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MOSTLY SUNNY 61 • 41 | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 | theworldlink.com

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Trump, Biden final debate WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is hopping from one must-win stop on the electoral map to the next in the leadup to a final presidential debate that may be his last, best chance to alter the trajectory of the 2020 campaign. Democrat Joe Biden has been taking the opposite approach, holing up for debate prep in advance of Thursday’s faceoff in Nashville, Tennessee. Trump, trailing in polls in most battleground states, stopped in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and was bound for North Carolina on Wednesday as he delivers what his campaign sees as his closing message. “This is an election between a Trump super recovery and a

Biden depression,” the president said in Erie, Pennsylvania. “You will have a depression the likes of which you have never seen.” He added: “If you want depression, doom and despair, vote for Sleepy Joe. And boredom.” But the Republican president’s pitch that he should lead the rebuilding of an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic has been overshadowed by a series of fights. In the last two days he has attacked the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and a venerable TV newsmagazine while suggesting that the country was tired of talking about a virus that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States. Before leaving the White

House for Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump taped part of an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that apparently ended acrimoniously. On Twitter, the president declared his interview with Lesley Stahl to be “FAKE and BIASED,” and he threatened to release a White House edit of it before its Sunday airtime. Also trailing in fundraising for campaign ads, Trump is increasingly relying on his signature campaign rallies to maximize turnout among his GOP base. His trip to Pennsylvania on Tuesday was one of what is expected to be several visits to the state in the next two weeks. “If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole thing,” Trump said in Erie.

Erie County, which includes the aging industrial city in the state’s northwest corner, went for President Barack Obama by 5 percentage points in 2012 but broke for Trump by 2 in 2016. That swing, fueled by Trump’s success with white, working-class, non-college-educated voters, was replicated in small cities and towns and rural areas and helped him overcome Hillary Clinton’s victories in the state’s big cities. But Trump will probably need to run up the score by more this time around as his prospects have slipped since 2016 in vote-rich suburban Philadelphia, where he underperformed by past Republican measures. This raises the stakes for his campaign’s more

The World file photo

North Bend High School

NBHS reports COVID-19 case ZACK DEMARS The World

NORTH BEND — A staff member at North Bend High School has tested positive for COVID-19, and a small group of impacted students is quarantining, school officials announced Monday. “As members of the school community, we understand that this might raise concerns alongside a caring response,” North Bend School District Superintendent Kevin Bogatin wrote in a message to district families. “We are working closely with Coos

Health & Wellness to respond to this news and protect the health of our community.” The school district plans to continue its cleaning and disinfecting protocols, as well as conduct an electrostatic cleaning of the impacted area. Staff and students impacted by the case will be quarantined through Nov. 2 and will coordinate with Coos Health & Wellness contact tracers and investigators, according to the release. The staff member worked with a limited number of students, so only a few people are impacted, Bogatin said in an interview.

In his statement, Bogatin also reminded district families about the importance of following public health precaution recommendations. Families in the district should be sure to wear face coverings, wash their hands frequently, physically distance and remain at home when sick, he wrote. “Protect the community by following the Governor’s safety requirements,” Bogatin wrote. Individuals who are concerned about possible exposure can contact Coos Health & Wellness at 541-266-6700. The case is one of several in

county schools since they’ve reopened for limited in-person instruction, including two Coos Bay elementary schools and a North Bend Christian school. As far as Bogatin knows, its the first case in North Bend School District. He thinks the district’s response procedures are working as they’re supposed to — though contact tracing for less formal, impromptu interactions can be a challenge. “We’re still trying to figure out, since this is the first case, how we communicate this information,” Bogatin said. “Everyone has to do their part.”

McConnell warns against COVID relief deal WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington negotiations on a huge COVID-19 relief bill took a modest step forward on Tuesday, though time is running out and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Donald Trump’s most powerful Senate ally, is pressing the White House against going forward. McConnell on Tuesday told fellow Republicans that he has warned the White House not to divide Republicans by sealing a lopsided $2 trillion relief deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the election — even as he publicly said he’d slate any such agreement for a vote. Pelosi’s office said talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday were productive, but other veteran lawmakers said there is still too much work to do and not enough time to do it to enact a relief bill by Election Day. McConnell made his remarks during a private lunch with fellow Republicans on Tuesday,

three people familiar with them said, requesting anonymity because the session was private. The Kentucky Republican appears worried that an agreement between Pelosi and Mnuchin would drive a wedge between Republicans, forcing them to choose whether to support a Pelosi-blessed deal with Trump that would violate conservative positions they’ve stuck with for months. Many Republicans say they can’t vote for another huge Pelosi-brokered agreement. McConnell said if such a bill passed the Democratic-controlled House with Trump’s blessing “we would put it on the floor of the Senate.” Those public remarks came after the private session with fellow Republicans. Trump is hoping for an agreement before the election, eager to announce another round of $1,200 direct payments going out under his name, but it’s increasingly clear that time has pretty much run out. If he wins, Trump is promising relief, but if he loses

— as polls are indicating — it’s unclear that his enthusiasm for delivering COVID aid will be as strong. Recent history suggests that any post-election lame-duck session in the event of a Trump loss wouldn’t produce much. “It’s not a question of ‘íf.’ It’s a question of ‘when.’” said Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota. “We have to do more. We know that.” Pelosi said earlier Tuesday that she and Mnuchin remained at odds over refundable tax credits for the working poor and families with children, the size of a Democratic-sought aid package for state and local governments, and a liability shield for businesses and other organizations against lawsuits over their COVID preparations. Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, wrote on Twitter that she and Mnuchin then spoke for 45 minutes and found “more clarity and common ground” and that “both sides are serious about finding a compromise.”

