1. Trump Returns: Failing Businesses Justified Zero Taxes

Despite his billionaire persona, President Donald Trump’s tax returns tell a different story: He told the IRS his businesses were losing hundreds of millions and paid no income tax in 10 of the last 15 years. His annual tax bill was $750 during his campaign and first year as president. The revelations, which Trump dismissed as “fake news,” included a $72.9 million tax refund that triggered an IRS audit that could, if it invalidates the payout, cost Trump $100 million. He’s also carrying maturing personal debt totaling $421 million — possibly leading to foreclosures while he’s in office.

Sources: NYT, Washington Post   

2. California Wine Country Residents Flee Fires

Hospitals and homes have been evacuated ahead of the Glass Fire currently devastating the Napa Valley north of the San Francisco Bay Area, as California’s worst fire season on record continues. More than 3.7 million acres have burned across the state so far this year. A heat wave has raised the fire risk still further, with utility PG&E opting to cut off power to tens of thousands of people in hopes of minimizing fires. Air quality is likely to be unhealthy for those near the fires, with the effects spreading to populated areas in the Bay Area. 

Sources: Reuters, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle

3. Covid-19 Cases Top 6M in India, 7M in US

The coronavirus death toll is climbing toward 1 million worldwide and cases continue to mount in the U.S. — where some Midwestern states are seeing positive test rates as high as 30 percent. India just passed 6 million cases and is recording new ones faster than anywhere on Earth. Meanwhile, infections in Europe have spiked in what’s seen as a second wave of the virus, while Iran is already on its third wave of the Middle East’s worst outbreak, with its leaders urging people to continue washing their hands and wearing masks — and saying such behaviors may have to continue even after there’s a vaccine.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters, Washington Post, Axios, BI

4. Court Blocks TikTok App Store Ban

Just hours before a Trump administration-ordered ban on the app would have booted it from both Apple and Android app stores, a federal judge offered TikTok  a reprieve. The ruling allows more time for Chinese parent company ByteDance to forge a deal with Oracle and Walmart for the U.S. portion of TikTok’s business. An American plan to fully ban the app Nov. 12 if no deal is in place is set to go ahead. The agreement must still be approved by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment and the Chinese government.  

Sources: WSJ (sub), FT (sub)

5. Also Important …

At least 23 people have been killed in a long-running territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale has been hospitalized after threatening self-harm. And Democrats are urging Amy Coney Barrett, expected to be the next Supreme Court justice, to recuse herself in any election-related disputes in November. 

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1. NASA Astronaut to Vote From Space

“If we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground too.” So said astronaut Kate Rubins, who’s planning to cast her absentee ballot from the International Space Station this year. Rubins, who voted from the station in 2016, can relay a secure electronic ballot to mission control, which then passes it on to a county clerk in an arrangement Texas law allows for residents in space. She’s currently still on the ground — though in Star City, Russia — preparing for a six-month stint in space beginning next month.

Sources: NY Post, BI

2. Half Laid Off During Pandemic Still Unemployed

You better work — but where? A new survey found that half of the Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic remain unemployed months after the crisis began, with the burden falling harder on low-income workers. Just 43 percent of this group had found new work or returned to old jobs, and the August unemployment rate was far higher for Black, Asian and Latinx Americans than white ones. With the U.S. recovery slowing, officials have resumed talks on fresh pandemic aid, though Republicans and Democrats remain far apart on how much money they’d provide.

Source: Vox

3. White Americans Aren’t Wearing Their Face Masks

They just don’t want to face responsibility. Though anyone can spread COVID-19, not everyone is wearing face masks, despite scientific consensus that they can help slow contagion. In fact, white people are 30 percent less likely to wear masks outside than people of color, OZY reports, which may stem from the fact that white people are far less likely to know anybody stricken by the virus. Meanwhile, a teacher in Texas says she was fired for wearing homemade masks with Black Lives Matter slogans over administrator concerns that parents would see it as too political.  

Sources: OZY, Houston Chronicle

4. Beloved Japanese Actress Dies at 40

Takeuchi Yuko had been at the top of her nation’s film industry for 20 years, half her life, when she was found dead Sunday in her apartment. It’s the third apparent suicide to rock Japan’s film industry since July. Takeuchi, who had a baby in January, was known for her roles in Ringu, the inspiration for U.S. blockbuster The Ring, and the HBO series Miss Sherlock. She left no note, but the star’s death has sparked discussions of mental health and suicide, normally considered taboo subjects, on mainstream Japanese news.

Sources: Variety, Deadline

5. Joe Montana Rescues Grandchild From Attempted Kidnapping

The legendary former 49ers quarterback says his 9-month-old granddaughter was asleep in a playpen when a stranger sneaked in and took the baby. Montana, 64, and his wife told police they confronted the intruder, who fled after they wrested the child back from her. Authorities later apprehended the woman, identified as Sodsai Dalzell, 39, charged her with kidnapping and burglary and held her on $150,000 bail. The four-time Super Bowl winner tweeted thanks to “everyone who has reached out,” confirming that everything is under control and asking for privacy.

Sources: AP , CBC, NY Daily News