wildfires raged across Southern California on Tuesday, nearly doubling in size overnight and forcing thousands more people to flee their homes, the state's utility companies are again coming under scrutiny for their potential role in sparking new blazes.

Southern California Edison said its equipment may have played a role in starting one of the fires, the Silverado Fire, which had churned through about 13,000 acres in Orange County.

The fire raised more concerns about whether utilities have substantially improved their safety efforts, and whether the company should have more broadly shut off power in Southern California this week. Edison's posture stood in contrast to Pacific Gas and Electric, which turned off power to a broad swath of Northern California beginning on Sunday over fears of dangerous wildfire conditions.

Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, the fires in Orange County have put more than 90,000 people under emergency evacuation orders, many of them in Irvine. Their homes are being threatened by both the Silverado Fire and the Blue Ridge Fire, which has a footprint of about 15,000 acres.

Investigators have not determined what ignited the fires, but on Monday, Southern California Edison filed its second wildfire incident report this year, saying that a telecommunications line might have struck its equipment and might have caused the Silverado Fire. Last month, the utility filed a report that said its equipment was part of an investigation into the cause of the Bobcat Fire, which burned about 116,000 acres near Pasadena.

Edison said on Tuesday that it did not cut power to the line possibly connected with the Silverado Fire because wind speeds were not high enough to warrant it.

Even critics of the utilities cautioned against drawing conclusions about the incident reports. Telecommunications companies hang their wires on utility poles and are responsible for their own equipment.

Image

The Blue Ridge Fire burned near homes in Yorba Linda, Calif., on Tuesday. Credit... Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

"We don't want to make any wide-eyed accusations without having the evidence," said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, which represents consumers before the utility commission.

The record-breaking 2020 fire season has seen enormous wildfires tear across California and other states in the West. Experts have linked the worsening fire season to climate change, as emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels have led to warmer and drier conditions.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that while fall fires are predictable, "Just about everything else about the present situation is quite unusual."

More than five million acres have burned across California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington State this year. In California alone, fires have burned more than 4.1 million acres, destroyed 10,488 homes and other structures and led to at least 31 deaths.

There were concerns on Tuesday about whether the wildfires could affect voting in Orange County, where thousands of people are under evacuation orders. Numerous places around Irvine and other parts of the county, such as parks and schools and community centers, had been set up as evacuation centers. At least four of those sites, officials said, are also slated to be voting centers, raising the possibility that they may not be able to open for voters later in the week if the fires do not subside.

"Right now we're at a wait and see," said Neal Kelley, Orange County's registrar of voters. "We'll start making decisions tomorrow."

Mr. Kelley said he had been in consultation with fire officials on Tuesday, and had been told they were hopeful that the winds would subside, and that evacuees would be able to go home in time for voting. He said the county's plan had been to set up the voting sites on Thursday, to be ready to open on Friday.

More than 750 firefighters have been battling the blazes, which were known to have damaged 10 homes as of late Tuesday afternoon. But the area of concern widened as winds blew the fires to new areas, including toward Chino Hills, a city of about 84,000 people that sits at the corner of Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties.

The Orange County Fire Authority, which is the lead agency battling both fires, said it hoped that softening winds would slow the fires' pace and allow firefighters to use aircraft to contain the blazes. The Silverado Fire is 5 percent contained and the Blue Ridge Fire is completely uncontained.

Firefighters on Tuesday said they were hopeful that, with forecasts predicting that winds would subside in the afternoon and evening, they would be able to increase the containment of the fires and, possibly, allow people to start returning to their homes.

"Our concern is getting people back in their homes once it's safe," said Capt. Jason Fairchild, of the Orange County Fire Authority.

While officials set up numerous evacuation centers, many residents who evacuated chose to avoid them, either out of concerns about the coronavirus or because they could afford to stay in hotels.

Firefighters battling the Silverado Fire in Irvine, Calif., on Monday. Credit... Eric Thayer for The New York Times

Mina Darabi, 57, who lives in Irvine, rushed out of her home on Monday, grabbing passports and whatever family photographs could be found. While her husband and 14-year-old son stayed at a hotel, she chose to stay in her car in the parking lot of a high school, which was set up as an evacuation center.

"Because of the coronavirus I didn't want to go to the hotel," she said. "I don't know, I was so overwhelmed and I didn't know what I wanted to do."

She said that she spent a cold, sleepless night in her car, and that Tuesday night she would likely join her family at a hotel. "It was so windy and cold that I didn't get out of the car to go to the bathroom," she said.

Two firefighters were gravely wounded by the Silverado Fire, and they were intubated on Monday after receiving second- and third-degree burns across most of their bodies, said Brian Fennessy, the fire authority's chief.

The injuries to the firefighters, who are 26 and 31 years old, only raise the stakes in the scrutiny over the actions of the utility companies.

Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, which pioneered the strategy of power outages to reduce wildfire risk, typically cut power to fewer homes and businesses at a time than Pacific Gas and Electric, which has been more willing to cut off power to tens of thousands of customers.

"I think most customers are much happier with the surgical approach with the wildfire shut-offs," Mr. Toney said. "I don't see any evidence in effectiveness" in PG&E's approach, he said.

Tuesday morning, fewer than 20,000 Edison customers were without power compared with about 100,000 in PG&E's service area - including the Bay Area, where thousands of households and businesses have bought backup power systems since the widespread outages were first carried out last year. The backup power systems, which can cost several thousand dollars to install, are an added expense for an already expensive state - and seen by some as the cost of climate change.

The shut-offs were an added challenge for families already dealing with distance learning because of the pandemic. In some communities online classes were canceled because of the power outages. Even some households with generators had trouble connecting to the internet. Comcast, the internet provider, said the blackouts had affected its equipment, causing 100,000 households to lose their internet connections.

In Southern California, outages have been much less extensive.

"We've broken our grid up so we can do smaller shut-offs to our customers," said Taelor Bakewell, an Edison spokeswoman.

Two firefighters were seriously burned in the Silverado Fire on Monday. Credit... Eric Thayer for The New York Times

PG&E, which emerged from bankruptcy in June after amassing $30 billion in liability from wildfires in recent years, has been widely criticized for its broad approach to cutting its customers' power. On Sunday, the utility left 345,000 customers in the dark before beginning to restore power a day later.

But the approach PG&E took over the last few days, the most widespread power shut-off this year, appears to have worked. There have been no reports of fires caused by PG&E's equipment during the latest power shut-offs, which were prompted by extreme weather events in Northern California.

Tim Arango reported from Los Angeles, Ivan Penn from Burbank, Calif., and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs from New York. Ana Facio-Krajcer contributed reporting from Irvine, Calif., Thomas Fuller from Moraga, Calif., and John Schwartz from West Orange, N.J.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
90,000 Told to Flee as California Fires Nearly Double in Size

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Silverado Fire and the Blue Ridge Fire grew rapidly overnight, forcing more evacuations in Irvine and other parts of Orange County. LOS ANGELES - As two wildfires raged across Southern California on Tuesday, nearly doubling in size overnight and forcing thousands more people to flee their homes, the state's utility companies are again coming under scrutiny for their potential role in sparking new blazes.

# data[].attributes.headline
FDA approves first treatment for COVID-19

# data[].attributes.subject
FDA approves first treatment for COVID-19

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-treatment-covid-19

This article informs us about our daily lives because we are currently living through a pandemic. COVID-19 is one of the biggest newsworthy topics right now because it is affecting almost every individual globally. I think this story serves the function of keeping the public informed about covid related news. I was actually surprised it was not bigger news today, as the first treatment for this disease seems like a major breakthrough.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is informing the people of the United States that the pandemic is not over, and is actually getting stronger. Coronavirus is a global issue that has been covered in the news for almost a year. This story is newsworthy because it helps inform people that COVID-19 is still spreading rapidly, and to not abandon masks, hand washing, social distancing, etc.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"I look at it more as an elongated exacerbation of the original first wave," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday at an annual event for Yahoo Finance. "It's kind of semantics. You want to call it the third wave or an extended first wave, no matter how you look at it, it's not good news."

Fauci and other experts are particularly concerned that the recent surge in cases is starting from a higher baseline of roughly 40,000 cases per day, compared with 20,000 cases per day during the summer surge.

"Each wave we start from a higher baseline and we start climbing," Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health said, noting that during the summer, infections were rising most in the South and Southwest. "This time, it's all around the country and we're heading into winter, where the virus becomes more efficient in spreading."

Still, Jha said the terminology isn't as important as Americans understanding that the growth of new cases can quickly become exponential.

"The metaphor of a wildfire is probably better," said William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "It's indisputable that the U.S. is now seeing a pretty widespread transmission across the board."

Unlike a wave, which comes and passes through, wildfires can be patchy and more intense in areas, similar to the situation in the U.S., Hanage said. Community mitigation efforts such as masking and social distancing can stamp out the spread, but then infections tend to pop up in other areas with more relaxed measures.

Tara Smith, an infectious diseases epidemiologist at Kent State University in Ohio, is not a fan of the wave terminology. "That implies there's a trough, and our cases have never really declined that significantly," she said.

Small gatherings are now playing a larger role in driving transmission, Smith said, and can be tied to the fatigue from a pandemic nearing its eighth month.

"Everyone wants to feel a bit of normalcy, even if for an evening," she said.

As the U.S. heads into the winter holiday months, doubling-down on basic public health measures is even more crucial, especially wearing a mask and avoiding crowds and close contact in closed spaces with poor ventilation, experts say.

"When you're dealing with the first full winter of the worst pandemic that we have seen in a century, the capacity for chaos is there and is real," Hanage said. "The virus likes chaos."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Coronavirus in U.S. is spreading like 'wildfire,' epidemiologist says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"I look at it more as an elongated exacerbation of the original first wave," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday at an annual event for Yahoo Finance. "It's kind of semantics.

# data[].attributes.headline
The books that see her through: Winfrey suggests seven

# data[].attributes.subject
The books that see her through: Winfrey suggests seven

# data[].attributes.body
This article informs readers, especially Winfrey fans, about what she is recommending. Given the nature of the books, there is an element of socialization as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
New York - With Election Day approaching and the pandemic ongoing, Oprah Winfrey is setting aside her usual book club recommendations and instead citing seven personal favorites, ranging from James Baldwin's landmark essays in "The Fire Next Time" to Mary Oliver's poetry collection "Devotions."

Winfrey is calling her choices "The Books That See Me Through," works she values for "their ability to comfort, inspire, and enlighten."

"It's a mix of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and spirituality, books I know and trust and revisit time and again," she said in a statement Monday.

Her new list, announced in partnership with Apple, includes Eckhart Tolle's spiritual guide "The Power of Now" and a classic novel she picked in 1996 for her book club, Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon." Winfrey also chose Ta-Nehisi Coates' prize-winning book on race and police violence, "Between the World and Me"; historian Jon Meacham's "The Soul of America: The Battle For Our Better Angels"; and an anthology edited by U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, "When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry."

Winfrey will "dive deeper into each book" on Instagram, according to Monday's press announcement, but will not be airing any interviews on Apple TV Plus as she has done with other picks since she signed with Apple in 2019. Winfrey had planned a new choice every two months; her previous selection, Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste," was announced in early August.

Winfrey spokesperson Chelsea Hettrick said the seven books announced Monday would serve as "a bridge between selections," and that no firm timeline had been set for future choices.

"This year has brought such unprecedented change overall. We will re-evaluate in the coming weeks the selection plan and timing for the remainder of 2020," she said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
`The books that see her through': Winfrey suggests seven

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New York - With Election Day approaching and the pandemic ongoing, Oprah Winfrey is setting aside her usual book club recommendations and instead citing seven personal favorites, ranging from James Baldwin's landmark essays in "The Fire Next Time" to Mary Oliver's poetry collection "Devotions."

# data[].attributes.body
This article refers to the current situation and problems faced by the protesters in Nigeria. Although non-western news do not receive as much media attention as, for example the US presidential elections or the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, it is important to be aware of the problems faced by people in countries that are not in everyday media focus. So, this news story is an example of socialization and awareness of the problems that people in Nigeria face on a daily basis.

Therefore, this article and EndSars movement news in general, are certainly a topical trend because they are present in everyday informative news, but also among trends on social networks, especially on Instagram and Twitter.

This article is newsworthy because we need to finish what started with the Black Lives Matter movement, and these are not the problems of just one ethnic group but the problems of humanity facing any form of discrimination. We are witnessing wars or genocides around the world, and movements such as the EndSars movement, should be in the public spotlight on a daily basis.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The anti-police brutality protests in Nigeria created a powerful movement that appeared to shake those in power, but after a turbulent fortnight, BBC Hausa editor Aliyu Tanko considers where it goes from here.

A potent mix of street protests and social media has given young Nigerians a voice that has shattered the country's culture of deference.

As the #EndSARS hashtag went viral, so did a defiance of the elite in Nigeria.

The trashing of the palace of the highly respected oba, or traditional ruler, of Lagos was symbolic of this mood.

The youths dragged his throne around, looted his possessions and swam in his pool.

What began as a protest against the hated police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) has become a conduit for the youth to vent their anger with the people who have been in charge of Nigeria for decades, and demand change.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned in 2017 that "we are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder" when it comes to the young.

His comments were about the continent in general but they apply to Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 200 million people, more than 60% of whom are under the age of 24.

The majority of those of working age do not have formal employment and there are few opportunities to get a good education. Earlier this year, government statistics showed that 40% of Nigerians lived in poverty.

'Not usual mischief-making'

But those currently in power at first misunderstood what was going on this time, activist and writer Gimba Kakanda told the BBC.

"The #EndSARS protests were initially perceived as another of the youths' episodic mischief-making that would fizzle out if left unaddressed," he said.

"This mind-set of the political class, almost overly condescending, was the reason for its slow response to this unprecedented movement and left them all on the edge."

The question is where does that movement go now?

The success of the protest in forcing concessions from the government - such as a promise to disband Sars, and wider police reform - has given Nigerian youths confidence and they believe that they can make a difference.

A few days into the protests, activists were able to establish a helpline that could respond to emergencies. They also provided legal services to those in need and even set up a radio station.

These were financed through crowdfunding and were cited as examples of how Nigeria could be better if it were not for the politicians who often seem more interested in what they can personally gain, rather than how they can improve the country.

But there has also been an ugly side.

While those who backed and came out in support of the #EndSARS movement were peaceful, another segment of the youth saw the protests as an opportunity.

They vandalised shops, raided warehouses and targeted the businesses of prominent politicians.

Although the approach of these two groups is different, they do share one thing in common: a disdain for those in charge.

It is unlikely though that they can find common cause. Any move in that direction may affect the spread of the movement across the country because some will find it hard to sit at the same table as people with "questionable character".

'Buhari missed the point'

There is nevertheless an awareness on the part of the authorities that poverty and hardship are national security threats, activist Mr Kakanda said.

"The government has realised that it can no longer take such outrage for granted as it has done before," he added.

But it continued to make missteps in trying to quell the mood.

President Muhammadu Buhari's address to the nation on Thursday evening "missed the point by a wide margin", according to blogger and columnist Japheth Omojuwa.

Mr Buhari called for an end to the protests and the beginning of a dialogue, but "he will be remembered for threatening Nigerians just because they asked their government to commit to justice".

Nevertheless, Mr Omojuwa believes that the #EndSARS movement can achieve something.

It should not focus on long-term ambitions of gaining political power, he argues, but rather should make sure that the authorities stick to their promise of reform and bringing errant policemen to justice.

It is these small steps that may eventually bring wider change.

More about Nigeria's #EndSars protests

This tumultuous fortnight and particularly the shooting of protesters in Lagos on 20 October will be remembered in Nigeria for a long time.

Those in power are clearly worried that the country's huge young population can no longer be ignored, or, failing that, cajoled.

It is getting organised as evidenced by the huge donations received by a relatively unknown group - the Feminist Coalition - that rallied support for the protests and shook the foundations of Nigeria.

The fact that these young women said they would regroup makes the elite jittery and clearly indicates that the system needs to work for all and not for the privileged few.

From this episode, Nigerian politics has changed forever because the youths have realised how powerful they are and what they can achieve when they unite for a common goal.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the End Sars protests have changed Nigeria forever

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The anti-police brutality protests in Nigeria created a powerful movement that appeared to shake those in power, but after a turbulent fortnight, BBC Hausa editor Aliyu Tanko considers where it goes from here. A potent mix of street protests and social media has given young Nigerians a voice that has shattered the country's culture of deference.

# data[].attributes.headline
Coronavirus: Protests in Italy over new pandemic crackdown turn violent

# data[].attributes.subject
Coronavirus: Protests in Italy over new pandemic crackdown turn violent

# data[].attributes.body
This article informs and reports about recent events that are happening in Italy after the new restrictions promoted by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Thousands of protesters turned out several Italian towns and cities on Monday to vent their anger, sometimes violently, at the latest pandemic restrictions.

The demonstrations came on the day when restaurants and cafes were forced to close early, and cinemas, gyms and other leisure venues were closed altogether.

The new measures are the government's response to soaring COVID-19 infections which have brought fears that hospitals may become overwhelmed.

Violence clouds peaceful protests

In the northern city of Turin, some demonstrators broke off from a peaceful protest, smashing store windows on an elegant shopping street, setting smoke bombs and hurling bottles at police in a main city square where the Piedmont regional government is headquartered, RAI state TV said.

A photographer was injured by a hurled bottle, RAI said. Police fired tear gas to clear the protesters in Piazza del Castello. Several people were reportedly arrested.

In that same square, hours earlier, some 300 taxis peacefully lined up in neat rows to draw attention to their economic losses from the implosion of tourism and disappearance of workers from the city centre as they do their jobs remotely during the pandemic.

In Italy's business capital, Milan, police used tear gas to scatter protesters Monday night, and an Associated Press journalist saw at least two people detained.

Trams were vandalised, bins set on fire, scooters overturned and some windows smashed. Bottles and smoke bombs were hurled at security forces who responded with tear gas.

In the south, clashes were also reported between groups of youths and police in Naples, where thousands of people called for the resignation of the head of the Campania region.

Economic woes

Smaller cities, including Catania in Sicily, and towns also saw protests Monday. In Cremona, a town in northern Lombardy, restaurant owners turned out in front of the local interior ministry's office. After banging pots and bans, they left them piled up in the street to highlight their economic woes worsened by the latest early-shutdown decree, the ANSA news agency said.

The protests began shortly after the national government's order took effect requiring bars, cafes and restaurants to close their doors at 6 p.m. for the next 30 days as Italy tries to rein the resurgence of coronavirus infections in recent weeks.

Since most Italians don't dine out before 7:30 p.m. at the earliest, the decree effectively wiped out most of the restaurants' already reduced revenue in the pandemic, although takeout and delivery can continue until midnight.

The restrictions also require high schools to move to at least 75% distance learning while younger children remain in classrooms.

Indoor and outdoor gatherings including for religious reasons are banned. The government also strongly recommends people avoid having house guests and travelling in the country except for work, health or other necessities.

Extremist groups implicated

Triggering the violence in Turin were a group of "ultras," as violent soccer fans are known, the LaPresse news agency said. It said five of the protesters were detained by authorities.

Last week, a peaceful march by shopkeepers and other business owners in Naples, upset about a regional curfew that orders citizens off the streets at 11 p.m., turned violent near the Campania region's headquarters. Investigators were quoted in Italian media as saying the violence, in which police officers were injured, bore the hand of the Camorra, the local organized crime group.

A day later, an extreme right political group staged a violent demonstration in downtown Rome.

Far-right politicians have slammed the restrictions. But the political left and the government have accused the right of surfing on popular discontent. "Don't forget that the real enemy is the virus," Italy's President Sergio Mattarella said on Monday.

People urged to 'take responsibility'

The Italian crackdown was announced on Sunday, a day after the country registered more than a half-million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic's outbreak.

Italy has been registering around 20,000 new confirmed infections per day and health authorities have warned that some hospital COVID-19 wards risk hitting the saturation point in the next week or two.

Europe's confirmed death toll from coronavirus has topped 250,000 according to the US Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said national lockdowns can be avoided, urging countries to use other methods to stop virus transmission, including boosting surveillance, testing and contact tracing.

A senior WHO official said on Monday that people should take personal responsibility for everyday decisions, such as whether to visit crowded places, avoiding closed environments and postponing social gatherings.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
COVID-19: Protests in Italy over new pandemic crackdown turn violent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Thousands of protesters turned out several Italian towns and cities on Monday to vent their anger, sometimes violently, at the latest pandemic restrictions. The demonstrations came on the day when restaurants and cafes were forced to close early, and cinemas, gyms and other leisure venues were closed altogether.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/black-man-shot-dead-police-philadelphia-sparking-heated-protests-n1244888

This article informs and socializes the reader/viewer about an incident that took place in Philadelphia.  The publication of the video, which doesn't consistently show the altercation, promotes  a variety of feelings  in viewers.

While the story is newsworthy, I believe it pits one group against another.

# data[].attributes.headline
Seeking power in Jesus’ name: Trump sparks a rise of ‘Patriot Churches’

# data[].attributes.subject
Seeking power in Jesus’ name: Trump sparks a rise of ‘Patriot Churches’

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/10/26/trump-christian-nationalism-patriot-church/

This article is of topical interest, dealing with politics and religion, particularly the elections and one group of ardent Trump supporters. The article includes several quotes from church members, and also describes the concerns that other Christians have about these people. Several photographs feature the American flag and/or white people praying, plus there's the notorious photo of Trump holding a Bible.  It's a long article, detailing all the beliefs these folks have that give liberals like me the heebeejeebies. As I read, I was well aware of my own bias against irrationality and patriarchy. One effect of such a long article is to create the feeling that people like this are a looming threat to true religious freedom and other rights. Are they truly an imminent threat or are they just a small group of people with a more extreme outlook?

# data[].attributes.body
This story informs and reports on a topical trend with little, if any, bias. It doesn't use inflammatory language or shows both the liberal and conservative views of the confirmation. It's newsworthy because the appointment may affect American social policy for decades.

# data[].attributes.headline
India's first 'saviour sibling' cures brother of fatal illness

# data[].attributes.subject
India's first 'saviour sibling' cures brother of fatal illness

# data[].attributes.body
This BBC article reports on parent's attempts to cure their son's hemoglobin disorder. No family's bone marrow was a match for a permanent cure. And bone marrow tissue matches were prohibitive (at least $68,000)

So they conceived a child for the much needed bone marrow. The disease causing gene was eliminated from the embryo. After a complicated procedure, the bone marrow transplantation was successful.

---This story reports on a topical trend. Since at least the 1990's there have been increasing efforts to cure children of diseases when traditional medicine does not   work. These methods range from new medicines to surgery on fetuses to gene manipulation.

This story also at least partly fits the socialization label. It forces many to look at personal autonomy in a new way. Why do we have children? How much should they fit a wider need? How much personal autonomy does every person have at any age?

--This article is newsworthy because it is a good example of how medicine and medical technology have the potential for misuse. Just because something can be done does not mean it is right. In this case, was Solankis conceived as a means or ends? or both?

It also highlights what can happen when a country does not have good regulations, in this case reproductive regulations. Of course some would argue that regulations are not necessary in this situation. All the more reason for clear laws & regulations after a thoughtful process focusing on both science and ethics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
India’s first ‘saviour sibling’ cures brother of fatal illness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Her birth has also led to a debate about the ethics of using technology to create a child.

# data[].attributes.headline
AOC Among Us game watched by 400,000 people

# data[].attributes.subject
AOC Among Us game watched by 400,000 people

# data[].attributes.body
This news article by BBC News reports the livestream on the platform Twitch done by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez playing the popular game "Among Us". The function of this article is to start a conversation about politicians using unconventional methods to reach voters and a wider audience in general. A politician playing a viral game greatly raises their appeal. This article is newsworthy because it reports the start of a possible trend of politicians playing video games to encourage voters to vote and to more importantly to vote for their party.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A live stream of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez playing the popular game Among Us has become one of the most-watched videos on Twitch.

More than 400,000 viewers made it the third-highest peak on record for the the game-streaming platform.

She appealed to gamers to join her online "to get out the vote" ahead of the US election on 3 November.

But she faced some criticism for "electioneering".

One analyst said the stunt worked because "she's a bit of a gamer".

"It feels genuine to me," said Louise Shorthouse, games industry analyst at Omdia.

"I do think it's a very smart way to raise voting awareness pre-election, especially amongst the notoriously hard-to-reach Gen Z."

But she warned that any other politicians trying to "capitalise on Twitch" would have a much harder time.

Among Us is a hugely popular online murder mystery game, which involves players trying to fix a broken spaceship - but among them is an impostor, tasked with sabotage and murder of the other cartoon characters.

Players must find the impostor - or avoid being found.

Representative Ocasio-Cortez - known by her supporters as AOC - began the stream by encouraging people to vote for the Democratic Party.

"Of course, we are here to vote Blue, that's [why] I'm here, to let you all know," she said.

Anyone want to play Among Us with me on Twitch to get out the vote? (I've never played but it looks like a lot of fun)
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 19, 2020

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

Fellow Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar also joined the stream.

Record numbers

Esports consultant Rod Breslau noted that with 439,000 viewers at its peak, the Twitch stream was the third-highest viewed for an individual gamer.

The record is held by singer Drake, who was watched by more than 600,000 people, as he played Fortnite.

Representative Ocasio-Cortez's stream lasted about three and a half hours.

The congresswoman amassed more than 550,000 followers - more than any of her political counterparts on the platform.

Democratic senator Bernie Sanders has 160,000 followers, while Donald Trump has 143,000 - but both use Twitch for political broadcasts and speeches, rather than gaming.

'Raising awareness'

The reaction was largely positive, with viewers saying it was am "organic" way to engage with younger Americans.

"The impressiveness of AOC is not simply that she is a forceful and articulate proponent of the Democratic message, it is that she is able to speak credibly directly to millennials using platforms like Twitch," said Mitchell Robertson, fellow at the Rothermere American Institute.

But some criticised the Congresswoman for electioneering.

Watching @AOC and @IlhanMN play Among Us on Twitch while talking politics and encouraging people to get out the vote is exactly what I need in this crazy time of this election.
- Kate🌈🏹@ EVEN WITH THE DEVILS OF TIME AGAINST YOU (@adaxialabraxas) October 21, 2020

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

"This is a very transparent move on her behalf. It's not the first time that a politician has aligned themselves with trends in order to gain popularity, or new followers. Overall, this seems to be a well-orchestrated political move," said Nicky Danino, principal lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

"It's a good profile raiser so it's worth a try. However, it's connecting young people to a politician, not necessarily politics," said Jon Tonge, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.

"It's too early to say whether it has any impact on voters but I would be sceptical. First, the age profile of those watching is likely to be young. They are less likely to vote.

"Second, political opponents are probably less likely to participate. Third, it's not changing people's minds on anything."

The Democrats have embraced gaming in this election, with presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign also creating a virtual field office in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

More on this story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Among Us game watched by 400,000

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A live stream of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez playing the popular game Among Us has become one of the most-watched videos on Twitch. More than 400,000 viewers made it the third-highest peak on record for the the game-streaming platform. She appealed to gamers to join her online "to get out the vote" ahead of the US election on 3 November.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/26/us/california-fires-monday/index.html
This news covers the fires in Southern California. It  serves the second function in that its reporting on the current events.

# data[].attributes.body
This article takes a look at voting rates in the United States and the predicted rates of voter turnout. In today’s political climate, voting is more important now than it has ever been. This article is newsworthy because it may encourage people who wouldn’t typically vote to get out and do so and it may also bring peace to those that have voted and are hoping to see their fellow citizens do the same.

# data[].attributes.body
It informed us about our daily life. It suggests that at least where antibodies are concerned, this coronavirus acts like other coronaviruses. As with a cold, antibodies wane and people can get a cold more than once. Also as with a cold, people with robust immune systems, typically younger people, typically don't see as quick a drop in antibodies as with people with older immune systems.

# data[].attributes.headline
Michigan Man Wins 2 Million Off of Accidental Lottery Ticket 

# data[].attributes.subject
Michigan Man Wins 2 Million Off of Accidental Lottery Ticket 

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.usnews.com/news/offbeat/articles/2020-10-23/man-wins-2m-after-mistakenly-buying-extra-lottery-ticket

This article summarizes the accidental buy that one a man 2 million dollars in lottery money. This message is strong with the socialization theme. First of all, this message highlights our values in society. Obviously, humor, good luck, and financial prosperity are all important aspects of American society. Without this story drawing so heavily on these aspects, it would not be featured. Likewise, this message differentiates what is normal from what is extraordinary. Although winning the lottery is far from commonplace, not every single winner is featured in such a large news outlet. Winning the lottery with an accidental ticket, though, is quite a story to attract readers. Since this is so special, it marks the values of what we find remarkable in our society.

All in all, this message strongly draws upon the socialization aspect of news. It could also fall under the daily life category, by informing citizens what is happening around them. This story is very newsworthy. An event like this is extremely rare, and when oddities happen, that make great news.  By portraying this event as unconventional and in a light-hearted, humorous manner, the news outlet captured my interest.

# data[].attributes.body
This article looks at the lucrative tourism of witch hunts  in parts of the world , but obscures the tragic persecution  of the people , which were mostly women. Also relates how witch hunts are continuing today, and related to  violence toward women. This is a good lesson of history that is not known and is obscured by economic drivers in society . General noteworthy news. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/10/a-better-way-to-commemorate-the-witch-hunts/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Centuries after a witch panic swept through Europe and parts of America, witches still cast a mighty spell. They're ascribed astonishing powers, romanticized, and reincarnated as Halloween decorations. They star in film, on stage, and on TV, often depicted as "wicked," but sometimes as "good," and even lovable.

