10 things you need to know today: October 3, 2020

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1. Trump to spend 'few days' in hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis
2. Biden, Pence test negative for coronavirus
3. Trump postpones all future campaign events
4. Conway, Stepien, Tillis, Johnson test positive for coronavirus
5. India surpasses 100,000 coronavirus deaths
6. Grand jury audio in Breonna Taylor case released
7. Pelosi says coronavirus relief deal likely as negotiations regain momentum
8. James Bond movie No Time to Die delayed again to 2021
9. Stephen Barnes of Cellino & Barnes law firm reportedly dies in plane crash
10. Bob Gibson dies at 84

published 3 October 2020

1. Trump to spend 'few days' in hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis

President Trump headed to Walter Reed Military Medical Center on Friday evening after he tested positive for COVID-19 and began exhibiting what the White House described as "mild symptoms," including fatigue and reportedly a low-grade fever and cough. "Out of an abundance of caution," Trump will work from Walter Reed's presidential offices for the next "few days," Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. The president appeared on camera while walking to Marine One to be transported to the hospital, and tweeted a video statement saying "I think I'm doing very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out." Trump's physician says Trump is being treated with an experimental cocktail of antibiotics, and he later received a dose of the antiviral drug remdesivir. Trump tweeted late Friday night that things are "going well, I think." A White House communications aide said there will be no transfer of power to Vice President Mike Pence while Trump is hospitalized.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have tested negative for COVID-19, he said Friday. Both Biden and President Trump tested negative for the virus before Tuesday night's debate. But Trump has since tested positive for COVID-19 and was showing mild symptoms on Friday, so Biden and others at the debate were tested to verify the potential spread. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Biden's vice presidential pick, also tested negative on Friday, an aide said. Vice President Mike Pence also tested negative on Friday, as did Ivanka Trump, Barron Trump, and Jared Kushner. The rapid testing used at the White House is known to have a lower accuracy rate than more intrusive tests, so officials say they expect there are additional cases in Trump's inner circle.

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After President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, "all previously announced campaign events" where Trump was set to appear "are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed," the campaign announced. Events involving any members of the first family — first lady Melania Trump and Trump's children — are being "temporarily postponed" as well, but Vice President Mike Pence, who tested negative for COVID-19, "plans on resuming his scheduled campaign events." Trump will not be participating in live campaign events until further notice.

Former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, President Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien, and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) have all tested positive for the coronavirus since the president announced his own positive test earlier this week. Conway and Tillis tweeted the news of their diagnoses Friday evening. Conway said she feels fine and is experiencing a light cough, while Tillis said he has no symptoms. The Trump re-election campaign confirmed Stepien's positive test Friday night, and he reportedly has mild symptoms. Johnson's office announced the positive test Saturday morning; the senator is reportedly asymptomatic.

India on Saturday became the third country after the United States and Brazil to record more than 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths, data from the country's health ministry and Johns Hopkins University show. The world's second most populous nation has confirmed more than 6.4 million COVID-19 cases and is on pace to surpass the United States as the country with the most infections in the next few weeks. Experts say India's actual case and fatality numbers are likely higher. Though it is difficult to know exactly how many cases and deaths have been missed, antibody studies throughout India appear to back the theory that the official figures are an underestimate of the virus' true toll. Numbers have fallen since a mid-September peak, but they remain high. Still, officials are easing restrictions in an attempt to lessen the economic blow that has hit the country during the pandemic.

In a rare move Friday, a court released 15 hours of recorded grand jury proceedings in the case of the killing of Breonna Taylor. An unidentified grand juror requested the release of the audio and permission to speak publicly about the proceedings, accusing Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron of "using grand jurors as a shield to deflect accountability and responsibility" for the decision not to charge any Louisville Police officers for Taylor's death. The recording features testimony and evidence that was presented to the jurors, including at least two interviews with Detective Myles Cosgrove, whose gun FBI forensics labs identified as the weapon that likely killed Taylor after police entered her apartment on a no-knock warrant while she was sleeping and returned fire at her boyfriend, who said he thought the officers were intruders. Cameron said he is "confident" the audio will back up his decision.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Friday that she believes a bipartisan coronavirus relief bill is likely, after the House passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill that will not advance through the GOP-led Senate. Pelosi has been negotiating with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and talks have recently picked back up after previously collapsing with neither party willing to compromise further. Pelosi said she anticipates President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis will "change the dynamic" of negotiations. Earlier on Friday, Pelosi called on airlines to "delay their devastating job cuts as relief for airline workers is being advanced in Congress," vowing to protect employees from anticipated furloughs. Democrats are pushing for more aid for state and local governments, and Mnuchin reportedly said an agreement would include a substantial amount to revive the economy amid the pandemic-sparked recession.

No Time to Die, the upcoming James Bond movie that had previously been one of the last major films still scheduled to come to theaters in 2020, has been delayed to April 2021 from Nov. 20. A statement said this was in order to ensure the film would "be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience." While there was initially hope in Hollywood that the Christopher Nolan film Tenet would signal a return to moviegoing amid the coronavirus pandemic, its box office performance in the U.S. disappointed, and numerous major films have been postponed as a result. In early March, No Time to Die became the first major movie to delay its release due to the pandemic, moving from April to November before movie theaters were forced to close their doors.

Stephen Barnes, one half of the personal injury attorney duo Cellino & Barnes, reportedly died Friday in a plane crash. Barnes, a registered pilot, was flying a plane he owned from New Hampshire back to Buffalo, New York, on Friday when the plane crashed outside of the city. Terry Connors, an attorney from Cellino & Barnes, first said the plane was Barnes'. Another source later told The Buffalo News that Barnes was flying the plane, and that he and a female relative onboard died in the crash. Other Buffalo news sources later confirmed Barnes was piloting, and police later confirmed both people on the plane died. Barnes and Ross Cellino worked together for decades to turn Cellino & Barnes from a western New York-based firm into a massively profitable powerhouse.

Bob Gibson, the Hall of Fame pitcher who spent his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals, died Friday, the Cardinals announced. He was 84. Gibson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2019. The right-hander is widely considered one of the greatest pitchers of all time and was known for being a fierce competitor. He tallied 251 wins and 3,117 strikeouts, and finished with a 2.91 ERA while winning two Cy Young Awards, nine Gold Gloves, and an MVP, a rarity for a pitcher. Gibson led the Cardinals to two World Series championships in 1964 and 1967, winning the MVP both times. Including the Cardinals' 1968 Fall Classic defeat against the Detroit Tigers, Gibson made nine World Series starts, all of which were complete games. His career postseason ERA was 1.89. His 1968 season, in which he compiled a 1.12 ERA and pitched 13 shutouts, is one of the most successful ever.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.