In a speech from Delaware, Biden said the wildfires emphasized a growing urgency to address climate change. Trump, however, blamed poor forest management for the blazes during a visit to California. [AP]

2. Biden’s struggle with Latino voters in Florida worries Democrats

Those concerns come as some Latino voters in Florida appear to be more comfortable with President Trump than in 2016. 

A recent NBC-Marist poll found Latinos in this battleground state are almost evenly divided between Trump and Biden. And the GOP’s attacks that supporting the Democratic Party would lead to socialism appear to be resonating with some Latino voters.

Democratic officials, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, have urged Biden to reach out more aggressively to Latino voters. But Biden and his allies appear to be intensifying their outreach to older voters, suburbanites and African Americans instead of Latinos, who tend to lean more conservative in Florida. [AP]

Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign announced a “special litigation” team including hundreds of lawyers as it prepares for legal battles over the election. [New York Times]

And while the Trump campaign says it knocks on millions of doors a week, the Biden campaign is banking on the assumption that reaching voters online will be more effective during a pandemic. [NPR]

3. House Democrats launch probe after Trump officials reportedly pressured CDC into changing COVID-19 reports

The investigation comes after Politico obtained emails showing that some Trump appointees wanted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change COVID-19 reports so they would not contradict President Trump’s optimistic message on the pandemic.

As Politico reports, CDC officials have fought back against the requests, but they have “increasingly agreed to allow the political officials to review the reports and, in a few cases, compromised on the wording.”

The House investigation will focus on the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which researchers have relied on for the most current and reliable information on the coronavirus. [Politico]

One of the Trump officials criticized for trying to warp CDC reports is Michael Caputo, an assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Caputo on Sunday claimed, without providing evidence, that government scientists are trying to undermine Trump as part of a “resistance unit.” Caputo also claimed left-wing hit squads are targeting the president’s supporters. [New York Times]

4. Top health experts in Illinois worry about the flu season

The U.S. is approaching unknown territory as the flu season coincides with the pandemic, and top state and Chicago officials tell the Chicago Tribune they are concerned about how the flu season will impact efforts to contain the coronavirus.

But Dr. Allison Arwady, the Chicago commissioner for public health, said there might be a glimmer of hope: The flu season was mild in the Southern Hemisphere.

“We need a light flu season here,” she told the Tribune. “I am certainly concerned heading into the fall and winter, it would be foolish not to be.”

Meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker told the newspaper that the state is “well along the way” with putting together a plan for once a vaccine is publicly available. Pritzker said that the plan prioritizes frontline workers and people who are vulnerable. [Chicago Tribune]

State officials today reported 1,373 new cases and five additional deaths. You can find more information on infections, hospitalizations and other metrics in this link. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, 31 neighborhood groups in Chicago will help city officials with contact tracing. [WBEZ]

And temp workers in Illinois say they face unsafe working conditions that violate state guidelines. [WBEZ]

5. Is there life on Venus?

Scientists have made a startling discovery that could indicate some form of life may exist on Venus. According to a pair of studies published today, astronomers detected the presence of the chemical phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere.

Phosphine can be produced by microbes, leading scientists to believe something may be alive on Venus to create the chemical. The scientists discovered the gas by using powerful telescopes, but they have not collected any specimens.

Other scientists, however, remain cautious in their conclusions, saying Venus largely remains a mystery, and the chemical could have been produced by some unexplained atmospheric and geological process.

But if additional telescope observations and space missions are able to back up today’s news, it could mean scientists will no longer ignore Venus in their search for extraterrestrial life. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Yoshihide Suga, a behind-the-scenes power player in Japanese politics, is all but guaranteed to become the country’s next prime minister. [AP]
• Gulf Coast residents are bracing for Hurricane Sally. [NPR]
• Amazon announced plans to hire more than 5,600 Chicago-area workers to keep up with demand. [Chicago Tribune]
• Veteran Chicago journalist Carol Marin will leave NBC Ch. 5 and WTTW’s Chicago Tonight after the election. [Chicago Tribune]

Oh, and one more thing …

This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be a staged TV event that ditches the traditional parade route, officials announced today.

This year’s parade will be filmed over two days. Instead of handlers walking balloons down a parade route, the parade will use “an innovative, specially rigged” framework of vehicles to fly the balloons, organizers said.

And the number of participants, which usually included millions in the “before times,” will be reduced by 75%. [NBC News]

Tell me something good …

It feels more and more like the fall with each day. So I’d like to know: What are you most looking forward to about autumn?

Me? I love watching horror movies around Halloween while enjoying a warm boozy drink, like mulled wine or a hot toddy.

What are you looking forward to this fall? Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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