First Edition: Oct. 28, 2020

KHN: Scientists Warn Americans Are Expecting Too Much From A Vaccine
The White House and many Americans have pinned their hopes for defeating the COVID-19 pandemic on a vaccine being developed at “warp speed.” But some scientific experts warn they’re all expecting too much, too soon. “Everyone thinks COVID-19 will go away with a vaccine,” said Dr. William Haseltine, chair and president of Access Health International, a foundation that advocates for affordable care. (Szabo and Aleccia, 10/28)

KHN: For Each Critically Ill COVID Patient, A Family Is Suffering, Too
The weeks of fear and uncertainty that Pam and Paul Alexander suffered as their adult daughter struggled against COVID-19 etched itself into the very roots of their hair, leaving behind bald patches by the time she left the hospital in early May. Tisha Holt had been transferred by ambulance from a smaller hospital outside Nashville, Tennessee, to Vanderbilt University Medical Center on April 14, when her breathing suddenly worsened and doctors suspected COVID-19. Within several days her diagnosis had been confirmed, her oxygen levels were dropping, and breathing had become so excruciating that it felt like her “lungs were wrapped in barbed wire,” as Tisha describes it. (Huff, 10/28)

KHN: As Anxieties Rise, Californians Buy Hundreds Of Thousands More Guns 
Handgun sales in California have risen to unprecedented levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, and experts say first-time buyers are driving the trend. The FBI conducted 462,000 background checks related to handgun purchases in California from March through September, an increase of 209,000, or 83%, from the same period last year. That’s more than in any other seven-month period on record. (Reese, 10/28)

The New York Times: U.S. Reports A Record 500,000-Plus Coronavirus Cases Over The Past Week 
The United States reported a record of more than 500,000 new cases over the past week, as states and cities resorted to stricter new measures to contain the virus that is raging across the country, especially the American heartland. The record was broken Tuesday, even as the Trump administration announced what it called its first-term scientific accomplishments, in a press release that included “ENDING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC” written in bold, capital letters. (10/28)

NPR: U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surpass Summer Peak And Are Climbing Higher Fast
Coronavirus cases are rising precipitously in the U.S., and have now surpassed the high levels logged in the summer when daily new cases hovered above 65,000 on average for nearly two weeks. After a dip in new cases in September, the country now is logging an average of nearly 70,000 new cases a day, and health experts worry this surge could last longer and grip more of the country than in the spring or summer. And the average daily case count has climbed 41% over the past two weeks, according to an NPR analysis. (Stone, 10/27)

Reuters: COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations Surge, Governors Crack Down 
Nearly half a million people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States over the last seven days, according to a Reuters tally, as new cases and hospitalizations set records in the Midwest. Coronavirus hot spots include Illinois, which reported 31,000 new infections over the past week, and two states expected to be key in the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3: Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. (Shumaker and Caspani, 10/25)

The New York Times: Hospitals Are Reeling Under A 46 Percent Spike In Covid-19 Patients 
The patient who died on Tuesday morning at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center was rolled out of her room under a white sheet. One nurse, fighting back tears, stood silently in the hall as the outline of the body passed by — one more death in an eight-month-old pandemic that has no end in sight. “Those moments, they hit the soul,” said Jodie Gord, a nurse manager who oversees a team of about 120 people at the hospital in Milwaukee. (McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Romero and Baker, 10/27)

AP: Virus Pushes Twin Cities El Paso And Juarez To The Brink
A record surge in coronavirus cases is pushing hospitals to the brink in the border cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, confronting health officials in Texas and Mexico with twin disasters in the tightly knit metropolitan area of 3 million people. Health officials are blaming the spike on family gatherings, multiple generations living in the same household and younger people going out to shop or conduct business. (Pane and Coronado, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Some Americans Refuse To Wear Masks Even As Their Hometowns Become Covid-19 Hot Spots
The refusal to go along with expert health guidance has persisted even in parts of the country that are seeing soaring caseloads and hospitalizations. That was driven home this week when the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, Deborah Birx, toured North Dakota, which has had more coronavirus infections per capita than any other state and over the past month has experienced a stunning surge in hospitalizations and deaths. What Birx witnessed dismayed her.“Over the last 24 hours, as we were here and we were in your grocery stores and in your restaurants and frankly, even in your hotels, this is the least use of masks that we have seen in retail establishments of any place we have been,” Birx told reporters Monday after participating in a round table with Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, according to the Bismarck Tribune. (Achenbach and Rozsa, 10/27)

