Stock Market Up Big. Do I get no credit for this? Never even mentioned by the Fake News. A New Record for Stocks and Jobs Growth. Remember, “it’s the Economy Stupid”. VOTE!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2020

A online radio host and Brooklyn Borough council candidate who organized a protest against the wearing mask to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a journalist, unlawful imprisonment and inciting a riot, NBC News reports.

Harold “Heshy” Tischler, an Orthodox Jew, organized a protest held October 7th which attracted dozens of participants. Tischler recognized reporter Jacob Kornbluh of the Jewish Insider and ordered the rioters to chase Kornbluh, who was pinned against a wall, and reportedly hit and kicked.  Rioters called him a Nazi and “moyser,” yiddish for “snitch.”

A new Australian study shows that coronavirus can last as long as 28 days on surfaces like glass, stainless steel and even on plastic-infused currency, leading to a new call for handwashing and use of hand sanitizer, Reuters reports.

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, found that at room temperature, 68° F, the virus can last up to four weeks on flat surfaces including glasses and glass screens on cell phones.  The study was published in Virology Journal.

“It really reinforces the importance of washing hands and sanitising where possible and certainly wiping down surfaces that may be in contact with the virus,” said the study’s lead researcher, Shane Riddell.

A majority of Americans, 52%, want the winner of the November election to name the next Supreme Court justice, down slightly from the 57% polled immediately after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Washington Post reports.

62% of Americans feel that Roe v. Wade should be upheld, more two-and-a-half times the number of people who want to see the law overturn, at 24%.  Republicans are roughly equal in their views of the opinion, with 40% saying it should be upheld versus 44 to overturn.

Among Catholics, 60% support Roe, with less than half that saying it should be overturned.

Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and his family will go into quarantine after a member of their security detail tested positive for coronavirus, NBC News reports.

Beshear, his wife and their two children will isolate for at least ten days, the governor said, and that he’s committed to “setting an example” for others who had come in contact with someone who is infected.

“So we’re doing what those tracers ask us and others to do,” he said. “We’re going to be quarantining until the (state) Department for Public Health says that we’ve completed what we need to.”

Beshear was called by a contacted tracer to inform them that they came in contact with a person who tested positive.

SO MUCH FAKE NEWS! The Lamestream Media has gone absolutely insane because they realize we are winning BIG in all of the polls that matter. They write or show one false story after another. They are truly sick people. VOTE!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2020

“From now through election day on Nov. 3, the IBD/TIPP Presidential Tracking Poll will post daily results of the race for the White House between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Joe Biden holds a solid 8.5-point lead over President Donald Trump, barely three weeks ahead of Election Day. Each day, the IBD/TIPP Presidential Tracking Poll data will reflect a survey of 800-1,000 likely voters conducted over the prior five days. As in prior years, TIPP — the polling arm of nationally recognized research firm TechnoMetrica —will conduct live telephone interviews. However, TIPP will supplement phone interviews with online surveys this time to better capture younger voters” – Investor’s Business Daily.

Public Policy Polling: “PPP’s new Montana poll finds the race for Senate as tight as it can be. Steve Bullock and Steve Daines are each at 48%. Beyond that, they have nearly identical approval ratings for their work in their current offices. Bullock has a net +4 rating as Governor, with 48% approving and 44% disapproving of the job he’s doing. Daines has a net +4 rating as Senator, with 47% approving and 43% disapproving of the job he’s doing. Bullock is keeping the race tied despite the overall Republican lean of the state by winning independent voters 49-44 and also by winning 90% of Democrats, compared to Daines’ 85% of Republicans. Bullock is getting 11% crossover support from GOP voters.”

“President Donald Trump has demanded to know the results of the 2020 election on election night, even though some states warn that it will take days to count their votes. But if there is a winner declared on Nov. 3, it will almost certainly be bad news for the president. While vote counting could be delayed in many states due to a glut of mail ballots, Biden is challenging Trump in several fast-counting, Republican-leaning swing states the president carried four years ago. Election administrators in those states, especially Florida and North Carolina, are confident they should have most of the vote counted on election night.”

“Meanwhile, the most important states that tipped the Electoral College to Trump in 2016 — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — allow, at best, extremely limited pre-processing of mail ballots. That means it could take days to actually declare a winner in those states. The result: Several narrow paths to a fast 270 electoral votes for Biden, and basically none for Trump — barring a major surprise in states he lost four years ago. The president likely cannot win another term in the White House without waiting days to find out, though Trump has hinted that he could try to claim he won on election night based on vote counts that won’t yet include many mail ballots, which more Democrats are planning to use this year” – Politico.

Washington Post: “The metal boxes have popped up around Southern California in recent weeks, from churches to gun stores to gyms. On the front, an authoritative-looking sign beckons to voters: ‘Official ballot drop-off box.’ The California GOP has pushed voters to pop their mail-in ballots inside. Social media posts have advertised their locations, and one regional field director posted a photo to Twitter on Friday showing him holding a ballot in front of one of the boxes.”

“‘Doing my part and voting early,’ Jordan Tygh wrote in the now-deleted tweet, which was reviewed by The Washington Post before it was removed. ‘DM me for convenient locations to drop your ballot off at!’ But those containers, which were first reported by the Orange County Register and KCAL, are not county-authorized ballot drop-off sites. In fact, the unofficial boxes are against the law, state officials said Sunday.”