Another conversation is slated for Wednesday. The Pelosi-Mnuchin talks also involve pandemic jobless aid, the second round of $1,200 direct payments, and money for schools, testing and vaccines. Pelosi had said Tuesday was a deadline day, but clarified in an interview with Bloomberg News that the aim is to spur the two sides to exchange their best proposals on a host of unresolved issues, not to close out all of their disagreements or have final legislative language at hand. “Let’s see where we are,” Pelosi said. “We all want to get an agreement.” Time is running out and Pelosi has instructed her committee chairs to try to iron out details, but the Senate GOP negotiators do not appear as eager as she is. “It’s getting to be toward the last minute and the clock keeps ticking away,” Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Tuesday. “I’m not Please see Covid, Page 2

aggressive outreach to new rural and small-town voters across the industrial north. His aides worry that his opponent is uniquely situated to prevent that, as Biden not only hails from Scranton but has built his political persona as a representative of the middle and working classes. Trump, who spoke for less than an hour, showed the crowd a video of various Biden comments on fracking in a bid to portray the Democrat as opposed to the process. The issue is critical in a state that is the second leading producer of natural gas in the country. Biden’s actual position is that he would ban new gas and oil permits, including for

Please see Debate, Page 2

Groups sue over use of tear gas PORTLAND (AP) — Night after night in Portland, tear gas and other crowd control devices have enveloped protesters and bystanders in airborne chemicals that settle on the ground, later to be washed into storm drains. Amid allegations that human health and the environment are suffering the consequences, five environmental groups represented by the ACLU of Oregon and others sued the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday. The federal lawsuit alleges the U.S. government violated federal environmental law by deploying “an unprecedented amount of dangerous chemical weapons” without assessing their environmental impacts beforehand, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from federal authorities. With the city experiencing some of the most sustained Black Lives Matter protests in the country, efforts by local officials and researchers are underway to determine whether, and how, people and the environment are being affected. Cyanide and heavy metals such as chromium and zinc were found by Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services at much higher levels in stormwater catch basins alongside a protest site than elsewhere in the city, the bureau said in a report last month. City officials said most contaminant levels in stormwater taken from a collection point 700 feet from the Willamette River, which bisects Portland, were lower than samples from a protest site several blocks further from the waterway. “While pollutant levels that enter the Willamette River are thankfully low, the city is concerned about any and all additional pollution loads,” Environmental Services Director Mike Jordan said in September. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality noted that “the repeated deployment of tear gas in downtown Portland has led to elevated levels of certain contaminants” in stormwater drains. But spokeswoman Susan Mills said the concentrations found in stormwater catch basins “are not likely high enough to cause immediate impacts to the environment.” Environmentalists, though, are troubled that the drainage systems around the federal courthouse and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building — both sites of protests that have seen heavy tear gas use — chan-

Please see Gas, Page 2

eEdition

Oregon goes over 40,000 virus cases heur (11), Marion (38), Morrow (2), Multnomah (101), Polk (6), Umatilla (10), Wasco (2), Washington (44), and Yamhill (7). Oregon’s 628th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old woman in Washington County who tested positive on Oct. 2 and died on Oct. 17 in her residence. She had underlying conditions. Oregon’s 629th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on Oct. 9 and died on Oct. 15 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. He had underlying conditions. Oregon’s 630th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Sept. 3 and died on Oct. 14 in her res-

idence. She did not have underlying conditions. Oregon’s 631st COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Aug. 29 and died on Oct. 18 in his residence. He had underlying conditions. Oregon’s 632nd COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on Oct. 10 and died Oct. 17 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. He had underlying conditions. Oregon’s 633rd COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on Sept. 29 and died on Oct. 17 at Providence Portland Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

nel stormwater directly into the Willamette. On a recent afternoon, activist Juniper Simonis stood knee-deep in the river with a mesh colander. Simonis scooped up sediment and found a rubber buckshot pellet. Then Simonis, an environmental consultant who has “These Gams Kill Fascists” tattooed across both legs, found a larger pellet that likely came from a type of grenade that often contains tear gas. Simonis also showed a reporter two dozen components of tear gas projectiles and pepper balls that Simonis says came from the river and storm runoff system. The objects raise questions about the presence of invisible chemicals and heavy metals from the crowd control devices, said Travis Williams, executive director of Willamette Riverkeepers, one group suing the federal government. “It would seem that those pieces of hardware and the pellets ... could be indicative of the contaminants making it to the river as well,” Williams said. The lawsuit says “the presence of chemicals, sediment, and munitions debris ... in the Willamette River waters can cause negative effects to recreationalists, as well as wildlife.” It asks the court to stop the use of tear gas and other munitions until the DHS analyzes their health and environmental impacts and makes the information public. “We all have a right to a safe and healthy community. Environmental hazards and police violence

disproportionately deny that right to Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color,” said Kelly Simon, interim legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. The city report said high levels of cyanide, hexavalent chromium and barium in sediment in catch basins near the courthouse indicate there may be an accumulation from chemical munitions. And Andrew Whelton, associate professor of environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University, said that’s concerning. “If contaminants accumulate in sediment, they may leach out over time or ... may be released into the water column,” Whelton said in an email. Lori Pillsbury, a lab administrator at the state environment department, recently told an Oregon House panel “some of the products and the propellants associated with tear gas use can be detrimental to water quality and aquatic life.” People are likely being exposed to substances at much higher concentrations than what was found in catch basins, said Sven-Eric Jordt, a researcher at Duke University’s School of Medicine. He said air samples should be taken during protests. But state officials said air-quality monitors aren’t located nearby and don’t measure tear gas exposure. Medical experts say there are few studies on health effects of tear gas. To try to fill the information gap, two surveys are being done, including by one of the nation’s largest healthcare groups. The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health