In reality, witches and those accused of using magic are real people. Their stories-appropriated and not always accurately told-bring revenue to places associated with the occult, places such as Salem, Massachusetts, and Zugarramurdi, the "Salem of Spain."

But with increasing awareness of present-day persecution of people -mostly women-for witchcraft around the world, there's a growing unease about how we remember the men, women, and children lost to witch hunts in tourist towns. The question is: How do we balance commemoration with commodification? The answer isn't easy.

Witch kitsch

Every Halloween, images of the hooked-nosed woman wearing a pointy hat crop up across the United States, perhaps nowhere more so than in Salem.

In pre-pandemic years, nearly a million tourists generate $140 million in the city now synonymous with the witch trials of 1692, in which 19 people were executed for witchcraft. The month-long Halloween celebration is the biggest draw, accounting for more than 30 percent of the city's annual visitors, who arrive in costume and snap photos of police wearing pointy-hatted patches and shop for witch-adorned shot glasses.

A similar scene occurs year-round in Zugarramurdi, in northern Spain, where 7,000 people were accused of witchcraft during the Basque witch trials of the early 1600s. Visitors tour a nearby cave, where conjurers were said to cavort with the devil (disguised as a goat); visit a museum devoted to the history; and shop for witch-themed tchotchkes.

But while witch tourism may be fun, some scholars worry that these stereotypes do more harm than good. The selling of dolls in gift shops like those in Spain "perpetuates the idea that the so-called witches ... were not victims of a terrible persecution, but were fictional figures," says Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch. "I do not think the tourists who buy these dolls realize that these were women who were charged with fictional crimes, and then horribly tortured and most often burned alive."

History repeating

From the late 16th to mid-17th centuries, fear of witchcraft spread across early modern-era Europe. At that time, land disputes, unexplained illnesses, and suspicion of transgressive or powerful women were among the sources of accusations of witchcraft. In the process, tens of thousands of innocent people were killed in witchcraft trials.

Witchcraft is difficult to describe. Britannica categorizes it as a religious belief and defines it as "the exercise or invocation of alleged supernatural powers to control people or events, practices typically involving sorcery or magic." But witchcraft encompasses a wide range of cultural and regional beliefs, from shamanism to metaphysical ideas to pre-Christian folkloric traditions that historically have been viewed negatively.

Hundreds of years later, misperception around witchcraft still circulates. As a result, witch hunts are very much a 21st-century practice in many parts of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Papua New Guinea.

While authorities in most countries simply turn a blind eye, some legal systems sanction the persecution. In addition to having laws against sorcery (a crime that carries a death sentence), Saudi Arabia established an anti-witchcraft unit in 2009 within the country's religious police department.

Why witch hunts have escalated in some parts of the world is a difficult question to answer. Besides the same conflicts prevalent in early modern Europe, witchcraft can be a convenient cloak for the increasing problem of gender-based violence. "Violence against women has greatly intensified in recent years," says Federici, "for reasons, I believe, that have some relation to the violence inflicted on women through the witch hunts of the past."

The failure to recognize the history of the witch hunts may be a factor, too. "No 'day of memory' has been introduced in any European calendar," writes Federici in the introduction to her 2018 collection of essays Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women. The victims' history can't "be buried in silence unless we want their destiny to be repeated, as is already happening in many parts of the world."

A more fitting commemoration

Around the world, there are efforts to go beyond the broomstick-riding cliché and realistically recognize this dark history. Salem, Massachusetts' " Proctor's Ledge" is an understated landscaped area, where the accused were hung in 1692. In Essex, England, a small plaque lists the names of the 33 victims held at Castle Park.

In Scotland, a stone plaque in the Orkney Islands remembers the 80 people killed at Gallow Ha'. Along the Fife Coastal Path, three plaques note the 380 people accused of witchcraft. Also in Fife, government officials in 2019 proposed a 200-year-old lighthouse dedicated to the county's most famous victim, Lilias Adie (who died in prison in 1704 while awaiting trial) and all victims of the country's witch panic. Ultimately, however, that campaign was defeated.

But none match the scale and impact of Norway's Steilneset Memorial. Erected in 2011, the structure describes the lives of the 77 women and 14 men executed in the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials. Visitors come upon it at the end of the Norwegian Scenic Route Varanger, at the edge of the Barents Sea, into which accused witches were thrown. If they floated, they were guilty.

Architect Peter Zumthor designed a long pavilion leading to a steel and smoked-glass box. Inside the box, artist Louise Bourgeois' sculpture "The Damned, The Possessed and The Beloved" (2007-2010) highlights a burning steel chair encircled by mirrors.

Next to each of the pavilion's 91 steel-frame windows (one for each victim), text printed on silk-written by historian Liv Helene Willumsen and based on court records-name the victims, the charges brought against them, and their sentence. Among the remembered: the Sámi woman Karen Edisdatter, who was the first of 13 women blamed for a shipwreck in 1617; and Marette, known only as "Torsten's wife," who was burned at the stake in 1645 and "left only a pair of blue pants and an old sweater."

"I was very much aware of the danger of romanticizing the witchcraft trials," says Willumsen. "I tried to treat the historical material in a respectful way, not to dramatize. I want to give the victims their dignity back, a dignity they never got in their own lives. I want to show that they were human beings [each with] a name and a voice. [That] they had lives in the Finnmark villages."

'An uneasy balance'

Steilneset has become a model for activists in Scotland, where the history of witch persecution is particularly grim. Locals are pushing for wider recognition of the atrocities committed in the country at a time when protests over monuments that inaccurately reflect history are roiling America and Europe.

People care "about recording history correctly," especially "women [who] are still not equal in society," says Claire Mitchell, an Edinburgh-based criminal defense attorney who has started a campaign for a Parliament-backed legal pardon, apology, and monument.

But Mitchell recognizes a memorial's potential to create an uneasy balance between honoring the victims and monetizing their stories. "What I want for Scotland is not to create just a tourist [attraction] but [for visitors] to understand the heritage and what happened," she says, adding the memorial should be "done in the correct way."

"It isn't easy to commemorate an atrocity," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff in her essay First, Kill the Witches. Then, Celebrate Them on Salem's witch-inspired tourism industry. Of Salem's drumming up tourism dollars from its grim past, she writes "the city transmuted its secret shame into its saving grace."

For all its witch kitsch, Salem is one of the few places that has properly recognized its history. In the decades following the witch trials, accusers officially apologized for the events of 1692. Three hundred years later, Salem erected a memorial to the victims, and by 2002, Massachusetts had exonerated all the accused. The tourism business has been touched, too; modern-day witches now lead walking tours that explain the true history and dispel the stereotypes.

This contradiction is all too familiar to Kristen J. Sollee. In her new book Witch Hunt, she narrates the experience of visiting places associated with witch trials and those of interest to self-identified witches, such as herself. "After years of research," she writes, she is "well-versed in the eternal conflict ... that witch tourism inspires."

One chapter describes visiting Triora, Italy, where "as in Salem, the commercial side ... is off-putting." Although she found it "beset by commercialism, at the same time there were beautiful rituals and real community efforts to memorialize the witch hunt there," says Sollee. "So it's just like Salem ... veering between the somber and the salacious."

Karen Gardiner is a freelance travel and arts writer from Scotland. Find her onInstagram andTwitter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Witch hunt tourism is lucrative. It also obscures a tragic history

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Centuries after a witch panic swept through Europe and parts of America, witches still cast a mighty spell. They're ascribed astonishing powers, romanticized, and reincarnated as Halloween decorations. They star in film, on stage, and on TV, often depicted as "wicked," but sometimes as "good," and even lovable.

# data[].attributes.body
This news clipping focuses on socializing us in the manner of not spreading rumors. This news clipping is newsworthy because it should teach us that although we have freedom of speech how we use it can hurt others. We should be mindful and respectful of each other. Eddie Van Halen was not only a famous musician he contributed to the evolution of music. Van Halen's son addresses rumors indicating that he is to take over his dad's band pointing out that he wants to be known for his own sound. Wolfgang, wanted people to know that spreading lies during a time where family and fans should be given time to morn is hurtful. The point of this clipping is to teach us a little about humanity. Is there ever a time spreading lies to gain capitalization ever okay?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
wolfgang van halen says rumor is hurting his family   - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Wolfgang Van Halen says rumor is hurting his family

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's been less than a month since Eddie Van Halen died and his son is ticked off about a rumor making the rounds.

# data[].attributes.body
This is daily life (unfortunately), topical issues (pandemic of international concern), and socialization (as it reminds that the US federal governmental non/response is purposely defeatist and feckless).

# data[].attributes.body
This informs us about our daily lives, it talks about who just got put into the Supreme Court under Donald Trump's presidency. It reports a couple trends, politics in general, Donal Trump, voting, Republican party and Democratic party, and more. It does socialize us, I have already talked with many friends about this news, and read articles about it. I think the story is newsworthy because this is something important that everyone should know. A new woman is on the Supreme Court, many have different views from her, this is news that needs to be shared. It impacts our entire future, the future of our country and how policies will be encountered. There are so many stories about the presidency, election, politics and other social movements going on right now. This decision affects all of those so it is important to report this on the news.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
senate to confirm trump's supreme court nominee a week ahead of election day - cnnpolitics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Senate to confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee a week ahead of Election Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Senate Republicans are poised to confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Monday, a major victory for the President and his party just days before November 3, that promises to push the high court in a more conservative direction for generations to come.

# data[].attributes.body
https://apple.news/AnFCv-KZYQE29DUJYUuBk_g

This story about voter turnout is topical - keeping us informed on a specific issue that is relevant now.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=510523739608185

My example is a NowThis video segment about the media coverage of Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the 2020 Democratic Primary races leading up to Super Tuesday.

The video reports on the topic of the Democratic primary as well as  Warren's candidacy. In some ways, I think it works to critique the way media socializes us. The video points out that in February and March, despite being one of four candidates with delegates after the first two races and polling 2nd nationally among all candidates, Warren received the fourth most media coverage, behind even Joe Biden whose campaign was floundering miserably at the time. It mentioned the media craze over underdogs (such as Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar) and, of course, white men.

I think the story was newsworthy then and continues to be newsworthy now because it is evidence of how sexism is reified in the media, even in left-leaning outlets that profess to be fair and inclusive. But because topics like sexism are not entertaining, there is less to sell to mass audiences.

# data[].attributes.body
This article reports based on the fires affecting the ones who live in California. Its newsworthy because it informs us about the lives being affected by the fire and the negative impact it has on the state itself and the people living in the surrounding areas of the fire.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Southern California through Monday.

Extreme and rare fire danger is being issued for California early Monday and throughout the day.

The worst of the winds in the San Francisco Bay area were overnight and this morning with gusts reported up to near 90 mph with Oakland Airport gusting near 60 mph.

The relative humidity is down to 6 to 7% in some areas now so the combination of this along with the winds is what is making these conditions so dangerous for wildfire spread.

A Red Flag Warning continues through the morning for wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph.

In Southern California, winds have been gusty even in San Diego County where winds are as high as 68 mph.

But the real danger begins this morning and into the afternoon with winds expected to gust near 80 mph in Los Angeles County and low humidity of less than 10% will make conditions prime for rapid fire spread.

A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Southern California through today and the forecasted wind gusts in Burbank around noon today could be near 80 mph.

The extreme wind conditions in California are caused by the record cold blast in the Rockies and the central U.S.

The actual temperature in Montana fell to a record breaking 29 degrees below zero, the lowest temperature measured at an official climate station anywhere in the lower 48 states so early in the season in any year.

This morning's wind chills are in the 20s all the way to Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.

In addition to the cold, record breaking snowfall was reported from Montana to Colorado and east to Minnesota over the weekend where some areas got up to 25 inches of snow.

The snow and ice now shifts into the southern Rockies and southern Plains where a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Oklahoma City and a Winter Storm Warning for Abilene, Texas, where freezing rain, sleet and snow could be an issue Monday night for the area.

A Winter Storm Warning for New Mexico has also been issued and some areas could see more than a foot of snow in the next 24 hours.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Extreme fire danger in California, record cold and snow from Texas to Montana

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Southern California through Monday. Extreme and rare fire danger is being issued for California early Monday and throughout the day. The worst of the winds in the San Francisco Bay area were overnight and this morning with gusts reported up to near 90 mph with Oakland Airport gusting near 60 mph.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about the supreme court justice nominee that was just confirmed former Circuit court judge judge Amy Coney Barrett. This serves all three functions of our day-to-day life. First it will impact us greatly from generations to come now knowing that the court has a 6 to 3 conservative majority this factor is more of the daily news factor where it’s important to know what’s going on in the world. Secondly it’s more of a title issue because it does involve politics and is a Partisan issue that was widely talked about in both presidential debates and has been an ongoing issue in regards to the upcoming election on November 3rd. I think this is newsworthy because this will undoubtedly impact people for generations to come. A supreme court nomination is a lifetime nomination so it is certain that the nomination will be substantial consequences for years to come.

# data[].attributes.body
Local news is an important weapon in the battle against fake news, and the Voice of OC is providing local news to the three million people in Orange County, Ca. The Voice of OC is a participant in the Trust Project, a collaboration among news organizations around the world. Its goal is to create strategies that fulfill journalism’s basic pledge: to serve society with a truthful, intelligent and comprehensive account of ideas and events. Today’s story on a growing wildfire causing 60,000+ people to evacuate their homes shows what an important role local news still plays in our world today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Photo Courtesy Orange County Fire Authority

This is a developing story and will be updated .

Over 60,000 Irvine residents are evacuating from the Orchard Hills neighborhood this morning after a fire broke out near the Silverado Canyon, with winds driving the fire over the 241 freeway at high speed.

At 6:47 this morning, the fire was at roughly 10 acres according to the Orange County Fire Authority's twitter page. As of 10:00 this morning, the fire has spread to 2,000 acres, according to CalFire.

Flames have jumped the 241. #SilveradoFire

Approximately 60,000 people are evacuating the Irvine area. Check your evacuation location here: https://t.co/gAGlMlPUL2 pic.twitter.com/RhVJu7g0us

- OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) October 26, 2020

Over 500 firefighters are currently in the field according to Irvine Police Sgt. Karie Davies.

The Irvine Police Dept. also issued a mandatory evacuation order at 9:06 this morning for all homes north of Irvine Blvd., between Bake Parkway and Jamboree Road.

Davies confirmed that order was still in effect and had not expanded, but that it may grow in the coming hours.

Irvine City Councilwoman Melissa Fox, who just evacuated her neighborhood, said that an Emergency Operations Center was already up and running at Irvine City Hall, and that in her last update had heard of only one home in Irvine that was burning.

While reports of smoke have come in from all over the city, Fox said that there were no other confirmed fires in the city.

"People are evacuating safely, right now we're just trying to get the word out," Fox said on a phone call with Voice of OC. "We're in the car, we're evacuating. We went up and down the street and got our neighbors out."

The city is directing residents to the Quail Hill Community Center and the University Community Center, and all schools north of Irvine Blvd. in the Tustin and Irvine Unified School Districts have been evacuated.

MAP: Silverado Fire

The @IrvinePolice has issued an IMMEDIATE EVACUATION ORDER (mandatory) for all communities north of Irvine Blvd. between Jamboree and Bake Pwky. More information at https://t.co/eoUQKkirut

- City of Irvine (@City_of_Irvine) October 26, 2020

Air units are on their way to the fire according to OCFA, and firefighters have closed off the 241 freeway from Santiago Canyon Rd. to the 133 freeway.

OCFA did not return requests for comment this morning from Voice of OC.

Additional Information:
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC Reporting Fellow. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @NBiesiada.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Silverado Canyon Fire Spreads to 7,200 Acres, Mandatory Evacuation in Irvine as Firefighters Battle High Winds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BRANDON PHO, Voice of OC STORY LAST UPDATED: 5:24 p.m. Oct. 26 Over 90,000 Irvine residents were evacuated today after a fire broke out near the Silverado Canyon this morning, with more expected as the county looks at necessary evacuation plans. CLICK HERE to read about the Blue Ridge Fire.

# data[].attributes.headline
How can we do Halloween safely during Covid-19? Advice from CNN's Dr. Leana Wen

# data[].attributes.subject
How can we do Halloween safely during Covid-19? Advice from CNN's Dr. Leana Wen

# data[].attributes.body
This article informs us about topical trends. As Halloween -- a favorite American holiday -- approaches, an increasing number if people are questioning how to host a covid-friendly celebration for their children (or themselves). This article goes into detail about potential ways to celebrate Halloween that don't violate social distancing guidelines, and ensure for a healthy holiday. I believe this story is newsworthy, because a lot of people are currently trying to figure out how to celebrate Halloween during these unprecedented times.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
halloween safety during covid-19: q&a with dr. leana wen - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How can we do Halloween safely during Covid-19?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen has recommendations for reducing your risk of catching Covid-19 while still having a fun Halloween season. Wen hasn't given up on Halloween and doesn't think you should either.

# data[].attributes.body
CNN is known to discuss everything around the world. It talks about things that happened in a fast period of time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
senate to confirm trump's supreme court nominee a week ahead of election day - cnnpolitics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Senate to confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee a week ahead of Election Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Senate Republicans are poised to confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Monday, a major victory for the President and his party just days before November 3, that promises to push the high court in a more conservative direction for generations to come.

# data[].attributes.headline
Are Polls in the Presidential Race Reliable This Time

# data[].attributes.subject
Are Polls in the Presidential Race Reliable This Time

# data[].attributes.body
This article poses questions about reliable poll numbers. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but Donald Trump finished strong to secure the presidential seat by winning the electoral college. Though Trump is down in the popular vote, opinions and perspectives weigh in to see if there will be a repeat of the 2016 election.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What's happening
Polls on the 2020 presidential race paint a clear picture: Joe Biden holds a significant lead, and Donald Trump's chances of winning reelection are slim. Given the state of the campaign, which has been remarkably static for months, one might expect Democrats to be prepping their celebrations and Republicans to be resigned to the inevitable.

But with just over a week left until Election Day, Democrats are racked with worry about the outcome despite Biden's lead in the polls."Every time I get too happy I slap myself and stick my hand over a fire," a Democratic lawmaker told Politico. The reason for their hesitancy, many say, is that they've been in this position before only to watch as the seemingly unimaginable slowly became reality.

Hillary Clinton was considered an overwhelming favorite in the final days of the 2016 race. She held a national lead of about 3 points and was ahead in polls of crucial "blue wall" states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But Trump pulled off narrow wins in each of those states en route to an Electoral College victory that shocked most political analysts.

The echoes of 2016 have partisans on both sides of the aisle asking a simple question: If polls got it so wrong then, how can anyone trust that they're right this time around?
Why there's debate
The errors of 2016 led to a period of introspection for many in the polling industry as they worked to find out what went wrong. Lessons learned during that process have resulted in polls that are more accurate, they say. The most common mistake in statistical models in 2016 was failing to adjust for education in their statistical models, an omission that made polls look more optimistic for Clinton. Current models account for education, making them more representative of the electorate, experts say.

Others say the 2020 campaign is much more predictable than the historically volatile contest four years ago. In 2016, undecided voters largely swung in Trump's direction in the final days of the race, and turnout in rural areas of the country was higher than expected - both outcomes that caught pollsters by surprise. A much smaller slice of the electorate is undecided this year and turnout is expected to be high all over the country, which gives Trump less space to make up ground. Biden's lead is also larger than Clinton's was, meaning polls could be off by roughly the same amount they were last time and he could still win.

Polling experts repeatedly emphasize that their models are measures of what is likely to happen, not what will happen. Trump's surprise win in 2016 was a result of the reality that sometimes unlikely events occur and the same thing could happen again, they say.

It's also possible that some other confounding factor, like perhaps the unprecedented surge in mail-in voting, might later prove to be skewing the polls. Statistical models, experts like Nate Silver say, also have no way of accounting for any attempt to override the will of the voters, such as if GOP-controlled state legislatures attempt to send their own slate of electors to the Electoral College, a possibility that's been floated by some analysts.

Perspectives
Pollsters have adjusted their models to avoid the errors of 2016
"There is always a chance of a systematic polling error, even when the reasons aren't evident in advance. ... Yet at the same time, many of the major causes of error in 2016 seem somewhat less acute." - Nate Cohn, New York Times
Biden's lead is large enough to withstand even a significant polling error
"If the polls are as wrong in 2020 as they were in 2016, Biden would win the presidency anyway." - Philip Bump, Washington Post
Polls could miss again if GOP-favorable groups turnout in unexpected numbers
"Every election there is some new challenge for polling that's not really anticipated or where there isn't a solution in advance. The likely high turnout rate and the different patterns of turnout are the biggest challenges this year. We just don't know." - Political scientist Barry Burden to Chicago Tribune
Trump has a lot less room to improve than he did in 2016
"There were a lot more undecided or third party voters at this point in the 2016 cycle. ... undecided/third party group of voters were a pool that Trump could attract to make up the deficit he had to Clinton. ... Given that there are far fewer undecided/third party voters this time, the chance of that happening again is slimmer than in 2016." - Harry Enten, CNN
No polling model can account for an attempt to steal the election
"Our forecast assumes that the election is free and fair - at least to the extent that past elections that we used to train the model were free and fair. ... Beyond that, it's hard to estimate the probability that Trump could steal the election to any degree of precision." - Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight
The media has gotten better at communicating the uncertainty in the polls
"I always contended that the polls in 2016 were not nearly as far off as the interpretations of them were." - Poynter Institute senior faculty Al Tompkins to PBS NewsHour
The 2016 race was much more vulnerable to a surprise outcome than 2020 is
"It's not 2016 anymore. So much has changed in four years: Trump is no longer the new disrupter, he's a president trailing multiple incendiary controversies as he seeks four more years. And Biden isn't Hillary Clinton: He carries far lower negatives and higher support in the Rust Belt states that put Trump in the White House." - Richard Galant, CNN
There's still time for the state of the race to shift in Trump's favor
"Uncertainty remains primarily because even though Biden's lead is big and has been remarkably stable, things could change and it could shrink. And if it does shrink, we'd see that a lot of things have not changed since 2016. It continues to be unclear if pollsters can more precisely gauge public opinion in the key Midwestern swing states, and the Electoral College has a large bias toward Republicans." - Matthew Yglesias, Vox
Optimistic polls won't make Democrats complacent like they were in 2016
"Anxiety is driving liberals to the polls in record numbers. ...In other words, fear of a 2016 replay may be the reason we won't have one." - Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times
Is there a topic you'd like to see covered in "The 360"? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.
Read more "360"s
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Are polls of the presidential race reliable this time?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What's happening Polls on the 2020 presidential race paint a clear picture: Joe Biden holds a significant lead, and Donald Trump's chances of winning reelection are slim. Given the state of the campaign, which has been remarkably static for months, one might expect Democrats to be prepping their celebrations and Republicans to be resigned to the inevitable.

# data[].attributes.body
The function about  this adv is to encourage us to practice our right by voting. It helps to let remind people about why they do need to vote. It also remind them that the election is on the door. In addition, it gives helpful information about the  ballot.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
click to enlarge

There's a big election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, but as we've said before, it's really already begun. Think of it this way: Tuesday, Nov. 3 is your last chance to vote.

Due to a whole messy slew of factors - including the coronavirus pandemic and threats of chaos on Election Day - millions of Michiganders have requested absentee ballots. In fact, according to the Secretary of State, nearly 1 million ballots have already been turned in, dwarfing the 248,000 cast in 2016.

In 2018, Michiganders approved a ballot measure that allows for no-excuse absentee voting, meaning anyone can apply for an absentee ballot for any reason. (Before, you had to say that you didn't plan on being able to make it to the polls on Election Day.) The Secretary of State already mailed absentee voter applications to every registered voter, but if you didn't get one - as was the case with me - you can request one at michigan.gov/vote. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2.

Voting absentee is my favorite. You can really sit down and take your time with it, brushing up on the candidates and proposals without feeling rushed. (The fact that Election Day is not a federal holiday is, in my view, one of the many forms of voter suppression that the status quo has long counted on.) Plus, you don't have to worry about the coronavirus, or waiting in a long line.

Given the reported slowdowns with mail delivery resulting from President Donald Trump's suspiciously timed cuts to the U.S. Postal Service, you'll want to request that ballot and mail it back sooner rather than later. In fact, election officials recommend you send your ballot by Monday, Oct. 19. That's tomorrow.

Adding even more pressure, the Michigan Court of Appeals recently struck down a 14-day extension that would have given officials an extra two weeks after Election Day to count any ballots that arrived late. So Tuesday, Nov. 3 really is the hard deadline for it to be received.

So if you haven't yet mailed your absentee voter ballot yet, you'll want to drop it off in-person, either at your local clerk's office or at a designated drop-box. You can find the locations of both at michigan.gov/vote. You have up until 8 p.m. on Election Day to drop it off. For even more peace of mind, you can check to make sure your ballot was received and counted by going to michigan.gov/vote and clicking on "Did my ballot arrive?" You can also register to vote and vote early in-person at your local clerk's office every day up until Nov. 3 during normal office hours.

If you really want the peace of mind - and personal satisfaction - of placing your ballot in the counting machine yourself, you can vote in-person on Election Day. However, aside from the threats of the coronavirus, there are already concerns about possible violent clashes at the polls. President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., has called for an "Army for Trump" to watch the polls, alleging widespread voter fraud. In a year where political tensions have already turned to violence, officials are worried about calls for an "Army" to mobilize, and last week, Michigan took the step of banning the open carry of firearms at polling places to prevent voter intimidation.

If you need any more motivation to cast your vote, consider the tragic story of James Wendell Williams, a terminally ill man from Birmingham who made it his dying wish to vote Trump out. Knowing that he likely wouldn't survive until Election Day, Williams's family helped him to his local clerk's office to drop off his ballot on Sept. 24, the first day of early voting. He died eight days later.

Since he died before the election, Williams's family later learned that his vote was invalidated - in Michigan, votes are counted on Election Day, not as they come in.

Still, they don't believe his dying efforts were in vain.

"It's not that he thought his vote was going to change the election. He believed it was important as an example to his children and grandchildren," his son, David, told the Washington Post. "The way you use your energy, particularly when you don't have much left, that is a very true reflection of what you really care about."

Use your energy. Vote.

Stay on top of Detroit news and views. Sign up for our weekly issue newsletter delivered each Wednesday.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
click to enlarge There's a big election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, but as we've said before, it's really already begun. Think of it this way: Tuesday, Nov. 3 is your last chance to vote. Due to a whole messy slew of factors - including the coronavirus pandemic and threats of chaos on Election Day - millions of Michiganders have requested absentee ballots.

# data[].attributes.headline
Senate confirms Barrett, Delivering for Trump and Reshaping the Court 

# data[].attributes.subject
Senate confirms Barrett, Delivering for Trump and Reshaping the Court 

# data[].attributes.body
I have been expecting this confirmation and the resulting article from the NYT (part of our socialization for sure). While the article functions as "news," it also explains "politics." The NYT is speaking directly to those of us who once believed in the separation of powers between the three branches of the U.S. government. Bottom line: That separation, if you believed in it yesterday, is now officially over. My response: It's a sad day for democracy. Judi Moreillon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The vote capped a brazen feat for Republicans, who pushed through a Supreme Court nominee in little more than five weeks with the election looming.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be the 115th justice of the Supreme Court and the fifth woman ever to sit on its bench. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

WASHINGTON - Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative appeals court judge and protégée of former Justice Antonin Scalia, was confirmed on Monday to the Supreme Court, capping a lightning-fast Senate approval that handed President Trump a victory ahead of the election and promised to tip the court to the right for years to come.

Inside a Capitol mostly emptied by the resurgent coronavirus pandemic and an election looming in eight days, Republicans overcame unanimous opposition by Democrats to make Judge Barrett the 115th justice of the Supreme Court and the fifth woman ever to sit on its bench. In a 52-to-48 vote, all but one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, who herself is battling for re-election, supported her.

It was the first time in 151 years that a justice was confirmed without a single vote from the minority party, a sign of how bitter Washington's decades-old war over judicial nominations has become. The vote concluded a brazen drive by Republicans, who moved to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the election. They shredded their own past pronouncements and bypassed rules in the process, even as they stared down the potential loss of the White House and the Senate.

Democrats called it a hypocritical power grab by Republicans who should have waited for voters to have their say on Election Day. They warned of a disastrous precedent that would draw retaliation should they win power, and in a last-ditch act of protest, they unsuccessfully tried to force the Senate to adjourn.

Republicans said it was their right as the majority party and exulted in their win. With Judge Barrett's elevation in place of Justice Ginsburg, a liberal icon, the court is expected to tilt decisively to the right. It is gaining a conservative who could sway cases in every area of American life, including abortion rights, gay rights, business regulation and the environment.

Her impact could be felt right away. There are major election disputes awaiting immediate action by the Supreme Court from the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Both concern the date by which absentee ballots may be accepted.

Soon after, Judge Barrett will quickly confront a docket studded with major cases on Mr. Trump's programs and policies, not to mention a potential challenge to the election results that the president had cited as a reason he needed a full complement of justices before Nov. 3. Coming up quickly are challenges related to the Affordable Care Act, signature Trump administration immigration plans, the rights of same-sex couples and the census.

The court is also slated to act soon on a last-ditch attempt from Mr. Trump's personal lawyers to block the release of his financial records to a grand jury in Manhattan.