California is going to hell. Vote Trump!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2020

Politico Playbook: “The undertold story in Washington right now is how Kevin McCarthy’s House Republican minority is likely to thin quite significantly after this election. Steve Shepard, our election guru, has moved a few Republican incumbents’ seats toward Democrats in his forecast: Reps. Anne Wagner in the St. Louis burbs, Jim Hagedorn in Minnesota and Steve Chabot in the Cincinnati area.”

“Our over/under is Republicans taking a net loss of seven seats. Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report pegged the losses at between five and 15 seats. Here’s a question to ponder: Who in Republican leadership takes the fall if Republicans lose as many as 10 seats? Shepard has also put Joe Biden over 270 electoral votes, which would, of course, hand him the presidency.”

“Microsoft has disrupted a massive hacking operation that it said could have indirectly affected election infrastructure if allowed to continue. The company said Monday it took down the servers behind Trickbot, an enormous malware network that criminals were using to launch other cyberattacks, including a strain of highly potent ransomware. Microsoft said it obtained a federal court order to disable the IP addresses associated with Trickbot’s servers, and worked with telecom providers around the world to stamp out the network. The action coincides with an offensive by US Cyber Command to disrupt the cybercriminals, at least temporarily, according to The Washington Post. Microsoft (MSFT) acknowledged that the attackers are likely to adapt and seek to revive their operations eventually.”

“But, Microsoft said, the company’s efforts reflect a ‘new legal approach’ that may help authorities fight the network going forward. Trickbot allowed hackers to sell what Microsoft said was a service to other hackers — offering them the capability to inject vulnerable computers, routers and other devices with other malware” – CNN.

CBS News: “Americans Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson have won the Nobel Prize in economics for ‘improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.’ The winners were announced Monday in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The award caps a week of Nobel Prizes at a time when much of the world is experiencing the worst recession since WWII because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Technically known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the award was established in 1969 and is now widely considered one of the Nobel prizes.”

“Some Trump allies say their best bet is to hope that the results look close election night, before some of the mail-in ballots are counted, allowing Trump to declare victory and have the results thrown to the courts” – AP.

KCAL: “Shannon Kaehny first spotted it on Facebook: a grey metal container with a taped sign that read ‘Official Ballot Drop Box’ outside of Freedom’s Way Baptist Church. The pastor, Jerry Cook, had posted the photo with the caption ‘Our church has a voting drop box in front of our complex — if you are voting early, drop your ballot on by.'”

“But, when Kaehny and others reached out to the L.A. County Recorder/Registrar’s office, they responded on social media, saying: ‘This is not an official vote by mail drop box and does not comply with [state] regulations for drop boxes.’ ‘Oh, it was insane!’ Kaehny said. ‘I can’t imagine in what world that you would think that that’s acceptable.’ The registrar’s office told KCAL9 they are trying to reach Pastor Cook and are working with counsel to issue a cease and desist letter. However, the drop box is already gone. Other posts on the church’s website show it hosting a forum for Republican local candidates and criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement. With that in mind, some locals said they are suspicious of what the church’s intentions were with the box.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The director of the Georgia Forestry Commission resigned after being arrested on shoplifting charges this summer. Chuck Williams is accused of misdemeanor shoplifting from an Ace Hardware Store in Gray in August, something he told local police he does ‘for the thrill.’ The Athens Banner-Herald first reported Williams’ arrest on Monday.”

“Williams, whose salary as commission director was $165,000, was arrested Aug. 13 and sent his resignation letter to Gov. Brian Kemp the next day. Kemp appointed Gary White as the interim director. According to a Gray Police Department incident report, surveillance cameras caught Williams on Aug. 12 — wearing his Forestry Commission uniform — pulling a $54.99 price tag off a saw and placing it on a Silky Sugoi saw, which cost $109.99. Williams then paid for the saw at the lower price, using his Ace rewards and credit cards, and left the store in a marked Forestry Commission car, police said. Store staff noticed the missing saw, called police and, using footage from surveillance cameras and credit card information, identified Williams.”

Four republican governors refused to join 24 other GOP state leaders in signing a letter endorsing the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, the San Francisco Gate reports.

Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Phil Scott of Vermont and Larry Hogan of Maryland all passed on providing an endorsement.  Each has had ongoing problems with the Trump Administration for various reasons.

Sununu has stated that he believe hearings should be held on Barrett’s nomination, but he’s stopped short of endorsing her nomination or calling for a vote.

A Louisiana Catholic parish burned the church’s altar after a parish priest was caught having sex with two women on it, reports the Miami Herald via Yahoo News.

The now defrocked priest, Travis Clark, was arrested September 30th with Mindy Dixon and Melissa Cheng after a passerby saw them engaged in a menage a trois on the altar.  The three have been charged with obscenity charges, and police confiscated sex toys, stage lights and two recording devices from inside the church.

“The church is a very holy place,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans said Sunday, WDSU reported. “When a church has been used for unholy things and it has been desecrated, we must drive away the evil spirit, and that is what we do today.”

Aymond said the old altar had been removed from the church and burned, saying Clark’s “behavior was obscene, his desecration of the altar is demonic,”

“56% of registered voters tell Gallup that they are better off than they were 4 years ago (under Obama/Biden), while only 32% said they were worse off.” Highest number on satisfaction yet recorded, by far. mgoodwin@nypost.com… And it will only get better!!! VOTE

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2020