The Washington Post: One Week Out, Biden Imagines A Post-Trump America And The President Launches More Attacks
Joe Biden on Tuesday launched a closing campaign argument that sought to look in part beyond next week’s election, promising in a speech and two campaign ads to heal the nation and bring it together as he evoked the memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt and drew mostly implicit contrasts with President Trump. Trump, in contrast, intensified his focus on his adversaries, challenging any mail-in ballots received after Election Day, suggesting the pandemic has been overstated and taking aim at two powerful Democrats, vice-presidential nominee Kamala D. Harris and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (Sullivan, Gearan and Sonmez, 10/27)

Politico: As Coronavirus Cases Surge, Trump Has Another Message
With one week left in the election, President Donald Trump is perfecting his closing argument about the pandemic gripping much of the nation: Don’t worry about it. In rally after rally, tweet after tweet, Trump is encouraging his supporters and everyone else to stop talking about the coronavirus. His key message: It’s not that big of a deal, vaccines are on the way and if people get sick, most of them will survive it just as Trump and his family did. (Cook, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Campaign Depends On His Supporters Putting Their Health At Risk 
At this point, nearly 70,000 people in the United States are testing positive for the novel coronavirus every day. More than 800 people are dying. This is, in short, one of the most dangerous times for the country over the course of the year’s pandemic. And, increasingly, President Trump is hinging his campaign on his supporters ignoring the swelling crisis. (Bump, 10/27)

The Hill: Maine Orchard That Hosted Trump Event Says It's Concerned Over Lack Of Masks, Social Distancing 
The Maine orchard where President Trump made an unplanned campaign stop over the weekend said it regrets the event grew so large, with many in attendance not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. "We share the concerns of many over the size of the gathering, lack of social distancing and mask wearing during the event. We were told this would be a small, unpublicized, surprise, private, photo op which gave us no cause for alarm," Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant, Maine, said in a statement issued Tuesday. (Mastrangelo, 10/27)

AP: Anxiety 2020: Voters Worry About Safety At The Polls
Gary Kauffman says he does not scare easily. So when men waving President Donald Trump flags drive by his house in downtown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he stands on his front steps and waves a banner for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. “Sometimes I yell at them. They yell back at me,” says Kauffman, 54.Still, Kauffman is keeping a closer eye on who they are and what they’re carrying as Election Day approaches. Tension has been rising in his town, known best as hallowed ground of the Civil War’s bloodiest battle. Recently, it’s become a hot spot of angry confrontations between Trump supporters and liberal protesters. Kauffman has seen some of the Trump supporters carrying weapons. (Kellman, 10/28)

The Washington Post: State Department's Peter Berkowitz Tests Positive For Coronavirus After Trip To Europe 
A senior Trump administration official tested positive for the coronavirus after a recent trip to Britain, Hungary and France, raising concerns about the spread of the virus to high-level officials across the Atlantic, according to four U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the situation. Peter Berkowitz, the director of policy planning at the State Department, met with senior officials at 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office in London, and with officials in Budapest and Paris earlier this month. (Hudson, 10/27)

The Hill: Trump Official Tests Positive For COVID-19 After Europe Trip
A senior Trump administration official has tested positive for the coronavirus after a trip to Europe, sparking concerns over transmission of the virus among government personnel. Peter Berkowitz, the director of policy planning at the State Department, met with officials at 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office in London. He also had meetings in Paris and in Budapest, with Hungarian State Secretary Peter Sztaray and Deputy State Secretary Ferenc Dancs, earlier this month. (Axelrod, 10/27)

Politico: Feds Launch Investigation Into New Jersey Veterans Homes, Seek More Info From New York
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a civil rights investigation into New Jersey’s state-run veterans homes, citing a lack of cooperation with an earlier probe as well as concerns over the quality of care at the facilities. New Jersey officials estimate that 190 residents at veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park have died of Covid-19, representing roughly a third of their population at the start of the pandemic. The official tally, according to the state’s Covid-19 data dashboard, remains at 143. (Sutton, 10/27)