Image

Signs at a Trump rally last month in Minnesota in support of Judge Barrett's confirmation. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

No Supreme Court justice is a certain vote, and Judge Barrett pledged during her confirmation hearings to be an independent mind. But she is widely viewed by both parties as a judge in the mold of Justice Scalia, her mentor, who would rule consistently in favor of conservative positions.

Neither her academic writing nor her relatively brief three-year stint on a federal appeals court provides strong evidence of how she would approach the wide array of cases that will come before her. She gave little hint during her hearings of how she regards any major issue, but she did earlier criticize Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. for voting to uphold the Affordable Care Act, and she once signed onto an ad calling for overturning Roe v. Wade and its "barbaric legacy." It is a good bet that she will be among the court's most conservative justices, probably to the right of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.

A jubilant White House planned to hold a swearing-in event shortly after the vote on Monday night to try to bolster to the president's flagging re-election campaign. Justice Clarence Thomas was expected to administer the oath of office. To hold the event at all was a remarkable choice after a similar one announcing the nominee one month ago to the day turned into a coronavirus superspreader event.

It was a confirmation saga that might never have materialized had Justice Ginsburg, 87, who had been determined to stay on the court rather than be replaced with a justice of Mr. Trump's choosing, not died. Before she did, she had told her granddaughter she wanted a new president to install her successor - a deathbed wish that Republicans made clear they had no intention of honoring.

On Monday, Republicans had profound reasons to celebrate. Judge Barrett, 48, was Mr. Trump's third nominee to the Supreme Court, but arrayed beneath her were 162 new district court judges and 53 appeals court judges who have been installed by Republicans over the past four years, roughly a third of the entire federal appellate bench. Together, they could hold broad sway over American law and policy long after Mr. Trump leaves office.

"The reason this outcome came about is because we had a series of successful elections," said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, who was the architect of the strategy. "What this administration and this Republican Senate has done is exercise the power that was given to us by the American people in a manner that is entirely within the rules of the Senate and the Constitution of the United States."

Democrats sought to churn up a storm of outrage that they hoped would help sweep Republicans out of power and could set the stage for their own majority should it come to be.

Citing Judge Barrett's academic writings and decisions from the appeals court bench, they argued that she would pose an immediate threat to the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a national health crisis, and that she would upend abortion rights and other popular freedoms enjoyed by Americans.

Taking aim directly at Republican senators, they warned that the decision to rush ahead with the election-season confirmation four years after denying a vote to Judge Merrick B. Garland, President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, under similar circumstances would come to haunt them.

"You may win this vote, and Amy Coney Barrett may become the next associate justice of the Supreme Court," said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader. "But you will never, never get your credibility back. And the next time the American people give Democrats a majority in this chamber, you will have forfeited the right to tell us how to run that majority."

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has made confirming federal judges a priority throughout the Trump administration. Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times

Republicans claimed the circumstances were different this time because they control both the White House and the Senate. But if Democrats did reclaim power, the right-tilting courts could prove a powerful and frustrating check on their legislative agenda. That prospect, and Democrats' fury over Republicans' hardball tactics since 2016, were fueling a drive by the party's left flank to seriously consider eliminating the last remaining vestige of minority rights in the Senate, the legislative filibuster. They could then proceed to expand the size of the Supreme Court to install liberal justices.

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, and leaders in the Senate have declined to discuss plans that could amount to a significant and potentially destabilizing escalation in the fight over the judicial branch. But on Monday, even some more moderate senators hinted that the path was open before them if they needed to take it.

"They expect that they're going to be able to break the rules with impunity, and when the shoe maybe is on the other foot, nothing's going to happen," Senator Angus King, independent of Maine, who votes with Democrats, said of the Republicans. "One of the things that's amazed me since I've come here is how people feel they can do things to one another and never have it have any consequences, never have it come back on them."

The battle to replace Justice Ginsburg, a champion of women's rights and an heroine of the progressive left, always promised to be combustible in a Senate worn raw by earlier fights. But the timing turned up the heat considerably: Never before in American history had a justice been confirmed so soon before a presidential election.

The contest loomed over - and at times eclipsed - the nomination, as both sides sought to eke out an advantage from the struggle over the court seat. A handful of Republicans, led by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, were hoping their roles in achieving a major conservative victory would be enough to pull them across the finish line of competitive races.

But for all of the partisan fighting, the confirmation process played out with remarkably little drama. Republicans quickly coalesced around filling the seat, regardless of whom Mr. Trump nominated, and that left Democrats with very little to do but turn to dilatory tactics and make their case to voters. So rich was the prize that Republicans quickly reversed statements from 2016 and 2020 pledging not to fill an election-year seat until the voters had a say.

Supporters of Judge Barrett and people protesting against her outside of the Supreme Court this month. Credit... Hilary Swift for The New York Times

Judge Barrett's qualifications were really never in question, though she had less experience than some of her recent predecessors. But in three days of confirmation hearings, she managed to reveal vanishingly little about how she might look at or rule on matters of public interest before the court.

"Judge Barrett may have established herself as the Babe Ruth of saying pretty much nothing," Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said on Monday.

Like five other justices, Judge Barrett is Catholic. She has said her faith is central to her identity, and before she joined the appeals court bench, she signed onto statements advocating the repeal of Roe v. Wade and its "barbaric legacy." But in other ways, she breaks the court's mold. A Notre Dame alumna, she will be the only justice who did not graduate from Harvard or Yale. She also has seven children, two of whom were adopted.

After playing down its implications during the hearings, some Republicans openly celebrated her anti-abortion rights stance on Monday.

"The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett is truly historic," said Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri. "This is the most openly pro-life judicial nominee to the Supreme Court in my lifetime. This is an individual who has been open in her criticism of that illegitimate decision, Roe v. Wade."

By the time senators gathered on Monday night for the final vote, many were exhausted from a debate that had lasted through Sunday night into Monday and from jetting back and forth between Washington and the campaign trail.

Vice President Mike Pence had planned to preside over the vote, but after five of his close aides tested positive for the coronavirus, senators pleaded with him to steer clear of the chamber, which he did.

Ms. Collins framed her decision this time as a matter of principle. Republicans set a standard in 2016 by not confirming a nominee in an election year and should do the same now, she argued. She is trailing in a race in a liberal-leaning state in part because of her constituents' fury at her vote for Justice Kavanaugh, Mr. Trump's last nominee.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, another Republican swing vote, made a similar argument, but ultimately voted to confirm Judge Barrett.

Adam Liptak contributed reporting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Senate Confirms Barrett, Delivering for Trump and Reshaping the Court

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The vote capped a brazen feat for Republicans, who pushed through a Supreme Court nominee in little more than five weeks with the election looming.

# data[].attributes.headline
Coronavirus live updates: U.S. cases hit daily record, WHO says controlling Covid may require ‘sacrifice’

# data[].attributes.subject
Coronavirus live updates: U.S. cases hit daily record, WHO says controlling Covid may require ‘sacrifice’

# data[].attributes.body
The function of this news is to inform us about our daily struggle to fight COVID. The article is updating lives, and it keeps appending news lives so everybody can be updated. Some parts of the article talk about a new daily record of 68,767 cases on a seven-day average, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. This article is newsworthy because the pandemic is the trend right now, everybody wants to get out of this situation. The news also tells us about how the administration’s focus on a potential vaccine or therapeutic to manage COVID, rather than measures to help mitigate the spread.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The U.S. on Sunday set a new daily record of 68,767 cases on a seven-day average, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Sunday acknowledged that the U.S. is not going to control the pandemic. Instead, he pointed to the administration's focus on a potential vaccine or therapeutic to manage Covid, rather than measures to help mitigate the spread.
The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:

Global cases: More than 43.1 million

Global deaths: At least 1.15 million

U.S. cases: More than 8.63 million

U.S. deaths: At least 225,239

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Coronavirus live updates: U.S. hits record average daily high of 68,767 new cases

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The U.S. on Sunday set a new daily record of 68,767 cases on a seven-day average, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Sunday acknowledged that the U.S. is not going to control the pandemic.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201024-this-is-war-thousands-in-poland-protest-high-court-anti-abortion-ruling

My name is Julia and I am international student from Poland. I wanted to share the current information about what is happening across the ocean.
Polish government in past weeks violates woman right and decided to ban the legal abortion opportunity. Even tho if both of the parents know that kind will not be able to survive next weeks of his life. The worst is that the government do not listen to either people and women. We had a local war in Poland.
Polish medicine and hospital equipment sucks. Doctors fight with corona virus and people who are in charge (government) banned the legal abortion. I think is worth to share especially that we have right to have a choice and no-one should be interrupting us and decide for us as well. It is very recent news and I think it will not stop soon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Thousands protest in Poland after abortion is almost entirely banned

# data[].attributes.headline
“ The Dangerous Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Targeting 5G Technology, Bill Gates, and a World of Fear”

# data[].attributes.subject
“ The Dangerous Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Targeting 5G Technology, Bill Gates, and a World of Fear”

# data[].attributes.body
The function of this news article was to inform everyone of the dangers of conspiracy theories by acknowledging a recent arson attack. The article explains that there is a conspiracy theory on 5G technology being connected to the coronavirus and the conspiracy theory grew such a following, that arsonist started to burn 5G cellular towers in Europe. The article Evidently  had a function to Report an issue with conspiracy theories and the dangers it can bring, but it also had a function to explain how many people can take a theory out of context and potentially put people in danger. The reason this article is newsworthy is because not everyone realizes how serious conspiracy theories may be and this article can help people realize that this topic isn’t just interesting, it can lead to violence and other dangerous situations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over Easter weekend, arsonists set more than twenty 5G cellular towers in the United Kingdom on fire-forming a pattern of bunny-eared infernos that points to one of the many conspiracy theories surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus. The basic idea is that 5G, a new generation of wireless communication, is responsible for the coronavirus crisis, and the idea has spread rapidly. According to some surveys, it is now the most widely disseminated pandemic-related conspiracy theory in the U.K., and has spread in Europe (there have been cell-tower attacks in the Netherlands and Belgium) and in the United States (where the actor Woody Harrelson posted about it on Instagram, albeit with a note saying that he hadn't "fully vetted it"). The theory is false: the illness COVID-19 is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is highly contagious. But the first question when confronting the theory is how people could even believe that 5G could be responsible. The answer provides the framework for something of a general taxonomy of conspiracy theories, each of which is disorienting and distinct but in related ways.

There are, it turns out, many 5G coronavirus theories, and no simple hierarchy of plausibility. Some adherents have adopted the notion that the 5G frequency spectrum somehow transmits and spreads the virus, as if in a wireless miasma. This variety of theory doesn't posit any rational connection between the cause and the supposed effect; it seems to rely solely on the perception that both are new and frightening. It is scoffed at by those who prefer to believe that there is no such thing as SARS-CoV-2, and that the story of the virus's emergence was cooked up to hide the disastrous health effects of 5G itself. Here, bad faith and coördinated lying on a mass scale are assumed to be simpler explanations than those offered by virology.

Both these ideas are looked down on by conspiracy theorists whose medical knowledge, such as it is, tends to be garnered from online venues, and who have decided that 5G destroys the immune system and has thus transmuted a harmless coronavirus into something deadly. (This group bears a family resemblance to anti-vaxxers, and includes some people whose suspicions about the health effects of 5G predate the current crisis.) These theorists display as "proof" side-by-side maps showing the density of COVID-19 cases and of 5G towers. But, as the A.P. noted, all the maps show is that places with more people have more of both. However, even arguing about maps misses the basic point that there is no scientific basis for the idea that waves from towers could harm the immune system. In any event, these theorists would be viewed as amateurs by those who argue not only that powerful people are deploying 5G towers to spread the virus but that the proof of this scheme is to be found on the United Kingdom's new twenty-pound note, which began circulating in February. Social-media videos point out that a metallic element on the note includes the image of a tower, which, when you tilt it, seems to be emitting rays-5G, of course-and that a design above the tower resembles the circle-with-spines shape of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In fact, the images depict a lighthouse in the seaside town of Margate and a stylized view of the rotunda of the Tate Gallery, in London, both places associated with the artist J. M. W. Turner, whose portrait is on the new bill. But even the theorists' basic message is unclear: Is the idea that the notes are a call to action, to rouse a doomsday cult that has somehow infiltrated the Bank of England? Perhaps, in the end, many of those sharing the videos are doing nothing more than looking for omens.

None of this is harmless: if people believe that they are being deceived-or even targeted-by public-health authorities, why would they follow their directives? Why, to note another widely prevalent family of coronavirus conspiracy theories, would they allow their children to eventually receive a COVID-19 vaccine if they believe that the pandemic was engineered by, say, Bill Gates, in an effort to depopulate an overcrowded planet and, while he's at it, to inject people with free-will-subduing microdots? One version of this theory has been promoted in a YouTube video, posted by the Law of Liberty Baptist Church, which now has almost two million views, and another is featured in social-media posts by Diamond and Silk, who are fixtures at Trump rallies, but other variations have popped up around the world. (Needless to say, this is absurd. Gates has pledged a quarter of a billion dollars to the effort to develop a COVID-19 vaccine; as thanks, he has been subject to death threats.) But the corollary is that when politicians and public-health authorities forfeit trust, they cause real harm by creating a space that conspiracy theorists rush to fill. In that sense, not all the blame can be placed on the most credulous members of the public. The human imagination abhors a vacuum. And, in dysfunctional political cultures, much like the present one, there is a conspiratorialist feedback loop: the less you trust, the more you search for alternative authorities, and the more susceptible you are to untrustworthy figures who maintain their position by attacking what is true.

People are especially vulnerable to unfounded theories regarding the coronavirus, for several reasons. One is that the economic effect of closures has been devastating, and has left people desperate for alternatives-perhaps it is all being exaggerated, and it would be fine to go back to work? And why aren't more powerful, better-situated people doing more to help them-is someone benefitting from their distress? Another reason is that so much about COVID-19 remains unclear. As more has become known, advice from government authorities (regarding masks, for example) has shifted; sometimes it lurches around in a single White House briefing. (Alongside the conspiracy theories, there is a realm of speculative quackery, with unproven assertions that various medicines or chemicals-or bright light, ultraviolet rays, or injected disinfectants, treatments that Trump mooted this week-can fend off or cure coronavirus.) Conspiracy theories should, in that context, be taken seriously as a symptom of underlying, often structural problems with the pandemic response.

To take another example, China has not been a model of openness with regard to the early spread of the virus. There are still questions about how SARS-CoV-2 initially took hold, such as precisely how and where it jumped from an animal, presumably a bat, to a human, and what other species might have served as intermediaries in the chain of transmission. Chinese officials also gave misleading accounts of the initial outbreak in Wuhan, and these reports served to underplay how common human-to-human transmission was. But those real failures have been exploited by President Trump, who regularly mentions them as a way to distract from his own failings. The United States is not alone in this regard: anger at China is rising in India (where the country's Muslim minority has also been scapegoated for the virus's spread). But it is fair to say that the center of super-spreaders in what has been an epidemic of attacks on Asian-Americans has been Washington.

Wuhan is not only where the pandemic first emerged; it is also home to a high-level virology-research lab, and that fact has inspired even more theorizing. One widely circulated notion is that China engineered SARS-CoV-2 and deliberately released it as part of a plan to bring down the world economy and increase its own power. This doesn't make sense scientifically, since SARS-CoV-2 has the hallmarks of a virus that emerged naturally, rather than one that was engineered. The theory doesn't even make sense on its own terms: Why would China release such a thing in its home territory first, rather than sending agents on a plane? And how could it count on the weakness of the response in other nations, including this one? (As an example of how politically and jingoistically malleable such theories are, many in China believe that the United States engineered and spread the virus, using a bicycling G.I. who attended the Military World Games, which were held in Wuhan last October, as a vector.)

The biowarfare theory has not been entertained just on the fringes. Earlier this week, Robert O'Brien, the U.S. national-security adviser, was asked about it. "Well, look, I hope it wasn't done on purpose," he said. "That's not something that, that we're propagating. But I think the point that the President's making is that there's a burden on China to allow folks to come in and investigate what actually happened. Did it come from a wet market? Did it come from a lab?" Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed those sentiments in remarks on Wednesday, when he complained that China hadn't given other countries full access to the Wuhan lab. Both their remarks illustrate how distrust can be used, or manipulated, as a bridge between valid questions and wild answers. It's a dangerous game at a dangerous time.

A Guide to the Coronavirus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Dangerous Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Targeting 5G Technology, Bill Gates, and a World of Fear

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over Easter weekend, arsonists set more than twenty 5G cellular towers in the United Kingdom on fire-forming a pattern of bunny-eared infernos that points to one of the many conspiracy theories surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus. The basic idea is that 5G, a new generation of wireless communication, is responsible for the coronavirus crisis, and the idea has spread rapidly.

# data[].attributes.body
https://time.com/5903389/election-poll-violence-police/

I find this article to be credible, resourceful, and unbiased. We all are very well aware of how polarized politics in our nation have become and the abundance of hatred that comes along with that. In our current political climate, people are not afraid to violently act out if their candidate doesn't win or if people have opposing views. So, sadly, law enforcement needs to take precautions in the case of possible political violence, hatred, threats, etc. on Election Day and at polling places currently. This article states the fact that precautions are in place for election day and beyond due to  rampant divisiveness and those threatening to do harm to others.
-Abby Granato

# data[].attributes.body
This article reports on election day in my province and states that many of my fellow residents opted to vote either by mail or in the advance polls. This does not surprise me because COVID 19 cases have been increasing in the province for the past several weeks so many people opted for the alternative. An provincial election is always newsworthy but to be honest, I do not think the results will be surprising. The incumbent government is expected to win and further cement their political dynasty. I am just hopeful that the opposition ranks will grow to help provide the scrutiny that is often missing when it comes to certain political policies. What the article does not mention is that residents will be going back to the polls in 2 weeks time to vote at the municipal level. Voter turnout for municipal elections are always lower than the provincial and federal ones but I am kinda hopeful that more people will vote locally as the issues are more pertinent.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Polls are now open this Monday morning for Saskatchewan's 29th provincial election as the Saskatchewan Party seeks a fourth consecutive mandate.

"This will be the largest non-wartime event in the history of our province, [with] more than 800,000 eligible voters," said Tim Kydd, director of communications and outreach for Elections Saskatchewan.

A record-breaking 185,061 voters attended advance polls this year. Voters casting their ballots in-person on Monday can do so from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST.

However, Elections Saskatchewan does not expect all of the results to be available after polls close Monday night.

In what will be the third provincial election held in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic - the others were in New Brunswick on Sept. 14 and British Columbia on Saturday - 61,225 Saskatchewan residents have received mail ballots.

Ballots sent by mail will only begin to be counted on Wednesday. In tightly fought ridings, the margins may be too narrow to decide the race without accounting for the mail ballot results.

For those casting a ballot in-person on Monday, Elections Saskatchewan is strongly recommending that voters wear a mask at the polls and stay home if feeling unwell.

Voters will need to bring identification, such as a driver's licence or government-issued photo ID, with their name, photo and current address. They can also bring two non-photo pieces of identification with their name, at least one of which shows their current address.

As well, another person assigned to the same voting location can vouch for a voter.

When the Saskatchewan Legislature was dissolved at the end of its fixed four-year term, the Saskatchewan Party held 46 seats and the New Democratic Party held 13. The remaining two seats in the 61-seat legislature were vacant.

Thirty-one seats are needed for a majority government.

The last time the province was governed by a political party in its fourth term was the NDP before its 2007 defeat. That party, however, formed a coalition to stay in power in 1999.

The last party to win a long string of majorities in Saskatchewan without any help was the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and its leader Tommy Douglas, who was elected for a total of five terms.

CBC's live coverage of the 2020 Saskatchewan election will begin at 7:30 p.m. CST.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Polls open in Saskatchewan as Sask. Party seeks 4th consecutive term | CBC News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Polls are open for Saskatchewan's 29th provincial election as the Saskatchewan Party seeks a fourth consecutive mandate. "This will be the largest non-wartime event in the history of our province, [with] more than 800,000 eligible voters," said Tim Kydd, director of communications and outreach for Elections Saskatchewan.

# data[].attributes.headline
"The Two Americas Financing the Trump and Biden Campaigns" NYT

# data[].attributes.subject
"The Two Americas Financing the Trump and Biden Campaigns" NYT

# data[].attributes.body
This article isn't about daily life, but rather about the findings behind Trump and Biden's geographic and demographic changes and differences amongst their support. However, information about how political parties/candidates are funded could effect the way you live your daily life after voting is over... I would say that this article is definitely trending because of the upcoming election. I think that the conversations in here about different demographics supporting different sides in politics (particularly the focus on C. Harris) is something that is trending in 2020 as well . I think that (given the facts/numbers in this story are true), this article is fairly newsworthy. I think it is tricky these days to find news sources that are non-biased surrounding politics, but if you were to look at the numbers in this article they speak for themselves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Joe Biden has outraised President Trump on the strength of some of the wealthiest and most educated ZIP codes in the United States, running up the fund-raising score in cities and suburbs so resoundingly that he collected more money than Mr. Trump on all but two days in the last two months, according to a New York Times analysis of $1.8 billion donated by 7.6 million people since April.

The data reveals, for the first time, not only when Mr. Biden decisively overtook Mr. Trump in the money race - it happened the day Senator Kamala Harris joined the ticket - but also what corners of the country, geographically and demographically, powered his remarkable surge.

The findings paint a portrait of two candidates who are, in many ways, financing their campaigns from two different Americas.

It is not just that much of Mr. Biden's strongest support comes overwhelmingly from the two coasts, which it does. Or that Mr. Trump's financial base is in Texas, which it is. It is that across the country, down to the ZIP code level, some of the same cleavages that are driving the 2020 election - along class and education lines - are also fundamentally reshaping how the two parties pay for their campaigns.

For years, affluent and college-educated voters, mostly white, had been the base of the Republican Party. Exit polls showed Republicans winning college graduates nationally from 1988 to 2004, and again in 2012. Voters who earned at least $100,000 have historically sided with most Republican presidential candidates by comfortable margins, too.

But under Mr. Trump, Republicans have hemorrhaged support from white voters with college degrees, who polls show have been repelled by his embrace of a politics of cultural division and racial grievance.

The fund-raising data suggests that erosion is not only harming the party's electoral prospects but also its economic bottom line.

Mr. Trump lost the money race in 2016, too, but he mobilized a base of white working-class voters then that offset his losses among college-educated voters. Now he is trying to leverage the powers of incumbency to do that to an even greater degree. But win or lose, Mr. Trump has accelerated a political realignment.

In ZIP codes with a median household income of at least $100,000, Mr. Biden smashed Mr. Trump in fund-raising, $486 million to only $167 million - accounting for almost his entire financial edge. In the rest of the country, the two were knotted closely together.

It was a similar story in the most educated pockets of the country, only even more pronounced.

Of the ZIP codes where at least 65 percent of people had graduated from college - just over 1,000 out of nearly 32,000 populated ZIP codes that reported donations - Mr. Biden outraised Mr. Trump $478 million to $104 million. Below that education level, Mr. Trump was ahead by nearly $40 million.

"Alienating white college-educated voters means more than just losing their votes; it's also literally costing them money," said Amy Walter, the national editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "These are the kinds of places that, not that long ago, hosted high-dollar fund-raisers exclusively for G.O.P. candidates. Now, those donors are sitting in their living rooms, tapping out donations to Democrats around the country via their smartphones."

The analysis looked at more than 25 million donations from April 1 to Oct. 14, merging Federal Election Commission filings from the campaigns of Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, their joint operations with the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee, and data from the donation-processing sites WinRed and ActBlue.

The analysis does not include direct donations to the parties themselves, but it covers more than 90 percent of contributions to Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden and the committees directly linked to them, from $1 gifts to checks of more than $700,000. The average donation to those committees was $71 for Mr. Trump and $76 for Mr. Biden.

Over all, Mr. Biden raised $1.07 billion and Mr. Trump $734 million over the last six months in the 32,000 populated ZIP codes, the analysis shows.

The period analyzed is not a perfect snapshot. Mr. Trump was seeking money from donors, including in wealthy enclaves, in the months before Mr. Biden first emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee. But during the six months in which the choice was between these two men, the disparity was yawning.

'Disposable income and deep antipathy'

Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster who studies demographic trends, said "the donations mirror voting patterns," as white voters with college degrees have swung sharply toward the Democrats in the last decade, with the trend expected to accelerate further in 2020 with Mr. Trump on the ticket.

"It makes perfect sense," Mr. Ayres said of the donation data. "Basically, Republicans have traded larger, more upscale, fast-growing suburban counties for smaller, down-scale, slower-growing rural counties. That's not a promising trend for future victories."

In Georgia, the data shows that many of the suburban ZIP codes surrounding Atlanta, which are helping turn the state into a true presidential battleground for the first time in decades, are solidly Democratic when it comes to the number of donors, all the way deep into Gwinnett County, a swing county trending Democratic.

In Pennsylvania, the vote-rich suburbs outside Philadelphia are overwhelmingly blue, with virtually every ZIP code counting more Biden donors than Trump ones, including in Bucks County, where Mr. Biden campaigned on Saturday and where Mrs. Clinton won by less than one percentage point four years ago.

And in Virginia, the demographic march of the suburbs and exurbs outside Washington, D.C., that have turned the state reliably Democratic is apparent in the Biden-leaning ZIP codes for donors that stretch nearly to the West Virginia border.

Dallas

Miami

Boston

New York

D.C.

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Seattle

Chicago

Dallas

Atlanta

Denver

These political and fund-raising trends underscore the jeopardy that Mr. Trump has created for himself and his party: Rather than enjoying the usual advantages of incumbency, the president is struggling to stanch the bleeding for the G.O.P. in the suburbs. His conduct, rhetoric and record are imperiling some traditionally red Senate and House seats because of the realignment of college-educated voters toward moderate Democrats emphasizing issues like health care and economic growth.

"These voters with lots of disposable income and deep antipathy to Trump can channel their frustration into Biden's campaign coffers," said Ms. Walter of the Cook Political Report.

The median household in the United States was $68,703 in 2019. In ZIP codes above that level, Mr. Biden outraised Mr. Trump by $389.1 million. Below that level, Mr. Trump was actually ahead by $53.4 million.

Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, said the shift of more educated voters toward her party was a boost "in the short term," especially financially.

"To have people with more resources to be able to give - and not just once, but over and over again in lots of different places - it creates an advantage for Democrats," Ms. Greenberg said, citing the online culture of donating to multiple candidates that has lifted once-obscure Senate Democratic candidates.

Of course, neither party wants to be seen chiefly as the champion of the well-to-do. Mr. Biden has emphasized his blue-collar roots and upbringing in Scranton, Pa. Mr. Trump, after falling behind in the money chase, has attacked Mr. Biden as beholden to the donor class. "Joe, you have raised a lot of money, tremendous amounts of money," Mr. Trump said in last week's debate. "And every time you raise money, deals are made, Joe."

Ms. Greenberg said there were risks if her party fell out of touch with the values of the working class, both white and nonwhite. "About 60 percent of this country is still without a college degree," she noted.

A pivotal turning point

For months, after Mr. Biden had emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee, he and Mr. Trump competed closely for donations, despite the president's three-year head start. But that all changed on Aug. 11, when Mr. Biden named Ms. Harris as his running mate.

That day, Mr. Biden raised five times as much as Mr. Trump and nearly repeated that margin the day after. In the 65 days from the formation of the Biden-Harris team until Oct. 14, that Democratic team outraised Mr. Trump on 63 of them, according to the data.

The only two exceptions were the night of Mr. Trump's convention speech, when Republican giving surged, and the day after his hospitalization with the coronavirus, when Democratic giving waned.

In those 65 days, Mr. Biden built a financial advantage of more than $300 million.

All told, the 2020 donation data shows that 28 states donated more to Mr. Trump, compared to 22 supporting Mr. Biden in the last six months. But the national map of donation data still appears red because Democratic dollars - like Democratic votes - are far more concentrated in denser and wealthier parts of the country.

The most lopsided state in Mr. Biden's favor is Massachusetts, with more than five times as much money, $55.7 million, going to the Democrats than the Republicans. The most Republican-leaning state for donations was Mississippi, with nearly four times as much money, $4.9 million, going to Mr. Trump.

In terms of dollars, Mr. Trump's greatest edge came from Texas (he netted $48.3 million more there than Mr. Biden), while Mr. Biden's came from California ($167.3 million more than Mr. Trump).

In fact, Mr. Biden's entire financial edge can be accounted for through just four states: California, New York, Massachusetts and Washington.

And within those and other blue states, Mr. Biden's hauls are particularly concentrated in big cities and suburbs. One Upper West Side ZIP code - 10024 - accounted for more than $8 million for Mr. Biden, and New York City in total delivered $85.6 million for him - more than he raised in every state other than California.

One of the most closely divided states in terms of cash given also happens to be one of the most heavily contested battlegrounds, North Carolina, that could determine both the presidency and control of the Senate. There, Mr. Biden's $18.9 million narrowly edged out Mr. Trump's $17.9 million.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Two Americas Financing the Trump and Biden Campaigns

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Joe Biden has outraised President Trump on the strength of some of the wealthiest and most educated ZIP codes in the United States, running up the fund-raising score in cities and suburbs so resoundingly that he collected more money than Mr. Trump on all but two days in the last two months, according to a New York Times analysis of $1.8 billion donated by 7.6 million people since April.

