Three things for November 2

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1. Sean Connery dead at 90

Sean Connery was cast as James Bond without a screen test. His talent was obvious. And from then on, Connery, who died at 90, was never out of place on screen. "I don’t know any man since Cary Grant that men have wanted to be so much,” Pauline Kael wrote. https://t.co/RVfEAA4ND1

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 31, 2020

On Saturday, Oct. 31, Sean Connery died at the age of 90. He died in the Bahamas after being “unwell for some time,” according to his son.

Connery is best known for playing James Bond in “Dr. No,” Bond’s debut to the big screens in 1962 and the 6 subsequent action thrillers. 

Connery also appeared in Oscar-winning action thriller, “The Untouchables,” as well as “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “The Hunt for Red October.”

Connery is survived by his wife Micheline Roquebrune and his son Jason Connery.

2. Early voting surpasses 92 million nationwide

As of Sunday, early voting surpassed 92 million votes, two-thirds of the total votes cast for the 2016 General Election.

Americans have cast a record-breaking 93 million early ballots as of Sunday afternoon — putting the 2020 election on track for historic levels of voter turnout. https://t.co/TF3LQNtfST

— NPR (@NPR) November 1, 2020

In Texas, early voters exceeded the total number of votes cast in the state in 2016, having already cast 9 million votes.

As of Friday, Hawaiians have cast 484,000 votes, surpassing the 2016 presidential election by 46,000 votes.

North Carolina, Florida and Georgia have each reached 91% of their total votes cast in 2016.

The U.S. is on track to having the highest voter turnout in over a century.

3. Record daily COVID-19 cases

The total COVID-19 case count for Tennessee is 261,426 as of November 1, 2020 including 3,353 deaths, 1,296 current hospitalizations and 233,175 recovered. Percent positive for today is 6.71%. Full report with additional data: https://t.co/Psc3HfgZ8j. pic.twitter.com/gf9EVv3eV1

— TN Dept. of Health (@TNDeptofHealth) November 1, 2020

On Friday, the U.S. surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 cases, the highest national single day increase since the start of the pandemic.

On Wednesday and Thursday, nearly 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths were reported nationwide, bringing the total deaths to over 230,000.

On Sunday, Tennessee reported 754 new COVID-19 cases with no new deaths. Bradley County reported 24 new cases.

As of Sunday, there have been 261,426 COVID-19 cases in Tennessee and 3,754 in Bradley County.

Hospitalizations in Tennessee decreased by 103, while the total number of tests administered increased by 11,305.

An increase of 1,288 COVID-19 cases were reported as recovered or inactive in Tennessee on Sunday.