On Sept. 29, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the first of three presidential debates. Moderated by journalist Chris Wallace and held at Ohio University, President Trump’s performance was widely panned for his continuous interruption of both Biden and Wallace.  

Trump also faced criticism for telling the far-right hate group the Proud Boys to stand by when asked to denounce the group. He then called for increased focus on left-wing groups. The White House later asserted that the president did denounce white supremacy, including the Proud Boys. 

Initial polling conducted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found Biden’s national polling lead had jumped to 14 points. Biden garnered support from 53 percent of registered voters whereas Trump retained the support of 39 percent of registered voters. 

State-specific polling held after the debate in the swing states of Florida and Pennsylvania also show Biden leading. Surveys done by the New York Times and Siena College found the former Vice President, leading by 47 percent in Florida, up five points from previous polling. His lead increased in Pennsylvania from 42 percent to 49 percent. 

On Oct. 1, President Trump informed the world in a tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 and would begin to isolate at the White House. The next day, he was moved to Walter Reed Hospital and began an experimental drug treatment created by Regeneron.

Since then numerous divergent statements have been released by White House officials regarding Trump’s health. An optimistic appraisal painted by the president’s physicians was undercut by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows who expressed concern about the president’s vitals. 

Concerns about the information being shared with the public were reinforced on Oct. 4 when it emerged that Trump had experienced oxygen drops twice since the beginning of his infection and had taken the steroid dexamethasone in addition to remdesivir and the Regeneron antibody cocktail. Dexamethasone is typically reserved for patients with severe COVID-19 cases. 

Meanwhile, there has been a scramble to figure out which other top campaign officials and lawmakers may be infected. So far a large number of Trump’s close advisors and allies, including Chair of the RNC Ronna McDaniels, senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), campaign manager Bill Stepien and informal Trump advisors Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller and former Governor Chris Christie (R-N.J.), have tested positive. 

There are significant concerns that the White House reception for Judge Amy Coney Barrett may have been a super spreader event. 

There are fears as well that Vice President Mike Pence or Biden may have been infected, though both men have tested negative. 

President Trump’s positive diagnosis has profound implications for the rest of the 2020 campaign. As the Trump campaign scrambles to adjust its plans for the rest of the election season, Biden has continued campaigning in-person, though with smaller events than Trump’s rallies and with more stringent enforcement of COVID-19 protocols, such as social distancing. 

The Biden campaign has announced that it will pull all of its negative ads targeting the president while the president and the First Lady battle COVID-19. 

With one month left until the election, Trump has returned to the White House after hospitalization at Walter Reed Hospital. It is likely he will forgo the mass rallies that have characterized his campaign. Some of the last events of the election season have also been thrown into doubt including the second and third presidential debates, with Trump saying he will not participate in a virtual second debate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) have released documents to health officials in all 50 states outlining the strategy for the distribution of a possible coronavirus vaccine. 

This strategy is a result of the efforts made by Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed is a partnership between the HHS and DoD, as well as other federal agencies and private firms that coordinate to help accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

The “COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations” outlines a three-phased approach to the vaccination process. The first phase is set to begin as soon as a coronavirus vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Trump administration announced that they are hoping for that approval to come as soon as early November. 

With the limited supply of doses expected to be available in the first few months, Phase one distribution concentrates on what they have deemed critical populations that include healthcare professionals, higher risk individuals and essential workers. 

Phase two will begin as soon as a large number of vaccine doses become available for the general public, which is estimated to not be until January 2021 at the earliest. 

The final phase will begin as the demand for coronavirus vaccinations begins to decrease, resulting in a shift to open access to the vaccination and routine doses. 

Some people have begun questioning how the vaccine will be distributed fairly within the general population while doses are still limited. The CDC has reassured the distribution process will be fair and equitable, including in their plan that minority populations known to be at greater risk will receive priority access to the vaccine.

The looming possibility for widespread distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine is going to be a complex effort that will need the urgent preparation and cooperation of all levels of government in order to be a success. The Trump administration has struggled with the logistical challenges of containing the spread of coronavirus, so this daunting task of proper vaccine handling and allocation spreads concerns of effectiveness. 

Some health experts worry that the Trump administration is compromising scientific integrity by seeking to rush vaccine approval and distribution so that it occurs before Election Day on Nov. 3. This casts doubts on the President’s intentions and the safety of the vaccine.

A poll released by NPR in August found that 60 percent of Americans say they will choose to be vaccinated if a COVID-19 vaccine is made available to them and 35 percent would decline.

The timeline on a possible coronavirus vaccine is unprecedented, taking less than a year to complete a process that usually takes several to yield reliable results. The leaders of Operation Warp Speed are trying to allay public concerns of the safety of the vaccine by publishing an outline of their progress and reiterating how any possible vaccine will be held to high scientific standards. The FDA is also stressing that if they make a decision for an emergency use authorization before testing has concluded, it will be based solely on data rather than politics. 