# data[].attributes.headline
Harry Styles investing in new music venue in Manchester

# data[].attributes.subject
Harry Styles investing in new music venue in Manchester

# data[].attributes.body
This story reports on the latest business pursuit of famous musician Harry Styles. It was written with the intention of updating his fans and pop culture fanatics about the latest of Styles' projects, and give an insight into his personal feelings about this unprecedented career move. I believe this story is newsworthy because although pop culture-based articles may often seem trivial and unimportant, this is a significant project that will affect many people in the future. Styles' involvement in the creation of one of the biggest European arenas is very notable and his participation and potential contributions as an established musician should be considered newsworthy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LONDON (AP) - While most music stars are rescheduling tour dates to 2021, Harry Styles is looking farther ahead and making plans to headline his own arena - one he's putting his money and ideas into.

Styles is one of the investors in a £350 million pound ($456.6 million) new concert venue in Manchester, England, called Co-op Live.

The project, announced Monday, teams him up with Oak View Group on what they hope will be the UK's largest arena.

"As long as everything's in order by 2023, hopefully they'll let me play there. If I haven't messed it up yet," Styles said, smiling.

After 10 years touring the globe and playing record-breaking stadiums shows with One Direction, Styles, 26, knows what he'd like from a venue, both as an artist and as an attendee.

"Ultimately, I'm a music fan," he said. "I love going to shows, I love live music."

For performers, he also wants to create great memories.

Already vetoing a suggestion of backstage jacuzzies ("bad idea"), he's concentrating on making it a standout place to play.

"What's going to make it different than just touring? I want it to be a room that people remember playing and look forward to playing."

The location was also a big pull for Styles.

He finds the idea of giving a "music city" like Manchester, a brand new, large-scale concert building, "incredibly exciting."

Styles' first job was as a paperboy for a Co-op store in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, - delivering newspapers for "a few quid" before school - so working with them now feels like a full-circle moment. (Most of his paper route earnings got spent on candy, he said.)

"Maybe the first show they'll make me deliver the papers to every seat," he joked.

Styles' dad lives in Manchester. The northern English city was recently placed under strict restrictions by the U.K. government due to the number of coronavirus cases.

"It's a difficult time. Manchester is going to come back. It just will. Like everywhere, it's about people protecting each other."

The pandemic put a stop to his plans for touring to support his "Fine Line" album until December 2020.

Styles remains philosophical about this delay. His dates have been moved to 2021 and he said he's more concerned with keeping his crew and fans safe.

He's instead been able to use this time to start acting again in a "great project," the psychological thriller, "Don't Worry, Darling," directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Florence Pugh.

It's a switch from the music he said he's always writing and working on.

"You try and put so much of yourself into music and then you're trying to actively remove that from any acting," he said. "I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do two things I love doing."

While he's shooting, Styles is staying away from the social media monitoring of his hair length and instead dropping a new music video for "Golden," which was filmed in Italy.

"It's one of the first songs when I was making the album and it's always been a source of joy for me. And I wanted to make a video that encapsulated that.

"I'd like to think it will maybe cheer a couple of people up. Cheered me up," he said, grinning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harry Styles investing in new music venue in Manchester

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LONDON (AP) - While most music stars are rescheduling tour dates to 2021, Harry Styles is looking farther ahead and making plans to headline his own arena - one he's putting his money and ideas into. Styles is one of the investors in a £350 million pound ($456.6 million) new concert venue in Manchester, England, called Co-op Live.

# data[].attributes.headline
Social Media Use May Increase Teens Risk of Mental Health Issues

# data[].attributes.subject
Social Media Use May Increase Teens Risk of Mental Health Issues

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-09-12/social-media-use-may-increase-teens-risk-of-mental-health-issues

This story reports on a topical trend. Social media use has gone up significantly recently, and so has mental health problems in teens. Social media may lead to teens comparing themselves to others, and when they are experiencing mental health issues, teens are starting to internalize all of their bad feelings. This ultimately makes it worse, but they keep doing it anyways.
I think the story is newsworthy because almost every teen uses some form of social media in their daily lives, so we should know how this usage is affecting us mentally. It's an important and urgent issue that should be addressed before it gets too bad.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in practically every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend that "we're rounding the turn, we're doing great."

With Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Newly confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.

Health experts had warned that it was only a matter of time before deaths turned upward, given the record-breaking surge in cases engulfing the country. Deaths are a lagging indicator - that is, it generally takes a few weeks for people to sicken and die from the coronavirus.

Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases who warned over the summer of a fall surge, said what's happening now is a confluence of three factors: "pandemic fatigue" among people who are weary of hunkering down and are venturing out more; "pandemic anger" among those are don't believe the scourge is a real threat; and cold weather, which is forcing more Americans indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.

"When you put those three together, we shouldn't be surprised what we're seeing," Osterholm said.

The virus is blamed for more than 8.6 million confirmed infections and over 225,000 deaths in the U.S., the highest such totals anywhere in the world.

Deaths are still well below the U.S. peak of over 2,200 per day in late April. But experts are warning of a grim fall and winter, with a widely cited model from the University of Washington projecting about 386,000 dead by Feb. 1. A vaccine is unlikely to become widely available until mid-2021.

The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases hit a record high on Sunday of 68,767, according to Johns Hopkins, eclipsing the previous mark of 67,293, set in mid-July. The U.S. recorded more than 80,000 new cases on both Friday and Saturday - the highest marks ever - though testing has expanded dramatically over the course of the outbreak, making direct comparisons problematic.
RELATED: Stocks plunge as COVID-19 cases surge in US
The true number of infections is thought to be far higher because many Americans have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

On Wall Street, stocks had their worst day in more than a month, amid the surging caseload and mounting doubts that Washington will come through with more relief for the economy before Election Day. The S&P 500 slid 1.9% Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 650 points, or 2.3%.

In the Texas border city of El Paso, authorities instructed people to stay home for two weeks and imposed a 10-p.m.-to-5-a.m. curfew because of a surge that has overwhelmed hospitals. The state is converting part of the city's civic center into a hospital.

Violators of the curfew are subject to $500 fines, though the order does not apply to people who are going to or from work or are out for other essential reasons, such as food shopping and medical care.

"We are in a crisis stage," El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, the county's top elected official, as he issued the stay-at-home order over the weekend.

On Monday, the county reported a record high in daily cases, with 1,443, and 853 patients hospitalized because of the virus, up from 786 a day earlier. The state has provided over 900 medical personnel to El Paso, some of whom will staff the convention center site.

Just last week, Trump during the last presidential debate downplayed the virus's effect in the Lone Star State, saying: "There was a very big spike in Texas, it's now gone."
RELATED: Americans dying of COVID-19, other causes at higher rates than other countries, study suggests
On Sunday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said that "we're not going to control the pandemic" and that the focus should be on containment and treatment.

Trump, who spent several days in the hospital after contracting the virus, said repeatedly over the weekend that the country is "rounding the turn." His remarks came amid another outbreak in the White House inner circle. Several close aides to Vice President Mike Pence tested positive, including his chief of staff.

Europe, which had aggressively tackled the virus with shutdowns, mask mandates and other steps in the spring, is also seeing an alarming resurgence.

In France, with one-fifth the population of the U.S., a doctor warned that his country has "lost control of the epidemic" after health authorities reported more than 52,000 new cases. Spain, the first European country to surpass 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, announced a nationwide curfew and a cap of six people on social gatherings.

Italy, where the virus cut a deadly swath in the spring, ordered restaurants and bars closed by 6 p.m. and shut down gyms, pools and movie theaters.

In the U.S., Oklahoma is one of the states consistently breaking records for new cases, and the strain is being felt in hospitals. Bed space is running out, and an equally daunting problem is a shortage of nursing staff.

Dr. Sam Ratermann, director of the hospitalist program at INTEGRIS Grove Hospital in Grove, Oklahoma, said his organization is offering a hiring bonus of up to $25,000 for experienced nurses. He said patients are being transferred from "hospital to hospital across the state" for lack of beds.

"Even when we have open ICU beds across the state, we don't have staff to fill them," Ratermann said. "There's going to be a point where there's no beds and we can't even care for our local citizens."

In Kentucky, the state shattered its record for the number of new cases per week, with 9,335.

"We must do better," Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said, adding that he plans to make recommendations soon for counties with high rates of infection.

The University of Minnesota's Osterholm has been predicting the darkest days will be in the weeks or months ahead. He said he expects increased competition for drugs and shortages of hospital specialists, N95 masks and other protective gear.

A strong national response plan was needed, along with consistent messaging that emphasized mask wearing and other preventive measures, Osterholm said.

"But our response has been... I don't know what our response has been," he said.

___

Stobbe reported from New York.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
COVID-19 deaths are rising again in the US ahead of 2020 election

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in practically every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend that "we're rounding the turn, we're doing great."

# data[].attributes.body
Articles and "news" about local things are always important to those that live in that area. The function of this article is to make the population aware of new business developing and to highlight the city of Bessemer. This is my hometown so seeing positive things come on the news about Bessemer excites me. The article also functions by letting people know about possible new job opportunities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Erica Wright
The Birmingham Times

Drone Photography: Lavon Beard

Bessemer has become a city that is a marvel to behold.

In just the past three years look at what's happened in "The Marvel City"

Amazon opened a distribution facility earlier this year, creating more than 1,500 jobs.

FedEx recently announced plans to construct a new $40 million distribution facility on the border of Birmingham and Bessemer.

Carvana is currently building a $40 million distribution center on Morgan Road.

Approximately, 5,000 jobs have been created for residents over the past 10 years-and that may be just the beginning.

"What I am most proud of right now is the type of businesses we've been able to recruit to the city," said Bessemer Mayor Ken Gulley, who was first elected in 2010. "My objective has always been that everybody who wants a job can get a job. ... Once you can have your citizens gainfully employed, that could help build the socioeconomics of your city. That has been very important to me."

The Birmingham Times took a tour with Gulley to visit some of the main attractions in Bessemer, a city of about 27,000.
Rail-Trail
The tour began on a very bright October morning at the Bessemer Rail-Trail in the shaded former corridor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad that runs parallel to 14th Street and Berkley Avenue. The asphalt trail-for which the first phase was completed and opened in the spring of 2018 at just under half of a mile-is open to pedestrian and cyclists.

"We did phase one last year, but our objective is to continue to apply for federal funds for phases two and three in the amount of $1.5 million. This has really been a cooperative effort among federal, state, and city of Bessemer [agencies] to get where we are," said Gulley. "We also are working on a pedestrian bridge, for which we've already secured funding, ... that will [provide] connectivity of the trail to our Youth and Senior Recreation Center, so people will be able to park at the recreation center, get on the pedestrian bridge, walk across Highway 150, and walk [on the trail]."

Phases two and three will be completed by the end of this year or early next, said Gulley, who explained that the idea is to connect the Rail-Trail to other walking trails, such as Red Mountain, in addition to downtown Bessemer and the rec center. While these next Rail-Trail phases are still in the works, Gulley said, "Individuals enjoy getting up there walking. If you visit the part of the trail on Fairfax [Avenue in Bessemer] you can see much more. [The trail] has been very popular among our residents."
Youth and Senior Center
The tour continued just across from phases two and three of the Rail-Trail to the Bessemer Youth and Senior Recreation Center, which opened in 2016. This facility is the first recreation center for all residents in the city's 130-year history. (A previous rec center was segregated, so this is the first for all residents.) The city purchased the property at 100 14th Street South, formerly the site of Roosevelt Park and Davis Middle School, in 2013 and started construction on the $15 million project, which includes a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool, an indoor walking track, an outdoor walking trail, baseball and softball fields, splash pads, a small amphitheater, an aerobics room, weight rooms, dance rooms, and a multipurpose room for banquets and other activities.

"We provide meals for the seniors there, as well as run the youth basketball, football, baseball, and softball programs," Gulley said. "When building this center, we felt it was important to bring ... all of these different programs under the umbrella of the city. ... We've been able to coordinate those programs through the city and the rec center."

The Youth and Senior Recreation Center, which currently has about 12,000 members, has been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Linda Vinson, director of senior programs, said about 35 active seniors came to the center regularly before the shutdown to participate in a broad range of activities, including field trips and arts and crafts, as well as educational, fitness, and nutrition classes.

"We [also] have speakers to come in and talk about Medicare and Medicaid and different services for the seniors," Vinson said, adding that the variety of program offerings make the recreation center an important staple of the community.

"Especially for our seniors, the main thing is to keep busy and move around because if you don't exercise or use your brain, ... things like Alzheimer's and arthritis affect you more," she said.
Carvana
Carvana, a leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, has invested more than $40 million to construct an Alabama distribution and fulfillment center, which will create more than 300 jobs in Bessemer. The site where this facility is being built was the next stop on the tour.

Construction of the 200,000-square-foot facility on Morgan Road began earlier this year but was shut down for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work resumed in August, and the facility could possibly be completed by early next year, in time for a December 2021 opening.

Lou Ferdinando, a supervisor with Catamount Constructors Inc., said the site will have parking for 8,000 cars and a T-shaped building with office space and areas for car washing, detailing, and painting. The facility will also feature a 360 picture room-where full-view, 360-degree photographs of the vehicles are taken for posting on the Carvana website site-as well as a showroom.
Bessemer Airport
Next stop: the Bessemer Airport. This city-owned, public-use airport was constructed in the early-1970s, covers 380 acres and is located southeast of the central business district in Bessemer. It is categorized as a reliever airport for the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The Bessemer Airport Authority (BAA) was established 30 years ago to manage, operate, and develop the facility, said Tim Wasyluka, BAA executive director.

"The airport is unusual in how big and capable it is," he explained. "It has a 6,000-foot runway and can accommodate very large jets, ... [so] it's used a lot for business travel. Businesses based in the Birmingham area fly out of here on a national or international basis. ... Several companies [across the nation] use this airport when they come to Alabama."

A combination of more than 100 business and private aircrafts are based at the Bessemer Airport, which logs more than 100,000 flights. The airport also gets a lot of traffic depending on the sports schedules for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa (UA) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), as well as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Baseball Tournament, which is held a very short distance from the airport, at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.

"Currently, the airport is building new hangars and expanding the runway. This year, we finished construction on a new hangar that holds 10 aircraft; it is similar to a storage facility, except it holds airplanes," said Wasyluka.

The runway, which hadn't been upgraded since it was built in the 1970s, underwent an expansion project that started in May and was competed in September.

"The [Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)] provided us with a $2.7 million grant to totally repave the runway and replace the lighting with new LED lights that have higher efficiency and higher brightness," Wasyluka said. "The feedback from the pilots has been positive. The runway is very smooth, and it's safer, too, because there were certain things included in the design and the surface ... that are different than they were 20 or 30 years ago."
Amazon
The final stop on the tour was one of the most talked about economic development projects not just in Birmingham but across Alabama: the new $300 million Amazon Fulfillment Center, which opened earlier this year. The 855,000-square-foot building off Power Plant Road currently employs more than 1,500 full-time associates who retrieve, pack, and ship items. The announcement in June 2018 brought even more positive attention to Bessemer.
"The good thing about the center's location is that it's not far from [Bessemer High School]," Gulley said. "Some programs [have been expanded] to the students, so ... they can come out here to work and actually earn money for college."

Following the tour Gulley also pointed out the city was recently awarded a $300,000 Brownfield Assessment Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and that project will begin this month and downtown Bessemer has been named an Opportunity Zone and designated as a historic district.
Click here to read more stories relating to Bessemer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bessemer (AL): The Marvel City No Longer in Birmingham's Shadow

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times Drone Photography: Lavon Beard Bessemer has become a city that is a marvel to behold. In just the past three years look at what's happened in "The Marvel City" Amazon opened a distribution facility earlier this year, creating more than 1,500 jobs.

# data[].attributes.headline
Long Term Neurological Effects of COVID-19 Infection

# data[].attributes.subject
Long Term Neurological Effects of COVID-19 Infection

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/12/after-covid19-mental-neurological-effects-smolder/

When COVID-19 first showed up on everyone's radar, we knew it was a respiratory virus, and we knew it was possible we may see some long term respiratory damage occur in patients who suffered severe, prolonged COVID infections, however, something I feel many didn't expect was to see links between COVID infections and long term neurological damage. The article posted above informs readers about the neurological damage an infected individual could incur from a COVID infection, as well as the damage that could be caused to other peripheral organs, like the heart, for example. While this article is now a bit dated, I feel it's an easily digestible read, even for those outside of the fields of health or science. With all of the misinformation that has surrounded the pandemic, I feel articles like these that give the average reader important information about COVID-19 in a digestible manner are important in combating that misinformation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Facebook Has Plan in Case of Dire Election Conflict

# data[].attributes.subject
Facebook Has Plan in Case of Dire Election Conflict

# data[].attributes.body
Facebook has a plan in case of dire election conflict which will likely impact our daily lives, the type, and amount of information we will receive via this social platform as well as what we will not be able to  access, depending upon the election outcome in the US.
It is news in that it impacts millions of Facebook users worldwide, and indicates a platform which has touted itself as open for discourse, will  through its algorithms and other tools become an arbitrar of information if an election conflict arises.
They are in essence announcing that they are going to actively control content. It remains to be seen, how whatever measures Facebook employs will contribute to calming election-related conflict.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Facebook Inc. 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.

...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WSJ News Exclusive | Facebook Prepares Measures for Possible Election Unrest

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Facebook Inc. 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.

# data[].attributes.body
This news story is outside of the normal realm of most news like COVID and voting. It is honestly a relief to have a break in media like this. While this news does not necessarily effect our everyday life or socialize us, it does inform us on things going on outside of our world, which it still important. We often forget about these things when we are wrapped up with the usual news. During this time, sadly, this news was not as newsworthy as it should have been. Most viewers are only going to be interested in breaking news on voting or the global pandemic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
NASA's SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.yourerie.com/news/local-news/your-local-election-hq/two-thirds-of-americans-suffer-from-election-anxiety-heres-what-can-help/

I've had a hard time deciding whether to vote by mail in ballot or in person. It's more like I'm participating in the democratic process if I go there in person, and also I feel like my vote actually counted and didn't get lost in the mail. I finally decided to drop off my ballot at the Board of Elections Office because I could literally hand it in and I didn't have to encounter a lot of rude people 'patrolling' the polling place.

The story points out that I'm not the only one who's feeling a lot of anxiety so it works for socialization.

# data[].attributes.headline
Answers to your questions about how climate change affects winter recreation in Maine

# data[].attributes.subject
Answers to your questions about how climate change affects winter recreation in Maine

# data[].attributes.body
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/10/23/business/answers-to-your-questions-about-how-climate-change-affects-winter-recreation-in-maine/
This is a good example of how the news functions in socialization. Since this news story specifically includes questions and concerns from local Mainers, readers are influenced by the values held by those asking these questions about Maine and climate change and also by the answers provided by experts. It’s easy to see how this could shape the values of readers. This story is newsworthy because it is about a topic that is highly relevant to Maine's winter tourism and the future of that industry; it is a concern shared by many.

# data[].attributes.body
This story provides a lot of information and fact checking about a candidate in the NC 11th  district. Although the headline seems one of shock value the article   provides lots of lines and sources for the information. It's very topical, but the way this candidate is representing himself includes some social aspects as well.    .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
North Carolina congressional nominee Madison Cawthorn addresses the virtual convention on August 26, 2020 (Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

Madison Cawthorn, the Republican nominee for Congress in North Carolina's 11th District, is an emerging GOP star. After the 25-year-old Cawthorn scored an upset victory in the primary, he was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention. He has a compelling personal story, overcoming a serious auto accident at 18 that left him partially paralyzed. The telegenic Cawthorn makes frequent appearances on Fox News and has been photographed hobnobbing with Trump, Rudy Guiliani, and other Republican leaders.

Cawthorn faces Democratic nominee Moe Davis, an attorney and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, in November's general election. But as election day approaches, a darker side of Cawthorn has emerged.

Cawthorn's campaign has received coverage from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tom Fiedler, who writes for a local outlet called AVL Watchdog. Upset with Fiedler's reporting, Cawthorn's campaign website attacked Fiedler for quitting "his academia job in Boston to work for non-white males, like Cory Booker who aims to ruin white males running for office."

This blatantly racist attack was first exposed by The Bulwark, a prominent center-right media outlet. Cawthorn has not apologized. Instead, Cawthorn claimed the attack was a " syntax error." A revised website now attacks Fiedler as "an unapologetic defender of left-wing identity politics." Cory Booker is no longer mentioned.

Later, Cawthorn's campaign released a statement dismissing criticism of the website, saying critics were focusing on " violations to woke dogma on race." The statement accused Fiedler and Davis of "playing the race card."

The website, however, is not the only incident that raises questions about Cawthorn's views on race. The city of Asheville, North Carolina, "voted unanimously to formally apologize for slavery and promise new investments in black homeownership and business opportunity." At a July campaign event, Cawthorn said he opposed the effort. "600,000 Americans gave their life to free slaves and you're going to tell me that's not enough?" Cawthorn asked. The real racists, Cawthorn said, are "white liberals" because they are obsessed with race. "Any liberals listening to this right now, you are a racist," he said.

In a 2017 Instagram post documenting a trip to Germany, Cawthorn referred to Hitler as "the Führer" and said visiting Hitler's vacation home, the "Eagle's Nest," had been on his "bucket list for awhile." Cawthorn added that it was strange to "share such a good time with my brother where only 79 years ago a supreme evil shared laughs and good times with his compatriots."

In AVL Watchdog, Fiedler reported that Cawthorn - intentionally or not - has adopted symbols of white nationalists, "including some participating in the infamous Charlottesville "Unite the White" demonstration.

Among the issues is the name of Cawthorn's real estate investment company, SPQR Holdings, LLC. The initials SPQR have "been embraced by skinhead gangs in Italy and by some white nationalists in the United States." Cawthorn says it is merely "a term for Rome" and "a warning to my generation from the ages against tyranny and authoritarianism."

Cawthorn "is frequently interviewed at home against a wall displaying a stylized version of the so-called Betsy Ross flag with just 13 stars for the original 13 states." The Betsy Ross flag "has been adopted by some white supremacists to reference the nation at a time when Blacks were enslaved and counted in the newly adopted Constitution as three-fifths of a white person."

But neither these controversies nor Cawthorn's racist website has stopped some of America's most prominent corporations from backing his campaign.

The corporations backing Cawthorn

North Carolina's 11th District was previously represented by Mark Meadows, who is now serving as Trump's Chief of Staff. In the primary, Cawthorn faced Lynda Bennett, a friend of Meadows. Trump endorsed Bennett and recorded a robocall for her campaign.

But after Cawthorn scored an upset, the Republican Party lined up behind Cawthorn and corporate money began to flow to his campaign. Recent corporate PAC contributions to Cawthorn's campaign include:

Popular Information contacted all ten of these entities and asked whether Cawthorn's racist attack had any impact on their support for his campaign. AT&T and Exxon Mobile acknowledged the inquiry but did not provide a response. The other entities did not respond.

Cawthorn's truth problem

Over the course of the campaign, Cawthorn has been caught lying to create a more compelling narrative for voters. One of his campaign videos, for example, says that Cawthorn "planned on serving his country in the Navy with a nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy... until tragedy struck." But in a 2017 deposition related to the car accident, Cawthorn admitted he was rejected from the Naval Academy before the auto accident.

The lawyer asked Cawthorn: "[A]t some point in time, you were notified by the Naval Academy that you did not get in?"

"Yes, sir," Cawthorn replied.

The lawyer continued: "Was it - it was before the accident?"

Cawthorn answered: "It was, sir."

Cawthorn has never explained the discrepancy. It wasn't an isolated incident. Pressed on his lack of experience to be a member of Congress, Cawthorn said in an October 2 interview with a local media outlet that he had worked full-time for former Congressman Mark Meadows for two years.

"I don't have 40 years of work experience, I'm only 25 years old, but I have worked in a congressional office for two years," Cawthorn said.

Asked if that was full-time, he responded, "Yeah, I was full time."

That was false. Records show "Cawthorn worked part-time on Meadows' staff from Jan. 15, 2015 to at least Aug. 1, 2016." Cawthorn's campaign acknowledged that he was not, in fact, a full-time employee. He was paid about $1300 per month. "Madison was a permanent employee for Meadows who was paid on a part-time basis because he was physically incapable of performing some normal office duties due to his accident," a Cawthorn spokesperson said.

Cawthorn also regularly describes himself as a real estate investor and public speaker. But his financial disclosure, filed in March as a requirement of his candidacy, lists no income from either vocation. The form does not list any earned income from any source.

Multiple women allege Cawthorn made "unwanted sexual advances"

While Cawthorn was not accepted by the Naval Academy, he did attend Patrick Henry College for about a year. Ten of Cawthorn's former classmates authored a letter this month condemning Cawthorn for his "gross misconduct towards our female peers" during his time as a college student.

During his brief time at the college, Cawthorn established a reputation for predatory behavior....Cawthorn would take young women to secluded areas, lock the doors, and proceed to make unwanted sexual advances. It became a regular warning in the female dorms not to be caught alone with Madison Cawthorn. Additionally, he referred to female students as 'bitches' and 'sluts,' both in private amongst his friends and often publicly. He also called our female peers these derogatory names when they refused to go for a ride in his car.

The letter was signed by 166 current students and alumni of Patrick Henry College.

In response, Cawthorn's campaign told the AVL Watchdog that the letter contained "unsubstantiated and anonymous accusations" and accused without evidence opponent Moe Davis for spurring the allegations.

Days later, the campaign published a letter of endorsement from Patrick Henry College alumni. It was signed by six people - two of whom work on Cawthorn's campaign. This letter describes the original letter as an attack from "liberal sources, as well as, discontented PHC alumni." According to the AVL Watchdog, however, the authors of the original letter were not in contact with Davis's campaign or any other political group. In fact, many of them describe themselves as conservative Christians.

In August, World, a Christian news magazine, reported that Cawthorn had made unwanted sexual advances on at least three women since 2014. "Two women say he forcibly kissed them. One woman told me he grabbed her thigh and moved his hand an inch or two beneath her dress," wrote Harvest Prude.

Even before World published its report, one of the women mentioned in the piece, Katrina Krulikas, took to Instagram in August to publicly describe how Cawthorn forcibly tried to kiss her in 2014. Krulikas was a member of the same Christian homeschool community as Cawthorn.

"This older guy had taken me to the woods on our first date, only to pry into my sexual past and then try to force himself onto me," Krulikas said. "I texted a friend, expressing how I didn't feel comfortable being alone with Madison again, how he had been extremely aggressive and creepy towards me."

Cawthorn's campaign told World that Cawthorn had previously apologized to Krulikas "if his attempt to kiss her when he was a teenager made her feel uncomfortable or unsafe." At the time of the alleged incident, Krulikas was 17 and Cawthorn was 19.

According to Krulikas, Cawthorn's apology was "insincere." He told her he "thought [she] was playing coy" and that "[he] can see in hindsight how that was over the line."

"I believe that it should be noted that this [apology] came 6 years after the fact, when his political career is now at stake and he faces the possibility of public scrutiny," wrote Krulikas.

Cawthorn cozies up to QAnon

In August, Cawthorn posted a video claiming that cartels were coming into the country and "kidnapping our American children and then taking them to sell them...on the sex slave market." This claim, which is not supported by experts on human trafficking, is commonly echoed by QAnon believers. "I want to set free all the American children who have so tragically been taken from us," Cawthorn said.

Cawthorn, who was visiting a private border wall at the time, suggests in the video that this information is coming from official channels. "I'm here meeting with a lot of ICE agents, a lot of federal agents and many sheriffs," Cawthorn said.

On the trip, Cawthorn posted a photo with Lauren Witzke, the GOP Senate candidate who was photographed in a QAnon t-shirt and repeatedly posted QAnon hashtags. (Witzke nevertheless claims she does not believe in the conspiracy.) Cawthorn also took a photo with Mary Ann Mendoza, a member of Trump's advisory board, who was disinvited from the RNC after promoting an anti-Semitic, QAnon conspiracy theory.

A spokesperson for Cawthorn told the AVL Watchdog that Cawthorn "categorically disavows 'QAnon.'" When asked by the AVL Watchdog to provide sources for Cawthorn's statement, the spokesperson shared a March 2019 news release by The Department of Homeland Security. The release, which focuses on migrants, made no mention of American children being trafficked by cartels.

This isn't the first time Cawthorn pandered to the fringe. Cawthorn met with congressional candidate Lauren Boebert. Boebert, who is running for office in Colorado, once said that she hoped Q was real because it meant "America was getting stronger."
Support Accountability Journalism Share Popular Information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The dark side of the Republican's newest star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
North Carolina congressional nominee Madison Cawthorn addresses the virtual convention on August 26, 2020 (Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images) Madison Cawthorn, the Republican nominee for Congress in North Carolina's 11th District, is an emerging GOP star.

# data[].attributes.headline
What Indianapolis parents are doing about trick-or-treating amid COVID-19

# data[].attributes.subject
What Indianapolis parents are doing about trick-or-treating amid COVID-19

# data[].attributes.body
This news article comes from IndyStar. It discusses how Indianapolis parents finding safe and creative ways to enjoy Halloween with their families. In my opinion, this news story uses a combination of all three functions. For daily life perspective, this Halloween is going to be quite different due to the global pandemic. The news story gives advice and ideas to readers, such as parents with children, on how to enjoy Halloween in a safe way by reading how other parents are modifying their celebrations this year. It directly relates to people and is advising them on how to stay safe in their daily lives. For topical event, the Coronavirus pandemic can be related. The whole country is watching the trends of the Coronavirus outbreak, and within the article, it discusses how the Coronavirus is causing us to change and adapt how we celebrate together. For socialization, the value and concern for keeping yourself and others safe by practicing social distancing and following the proper guidelines. For example, it stresses wearing a mask and maintaining distance from others. This depicts how within a year certain behaviors have become important and valuable to us as a society. Last Halloween, going door-to-door with no hand sanitizer, no mask, or being close to others was no big deal, but this behavior would not be considered acceptable in most places this year. The news helps to establish what is acceptable or not in our society. I think this story is newsworthy as it relates to people's everyday lives, discusses how the Coronavirus is affecting everyone's Halloween, and establishes what behaviors are acceptable.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the year of virtual play dates and "Zoom school," parents are striving to make positive Halloween memories without putting their families' health at risk.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, traditional trick-or-treating is strongly discouraged by Indianapolis and state officials. "Trunk-or-treating," hayrides and visits to haunted houses have also been labeled as "high risk" activities.