The Hill: Barrett Starts Fraught First Week As Supreme Court Faces Fights Over Election, Abortion Rights 
The addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, a week before Election Day, comes as the justices careen through a political gauntlet that includes disputes over voting accommodations that could shape the election outcomes in two battleground states. Barrett came under intense political pressure almost immediately after taking the oath on Tuesday when a Pennsylvania county asked her to recuse herself from the fight over the state’s mail-in ballot extension. (Kruzel, 10/27)

The Washington Post: McConnell Insists His Health Is ‘Just Fine,’ Declines To Explain Photos Showing Bruised Hands 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared his health is “just fine” Tuesday as he declined to explain photographs last week showing his hands bruised and bandaged. The 78-year-old dismissed the issue as a media fixation, despite his own history of health issues related to his heart and a serious fall last year that left him out of the public eye for five weeks. “I can just tell you that I’m just fine. And I can’t believe y’all have played with that all week long,” McConnell said in a telephone interview as he traveled back to Kentucky for the final week of a reelection campaign in which he is asking voters for a seventh, six-year term. (Kane, 10/27)

The Hill: Hoyer Lays Out Ambitious Democratic Agenda For 2021, With Health Care At Top 
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday outlined a broad and ambitious legislative agenda for 2021, predicting Democrats will have unified power to move the party's priorities on issues as varied as health care, infrastructure, climate change and gun reform. "I think we're going to deal with all of those — and more," he said on a call with reporters. (Lillis, 10/27)

The Hill: Bipartisan Lawmakers Call For Overhauling Medical Supply Chains 
The U.S. needs to review and overhaul its medical supply chains amid the pandemic, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said Tuesday. Speaking at The Hill's "America's Agenda: COVID-19 & A Responsive Rx Supply Chain" event, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said the U.S. needs "a soup-to-nuts look and identification of the very specific supply chains with national security importance.” (Bautista, 10/27)

Stat: In Key Race, Democrats Paint The Incumbent As 'Pharma's Favorite Senator'
Even in an election year dominated by a deadly pandemic and President Trump’s chaotic first term, Democrats in North Carolina are talking, unceasingly, about drug prices. In a brutal series of attack ads, Democrats have painted incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, as a pro-pharma shill, even calling him “pharma’s favorite senator.” (Facher, 10/28)

The New York Times: Pfizer CEO All But Rules Out Covid-19 Vaccine Before Election Day
After weeks of dangling the possibility of coronavirus vaccine results by October, Pfizer’s chief executive said on Tuesday that would now be nearly impossible. The announcement, by Dr. Albert Bourla, came on the same day that Pfizer announced third-quarter earnings, and all but ruled out the possibility of early results before the presidential election next Tuesday. President Trump had long sought to tie the possibility of positive vaccine news to his own prospects for re-election. (Thomas, 10/27)

Politico: Historic Vaccine Race Meets Harsh Reality 
Pfizer’s admission Tuesday that it still doesn’t know whether its coronavirus vaccine works is a dose of reality for the historic global vaccine race. The company’s failure to meet its self-imposed goal — having proof of efficacy in October — is the latest reminder that vaccine development is a long, complicated process that doesn’t stick to political deadlines. Despite the government and drug companies pumping billions of dollars into the vaccine race, getting shots into trials faster than ever before, and enrolling tens of thousands of volunteers in studies, a Covid-19 vaccine could still be months away. (Owermohle, 10/27)

Stat: No News On Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Is Good News — And Bad News
Pfizer revealed Tuesday that researchers have not yet conducted an analysis of the efficacy of the vaccine it is developing against Covid-19. The announcement is both good news and bad news. (Herper, 10/27)

CNBC: Pfizer’s Late-Stage Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Is Near Complete Enrollment With 42,000 Volunteers
Pfizer’s late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial has enrolled more than 42,000 volunteers, the company announced Tuesday when it released a mixed third-quarter earnings report. It said nearly 36,000 of the volunteers have already received the second of its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine. Pfizer has as been working alongside German drugmaker BioNTech on the experimental vaccine. It contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which scientists hope provokes the immune system to fight the virus. (Lovelace Jr., 10/27)

The New York Times: Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Studies Showing Waning Coronavirus Antibodies 
The portion of people in Britain with detectable antibodies to the coronavirus fell by roughly 27 percent over a period of three months this summer, researchers reported Monday, prompting fears that immunity to the virus is short-lived. But several experts said these worries were overblown. It is normal for levels of antibodies to drop after the body clears an infection, but immune cells carry a memory of the virus and can churn out fresh antibodies when needed. (Mandavilli, 10/27)

