Georgia's final Senate debate between Sen. David Perdue (R) and Democrat Jon Ossoff was canceled Thursday, after the Republican senator pulled out of Sunday's scheduled event so he could instead rally with President Trump, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Why it matters: The race between Perdue and Ossoff could prove pivotal in determining which party controls the U.S. Senate. Cook Political Report rates the race as a "Toss-up."
Crafting successful public health measures depends on the ability of top scientists to gather data and report their findings unrestricted to policymakers.
State of play: But concern has spiked among health experts and physicians over what they see as an assault on key science protections, particularly during a raging pandemic. And a move last week by President Trump, via an executive order, is triggering even more worries.
Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday that challenges President Trump's executive order banning federal agencies, grantees and contractors from offering diversity trainings that the administration views as "anti-American."
Driving the news: The order, issued last month, says that trainings "that promotes race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating" promote "divisiveness in the workplace and distract from the pursuit of excellence and collaborative achievements in public administration."
Virginia Military Institute's Board of Visitors voted on Thursday to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson from outside student barracks, amid allegations of an enduring racist culture at the school, per the Washington Post.
Why it matters: The decision comes as the U.S. continues to grapple with its history of systemic racism and oppression of Black Americans.
The Supreme Court, for the second time in two days, rejected aGOP request to shorten the deadline mail-in ballots must be received by North Carolina officials to be counted.
The state of play: The state's deadline had been extended from 3 days to 9 days post-Election Day.
The coronavirus pandemic is worsening, both in the U.S. and abroad, with cases, hospitalizations and deaths all rising.
Axios Re:Cap digs into the state of global vaccine development — including why the U.S. and China seem to going at it alone — with medicinal chemist and biotech blogger Derek Lowe.
In a new ad, Joe Biden pledges to sign an executive order to form a task force dedicated to finding the parents of 545 children separated from their families at the southern border.
Why it matters: The Biden campaign is focusing on Latino voters just days before the election. The campaign had previously launched an ad focused on the family separations at the border called "Números."
Former Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. announced Thursday that he had filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming that it had "needlessly injured and damaged his reputation" after his resignation earlier this year.
Catch up quick: Falwell resigned in August after a series of controversial scandals culminated ina Reuters story alleging that he and his wife had a years-long intimate relationship with a business partner.
$2.3 million was recently stolen from a Wisconsin GOP account meant to aid President Trump's re-election campaign, Republican Party chairman Andrew Hitt told the AP on Thursday.
The big picture: Former Vice President Joe Biden is polling ahead in Wisconsin, which is a vital battle ground state in November's election. Although Trump won Wisconsin in 2016, Biden is currently favored to win the state in FiveThirtyEight's latest forecast.
In September, Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo privately pitched one branch of the agency's $250 million coronavirus ad campaign with the theme: "Helping the President will Help the Country," according to documents released by House Democrats on the Oversight Committee on Thursday.
Why it matters: These are the latest documents that suggest the deep politicization of the Trump administration's coronavirus response.
Sports team owners in the four largest North American leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) have donated over $46 million in federal elections since 2015, according to research conducted by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight.
By the numbers: Over the past three elections, $35.7 million of that money (77.4%) has gone to Republican campaigns and super PACs, compared to $10.4 million (22.6%) to Democrats.
Three people have been killed and others injured in a stabbing attack at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice, France, NBC News reports.
The big picture: A man with a knife began the attack at approximately 9 a.m. local time, killing two people inside the church and one who was seeking refuge. Police confirmed that the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack.
Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump among Latino voters in Texas, Arizona, Florida and Nevada, with the narrowest margin in Florida, according to a collection of state polls conducted by Telemundo.
Why it matters: Hispanic voters are a critical bloc in this year's election. Experts say the group is vital to winning the race, and community organizers have aggressively engaged in get-out-the-vote campaigns for both candidates.
Joe Biden's team is spending tens of millions of dollars on a national digital ad campaign in the final days before Election Day — but highlighting a plethora of voters from Pennsylvania in particular, underscoring how critically important the state is.
Why it matters: Biden's team is betting that COVID-19 is on the ballot, and amplifying the stories of those affected by the pandemic with an emphasis on persuading voters in key battlegrounds to support the former VP.
Joe Biden is planning to confront China across the globe, embracing some of President Trump's goals but rejecting his means.
The big picture: By starting a trade war with China, Trump has fundamentally altered the U.S.- China relationship — and forced both Republicans and Democrats to accept a more confrontational approach towards Beijing.
Philadelphia officials will release 911 tapes and body camera footage involving the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old Black man, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw announced at a briefing Wednesday.
The big picture: Wallace's death Monday sparked massive protests in the city and the Pennsylvania National Guard was mobilized Tuesday to quell unrest. A curfew that was imposed in Philadelphia from 9 p.m. Wednesday was due to expire at 6 a.m. Thursday.
Gen. David Thompson, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations, is self-quarantining and working from home after testing positive for COVID-19, per a news release issued Wednesday evening.
The big picture: Officials are following guidelines that include contact tracing and quarantining, "if needed," said the statement, which didn't mention if any other military personnel had recent contact with Thompson. He took the test after a close family member tested positive for the virus. It comes three weeks after members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff went into quarantine following Adm. Charles Ray's positive coronavirus test results.
Former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor on Wednesday defended his August denial that he authored an anonymous New York Times editorial that described a "resistance" within the Trump administration — an article he now claims to have written.
The state of play: Taylor said Wednesday he refuted having written the op-ed because he wanted President Trump to challenge the claims in his book "on their merits," rather than launching personal attacks on him.