Even 3-year-olds, such as the daughter of Indianapolis resident Chris Hilgenberg sense a shift in this holiday season.

"She knows something is definitely different this year compared to last year," Hilgenberg said.

Hilgenberg and other parents told IndyStar about plans to modify Halloween in the interest of social distancing. Hilgenberg's daughter, for instance, is looking forward to a "spooky Halloween dance party" in her family's backyard.

Mayor Joe Hogsett made a plea Oct. 15 for families to curtail Halloween festivities to protect their health and the health of their neighbors. "It's worth taking the time to get creative" with celebrations, he said.

Easter's influence

Indianapolis resident Pablo Svirsky said his family's scavenger hunt for Halloween candy will be a variation on traditional Easter egg hunts.

For Svirsky and other parents planning backyard parties, the guest list includes members of their pandemic "pod" or small circle of people who have socialized or shared child care responsibilities since spring.

"We'll have snacks, maybe some crafts and certainly a few adult beverages," Svirsky said of the gathering focused on his 8-year-old, 6-year-old and 6-month-old.

Indianapolis resident Liz Munson said the pandemic is altering her family's plans, but added, "We can still have fun with our friends, dress up and eat candy."
Halloween safety: What to expect at pumpkin patches and haunted houses
Munson is looking forward to a backyard candy hunt, plus games and a chili feast.

"My 10-year-old also requested 'candy stations' where each adult stands at a different place in the yard," Munson said. "Kids will go around to each station so they can still say 'trick or treat' and get something."

Broad Ripple resident Rose Douglass is planning an outdoor "haunted treat hunt" for her 2-year-old daughter and a friend who's the same age.

"We have some foam gravestones that will have candy, mini granola bars and small toys hidden behind them," Douglass said. "Each kiddo will have the traditional Halloween pumpkin bucket to carry their discovered treats."

Keeping it inside

Maura Molloy, a resident of the Kennedy-King neighborhood, will send her husband and 4-year-old daughter on an errand while she prepares a Halloween surprise at home.

The idea, Molloy said, is for her daughter's stuffed animals to represent homeowners giving out trick-or-treat candy. After taping construction-paper houses to the wall, Molloy will place a stuffed animal and a bowl of candy in front of each one.

"So she'll trick-or-treat inside, going to all her stuffed animals' houses," Molloy said. "And I'll do all their voices, per usual."

Indianapolis resident Lisa Fraser-Mack said her family's plans include carving pumpkins, deemed a "low risk" activity by health officials.

"Since it's on a Saturday, we may watch some scary movies and even have a séance," Fraser-Mack said. "We want Halloween to be fun this year, but we know our first priority is to keep everyone safe."

Indianapolis resident Rye Von intends to add pizzazz to distributing candy at home for her 12-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
IndianapoLIST: Obsessed with Indianapolis? Subscribe to our newsletter
Her youngsters will pop balloons filled with treats. Von also sells the balloons, inflated by an air compressor and offered in pumpkin, spider and witch's cauldron shapes, through her Art Haus Balloon Company.

Thoughts on trick-or-treating

Fishers resident Michael McMann said his family won't give out candy on Halloween.

McMann said people who choose to trick-or-treat in the traditional sense will make the pandemic worse.

"With all the metrics rising, there is no rational or ethical reason to risk our infection or risk infecting others," McMann said. "In no world is wandering the streets, encountering numerous disparate groups and households - spreading the virus in the process - a reasonable thing to do."

Indianapolis resident Sarah Wallace and her neighbors are planning sidewalk candy distribution in the afternoon to avoid any potential large gathering at night. While the city didn't designate official trick-or-treat hours for Oct. 31, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department will schedule extra patrols and enforcement in neighborhoods from 6-8 p.m.

In Wallace's plan, families will place individual bags of candy near the sidewalk.

"This will allow the kids to walk from house to house as a sort of costume parade to collect candy, but remain distanced from non-family members," she said.

Douglass, the Broad Ripple resident planning a "haunted treat hunt" at her house, detailed her method for preparing goodies for trick-or-treaters.

"I have vinyl gloves to wear while filling the bags and will keep (the bags) in the garage until the night of Halloween," she said. "We are planning to set up a table at the end of our driveway where we will set the treat bags."
Contact IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at dave.lindquist@indystar.com or 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.
Douglass said she has fond memories of collecting Halloween candy as an elementary school student.

"It seems like such a small, trivial event, but if we can put some joy, fresh air, and a little treat back into the kids' lives while being safe and maintaining social distancing, I'm all for it," she said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Indianapolis parents are doing about trick-or-treating amid COVID-19

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the year of virtual play dates and "Zoom school," parents are striving to make positive Halloween memories without putting their families' health at risk. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, traditional trick-or-treating is strongly discouraged by Indianapolis and state officials. "Trunk-or-treating," hayrides and visits to haunted houses have also been labeled as "high risk" activities.

# data[].attributes.body
Netflix released the second volume of Unsolved Mysteries episodes on October 19th, 2020. A particular news story that caught my interest involved one of the cases discussed on this show: Lester Eubanks. Eubanks killed a young child in the 1960's and briefly spent time in prison for the crime. Unfortunately, he escaped and has been missing for over 45 years. On the episode, the police inform the audience that one of Lester's last known whereabouts was in the state of Alabama. A news station in Alabama, ABC 33/40, has released a story briefly discussing this case and asking if anyone has seen Lester Eubanks. The reason that this story piqued my interest is because I currently live in Alabama. I believe that this news story informs individuals about their daily life, topical trends, and socialization. As an Alabamian, it is important to me to see this in the daily news so that I am aware of what this man looks like in case I see him. This is a topical issue because ABC 33/40 is reporting a serious crime, both of murder and prison escape. This story also demonstrates socialization because the news station is emphasizing that murder and escaping prison is a crime and is not okay.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Episode of Netflix's 'Unsolved Mysteries' focuses on child killer with Alabama ties

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An episode of the new season of Netflix's 'Unsolved Mysteries' reboot focuses on a serial sex offender and child killer with ties to Alabama. Lester Eubanks was convicted in 1966 of the murder of 14-year-old Mary Ellen Deener from Mansfield, Ohio. Although Eubanks was sentenced to death, in 1972 his sentence was commuted to life in prison.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sonoma County Voters Casting Ballots Early in Record Numbers

# data[].attributes.subject
Sonoma County Voters Casting Ballots Early in Record Numbers

# data[].attributes.body
This story shows up in different permutations across the country. It addresses the 'socialization' aspect of news - yes, it's important to vote, - and reading these stories over and over just raises anxiety levels. I'd like to know more about the asteroid capture, the filling of the Archbishop position and other equally interesting and informative articles. I'd truly like some more balance in numbers of articles on the same topic. Pretty soon it all begins to look like clickbait. P.S. I voted 2 weeks ago - this could easily have an impact on how articles like this are viewed - does it help nudge people to vote? I surely hope so!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nearly half of registered voters in Sonoma County already have cast ballots, marking a historic high in early voter turnout and placing new emphasis on the election's final days.

But the money being funneled into touting local ballot measures hasn't kept pace, a shift from prior elections that featured robust turnout.

Experts say the pandemic and the pull of a presidential election deserve most of the credit for the unprecedented early turnout, which hit 45% as of Sunday, 10 days before Election Day, and easily topping the 27% turnout at the same point in 2008.

"It's more than a triple whammy - you have a pandemic, you have a recession, you have protests and you have the top of the ticket. It's consequential," said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist.

McCuan said his modeling shows turnout surpassing 2008 numbers, but falling short of the all-time high-water mark - 65.5% set 100 years earlier, in 1908.

Sonoma County Clerk and Recorder Deva Proto said the high rate of early returns is more than just a point of interest.

"It means that the results that are posted on Election Night will be a lot more statistically significant in terms of where the races are - who's ahead," Proto said, adding that voters have returned ballots through the mail and at designated drop boxes in nearly equal numbers.

It also means, elections experts say, that campaign spending in the final week, which has amounted to just $80,000 for countywide ballot measures, will be focused on fewer votes and will take on far greater importance.

"Those who could not afford it had to be more strategic in their buys, to arrive when there was a little less competition and a little closer to when voters actually decided, around two to three weeks out," said Dan Mullen, a local political consultant.

For Mullen, who is helping lead a campaign to pass Measure P, which would expand oversight of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, the biggest effect from the pandemic was a lack of face-to-face contact with voters, a tactic that was largely replaced this year with written materials, as well as text messaging and phone calls.

Groups pushing ballot measures are also working with fewer dollars, something McCuan blames more on a dearth of contentious races between candidates for top positions.

To date, less than $80,000 has been spent between three countywide ballot measures, but the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and others have combined to spend $75,000 on a campaign against taxes at all levels. Still, the spending to date is dwarfed by past races and ballot measures, which have totaled millions of dollars.

McCuan said it marked an interesting dichotomy in the final stretch to Election Day: "You have voters up, but not the dollars."

"Nationally, we have had quite a bit of money (spent); it will be record-setting, especially for television advertising," McCuan said. "If you drill down locally, there aren't any hot (candidate) races."

McCuan said he expects people on both sides on lesser-known ballot measures to make their cases to remaining voters in the coming days.

In California, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day, and can be received up to 17 days after Election Day, according to the Sonoma County Clerk and Recorder's Office.

Voters also can return ballots at one of 20 designated ballot drop boxes in the county, as well as visit one of 30 in-person voting locations open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, and 1 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

For those tired of being on the receiving end of campaign calls, or mail, there's a simple solution: Turn in your ballot. Campaigns know when voters have submitted their ballots, and they'll stop wasting money seeking those votes.

"These voters who still have ballots are just asking campaigns to keep advertising to them," Mullen said.

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nearly half of Sonoma County's registered voters have cast their ballots already

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nearly half of registered voters in Sonoma County already have cast ballots, marking a historic high in early voter turnout and placing new emphasis on the election's final days. But the money being funneled into touting local ballot measures hasn't kept pace, a shift from prior elections that featured robust turnout.

# data[].attributes.headline
Suburbs in cook county prohibit indoor dining starting Wednesday

# data[].attributes.subject
Suburbs in cook county prohibit indoor dining starting Wednesday

# data[].attributes.body
This articles provides recent and updated information on how Cook County is responding to the increasing number of covid cases. This is very newsworthy because it's an example of how big cities like Chicago are returning to pandemic regulations. This helps predict what other areas might or already are doing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Suburban Cook County and the Metro East region outside St. Louis will come under stricter rules meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including a shuttering of indoor dining and bar service.

The two regions will join four other regions of the state under stricter rules that also include a smaller gathering cap of 25 people. As of Wednesday, roughly half of the state's population will be living under the tighter restrictions. A week ago, only one of the 11 regions in Gov. J.B. Pritzker's reopening plan was subject to those rules.

State health officials on Monday also announced 4,729 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the seven-day average for new daily cases to 4,546. It's the first time since the pandemic began the seven-day average has exceeded 4,500. In all, there have been 378,985 known cases statewide since the pandemic began.

The suburban Cook County region has had eight consecutive days of test positivity rate increases and seven days of increased hospital admissions. It is the first region tosurpass the state-set thresholds in these two areas at the same time. The other regions that have triggered tougher rules have done so by reaching an 8% positivity rate threshold. As of Friday, the seven-day average for the Cook County suburbs was 7.7%.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, we were concerned about overwhelming our hospitals and we must take action now to prevent that possibility," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement. "We are entering flu season and our hospitals are facing both COVID-19 and flu admissions."

As of Sunday, the share of positive coronavirus tests statewide was 6.3% on a seven-day average, up from 5.4% a week earlier and 3.5% at the beginning of October.

Officials also reported 17 more fatalities Monday, bringing the death toll to 9,522.

The Metro East region will see its reopening rolled back for a second time after surpassing a test positivity rate at or above 8% for three consecutive days. The region that includes seven counties in southwestern Illinois and the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis was the first to see its reopening rolled back in August, but it later reached a state threshold that allowed that to be relaxed.

Will and Kankakee counties are also under the stricter rules for a second time, and DuPage and Kane counties also saw stricter rules meant to curb spread of the virus imposed last week.

If recent trends continue, even more regions could see their restaurants and bars closed for indoor service before long.

Lake and McHenry counties hit a combined 8.1% rolling positivity rate as of Friday, which means restrictions could come within days if the rate doesn't drop. Chicago was at 7.7%, up from 6.2% a week earlier, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot has already enacted a curfew for nonessential businesses and suspended indoor service at bars and taprooms that don't serve food.

The east central Illinois region that's home to Champaign-Urbana and Decatur was at 7.8% - excluding the saliva-based testing at the University of Illinois - as was the Springfield region in west central Illinois. The north central region, home to Peoria, Bloomington and the Illinois side of the Quad Cities, was at 7.2%.

In addition to indoor dining and bar service being closed in these regions, outdoor dining will need to close at 11 p.m., reservations will be required for restaurants and outdoor dining tables should be spaced six feet apart, according to the state-imposed rules.

Casinos and other gaming facilities must also close at 11 p.m. and limit capacity to 25%.

The Cook County Department of Public Health has been recommending even more stringent guidelines, such as limiting outdoor restaurant and bar seating to groups of six or fewer, since August, but it's unclear how widely those practices have been adopted. The county health department also doesn't cover Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie or Stickney Township, which have their own health agencies.

Last week, the nine counties in the northwest corner of the state became the first region to see an even more stringent set of rules imposed as its positivity rate continued to rise despite the earlier rollback.

The region, which includes Rockford, DeKalb and Galena, has been under the stricter rules since Oct. 3. The rolling positivity rate there hit 12.8% as of Friday, up from 11.1% a week earlier.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Suburban Cook County placed under tougher coronavirus restrictions starting Wednesday that will prohibit indoor dining and bar service

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Suburban Cook County and the Metro East region outside St. Louis will come under stricter rules meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including a shuttering of indoor dining and bar service. The two regions will join four other regions of the state under stricter rules that also include a smaller gathering cap of 25 people.

# data[].attributes.headline
Woman slaps husband amid his anti-mask tirade on flight

# data[].attributes.subject
Woman slaps husband amid his anti-mask tirade on flight

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.radio.com/knx1070/news/national/woman-slaps-husband-as-he-goes-on-anti-mask-fight-on-flight
This article is not really an informative piece about the current pandemic. It's more about socialization: the man on the airplane ranting against wearing masks, and the depiction of his behavior leading to his wife slapping him. His behavior is depicted as outrageous and the subtext is that he's being called out as a fool. I wonder, though, if someone who was an avid anti-masker read this story, would they see it in a different light, as somehow showing him as a victim in this situation?

# data[].attributes.headline
Is Halloween in the U.S. Cancelled This Year?

# data[].attributes.subject
Is Halloween in the U.S. Cancelled This Year?

# data[].attributes.body
This article informs us of what to expect when celebrating Halloween this year. The article includes alternatives to trick-or-treating and parties, such as virtual gatherings and  small outdoor gatherings. This article informs readers about trends and what is socially acceptable when celebrating Halloween this year. I personally do believe that the article is newsworthy. Everyone is a bit confused about how to celebrate the holiday this year, so I think this article does a great job at informing the public of some safe alternatives. This article is especially useful to families with young children who are used to trick or treating each year.
https://en.as.com/en/2020/10/24/latest_news/1603576340_515855.html

# data[].attributes.headline
The US had more daily Covid-19 cases in the past week than ever before. And no, it's not just due to more testing.

# data[].attributes.subject
The US had more daily Covid-19 cases in the past week than ever before. And no, it's not just due to more testing.

# data[].attributes.body
This article from CNN focuses on the COVID pandemic and the record number being broken once again. It was updated today, and the seven-day average of new cases reached an all-time high of 68,767 new cases versus the previous record on July 22, being 67,293 new cases. This data is coming straight from a study being conducted by Johns Hopkins University. More than 83,000 new cases were reported both on Friday and Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins. President Donald Trump states, "you know why we have cases? Because we test so much," but Johns Hopkins has proved him wrong in this report. According to the Covid Tracking Project, only 2.87% of the 23% of new cases are people who have never been tested before. People are starting to show symptoms and are getting tested because of that and not just to be tested. As of today, at least 37 states have had rapid growth in numbers of new positive cases. Thirteen states are holding steady, and no states at all have decreased case numbers by at least 10%. A mask mandate could help, but many states don't have this being enforced, but in my home state, we still have a mandate for masks to be worn in all public places. This article focuses more on the aspect of our daily lives because it shows how COIVD is affecting everyone's daily routines. Also, it socializes Americans by stating that if everyone wears a mask, it could keep the smaller businesses open and successful. As expressed in the article, "If people are not wearing masks, then maybe we should be mandating it," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases."CNN's article is most definitely newsworthy because we are amidst a pandemic, and this could affect how our lives function after this pandemic is over.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
covid case record: close to 'exponential spread' in some parts of the us

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The US is close to having 'exponential spread' in some areas, and the hardest part may still be ahead, former FDA official says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The country is facing another cycle of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it may be the hardest yet, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday.

# data[].attributes.headline
Guiliani explains Biden laptop revelations to Fox's Martha MacCallum

# data[].attributes.subject
Guiliani explains Biden laptop revelations to Fox's Martha MacCallum

# data[].attributes.body
I do not watch Fox or regularly ingest any right-wing media, but after overhearing conversations over the weekend among Trump supporters about the "left-wing media's" suppression of the Biden/China laptop story, I chose to investigate.  I have heard and read left-leaning pieces about this alleged scandal for a week now, that media having concluded that the story is not reliable for various reasons.  However, I believe that Guiliani's "discovery" of the H. Biden laptops and his descriptions of the content he has reviewed constitute attempts to affect Americans' daily lives by influencing voting in favor of Trump; that the described purported scandalous content of the laptop hard drives is designed to capture the purient interests, especially of Trump supporters, by suggesting sexually perverse conduct on the part of a member of Trump's opponent's family; and that the story attempts to appeal to the American public's presumed shared norms and values by placing those of the Biden family in sharp contrast.  I know that Guiliani's efforts have been successful in convincing at least some right-wing Americans that the Biden family is even more corrupt than Trump's, and, significantly, that "mainstream media" is intentionally suppressing all this juicy stuff in order to shield Biden's reputation.  I personally find the whole thing more than highly suspicious and as a former student of journalism, I would be loathe to proffer such a story to a reputable news outlet absent far, far more concrete, confirmable evidence.  I find it to be a non-story as to its content, and newsworthy only insofar as it comes across as a desperately blatant attempt to produce an October Surprise that otherwise hasn't materialized.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Emails found on a laptop that purportedly belonged to Hunter Biden prove that "for 30 years, the Biden family has been selling Joe's office to the highest bidder," former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told " The Story" Thursday.

"My argument is this is a racketeering case that went on for 30 years," Giuliani told host Martha MacCallum.

Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, has come into possession of a hard drive containing the messages, which formed the centerpiece of the New York Post's report Wednesday that Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-vice president Joe Biden, to an executive at Burisma Holdings -- the Ukrainian energy firm where Hunter Biden sat on the board. Joe Biden, now the Democratic presidential nominee, has repeatedly denied discussing Hunter's overseas business interests with him.

The former mayor, now President Trump's personal attorney, told MacCallum that both he and the Post separately may only have gotten through one-third of the information stored on the hard drive.
HUNTER BIDEN EMAIL STORY: A TIMELINE
Giuliani also discussed Hunter Biden's reported shared ownership of a private equity fund that received a $1.5 billion "commitment" from the Bank of China.

The fund, he said, was owned by Hunter Biden, ketchup company scion Christopher Heinz --stepson of ex-Secretary of State John Kerry -- as well as a family member of deceased mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger. He identified the fund as "Bohai Harvest".

"Joe Biden, while vice president, was negotiating with China -- and I might say getting his head kicked [and] losing on every point in China," Giuliani explained. "[Meanwhile,] his son, the secretary of state's stepson, and the nephew to one of the biggest organized criminals in America got a $1.5 billion commitment to their totally useless private equity fund.

"That was at a time when -- the emails and the pictures will demonstrate -- Hunter Biden was seriously suffering from drug addiction," added Giuliani, who went on to say that the Chinese government is also likely in possession of the same sensitive material.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS ASK FBI IF IT HAD HUNTER BIDEN'S ALLEGED LAPTOP DURING TRMP IMPEACHMENT
Giuliani claimed the deal was achieved when both Bidens traveled on Air Force Two to negotiate with Beijing about reducing their footprint on islands whose possession was part of a dispute with Japan.

"Joe came back with nice, good words about China," he said. "He's the one who said China is not a threat, China is not a competitor. He's the only man in the world who would say that. Was that influenced by the fact that the son, who was a serious drug addict, got $1.5 billion in commitments from China?"

Giuliani and MacCallum later discussed one of the published emails, which shows a reference to leaving 10 percent of an investment "held by H. for the big guy."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The mayor claimed the "Big Guy" is undoubtedly Joe Biden.

Giuliani also said that he doesn't celebrate referring to Hunter Biden's past dealings with illegal drugs, but noted that the left has so often claimed the Trump family could be subject to blackmail that the subject cannot be avoided.

"I hate bringing up the fact that he's a drug addict because I feel sorry for him as a drug addict," he said. "But there is something really important about that ... it's a national security risk."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Giuliani: Hunter Biden emails prove family 'has been selling Joe's office to the highest bidder'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Emails found on a laptop that purportedly belonged to Hunter Biden prove that "for 30 years, the Biden family has been selling Joe's office to the highest bidder," former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told " The Story" Thursday. "My argument is this is a racketeering case that went on for 30 years," Giuliani told host Martha MacCallum.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/20/2020-election-voter-rights-polls-trump-biden/3710714001/

This article provides important information about the right to vote based on info from the Democracy Program at the Carter Center.  There are 5 rights listed beginning with the right to vote without intimidation.  This serves the purpose of topical issues.  There are claims of voter fraud; this article clearly lists the rights to vote which may lessen the claims of fraud.  It is newsworthy and provides actionable information on this important issue.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/20/2020-election-voter-rights-polls-trump-biden/3710714001/

# data[].attributes.headline
Tropical Storm Zeta turns into Hurricane

# data[].attributes.subject
Tropical Storm Zeta turns into Hurricane

# data[].attributes.body
In this article posted by the Weather Channel, I believe it serves the purpose of both daily life and topical issues. It serves the purpose of daily life because it lets us know what type of weather we are predicted to get. It also serves as topical issue because the US Golf Coast and Mexico are supposed to get hit with yet another huge tropical storm. I believe this is newsworthy to talk about because it affects a lot of people, not only in the Golf Coast but in other places as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Zeta is centered in the northwest Caribbean right now and is moving northwestward toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 70 mph as of early Monday morning.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, from Tulum to Dzilam, including Cozumel and Cancún. Hurricane conditions are expected in this area Monday night into early Tuesday.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and for small areas west and south of the hurricane warning in Mexico.

Forecast Track, Intensity

Warm sea-surface temperatures and favorable upper-level winds should allow Zeta to become a hurricane as it heads toward the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico Monday night into Tuesday. That would make Zeta the Atlantic's 11th hurricane of the season.

Increasing wind shear and cooler waters should prevent additional strengthening of Zeta as it approaches the northern U.S. Gulf Coast by midweek. Zeta could be near or at hurricane strength when it makes landfall on Wednesday, somewhere from Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle, according to the latest National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast.

It's important to note that impacts from rainfall, wind and storm surge along the northern Gulf Coast will largely be the same no matter whether Zeta is a strong tropical storm or a low-end hurricane when it nears landfall.

Forecast Impacts
Mexico, Cuba
Damaging winds are expected in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Monday night through early Tuesday. A storm surge of 1 to 3 feet is also possible there.

Bands of heavy rainfall could trigger some flash flooding in parts of Mexico's northeast Yucatan Peninsula, central and western Cuba and the Cayman Islands. Rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches (locally 12 inches) are possible in these areas.
United States
Heavy rainfall, storm surge and strong winds will begin to impact the northern Gulf Coast Tuesday night and especially Wednesday. Here's a look at what we know about the potential impacts right now.

There will be a broad area of soaking rainfall across the southern and eastern U.S. during the second half of the week ahead. That's because Zeta's moisture will be pulled northward by a separate weather system tracking eastward across the country, as depicted in the map below.

That means a broad area from the South into parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic could see at least an inch of rainfall from this setup. Heavier totals are likely in some areas, and that might trigger flash flooding in spots.

Rainfall could be heaviest near where the center of Zeta tracks inland through the southern and eastern United States Tuesday night through Thursday. Areas from the central U.S. Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley, southern Appalachians and mid-Atlantic could see rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches (locally up to 6 inches), according to the NHC

Tropical-storm-force winds (39 mph or greater) will most likely arrive on the northern Gulf Coast sometime during the day on Wednesday. The strongest winds are expected near the immediate coast from Louisiana to southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.

Hurricane-force winds are possible in a small area near where the center of Zeta crosses the coastline. But that will depend on the exact strength of Zeta at landfall.

Stronger wind gusts along the northern Gulf Coast could down some trees or knock out power.
Storm Surge
Storm surge flooding from Zeta could inundate parts of the northern Gulf near and east of where the center crosses the coast.

It's too early to provide specific details on the storm surge forecast.

A few tornadoes are possible Wednesday and Wednesday night from southeast Louisiana into southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.

Check back to weather.com in the days ahead for additional forecast information.
The Weather Company's primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tropical Storm Zeta to Strengthen Into a Hurricane as it Heads For Mexico, U.S. Gulf Coast | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Zeta is centered in the northwest Caribbean right now and is moving northwestward toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 70 mph as of early Monday morning. A hurricane warning is in effect for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, from Tulum to Dzilam, including Cozumel and Cancún.

# data[].attributes.headline
Last month was the hottest September ever, breaking last year's record

# data[].attributes.subject
Last month was the hottest September ever, breaking last year's record

# data[].attributes.body
This article performs all three functions - informs people about our current climate as well as the warming trend, and socializes people to the fact that we need to take action or things will keep getting worse.  It is newsworthy because this is a vital topic that needs to be addressed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
september 2020 was the hottest september on record - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Last month was the hottest September ever, breaking last year's record

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Searing heat in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and several other pockets of the world made last month the hottest September ever, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service has announced.

# data[].attributes.headline
Hiker completes Fourteener project for charity

# data[].attributes.subject
Hiker completes Fourteener project for charity

# data[].attributes.body
This article profiles a hiker who climbed all 58 14K+ peaks in Colorado to raise money for an organization called Shelterbox. It covers a topical trend in talking about how COVID increased the need for the resources Shelterbox provides and addressing how the pandemic inspired and impacted this endeavor. It also socializes us by emphasizing the cultural values of doing good for others and following through on lofty, physically challenging goals. I hesitate to say that it's not newsworthy, but it's function seems more to draw attention to this charity than to break any urgent news. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/26/fourteener-project-colorado-climber

# data[].attributes.headline
Heat's Pat Riley clarifies 'asterisk' comment: 'Lakers were the better team. Period'

# data[].attributes.subject
Heat's Pat Riley clarifies 'asterisk' comment: 'Lakers were the better team. Period'

# data[].attributes.body
This article reports on trending topics in the world of basketball and the recent championship. It's newsworthy because it's setting a miscommunicated quote straight. Many took Riley's asterisk comment as disrespect to the Lakers organization, however he has since came out and clarified it was about the Heat not the Lakers.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/heats-pat-riley-clarifies-asterisk-comment-lakers-were-the-better-team-period/

# data[].attributes.headline
Human-trafficking operation leads to 80 Columbus-area arrests, over 200 in Ohio

# data[].attributes.subject
Human-trafficking operation leads to 80 Columbus-area arrests, over 200 in Ohio

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2020/10/26/operation-autumn-hope-leads-80-local-human-trafficking-arrests/3721017001/
This article is newsworthy because it shares breaking news in my local area regarding terrible crimes. It also serves to socialize that human trafficking is wrong.

# data[].attributes.body
This audio story explains the difficulties of getting accurate polls of race in House districts. It's valuable because it discusses a timely issue of public importance while also breaking down tough statistical issues in an easy to understand way.

# data[].attributes.headline
October 25th, 2020 10:32 AM Rays' World Series walk-off: Watch how Tampa miraculously evened Fall Classic on Dodgers' miscues

# data[].attributes.subject
October 25th, 2020 10:32 AM Rays' World Series walk-off: Watch how Tampa miraculously evened Fall Classic on Dodgers' miscues

# data[].attributes.body
This article from CBS Sports is about a recap of the fourth game of the MLB World Series of the LA Dodgers versus the Tampa Bay Rays. The story touches greatly on how the Dodgers were so close to leading the World Series 3-1 in wins, however due to multiple errors and what some claim as lack of communication on the field, the Rays were able to pull off an 8-7  win against the Dodgers. I think this story is news worthy because it touches on great debates among many sports fanatics and it also is a great example of how sports can bring people together or even pin them against one another.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Los Angeles Dodgers were just one strike away from a 3-1 lead in the 2020 World Series. Instead, the Fall Classic is tied at two games apiece. The Tampa Bay Rays won a wild back-and-forth Game 4 on Saturday night thanks to a Brett Phillips walk-off single against Kenley Jansen ( TB 8, LA 7). It was Phillips' first hit since Sept. 25.

