Friday, October 23 top news briefs and presidential debate recap
It is Friday, October 23. I will share top news briefs and then give a recap of the presidential debate last night.
On Thursday, the U.S. set a new daily record for new coronavirus cases with over 77,000 cases. The previous record was in July with over 75,000 cases. 921 people died yesterday, while over 1,000 died on Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug remdesivir as a treatment for Covid-19. It is the first drug to be fully approved. It can be given to patients over 12 years of age who are hospitalized. It is taken intravenously and it works by lowering the amount of the virus in the body.
The White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have not reached an agreement on a new round of economic relief. They have been talking for many days. Trump accused Pelosi of purposefully delaying it so people won’t get the money before the election. Pelosi said she wants a big deal worth over $2 trillion dollars and refuses to accept Republicans’ counteroffers of a smaller package.
A 19-year-old man, Alexander H. Treisman, was arrested in North Carolina and accused of plotting to assassinate Joe Biden. This happened in May, but this information came out recently because the man was facing child pornography charges in a separate case. News reports say Treisman was driving in a van with five guns, explosives, and more than $500,000 in cash. The money was from an inheritance and he was traveling across the country buying firearms. He typed on the internet whether he should kill Joe Biden.
In Washington state, scientists said they found a nest of Asian giant hornets, as known as “murder hornets.” The hornets are not originally from the U.S. and are considered very dangerous because they can destroy entire honeybee hive populations and injure people with painful stings. The scientists plan to destroy the nest, which is located north of Seattle and near the Canadian border. The nest was found when a state worker caught two hornets in a trap and put a radio tracker on them using dental floss. The nest was found inside a tree cavity and there were over 20 hornets around it. After the nest is destroyed, the tree itself might be removed.
American astronaut Kate Rubins posted an image of herself voting from space at the International Space Station. You can see that her hair is floating and that she set up an “ISS voting booth.” The ballot is transmitted digitally from NASA and after the vote is recorded, it is sent back to NASA, who delivers it to the local election office.
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Here’s the recap of the presidential debate between the Republican President Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Trump said the coronavirus crisis is a worldwide problem and that it will go away because the U.S. is moving fast with developing a vaccine.
Biden said 220,000 Americans have already died and that Trump shouldn’t remain as president because he didn’t take control of it.
Trump accused Biden and his family of receiving a lot of money from Russia and Iraq and of receiving $3.5 million from Ukraine.
Biden said he has not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in his life and called on Trump to release his tax returns.
Both candidates sparred about their foreign policy viewpoints on North Korea. Biden said Trump is too friendly with Kim Jong Un, but Trump said it was good to have good relationships and said there is no war.
Trump said he predicts that the Republican Party will win the House after the election and then provide a better healthcare plan than Obamacare. Trump said he would protect people with pre-existing conditions. Biden said he wanted to offer a public option called Bidencare and provide it to those who qualify for Medicaid but can’t get it. Biden said Trump will not protect people with pre-existing conditions.
Trump said a $15 minimum wage would hurt small businesses and that states should decide whether to require it or not.
Biden wants a federal requirement for $15 minimum wage and said nobody should work one job and still be below the poverty line.
Trump said the Obama administration built the “cages” that detained migrant children. He said the migrants are taken care of. Biden said it was the Trump administrations’ policy to separate parents from children.
Trump said he is the least racist person in the room and that he has helped with racial equity by his support for historically Black colleges and universities and his work with prison reform.
Biden said Trump is one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history because he called Mexicans rapists, wanted to ban Muslims, and told the Proud Boys to stand ready.
Trump said Biden is “all talk and no action” and criticized him for passing the 1994 crime bill, saying it put tens of thousands of mostly Black young men in prison.
Biden said all 100 senators voted on a bill on how to deal with drugs, but said it was a mistake and that he has been trying to change it.
Trump said Biden is against fracking and wants to destroy the oil industry.
Biden said he wants to see a transition to renewable energy.
That’s the recap. Many people praised Kristen Welker for her job moderating the debate. The debate went smoother than the first debate because of her handling and also because the mics were muted for the first two minutes for either candidate during their responses to questions.
That’s all the top news for this week. Have a great weekend and stay with the light.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/10/23/trump-congress-coronavirus-bailout/
https://www.space.com/nasa-astronaut-votes-from-space-2020
https://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts/status/1319375479669846017/photo/1