WHAT'S BREWING
PROBE CASTS DOUBT ON POLICE CLAIMS OF SUSPICIOUS MAIL AT BREONNA TAYLOR'S HOME When a police officer in Louisville, Kentucky, requested a search warrant for Breonna Taylor’s apartment, he told a judge that a drug suspect had been receiving potentially suspicious packages at the woman’s home. It was a key reason provided by the Louisville Metro Police Department to convince the judge that a warrant was necessary. But, according to an internal police investigation, officers were told “repeatedly” that no packages ― “suspicious or otherwise” ― had been delivered to Taylor’s home in connection with the drug probe. [HuffPost]
PROUD BOYS MEMBER ARRESTED ON ASSAULT CHARGES A prominent member of the Proud Boys was arrested Wednesday in Portland, Oregon — less than a day after President Donald Trump publicly threw his support behind the hate group. Alan James Swinney, 50, faces numerous charges, including felony assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Video and photos show Swinney pointing a gun at protesters with his finger on the trigger during an Aug. 22 clash in Portland between far-right extremists and anti-fascist protesters. At the time, police did nothing. [HuffPost]
MODERNA: VACCINE WON'T BE READY UNTIL 2021 Moderna Therapeutics CEO Stéphane Bancel said Wednesday that Moderna would not apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration until at least Nov. 25. An emergency use authorization lets frontline medical workers and at-risk individuals use the vaccine during the pandemic. Bancel added that Moderna will not seek FDA approval for vaccine use in the general population until late January, adding that such an approval will more likely come closer to late March or early April. [HuffPost]
CNN'S CUOMO CALLS OUT CRUZ TO HIS FACE Chris Cuomo’s interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) started to resemble Tuesday night’s chaotic presidential debate as the two raised voices, talked over each other and swapped family insults. Cruz slammed Cuomo’s brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), over his response to the coronavirus pandemic ― causing Cuomo to wonder why Cruz wouldn’t be as critical of Trump. Then he offered an all-too-blunt reminder of the insults Trump hurled at Cruz and his family during the 2016 presidential campaign. [HuffPost]
STUDY: COVID-19 SYMPTOMS MORE SEVERE IN THOSE WITH NEANDERTHAL GENES Scientists say genes that some people have inherited from their Neanderthal ancestors may increase their likelihood of suffering severe forms of COVID-19. A study by European scientists in the journal Nature examined a cluster of genes that have been linked to a higher risk of hospitalization and respiratory failure in patients who are infected with the new coronavirus. Researchers determined that the genes belong to a group, or haplotype, which likely came from Neanderthals. [AP]
PARSCALE STEPPING AWAY FROM TRUMP CAMPAIGN Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager, said he would quit the campaign and get help for “overwhelming stress." “I am stepping away from my company and any role in the campaign for the immediate future to focus on my family and get help dealing with the overwhelming stress,” Parscale said in a statement. The departure comes just days after Parscale submitted to police custody after his wife called 911 to say he had barricaded himself in their home with multiple guns and was threatening to harm himself. [HuffPost] | 