ABC News: “A New York City police officer was suspended without pay Sunday for promoting President Trump’s reelection campaign from a loudspeaker while on patrol over the weekend. Talia Jane, a Brooklyn-based freelance reporter, tweeted that a squad car was blaring ‘Trump 2020’ from the officer’s vehicle in Flatbush Saturday night. Jane said she was sent a video of the officers in the vehicle also shouting the chant. ‘They stopped when someone started filming but couldn’t resist one more,’ she tweeted. Jane retweeted a second video from another Twitter user that showed the police vehicle promoting Trump from the loudspeaker.”

“According to the NYPD patrol guide, members on duty or in uniform are prohibited from ‘endorsing political candidates or publicly expressing personal views and opinions concerning the merits of: any political party or candidate for public office; any public policy matter or legislation pending before any government body; or any matter to be decided by a pubic election, except with the permission of the police commissioner.'”

Two staffers of republican Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler from her Washington, DC office have tested positive for coronavirus Friday, but Loeffler herself has tested negative, the Associated Press reports.

Loeffler will not follow CDC guidelines to isolate after contact with people who tested positive.  She’s facing a primary fight for her seat in an open primary where she’s trailing both Democrat Raphael Warnock and republican Doug Collins in many polls.

According to a statement from her office, Loeffler is “more energized than ever to vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as the next Supreme Court Justice on Monday before returning home and traveling the state to meet with hardworking Georgians.”

Washington Post: “One week before Americans choose their path forward, the quadrennial crossroads reeks of despair. In almost every generation, politicians pose certain elections as the most important of their time. But the 2020 vote is taking place with the country in a historically dark mood — low on hope, running on spiritual empty, convinced that the wrong outcome will bring disaster. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ said Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant who has been convening focus groups of undecided voters for seven presidential cycles. ‘Even the most balanced, mainstream people are talking about this election in language that is more caffeinated and cataclysmic than anything I’ve ever heard.’

“‘If you are a believer in climate change, reelecting Trump is literally the end of the world. If taxes are your issue, you think a Biden victory will bankrupt you. If your top concern is health care, you think a Biden loss will kill you.’ There’s a long history of lurid foreboding in American politics. Among the nation’s founders were pamphleteers who made their names decrying the dire future the colonists faced if their revolution failed. But the current language is so apocalyptic that even those who are steeped in the country’s episodes of extreme rhetoric are alarmed. ‘I didn’t take it seriously for a long time, but in the last six weeks, it’s become very concerning,’ said Michael Barkun, a political scientist at Syracuse University who studies political extremism. ‘This idea that the other side winning the election will produce a precipitous decline and the disintegration of institutions is completely at variance with American history.'”

A three-year-old Texas boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the chest on Saturday when he found a relative’s loaded, unattended handgun at his birthday party, ABC News reports.

The boy’s family had gathered in Porter, Texas, to celebrate the boy’s birthday.  They were playing cards when they heard the gunshot and found the boy with a gunshot to the chest.

They rushed him to a local fire station, where he died of the wound.

Texas Tribune: “Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s running mate and the California U.S. senator, will be visiting Texas on Friday, according to an email Biden’s campaign sent to Democratic lawmakers in Texas. Harris will be the highest-profile representative of the Biden campaign to visit Texas in person during the general election.”

“‘Allow me to provide as a courtesy, the below in person travel notification for Sen. Kamala Harris which will be publicly released momentarily’ the email reads. ‘Sen. Kamala Harris will be personally traveling to Texas on Friday – October 30. 2020.’ Her visit comes as polls project a tight presidential race in Texas. According to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, Trump leads Biden in the state by 5 percentage points. Trump won Texas by 9 points in 2016.”

Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she would run for reelection as speaker in the next session should, as expected, the Democrats maintain control of the House, CNN reports.

During an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Pelosi gave a strong and immediate answer when asked if she would seek the speakership again.

“Yes I am,” Pelosi said, adding, “Let me also say we have to win the Senate.”

At a fundraiser with donors last week, President Trump declared that he would help some republican Senate candidates because he’d lose his soul if he did–whatever soul he has–signalling that republicans were abandoning hope of holding on to the Senate.

“I think the Senate is tough actually. The Senate is very tough,” Trump said at a fundraiser Thursday at the Nashville Marriott, the Washington Post reported.  “There are a couple senators I can’t really get involved in. I just can’t do it. You lose your soul if you do. I can’t help some of them. I don’t want to help some of them.”

Now, campaign officials are trying to backtrack from yet another Trump declaration, saying that they are still enthusiastic about republican chances to maintain a majority in Congress’s upper chamber, Politico reports.

Louisiana republican Congressman Clay Higgins took to Twitter to warn Americans that his wife, who he claims has the “gift of premonition,” has foreseen a republican hellscape if they lose the election.

My wife has the gift of premonition.
Last night she dreamed that Federal squads were in our home seizing guns, knives, “unauthorized foods” and stored water. They said we had been “reported”.
Becca awoke crying.
What happened to our freedom? She asked.
What indeed.

— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) October 23, 2020

While most others would simply call these “premonitions” while sleeping “dreams,” Congressman Higgins seems to give unwarranted credence to his wife’s delusions.  Higgins, who claims to be a christian, does not give an excuse as to why he tolerates his wife’s apparent dabbling in witchcraft.

On his fourth marriage, Higgins did not report what his wife ate before dinner and whether having spicy food or the rare vegetable might influence these “premonitions.”

Although four of his close aides at the White House and on the campaign trail have tested positive for the coronavirus, Race Bannon cosplayer and incumbent republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence will not isolate himself to protect others from catching the virus, NBC News reports.

Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short is isolating after testing positive on Saturday,.  Marty Obst, a senior political advisor to the vice president, and two other aides also tested positive Saturday.

“While Vice President Pence is considered a close contact with Mr. Short, in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, the Vice President will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel,” Devin O’Malley, a Pence spokesman, said in the statement.

Just for your reference: Rep. Denver Riggleman already lost his primary to a right winger named Bob Good who campaigned on Riggleman officiating a the wedding of two male staffers. Good currently trails his Dem opponent by 3 in the latest poll of Virginia’s 5th Congressional district.

“New polling data gathered earlier this week in cooperation between the Argus Leader and KELO TV shows the president has an 11-point lead over his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, among likely voters across South Dakota. Of the 625 respondents in the poll, conducted via telephone from Oct. 19 to Oct. 21 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, 51% say they want the president re-elected compared to just 40% who favor a Biden presidency. While Trump still holds the advantage in South Dakota, the margin of support reflected in the poll is nowhere close to nearly 29% margin of victory he enjoyed in the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton” – Argus Leader.

“In the final stretch of the campaign, we find three Southern battlegrounds that could still go either way. Our estimates show Joe Biden with just a two-point edge over President Trump in Florida, Biden up four points in North Carolina, and the contest even in Georgia. Millions have already voted and many others say they’ve already decided. While early voters in each state told us they substantially favored Biden, those who have not yet voted heavily favor Mr. Trump, setting up a key turnout test running now through Election Day for both parties” – CBS News.

Fox News: “The latest tropical storm during a record-tying 2020 Atlantic hurricane season formed Sunday morning and may present a threat to the U.S. Gulf Coast later this week. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said that Tropical Storm Zeta formed near Cuba, becoming the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded. ‘While you were sleeping, Tropical Storm #Zeta developed over the western Caribbean, becoming the 27th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season and tying 2005 as the most active hurricane season on record,’ the National Weather Service (NWS) tweeted. The latest tropical storm during a record-tying 2020 hurricane season formed Sunday morning and may present a threat to the Gulf Coast later this week.”

“A federal health agency halted a public-service coronavirus advertising campaign funded by $250 million in taxpayer money after it offered a special vaccine deal to an unusual set of essential workers: Santa Claus performers. As part of the plan, a top Trump administration official wanted the Santa performers to promote the benefits of a Covid-19 vaccination and, in exchange, offered them early vaccine access ahead of the general public, according to audio recordings. Those who perform as Mrs. Claus and elves also would have been included” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Department of Health and Human Services said Friday the Santa plan would be scrapped. The deal was the brainchild of the official, Michael Caputo, an HHS assistant secretary, who took a 60-day medical leave last month. The rest of the campaign now is under an HHS review. The Santa ‘collaboration will not be happening,’ and HHS Secretary Alex Azar had no knowledge of Mr. Caputo’s outreach discussions, an HHS spokesman said. Mr. Caputo didn’t respond to requests for comment. Ric Erwin, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas, called the news ‘extremely disappointing,’ adding: ‘This was our greatest hope for Christmas 2020, and now it looks like it won’t happen.’ The decision comes as the Covid-19 spread continues to accelerate in most states, and the vaccines are unlikely to be available to the public before the holiday season.”

“Pope Francis on Sunday named 13 new cardinals, including Washington D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who would become the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red hat. In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said the churchmen would be elevated to a cardinal’s rank in a ceremony on Nov. 28. Wilton, 73, was picked by Francis to lead the prestigious diocese in the U.S. capital last year. The prelate has his pulse on factions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has both strong conservative and liberal veins since he served three times as the head of the U.S. Conference of Bishops” – AP.

New York Times: “All the money in the world is not likely to influence the outcome of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election bid in November. But that has not stopped people from trying: The contest has improbably become the second most expensive House race in the country. Money has been pouring in from all sides. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has raised $17.3 million, much of it from small donors attracted to her star power, progressive policies and outsize social media presence. Her Republican challenger, John Cummings, a 60-year-old former schoolteacher at St. Raymond High School for Boys in the Bronx and a former officer for the New York Police Department, has collected $9.6 million in his first bid for office.”

“His campaign war chest exceeds all but a dozen or so House incumbents. He has a donor list any fund-raiser would envy. And over the last three-month reporting period, Mr. Cummings actually took in more money than Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, raising $5.5 million to her roughly $4 million. The contest is such a magnet for money that even Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC anchor who lost to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary but will be on the ballot representing the Serve America Movement, has raised $2.4 million and lent her campaign another $1 million. The torrent of donations is the latest example of how Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 31, has become a draw for Republican candidates to seek donors based off resentment of her.”

Pennsylvania Ballot “mistakes” made, in my opinion, on purpose by the Democrat Governor, puts Republicans, in particular @SeanParnellUSA, at great risk. Corrupt politics in Pennsylvania must be investigated immediately. By the way, Philadelphia is out of control. @TheJusticeDept

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2020

Politico: “The cash-hungry Trump campaign has turned to a cheaper strategy to try to remain on the airwaves, flooding TV and radio through local media bookings and back-to-back-to-back rallies. But the gambit has been challenged by a trail of negative headlines that have followed the president: articles about rallies that eschew pandemic guidelines, news of people sickened by coronavirus afterward, spats with local officials that dominate regional coverage before and after a visit. Still, it’s a strategy Trump and his team are leaning on in the final stretch of the election. Both the Trump and Biden campaigns are trying to reach voters for a last-minute, get-out-the-vote pitch. And for the Trump campaign, down in the polls and facing a funding shortfall, its local news strategy will be critical as it tries to make up for lost ground.”

33% of respondents reported having already voted early in person. Read more here.