The New York Times: Some Covid Survivors Have Antibodies That Attack The Body, Not Virus 
Some survivors of Covid-19 carry worrying signs that their immune system has turned on the body, reminiscent of potentially debilitating diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, a new study has found. At some point, the body’s defense system in these patients shifted into attacking itself, rather than the virus, the study suggests. The patients are producing molecules called “autoantibodies” that target genetic material from human cells, instead of from the virus. (Mandavilli, 10/27)

CNN: This 12-Year-Old Is Happy To Be Testing A Covid-19 Vaccine
The youngest volunteers so far to get experimental coronavirus vaccines have been given their first doses and are now being watched carefully to see if they are experiencing any unusual side effects. A team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital vaccinated 100 children as young as 12 last week, said Dr. Robert Frenck, who is leading the trial for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at the hospital. "Now we are pausing to watch for reactions to the vaccine. We right now are in a planned pause to make sure that everything is as safe as it can be," Frenck told CNN. (Fox, 10/26)

Stat: Recruitment And Retention: Silent Crises In Clinical Trials 
The pharmaceutical industry is racing in unprecedented ways to develop therapies to treat Covid-19 and vaccines to prevent it. But outside of Covid-19, pharma has been slow to adopt technology that can speed new therapies of all types. (Thoelke, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Calls For Supply-Chain Collaboration, Logistics Chief Says 
Capacity-strained shipping networks should be able to manage the rush to distribute Covid-19 vaccines if governments, logistics providers and pharmaceutical companies coordinate their efforts, the head of a top global logistics operator says. “It will be a wave, but it’s nothing where we will say, ‘It’s impossible,’” said Detlef Trefzger, chief executive of Switzerland-based Kuehne + Nagel International AG. “The partners have to collaborate. If you don’t…you might run into a capacity shortage or equipment shortage.” (Smith, 10/26)

NPR: Female Physicians Spend More Time With Patients Than Male Doctors Do, But Earn Less
When Minnesota family physician Jay-Sheree Allen begins a visit with one of her patients, she starts by turning on the faucet and washing her hands. She no longer shakes hands to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission, so she takes a little more time with her hand-washing routine to chat before addressing her patients' medical concerns. Allen recently read a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine that found female primary care physicians spend more time with their patients than male doctors — an average of 2.4 minutes per visit, to be specific. But female physicians still make less money. Allen worries her hand-washing routine is contributing to the problem. (Gordon, 10/28)

Stat: Advocates Urge Vertex To Widen Global Access To Cystic Fibrosis Drugs
Families and advocacy groups from dozens of countries around the world are urging Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) to take several steps to widen global access to its cystic fibrosis medicines and avoid “fatal inequality.” In an open letter, they suggested providing the drugs at affordable prices, offering the medicines on a so-called compassionate use basis where the drugs are not yet available, or issuing licenses to generic makers in countries where the company does not plan to supply the treatments any time soon. (Silverman, 10/27)

Stat: Can Boosting The ‘Bliss Molecule’ Help Treat Mental Health Conditions?
There’s an enzyme in the body that regulates what scientists refer to as “the bliss molecule,” a neurotransmitter associated with generally feeling good. And thus it made sense that blocking that enzyme, called FAAH, might be a useful way to combat feeling bad, like in cases of chronic pain or depression. (Garde, 10/27)

The New York Times: Dr. Joyce Wallace, Pioneering AIDS Physician, Dies At 79 
Dr. Joyce Wallace, a Manhattan internist who treated prostitutes for AIDS, occasionally brought streetwalkers home with her when they had nowhere else to go. Once, when her son, Ari Kahn, was about 12, Dr. Wallace, who had to get to the hospital to see her patients, left him at home with a prostitute who was H.I.V. positive and going through heroin withdrawal. It wasn’t clear who was to take care of whom. Ari ended up making pizza for them both. When Dr. Wallace returned, she took the prostitute to a drug-treatment center; the woman eventually overcame her addiction and got a job at a research foundation that Dr. Wallace had started. (Seelye, 10/27)

