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Not out of the woods yet.
"Not out of the woods yet." Win McNamee / GETTY IMAGES

Pence and Harris will debate behind plexiglass: Clear dividers will separate the candidates during the Vice Presidential debates on Wednesday, according to the New York Times. It's unclear whether debate organizers put up the plexiglass to stop the executive branch from spreading COVID-19 or to ameliorate Pence's phobia of speaking to women he hasn't married.

Biden "not surprised" Trump caught COVID-19: Neither is anybody else, bud. At a socially distanced town hall in Miami yesterday, the former Vice President added, “Anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying masks don’t matter, social distancing doesn’t matter, I think is responsible for what happens to them."

Meanwhile, the President is openly spreading dangerous lies, and possibly the virus itself: Trump doctor Sean Conley, who spent the last few days dodging questions from reporters and giving contradictory information about the President's condition, said Trump was “not out of the woods yet.” Nevertheless, the President is back in the White House, freaking out staffers and again falsely comparing COVID-19 to the seasonal flu, according to Politico. In weird pre-recorded videos (why not go live, I wonder?) he urges Americans not to let the virus "dominate" their lives—not because doctors and scientists think we should let our guard down, but because thoughts of COVID damage his reelection prospects.

Somehow missed this wild photo of the President greeting reporters and supporters from the White House balcony shortly after returning from Walter Reed:

Interesting little figure from the latest Michigan poll: Compared to September, Biden is up a staggering 22 points with voters over 65, according to WDIV News. Biden now leads the Wolverine State by nearly nine points, his largest lead so far this year.

According to Real Clear Politics polling averages: Biden is up in Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Arizona, though he's only doing better than Clinton was at this time four years ago in the those last three states. That said, Biden is on average up a touch over Trump in Georgia and Iowa, which is cool.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy displeased with Trump for holding a fundraiser in Bedminster while sick with a deadly and highly contagious respiratory virus: The state's attorney general launched an investigation into Trump's golf club "for possible violations of the state’s social distancing rules," and a contact tracing effort is underway, reports Politico. No evidence yet of spread among the 206 guests who attended the event, but either the White House or the RNC failed to give local officials a full list of contact info for the guests, so they haven't called everybody yet. Plus, symptoms might take a few more days to emerge.

Cops used tear gas grenades, stun grenades, and water canons on protesters in Kyrgyzstan: Demonstrators stormed President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's office following accusations of a rigged parliamentary vote on Sunday, reports the BBC. "Groups close to the president have been accused of vote-buying and voter intimidation—claims international monitors say are 'credible' and a cause for 'serious concern.'"

ICYMI: Someone randomly punched Rick Moranis in the head: According to the BBC, at around 7:30 a.m. someone punched the Honey I Shrunk the Kids star on Central Park West in New York City. Kinda fucked up.

Might start making preparations for a mummy attack here pretty soon: "That is 26 newly discovered sarcophagi from high officials and priests from the 26th Dynasty, approx. 2500 years old." Just something to keep an eye on.

If you have something to say about Durkan's budget proposal: Register here two hours before 5:30 p.m. today, when the council will hold its public hearing. If you just want to watch, fire up Seattle Channel. The Seattle Times provides a good overview of the budget numbers, in case you want to inform yourself.

Maybe you want to suggest Durkan not plunder JumpStart Seattle funds to make good on her $100 million investments into BIPOC community programs and instead find that money in the police department's budget. Or maybe you don't! Maybe you want to say something about the need to hire a Green New Deal advisor and seat a GND advisory board so we can start developing meaningful policy to tackle climate change and create jobs. Or maybe you're fine with not addressing the issue for another two years! Either way, you can have your say during public comment.

You can also have your say at the Stranger Debates next Monday: If you live in Georgetown, South Park, Renton, Tukwila, and parts of Kent, then you should take 90 minutes next Monday at 8:00 p.m. and watch a bunch of Stranger writers dress up like maniacs and interview the two mens campaigning to represent you in the legislature. The audience gets to vote on the night's winner, so it'll be fun even if you don't live in the 11th Legislative District. We're hosting debates between candidates who represent the Ballard area, the Capitol Hill / U-District area, and the east side of South Seattle. Check out the schedule and pick up your tickets here.

If you read Slog PM you know the city reopened the playgrounds: But you may have missed jseattle's very good tweet:

A tiny live-streaming camera that can be mounted on the back of a beetle: Let's get some of these for the protests. We can do a new chant! A-C-O-B, Alllll Cameras on Beeeeeeatles.

The COVID outbreak at UW grows: 144 cases among fraternity and sorority members, reports the UW Daily.

Person driving stolen SUV dies in the middle of Highway 18 after chase, shootout: Police are investigating a scene in Auburn where a person allegedly stole an SUV from a 7-Eleven and drove up the road. A person in another car pursued the driver and fired shots at the SUV. After spinning out on the C Street exit, "The driver then got out of the SUV, hopped the median and died in the eastbound lanes of the highway," according to the Seattle Times.

Tukwila shooting injures three: One victim suffered critical injuries and two were in non-life-threatening condition, the Seattle Times reports. Police say a Tukwila police officer was driving by the parking lot of a 7-Eleven where the officer saw the shooting and chased the suspect, according to the Times.

Two sea lion deaths, one shot: Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network, via West Seattle Blog, reports a gunshot killed one of the sea lions and another "is highly suspected to have died of gunshot" but "we are waiting for X-ray results." Who the fuck is out here shooting sea lions?

Police arrest Seattle man in Rainier Valley hit-and-run: A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly hitting and killing a pedestrian over the weekend, the Seattle Times reports. Police said they arrested the man after he arrived at Harborview with a gunshot wound to his leg.