Walk-off single fails to accurately describe the play. Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor booted the ball, then catcher Will Smith was unable to reel in the relay throw at the plate. Randy Arozarena stumbled rounding third as he tried to score from first base and was dead to rights at the plate, but he was able to recover and score the winning run because Smith couldn't secure the ball.

Here's the play. Officially, it is scored a single for Phillips and errors on Taylor and Smith, and it is the first World Series walk-off hit with the team trailing since Joe Carter's iconic walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series.

"I'm about to live 15 years shorter. My God, I think I lost 10 years on that last play," Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe told reporters, including USA Today's Bob Nightengale, following Game 4. "That a storybook baseball game. That was insane.''

By win probability added, Phillips' single is the third-biggest postseason hit in the Baseball-Reference.com database. Amazingly, the Dodgers were involved in the top four. Here's the list:

Kirk Gibson, Dodgers (0.870 WPA): two-run walk-off homer in 1998 World Series Game 1 vs. Athletics

Jimmy Rollins, Phillies (0.830 WPA): two-run walk-off double in 2009 NLCS Game 4 vs. Dodgers

Brett Phillips, Rays (0.827 WPA): two-run walk-off single in 2020 World Series Game 4 vs. Dodgers

Cookie Lavagetto, Dodgers (0.820 WPA): two-run walk-off single in 1947 World Series Game 4 vs. Yankees

Francisco Cabrera, Braves (0.740 WPA): two-run walk-off single in 1992 NLCS Game 7 vs. Pirates

So many bad things happened on the final play of Game 4. Jansen missed his spot with the pitch. Taylor booted the ball in center. Max Muncy's relay throw home was off-line. Smith didn't catch said relay throw. Arozarena stumbled and fell rounding third. And then Jansen got caught watching the play along the third base line rather than backing up home plate. Jansen not backing up the plate probably didn't matter given the angle the ball took off Smith's glove, but still, it's a bad optic.

"We needed something to go our way tonight and it did," Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters, including David Lennon of Newsday, following the game.

Keep in mind Cody Bellinger was a late scratch in center field because of back spasms and was instead in the Game 4 lineup at designated hitter. A.J. Pollock got the start in center field, then was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. That pinch-hitter, Joc Pederson, singled in two runs to give Los Angeles a 6-5 lead. It also pushed Taylor into center field.

Bellinger is a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. Does he handle the ball cleanly in the ninth inning and hold Arozarena at third base, and keep the game tied at 7-7? Would Pederson, a natural center fielder, have handled it cleanly had he played center rather than move over to left? Hard to think they'd play the ball worse than Taylor, but who knows?

Phillips is 22 for 205 (.107) in his career in two-strike counts. Also, his last at-bat was Oct. 7, and he had two at-bats total in the last 29 days. All signs pointed to him failing in that spot. Instead, Phillips came through not just with the game-winning hit, but what very well might be the biggest hit in Rays franchise history to date.

Jansen threw five pitches with two outs and two strikes in Game 4, and couldn't put the game away. Those five pitches went: ball, ball, foul, ball, walk-off single. Jansen walked Arozarena after getting ahead in the count 1-2, pushing the tying run into scoring position. The game's final pitch to Phillips was supposed to elevated up above the zone and instead stayed belt high.

Ironically, Jansen looked fantastic in the Game 3, even while allowing a solo homer to Arozarena. He'd thrown the ball very well his last few outings -- Jansen retired 12 of 13 batters faced in his last four appearances prior to Game 4 -- and had good velocity on his cutter. That was after sitting in the upper-80s earlier in the postseason.

"Everything started to click," Jansen told reporters, including Sportsnet's Arash Madani, prior to Game 4. "Once my delivery returns, the velo, the life, the cut, everything is going to come with it ... It's connected, it's clicking at the right time."

For the Dodgers, the Game 4 loss is gut-wrenching. Phillips is a defensive specialist and a career .202/.284/.347 hitter, and he was down 1-2 in the count. Get him out and you're one win away from the World Series! Rather than put the game away and take a commanding lead, Jansen left a cutter out over the plate, and the best-of-seven is now a best-of-three.

"I didn't give up one hard hit. What can I do?" Jansen told reporters, including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, following Game 4. "... We know we are good. We are going to come in and win the game tomorrow."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rays' World Series walk-off: Watch how Tampa miraculously evened Fall Classic on Dodgers' miscues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Los Angeles Dodgers were just one strike away from a 3-1 lead in the 2020 World Series. Instead, the Fall Classic is tied at two games apiece. The Tampa Bay Rays won a wild back-and-forth Game 4 on Saturday night thanks to a Brett Phillips walk-off single against Kenley Jansen ( TB 8, LA 7).

# data[].attributes.headline
OCTOBER 26, 20207:35 AM Special Report: U.S. jails are outsourcing medical care — and the death toll is rising

# data[].attributes.subject
OCTOBER 26, 20207:35 AM Special Report: U.S. jails are outsourcing medical care — and the death toll is rising

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-jails-privatization-special-repor/special-report-u-s-jails-are-outsourcing-medical-care-and-the-death-toll-is-rising-idUSKBN27B1DH
This reuters article about substandard privatized healthcare for inmates was a prime example of socialization.  In a Reuters study of 500 jails (2016-2018) there was a higher death rate among jails using privatized healthcare providers rather government run agencies. One of the private healthcare companies, Corizon has been sued for wrongful death of inmates, missing medications, and for firing staff that have raised complaints against the company. This article definitely pulled at my "heart strings", but additionally topically informed me on a growing health concern for people who are in jail in need medical services.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about the first snowfall in Chicago, expected delays, and what the temperature is going to be like for Halloween. It tells us about our daily life because it is about what is currently happening, and the most current news of our environment and weather. It reports on multiple topical trends of the first snow of the season, transportation delays, and what to expect in the upcoming weather. This news article is very important to know how much snow is expected, and especially delays so we are up to date on current events.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
O'Hare International Airport may serve as the backdrop of countless reunions, but before sunrise Monday morning it played host to a different sort of arrival: Chicago welcomed the season's first snowfall, declaring that winter is returning for its annual visit.

Meteorologist Casey Sullivan said the first flakes fell about 4 a.m. outside the airport, which also serves as the city's official weather recording site. The snow let up by 5:40 a.m., but the storm system also produced a larger band that pushed through Chicago beginning about 9 a.m. and moving along a path aimed more toward the city's northern boundary.

The snow also was mixed with rain in some areas, creating a "patchy drizzle," and as it mixed with slightly warmer air closer to the city center, the precipitation was expected to predominantly fall as rain.

"We're not expecting any accumulation in the city," Sullivan said. "Decks, elevated surfaces, windshields, yes, but not on the ground."

The snow also caused transportation delays, most noticeably at the airport where it first was recorded. As of 11:30 a.m., there had been nine canceled flights at O'Hare and 254 delayed flights, predominantly departures, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Farther south, Midway Airport fared better. There had been four canceled flights and 18 were delayed, all but one of which were departures.

"South of the Loop, toward Midway, there's not going to be much of anything," Sullivan said.

Earlier, a light dusting of snow covered the grass in far northwest suburban communities such as Marengo and Bull Valley, nearly all the way up toward Rockford. Snow also was recorded in Schaumburg and DeKalb, Sullivan said, although none of the area's municipalities was expected to see measurable amounts.

The system that moved into Chicago from the west should dissipate by about noon and temperatures should recover to about normal by Halloween, said Kevin Donofrio, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Initially, forecasters expected the season's first snow event to be over by about 10 a.m., but Sullivan said the time frame was pushed back. Donofrio said just as it was in the northwest suburbs, snow in the city was expected to stick to grass but not to pavement. Donofrio said he doesn't expect measurable snowfall, and although it may stick to the grass for a short time, the snow will melt by day's end.

"We'll have some flakes flying, and it may even look more like flurries that will accumulate, but it's just going to make the roads wet, whether it's falling as rain or snow," he said.

The snow comes right on schedule. The weather service said for the city, the normal date for the season's first snow, even trace amounts, is Oct. 30. The earliest recorded trace amount was Sept. 25, a record set in 1942. The latest date that a first dusting was recorded was Dec. 5, in 1999.

If the snow turns out to be more than 0.01 inches, it would be considered an early snowfall year, as that typically comes around Nov. 17. But it wouldn't be close to setting a record - that was set on Oct. 12, 2006. The latest it has happened was on Dec. 20, 2012.

Chicagoans might expect to wait until Dec. 7 for an inch or more of snow - that's the normal date for an inch of accumulation, according to the weather service. But in 2013, it took until Jan. 25 to first get an inch of snow in the city.

Donofrio said roads are expected to remain slick much of the day. Since downtown tends to stay warmer than nearby communities and because it already was 38 degrees there at 7 a.m., he said, little to no snow will reach the downtown core.

"This is the last time (this week) we have any snow mentioned in the forecast," Donofrio said, adding the next chance for precipitation will be Wednesday night into Thursday. But with lows in the 40s, it isn't expected to fall as snow.

"The weekend looks generally quiet. It should be in the upper 50s, or right around normal - 56 degrees at O'Hare," he said. "The holiday is looking not too bad."

Recommended on Chicago Tribune

Most Read on Chicago Tribune

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
First snow of the season coats Chicago area Monday morning, but temps should recover for Halloween

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
O'Hare International Airport may serve as the backdrop of countless reunions, but before sunrise Monday morning it played host to a different sort of arrival: Chicago welcomed the season's first snowfall, declaring that winter is returning for its annual visit. Meteorologist Casey Sullivan said the first flakes fell about 4 a.m.

# data[].attributes.headline
Backlash to civil rights movements is not new.

# data[].attributes.subject
Backlash to civil rights movements is not new.

# data[].attributes.body
This article discusses the history of the Black Lives Matter movement, how opponents use threats of violence to link peaceful protests to undermine the message. It goes on to detail similar actions by those opposing civil rights in decades past.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Andrew Young says civil rights protesters endured similar attacks.
This report is part of "Turning Point," a groundbreaking series by ABC News examining the racial reckoning sweeping the United States and exploring whether it can lead to lasting reconciliation.
During a Black Lives Matter march in late May, Nia Miranda says she decided to take a stand when she saw something that marred what she described as "a beautiful protest."

Miranda said she spotted two women, both apparently white and dressed in black, tagging the exterior of a Starbucks at The Grove mall in Beverly Hills. The 30-year-old filmmaker and actress said she started recording video on her cell phone and approached the pair, who were spray painting the letters "BLM" on the front of the store.

"I remember looking around and realizing what they were doing and that no one else was saying anything. I had to capture it and confront them at the same time," Miranda told ABC News. "I knew that I had to say something because if the news would have reported the vandalism without seeing who did it, I know who they would have said committed that crime: It would have went on Black people and it would have been told that the protesters became rioters and it became looting, and that wasn't the case at all."

The Los Angeles Police Department said the mostly-peaceful protest on May 30 in Beverly Hills devolved into multiple incidents of vandalism and looting of stores at The Grove, on ritzy Rodeo Drive and elsewhere in the city, leading to 500 arrests. It was unclear if the women Miranda confronted were among those arrested.

Miranda's video instantly went viral and inspired Grammy-winning music producer Skrillex to write a song "Sullen Sunday" featuring the raw words of Miranda: "When they see the vandalism on these places, know that it wasn't us. And when you see stuff like that you're supposed to stand up and say something."

As support across the country has skyrocketed for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, so too, has a backlash against the group -- fueled by months of protests that have, at times, descended into violence and destruction, often instigated by those unaffiliated with the movement.

Some law enforcement officials said the emergence of an anti-police atmosphere has led to low morale and a drop in enforcement. In addition, BLM's detractors have gone to great lengths to conflate the violence, looting and general rise in crime that have appeared in some cities in recent months with the push for equal rights and police reform.

BLM organizers say they are currently enduring a smear campaign that is being ratcheted up in the waning days of the presidential election, with lawmakers, including President Donald Trump, branding BLM protesters as "terrorists," "Marxists" and "left-wing radicals" bent on destroying the country.

Trump's surrogates such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have all issued statements or Tweets slamming BLM as a radical Marxist movement out to destroy the country. Giuliani told reporters at the White House in August, that "Black Lives Matter has been planning to destroy the police for three years."

In a more measured response, U.S. Attorney General William Barr released a statement on May 30 that attempted to separate the rioters from the peaceful protesters. "With the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent radical elements," Barr said, adding that "groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate and violent agenda.''

Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and part of the movement's global leadership, told ABC News the backlash was expected.

"We understand what they're doing. We understand that they understand that Black Lives Matter has now been recognized as the largest social movement in global history and that scares people," Abdullah said. "That scares folks who are invested in making the world more racist, not less and making the world oppressive not less and folks who are tethered to a system of policing that's oppressive and brutal and violent."

'Radical movement,' critics say

Speaking at the National Archives Museum in Washington on Sept. 17, Trump, who has been portraying himself as a law-and-order candidate in his re-election bid, took aim at what he called the "radical movement" behind nationwide protests over police disproportionately violating the rights of Black people.

"Left-wing mobs have torn down statues of our founders, desecrated our memorials and carried out a campaign of violence and anarchy," Trump said without specifically naming BLM. "Whether it is the mob on the street or the cancel culture in the boardroom, the goal is the same: to silence dissent, to scare you out of speaking the truth, and to bully Americans into abandoning their values, their heritage and their very way of life."

Eight days later at his campaign's Black Economic Empowerment conference in Atlanta, where he presented his so-called "platinum plan" for the Black community, Trump ramped up his attacks, zeroing in on BLM.

"It's really hurting the Black community," Trump said in a speech. "This is an unusual name for an organization whose ideology and tactics are right now destroying many Black lives."

Trump claimed Black Lives Matter wants to "achieve the destruction of the nuclear family."

"This is not the agenda of the Black community. This is the agenda of an extreme socialist or worse, you know what the other word is -- Marxist, communist -- this is the extreme socialist left, but beyond that in my opinion," Trump said.

While organizers of BLM, which is a decentralized movement made up of more than 150 different groups, did not specifically respond, Trump's allegation appear to have been taken out of context from a "what we believe" statement on the Black Lives Matter Global Network's website, which reads, "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement" by supporting and caring for one another as "extended families." The statement has since been taken down from the website.

In August, the faculty and staff of the Southern Evangelical Seminary and Bible College in Matthews, North Carolina, released a public statement about "current issues related to racism and social justice," echoing Trump's views on BLM. The statement said the school and other evangelical groups "have grave, fundamental disagreements with their (BLM's) moral, cultural, and political agenda."

"Consequently, SES cannot mouth the mantra 'black lives matter' lest we be misinterpreted as supporting their godless agenda," the statement reads.

In a broadcast of "The 700 Club" in September, televangelist Pat Robertson of Christian Broadcasting Network also bashed BLM, saying, "They're talking about destroying essentially Christianity... And all the way through, they want to upend the capitalist structure and destroy America."

BLM Global Network Executive Director Patrisse Cullors responded in a statement, calling Robertson's comments "completely inflammatory and dangerous."

In August, U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., wrote a letter to the Women's National Basketball Association objecting to the league's plans to honor the BLM movement. Loeffler, co-owner of the WNBA franchise the Atlanta Dream, warned that subscribing to a "particular political agenda undermines the potential of the sport and sends a message of exclusion."

Acts of anarchy blamed on BLM

As thousands of mostly-peaceful protests organized by BLM have occurred across the country in recent months over a string of police-involved killings of Black people, the movement has been blamed for vandalism, looting and assaults against police officers during confrontations that have accompanied some of the demonstrations.

Protests in cities including Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Atlanta; New York; Los Angeles; and Chicago have, at times, been declared riots by police as agitators have looted, committed arson and other crimes, reflecting badly on the entire BLM movement and providing critics fodder in their condemnation of the social justice group.

In May, two lawyers, who claim to have no affiliation with BLM, were arrested in Brooklyn, New York, on federal charges after being caught on surveillance video allegedly hurling Molotov cocktails at occupied police vehicles during a protest. They have both pleaded not guilty to federal charges of arson, conspiracy, use of a destructive device and use of explosives during a crime of violence.

In September, police in Santa Monica, California, thwarted what they said appeared to be a coordinated looting spree being perpetrated by non-protesters using a demonstration as cover.

In June, New York City police alleged that gang members and "opportunist action by regular criminals" were responsible for looting stores in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan during a protest. Also in June, Philadelphia police said criminals used BLM protests as camouflage for a crime rampage in which they allegedly blew up and emptied multiple ATMs in a single night.

In St. Louis, a 24-year-old convicted felon was arrested and charged with murder in the June 2 killing of retired St. Louis police Capt. David Dorn, who was gunned down after interrupting a group of people looting his friend's pawn shop during a protest. While police released no evidence tying suspect Stephan Cannon to the protests, Dorn's widow linked her husband's death to the demonstrations in a speech at the Republican National Convention in August.

"Violence and destruction are not legitimate forms of protest," Ann Dorn, a St. Louis police officer, said in her speech. "They do not safeguard Black lives. They only destroy them."

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a white couple from St. Louis, made national news in June when they were caught on cell-phone video pointing a semiautomatic rifle and a handgun at BLM protesters marching past their mansion in a gated community. The couple, who claimed they feared imminent harm, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence.

The McCloskey's initially released a statement through their attorney saying they supported the BLM movement and touted a "long-standing commitment to protecting the civil rights of clients victimized at the hands of law enforcement." But after President Trump contacted them directly, the McCloskeys seemed to have a change of heart about the movement.

"These radicals are not content with marching in the streets. They want to walk the halls of Congress, they want to take over, they want power," Mark McCloskey said in a joint speech he and his wife gave at the RNC Convention. "This is Joe Biden's party. These are the people who will be in charge of your future and the future of your children."

Patricia McCloskey added, "They're not satisfied with spreading the chaos and violence into our communities. They want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning."

Support eroding as BLM's popularity grows

Abdullah, who is also a professor of Pan-African studies at California State University, Los Angeles, suspects it is more than a coincidence that the attacks against BLM have grown as the movement's popularity has widened and its activities have included a massive push to get people to vote in the November Election.

"I think that it would be really naive of us to think that we were going to have a goal of upending an oppressive state without experiencing some of that oppression," Abdullah told ABC News. "You can't say the system of policing is fundamentally unjust, that we want to reimagine and transform public safety without that system of policing kind of doubling down and entrenching itself and doing what it's done since the creation of the system. It targets the people, it targets the groups that attempt to transform the world."

The BLM movement was launched in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the white neighborhood watch member, in the fatal 2012 shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin, who Zimmerman mistook for a prowler.

In July, an ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that 63% of Americans supported the BLM movement and 69% agreed that Black people and other minorities are denied equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

Along political party lines, support for BLM varies widely. The poll found that while 92% of Democrats, including 91% of white Democrats, support the movement, 28% of Republicans and 62% of independents feel the same. By ideology, support for BLM ranges from 93% of liberals to 70% of moderates and 34% of conservatives.

But the BLM backlash appears to be eroding the popularity the movement spawned over the spring and early summer.

A poll released by the Pew Research Center in mid-September, showed 55% of U.S. adults express at least some support for BLM, down from 67% in June. The poll showed that 29% strongly support the movement, down from 38% three months earlier.

History repeating itself

Andrew Young, former mayor of Atlanta and ambassador to the United Nations, told ABC News that similar attacks were waged against the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

"We were always being called communists. There was a serious backlash. Martin Luther King's picture was up on billboards all over the South," said the 88-year-old Young, who was part of King's inner circle and was with the civil rights icon when he was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorrain Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

He said that when he first ran for Congress in Atlanta in 1970 and lost, two years after King's death, he was subjected to racist attacks.

"One of the campaigns against me was that if Andrew Young is elected, the Black Panthers are going to get your daughter," Young, who ran again Congress in 1973 and won, told ABC News.

Young said that during the civil rights marches in the South "agent provocateurs" were hired by white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and sometimes the police, to disrupt the peaceful protests by creating havoc.

"People paid kids to disrupt the marches and to break windows. And once you get a few people starting something it gets out of hand," Young said.

"I'm not saying that the police are responsible for the violence now, but neither was Black Lives Matter," he said.

He said that over the summer he attended a BLM protest in Atlanta and saw for himself how quickly a group of agitators turned a peaceful protest into a violent one.

"There was a massive movement of Black and brown and white people together that were marching peacefully in Atlanta. And then I saw some kids ... some of them were dressed in black. They were on skateboards and they came behind the Black Lives Matter movement, moving in the opposite direction, but they went through a row of police cars and they smashed in all the windows.

"Now those were two distinct groups of people and I think what the president is doing is trying to bring it all together and make it one movement," Young added.

'Backlash is much larger and more dangerous than words'

Abdullah alleges that the words of President Trump and his allies against BLM have prompted violence against her and other organizers of the movement.

In August, Abdullah, a single mother of three, was the target of a "swatting incident," in which a police SWAT team was sent to her home after a 911 dispatcher took a call from a man who claimed he was holding people hostage at her home and demanded $1 million in ransom. She said she obtained a copy of the 911 call and that the caller, who was never identified, made derogatory comments about BLM.

"Police arrived at my house with assault rifles, a helicopter was overhead. They pointed the assault rifles in the window at me," Abdullah said. "It terrorized us and deeply, deeply traumatized my children."

She said that following the swatting incident, death threats against her increased.

"It's important to remember that the backlash is not just about words and narrative, it's about threatening actual lives," Abdullah told ABC News.

Several protesters across the country have been severely injured by people who deliberately drove their vehicles into the middle of demonstrations.

On Aug. 25, Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenager, allegedly shot and killed two protesters during a demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse, of Illinois, and other armed men claimed they went to Kenosha to help police keep the peace after an officer shot and paralyzed a Black man named Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse, who is fighting extradition from Illinois back to Wisconsin to face charges, has yet to enter a plea.

Despite the attacks, protesters like Nia Miranda say they have pledged not to stop fighting for justice. She said she sees the Black Lives Matter movement at a turning point and with help from thousands of white supporters has come within reach of its goal of achieving significant change in policing in America.

"Before this moment happened, I used to think that it was just Black people who were fighting this fight," Miranda told ABC News. "But after this specific moment and being on social media and marching myself, and seeing how many different people of different races, different religions, different tax brackets were out there all for the cause of fighting against injustice, I know this time we're going to have a successful ending. Even if it takes some time, I'm OK with that."
This report is part of "Turning Point," a groundbreaking series by ABC News examining the racial reckoning sweeping the United States and exploring whether it can lead to lasting reconciliation.
During a Black Lives Matter march in late May, Nia Miranda says she decided to take a stand when she saw something that marred what she described as "a beautiful protest."

Miranda said she spotted two women, both apparently white and dressed in black, tagging the exterior of a Starbucks at The Grove mall in Beverly Hills. The 30-year-old filmmaker and actress said she started recording video on her cell phone and approached the pair, who were spray painting the letters "BLM" on the front of the store.

"I remember looking around and realizing what they were doing and that no one else was saying anything. I had to capture it and confront them at the same time," Miranda told ABC News. "I knew that I had to say something because if the news would have reported the vandalism without seeing who did it, I know who they would have said committed that crime: It would have went on Black people and it would have been told that the protesters became rioters and it became looting, and that wasn't the case at all."

The Los Angeles Police Department said the mostly-peaceful protest on May 30 in Beverly Hills devolved into multiple incidents of vandalism and looting of stores at The Grove, on ritzy Rodeo Drive and elsewhere in the city, leading to 500 arrests. It was unclear if the women Miranda confronted were among those arrested.

Miranda's video instantly went viral and inspired Grammy-winning music producer Skrillex to write a song "Sullen Sunday" featuring the raw words of Miranda: "When they see the vandalism on these places, know that it wasn't us. And when you see stuff like that you're supposed to stand up and say something."

As support across the country has skyrocketed for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, so too, has a backlash against the group -- fueled by months of protests that have, at times, descended into violence and destruction, often instigated by those unaffiliated with the movement.

Some law enforcement officials said the emergence of an anti-police atmosphere has led to low morale and a drop in enforcement. In addition, BLM's detractors have gone to great lengths to conflate the violence, looting and general rise in crime that have appeared in some cities in recent months with the push for equal rights and police reform.

BLM organizers say they are currently enduring a smear campaign that is being ratcheted up in the waning days of the presidential election, with lawmakers, including President Donald Trump, branding BLM protesters as "terrorists," "Marxists" and "left-wing radicals" bent on destroying the country.

Trump's surrogates such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have all issued statements or Tweets slamming BLM as a radical Marxist movement out to destroy the country. Giuliani told reporters at the White House in August, that "Black Lives Matter has been planning to destroy the police for three years."

In a more measured response, U.S. Attorney General William Barr released a statement on May 30 that attempted to separate the rioters from the peaceful protesters. "With the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent radical elements," Barr said, adding that "groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate and violent agenda.''

Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and part of the movement's global leadership, told ABC News the backlash was expected.

"We understand what they're doing. We understand that they understand that Black Lives Matter has now been recognized as the largest social movement in global history and that scares people," Abdullah said. "That scares folks who are invested in making the world more racist, not less and making the world oppressive not less and folks who are tethered to a system of policing that's oppressive and brutal and violent."

'Radical movement,' critics say

Speaking at the National Archives Museum in Washington on Sept. 17, Trump, who has been portraying himself as a law-and-order candidate in his re-election bid, took aim at what he called the "radical movement" behind nationwide protests over police disproportionately violating the rights of Black people.

"Left-wing mobs have torn down statues of our founders, desecrated our memorials and carried out a campaign of violence and anarchy," Trump said without specifically naming BLM. "Whether it is the mob on the street or the cancel culture in the boardroom, the goal is the same: to silence dissent, to scare you out of speaking the truth, and to bully Americans into abandoning their values, their heritage and their very way of life."

Eight days later at his campaign's Black Economic Empowerment conference in Atlanta, where he presented his so-called "platinum plan" for the Black community, Trump ramped up his attacks, zeroing in on BLM.

"It's really hurting the Black community," Trump said in a speech. "This is an unusual name for an organization whose ideology and tactics are right now destroying many Black lives."

Trump claimed Black Lives Matter wants to "achieve the destruction of the nuclear family."

"This is not the agenda of the Black community. This is the agenda of an extreme socialist or worse, you know what the other word is -- Marxist, communist -- this is the extreme socialist left, but beyond that in my opinion," Trump said.

While organizers of BLM, which is a decentralized movement made up of more than 150 different groups, did not specifically respond, Trump's allegation appear to have been taken out of context from a "what we believe" statement on the Black Lives Matter Global Network's website, which reads, "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement" by supporting and caring for one another as "extended families." The statement has since been taken down from the website.

In August, the faculty and staff of the Southern Evangelical Seminary and Bible College in Matthews, North Carolina, released a public statement about "current issues related to racism and social justice," echoing Trump's views on BLM. The statement said the school and other evangelical groups "have grave, fundamental disagreements with their (BLM's) moral, cultural, and political agenda."

"Consequently, SES cannot mouth the mantra 'black lives matter' lest we be misinterpreted as supporting their godless agenda," the statement reads.

In a broadcast of "The 700 Club" in September, televangelist Pat Robertson of Christian Broadcasting Network also bashed BLM, saying, "They're talking about destroying essentially Christianity... And all the way through, they want to upend the capitalist structure and destroy America."

BLM Global Network Executive Director Patrisse Cullors responded in a statement, calling Robertson's comments "completely inflammatory and dangerous."

In August, U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., wrote a letter to the Women's National Basketball Association objecting to the league's plans to honor the BLM movement. Loeffler, co-owner of the WNBA franchise the Atlanta Dream, warned that subscribing to a "particular political agenda undermines the potential of the sport and sends a message of exclusion."

Acts of anarchy blamed on BLM

As thousands of mostly-peaceful protests organized by BLM have occurred across the country in recent months over a string of police-involved killings of Black people, the movement has been blamed for vandalism, looting and assaults against police officers during confrontations that have accompanied some of the demonstrations.

Protests in cities including Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Atlanta; New York; Los Angeles; and Chicago have, at times, been declared riots by police as agitators have looted, committed arson and other crimes, reflecting badly on the entire BLM movement and providing critics fodder in their condemnation of the social justice group.

In May, two lawyers, who claim to have no affiliation with BLM, were arrested in Brooklyn, New York, on federal charges after being caught on surveillance video allegedly hurling Molotov cocktails at occupied police vehicles during a protest. They have both pleaded not guilty to federal charges of arson, conspiracy, use of a destructive device and use of explosives during a crime of violence.

In September, police in Santa Monica, California, thwarted what they said appeared to be a coordinated looting spree being perpetrated by non-protesters using a demonstration as cover.

In June, New York City police alleged that gang members and "opportunist action by regular criminals" were responsible for looting stores in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan during a protest. Also in June, Philadelphia police said criminals used BLM protests as camouflage for a crime rampage in which they allegedly blew up and emptied multiple ATMs in a single night.

In St. Louis, a 24-year-old convicted felon was arrested and charged with murder in the June 2 killing of retired St. Louis police Capt. David Dorn, who was gunned down after interrupting a group of people looting his friend's pawn shop during a protest. While police released no evidence tying suspect Stephan Cannon to the protests, Dorn's widow linked her husband's death to the demonstrations in a speech at the Republican National Convention in August.