Stat: Exact Sciences Acquires Liquid Biopsy Company Thrive For $2.15 Billion
Exact Sciences announced Tuesday it had acquired Thrive Earlier Detection, a liquid biopsy company that launched last year with technology from Johns Hopkins University, for $2.15 billion. The acquisition is yet another boon for the liquid biopsy industry, which has matured in the last five years from “the long-sought holy grail of oncology” to a concept with concrete data behind it. (Sheridan, 10/27)

Stat: Amid Covid-19, Tiny Biotechs Bring On New Lobbyists 
Small biotech companies developing drugs and vaccines for Covid-19 are hiring lobbyists in Washington, according to my review of federal lobbying disclosures, which were posted online last week. Many companies are hiring lobbyists for the first time. A few stood out. (Florko, 10/27)

The Wall Street Journal: The Dodgers’ Justin Turner Tested Positive For Covid-19. Then He Returned To The Field To Celebrate. 
Amid the chaos of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrating their first title since 1988 on Tuesday night, third baseman Justin Turner made his way to the middle of the festivities. He wasn’t supposed to be there. Partway through Game 6 of the World Series, the Dodgers learned that Turner had tested positive for the coronavirus, the first Major League Baseball player to do so in nearly two months. Per MLB’s pandemic protocols, the Dodgers immediately removed Turner from the lineup and instructed him to isolate. His teammates finished off the Tampa Bay Rays without him in the dugout. As the party raged on, Turner defied orders and returned to the field. He hugged his teammates. He kissed his wife. He sat inches away from manager Dave Roberts—without a mask—to take part in a team photo. In an interview with Fox afterward, Roberts said, “I didn’t touch him.” (Diamond, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Help For People Who Suffer Seasonal And Pandemic Depression
Lindsey Hornickel, a 25-year-old in Louisville, felt fine at the beginning of the pandemic. Although she has long experienced depression, Hornickel says, her mental state didn’t worsen immediately. In fact, she began overcompensating, taking on more work and pushing worries out of her mind. “I kept saying, ‘It’s fine, it’s fine,’ ” she says. Until, suddenly, it wasn’t. Over the summer, Hornickel’s mental health nosedived. “I went through a depressive swing. It was unbearable,” she says. Eventually, Hornickel told her roommate she wanted to die. (Cirruzzo, 10/27)

USA Today: Stressed About The Election? You're Not Alone. How To Stay Calm Ahead Of Nov. 3
With the presidential election less than a week away, scores of Americans divided by their support for President Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden also are united. “The commonality between us all is that we’re stressed about the election,’’ William Heckman, executive director of the the American Institute of Stress, told USA TODAY. Stress triggers the release of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone, which Heckman said affects mood, motivation and fear. (Peter, 10/27)

Stat: Inside The Internal Fight Over Pinterest’s Health Misinformation Policy
Pinterest has built its massive brand around its identity as a cheery, curated hub of health and wellness content — complete with a widely praised, hardline policy against medical misinformation. But behind the scenes, Pinterest’s battle against misinformation has been just as much a fight inside the company’s own doors. A STAT investigation has found that the platform’s policy was crafted and championed by a handful of employees — largely women of color — who say they were met with pushback and apathy from co-workers and supervisors. (Brodwin, 10/28)

AP: Philadelphia Victim's Family Sought Ambulance, Not Police
The family of a Black man killed by Philadelphia police officers in a shooting caught on video had called for an ambulance to get him help with a mental health crisis, not for police intervention, their lawyer said. Police said Walter Wallace Jr., 27, was wielding a knife and ignored orders to drop the weapon before officers fired shots Monday afternoon. But his parents said Tuesday night that officers knew their son was in a mental health crisis because they had been to the family’s house three times on Monday. Cathy Wallace, his mother, said one of the times, “they stood there and laughed at us.” (Lauer, 10/28)

Stat: Purdue Documents Detail Sackler Family Role In Opioid Marketing
Members of the Sackler family, which controlled Purdue Pharma, used sales of the controversial OxyContin painkiller to “stretch” financial targets and pressured company executives to grow its market share for opioids by targeting high-volume prescribers and pushing higher-strength doses, according to documents released by a Congressional committee. (Silverman, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Paralympian Blake Leeper, Ruled Ineligible For Olympics, Says He’s ‘Baffled’ By The Decision
In the summer of 2019, Blake Leeper sprinted once around an oval track faster than all but four men in America. His simple athletic feat since has unspooled into abundant complexity. It raised questions of fairness, the role of technology in sports and who should get to compete against whom. Leeper was born without legs from the knee down. He runs on prosthetics similar to those South African Oscar Pistorius used at the 2012 Olympics. Leeper made it his goal to become the second double-amputee to compete at the Olympics. His finish at the 2019 U.S. outdoor championships showed it might be possible from a competitive standpoint. World Athletics, track and field’s global governing body, ruled he could not compete because it said his prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage. Leeper appealed. (Kilgore, 10/27)

