Near And Dear

Presidential Election Update

Source: Cook Political Report.

• The final two states were called on Friday by multiple sources, which awarded North Carolina to President Trump and Georgia to President-elect Biden. The Associated Press called NC for Trump, but has not yet called GA per its policy regarding races subjected to recounts. Left-Center | Right-Center
• The Trump campaign lost or dropped court challenges in three battleground states (PA, MI, & AZ) on Friday, and withdrew a central part of its PA suit on Sunday. Left-Center | Right-Center

Coronavirus Catchup

The U.S. reported 155.7k new COVID-19 cases and 1,252 deaths on Sunday, according to data from the CDC.

• NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio said public schools would remain open on Monday - despite earlier warnings they might close - after the city’s seven-day positivity rate fell from 2.83% to 2.57% on Sunday (below the 3% threshold required to close schools).
• North Dakota issued a mandate requiring face masks in public on Friday, becoming the 35th state to do so. The order also limits restaurants and bars to 50% capacity and requires they close by 10 PM.
• Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a city-wide stay at home advisory for the next three weeks due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases. The advisory, which comes into effect today, asks residents to avoid leaving their home except for essential travel and recommends against traveling for traditional Thanksgiving gatherings.

⚾ A League Of Her Own

The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng (pronounced "ang") as their general manager on Friday, making her the first woman and first Asian-American in league history to fill the position. Over her 30-year career, Ng rose to the role of assistant GM for the Yankees and the Dodgers and served as a senior vice president of operations for the MLB (2011 to present).

More: Ng is also the first female GM in any of the Big Four men's professional sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL).

🚀 Blast Off

SpaceX launched four astronauts from NASA and Japan’s space agency JAXA to the International Space Station yesterday (full video). The joint mission made SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which the astronauts named ‘Resilience,’ the first fully-crewed commercial vehicle in NASA history.

More: Sunday night marked the second crewed space mission launched from the U.S. since 2011 -- the first being earlier this year when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon carried two NASA astronauts to the ISS.

🥡 Foot In The Door

DoorDash filed for IPO with the SEC on Friday ahead of an expected debut on the NYSE before year’s end. Among other things, the company revealed it has ~1M Dashers (delivery workers) and over 18M customers, and reported a $149M net loss through the first three quarters of 2020 on revenues of $1.9B. DoorDash has raised $2.5B in VC funding to date, with its last round valuing the company at $16B.

More: Reuters reported on Thursday that food delivery company Instacart picked Goldman Sachs to lead its planned 2021 IPO that could value the company at ~$30B.

Quick Hits:

⛳ Dustin Johnson completed the lowest 72-hole score in Masters history (20-under 268) to win his first green jacket by five strokes on Sunday.

🏈 Paul Hornung, a Heisman Trophy-winning Notre Dame quarterback (nicknamed ‘Golden Boy’) and Hall of Fame Green Bay Packer running back, died Friday at 84.

🍴 Wait A Minute…

On November 6th, Würstbar, a bar and restaurant based in Jersey City, NJ, posted a message on its social media pages: A staff member tested positive for COVID-19 and the eatery would be forced to temporarily close. Following the announcement, owner Aaron Kahn called his barber to cancel an upcoming haircut and inform him of his dining establishment’s dilemma.

“I can wait on your tables tomorrow,” his barber told him.

Andre Fersa, who owns the Virile Barber Shop – just two doors down from Würstbar – quickly made good on his promise to help, taking over the restaurant’s Instagram with a post insisting that the weather was too nice for him to let his neighbor’s restaurant (which has outdoor seating) stay closed. Along with friend Joe Mercurio, Andre spent an entire workday waiting on more than 40 tables. The eatery was able to reopen with its regular staff later that week.

🐦  Toucan Play That Game

Electrical worker Joilson Brites Antunes of Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil, was in for a big surprise. While on an assignment to tear down three old telephone poles on a bustling city street, he climbed to the top of one of the tall wooden posts - preparing to cut it down - but instead discovered a hole in the structure housing a family of toucans.

Knowing toucans are endangered and rarely nest in urban areas, Joilson was determined to protect the birds. After calling back to his office and pondering the predicament, the utility worker decided to cut only the portion of the beam containing the nest, fastening the severed piece to a new, metal telephone pole.

The transition's final test occurred as the mother toucan – who had been away from the nest – returned to her transplanted home… and acted as if nothing had changed.

🐕 🐴 Dog & Pony Show

Ricardo Pimentel of Southern Mexico founded the Tierra de Animales (Land of Animals) animal shelter in 2011 after dropping out of college. The 10-acre rescue facility, located 20 miles outside of Cancun, is home to about 500 animals and is also Ricardo’s personal residence. Thus, when Hurricane Delta approached the region early last month, the animal enthusiast acted fast to protect his beloved rescues, opening his home to 300 dogs.

The house, Ricardo admitted to the Associated Press, smelled terrible.

Nevertheless, Ricardo’s bighearted actions were worth the stink, as all of the animals survived the powerful storm. The shelter owner, who posted a video of his storm preparations and sea of animals on social media before the hurricane arrived, was shocked to find that, after finishing the cleanup of debris, donations from around the globe began pouring in to support his facility.