Good morning. It's Wednesday, Oct. 7, and we're covering Hurricane Delta, the vice presidential debate, and the death of a rock legend. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Delta Slams the Yucatan

Hurricane Delta is set to pound Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula today, after having undergone explosive (and unexpected) intensification over the Caribbean Sea yesterday. The system grew from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in just over 24 hours, the quickest growth by an October hurricane since Wilma in 2005. As of early this morning it had slowed slightly to Category 3 status. 

Delta is on track to make US landfall along the Louisiana coast between Friday and Saturday, though the cone of uncertainty is still fairly wide (real-time trajectory). Forecasts suggest cooler coastal waters may slow the system, with models currently projecting it to arrive as a Category 3, or potentially even Category 2, storm. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) has declared a state of emergency in advance, with many coastal cities still recovering from September's Hurricane Sally. 

Do you ever wonder whether there's a "better" side of a hurricane to be on? The answer is yes.

Pence vs. Harris

Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) meet tonight in the vice presidential debate, live from the University of Utah (9pm ET, major networks), and moderated by USA Today's Susan Page. 

Typically footnotes during presidential election cycles, this year's debate has taken on heightened significance. President Trump (74 years old) and Democratic nominee Joe Biden (soon to be 78) are the two oldest presidential nominees in US history, with the former still battling COVID-19 (but recovering) and the latter having had his share of health issues. The event also follows an ill-received first presidential debate, with many eager for a more substantive policy discussion. Some have called it the most important vice presidential debate ever. A plexiglass barrier will separate the candidates from each other and the moderator. 

Separately, Trump has signaled he's planning on attending the second presidential debate Oct. 15, as scheduled.

Eddie Van Halen Dies

Eddie Van Halen, legendary guitarist and founder of the eponymous rock group Van Halen, died yesterday from throat cancer. It was revealed the 65-year-old Hall of Fame musician—who survived a bout with tongue cancer in 2002—was diagnosed with the disease in 2015. 

Voted the No. 4 guitarist of all time by Guitar World—just behind Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, right ahead of Eric Clapton (see list)—Van Halen was known as a virtuoso, credited with reviving the genre of hard rock throughout the 1980s. His group, despite swapping lead vocalist David Lee Roth for Sammy Hagar in 1985, dominated the charts for nearly two decades, selling 80 million albums worldwide and notching eight multiplatinum records in the US. The group was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Watch Van Halen's best solo riffs here.

Separately, Johnny Nash, singer of "I Can See Clearly Now," died at age 80. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> MacArthur Foundation announces 2020 “genius grant” winners; see full list of 21 fellows who each receive a $625K no-strings-attached stipend to fuel their creativity (More)

> Seattle Storm sweep the Las Vegas Aces to win their fourth WNBA championship; Storm forward Breanna Stewart won her second WNBA Finals MVP (More) | Los Angeles Lakers win Game 4 over Miami Heat, take 3-1 lead in NBA Finals (More)

> Twenty-five finalists selected for National Book Awards; winners in fiction, nonfiction, literature in translation, young people's literature, and poetry to be announced Nov. 18 (More)

Science & Technology

> The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Drs. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for the development of CRISPR gene editing (More) | What is CRISPR? (More)

> Google and Oracle to present opposing arguments to the Supreme Court with pivotal implications for software development; Oracle seeks ability to copyright Java APIs, or application programming interfaces (More)

> Researchers demonstrate remote control of blood sugar levels in mice using tuned electric and magnetic fields (More) | Malaria parasites employ a unique lipid-protein to protect against heat from fevers (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets down (S&P 500 -1.4%, Dow -1.4%, Nasdaq -1.6%) after President Trump instructs halt of stimulus negotiations until after the election (More)

> US House antitrust subcommittee releases 449-page report stating big tech dominance has stifled innovation; calls on Congress to take antitrust action (More)

> Microsoft contacted by US Department of Labor questioning whether 2025 plan to double Black leaders violates employment laws against discrimination (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Facebook completely bans QAnon groups and posts across its platform, calling the conspiracy theory a militarized social movement (More) | Facebook removes, Twitter hides President Trump post comparing COVID-19 to the seasonal flu (More)

> President Trump says he would sign a bill providing direct stimulus checks if passed, after halting broader talks (More) | Trump aide Stephen Miller tests positive (More​) | Joint Chiefs of Staff to quarantine after potential exposure (More) 

> Sunday election results in Kyrgyzstan annulled following violent protests, with opposition parties accusing President Sooronbai Jeenbekov of buying votes (More)

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ETCETERA

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Americans are drinking 14% more during the pandemic.

Mapping every state's favorite Halloween candy.

This great white shark has been dubbed "queen of the ocean."

One mom's morning announcements during remote learning go viral. 

Texas grand jury indicts Netflix over the film "Cuties."

Clickbait: Wi-Fi enabled male chastity belt can be remotely locked by hackers. 

Historybook: RIP Edgar Allan Poe (1849); World’s oldest airline still operating, KLM, is founded (1919); HBD Nobel Prize-winner Desmond Tutu (1931); Saint Teresa of Calcutta, or Mother Teresa, starts her Missionaries of Charity (1950); Russian President Vladimir Putin born (1952).

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

- Saint Teresa of Calcutta

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