Trump supporters rally, coronavirus pandemic, Masters: 5 things to know this weekend
Trump supporters plan DC rallies amid speculation extremists may attend
Experts warn right-wing extremists may appear at rallies in Washington, D.C., on Saturday in support of President Donald Trump. Multiple events with names including Million MAGA March, Stop the Steal and March for Trump are set to occur at Freedom Plaza around noon, according to several social media posts. Organizers promoted the event as a way to protest "voter fraud" to "show support for our President" and "demand a free and fair election," according to the Anti-Defamation League. Trump has refused to concede to Joe Biden and leveled baseless allegations of voter fraud.
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Several states set mandates to combat rising number of COVID-19 cases
Governors across the country have announced new coronavirus-related restrictions as the fall surge is running rampant in the U.S. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's executive order goes into effect Saturday, issuing a statewide mask mandate and imposing several business restrictions in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The directive requires residents to wear face coverings in indoor businesses and indoor public settings, as well as outdoor public settings where physical distancing isn't possible. In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam's office said the state's gathering cap will be cut from 250 to 25 and alcohol sales will be prohibited at dining and drinking establishments after 10 p.m. Those and other new restrictions will take effect Sunday at midnight. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott's new restrictions that go into effect Saturday night order bars and social clubs to be closed to in-person service, but they may offer takeout. Restaurants may stay open but must close to in-person service by 10 p.m. each night.
- COVID-19 infections are soaring. Lockdowns could be coming. Here is a list of restrictions in your state.
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- President-elect's plans: Biden is expected to name a COVID-19 coordinator, his incoming chief of staff says
Obama talks with '60 Minutes' and 'CBS Sunday Morning' about Biden win
Former President Barack Obama will appear on "60 Minutes" and "CBS Sunday Morning" on Sunday to talk about his new book and the future of the country. In a clip from his "60 Minutes" interview with Scott Pelley, Obama said Donald Trump's refusal to concede to Joe Biden is concerning but that he was even more troubled by prominent members of the Republican party echoing Trump's baseless claims of election fraud. In a separate interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King as part of a tour to promote his new book, "A Promised Land", the former president also took aim at Trump for not accepting the results of the Nov. 3 election and refusing to recognize Biden as the president-elect. "His margin of victory over Hillary Clinton (in 2016) wasn't greater than Joe Biden's margin over him," he said. "But if you're listening to some of the talk radio that Trump voters are listening to, if you're watching FOX News, if you're getting (Trump's) tweets, those allegations are presented as facts."
- Barack Obama talks 'ego part' of presidency with Oprah Winfrey in interview preview clips
Officials on alert as hundreds of thousands expect to watch SpaceX launch
As launch teams were deep in a launch readiness review meeting, NASA and SpaceX decided to push the launch of the historic Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station to Sunday due to rough ocean conditions. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are scheduled for liftoff at 7:27 p.m. ET aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. In May, SpaceX successfully launched two astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to space as part of the Demo-2 mission. Emergency officials expected up to 250,000 out-of-county day-trippers to converge on viewing spots during Saturday's scheduled launch, sparking coronavirus concerns about lack of social distancing and mask-wearing for launch viewers.
- NASA and SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts discuss what's next at Kennedy Space Center
- Kennedy Space Center's new bridge could be a sign of what's to come for NASA and the Space Force
Masters: Action-packed weekend as tournament plays catch-up
Thursday's weather delay resulted in a significant portion of the field failing to finish the second round before play was halted at Augusta National on Friday. So, in a boon to golf fans, Saturday will be action-packed. The 2020 Masters picks up again bright and early, at 7:30 a.m. ET on ESPN. Abraham Ancer, Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson — who all managed to complete their second rounds — sit in a four-way tie atop the leaderboard at 9 under. But several big names, including Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm and even 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, are lurking. CBS will pick up coverage at 1 p.m. ET, when Round 3 will presumably be underway.
- Even without his best game, Tiger Woods still in prime position to defend at the 2020 Masters
- Opinion: Phil Mickelson is confident he can make a run at the Masters — if he fixes his putting
Contributing: The Associated Press