USA Today: Chrissy Teigen Reveals Why She Shared Pregnancy Loss Photos In Moving Essay
Chrissy Teigen is "ready" to talk about her pregnancy loss. In September, Teigen, 34, announced in a series of emotional hospital room photos on Instagram that she and her husband John Legend, 41, lost their unborn son, three days after Teigen was hospitalized for bleeding issues. On Tuesday, the model and TV personality got even more candid about the heartbreaking experience, describing it in detail in a Medium essay and sharing how she's coped since. (Trepany, 10/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Parents Are The New Remote-School Zoom Bombers 
Now that moms and dads have gotten a new window into the classroom, many are having a hard time staying out of it. Some are asking questions during live video classes or texting teachers while class is in session. Others are sitting next to their kids and asking them questions or prodding them to speak up. In one hybrid class, an at-home parent on Zoom interrupted a teacher to point out that a student in the physical classroom wasn’t wearing his mask over his nose. (Jargon, 10/27)

The Wall Street Journal: The Covid Thanksgiving: Outdoor Heaters, Virtual Meals, Grandma Stays Home 
Ted Teuten is facing an agonizing question for Thanksgiving this year: Is it safe for his 76-year-old mother to come? Mr. Teuten, an interior designer, normally hosts a feast with family and friends. This year, he’s debating the risks his mom will face if she travels to his home in Chicago from hers near Albany, N.Y. “My sister and I just finished texting about whether to put my mom on a plane,” he says. He’s worried too about the risks of a long, indoor dinner at close quarters. “The whole thing is deeply questionable at this point,” he says. (Chaker, 10/27)

The New York Times: 90,000 Told To Flee As California Fires Nearly Double In Size 
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. 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. (Arango, Penn and Bogel-Burroughs, 10/27)

USA Today: More Than 200,000 Without Power As 'Nightmare' Autumn Ice Storm Tears Through Oklahoma
A “worst nightmare” of an autumn ice storm wrecking trees and power lines across the Oklahoma City area left more than 200,000 without power Tuesday. Tree branches littered streets while others were uprooted altogether. As the storm hit, 911 was flooded with calls. Police were called to 11 injury crashes Tuesday morning and stopped responding to non-injury crashes. (Lackmeyer, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Kansas Nursing Home Faces Severe Federal Penalties After Deadly Coronavirus Outbreak 
The first hint that the novel coronavirus was tearing through the nursing home in rural Kansas arrived in a Facebook post this month. The Andbe Home was in the grips of “a full COVID outbreak,” administrator Megan Mapes wrote, “despite the precautions we have been taking since March.” But behind the walls of the facility, nursing home officials had failed to take the most basic measures to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus after learning two residents were infected, according to a blistering report released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which resulted in severe penalties. (Shammas, 10/27)

USA Today: Texas Social Workers Can't Turn Away LGBTQ, Disabled Clients
Texas officials on Tuesday reversed a rule that would have allowed social workers to turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability. Lawmakers and advocates last week criticized the Texas State Board of Social Workers and the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council for unanimously voting on Oct. 12 to remove disability, sexual orientation and gender identity from the nondiscrimination clause of its code of conduct. The board made its decision based solely on a recommendation from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and without seeking input from social workers. (Flores, 10/27)

The Hill: Chicago To Ban Indoor Dining Amid Rise In COVID-19 Numbers 
Chicago will ban indoor dining and indoor bar service again starting Friday as the city grapples with rising COVID-19 numbers. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced a return to some coronavirus restrictions, like the ban on indoor dining and bar service, citing rising hospitalizations and an increased positivity rate over more than seven of the past 10 days. The governor noted the number of daily coronavirus-related hospital admissions is averaging more than double the statistics from last month. (Coleman, 10/27)

