In The End

Presidential Town Halls

President Trump and Joe Biden held separate town halls Thursday night in lieu of the canceled second presidential debate.

• President Trump took questions from voters in Miami, FL, in an hour-long segment moderated by the “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. (Watch the event)
• Joe Biden attended a 90-minute town hall in Philadelphia, PA, moderated by ABC News’s chief anchor, George Stephanopolous. (Watch the event)

More: At least three people connected with the Biden campaign tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday, leading VP candidate Kamala Harris to suspend in-person events through the weekend. Joe Biden’s schedule remains unaltered as the campaign said he had no direct exposure with individuals who tested positive.

Colorado Wildfire

The Cameron Peak wildfire officially became the largest wildfire in Colorado history on Wednesday evening. The fire, which is currently 56% contained in the mountains west of Fort Collins, has consumed more than 158k acres with no reported injuries or deaths related to the fire.

Nigerian Police Brutality Protests

At least ten people have been killed in Nigeria, and hundreds more injured over eight consecutive days of widespread protests that began in response to alleged torture, extortion, and extrajudicial killings by Nigeria’s SARS police unit. Nigerian authorities announced the dissolution of SARS in favor of a new policing unit on Sunday, but demonstrations continued this week with protesters calling for the prosecution of former SARS officers.

More: Nigeria’s government officially banned protests in the capital yesterday.

QAnon Is Gone (Pt. 2)

YouTube announced yesterday it would begin to prohibit content that targets a person or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence, such as QAnon or Pizzagate. The ban does not extend to news coverage on conspiracy theories, or content discussing them without targeting individuals or protected groups.

More: Facebook earlier this week prohibited any pages, groups, or Instagram accounts representing QAnon, while Twitter in July banned 7k QAnon accounts and limited 150k others.

Cruise Control

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles issued a permit to Cruise, GM’s self-driving car subsidiary, the company announced on Thursday. The permit will allow Cruise to operate five driverless vehicles on certain San Francisco public roads.

More: Cruise’s announcement comes one week after Alphabet subsidiary Waymo officially opened its driverless taxi program to the public in a 50-square-mile area surrounding Phoenix, AZ.

Jobless Report Card

Another 898k Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week per the Department of Labor, the highest level since late August and slightly higher than the previous week (revised up 5k to 845k). The current number of weekly claims is much lower than its peak in late March (nearly 7M), but has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. (Year-to-date chart)

More: A Columbia University study reported by the NYT on Thursday found nearly 8M Americans have fallen into poverty since May.

No Person ‘Left’ Behind

Jordan Reeves of Columbia, MO, was born without a left hand – in fact, her whole left arm stopped developing below the elbow. Although Jordan’s condition could be viewed as an obstacle, the fearless 14-year-old instead sees it as an opportunity. Four years ago, the talented teenager attended a STEM workshop for people with disabilities. Using a 3D-printer, she developed a prosthetic arm that shoots glitter.

Since then, Jordan has adopted the title “Glitter Girl,” encouraging others to embrace their disabilities by speaking about “Project Unicorn” -- her prosthetic design -- on the TEDx circuit, Shark Tank, and even The Rachael Ray Show. Given the success of Project Unicorn, Jordan also teamed up with her mother to found Born Just Right, a nonprofit that empowers young people to develop creative solutions to perceived challenges.

Order Of The Phoenix

Scott Strode of Denver, CO, established The Phoenix - a network of gyms that offer free workout sessions and recovery meetings to people battling addiction - in 2007 after overcoming drug and alcohol addictions through regular exercise. Thus, The Phoenix's only membership cost is 48 hours of sobriety. When the pandemic hit this spring, the gyms were forced to close indefinitely.

Recognizing the negative impact social isolation can have on an addict’s road to recovery, Scott quickly transitioned to virtual programming, offering classes in yoga, strength training, and meditation to members in 44 cities across the U.S. The shift to online instruction has enabled the nonprofit to reach more people than ever, now delivering addiction recovery resources to rural areas and even sending workouts to individuals serving time in prison.

Old Foundation, New Tricks

For the past 28 years, the Pets for the Elderly Foundation has helped pay a portion of the adoption fees for almost 100,000 prospective pet owners over the age of 60, citing the health benefits that older people experience from owning an animal. According to the organization’s executive director, seniors take better care of themselves when they have someone else reliant on them, which is why the foundation will soon start offering an extension of its generous program.

Beginning January 1, 2021, Pets for the Elderly will work with animal shelters across the country to cover the costs of routine veterinary care, pet food, and grooming for adopted pets cared for by senior citizens. The new program, which is intended to help aged animal lovers keep their beloved pets, will also include the option for in-home visits from shelter employees.

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