Hi. My name is Jimmy, and I am here to remind you that while many of us are distracted as we watch for presidential-election results to come in, we’re still in the midst of a crippling pandemic.
A pandemic that’s worse than ever.
Consider:
• More than 120,000 COVID-19 cases were reported in the U.S. yesterday—more than ever before. And that could be just the tip of the iceberg. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner, told CNBC: “Remember 120,000 cases aren’t 120,000 cases. We’re probably, at best, diagnosing 1 in 5 cases right now, maybe a little bit less than that, so this is at least half a million cases a day, probably more in terms of actual numbers of infection.”
• Hospitalizations are soaring in many communities in the U.S. According to CNN: “In the first five days of November—as the country has focused on elections—22 states reported at least one record-high day of Covid-19 hospitalizations, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project. The states are: Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.”
• Meanwhile, somehow, N95 masks are in short supply again. Sigh.
• Are you a sports fan who was looking to the much-delayed start of the Pac-12 Conference football season? Well, as of now, two of the six Pac-12 games slated for this opening week have been cancelled due to COVID-19 cases. ESPN has the details.
• While California is still doing MUCH better than most of the rest of the country, cases are starting to tick up here, too.
• In Europe, things are getting bad—and all of the minks in Denmark will be culled (translation: killed) “after a mutated form of coronavirus that can spread to humans was found on mink farms,” according to BBC News. Yikes.
• Finally, even if you have been distracted from the pandemic by all of the political coverage … if you watch MSNBC, you won’t be watching Rachel Maddow this evening—because she’s quarantining after being in close contact with someone who has tested positive. (She has tested negative so far.)
I could go on and on and on with the bleak COVID-19 news, but you get the point: We’re in the thick of it, folks, as a nation and as a planet.
More of today’s news:
• Related to all of the above: Counties with the worst coronavirus surges voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. You may draw your own conclusions.
• Should people be paid to take the COVID-19 vaccine? Some experts say that such a move would lead to a greater societal good, according to MedPage Today.
• A “nontoxic and stable” nasal spray blocked ferrets from getting the coronavirus, according to a small study released yesterday. The New York Times talked to experts about what this may or may not mean.
• Here’s an infuriating headline, compliments of NPR: “CDC Report: Officials Knew Coronavirus Test Was Flawed But Released It Anyway.” Ugh. Key quote: “The lab designed and built the diagnostic test in record time, and the little vials that contained necessary reagents to identify the virus were boxed up and ready to go. But NPR has learned the results of that final quality control test suggested something troubling — it said the kit could fail 33% of the time.”
• Back to politics: Early in the morning on Wednesday, the president said he’d have the U.S. Supreme Court intervene in the election if he felt the need. However, could that actually happen? Both Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute and a University of Memphis law professor say it’s unlikely.
• Some history has been made in L.A.: After this election, the entire Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will be female. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-04/l-a-county-makes-history-with-all-female-board-of-supervisors
• Some 4.3 million (!) ballots have yet to be counted in California. What could this mean for the various ballot measures? Our partners at CalMatters explain.
• Will hurricane season ever end? After devastating Nicaragua, Hurricane Eta appears to be heading toward Florida.
• From the Independent: Kevin Fitzgerald talks to some of the people behind new nonprofit Palm to Pines Parasports, the goal of which is to enrich the lives of disabled Riverside County residents via athletics. Key quote, from founder Michael Rosenkrantz: “The idea is that we use sports as an entry point to leading a full life. So we want to create a lot of sports opportunities to get people with physical disabilities more active, both physically and emotionally.”
• Because why the heck not, our beer columnist looks at the weird and wild history of the “40,” aka a large bottle of malt liquor—and it is fascinating. Key quote: “Years later, in the ’60s, the 40-ounce bottle seems to have made its debut. Beer was often sold in quarts (32 ounces) and even half-gallon (64 ounces) sizes for the purpose of serving at parties—but as weird as 40 ounces sounds as a package, it’s simply a 25 percent increase from the quart. It was meant to allow the purchaser to save money while serving ‘friends’ at a soirée (presumably ‘friends’ the purchaser disliked). It was often sold based on its resemblance to champagne.”
• Finally, while I think Buzzfeed listacles are one of the key reasons for the downfall of our society, I feel compelled to share this one, titled “21 Tweets About MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki Because He’s The Internet’s New Hero.”
That’s enough for the week. Stay safe, everyone—and as always, thanks for reading.