10 things you need to know today: September 23, 2020

1. U.S. coronavirus death toll hits 200,000

The U.S. COVID-19 death toll surpassed 200,000 on Tuesday, crossing a threshold once estimated to be the maximum number of fatalities the country would suffer in the coronavirus pandemic. Some public health experts now fear the total could be nearly twice as high by the end of the year. "I hoped we would be in a better place by now," said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "It's an enormous and tragic loss of life." Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta, said many of the deaths probably could have been prevented by more widespread wearing of face masks and stricter adherence to social distancing recommendations. "We really have not done enough to control this pandemic, and we are experiencing a tremendous amount of unnecessary suffering," Bednarczyk said. Worldwide, more than 31 million cases have been confirmed, with 965,000 deaths.

NPR

2. Romney supports SCOTUS vote, clearing path to confirmation

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Tuesday that he would support Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in advancing the confirmation process for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, virtually eliminating any chance Democrats will have the four GOP votes they need to block the confirmation from proceeding. Only two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have come out against filling the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat before the election. Democrats have said that the winner of the November presidential election should get to pick the next justice. Romney, a frequent Trump critic, argued that the party controlling the Senate historically has confirmed justices appointed during election years when a member of their party was in the White House.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. House passes compromise on averting government shutdown

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday reached a deal on a proposal to avert a government shutdown. The House promptly passed the bipartisan bill 359-57. The legislation would keep the government funded through Dec. 11. It includes tens of billions of dollars for the Commodity Credit Corporation to aid farmers, a priority for Republicans and farm-state lawmakers. Democrats left that funding out of their original proposal because of concerns the Trump administration had previously used the funding to divert money to its supporters. The new bill includes restrictions to prevent that. The bill also includes nearly $8 billion in nutrition assistance that Democrats pushed in negotiations.

CNN

4. Louisville declares emergency ahead of Breonna Taylor decision

Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and closed down much of his city's center to traffic ahead of an expected grand jury decision on whether to indict the police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker. "Our goal with these steps is ensuring space and opportunity for potential protesters to gather and express their First Amendment rights," Fischer, a white Democrat, said in a statement. Taylor, 26, was in her home when three plainclothes officers with a so-called no-knock warrant forced their way into Taylor's home with a battering ram. Her boyfriend, thinking intruders were breaking in, fired a shot, and the officers responded with a flurry of gunfire, hitting Taylor five times.

Reuters

5. CIA: Putin is 'probably directing' operation to denigrate Biden

A top-secret CIA assessment concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials are "probably directing" an effort to influence the U.S. presidential election, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing two people who reviewed it. Russia is focused on "denigrating" Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, supporting President Trump, and "fueling public discord," the first line of the assessment says, according to the Post's sources. The "internal, highly classified" assessment reportedly was compiled with National Security Agency and FBI input, and published on Aug. 31. William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said in August that "some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump's candidacy on social media and Russian television."

The Washington Post CNN

6. Report: Pentagon diverted coronavirus funding to defense contractors

The Pentagon used $1 billion Congress allocated for medical equipment to pay defense contractors for such things as jet engine parts, body armor, and dress uniforms, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The money was approved earlier this year as part of the Cares Act to help the Defense Department "prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus." The Pentagon diverted the money even though health officials believe the nation has gaps in funding needed for the pandemic response. Many hospitals face N95 mask shortages, and Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Senate last week that states need $6 billion to be able to get vaccines to Americans in early 2021. Pentagon officials said they tried to strike a balance between supporting U.S. medical production and supporting the defense industry.

The Washington Post

7. Commission unveils topics in 1st Trump-Biden debate

The debate commission revealed Tuesday that the plan for the first presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden includes discussions of the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court, and America's racial reckoning. Trump has said he's preparing by "just doing what I am doing." Biden has said he was looking forward to the Sept. 29 forum at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, saying he wanted to hold Trump accountable. "I know how to handle bullies," he said this month. The rivals showed different outlooks on the pandemic on Tuesday as the U.S. death toll reached 200,000. Trump downplayed the damage, saying that the virus "affects virtually nobody," mostly hurting the elderly and people with other health problems. Biden said the nation mustn't treat the numbers as statistics. "We can't lose the ability to feel the sorrow and the loss and the anger for so many lives lost," he said.

CNN Newsweek

8. U.K. imposes new restrictions after coronavirus surge

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced new COVID-19 restrictions to curb a spike in new cases. The new measures include limited hospitality industry hours, expanded face-mask requirements, and a ban on gatherings of more than six people. Johnson also encouraged people to work from home. The British government on Monday reported the highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases since May with 4,300 infections, four times as many as the country saw a month ago. "We've reached a perilous turning point," Johnson said. He added that the government would "spare no effort" to develop vaccines and implement mass testing, but unless the country makes significant progress, "we should assume" the restrictions will remain in place for six months.

The Associated Press

9. Bloomberg raises $16 billion to help Florida felons regain right to vote

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg on Tuesday raised $16 billion to help Florida felons pay off fines, restitution, and court fees to help them regain their voting rights in time for the November election. Just days earlier, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, won a court victory preventing felons from voting until they pay off the debts. Florida voters passed Amendment 4 in 2018 allowing felons who have served their prison sentences to regain the right to vote, but Republican state lawmakers passed a law defining a completed sentence to include the payment of all fines and restitution. Before Bloomberg stepped in, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition had raised about $5 million to help 32,000 Florida felons who owe less than $1,500. Bloomberg, a former Democratic presidential hopeful, said the effort was intended to help "end disenfranchisement and the discrimination that has always driven it."

Sun-Sentinel The Hill

10. CDC: Avoid 'traditional' trick-or-treating this Halloween

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines on celebrating Halloween during the COVID-19 pandemic, warning that many of the holiday's activities "can be high-risk for spreading viruses." The CDC lists "traditional trick-or-treating" as a higher-risk activity and recommends avoiding it. Other activities it says should be avoided this year include attending a crowded indoor costume party and going to a crowded indoor haunted house. "Lower risk" activities include carving or decorating pumpkins with those in your household or outside with others while practicing social distancing, as well as holding a "virtual Halloween costume contest." Additionally, "one-way trick-or-treating" (lining up goodie bags so families can grab them while socially distant) is considered a "moderate risk" activity.

USA Today