October 21, 2020 News Summary
US Politics and Economics
The Commission for Presidential debates has chosen to mute the candidates’ microphones during the final Presidential Debate. The decision stems from the first debate, where neither candidate completely adhered to the set rules by interrupting each other repeatedly. Nonetheless, at the start of every one of the six segments, each candidate will be given two minutes to speak while the other is muted. An open discussion will then commence.
This format, however, has sparked outrage from the Trump campaign. The incumbent President told reporters on Monday, “I’ll participate. I just think it’s very unfair,” On the other hand, co-chair for the Commission, Frank Fahrenkopf, stated to NBC that the change will enforce previous rules that hadn’t been followed in the past debates.
Meanwhile, roughly 40 million -- 30% of the total ballots cast in 2016 -- citizens have voted. Currently, Texas leads in the number of votes at 5.3 million ballots, which is nearly 60% of the total number of ballots cast in 2016. Though Democrats hold 52% of votes and Republicans at 26%, the latter is anticipated to vote in-person later on the election day.
Texas Politics
Per NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Microsoft will reach Southlake, a suburb near the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, with more than 500 positions for employees. A spokesperson told Southlake Style, "Microsoft is constantly evaluating our real estate portfolio to ensure we provide an exceptional place to work and create greater collaboration and community for our employees around the world.” Currently, the company holds seven locations in Texas and plans to expand in the future.
Newsweek reports, “Among those who will vote in person on November 3, 62 percent said they support Trump, while 32 percent will go for Biden. But the Democratic candidate received more support among those voting by mail and those voting early at a location—63 and 48 percent, respectively.” As the President will likely not see most of his supporters until election day, the 2020 election remains to be a possible turning point for Texas.
Health
According to CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of October 21, 2020, 12:15 PM, there are almost 8.25 million cases and 220k deaths nationwide. California leads with the most infections at a total of 874k, and Texas follows with 833.5k cases.
(FOX) President Trump claims to support the stimulus package, and advocates for a greater sum of money than the 2.2 trillion-dollar proposal. "Let me just explain," Trump said during an interview on "Fox & Friends," "I want to do it even bigger than the Democrats. Not every Republican agrees, but they will. I want to do it even bigger because this is money going to people who did not deserve what happened to them."
Science and Technology
NASA’s OSIRISREx spacecraft has landed on the asteroid Bennu, which grants scientists to insight into the formation of the solar system and life. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine praises, “...NASA demonstrates how an incredible team from across the country came together and persevered through incredible challenges to expand the boundaries of knowledge. Our industry, academic, and international partners have made it possible to hold a piece of the most ancient solar system in our hands.”
The popular online game, Roblox, experienced several technical and data loss issues a few days ago. Although several tweets alerted the developers, players reported losing their coin currency after restarting and being blocked from entering games, such as “Royale High,” “Adopt Me!,” “World // Zero,” and “Welcome to Bloxburg.” Despite lost data including user items, data servers were back on track a few hours after the fiasco.
Southeast US Weather
(Atlantic) A disturbance skimming across the gulf opening while heading towards the Atlantic center has a 20% chance of forming and poses no threat to the US. On the other hand,
Tropical Storm Epsilon is expected to be similar to Hurricane Teddy, which, despite its strong winds, was pushed up north by the gulf stream.
(Pacific) There are no disturbances expected within the next 48 hours.
(Local) Though chances of rain are slim this week, scattered thunderstorms will occur during Monday morning and rain showers on Tuesday night. The high temperature for the next 10 days is 81 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Writers:
US Politics and Economics: Dylan and Annabelle
Texas Politics: Stephanie, Vicki, and Megan
Health: Matthew, David, and Owen
Science and Technology: Bryan, Yiqi, Amelia, and Joseph L.
Southeast US Weather: Jade, Aiden, and Simon
Editor: VIA
(All writers and editors are in middle to high school)