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Week In The News: Trump And Coronavirus, Presidential Debate, Supreme Court

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President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the first of three planned debates between the two candidates in the lead up to the election on November 3. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participated in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on Sept. 29 in Cleveland. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

America witnesses a presidential debate like no other. The Supreme Court nominee tours Capitol Hill. And thousands more jobs are lost due to the pandemic. We review the week’s news.

Guests

Jill Colvin, White House reporter for the Associated Press. (@colvinj)

Nancy Cordes, chief congressional correspondent for CBS News. (@nancycordes)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

Karen Tumulty, Washington Post columnist who covers national politics. (@ktumulty)

From The Reading List

Washington Post: "Opinion: This is exactly why we need to know the truth about Trump’s health" — "With the news that the president of the United States has been infected by the virus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, the consequences of this White House’s propensity to lie take on a new level of seriousness."

Washington Post: "The debate was a nightmare, and a fitting summation of Trump’s presidency" — "The nightmare that played out Tuesday evening on a debate stage in Cleveland served at least one useful purpose. It encapsulated, in a single 98-minute span, the entire presidency of Donald J. Trump."

NPR: "President Trump And First Lady Test Positive For The Coronavirus" — "The country was thrown on edge overnight as President Trump announced that he and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that throws the final stretch of the presidential campaign — already radically upended by the global pandemic — even further into unknown territory."

Washington Post: "Belligerent Trump debate performance stokes fears among Republicans about November" — "The aftermath of the first presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden triggered a reckoning among Republicans on Wednesday about the incumbent’s incendiary remarks on white supremacy and his baseless claims of electoral fraud, with GOP officials privately expressing alarm about the fallout with key voters as the president’s allies argued that he electrified his core supporters."

New York Times: "Chris Wallace Calls Debate ‘a Terrible Missed Opportunity’" — "'I’m just sad with the way last night turned out.' Chris Wallace, the 'Fox News Sunday' anchor and moderator of Tuesday’s melee of a debate between President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr., was on the phone Wednesday from his home in Annapolis, Md., reflecting on — his words — 'a terrible missed opportunity.'"

Washington Post: "Acrimonious debate sparks calls for new rules to rein in Trump and questions about the format’s usefulness for voters" — "The first presidential debate was widely panned as an embarrassing debacle a day after President Trump and Joe Biden traded insults and vitriol for 98 minutes, leading the Commission on Presidential Debates to consider changing the format and forcing a broader question about whether such events are still useful in the modern political era."

Politico: "Trump basks in cheers of Minnesota rally, far from debate criticism" — "A day after fighting for attention in a nearly audience-free debate, President Donald Trump on Wednesday returned to his safe space: an adoring crowd of hundreds who were happy to declare him the winner."

New York Times: "Trump Renews Fears of Voter Intimidation as G.O.P. Poll Watchers Mobilize" — "The group of Trump campaign officials came carrying cellphone cameras and a determination to help the president’s re-election efforts in Philadelphia. But they were asked to leave the city’s newly opened satellite election offices on Tuesday after being told local election laws did not permit them to monitor voters coming to request and complete absentee ballots."

Bloomberg: "Layoffs Surging: Job Cuts Hit Goldman, Disney, Airlines, Office Workers, More" — "Tens of thousands of job cuts announced by blue-chip companies in a 24-hour period are a warning sign for the world’s recovery and emerge just ahead of two key reports forecast to show limited progress in the U.S. labor market."

New York Times: "18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records" — "The New York Times has obtained tax-return data for President Trump and his companies that covers more than two decades. Mr. Trump has long refused to release this information, making him the first president in decades to hide basic details about his finances. His refusal has made his tax returns among the most sought-after documents in recent memory."

Associated Press: "Worldwide death toll from coronavirus eclipses 1 million" — "The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus has eclipsed 1 million, nine months into a crisis that has devastated the global economy, tested world leaders’ resolve, pitted science against politics and forced multitudes to change the way they live, learn and work."

This program aired on October 2, 2020.

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