Top Eight

Top eight CNS stories for today including fears of a bona fide second wave of Covid-19 and no stimulus plan in sight sent markets into a free fall; A poll shows Joe Biden has expanded his lead over President Donald Trump in three crucial Midwest battleground states; A wind-driven brush fire in Southern California quickly burned over 4,000 acres and triggered evacuations for 60,000 people, and more.

Your Monday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Sign up for the CNS Top Eight, a roundup of the day’s top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.

National

1.) Fears of a bona fide second wave of Covid-19 — and still no stimulus plan in sight — sent markets into a free fall on Monday.

Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in New York. Stocks are pulling lower Friday, as Wall Street's first reaction to President Donald Trump's testing positive for the coronavirus was to retrench. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

2.) New polling released Monday shows Democratic candidate Joe Biden expanding his lead over President Donald Trump in three crucial Midwest battleground states after winning over a bigger share of previously undecided voters.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Dallas High School in Dallas, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

3.) With the Republican Senate marshaled behind her, Amy Coney Barrett is poised Monday to join more than 200 conservative judges installed on the federal bench under President Donald Trump.

A protester opposed to the Senate's race to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confronted by police after chaining themselves to a railing and holding a sign while sitting atop the statue Contemplation of Justice, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Regional

4.) A wind-driven brush fire in Southern California quickly burned over 4,000 acres and triggered evacuations for 60,000 people Monday morning as powerful winds kicked up across the already wildfire-beleaguered state.

In this view from Newport Boulevard in North Tustin, the morning sun rises through the smoke of fire in the canyons east of North Tustin on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. Firefighters were aggressively battling a vegetation fire that broke out in the hills near Silverado in Orange County as strong wind gusts pushed it. (Mark Rightmire/The Orange County Register via AP)

5.) As a troubling surge of coronavirus cases and Covid-19 hospitalizations continues to hammer the border city of El Paso, Texas, officials over the weekend delivered an urgent and straightforward plea to residents: stay home for the next two weeks.

Vehicles are lined up for drive-thru COVID-19 testing in El Paso, Texas, Oct. 14, 2020. Many of those waiting for testing said they waited for over three hours to get tested at the mobile test collection site at the Socorro ISD Student Activities Complex. (Aaron E. Martinez/The El Paso Times via AP)

International

6.) Belarus is headed toward a critical juncture in the 11-week protest against the authoritarian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko after the leader of the opposition called for a general strike on Monday.

People with old Belarusian national flags march during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. The demonstrations were triggered by official results giving President Alexander Lukashenko 80% of the vote in the Aug. 9 election that the opposition insists was rigged. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, has accused the United States and its allies of fomenting unrest in the ex-Soviet country. (AP Photo)

7.) Frustrating China’s efforts to get compensation over U.S. tariffs, the United States filed an appeal Monday before the World Trade Organization, even as the Trump administration has left that body unable to function.

FILE - In this July 22, 2019, file stacked containers wait to be loaded on to trucks at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif. China's government says trade negotiators are in “close communication” with Washington ahead of a weekend deadline for a U.S. tariff hike. But a Ministry of Commerce spokesman gave no indication of possible progress in trade talks or whether Washington might postpone the increase. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

8.) The World Health Organization on Monday urged Europe to take even more drastic steps to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus even as European leaders impose a raft of new restrictions that are sparking anger and protests in many cities.

Commuters wearing face masks walk on the platform, of a Paris subway, Sunday Oct.25, 2020. A curfew intended to curb the spiraling spread of the coronavirus, has been imposed in many regions of France including Paris and its suburbs. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Top Eight

Read the Top 8

Additional Reads