ELECTION NIGHT. Trump to hold 400-person gathering at White House. “The move comes as the president considers proclaiming himself the winner of the vote Tuesday night if early tallies show him ahead of Joe Biden, even with millions of mailed ballots yet to be counted. Biden plans to speak to the nation on Election Night in Wilmington, Del., but will not host a traditional watch party to avoid risking the spread of COVID-19.”
NATE SILVER. Without Pennsylvania, Biden becomes underdog in 2020 race.
QANON. Conspiracy theory was amplified by Russian bots much earlier than previously thought: “From November 2017 on, QAnon was the single most frequent hashtag tweeted by accounts that Twitter has since identified as Russian-backed, a Reuters analysis of the archive shows, with the term used some 17,000 times.”
GEORGIA. Biden rally canceled due to interest of “large militia presence.” “Out of an abundance of concern for the health and safety of our citizens, we are cancelling today’s rally, at the recommendation of the Democratic Party of Georgia.”
ANALYSIS. Michigan militia plotters against Governor Gretchen Whitmer spotted in photos of anti-lockdown protests: “Although charging documents placed them at one political rally, a Washington Post examination of images and video found that the men were present at at least seven rallies in Michigan in the six months before their arrests. One of the defendants is seen in a widely circulated photo of several armed men — unidentified at the time — looking down on lawmakers inside the Capitol from a balcony above. Three others are captured in a photo of masked men appearing to stand guard at an ornate entry outside the chamber, an image that has been published — without names — by multiple news organizations.”
COSTUME CONTESTS. Lil Nas X and Lizzo won Halloween by dressing as Nicki Minaj and the fly on Mike Pence’s head, respectively.
WIFE BEATER. Johnny Depp loses tabloid libel case over Amber Heard’s abuse allegations.
ROYAL SILENCE. Prince William had coronavirus in April and didn’t tell anyone. “If you remember correctly, there was a two-week flurry of huge public (superspreader) events in London in mid-March, including Commonwealth Day.”
PAUL RUDD AND COOKIES. Reason enough to cast your vote.
RARE RESCUE OF THE DAY. A bright yellow turtle! “According to wildlife biologist Sneha Dharwadkar, the rare yellow color of the turtle may be due to the lack of a pigment called tyrosine present in high amounts in reptiles. A genetic mutation or possible congenital disorder is likely responsible for the lack of tyrosine.”
GERMANY. “Wave-breaker” lockdown underway to battle COVID surge: ‘In Germany, restaurants, bars, theaters, cinemas, gyms and other leisure facilities closed again Monday in a four-week ‘wave-breaker’ shutdown that seeks to force daily new infections back down to manageable levels. Germans have been asked not to travel and hotels are barred from accommodating tourists.’
TOPEKA. Three people shot after confrontation over stolen Trump 2020 yard signs: “Police weren’t specifying who was thought to have shot whom or revealing the names, ages or genders of those who were wounded.”
LUCKY BREAK OF THE DAY. A whale sculpture in the Netherlands stopped a train from falling ten meters after it ran through a stop block.
PSA OF THE DAY. Thank you, New York.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE DAY. Sacha Baron Cohen talks about a scary moment at CPAC.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Sophia Messa (ft. Pink Sweat$) – “Made”.
MONDAY MUSCLE. Luiz Prado.
