When my copy of Mike Curato's Flamer arrived, my first thought was, "I can't wait to read this book." My second thought was, "Oh my Lord, do teenaged boys really talk to each other like this?"

My husband assured me that yes, a thousand times yes, they really do.

So my third thought was, "Thank God I was never a teenage boy."

Nursing homes have been overwhelmed by the coronavirus. Residents account for more than a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths nationwide. The industry says that facilities have also been overwhelmed by costs, and they're asking for billions in aid from the federal government.

But recent studies suggest that for-profit ownership may have endangered residents by skimping on care, while funneling cash to owners and investors.

Five states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Oregon — have the highest risk of seeing increased militia activity around the elections: everything from demonstrations to violence.

That's the conclusion of a new report by ACLED, a crisis-mapping project, and the research group MilitiaWatch. They worked together to map out potential hot spots for militia-style activities around the elections.

If 2008 was about hope and change for Democrats, 2020 is about anger and fear.

"I'm terrified, and if I were not as old as I am I'd be out on the streets," said Barbara Ravage, 75, a retiree who lives on Cape Cod. The pandemic has kept Ravage at home and away from volunteering in local politics this year, so instead she has given more money to local politicians and activist causes she supports. "There is no question I have traded rolling up my sleeves into reaching in to my wallet," she said.

It's the last debate of the 2020 election.

Many might be saying, "Thank goodness," given what a mess that first debate turned into.

After that debate — and the way President Trump in particular conducted himself — Trump took a hit in the polls. This final debate represents the last, best chance for the president, who has been consistently behind in this race, to gain some momentum.

Despite the cascade of other crises this year, climate change has emerged as a key election issue. Two-thirds of Americans want the government to do more about it, and the same share of Biden supporters say it's very important to their vote.

When Darius Settles died from COVID-19 on the Fourth of July, his family and the city of Nashville were shocked. Even the mayor noted the passing of a 30-year-old without any underlying conditions — one of the city's youngest fatalities at that point.

Settles was also uninsured and had just been sent home from an emergency room for the second time and he was worried about medical bills. An investigation into his death found that, like many uninsured COVID-19 patients, he had never been told that cost shouldn't be a concern.

Back in July, two cybersecurity firms sent the Department of Homeland Security a troubling report that described a possible vulnerability in the online voter registration systems in dozens of counties in California and Florida.

The report, obtained by NPR, warned that flaws that might have allowed hackers to change a handful of voter registration files four years ago are still likely to exist in some places, and could be used again.

When Amanda Daniels found an affordable first-floor apartment in Wicker Park, a hip Chicago neighborhood, she was excited.

"It had a washer and dryer, which is like gold. And it had a huge shared patio space," she remembers. "I was like, 'This place is awesome.' "

Daniels was living paycheck to paycheck at the time. The year after she moved in, a summer rainstorm flooded her living room with brown water. It destroyed her rug and table, but she salvaged what she could and moved.

President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have their final debate Thursday night in Nashville.

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