Research, in Portland, launched its survey after people reported health impacts of tear gas immediately after exposure and sometimes for weeks, said principal investigator Britta Torgrimson-Ojerio. “These reports included symptoms for which there is almost no peer-reviewed evidence, including menstrual cycle changes, prolonged headaches, and gastrointestinal issues such as lack of appetite, diarrhea, and nausea,” said Torgrimson-Ojerio. Another survey, by Planned Parenthood North Central States and the University of Minnesota, is “very exploratory” and could also help determine what future studies need to be done, said Asha Hassan, lead researcher. Among obstacles to sorting out health and environmental impacts is lack of disclosure. There also is a lack of oversight by federal agencies, according to a previous AP investigation. The amounts of ingredients the crowd control agents contain are considered trade secrets, Portland officials said. And the devices don’t always list the substances created when they’re deployed. For example, safety data sheets for HC (hexachloroethane) smoke grenades — which have been deployed in Portland — don’t list zinc chloride, although it’s a known component of the smoke. Zinc chloride has resulted in fatalities and injuries to unprotected soldiers, according to a U.S. Army report. A European Union agency says it “is very toxic to aquatic life.” Figuring out precisely what tear gas components are in the environment is also a challenge.

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The World Oregon has gone over 40,000 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 346 new confirmed and presumptive cases reported Tuesday by the Oregon Health Authority. That brings the total case number statewide as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to 40,136, OHA said. In addition, the state reported six more deaths, bringing the death toll to 633. Tuesday’s new cases are in the following counties: Benton (3), Clackamas (28), Columbia (1), Coos (3), Crook (2), Deschutes (3), Douglas (9), Harney (2), Hood River (1), Jackson (10), Jefferson (4), Klamath (4), Lane (42), Linn (13), Mal-

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Police seek public help in search for missing Glide teen The World GLIDE — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing Glide teen. 15-year-old Athena Calvin of was last seen on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, when she left a residence in the 300-block of Alexander Lane in Glide shortly after 3:00 pm. Calvin is described as 5’03’’, 110 lbs, light

Debate From Page 1

fracking, on federal lands only. The vast majority of oil and gas does not come from federal lands. Three weeks of wrangling over the debate format and structure appeared to have subsided after the Commission on Presidential Debates came out with procedures meant to reduce the chaotic interruptions that plagued the first Trump-Biden encounter last month. This time, Trump and Biden will each have his microphone cut off while his rival delivers an opening two-minute answer to each of the six debate topics, the commission announced. The mute button won’t figure in the open discussion portion of the debate.

Covid From Page 1

optimistic about doing anything.” Aides familiar with the talks say the price tag for a potential Pelosi-Mnuchin deal is inching close to $2 trillion. Senate Republicans are recoiling at both the size of the measure and Pelosi’s demands, even as Trump is beating the drums for an agreement. “I want to do it even bigger than the Democrats. Not every Republican agrees,” Trump said Tuesday on Fox News. “But they will.” McConnell, meanwhile, is pushing ahead with votes

brown hair with blonde grow out. She was last known to be wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, jeans and white shoes. Deputies believe she could possibly be attempting to make her way to Texas. Anyone with information as to her whereabouts, including her classmates, is asked to contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 440-4471 referencing case #20-4765.

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Trump was to have been joined in Erie by first lady Melania Trump, in what would have been her first public appearance since she and the president were sickened with COVID-19. But her chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, said Tuesday that Mrs. Trump has a lingering cough and would not accompany the president. As Trump was on the road, Biden was meeting at his lakeside home in Wilmington, Delaware, with senior adviser Ron Klain, who is in charge of debate preparation. Also on hand: a group of aides that the campaign has purposely kept small to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Biden, who taped his own interview with “60 Minutes” on Monday at a theater near his home, had no public events Tuesday or Wednesday

and wasn’t scheduled to travel — except to the debate — on Thursday. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, was out campaigning, and he was expected to receive a late boost from Obama, who was to host an event Wednesday in Philadelphia. Biden is now tested about every two days for the coronavirus and has never been found to be positive. He suggested before last week’s planned second debate in Miami that the proceedings shouldn’t happen if Trump was still testing positive for COVID-19 after contracting the virus earlier in the month. The candidates instead held dueling town halls on separate networks after the commission said the debate should occur virtually, citing safety concerns, and Trump rejected the idea.

this week on GOP measures that stand little chance of advancing. On Tuesday, the GOP-held chamber went on record in favor of another round of payroll subsidies for businesses such as restaurants and hotels that are having particular difficulty during the pandemic. But while the vote put the Senate on record as supportive of the idea, it’s not aimed at advancing the measure through time-consuming procedural steps that could interfere with a floor schedule dominated by the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Trump’s GOP allies in the Senate are slated to support a revote

on a virus proposal with a net cost of about $500 billion, though it does not include the $1,200 direct payments that are so important to Trump. But the Senate GOP bill has failed once before, and Trump himself says it’s too puny. The goodwill and bipartisanship that powered the $1.8 trillion bipartisan CARES Act into law in March has largely dissipated. It passed by an overwhelming margin as the economy went into lockdown. Since then, Trump and many of his GOP allies have focused on loosening social and economic restrictions as the key to recovery instead of more taxpayer-funded help.