"Violence and destruction are not legitimate forms of protest," Ann Dorn, a St. Louis police officer, said in her speech. "They do not safeguard Black lives. They only destroy them."

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a white couple from St. Louis, made national news in June when they were caught on cell-phone video pointing a semiautomatic rifle and a handgun at BLM protesters marching past their mansion in a gated community. The couple, who claimed they feared imminent harm, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence.

The McCloskey's initially released a statement through their attorney saying they supported the BLM movement and touted a "long-standing commitment to protecting the civil rights of clients victimized at the hands of law enforcement." But after President Trump contacted them directly, the McCloskeys seemed to have a change of heart about the movement.

"These radicals are not content with marching in the streets. They want to walk the halls of Congress, they want to take over, they want power," Mark McCloskey said in a joint speech he and his wife gave at the RNC Convention. "This is Joe Biden's party. These are the people who will be in charge of your future and the future of your children."

Patricia McCloskey added, "They're not satisfied with spreading the chaos and violence into our communities. They want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning."

Support eroding as BLM's popularity grows

Abdullah, who is also a professor of Pan-African studies at California State University, Los Angeles, suspects it is more than a coincidence that the attacks against BLM have grown as the movement's popularity has widened and its activities have included a massive push to get people to vote in the November Election.

"I think that it would be really naive of us to think that we were going to have a goal of upending an oppressive state without experiencing some of that oppression," Abdullah told ABC News. "You can't say the system of policing is fundamentally unjust, that we want to reimagine and transform public safety without that system of policing kind of doubling down and entrenching itself and doing what it's done since the creation of the system. It targets the people, it targets the groups that attempt to transform the world."

The BLM movement was launched in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the white neighborhood watch member, in the fatal 2012 shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin, who Zimmerman mistook for a prowler.

In July, an ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that 63% of Americans supported the BLM movement and 69% agreed that Black people and other minorities are denied equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

Along political party lines, support for BLM varies widely. The poll found that while 92% of Democrats, including 91% of white Democrats, support the movement, 28% of Republicans and 62% of independents feel the same. By ideology, support for BLM ranges from 93% of liberals to 70% of moderates and 34% of conservatives.

But the BLM backlash appears to be eroding the popularity the movement spawned over the spring and early summer.

A poll released by the Pew Research Center in mid-September, showed 55% of U.S. adults express at least some support for BLM, down from 67% in June. The poll showed that 29% strongly support the movement, down from 38% three months earlier.

History repeating itself

Andrew Young, former mayor of Atlanta and ambassador to the United Nations, told ABC News that similar attacks were waged against the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

"We were always being called communists. There was a serious backlash. Martin Luther King's picture was up on billboards all over the South," said the 88-year-old Young, who was part of King's inner circle and was with the civil rights icon when he was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorrain Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

He said that when he first ran for Congress in Atlanta in 1970 and lost, two years after King's death, he was subjected to racist attacks.

"One of the campaigns against me was that if Andrew Young is elected, the Black Panthers are going to get your daughter," Young, who ran again Congress in 1973 and won, told ABC News.

Young said that during the civil rights marches in the South "agent provocateurs" were hired by white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and sometimes the police, to disrupt the peaceful protests by creating havoc.

"People paid kids to disrupt the marches and to break windows. And once you get a few people starting something it gets out of hand," Young said.

"I'm not saying that the police are responsible for the violence now, but neither was Black Lives Matter," he said.

He said that over the summer he attended a BLM protest in Atlanta and saw for himself how quickly a group of agitators turned a peaceful protest into a violent one.

"There was a massive movement of Black and brown and white people together that were marching peacefully in Atlanta. And then I saw some kids ... some of them were dressed in black. They were on skateboards and they came behind the Black Lives Matter movement, moving in the opposite direction, but they went through a row of police cars and they smashed in all the windows.

"Now those were two distinct groups of people and I think what the president is doing is trying to bring it all together and make it one movement," Young added.

'Backlash is much larger and more dangerous than words'

Abdullah alleges that the words of President Trump and his allies against BLM have prompted violence against her and other organizers of the movement.

In August, Abdullah, a single mother of three, was the target of a "swatting incident," in which a police SWAT team was sent to her home after a 911 dispatcher took a call from a man who claimed he was holding people hostage at her home and demanded $1 million in ransom. She said she obtained a copy of the 911 call and that the caller, who was never identified, made derogatory comments about BLM.

"Police arrived at my house with assault rifles, a helicopter was overhead. They pointed the assault rifles in the window at me," Abdullah said. "It terrorized us and deeply, deeply traumatized my children."

She said that following the swatting incident, death threats against her increased.

"It's important to remember that the backlash is not just about words and narrative, it's about threatening actual lives," Abdullah told ABC News.

Several protesters across the country have been severely injured by people who deliberately drove their vehicles into the middle of demonstrations.

On Aug. 25, Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenager, allegedly shot and killed two protesters during a demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse, of Illinois, and other armed men claimed they went to Kenosha to help police keep the peace after an officer shot and paralyzed a Black man named Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse, who is fighting extradition from Illinois back to Wisconsin to face charges, has yet to enter a plea.

Despite the attacks, protesters like Nia Miranda say they have pledged not to stop fighting for justice. She said she sees the Black Lives Matter movement at a turning point and with help from thousands of white supporters has come within reach of its goal of achieving significant change in policing in America.

"Before this moment happened, I used to think that it was just Black people who were fighting this fight," Miranda told ABC News. "But after this specific moment and being on social media and marching myself, and seeing how many different people of different races, different religions, different tax brackets were out there all for the cause of fighting against injustice, I know this time we're going to have a successful ending. Even if it takes some time, I'm OK with that."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Turning Point: Black Lives Matter organizers say right-wing backlash was expected as movement grew

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This report is part of "Turning Point," a groundbreaking series by ABC News examining the racial reckoning sweeping the United States and exploring whether it can lead to lasting reconciliation. During a Black Lives Matter march in late May, Nia Miranda says she decided to take a stand when she saw something that marred what she described as "a beautiful protest."

# data[].attributes.headline
Lawyer for accused domestic terrorist says suspect was just 'playing army' -- CNN Exclusive

# data[].attributes.subject
Lawyer for accused domestic terrorist says suspect was just 'playing army' -- CNN Exclusive

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/26/us/michigan-plot-ty-garbin-lawyer-soh/index.html

Story is about one of the group of men arrested for plotting to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Witmer.
This person's property was the site of an apparent training field, with crude human targets drawn on plywood. A neighbor describes the "big boom" heard when a homemade explosive device was set off.
Question-- Why is "playing army" okay, but being a domestic terrorist is not? Why does the lawyer think equating the first with his client will garner more sympathy for him?

# data[].attributes.headline
VA Plans to Outsource All Compensation and Pension Exams

# data[].attributes.subject
VA Plans to Outsource All Compensation and Pension Exams

# data[].attributes.body
www.military.com/daily-news/2020/10/21/va-plans-outsource-all-compensation-and-pension-exams.html
The story informs of a change in practices at the VA that was implemented without notifying the public or the "Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, part of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs."
It is newsworthy because the change further removes responsibility for an important function of the VA and puts it into private hands where there won't be oversight of the work or quality of the work.

# data[].attributes.headline
CBS releases footage of Trump walking out of 60 Minutes interview

# data[].attributes.subject
CBS releases footage of Trump walking out of 60 Minutes interview

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/26/cbs-releases-footage-trump-walking-out-60-minutes-interview?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR32scgYnc9t5YZJXo9qDr57KK16eGw799S7Nut2fTz_WCYIrHe0EArT9j0#Echobox=1603722497  This article is  reminding us of the norms and behavior expected of a politician, especially a president. This is showing how far outside the bounds our current president is, which is a socialization function.  It is also topical, as we will have a chance to vote and need to be informed about the candidates.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is discussing Supreme Court nominee, Amy Barrett. The Democrats are doing everything they can to stop this nomination. The Republicans are pushing to reach a consensus today. This is a must read. Her appointment could mean the end of Obamacare for thousands if not millions of US citizens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Debate raged overnight on the Senate floor as Democrats protested the fact Republicans are moving ahead with the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, voting Sunday afternoon to limit debate on the judge and setting up a final confirmation vote on Monday.

"Senate Democrats are taking over the floor all night to fight this sham process by Senate Republicans," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday evening. "We will not stop fighting."

The vote to limit debate on the Barrett nomination -- also called a "cloture" vote -- limited debate on the Supreme Court nominee to 30 hours on the Senate floor. The nomination was moved forward on a 51-48 vote, with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the only Republicans voting against it.
SENATE VOTES TO LIMIT DEBATE ON BARRETT SUPREME COURT NOMINATION, MOVE TOWARD FINAL VOTE MONDAY EVENING
Because the vote happened in a rare Sunday afternoon meeting of the Senate and the Senate floor was held open all night -- also a rare occurrence -- a vote on Barrett's confirmation is almost certain to happen Monday evening, after that 30 hours has elapsed.

Barrett will likely be sworn in as a Supreme Court justice before the end of the day.

"This is something to really be proud of and feel good about. We made an important contribution to the future of this country," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said as the Senate advanced Barrett for confirmation for a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court. "A lot of what we've done over the last four years will be undone sooner or later by the next election ... They won't be able to do much about this for a long time to come."

McConnell also praised Barrett's qualifications and accomplishments, and slammed Democrats for their opposition to the nominee who was rated "Well Qualified" for a Supreme Court seat by the American Bar Association (ABA). She earned glowing endorsements from her colleagues, including the words "brilliant," "forthright," and "intellectual giant."

McConnell added: "Fortunately for Judge Barrett and our nation, history will remember what is already clear. The deficiency is with their judgment, not hers ... The Senate is doing the right thing. We're moving this nomination forward and, colleagues, by tomorrow night we'll have a new member of the United States Supreme Court."
DEMS WARN BARRETT CONFIRMATION MEANS DOOM FOR OBAMACARE, BUT 'SEVERABILITY' DOCTRINE MIGHT SAVE IT
Democrats took to the floor Sunday night into Monday morning, slamming Republicans for moving ahead with the Barrett nomination so close to the presidential election and in the middle of a pandemic, a message they have hammered since before Barrett was announced as the nominee.

"The Affordable Care Act hangs in the balance with this nomination," Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said shortly after 6 a.m. Democrats have said Barrett is likely to rule to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a case set for oral arguments on Nov. 10. That, however, is not nearly as certain to happen as Democrats make it seem.

"Today, with more than 220,000 Americans dead ... we are in the midst of an election, rushing to confirm a controversial nominee from President Trump who lost the popular vote ... and was impeached by the House," Carper also said. "If you've ever wondered what hypocrisy looks like, this is it."

ABA, BARRETT ALLIES LAUD NOMINEE AS 'BRILLIANT' AS DEMOCRAT WITNESSES WARN OF 'REAL-WORLD HARM' IF CONFIRMED
Carper added: "[The Founders] did not envision a sham confirmation process for judicial nominees."

Shortly after 5 a.m., Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., spoke on the floor about the pandemic.

"The Trump administration is admitting surrender," he said regarding reported comments from White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. "And the Senate has done nothing to provide Americans relief for 6 months."

Republicans have called the House-passed CARES Act too large and not focused enough, while Democrats have blocked Republican-supported coronavirus bills in the Senate as recently as last week, saying those bills are not broad enough.

"The effort to rush the Barrett nomination is driven by the Republican desire to destroy the Affordable Care Act," Kaine said. He lamented that after Republicans held over the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, that they are moving ahead with the Barrett confirmation so close to a presidential election.

Republicans have said they are simply following precedent -- in the vast majority of cases, election-year Supreme Court nominees from a president in the same party as that which controls the Senate are confirmed, while those nominated under divided government have not been. But there has never been a Supreme Court justice confirmed this close to a presidential election.
SUSAN COLLINS SAYS SHE IS VOTING AGAINST AMY CONEY BARRETT CONFIRMATION TO BE 'FAIR AND CONSISTENT'
Among the Democrats who also spoke overnight are Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., took to the floor shortly after 6 a.m.

"I hope most Marylanders are asleep at this hour, but I'm headed to the Senate floor now in a last-ditch effort to warn the GOP not to abuse their power to pack the Court, destroy the ACA, and overturn key constitutional rights," Van Hollen said in a tweet early Monday morning. "There will be a reckoning. If you're awake tune in."

Murphy added: "Just finished the 3-5am shift on the Senate floor in protest of the vote later today on radical Amy Coney Barrett. She will rule to invalidate ObamaCare, causing 23M to lose insurance in the middle of a pandemic. Catastrophic. Both sad and furious on my rainy drive home."
LISA MURKOWSKI ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR AMY CONEY BARRETT DURING RARE SATURDAY SENATE SESSION
The 30 hours of Senate debate on Barrett will expire at about 7:26 p.m. Monday, meaning at that point the Senate will be able to take a final vote on her confirmation. That vote will likely be over -- and Barrett confirmed -- by about 8 p.m.

Despite the fact Murkowski voted against the procedural motion to move ahead with the Barrett nomination, she said over the weekend that she will vote for Barrett on a final vote.

She said that although she disagrees with the process Republicans have used to move ahead Barrett's confirmation, she will not "hold it against" the nominee.

"I will be a yes," Murkowski said Saturday in a floor speech. "I have no doubt about her intellect. I have no doubt about Judge Barrett's judicial temperament. I have no doubt about her capability to do the job -- and to do it well."

Murkowski added: "I have concluded that she is the sort of person we want on the Supreme Court."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
That means Collins -- who expressed the same process concerns as Murkowski but has said she will vote against the nominee in order to be "fair and consistent" -- is almost certain to be the only Republican voting against Barrett. With all Democrats voting against her confirmation, the vote is likely to be 52-48 barring any last-minute surprises, like positive coronavirus tests within the Republican Senate caucus.

Barrett, replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will represent a significant ideological shift to that seat on the Supreme Court, bringing the tribunal to a 6-3 Republican-appointed majority.

She will be the third Supreme Court justice confirmed by Trump in just three years; the last president to nominate three new Supreme Court justices who were eventually confirmed was Ronald Reagan, whose final nominee, Justice Anthony Kennedy, left the bench in 2018 and was replaced by Trump nominee Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Fox News' Chad Pergram, Marisa Schultz, Jason Donner and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Senate Democrats speak all night on Senate floor as Barrett confirmation edges closer to Monday night vote

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Debate raged overnight on the Senate floor as Democrats protested the fact Republicans are moving ahead with the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, voting Sunday afternoon to limit debate on the judge, setting up a final confirmation vote on Monday.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about how scientist have concluded that the moon lacks liquid water, like the kind we are used to on Earth. But, recently, scientists have discovered that the lunar water on the moon has grown in size. This is a landmark discovery because the water could positively impact future missions to the moon. The function this article seems to be socializing us to understand why finding lunar water on the moon is so important!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by: Joey Roulette/REUTERS and Aaron Nolan

Posted: / Updated:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The moon lacks the bodies of liquid water that are a hallmark of Earth but scientists said on Monday lunar water is more widespread than previously known, with water molecules trapped within mineral grains on the surface and more water perhaps hidden in ice patches residing in permanent shadows.

While research 11 years ago indicated water was relatively widespread in small amounts on the moon, a team of scientists is now reporting the first unambiguous detection of water molecules on the lunar surface. At the same time, another team is reporting that the moon possesses roughly 15,000 square miles of permanent shadows that potentially could harbor hidden pockets of water in the form of ice.

Water is a precious resource and a relatively plentiful lunar presence could prove important to future astronaut and robotic missions seeking to extract and utilize water for purposes such as a drinking supply or a fuel ingredient.

A team led by Casey Honniball of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland detected molecular water on the lunar surface, trapped within natural glasses or between debris grains. Previous observations have suffered from ambiguity between water and its molecular cousin hydroxyl, but the new detection used a method that yielded unambiguous findings.

The only way for this water to survive on the sunlit lunar surfaces where it was observed was to be embedded within mineral grains, protecting it from the frigid and foreboding environment. The researchers used data from the SOFIA airborne observatory, a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a telescope.

"A lot of people think that the detection I've made is water ice, which is not true. It's just the water molecules - because they're so spread out they don't interact with each other to form water ice or even liquid water," Honniball said.

The second study, also published in the journal Nature Astronomy, focused upon so-called cold traps on the moon, regions of its surface that exist in a state of perpetual darkness where temperatures are below about negative 260 degrees Fahrenheit. That is cold enough that frozen water can remain stable for billions of years.

Using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, researchers led by planetary scientist Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado, Boulder detected what may be tens of billions of small shadows, many no bigger than a small coin. Most are located in the polar regions.

"Our research shows that a multitude of previously unknown regions of the moon could harbor water ice," Hayne said. "Our results suggest that water could be much more widespread in the moon's polar regions than previously thought, making it easier to access, extract and analyze."

NASA is planning a return of astronauts to the moon, a mission envisioned as paving the way for a later journey carrying a crew to Mars. Accessible sources where water can be harvested on the moon would beneficial to those endeavors.

NASA sending first woman, next man to the moon in 2024

"Water is not just constrained to the polar region. It's more spread out than we thought it was," Honniball said.

Another mystery that remains unsolved is the source of the lunar water.

"The origin of water on the moon is one of the big-picture questions we are trying to answer through this and other research," Hayne said. "Currently, the major contenders are comets, asteroids or small interplanetary dust particles, the solar wind, and the moon itself through outgassing from volcanic eruptions."

Earth is a wet world, with vast salty oceans, large freshwater lakes and ice caps that serve as water reservoirs.

"As our closest planetary companion, understanding the origins of water on the moon can also shed light on the origins of Earth's water - still an open question in planetary science," Hayne added.
NewsNation will interview a researcher behind the project on NewsNationNow.com and on the free NewsNation Now app.
The announcement comes as NASA prepares to send the first woman and the next man to the moon in 2024. It's part of the agency's 28 billion plan to send astronauts back to the lunar surface on a powerful new rocket.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
On the moon, water water everywhere and not a drop to drink (yet)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
by: Joey Roulette/REUTERS and Aaron Nolan Posted: / Updated: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The moon lacks the bodies of liquid water that are a hallmark of Earth but scientists said on Monday lunar water is more widespread than previously known, with water molecules trapped within mineral grains on the surface and more water perhaps hidden in ice patches residing in permanent shadows.

# data[].attributes.body
This local news item definitely informs me about my daily life by answering the question, how will local families go trick-or-treating in my town this year? I see now that it's also reporting on a topical trend of COVID safety, AND it seems to be socializing us to understand and adhere to CDC guidelines and be mindful of putting neighbors at risk. It's guiding us on some "right/wrong" in that way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BAR HARBOR - The t own of Bar Harbor, in conjunction with the Bar Harbor Police Department, the Downeast Covid Task Force and the s tate CDC, has developed a COVID -safety plan for Bar Harbor's very popular Halloween celebration on Ledgelawn.

The Maine CDC considers th is to be a moderate - risk event in a low - risk area, which means that it is important for the community to do its best with mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing if they are going to participate.

Many of the homes on Ledgelawn will be handing out pre wrapped candy by sending it down a 5 - foot candy chute (a PVC pipe) designed to keep residents at a safe distance while making sure trick - or - treaters get to have a great time. Others have inventive ideas that enable kids to pull candy from a spider web or are considering a trebuchet - or basketball - style innovations.

The pedestrian traffic pattern on Ledgelawn will be different this year also . Trick - or -t reaters are being asked to follow the same rules that apply to cars: STAY TO THE RIGHT. The s tate requested this change to minimize parties from having to merge with one another. Police will set up cones and dividers that will remind trick - or - treaters to stay in their lane and there will be marked intersections where people can do a U -turn if they need to change direction.

If you decide to participate, wear a mask (one that prevents germs from spreading), give each other plenty of space, follow the one - way tra ffic pattern, wash your hands and have a great time.

If you would like to volunteer to help keep kids going in the right direction , email Engagement Coordinator Nina Barufaldi- St.Germain to sign up at . [email protected]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Halloween 2020 on Ledgelawn - Mount Desert Islander

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BAR HARBOR - The t own of Bar Harbor, in conjunction with the Bar Harbor Police Department, the Downeast Covid Task Force and the s tate CDC, has developed a COVID -safety plan for Bar Harbor's very popular Halloween celebration on Ledgelawn.

# data[].attributes.headline
NASA announces new discovery about the moon!

# data[].attributes.subject
NASA announces new discovery about the moon!

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.woodtv.com/news/national/nasa-to-announce-new-discovery-about-the-moon/

This and many articles with the same title are about NASA launching a new airborne observatory to allow more access to space study. I think this is very newsworthy because we are still finding new things out about space as the days go on. We have so much still to uncover and it is very exciting to know that we will have more access and room to explore!

# data[].attributes.headline
The Two Americas Financing the Trump and Biden Campaigns

# data[].attributes.subject
The Two Americas Financing the Trump and Biden Campaigns

# data[].attributes.body
The story is to inform and analyze who is giving to the campaigns. It is analyzing the trends of giving in amounts and by education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Joe Biden has outraised President Trump on the strength of some of the wealthiest and most educated ZIP codes in the United States, running up the fund-raising score in cities and suburbs so resoundingly that he collected more money than Mr. Trump on all but two days in the last two months, according to a New York Times analysis of $1.8 billion donated by 7.6 million people since April.

The data reveals, for the first time, not only when Mr. Biden decisively overtook Mr. Trump in the money race - it happened the day Senator Kamala Harris joined the ticket - but also what corners of the country, geographically and demographically, powered his remarkable surge.

The findings paint a portrait of two candidates who are, in many ways, financing their campaigns from two different Americas.

It is not just that much of Mr. Biden's strongest support comes overwhelmingly from the two coasts, which it does. Or that Mr. Trump's financial base is in Texas, which it is. It is that across the country, down to the ZIP code level, some of the same cleavages that are driving the 2020 election - along class and education lines - are also fundamentally reshaping how the two parties pay for their campaigns.

For years, affluent and college-educated voters, mostly white, had been the base of the Republican Party. Exit polls showed Republicans winning college graduates nationally from 1988 to 2004, and again in 2012. Voters who earned at least $100,000 have historically sided with most Republican presidential candidates by comfortable margins, too.

But under Mr. Trump, Republicans have hemorrhaged support from white voters with college degrees, who polls show have been repelled by his embrace of a politics of cultural division and racial grievance.

The fund-raising data suggests that erosion is not only harming the party's electoral prospects but also its economic bottom line.

Mr. Trump lost the money race in 2016, too, but he mobilized a base of white working-class voters then that offset his losses among college-educated voters. Now he is trying to leverage the powers of incumbency to do that to an even greater degree. But win or lose, Mr. Trump has accelerated a political realignment.

In ZIP codes with a median household income of at least $100,000, Mr. Biden smashed Mr. Trump in fund-raising, $486 million to only $167 million - accounting for almost his entire financial edge. In the rest of the country, the two were knotted closely together.

It was a similar story in the most educated pockets of the country, only even more pronounced.

Of the ZIP codes where at least 65 percent of people had graduated from college - just over 1,000 out of nearly 32,000 populated ZIP codes that reported donations - Mr. Biden outraised Mr. Trump $478 million to $104 million. Below that education level, Mr. Trump was ahead by nearly $40 million.

"Alienating white college-educated voters means more than just losing their votes; it's also literally costing them money," said Amy Walter, the national editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "These are the kinds of places that, not that long ago, hosted high-dollar fund-raisers exclusively for G.O.P. candidates. Now, those donors are sitting in their living rooms, tapping out donations to Democrats around the country via their smartphones."

The analysis looked at more than 25 million donations from April 1 to Oct. 14, merging Federal Election Commission filings from the campaigns of Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, their joint operations with the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee, and data from the donation-processing sites WinRed and ActBlue.

The analysis does not include direct donations to the parties themselves, but it covers more than 90 percent of contributions to Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden and the committees directly linked to them, from $1 gifts to checks of more than $700,000. The average donation to those committees was $71 for Mr. Trump and $76 for Mr. Biden.

Over all, Mr. Biden raised $1.07 billion and Mr. Trump $734 million over the last six months in the 32,000 populated ZIP codes, the analysis shows.

The period analyzed is not a perfect snapshot. Mr. Trump was seeking money from donors, including in wealthy enclaves, in the months before Mr. Biden first emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee. But during the six months in which the choice was between these two men, the disparity was yawning.

'Disposable income and deep antipathy'

Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster who studies demographic trends, said "the donations mirror voting patterns," as white voters with college degrees have swung sharply toward the Democrats in the last decade, with the trend expected to accelerate further in 2020 with Mr. Trump on the ticket.

"It makes perfect sense," Mr. Ayres said of the donation data. "Basically, Republicans have traded larger, more upscale, fast-growing suburban counties for smaller, down-scale, slower-growing rural counties. That's not a promising trend for future victories."

In Georgia, the data shows that many of the suburban ZIP codes surrounding Atlanta, which are helping turn the state into a true presidential battleground for the first time in decades, are solidly Democratic when it comes to the number of donors, all the way deep into Gwinnett County, a swing county trending Democratic.

In Pennsylvania, the vote-rich suburbs outside Philadelphia are overwhelmingly blue, with virtually every ZIP code counting more Biden donors than Trump ones, including in Bucks County, where Mr. Biden campaigned on Saturday and where Mrs. Clinton won by less than one percentage point four years ago.

And in Virginia, the demographic march of the suburbs and exurbs outside Washington, D.C., that have turned the state reliably Democratic is apparent in the Biden-leaning ZIP codes for donors that stretch nearly to the West Virginia border.

Dallas

Miami

Boston

New York

D.C.

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Seattle

Chicago

Dallas

Atlanta

Denver

These political and fund-raising trends underscore the jeopardy that Mr. Trump has created for himself and his party: Rather than enjoying the usual advantages of incumbency, the president is struggling to stanch the bleeding for the G.O.P. in the suburbs. His conduct, rhetoric and record are imperiling some traditionally red Senate and House seats because of the realignment of college-educated voters toward moderate Democrats emphasizing issues like health care and economic growth.

"These voters with lots of disposable income and deep antipathy to Trump can channel their frustration into Biden's campaign coffers," said Ms. Walter of the Cook Political Report.

The median household in the United States was $68,703 in 2019. In ZIP codes above that level, Mr. Biden outraised Mr. Trump by $389.1 million. Below that level, Mr. Trump was actually ahead by $53.4 million.

Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, said the shift of more educated voters toward her party was a boost "in the short term," especially financially.

"To have people with more resources to be able to give - and not just once, but over and over again in lots of different places - it creates an advantage for Democrats," Ms. Greenberg said, citing the online culture of donating to multiple candidates that has lifted once-obscure Senate Democratic candidates.

Of course, neither party wants to be seen chiefly as the champion of the well-to-do. Mr. Biden has emphasized his blue-collar roots and upbringing in Scranton, Pa. Mr. Trump, after falling behind in the money chase, has attacked Mr. Biden as beholden to the donor class. "Joe, you have raised a lot of money, tremendous amounts of money," Mr. Trump said in last week's debate. "And every time you raise money, deals are made, Joe."

Ms. Greenberg said there were risks if her party fell out of touch with the values of the working class, both white and nonwhite. "About 60 percent of this country is still without a college degree," she noted.

A pivotal turning point

For months, after Mr. Biden had emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee, he and Mr. Trump competed closely for donations, despite the president's three-year head start. But that all changed on Aug. 11, when Mr. Biden named Ms. Harris as his running mate.

That day, Mr. Biden raised five times as much as Mr. Trump and nearly repeated that margin the day after. In the 65 days from the formation of the Biden-Harris team until Oct. 14, that Democratic team outraised Mr. Trump on 63 of them, according to the data.

The only two exceptions were the night of Mr. Trump's convention speech, when Republican giving surged, and the day after his hospitalization with the coronavirus, when Democratic giving waned.

In those 65 days, Mr. Biden built a financial advantage of more than $300 million.

All told, the 2020 donation data shows that 28 states donated more to Mr. Trump, compared to 22 supporting Mr. Biden in the last six months. But the national map of donation data still appears red because Democratic dollars - like Democratic votes - are far more concentrated in denser and wealthier parts of the country.

The most lopsided state in Mr. Biden's favor is Massachusetts, with more than five times as much money, $55.7 million, going to the Democrats than the Republicans. The most Republican-leaning state for donations was Mississippi, with nearly four times as much money, $4.9 million, going to Mr. Trump.

In terms of dollars, Mr. Trump's greatest edge came from Texas (he netted $48.3 million more there than Mr. Biden), while Mr. Biden's came from California ($167.3 million more than Mr. Trump).

In fact, Mr. Biden's entire financial edge can be accounted for through just four states: California, New York, Massachusetts and Washington.

And within those and other blue states, Mr. Biden's hauls are particularly concentrated in big cities and suburbs. One Upper West Side ZIP code - 10024 - accounted for more than $8 million for Mr. Biden, and New York City in total delivered $85.6 million for him - more than he raised in every state other than California.

One of the most closely divided states in terms of cash given also happens to be one of the most heavily contested battlegrounds, North Carolina, that could determine both the presidency and control of the Senate. There, Mr. Biden's $18.9 million narrowly edged out Mr. Trump's $17.9 million.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Two Americas Financing the Trump and Biden Campaigns

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Joe Biden has outraised President Trump on the strength of some of the wealthiest and most educated ZIP codes in the United States, running up the fund-raising score in cities and suburbs so resoundingly that he collected more money than Mr. Trump on all but two days in the last two months, according to a New York Times analysis of $1.8 billion donated by 7.6 million people since April.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about a small town that used to be employed mostly by a Fruit of the Loom factory. However, the factory moved its business elsewhere and left the town jobless. Then Amazon took over the old Fruit warehouse and became super popular. After Amazon blew up, they never increased their factory workers pay. The workers continued to work there anyway because there were no other jobs. I think this story socializes us in a way and makes us realize that sometimes people don't want to do something just because its the right thing to do. I also think it fits a bigger category which is gentrification.

