Trump Tests Positive

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus, the President has announced. "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately." (CNN)

It's October. We are more than six months into this Year of Living Separately with no end in sight. The number of new Covid-19 cases goes up here, down there, but overall continues surging through our society.

Over 7 million have gotten sick; more than 200,000 have died. But many more remain at risk. Another 25,000 are expected to die this month.

As the weather grows cooler, the U.S. appears to be poised to become a carbon copy of Europe, which is coping with a second wave of the pandemic already.

Now Trump faces an uncertain health future.

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 * White House Blocked C.D.C. Order to Keep Cruise Ships Docked -- The C.D.C. director wanted a “no sail” order extended until February, a policy that would have upset the tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida. (NYT)

* As Kim wooed Trump with ‘love letters,’ he kept building his nuclear capability, intelligence shows (WashPo)

* FACEBOOK BANS ADS THAT SEEK TO 'DELEGITIMIZE' ELECTION RESULTS (HuffPost)

* If Trump wins, 20 million people could lose health insurance. If Biden wins, 25 million could gain it. (Vox)

* Denver Wants to Fix a Legacy of Environmental Racism -- Historically, trees and city parks in America go to wealthy, white neighborhoods. Now, a program in Colorado’s capital is trying to correct that injustice. (NYT)

* Trump’s call for poll-watching volunteers sparks fear of chaos and violence on Election Day (WashPo)

* A prominent member of the Proud Boys was arrested Wednesday in Portland, Oregon — less than a day after President Donald Trump publicly threw his support behind the hate group. (HuffPost)

* Trump-Biden Debate Prompts Shock, Despair and, in China, Glee -- The chaos of the event has left allies and rivals alike questioning the state of American democracy and the country’s place on the global stage. (NYT)

* Trump insists on no changes to debate rules, challenges leaders of debate commission (WashPo)

* The Silverado Trail has long been a place of dreams for Napa Valley wine lovers as it winds gently through vineyards and on to Calistoga. California's Glass Fire turned much of that dream to ash, destroying a 3-star restaurant at Meadowood resort, torching wineries such as Chateau Boswell, and tainting precious grapes with smoke. (AFP)

* Biden is favored to win the election. Odds: Biden 80%, Trump 20%. (538)

***

Meanwhile, a month remains before Election Day. Many Americans, including me, will have voted by then by mail. In the "poll of polls" assembled by the data site 538 calculates that Biden is for times more likely than Trump to win the election.

But everybody remembers what happened in 2016 when Trump snuck into office by a tiny percentage of votes in swing states while losing the popular tabulation by over 3 million votes.

Trump continues to intimidate voters by shouting his baseless claims of voter fraud, and claiming that the election outcome will only be valid if he wins. Meanwhile, his administration is doing whatever it can to *suppress* the votes by people of color and poor people.

That means the election outcome will only be valid if Trump loses.

I don't know what is going to happen but our country is never going to be the same after this outrageous spectacle concludes. By then, virtually all of us may be completely worn out.

The wildfire smoke has returned to the Bay Area, as has the heat. It is suffocating. I wish I could hit the road.

Everyone around here feels the same way.

Trapped.

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