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eEdition Poll: Many distrust campaign info (AP) - In a presidential election year that has thrown the country’s divisions into stark relief, Americans can agree on this: Misinformation about government and politics is a major problem. A new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research and USAFacts finds that while voters say it’s pretty easy to find accurate information about voting, they have a harder time knowing whether there’s any factual basis for the information they’re getting from and about the candidates. “The misinformation, it’s just blossomed to the point where it’s unmanageable,” said nurse Liana Price, 34, of Tampa Bay, Florida, who supports Democrat Joe Biden in the contest against President Donald Trump and worries misinformation about the election could sway voters. “You try to explain and provide facts and

actual research, but people don’t believe it.” Among the poll’s findings: More than 8 in 10 rated the spread of misinformation about government a “major problem.” The deluge in political misinformation and conspiracy theories has fueled distrust in institutions and threatens to undermine confidence in elections, democracy and the nation itself, according to Cindy Otis, a former CIA officer, author and disinformation expert. “We are living today in the biggest period of false information in history, and we Americans are largely doing it to ourselves,” Otis said last week during a hearing focused on election-related misinformation. “Americans are losing trust in what they read and see online. We are desperate for information, but certain groups feel they cannot trust the traditional institutions upon which they used to rely.”

The poll found the candidates and their campaigns are themselves seen as not credible by many Americans, with less than a third of Americans saying campaign messages from either Biden or Trump are often or always based on facts. Roughly half of respondents said Trump’s campaign messages are rarely or never based in fact, while about 4 in 10 respondents say that of Biden’s campaign. Not surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans disagree about which candidate has the bigger problem with the facts. But Trump scores lower even among his own party, with nearly a quarter of Republicans saying his campaign messages are rarely or never based in fact compared with only about 1 in 10 Democrats who say the same about Biden. While partisan disagreement is nothing new, the battles used to be more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft descended to an asteroid Tuesday and, dodging boulders the size of buildings, momentarily touched the surface to collect a handful of cosmic rubble for return to Earth. It was a first for the United States — only Japan has scored asteroid samples. “Touchdown declared,” a flight controller announced to cheers and applause. “Sampling is in progress.” Confirmation came from the Osiris-Rex spacecraft as it made contact with the surface of the asteroid Bennu more than 200 million miles away. But it could be a week before scientists know how much, if much of anything, was grabbed and whether another try will be needed. If successful, Osiris-Rex will return the samples in 2023. “I can’t believe we actually pulled this off,” said lead scientist Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. “The spacecraft did everything it was supposed to do.” Osiris-Rex took 4 1/2 hours to make its way down from its tight orbit around Bennu, following commands sent well in advance by ground controllers near Denver. Bennu’s gravity was too low for the spacecraft to land — the asteroid is just 1,670 feet (510 meters) across. As a result, it had to reach out with its 11-foot (3.4-meter) robot arm and attempt to grab at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of Bennu. The University of Arizona’s Heather Enos, deputy scientist for the mission, described it as “kissing the surface with a short touch-and-go measured in just seconds.” At Mission Control for spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin, controllers

on the TAG team — for touch-and-go — wore royal blue polo shirts and black masks with the mission patch. The coronavirus pandemic had resulted in a two-month delay. Tuesday’s operation was considered the most harrowing part of the mission, which began with a launch from Cape Canaveral back in 2016. A van-sized spacecraft with an Egyptian-inspired name, Osiris-Rex aimed for a spot equivalent to a few parking spaces on Earth in the middle of the asteroid’s Nightingale Crater. After nearly two years orbiting the boulder-packed Bennu, the spacecraft found this location to have the biggest patch of particles small enough to be swallowed up. After determining that the coast was clear, Osiris-Rex closed in the final few yards (meters) for the sampling. The spacecraft was programmed to shoot out pressurized nitrogen gas to stir up the surface, then suck up any loose pebbles or dust, before backing away. By the time flight controllers heard back from Osiris-Rex, the action already happened 18 1/2 minutes earlier, the time it takes radio signals to travel each way between Bennu and Earth. They expected to start receiving photos overnight and planned to provide an update Wednesday. “We’re going to be looking at a whole series of images as we descended down to the surface, made contact, fired that gas bottle, and I really want to know how that surface responded,” Lauretta said. “We haven’t done this before, so this is new territory for us.” Scientists want at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and, ideally, closer to 4