The Washington Post: A Guard Asked Two Sisters To Put On A Mask. They Stabbed Him 27 Times Instead, Prosecutors Say.
When Jessica Hill and her sister, Jayla, tried to walk into a shoe store in Chicago on Sunday, a security guard asked the pair to put on masks and use store-provided hand sanitizer. Instead, prosecutors said, they refused and brutally attacked the guard, with Jayla, 18, eventually grabbing the man’s hair while Jessica, 21, stabbed him 27 times. The guard eventually escaped and helped keep the sisters in the store until police arrested them. At a hearing on Tuesday, a judge with the Circuit Court of Cook County ordered the sisters to be held without bond on charges of first-degree attempted murder. (Peiser, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Maryland Voter Arrested After Refusing To Wear A Mask Inside Polling Place, Police Say
A Fallston man was arrested after refusing to wear a face mask inside a polling place on the first day of early voting in Maryland, according to charging documents. Daniel Swain, 52, was charged with trespassing and failure to comply with a health emergency. The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said deputies arrested him Monday after he refused to leave the Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company. Swain, along with his 22-year-old son, had come to the firehouse to vote, but the pair refused to wear masks, according to the documents. (Opilo and Oxenden, 10/27)

NPR: Mask-Wearing Is Up In The U.S., But Young People Are Still Too Lax, CDC Survey Finds
More Americans may be wearing masks than early last spring, but other recommended behaviors to stop the pandemic's spread haven't kept pace, according to a new federal survey. And young people are the least likely to take needed steps to stop the virus, the data suggest. ... But the survey found either no change or a decline in other behaviors aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, such as hand-washing, social distancing and avoiding public or crowded places. (Stein, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Canadian Thanksgiving Could Be A Cautionary Tale For Americans Amid Coronavirus Surge 
As the holiday season approaches amid a surge in novel coronavirus cases across the United States, a Thanksgiving-related spike in Canada could serve as a cautionary tale. Case counts in much of Canada are climbing, even in parts of the country that imposed new autumn restrictions. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October, and both provincial and federal officials have pointed to the holiday as a culprit in the spike. (Coletta and Taylor, 10/27)

Reuters: Canada's Trudeau Predicts 'Tough Winter,' Deaths Top 10,000 
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday predicted a “tough winter” in the face of a second wave of COVID-19 infections engulfing much of the country, and called it a horrific national tragedy as deaths topped the 10,000 mark. Canada’s case numbers have been rising, triggering new restrictions on public gatherings and indoor activities in several provinces. On Tuesday, Canada recorded 2,674 new cases, while there are now 10,001 deaths and a total of 222,887 cases. “This sucks. It really, really does,” Trudeau told a news conference when asked about the fatigue Canadians feel after living amid the pandemic for more than seven months. (Scherer, 10/28)

The Wall Street Journal: France Emerges As Covid-19 Epicenter As Cases Surge Across Europe 
France has emerged as the epicenter of the second wave of coronavirus infections now sweeping much of Europe, causing hospitals to brace for a surge of new patients and pushing the government to consider tough new restrictions in some places. The country saw daily cases top 50,000 over the weekend, while the seven-day average of new daily cases has increased by more than 50% over the past week, reaching 38,278 on Tuesday. That compares with a seven-day average of 69,967 cases in the U.S., whose population is around five times as big. (Bisserbe, 10/27)

The New York Times: Britain’s Health Workers Face 2nd Virus Wave, But This Time With Less Support 
The weekly clapping in support of health workers by Britons during the first part of the pandemic has petered out. The government has mostly stopped asking people to stay home and avoid the virus to keep the National Health Service from being overwhelmed. Campaigns to feed and house exhausted health workers have dwindled. As Britain becomes subsumed by a second wave of coronavirus infections and deaths, the country’s doctors and nurses are bracing for what is expected to be a deluge of new patients over the next six months. But unlike in the spring, they say they are now facing the pandemic without the same sense of caution among a coronavirus-weary public, or a clear government strategy to contain the virus and deal with rapidly filling intensive care units. (Mueller, 10/27)

Reuters: Sanofi, GSK To Supply Vaccine Doses To WHO-Backed Alliance 
French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline GSK.L will supply 200 million doses of their COVID-19 candidate vaccine to a global inoculation scheme backed by the World Health Organization. There is no internationally-approved treatment against COVID-19, which has killed more than 1.16 million people, and the two companies’ vaccine is still undergoing phase 1 and 2 trials, from which first results are expected by late November or early December. (10/28)