# data[].attributes.headline
Trump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn’t Buy It.

# data[].attributes.subject
Trump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn’t Buy It.

# data[].attributes.body
Informative investigative journalism and also a morality play about the sin of lying to benefit your own purposes. The story clearly has a political motive, but is based in fact and newsworthy because it warns us about fake news.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Inside the White House's secret, last-ditch effort to change the narrative, and the election - and the return of the media gatekeepers.

Journalists at The Wall Street Journal were skeptical about a story presented by three close allies of the president. Credit... John Wisniewski

By early October, even people inside the White House believed President Trump's re-election campaign needed a desperate rescue mission. So three men allied with the president gathered at a house in McLean, Va., to launch one.

The host was Arthur Schwartz, a New York public relations man close to President Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr. The guests were a White House lawyer, Eric Herschmann, and a former deputy White House counsel, Stefan Passantino, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

Mr. Herschmann knew the subject matter they were there to discuss. He had represented Mr. Trump during the impeachment trial early this year, and he tried to deflect allegations against the president in part by pointing to Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine. More recently, he has been working on the White House payroll with a hazy portfolio, listed as "a senior adviser to the president," and remains close to Jared Kushner.

The three had pinned their hopes for re-electing the president on a fourth guest, a straight-shooting Wall Street Journal White House reporter named Michael Bender. They delivered the goods to him there: a cache of emails detailing Hunter Biden's business activities, and, on speaker phone, a former business partner of Hunter Biden's named Tony Bobulinski. Mr. Bobulinski was willing to go on the record in The Journal with an explosive claim: that Joe Biden, the former vice president, had been aware of, and profited from, his son's activities. The Trump team left believing that The Journal would blow the thing open and their excitement was conveyed to the president.

The Journal had seemed to be the perfect outlet for a story the Trump advisers believed could sink Mr. Biden's candidacy. Its small-c conservatism in reporting means the work of its news pages carries credibility across the industry. And its readership leans further right than other big news outlets. Its Washington bureau chief, Paul Beckett, recently remarked at a virtual gathering of Journal reporters and editors that while he knows that the paper often delivers unwelcome news to the many Trump supporters who read it, The Journal should protect its unique position of being trusted across the political spectrum, two people familiar with the remarks said.

As the Trump team waited with excited anticipation for a Journal exposé, the newspaper did its due diligence: Mr. Bender and Mr. Beckett handed the story off to a well-regarded China correspondent, James Areddy, and a Capitol Hill reporter who had followed the Hunter Biden story, Andrew Duehren. Mr. Areddy interviewed Mr. Bobulinski. They began drafting an article.

Then things got messy. Without warning his notional allies, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and now a lawyer for President Trump, burst onto the scene with the tabloid version of the McLean crew's carefully laid plot. Mr. Giuliani delivered a cache of documents of questionable provenance - but containing some of the same emails - to The New York Post, a sister publication to The Journal in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Mr. Giuliani had been working with the former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who also began leaking some of the emails to favored right-wing outlets. Mr. Giuliani's complicated claim that the emails came from a laptop Hunter Biden had abandoned, and his refusal to let some reporters examine the laptop, cast a pall over the story - as did The Post's reporting, which alleged but could not prove that Joe Biden had been involved in his son's activities.

While the Trump team was clearly jumpy, editors in The Journal's Washington bureau were wrestling with a central question: Could the documents, or Mr. Bobulinski, prove that Joe Biden was involved in his son's lobbying? Or was this yet another story of the younger Mr. Biden trading on his family's name - a perfectly good theme, but not a new one or one that needed urgently to be revealed before the election.

Mr. Trump and his allies expected the Journal story to appear Monday, Oct. 19, according to Mr. Bannon. That would be late in the campaign, but not too late - and could shape that week's news cycle heading into the crucial final debate last Thursday. An "important piece" in The Journal would be coming soon, Mr. Trump told aides on a conference call that day.

His comment was not appreciated inside The Journal.

"The editors didn't like Trump's insinuation that we were being teed up to do this hit job," a Journal reporter who wasn't directly involved in the story told me. But the reporters continued to work on the draft as the Thursday debate approached, indifferent to the White House's frantic timeline.

Finally, Mr. Bobulinski got tired of waiting.

"He got spooked about whether they were going to do it or not," Mr. Bannon said.

At 7:35 Wednesday evening, Mr. Bobulinski emailed an on-the-record, 684-word statement making his case to a range of news outlets. Breitbart News published it in full. He appeared the next day in Nashville to attend the debate as Mr. Trump's surprise guest, and less than two hours before the debate was to begin, he read a six-minute statement to the press, detailing his allegations that the former vice president had involvement in his son's business dealings.

When Mr. Trump stepped on stage, the president acted as though the details of the emails and the allegations were common knowledge. "You're the big man, I think. I don't know, maybe you're not," he told Mr. Biden at some point, a reference to an ambiguous sentence from the documents.

As the debate ended, The Wall Street Journal published a brief item, just the stub of Mr. Areddy and Mr. Duehren's reporting. The core of it was that Mr. Bobulinski had failed to prove the central claim. "Corporate records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden," The Journal reported.

Asked about The Journal's handling of the story, the editor in chief, Matt Murray, said the paper did not discuss its newsgathering. "Our rigorous and trusted journalism speaks for itself," Mr. Murray said in an emailed statement.

And if you'd been watching the debate, but hadn't been obsessively watching Fox News or reading Breitbart, you would have had no idea what Mr. Trump was talking about. The story the Trump team hoped would upend the campaign was fading fast.

The McLean group's failed attempt to sway the election is partly just another story revealing the chaotic, threadbare quality of the Trump operation - a far cry from the coordinated "disinformation" machinery feared by liberals.

But it's also about a larger shift in the American media, one in which the gatekeepers appear to have returned after a long absence.

It has been a disorienting couple of decades, after all. It all began when The Drudge Report, Gawker and the blogs started telling you what stodgy old newspapers and television networks wouldn't. Then social media brought floods of content pouring over the old barricades.

By 2015, the old gatekeepers had entered a kind of crisis of confidence, believing they couldn't control the online news cycle any better than King Canute could control the tides. Television networks all but let Donald Trump take over as executive producer that summer and fall. In October 2016, Julian Assange and James Comey seemed to drive the news cycle more than the major news organizations. Many figures in old media and new bought into the idea that in the new world, readers would find the information they wanted to read - and therefore, decisions by editors and producers, about whether to cover something and how much attention to give it, didn't mean much.

But the last two weeks have proved the opposite: that the old gatekeepers, like The Journal, can still control the agenda. It turns out there is a big difference between WikiLeaks and establishment media coverage of WikiLeaks, a difference between a Trump tweet and an article about it, even between an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal suggesting Joe Biden had done bad things, and a news article that didn't reach that conclusion.

Image

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden at their debate last week. Mr. Trump had a surprise guest, a man making claims about Hunter Biden. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Perhaps the most influential media document of the last four years is a chart by a co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, Yochai Benkler. The study showed that a dense new right-wing media sphere had emerged - and that the mainstream news "revolved around the agenda that the right-wing media sphere set."

Mr. Bannon had known this, too. He described his strategy as "anchor left, pivot right," and even as he ran Breitbart News, he worked to place attacks on Hillary Clinton in mainstream outlets. The validating power of those outlets was clear when The New York Times and Washington Post were given early access in the spring of 2014 to the book "Clinton Cash," an investigation of the Clinton family's blurring of business, philanthropic and political interests by the writer Peter Schweizer.

Mr. Schweizer is still around this cycle. But you won't find his work in mainstream outlets. He's over on Breitbart, with a couple of Hunter Biden stories this month.

And the fact that Mr. Bobulinski emerged not in the pages of the widely respected Journal but in a statement to Breitbart was essentially Mr. Bannon's nightmare, and Mr. Benkler's fondest wish. And a broad array of mainstream outlets, unpersuaded that Hunter Biden's doings tie directly to the former vice president, have largely kept the story off their front pages, and confined to skeptical explanations of what Mr. Trump and his allies are claiming about his opponent.

"SO USA TODAY DIDN'T WANT TO RUN MY HUNTER BIDEN COLUMN THIS WEEK," the conservative writer Glenn Reynolds complained Oct. 20, posting the article instead to his blog. President Trump himself hit a wall when he tried to push the Hunter Biden narrative onto CBS News.

"This is '60 Minutes,' and we can't put on things we can't verify," Lesley Stahl told him. Mr. Trump then did more or less the same thing as Mr. Reynolds, posting a video of his side of the interview to his own blog, Facebook.

The media's control over information, of course, is not as total as it used to be. The people who own printing presses and broadcast towers can't actually stop you from reading leaked emails or unproven theories about Joe Biden's knowledge of his son's business. But what Mr. Benkler's research showed was that the elite outlets' ability to set the agenda endured in spite of social media.

We should have known it, of course. Many of our readers, screaming about headlines on Twitter, did. And Mr. Trump knew it all along - one way to read his endless attacks on the establishment media is as an expression of obsession, a form of love. This week, you can hear howls of betrayal from people who have for years said the legacy media was both utterly biased and totally irrelevant.

"For years, we've respected and even revered the sanctified position of the free press," wrote Dana Loesch, a right-wing commentator not particularly known for her reverence of legacy media, expressing frustration that the Biden story was not getting attention. "Now that free press points its digital pen at your throat when you question their preferences."

There's something amusing - even a bit flattering - in such earnest protestations from a right-wing movement rooted in efforts to discredit the independent media. And this reassertion of control over information is what you've seen many journalists call for in recent years. At its best, it can also close the political landscape to a trendy new form of dirty tricks, as in France in 2017, where the media largely ignored a last-minute dump of hacked emails from President Emmanuel Macron's campaign just before a legally mandated blackout period.

But I admit that I feel deep ambivalence about this revenge of the gatekeepers. I spent my career, before arriving at The Times in March, on the other side of the gate, lobbing information past it to a very online audience who I presumed had already seen the leak or the rumor, and seeing my job as helping to guide that audience through the thicket, not to close their eyes to it. "The media's new and unfamiliar job is to provide a framework for understanding the wild, unvetted, and incredibly intoxicating information that its audience will inevitably see - not to ignore it," my colleague John Herrman (also now at The Times) and I wrote in 2013. In 2017, I made the decision to publish the unverified " Steele dossier, " in part on the grounds that gatekeepers were looking at it and influenced by it, but keeping it from their audience.

This fall, top media and tech executives were bracing to refight the last war - a foreign-backed hack-and-leak operation like WikiLeaks seeking to influence the election's outcome. It was that hyper-vigilance that led Twitter to block links to The New York Post's article about Hunter Biden - a frighteningly disproportionate response to a story that other news organizations were handling with care. The schemes of Mr. Herschmann, Mr. Passantino and Mr. Schwartz weren't exactly WikiLeaks. But the special nervousness that many outlets, including this one, feel about the provenance of the Hunter Biden emails is, in many ways, the legacy of the WikiLeaks experience.

I'd prefer to put my faith in Mr. Murray and careful, professional journalists like him than in the social platforms' product managers and executives. And I hope Americans relieved that the gatekeepers are reasserting themselves will also pay attention to who gets that power, and how centralized it is, and root for new voices to correct and challenge them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn't Buy It.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Inside the White House's secret, last-ditch effort to change the narrative, and the election - and the return of the media gatekeepers. By early October, even people inside the White House believed President Trump's re-election campaign needed a desperate rescue mission. So three men allied with the president gathered at a house in McLean, Va., to launch one.

# data[].attributes.body
https://advertiser-tribune.com/news/284550/hope-and-fear-among-trans-people/

This news story I found on my local paper's webpage, but it is actually an AP article.  Its function is to inform about daily life in regards to transgender issues and how past policies have made living as trans more difficult. It is also reporting on a timely topical trend related to the presidential election and probable confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett.

I believe the story is newsworthy as it is timely in parts and expresses how the trans community is reacting to the election and U.S. Administration policies.

# data[].attributes.body
This news story updates up on how colleges and universities throughout the US are responding to budget shortfalls due to the effects of COVID. It is newsworthy because it's a timely topic and an issue that is important to many (whether they are attending university or sending a child to college, or working at a high ed institution or their community financially benefits from a college in their town).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Liberal arts departments, graduate student aid and even tenured teaching positions are targets as the coronavirus causes shortfalls.

Ohio Wesleyan University, which is struggling financially because of the coronavirus pandemic, is eliminating or phasing out majors in comparative literature, urban studies, journalism and 15 other subjects Credit... Andrew Spear for The New York Times

Ohio Wesleyan University is eliminating 18 majors. The University of Florida's trustees this month took the first steps toward letting the school furlough faculty. The University of California, Berkeley, has paused admissions to its Ph.D. programs in anthropology, sociology and art history.

As it resurges across the country, the coronavirus is forcing universities large and small to make deep and possibly lasting cuts to close widening budget shortfalls. By one estimate, the pandemic has cost colleges at least $120 billion, with even Harvard University, despite its $41.9 billion endowment, reporting a $10 million deficit that has prompted belt tightening.

Though many colleges imposed stopgap measures such as hiring freezes and early retirements to save money in the spring, the persistence of the economic downturn is taking a devastating financial toll, pushing many to lay off or furlough employees, delay graduate admissions and even cut or consolidate core programs like liberal arts departments.

The University of South Florida announced last week that its college of education would become a graduate school only, phasing out undergraduate education degrees to help close a $6.8 million budget gap. In Ohio, the University of Akron, citing the coronavirus, successfully invoked a clause in its collective-bargaining agreement in September to supersede tenure rules and lay off 97 unionized faculty members.

"We haven't seen a budget crisis like this in a generation," said Robert Kelchen, a Seton Hall University associate professor of higher education who has been tracking the administrative response to the pandemic. "There's nothing off-limits at this point."

Even before the pandemic, colleges and universities were grappling with a growing financial crisis, brought on by years of shrinking state support, declining enrollment, and student concerns with skyrocketing tuition and burdensome debt. Now the coronavirus has amplified the financial trouble systemwide, though elite, well-endowed colleges seem sure to weather it with far less pain.

"We have been in aggressive recession management for 12 years - probably more than 12 years," Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, told his board of governors last week as they voted to forge ahead with a proposal to merge a half-dozen small schools into two academic entities.

Once linchpins of social mobility in the state's working-class coal towns, the 14 campuses in Pennsylvania's system have lost roughly a fifth of their enrollment over the past decade. The proposal, long underway but made more urgent by pandemic losses, would merge Clarion, California, and Edinboro universities into one unit and Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities into another to serve a region whose demographics have changed.

Such pressures have reached critical mass throughout the country in the months since the pandemic hit. State governments from Washington to Connecticut, tightening their own belts, have told public universities to expect steep cuts in appropriations. Students and families, facing skyrocketing unemployment, have balked at the prospect of paying full fare for largely online instruction, opting instead for gap years or less expensive schools closer to home.

Costs have also soared as colleges have spent millions on testing, tracing and quarantining students, only to face outbreaks. A New York Times database has confirmed more than 214,000 cases this year at college campuses, with at least 75 deaths, mostly among adults last spring, but also including some students more recently.

Freshman enrollment is down more than 16 percent from last year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has reported - part of a 4 percent overall drop in undergraduate enrollment that is taking tuition revenue down with it.

In a letter to Congress this week, the American Council on Education and other higher education organizations estimated that the virus would cost institutions more than $120 billion in increased student aid, lost housing fees, forgone sports revenue, public health measures, learning technology and other adjustments.

And because donations to all but the heftiest endowments limit those funds to specific uses, most colleges cannot freely dip into them as emergency reserves. Harvard has the largest endowment in the nation, but its pandemic losses turned a $300 million-plus surplus in 2019 into a $10 million operating loss in 2020, according to an annual report posted this week, forcing the university to freeze hiring, slash capital spending and cut senior managers' pay.

Image

Ithaca College plans to cut back on full-time faculty jobs and has furloughed nonfaculty members. Credit... Heather Ainsworth for The New York Times

That has meant months of cutbacks, including abolishing athletic programs, deferring campus construction and laying off administrative staff and cafeteria workers. Scores of graduate programs, including some at elite research universities such as Harvard, Princeton and U.C. Berkeley, have temporarily stopped taking new Ph.D. students - the result of financial aid budgets strained by current doctoral candidates whose research is taking more time because of the pandemic.

A Chronicle of Higher Education database tracking the budgetary triage has documented more than 100 such suspended programs, from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts and Sciences, which will not take new doctoral students next fall, to Rice University, which paused admissions to all five of the Ph.D. programs in its school of humanities.

Most of the suspensions are in social sciences and humanities programs where the universities - rather than outside funders such as corporations, foundations and the federal government - typically underwrite the multiyear financial aid packages offered to doctoral students. University officials say the suspensions are necessary to ensure their strapped budgets can continue supporting students already in Ph.D. pipelines.

But Suzanne T. Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, noted that interrupting that pipeline could also have a lingering impact on the higher education work force, diverting promising students from low-income households, for example, or discouraging candidates who might bring much needed diversity to faculty rosters.

As it is, the pandemic has had an outsize impact on less affluent students: A survey of 292 private, nonprofit schools released last week by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities reported a nearly 8 percent decrease in enrollment among students who receive federal Pell Grants.

"A couple years off is not necessarily the end of the world and may even be a wise thing," Ms. Ortega said. "But if our universities don't remain in touch with those students, and connect with them, and encourage them to keep thinking about grad school, we could have our own lost generation of students who get busy with other things and then don't fulfill their dreams."

As schools exhaust the possibilities of trims around the margins, what is left, administrators say, is payroll, typically the largest line item in higher education. Since February, when the coronavirus hit, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that colleges and universities have shed more than 300,000 mostly nonfaculty jobs.

"Some of these institutions have redone their budgets three, four, five times," said Jim Hundrieser, vice president for consulting and business development at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, a professional organization for finance officers in higher education.

"As this next chapter unfolds, what's left is just staffing. For most, this will be the toughest round."

In central New York, Ithaca College's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, La Jerne T. Cornish, said "there is no joy" as the school accelerated plans to cut 131 full-time faculty jobs, a result of declining enrollment exacerbated by the pandemic. Ms. Cornish said the school had already furloughed 167 nonfaculty staff members and offered early retirement to 30 faculty members to address an $8 million shortfall.

But, Ms. Cornish said, further action was needed to bring the payroll into line with enrollment declines.

Ohio Wesleyan's president, Rock Jones, told students in a recent email that the university would eliminate or phase out majors in comparative literature, urban studies, journalism and 15 other subjects. The move, he wrote, would merge religion and philosophy into one department and lump Black studies and women's studies into a single "critical identity studies" program, but also will save about $4 million and limit faculty layoffs to one tenured post.

Mr. Kelchen, the higher education professor, said such consolidations often can allow institutions to downsize despite faculty job protections as well as encourage people in positions deemed redundant to take early retirement.

"Even if the faculty can stay on," he said, "they'll get reassigned, maybe to teach in another department or do administrative work."

Other schools are laying the groundwork now for cuts they expect later. Trustees at the University of Florida took the first step in September to allow faculty furloughs to help close a projected $49 million shortfall from the coronavirus. Steve Orlando, a university spokesman, said the next step - a formal furlough policy - is expected to come to the board this year.

Daniel Meisenzahl, a spokesman for the University of Hawaii, said the 10-campus system had embarked on an exhaustive fiscal review in which "every single unit" was being examined, including an array of bachelors' programs and university centers for public policy and conflict resolution. The system is facing a projected 13 percent decline in revenue and a net loss of nearly $67 million in operating income.

Mr. Kelchen said that the coronavirus had worked its way into the core of the nation's academic machinery, and that the damage would likely be lasting.

"These cuts are going to continue long past the pandemic," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Colleges Slash Budgets in the Pandemic, With 'Nothing Off-Limits'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Liberal arts departments, graduate student aid and even tenured teaching positions are targets as the coronavirus causes shortfalls. Ohio Wesleyan University is eliminating 18 majors. The University of Florida's trustees this month took the first steps toward letting the school furlough faculty. The University of California, Berkeley, has paused admissions to its Ph.D.

# data[].attributes.headline
They Did Not Vote in 2016. Why They Plan to Skip the Election Again.

# data[].attributes.subject
They Did Not Vote in 2016. Why They Plan to Skip the Election Again.

# data[].attributes.body
This story both reports on topical trends and socializes us in some way. I think this article is meant to inform people about non-voters as well as question whether or not they are doing the right thing by not voting. It was an interesting read, I wouldn't say it was leaning strongly one way or another in terms of telling you what to do (vote or not), but I would say that it cast the non-voters in a kind light and gave them lots of room to explain why they were not voting.
I would say this story is very news worthy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Between a third and a half of all eligible voters typically stay home during presidential elections.

"I try to avoid it because it gets angry and nasty," said Susan Miller of voting, who said the only time she had ever cast a ballot was for Barack Obama in 2008. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Like nearly half of all the eligible voters in her county in 2016, Keyana Fedrick did not vote.

Four years later, politics has permeated her corner of northeastern Pennsylvania. Someone sawed a hole in a large Trump sign near one of her jobs. The election office in her county is so overwhelmed with demand that it took over the coroner's office next door. Her parents, both Democrats born in the 1950s, keep telling her she should vote for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Anything is better than President Trump, they say.

But Ms. Fedrick, who works two jobs, at a hotel and at a department store, does not trust either of the two main political parties, because nothing in her 31 years of life has led her to believe that she could. She says they abandon voters like "a bad mom or dad who promises to come and see you, and I'm sitting outside with my bags packed and they never show up."

That is why Ms. Fedrick does not regret her decision in 2016 to skip the voting booth. In fact, she plans to repeat it this year - something that she and a friend have started to hide from people they know.

"We said we're just going to lie, like, 'Oh yeah, I voted,'" she said. "I don't feel like getting crucified for what I think."

As the presidential campaign reaches its final week, early-voting turnout in a number of states has been higher than last time, mail-in ballot requests are surging and some are predicting the highest turnout in many decades. But if history is any indication, a significant portion of Americans will not participate, a signal of distrust and disillusionment with the political system that spans the partisan divide.

Voting is fundamentally an act of hope. But since the 1960s, between a third and a half of eligible voters have stayed home during presidential elections, resulting in one of the lowest rates of voter turnout among America's developed peers. Since the early 1900s, the high point for presidential turnout was in 1960, when 63.8 percent of eligible adults voted, according to the United States Elections Project that tracks voting data back to 1789. Most recently, the highest peak was in 2008, when 61.6 percent turned out.

Image

Early voting in Bedford, Texas, on Wednesday. Though mail-in ballot requests and early voting turnout are up this year, a significant portion of the American population will most likely not participate in the election. Credit... Cooper Neill for The New York Times

An analysis of Census Bureau survey data from the 2016 election shows a deep class divide: Americans who did not vote were more likely to be poor, less likely to have a college degree, and more likely to be a single parent than the people who voted. They were also less likely to be in the labor force.

The data give a comprehensive look at who voted and who did not, and while no two elections are the same, there are patterns for why some people are more likely to vote than others.

Not voting has been a feature of the American political landscape for decades. But with razor-thin margins in a number of states last time, nonvoters have taken on outsize importance: Even a small victory in converting some of them may tip the scales.

Consider Pennsylvania. More than 3.5 million eligible voters in the state did not cast ballots for president in the 2016 election, a number that dwarfed Mr. Trump's slender margin of 44,292. Monroe County, the Pocono Mountain vacation spot where Ms. Fedrick lives, is a microcosm of the state. About 56,000 eligible adults stayed home, more than 100 times Hillary Clinton's 532-vote margin of victory.

In interviews in Monroe County this month, some of the people who did not vote in 2016 said they planned to vote this year. The stakes were too high to miss it, they said.

"I never thought I'd be bothered with this crap, but now it really counts," saidJack Breglia, 49, a retired tow truck driver in Kunkletown, Pa. He could not remember the last time he voted but said he planned to vote for Mr. Trump this time.

But many others said they would not. They expressed a profound distrust of politics and doubted their vote would have an effect. They felt a sense of foreboding about the country and saw politics as one of the main forces doing the threatening. Many were not particularly partisan, and said they shrank from people who were.

"I try to avoid it because it gets angry and nasty," said Susan Miller, 42, a waitress at Compton's Pancake House in Stroudsburg, who said she had voted once in her life, for Barack Obama in 2008.

Campaign signs for Joe Biden in Stroudsburg, Pa., this month. More than 3.5 million eligible voters in Pennsylvania did not cast ballots for president in the 2016 election. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

One predictor of political engagement is growing up in a family that talked about politics. Ms. Miller did not. And she is so sick of the one person in her life who is loudly insisting that she vote - an aunt who supports Mr. Trump - that she has started simply pretending she will.

Like many people interviewed for this article, Ms. Miller was scrambling to pay rent and buy groceries. Monroe County's unemployment rate stood at around 13 percent in August, as the coronavirus pandemic bit into the county's tourism industry. Her tips have fallen by half and she is now working for Instacart to make up the difference. Two close relatives have died of Covid-19.

"Politics? It's the least of my worries," she said.

She said she would vote again "if the right person came in."

But Mr. Biden is not that person, she said. Ms. Miller said she had not watched any of the debates or kept up with the candidates.

"I'm just trying to make it through," she said.

In recent decades, richer, more educated people are far more likely to vote. In the 2016 analysis, about three-quarters of those living in households earning at least $150,000 voted, compared with less than half of those in households earning less than $25,000. About 76 percent of college graduates voted, compared with 52 percent of people with just a high school degree.

Marriage mattered, too: Just 45 percent of single women who had children and were eligible to vote cast ballots compared with 70 percent of married mothers.

Jennifer Martin, 46, a single mother waiting in line in her car at the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network food pantry in Sciota, Pa., said the last time she voted she was in her 20s. Politics, she said, has little relevance to her life. The two political parties seemed about the same.

A recent study found that people like Ms. Martin who do not follow politics closely have different concerns from those who do. For example, they say that low hourly wages are among the most important problems facing the country. For hard partisans, who are more likely to vote, the issue barely registers.

"I work at a day care where they pay their workers nothing," she said. "That's why I have to come to places like this to feed my family."

Might the election change things?

"I'm not interested in it," she said.

A debate watch party in Haddonfield, N.J., on Thursday. Credit... Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times

Ms. Fedrick was one of those who stayed away in 2016, but not because she was not following the news. She has become increasingly angry at the American political system, which she believes is tilted against Black people like her and people who are poor.

She grew up in Newark, whose failing schools and violent streets prompted her parents - an art teacher and a city bus driver - to move to East Stroudsburg when she was 12.

College was a stretch financially. She said she had tried twice for associate degrees but had not finished either. She ended up with $5,000 in debt. At 31, she is still living with her mother.

Her father, who grew up in rural Georgia in the 1960s, keeps telling her things have gotten better. Government can be responsive, even if it is slow. Voting matters.

She sees no evidence of progress. Minimum wage has been stuck for more than a decade and the problems of police violence against Black people, joblessness and incarceration only seem to get worse.

"We need to break up with the system," she said. "This system wasn't designed for us to win."

Just 47 percent of African-Americans under 30 voted in 2016, compared with nearly 70 percent of those over 65, a pattern of youth disenchantment common to Americans of all races and ethnicities.

Many interviewed in Monroe County said they felt their vote did not matter, pointing to the contested 2000 presidential election and to Mr. Trump losing the popular vote. Some said they thought powerful insiders were the ones who really decided.

"We love you and we wish you good luck," said Fannie Sanchez, 44, a New York-born daughter of Colombian immigrants, of voters. People who do not vote "already saw that there's something being maneuvered back there. We just unplug ourselves."

Ms. Sanchez is part of a demographic that also had low turnout in 2016: American-born Hispanics. She said that in 2008 she swallowed her cynicism and cast the first vote in her life, for Mr. Obama.

"I had to just close my eyes and say, 'If this is fake, I don't care. I want to be part of this.'"

But she did not vote for him again. Politicians are noisy, but ultimately of no use.

"They rent space in my brain and they frustrate me, but in the end, they do what they want anyway," she said.

The sheer toxicity of politics is also having an effect. Kyle Marsh, 23, an operations manager for a beer wholesaler, is not particularly political, but most around him are. His mother, a nurse, is furious at Mr. Trump. His friends are angry, too. On Instagram recently, one said, "imagine being dumb enough to vote for the worst person in history?" The post made him uncomfortable: He has a friend who likes Mr. Trump. But he kept quiet.

Kyle Marsh worries about the effect his vote might have on his relationships. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

"Do you know how many friends I'd lose if I say something?" he said. Voting means being part of the outrage. That is why he will opt out.

Others see a reason to vote this time. Latoya Garrison, a single mother who works nights at a factory putting safety seals on cosmetics, did not vote in 2016. But the coronavirus changed her mind this time. Her tips waitressing at the Roasted Tomato dwindled to $30 a day, and this fall, a social services agency helped her pay rent.

"I'm looking for who is more into controlling this virus, so we can go back to normal," she said. "I don't care about anything else."

The week before last, she voted by mail for Mr. Biden.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
They Did Not Vote in 2016. Why They Plan to Skip the Election Again.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Between a third and a half of all eligible voters typically stay home during presidential elections. EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Like nearly half of all the eligible voters in her county in 2016, Keyana Fedrick did not vote. Four years later, politics has permeated her corner of northeastern Pennsylvania.