pounds (2 kilograms) of Bennu’s black, crumbly, carbon-rich material — thought to contain the building blocks of our solar system. Pictures taken during the operation will give team members a general idea of the amount of loot; they will put the spacecraft through a series of spins Saturday for a more accurate measure. NASA’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, likened Bennu to the Rosetta Stone: “something that’s out there and tells the history of our entire Earth, of the solar system, during the last billions of years.” Another benefit: The solar-orbiting Bennu, which swings by Earth every six years, has a slight chance of smacking Earth late in the next century. It won’t be a show-stopping life-ender. But the more scientists know about the paths and properties of potentially hazardous space rocks like this one, the safer we’ll all be. Osiris-Rex could make two more touch-and-go maneuvers if Tuesday’s sample comes up short. Regardless of how many tries it takes, the samples won’t return to Earth until 2023 to close out the $800-plus million quest. The sample capsule will parachute into the Utah desert. “That will be another big day for us. But this is absolutely the major event of the mission right now,” NASA scientist Lucy Lim said. Japan expects samples from its second asteroid mission — in the milligrams at most — to land in the Australian desert in December. NASA, meanwhile, plans to launch three more asteroid missions in the next two years, all one-way trips.

about policies or ideas rather than disagreements about fundamental facts or whether the other side is even telling the truth. “I’ve voted for 40 years, and I’ve never seen it like this,” said 60-yearold Kevin Wollersheim, of St. Paul, Minnesota, who supports Biden for president. “There are no alternative facts. There’s the truth, and the truth is important.” Bonita Sergent, 68, a Trump supporter from southern Ohio, agreed. “People don’t trust what they hear like they used to,” she said. When Americans do try to verify news about the campaign, internet searches are the preferred way, the survey found, with 35% saying they turn to the web to see if news about the contest is true. Traditional news sources fared worse: 13% said they turn to cable news networks, 8% said national news networks and only

3% went with newspapers or online news sites, reflecting a broader loss of trust in news organizations. “I think somewhere between 95 and 98% of the press are what I would call deep state liars,” said 75-year-old Trump supporter Colleen McDonald, of San Diego. “They make stuff up. I wouldn’t believe anything that they said.” Social media received similarly poor marks, with only 5% saying it’s where they go to verify whether election-related news is true. Nevertheless, social media remains a leading source of news for many, with 37% saying they get news from platforms like Facebook or Twitter at least once a day. “Social media is a cesspool,” said Jeff Kemble, 50, a self-described liberal from Massachusetts who supports Biden. “The only information you get is the information you go looking for. And that certainly

doesn’t mean it’s true.” One silver lining in the poll? At least 6 in 10 Americans say it’s easy to find factual information about registering to vote and casting their ballot. That’s especially good news during a pandemic year election in which many voters will vote by mail for the first time. Eric Amundsen, 31, of Manhattan, said he’s pleased to see social media platforms like Facebook promote resources and information about voting. It helps to repair the company’s reputation, he said, after its role in spreading such misinformation. He said he hopes the fact that so many Americans are in agreement about the dangers posed by misinformation means they will act to address the problem — on Election Day and beyond. “Maybe I’m too optimistic,” he said. “But I think maybe people are just tired of the noise.”

PORTLAND (AP) — A member of the far-right Proud Boys has been sentenced to six months in jail after authorities say he violated probation by attending a protest in Portland. Tusitala “Tiny” Toese was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. The 24-year-old was spotted walking among demonstrators in Portland on Aug. 22, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Toese, of Vancouver, Washington, had pleaded guilty to an assault charge in January that stemmed from a 2018 beating in Portland. Circuit Judge Kathleen Dailey prohibited Toese from attending Portland protests for two years in that case and ordered him to pay $1,800 to Timothy Ledwith, the man he and an associate attacked.

At the time, Toese claimed he was done with politics and protests. Dailey on Tuesday found Toese had willfully violated multiple conditions of his probation. Toese, who jail records say is 6-foot-5 and over 300 pounds, gained notoriety as a member of the Proud Boys as well as Patriot Prayer, another right-wing group. Toese was also close with Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson until the duo had a falling out. Also this week, another self-described member of the Proud Boys accused of firing a paintball gun at counterprotesters and pointing a revolver at others with his finger on the trigger will remain in custody with a $534,000 bail after Circuit Judge Thomas Ryan denied his motion for release. Swinney, 50, remains in custody pending trial. Swinney’s lawyer Eric

Wolfe had argued for Swinney’s release or lowering his bail. Wolfe on Tuesday declined comment to the newspaper. Swinney has pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment on charges including assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of mace, pointing a gun at another person and menacing. The indictment alleges Swinney used a paintball gun and mace or a similar substance during downtown demonstrations on Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. It also alleges he pointed a revolver during the Aug. 22 demonstration. Multnomah County prosecutors said Swinney’s bail shouldn’t be reduced, citing social media posts where he’s called the conflict he described as between right-wing and left-wing activists a “civil war” and bragged about his access to guns.

Spacecraft successfully Proud Boy on probation gets touches asteroid Tuesday jail time for attending protest

Fourth inmate with COVID-19 dies in eastern Oregon prison PENDLETON (AP) — A fourth person who tested positive for COVID-19 while incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton has died, state officials said. The Oregon Department of Corrections said the man who died was between 50 and 60 years old. He is the 16th person

to die with COVID-19 while in custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections, the East Oregonian reported. Because the man was positive for COVID-19, the department is withholding usually reported information following the death of an inmate, such as the person’s name, county of conviction,

sentence length, and date of death. According to an email from Ron Miles, an Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution spokesperson, there are 385 people incarcerated at that prison who have tested positive for the virus as of Oct. 19. Another 41 staff members have tested positive, he said.

