Go for the gold: Your Weekend Briefing

November 1, 2020

By Remy Tumin and Judith Levitt

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. We’re covering the state of the virus, the homestretch of the presidential election and recent underwater discoveries.

Alex Edelman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

1. The year’s defining issues are coming to a head.

Two days before the presidential election, the coronavirus is so widespread not even American health officials are able to keep up. The U.S. has recorded its worst week of known coronavirus infections with more than 500,000 new cases reported and a single-day record of 99,784 new cases on Friday, surpassing nine million total cases nationwide.

At least 1,200 counties — a full third of the country — qualify as a virus hot spot. Above, medics respond to a Covid-19 patient in Glen Burnie, Md.

Many people are coming to a frightening conclusion: They have no idea where the virus is spreading. As one public health expert put it: “It’s just kind of everywhere.”

Masks work. Really. In this animation, we show you just how effective a piece of fabric can be at warding off the virus.

And in Europe, Britain announced expansive new restrictions that effectively establish a national lockdown, joining France, Germany, Belgium and Ireland in shutting down large parts of their societies to try to keep their hospitals from being overwhelmed amid vast second-wave surges in coronavirus infections.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

2. With 48 hours to go, President Trump and Joe Biden are crisscrossing the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Iowa and Georgia in a last sprint to drive voter turnout.

Mr. Biden devoted Saturday to Michigan, where he enlisted his old boss, former President Barack Obama, to help his cause. In the Upper Midwest, Mr. Biden is trying to win back voters who drifted to Mr. Trump in 2016 and to turn out as many traditional Democratic voters, including Black voters, as possible.

Mr. Trump held four rallies in Pennsylvania on Saturday as he tried to catch up to Mr. Biden, who has consistently led in the polls. He warned supporters that election results could take weeks and suggested — without evidence — that “very bad things” could happen while states are counting ballots in the days after the election.

For the first time ever, The Daily is going live. Tune in on Election Day from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time to hear our correspondents make sense of a history-making day.

Eve Edelheit for The New York Times

3. “I’m going to vote like my life depends on it.”

That was a Philadelphia resident waiting in line to vote early, one of the millions of anxious but determined Americans pushing through challenges like the pandemic and long lines to cast their ballot. A record 90 million people have already done so, and the country is on course to surpass 150 million early votes for the first time.

The impact of this huge surge in turnout is one of the most unpredictable facets of the election. In battleground states, both parties are succeeding in coaxing infrequent voters off the sidelines. The all-important question is who will do it better. Above, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Although many winners may quickly be called on election night, the increase in mail voting because of the pandemic is expected to push back the release of full results in many key states. Here’s what we know about how long vote counting will take in all 50 states.

Is the election making you anxious? Our Styles desk has the balm for your nerves.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

4. Four years in, did the president keep his first-term promises?

Mr. Trump won the presidency in 2016 after making more than 100 promises, about half of which he has broken, according to a tracker by PolitiFact. Supporters of Mr. Trump who spoke to The Times said overwhelmingly that they were pleased with how he had lived up to his pledges.

Here’s a look at how he fared on some of his signature promises, including building a border wall, appointing conservative judges and repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

Over the past four years, The Times has independently obtained and published information on several decades of Mr. Trump’s taxes. This guide breaks down our reporting on the subject.

Continue reading the main story

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

5. A handful of contests will determine control of the Senate and the ability of the next president to pursue his agenda.

Republicans are battling to hold off losses in key battleground states by warning of the risks of unified Democratic power in Washington, but concede that their majority is in peril. “It is a 50-50 proposition,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader.

But in order to win the Senate, Democrats must prevail in states Mr. Trump carried in 2016 and is likely to carry again this year, such as Iowa and Montana. Democrats believe they are already on track to win Arizona and Colorado and are on the hunt for a half-dozen other states, starting with Iowa, Maine and North Carolina.

Georgia, where Rev. Raphael G. Warnock is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, is suddenly emerging as a real opportunity for Democrats.

The Times can help you navigate the election — to separate fact from fiction, make sense of the polls and be sure your ballot counts. To support our efforts, please consider subscribing today.

Francis R Malasig/EPA, via Shutterstock

6. Typhoon Goni made landfall in the Philippines and weather officials predicted “catastrophic wind damage” as it roared through the country.

Goni, a super typhoon, had sustained winds of 135 miles per hour at its center and gusts of 165 miles per hour as of early Sunday. The eye of the storm is expected to pass near Metro Manila, the capital region, which is home to 24 million people. Above, Filipino villagers rest inside a school.

And in Turkey, residents of Izmir were holding out hope for survivors as dramatic rescues unfolded after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck in the Aegean Sea, killing at least 39 people in Turkey and Greece, injuring more than 800 and leveling numerous residential buildings.

Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images

7. We remember Sean Connery, the irascible Scot who gracefully transformed himself from Agent 007 into one of the grand old men of the movies.

Mr. Connery died Saturday in Nassau, the Bahamas, where he had a home. He was 90. Born in Edinburgh, he found fame as cinema’s first James Bond and went on to a long, award-winning film career that lasted nearly 60 years. Read our full obituary.

“Bond, James Bond” was the character’s familiar self-introduction, and to legions of fans who have watched a parade of actors play the role, none uttered the words or played the part as magnetically or indelibly as Mr. Connery.

These 15 movies go beyond Bond (though there are a couple of can’t-miss 007 adventures in there) and illustrate how Mr. Connery commanded the screen.

Chong Chen

8. Researchers exploring the Great Barrier Reef this week made two never-before-seen discoveries thanks to a remotely operated vehicle named SuBastian.

Scientists captured on film a ram’s horn squid in its natural environment for the first time. The squid is the only living squid that has an internal coiled shell; it also has a single, searching eye and can emit lime-green light. The same explorers also discovered a coral reef taller than the Empire State Building, teeming with life.

In other underwater news, scientists have known for years that octopuses can taste what their arms touch. Now we know why: The cells of their suckers are covered with tiny detector proteins that respond to chemical cues to help them determine whether an object is useless, dangerous or would make a good snack.

Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

9. Ballpark and Tex-Mex nachos are both ubiquitous in the U.S. But the original version is deeply rooted in the borderlands and Mexican home cooking.

The Mexican chef and Times contributor Pati Jinich traced the dish’s history to 1943 in Piedras Negras, in Coahuila, Mexico, to its explosion in popularity in the States (partly thanks to an emulsified cheese sauce that requires no refrigeration).

The first nachos had just three ingredients: tortilla chips, cheese and pickled jalapeños. Try them for yourself.

Nearly a million Times readers have called up this old-fashioned beef stew in the last four weeks alone. Here’s what else to cook in the days ahead.

NASA Earth Observatory

10. And finally, a plethora of great journalism.

Radical proposals to combat climate change. A controversial — but effective — addiction treatment. Lorraine Bracco’s search for her Sicilian slice of life. The Weekender has all these stories and more.

Our editors also recommend these 12 new books, Hugh Laurie’s performance in “Roadkill” from Masterpiece on PBS, and new music from Kendrick Lamar and others.

Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, the Sunday Review from Opinion and our crossword puzzles.

Have a well-balanced week.

Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6:30 a.m. Eastern.

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