The coronavirus vaccine will be distributed to states in order based on proportional population. This means that Missouri would be the 18th state to receive the new vaccine. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director, Dr. Randall Williams, assures that the department, in conjunction with the CDC, has begun actively planning for the complicated distribution methods needed to effectively provide vaccinations for people in all areas of the state.

In less than two months, the American people will vote in one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history. According to both national and statewide polls, there is likely to  be a new President of the United States. A poll conducted by The Economist has former Vice President Joe Biden with a commanding nine point lead over President Donald Trump. This is not a unique result as most polls have Biden beating President Trump somewhere between two and 11 points. These statistics, however, could create a false reality for the Democratic nominee and his campaign. The statewide polls create a more accurate prediction of election day.

Just as in 2016, President Trump has a narrow path to victory through the electoral college. He has to carry historically Democratic states while snagging nearly all of the swing states. The 2020 election will be decided by almost the same states that made Trump the president in 2016. These state polls show that Biden is leading Trump, but the margin between them is decreasing. The former Vice President still has a healthy lead in Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina. However, as the first debate gets closer, and the stock market continues to skyrocket, President Trump is closing the deficit at a steady pace.

In campaign news, President Trump is under attack for the comments he made about U.S. troops. The Atlantic cites several anonymous senior staff members that have heard the President call living and dead U.S. soldiers “losers” and “suckers” on multiple occasions. This is not the first time that President Trump has had documented comments against those in the military. In 2015, he said the following about Senator John McCain, who was a prisoner of war for five years during the Vietnam War: “He’s not a war hero… I like people who weren’t captured.” Trump later apologized for his comments toward McCain but claims that this most recent accusation is nothing more than a “Fake Story.” 

During his latest campaign event, Vice President Biden once again fielded questions about his age in Pennsylvania this week. The Trump campaign has launched countless ads and other propaganda claiming that Biden is unfit for the job due to his age. Biden, who will be 78 on inauguration day, would be the oldest person to become President. Members of the Trump team have toyed with the idea that Biden’s mental capability is rapidly slipping. They reference his numerous speaking gaffes, but the former Vice President has a speech impediment that could have caused the gaffes. On ABC 27 News in Pennsylvania, Biden said the following, “I realize anything can happen to anybody at any age, any time. But I promise you I would not be running unless I was in very good health.”

COVID-19 and public health have become a key issue in the 2020 race. As COVID-19 still runs rampant in the U.S., the American people are looking towards the Oval Office for leadership. The Trump Administration has repeatedly touted what they deem was a successful response. 

“My administration will stop at nothing to save lives and shield the vulnerable,” said President Trump. According to the White House, the President and his team built the largest testing system in the world, created a way for both the private and public sector to create and secure needed supplies and spearheaded the initiative to get a vaccine out as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, Biden released a comprehensive plan for his response to the pandemic last week. He plans on creating a system that allows every American to have access to American manufactured personal protective equipment (PPE). He will institute a restart program for any small business that went or will go bankrupt due to the economy closing. Both candidates have been critical towards each other’s response (or proposed response) since March.

The next major event for both candidates will be the first Presidential Debate – held Tuesday, Sept. 29, which will be nationally broadcasted and free to stream. 

Gordon wanted to take the unrealistic abilities of athletes in video games, such as extreme jumping and hitting capabilities, and make them attainable for real life athletes. Gordon brought his idea to producer Mike Tollin, who after much persuasion from Gordon, became a supporter of the game.

The SlamBall court resembles a basketball court in the sense that it has a hoop at each end. However, this court has four in-ground trampolines assembled at the base of each hoop and a padded springboard running in between them. An 8-foot Plexiglass wall, much like the enclosure of a hockey rink, surrounds the entire court.

A SlamBall team is composed of an eight or nine man roster. Four players from each team are allowed on the court at any given time. Substitutions can be made as frequently as necessary and are made during the play of the game as in hockey. The game has three positions: handler, gunner and stopper. The handler works much like a basketball point guard in the sense that he is mainly in control of the ball and offensive plays. The gunner’s main focus is to attack the basket and score. The stopper is the main defensive player who uses his body to block the other team’s gunner. You can see some Slamball highlights here.

Throughout the game’s history, eight professional United States teams were formed: Rumble, Mob, Riders, Slashers, Diablos, Bouncers, Steal and Bandits. Two of the teams, Riders and Diablos, disbanded after the 2003 season, and Steal changed its name to Maulers. All of these teams are based in Los Angeles, California and compete against each other in regular season and post-season games. Ken Carter, famously known as Coach Carter, was the coach of Rumble for all three seasons. Under his direction, Rumble finished first in all three regular seasons, won the championship in 2002, made the semi-finals in 2003 and made the finals in 2008.

Photo courtesy of YouTube.