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Trumps legacy.
Trump's legacy. POOL / GETTY

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett: Today, over in Bad Washington, Senate Democrats accused Senate Republicans of "throwing out the rulebook" and sharply criticized the timing of ACB's nomination as well as her history of decisions. Senate Republicans accused Senate Democrats of attacking "religious conservatives" and putting forth judges that "legislate from the bench." Progressive senators rang many alarm bells regarding the upcoming Supreme Court battle on ObamaCare. And then, in the end, what we knew would happen happened:

The vote was 52 to 48. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote against the confirmation. "It was the first time in 151 years that a justice was confirmed without a single vote from the minority party," notes the New York Times. "[The Supreme Court is] gaining a conservative who could sway cases in every area of American life, including abortion rights, gay rights, business regulation and the environment."

LDKFJSLDKJFKLEJFLKEHLKHFJLKDJLKJEGLKHE: That's how I feel about the news, the news cycle, and next Tuesday. Mentally, I'd rather be here:

Because I love chaos, let's do a poll: Who will Chief Justice John Roberts swear in as president in 2021? I want to see where our heads are at. Vote at the bottom of the post. (Have you tracked your ballot yet?)

The Daily Beast reports that the FBI is sitting on a legally required domestic terrorism report:

In June, the bureau was supposed to release a report compiling a wealth of currently unavailable data on domestic terrorism, a category that includes white supremacist violence. The most recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires the FBI, in accord with Department of Homeland Security and consultation with the Office of Director of National Intelligence, specify not only known acts of domestic terrorism, but “ideologies relating to domestic terrorism,” and what the FBI and its partners are doing to combat it all.

Yet the FBI is over four months late. While President Trump falsely portrays left-wing property damage as terrorism, suspicion is building that the FBI, whose director Christopher Wray is on the outs with Trump, will keep the public from seeing the scope of its premier terror threat before an election that may feature violence emerging from it.

ONE more reminder: TONIGHT, a bunch of foul-mouthed Stranger reporters will dress up like maniacs and run these two through a gauntlet of tough questions. Reserve your spot here.


A coronavirus vaccine most likely won't be widely available until summer 2021: Virus experts think they may be ready for the elderly and frontline workers by the end of the year, but it could be well into 2021 before the general population sees a vaccine. Meanwhile, coronavirus deaths are rising in the US, and cases are climbing "in practically every state."

In El Paso, hospitals and intensive care units are at 100% capacity: A judge has issued a two-week mandatory curfew in the state aimed at curbing infections.

Covid restrictions are even popping up in Idaho: It's not much, but indoor gatherings are now limited to 50 people or less. Still, no mask mandate in the potato state, even though the state's COVID-19 positivity test rate is fourth-worst in the country.

Bummer: A truck lost a load of wood screws on I-90 near Snoqualmie Pass on Sunday, causing a string of flat tire incidents. While that sucks, at least it wasn't human shit.

The moon is wet and gushy: Ice may even be "widespread," according to a pair of studies published today in Nature Astronomy. "The research confirms long-standing theories about the existence of lunar water that could someday enable astronauts to live there for extended periods," writes the Washington Post.

Seems appropriate to revisit this video of Bezos explaining how he's going to be the king of the moon to children: "It's time to go back to the moon, but this time to stay," Jeffrey told the kids in 2017.

"There is no place in the United States of America where two, three, four hour waits to vote is acceptable," AOC told reporters yesterday, in response to New York City's "depressingly" long lines as voters turn out in record numbers to vote. "Just because it's happening in a blue state doesn't mean that it's not voter suppression... If this were happening in a swing state, there would be national coverage."

A little early voting data, from AP: "On Oct. 15, Democrats registrants cast 51% of all ballots reported, compared with 25% from Republicans. On Sunday, Democrats had a slightly smaller lead, 51% to 31%."

Polls suggest the race is tightening in battleground states, although Biden maintains a lead: Here are some swing state averages, via USA Today:

Florida: Biden +1.9

USA TODAY average of averages: Biden 48.9%, Trump 47.0%

Last week: Biden 48.7%, Trump 46.0% (Biden +2.7)

Net change: Trump +0.8

Iowa: Biden +1.1

USA TODAY average of averages: Biden 47.4%, Trump 46.3%

Last week: Biden 47.8%, Trump 47.0%(Biden +0.8)

Net change: Biden +0.3

Michigan: Biden +7.8

USA TODAY average of averages: Biden 50.5%, Trump 42.7%

Last week: Biden 50.4%, Trump 42.9% (Biden +7.5)

Net change: Biden +0.3

Ohio: Trump +1.0

USA TODAY average of averages: Trump 47.4%, Biden 46.4%

Last week: Trump 46.7%, Biden 46.4% (Trump +0.3)

Net change: Trump +0.7

Texas: Trump +1.7

USA TODAY average of averages: Trump 48.1%, Biden 46.8%

Last week: Trump 48.9%, Biden 46.0% (Trump +2.9)

Net change: Biden +1.2

A Bostonian man faces willful and malicious burning charges after setting a Boston ballot drop box on fire: The move damaged dozens of ballots, reports AP. The FBI said it's investigating the incident. Boston's top prosecutor said the man, 39-year-old Worldy Armand, was "emotionally disturbed," but she did not believe he was "plotting against our democracy." This is the second reported ballot box fire this month. The first blaze was near LA.

Freaky:

Putin appeared on Russian state TV and said the Hunter Biden business "doesn’t concern [Russia]. It concerns the Americans and the Ukrainians" on Sunday night: Putin has criticized Biden's "sharp anti-Russian rhetoric," but claimed he would work with any US leader. His comments on Sunday "may be seen by some analysts as an attempt to try to curry favour with the Biden camp," writes Reuters.

It's our last week of the Psychotronic Challenge: Tonight's challenge is "DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS," to watch a psychotronic movie set in Texas. I'm grabbing John's pick and going with Frailty (2001), starring Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey. Paxton also directed it!