THE BIG STORY

A chaotic 24 hours in Donald Trump’s universe

Three stories you should read about President Donald Trump and his coronavirus infection just weeks before the election:

👉 Trump is just tweeting through his coronavirus infection. The president unleashed a torrent of at times nonsensical public statements that temporarily set the stock market tumbling, promoted someone saying she would get infected with COVID-19 in his name, and claimed he’d make an experimental medicine that fewer than 10 people in the nation have taken free of charge to all.

In a video released Wednesday afternoon, Trump stood outside the White House and declared that catching COVID-19 was “a blessing in disguise.”

👉 Trump is canceling TV ads in Midwest states that made him president. The president’s reelection campaign is canceling millions of dollars in advertising in states that carried him to victory in 2016. The numbers reflect a race where Joe Biden has gained a fundraising advantage over Trump. Polling suggests these states are competitive toss-ups or tipping toward Biden.

👉 Trump’s doctor said the president now has antibodies, leaving out the fact that he was just given a high dose of antibodies. Doctors and scientists have pointed out that the president having detectable antibodies could be meaningless, since he was administered a very high dose of an experimental antibody treatment on Friday.

A member of the White House cleaning staff sanitizes the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on October 05, 2020. Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Kamala Harris and Mike Pence have the same stances as Biden and Trump but at a much lower volume

In the vice presidential debate, Harris and Pence steered clear of the chaos of the past 10 days — avoiding questions about their running mates’ health and age, and about the president contracting COVID-19 and his hospitalization.

Some highlights from the debate:

👉 The candidates drew a stark distinction between them in the way they talked about healthcare.

👉 Harris and Pence were asked about Breonna Taylor and they disagreed on everything.

👉 Harris said she wouldn’t take a vaccine only recommended by Trump, but “If Dr. Fauci, the doctors, tell us that we should take it, I'll be the first in line to take it.”

And of course, because at least one absurd thing has to happen, a fly landed on Pence’s head, and the internet got a little too excited about it.

SNAPSHOTS

Wisconsin is opening a 530-bed field hospital as coronavirus cases continue to surge. The state will open a field hospital for the first time since the pandemic began. This week alone, Wisconsin hospitalizations increased 26% compared to last week, and the number of patients in intensive care units increased 27% since last week.

State health officials say they are not getting contract tracing information from the White House. Officials in several local health departments said the White House has complicated efforts to identify and contract trace anyone whom the president and his entourage may have exposed during his recent travels.

ICE is planning to fast-track deportations across the country. According to internal documents and emails we obtained, a new policy will give agents the ability to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years — without a hearing in front of a judge.

Do your older relatives really think we’re living in unprecedented times? We'd like to hear what kinds of conversations you've been having with older relatives about the political climate.

TEXAS: HOLD 'EM

The Republican Texas Supreme Court ruled almost 2 million voters can’t be sent mail-in ballot applications

Quick background to this story: Texas law only allows people to vote by mail if they are older than 65, if they will be absent on Election Day, if they have a disability, if they are in jail, or if they are crime victims with confidential addresses.

Chris Hollins, the Democratic clerk of Harris County — the state’s most populous county — sent out applications to voters over 65 in Harris County, which covers the city of Houston and is considered an important Democratic stronghold.

Hollins had been trying to send them to all voters — an estimated 1.7 million more applications — in case they too were eligible. Two lower courts had ruled Hollins could do so.

What just happened: The highest court in Texas has disagreed with the lower courts. The eight Republican justices of the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the clerk overstepped his legal authority. Democrats decried the decision as anti-democratic.

GROCERY CHAIN

This guy posted a silly video on TikTok and accidentally inspired a whole musical number

In September, Daniel Mertzlufft posted a parody inspired by a song about one half of a couple fighting in the aisles of a grocery store. Mertzlufft pretended to sing what would be a big musical number at the end of Act 1.

The composer and music director unintentionally created an extremely long and amazing TikTok musical duet chain, with people adding their own songs.

There are now more than 500 duets to his original TikTok, with an entire cast of grocery store characters that other people created. I am not going to lie, I got a lot of joy out of these.

Have some kind words for yourself today,

Elamin