DEAR ABBYBy Abigail Van Buren PARENTS DISAPPROVE OF NEW BOYFRIEND OF DIFFERENT RACE DEAR ABBY: I’m a 22-year-old woman who was adopted. I recently started dating an amazing man who happens to be of another race. My parents, whom I love very much, told me that if I stay with him, they will disown me. They have made many horrible comments about my relationship, and I’m at a loss about what to do. I love them, but I also love my boyfriend. Please give me advice. What should I do? -- HOPELESS IN INDIANA DEAR HOPELESS: You need to figure out which is more important to you, the hope for a future with this amazing man who is new in your life, or your relationship with your parents. It’s a tough choice to make, and there are variables to consider. Are you OK with your parents dictating who you can date in terms of race? Is this person as serious as you are about this new relationship? Are you financially and emotionally independent? Start by making a list of the pros and the cons. Once you are finished, understanding that neither choice will be pain free, you may have a clearer idea of what your decision must be. DEAR ABBY: My husband of 30 years still desires me. I know he has been faithful. He’s a wonderful father, has plenty of friends, a warm sense of humor and even in tough times has always managed to be a good provider. We have never wanted for anything. He is in decent shape for his age, and some women have commented that he is handsome. Yet I recoil at his advances or pretend to be asleep. I feel like I owe him sex since it’s part of marriage, and then I resent him because I feel I am letting him down. -- NO DESIRE DOWN SOUTH DEAR NO DESIRE: You need to figure out whether your negative reaction

to your husband’s advances is emotional or physical. Have you always felt this way, or is it (relatively) recent? Hormonal changes as women age can be a reason for lack of libido, and if that’s what’s causing your problem, it is something you should talk about with your gynecologist because it may be fixable. Start there, because you owe this both to yourself and your husband. DEAR ABBY: My fiance and I decided to live together. Although I knew at the time that his cousin and two younger people lived in the house with him, he promised to make sure there was room for me and my 13-year-old son, who has Asperger’s. However, things are tense in the house because someone is stealing my things, and no one will admit it. There is also constant fighting about how I should raise my son because everyone in the house has an opinion and wants to be his boss. I am at my wits’ end. I love my fiance, but I can’t take much more of the anxiety they put me through. What should I do? -- TORN IN TENNESSEE DEAR TORN: Have a frank conversation with your fiance about the fact that this living situation isn’t working out for you. The two of you should then discuss options. The most obvious would be that some folks need to make other living arrangements -either you and your son, or the cousin and the two younger people. This doesn’t necessarily mean the engagement has to be broken, but things cannot continue as they are. ------------------------------Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www. DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

MOSTLY SUNNY 61 • 41 | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 | theworldlink.com

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Kershaw, Dodgers win World Series opener ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts — the Los Angeles Dodgers stars all shined. Nothing out of the ordinary there, even if the setting was surreal. Baseball’s best team during the pandemic-shortened season showed off its many talents in the first World Series game played at a neutral site, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 Tuesday night. With the seats mostly empty, Kershaw dominated for six innings, Bellinger and Betts homered and the Dodgers chased a wild Tyler Glasnow in the fifth inning and coasted home in the opener. A crowd limited by the coronavirus to 11,388 at Globe Life Field, the new $1.2 billion home of the Texas Rangers, marked the smallest for baseball’s top event in 111 years. Los Angeles hopes to go home with a title that has eluded the Dodgers since 1988 but tried to guard against focusing ahead. “It’s hard not to think about winning. It’s hard not to think about what that might be like,” Kershaw said. “Constantly keep putting that in your brain: tomorrow, win tomorrow, win tomorrow, win tomorrow. And then you do that three more times, and you can think about it all you want.” A regular season star with an erratic postseason history, Kershaw looked like the ace who so often stars on midsummer evenings with the San Gabriel Mountains behind him at Dodger

Stadium. With these games shifted, the 32-year-old left-hander wound up pitching not far from his offseason home in Dallas. The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed one run and two hits, struck out eight and walked one. He induced 19 swings and misses among his 78 pitches -- more than his three previous Series starts combined. “You can appreciate and totally see why he’s heading to the Hall of Fame one day whenever he’s done,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Kershaw threw nine balls in the first, when he stranded a pair of runners, then threw just nine more over the next three innings. “He had a game plan to try to really quiet down things from there and he executed,” said Kevin Kiermaier, who ended Kershaw’s streak of 13 retired in a row with a fifth-inning homer on a hanging slider that cut the Rays’ deficit to 2-1. Kershaw, a five-time ERA champ, improved to 2-2 in the World Series and 12-12 in postseason play, a shadow of his 175-76 regular season record. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not pitch him after Game 4 of the NL Championship Series last Thursday. “I think we were going to stay away from him in Game 7 just for this particular reason,” Roberts said. Game 2 is Wednesday night. The Dodgers, who posted the best record in the majors during the shortened season and showed off all their stars in Game 1, plan

to throw a collection of pitchers started by Tony Gonsolin against Rays ace Blake Snell. Eight of the last 10 teams to win Game 1 went on the title, all except the 2016 Indians and 2017 Dodgers. Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP who began the opener with a career .114 batting average in 12 World Series games, had put the Dodgers ahead in the fourth with a two-run homer off Glasnow, having no trouble driving a 98 mph pitch into the Dodgers bullpen in right-center. Bellinger, whose seventh-inning homer put the Dodgers ahead in Game 7 of the NL Championship on Sunday, shuffled his feet, tapping gently as he crossed the plate and celebrated by toe tapping teammates while dancing back to the dugout, a sign he remembered popping his right shoulder during raucous revelry two nights earlier. He capped his evening by leaping at the 6-foot center field wall in the ninth, robbing Austin Meadows of a possible home run. “I said it today before the game: If I hit one I’m not touching anybody’s arm,” Bellinger said. “I’m going straight foot, and it was pretty funny.” Betts, brilliant throughout October but slumping at the plate, added his first postseason homer for the Dodgers, an opposite-field solo shot to right in the sixth off Josh Fleming. Betts had two hits, scored two runs and stole two bases in the four-run fifth, when Corey Seager swiped one as Los

Angeles became the first team to steal three bases in a Series inning since the 1912 New York Giants in Game 5 against Boston. “That’s a weak spot of my game, holding runners,” Glasnow said. “Has to be something I focus on more in the future. ” Betts became the first to hit a home run, steal two bases and score twice in a Series game. “Stolen bases are a thing for me. That’s how I create runs and create havoc on the basepaths,” he said. Los Angeles is in the Series for the third time in four years but seeking its first title since the Kirk Gibson- and Orel Hershiser-led team of 32 years ago. Coming off an unusual LCS of games on seven straight days, the Dodgers planned an all-bullpen outing for the next game. Tampa Bay was held to six hits. Its only previous Series was a five-game loss to Philadelphia in 2008. Glasnow was chased after 4 1/3 innings with an ominous pitching line that included three hits, six runs, six walks and eight strikeouts. He threw a career-high 112 pitches and became the first to walk six or more in a series game since Edwin Jackson of St. Louis in Game 4 of 2011. Glasnow went to three-ball counts on 12 of 23 batters. Los Angeles expanded its lead to 4-1 in the fifth, when Cash left Glasnow in to face left-handed-hitting Max Muncy with runners at the corners. Muncy hit a one-hopper to first baseman Yandy Díaz with the infield in,

and Betts beat a strong but slightly offline throw with a headfirst slide past catcher Mike Zunino. Will Smith finished Glasnow with an RBI single, and Chris Taylor and pinch-hitter Kiké Hernández followed with run-scoring singles off Ryan Yarbrough for a 6-1 lead. Justin Turner and Muncy doubled on consecutive pitches in the sixth. Pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau and Kiermaier singled in runs in the seventh against Víctor González, who snagged Zunino’s line drive and doubled Brosseau off second base for an inning-ending double play. After a regular season played without fans, MLB resumed selling tickets with a limited amount for the NLCS at Globe Life and kept that up by allowing about 28% of capacity to be filled at the 40,518-seat ballpark, where the roof was open. The crowd was widely dispersed throughout and was the smallest for the Series since 10,535 attended Game 6 between the Pirates and Tigers at Detroit’s Bennett Park in 1909, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. An overwhelming majority of fans wore Dodger blue. “They’re everywhere. They always come out,” Kershaw said. “And so for as much as a game as we would have liked it to have been at Dodger Stadium and the 56,000 chanting, after everything that’s gone on this season, to have 10-, 11,000 people in the stands and a good bit of them being Dodger fans is pretty cool.”

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores says he regrets that his players found out about the team’s switch to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa through social media rather than from him. And Flores says the decision to bench popular veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick was difficult. “Fitz has done a great job,” Flores said Wednesday. “He has been productive. His leadership has been great. But we felt like for the team now, moving forward, this is a move we need to make.” Tagovailoa, the fifth pick

in the April draft, will make his first NFL start on Nov. 1 against the Los Angeles Rams after the Dolphins’ bye this week. News of the change leaked Tuesday. “The one thing in this situation that’s unfortunate is that I didn’t get a chance to address the team before this was out in the media,” Flores said. “It’s not the way I or we want to do business. Unfortunately, it’s kind of the way of the world right now. “I’m not happy about that at all. I’ll address that to the

team, and really apologize to them that they had to find out through social media. I don’t think that’s fair to them.” The timing of Tagovailoa’s promotion was surprising because the Dolphins (3-3) have won their past two games by a combined score of 67-17. The 37-year-old Fitzpatrick, who is in his second season with his eighth NFL team, has been characteristically inconsistent. He is fifth in the the league in completion percentage but third in interceptions with seven. He is also beloved by team-

mates and coaches. “Fitz has been great for the last year and a half,” Flores said. “I don’t know if there has been anybody more instrumental in trying to instill the culture that we’re looking for. He has made an impact on Tua and a lot of other players on this team. I have a great respect for him, and that made this decision very tough.” Even so, it was a decision anticipated since the day Miami drafted Tagovailoa as a potential franchise quarterback. The rookie played during mop-up time last week, his first

action since suffering a serious hip injury last November that ended his Alabama career. The cancellation of offseason drills and exhibition games because of the coronavirus slowed his NFL development, and two weeks ago, Flores said Tagovailoa wasn’t ready to start. Now he is. “He has gotten more comfortable,” Flores said. “Accuracy, decision-making, all those things have been good in practice. Practice is very different from games, but we’re comfortable and confident he’ll be able to be competitive.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday confirmed their hiring of Tyronn Lue to replace Doc Rivers as coach. Lue spent last season as an assistant on Rivers’ staff. Rivers coached the Clippers for the last seven seasons and is now guiding the Philadelphia 76ers. The team will introduce Lue virtually on Wednesday. Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, said the Clippers conducted a “thorough” search. “We found that the best choice for our team was already in our building,” Frank said. “He’s one of the great minds in our league, and he’s able to impart his vision to others, because he connects with everybody he meets.” Lue was on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ staff when he replaced the fired David Blatt during the 2015-16 season. Under Lue’s guidance, the Cavs and LeBron James went on to win their first-ever NBA championship that season, making Lue one of the few rookie coaches in the league to ever lead his team to a title. Lue, who won two NBA championships as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, went 128-83 in parts of four seasons as Cavs coach. He coached the team to the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018, but both times they lost to Golden State. He was fired after an 0-6 start to the 2018-19 season. “The pieces we need are in place — committed ownership, smart management, and elite talent, on and off the court, in the NBA’s best market,” Lue said. “My familiarity with the organization, particularly Mr. (Steve) Ballmer and Lawrence, confirmed this is where I want to be.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Erik Jones will drive NASCAR’s iconic No. 43 next season for Richard Petty Motorsports, a pairing of a driver and a team both in need of fresh starts. Jones in August was was dropped by megateam Joe Gibbs Racing after six seasons, while Bubba Wallace and RPM are splitting at the end of the year. Wallace’s social activism this year became the defining characteristic of the storied Petty organization. “They still have something to prove and I have something to prove,” Jones told The Associated Press. “We are both motivated to write a new chapter. It’s just a really clean slate, a chance to start from scratch and do something completely different.” Wallace, NASCAR’s only full-time Black driver, this season has been outspoken on racial inequality and injustice. He ran a Black Lives Matter paint scheme on the No. 43 and RPM adopted Wallace’s “compassion, love, understanding” platform. Wallace’s new prominence helped the driver sign millions of dollars in new sponsorship, but the funding will follow him next season when he moves to a new team formed by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. The loss of Wallace could have crippled RPM, the cashstrapped team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rich-

ard Petty. Instead, a volatile free agent market helped RPM land Jones, a 24-year-old considered among the top young talent in NASCAR. RPM chairman Brian Moffitt said there was “no fear at all” the organization would not survive splitting with Wallace. “We’ve been here since it started in 1948 and we plan to be involved for many, many years,” Moffitt told the AP. “It’s a passion of the family and we want to keep things headed in the right direction. I think Erik gives us an opportunity to get back to our winning ways.” RPM will again field a Chevrolet next season in partnership with Richard Childress Racing. Jerry Baxter will return as crew chief of the No. 43. Jones begins a new journey outside of Toyota for the first time in his career. He was a longtime developmental driver for the manufacturer and his career was fast-tracked when as a 16-year-old he beat Kyle Busch in a late model race. Toyota helped Jones land a full-time ride in the Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports then moved him through NASCAR’s national ladder with Gibbs. Jones won rookie of the year in the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series, as well as the Truck Series championship. Jones’ 18 national series victories include a pair of Cup Series wins at two of NASCAR’s most storied tracks. He

won the July race at Daytona International Speedway in 2018 and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway the next year. Both victories locked Jones into the playoffs. Jones has not had the same overall Cup success of his Gibbs teammates and failed to make the playoffs this year. The team in August decided to replace Jones with Christopher Bell, another longtime Toyota development driver, a swap Jones said “blindsided” him because he believed he was working on a contract extension with Gibbs. It made Jones a late add to the free agent market, and despite his potential and young age, Jones was passed over for many of the open seats. He brings no sponsorship with him, which made Jones a tough sell for team owners in need of funding. RPM has long struggled to raise the cash needed to consistently contend for wins, but Moffitt said some of its sponsors are staying with the organization and won’t follow Wallace. Moffitt said some new partners are expected to be announced in the next few weeks, but acknowledged the organization is in search of additional funding. The No. 43 is a hallmark in NASCAR tied to the Petty family since the 1950s. Richard Petty — “The King” — won 192 of his record 200 Cup victories driving the No. 43. The late John Andretti drove the car to its final win under

the Petty Enterprises banner in 1999. Richard Petty took on an a series of different investors beginning in 2009 for re-branded Richard Petty Motorsports, which last put the No. 43 in victory lane in 2014 with driver Aric Almirola. Wallace became the full-time driver in 2018 and although he’s winless through three seasons, he’s been adequate in a car that lacks the funding to consistently race for wins. It will be a significant change for Jones, a fixture since he was a teenager in the Gibbs pipeline. The four-car JGR fleet is Toyota’s flagship and its well-funded cars consistently challenge for championships. RPM is a single-car operation accustomed to stretching every dollar in its quest to catch the big teams. Jones wants to be the driver guiding an RPM resurgence. “I’m going to have the opportunity to really know everybody. I knew a lot of people at JGR, but they’ve got almost 500 employees,” Jones said. “Looking at what RPM is and what they have, it’s a comfortable situation for me because it’s how I grew up, I worked on a lot of my own stuff. “I’m going to be able to get in there and be around those guys, get in the shop, and really get to know the people who have a piece in putting the car together. It’s going to be a more inclusive experience for me.”

Dolphins switch to Tua at quarterback

Clippers confirm hiring of Lue as coach

Erik Jones will drive No. 43 car for Richard Petty