Brian Stelter here. Hope you had a great weekend. Scroll down for our week ahead calendar and much more...

Networks are out

It has come to this: The major TV networks decided to stay outside while President Trump held a rally inside a manufacturing plant in Nevada on Sunday, marking his first fully-indoor rally since Tulsa in June. News outlets exhibited more responsibility than the president.

I understand that Trump's "what pandemic?" attitude is shared by many of his supporters -- and it feels good, viscerally, to pretend to "get back to normal" -- but Trump's disregard for social distancing guidelines and other safety measures is a shocking contradiction of his own government's recommendations and a violation of Nevada's restrictions on gatherings of 50 people or more.

On Sunday I spoke with five people on the ground in Nevada and another five who are involved in news coverage decision-making back at HQ. The takeaway: Trump's defiance of Covid safety guidelines is forcing news outlets to make tough decisions about how to make staffers safe. Sources told me that all the major networks, from CNN to ABC to Fox News, decided not to send their crews and correspondents into the Trump event due to Covid-19 concerns. Correspondents like CNN's Jeremy Diamond reported from an open-air location, which experts say is much safer than a confined space where lots of people are sharing the air.

Some local TV crews still went inside. And members of the White House press pool still attended the event, so that all the other outlets were provided with video, photos and raw material. There are usually 13 people in the so-called "pool," representing wires, print, radio, TV, and photography. Justin Sink of Bloomberg tweeted this shot of the NYT's ace photographer Doug Mills at the event:

"There is definitely some anxiety in the pool," one of the sources told me ahead of time, since the event was fully indoors, with seats close together and no serious attempts at Covid containment. There are "temp checks but that is meaningless," the source said. "Masks recommended but not required."

Thousands of mostly-unmasked Trump fans were in attendance. Some of the sources at the event told me that some Trump aides noticeably donned masks for the first time -- an admission of sorts that this event was riskier than the president's other recent events.

>> Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a statement that Trump was taking "reckless and selfish actions that are putting countless lives in danger here in Nevada."

Meanwhile, Fox mocks Biden...

During the 9pm hour on Fox News Sunday night, host Steve Hilton brought up the indoor event, without noting all of the angst about Trump defying Covid safety precautions. Guest Lisa Marie Boothe praised Trump: "He's also out there with vigor and energy, ready to tackle another four years, and you've got another guy who can't even leave the basement." She sounded just like Trump, who tweeted on Saturday, "While I travel the Country, Joe sleeps in his basement." The only problem? Biden traveled to multiple states last week. And on Sunday he went to church. The "basement" line is becoming more and more of a lie...

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Jonathan Lemire's description of the scene: "Few in the crowd wore masks, with one clear exception: Those in the stands directly behind Trump, whose images would end up on TV, were mandated to wear face coverings..." (AP)

-- This merits followup: Rory Appleton of the Las Vegas Review-Journal said in a tweet, "Our photographer Ellen Schmidt tells me security at this Trump event is making anyone with Qanon shirts either take them off or turn them inside out before entering." (Twitter)

-- Nevada Independent editor Jon Ralston provided live fact-checking of POTUS during the event... (Twitter)

Downplaying the pandemic for more than six months

On Sunday's "Reliable Sources," I noted that American life was upended by the pandemic pretty much exactly six months ago. Trumpworld's downplaying of the pandemic has not stopped since then. As David Axelrod tweeted on Sunday: "There is a justifiable uproar over what Trump did in February, when he downplayed the seriousness of a virus that he knew to be airborne and deadly. But what about what he's doing RIGHT NOW?"

>> "Trump's approval for his handling of COVID-19 lands at 35% in the" new ABC News/Ipsos survey...

>> According to the survey, 68% distrust what the president has said about the virus. This data point shows that America is not split 50/50... it's more like 2 in 3...

'A little more like a war zone'

CNN weekend programming manager Ed Meagher texted this to me... and I told him I wanted to share it with all of you, because it reflects the reality for reporters in the field:

"We have one reporter in Nevada outside a packed Trump rally where no one is wearing masks, and another in California who is wearing his Wayfarer sunglasses because his eyes are blood red with smoke and ash. When I worked for CNN International, I used to worry all the time about the safety of reporters in the field. Gaza, Syria, Iraq. Now I'm focused on the US, and every weekend this country feels a little more like a war zone..."

Week ahead calendar

Monday: "Dancing With the Stars" returns with new host Tyra Banks...

Monday night: MNF returns to ESPN...

Tuesday 1pm ET: Apple holds a virtual product launch event...

Tuesday 9pm ET: Trump participates in an ABC town hall in Philly, moderated by George Stephanopoulos

Wednesday: I'll be on "The View" 👀

Wednesday night: The ACM Awards are live on CBS, featuring a performance of "Betty" by Taylor Swift

Thursday 8pm ET: Biden participates in a CNN town hall in Scranton, led by Anderson Cooper

Friday: Focus Features releases Dawn Porter's documentary "The Way I See It," about Obama WH photographer Pete Souza

Friday: "Ratched" – the sort-of prequel series to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" – premieres on Netflix

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman's first TV interview, ever, is with Lester Holt. It is airing on the "NBC Nightly News" Monday night... (Twitter)

-- Ben Smith's Monday NYT column is about how the mishandling of Reality Winner's leak has been a "psychic blow to the idealism that marked the founding of The Intercept..." (NYT)

-- The News Literacy Project and The Open Mind Legacy Project are distributing PSAs "to combat malicious fabrication, bots and online trolls that seek to mislead voters and suppress voting." Alan C. Miller and Alexander Heffner explain the initiative here... (USA Today)

-- The title of Will Bunch's latest piece: "I'm numb to crazy stuff Trump says, but utterly terrified of crazy stuff Americans believe..." (Inquirer)

Bob Woodward, leadership coach?

I read an advance copy of "Rage" over the weekend. It is agonizing but essential reading. (Full disclosure at the top of this section: Simon & Schuster also published my book "Hoax.")

What stood out to me, toward the end of "Rage," was how Woodward seemed to be steering Trump to take the coronavirus crisis more seriously – almost out of duty as a concerned citizen with a unique line straight to the president.

Woodward describes, almost verbatim, a call he had with Trump on April 5. He brought a checklist for the call -- 14 "critical areas where my sources said major action was needed." His sources wanted a "full mobilization" of the government to fight the virus, a "sense of World War II mobilization." Eventually Trump said to him, "All right, I got you. I understand. I got you. I think we're doing a very good job, but I've got exactly what you're saying."

Woodward says on Page 308 that his wife Elsa was in the room for the call, and "she felt like my list of 14 points sounded too much like I was telling him what to do. Others, I am sure, would agree." Woodward says he felt distressed at the end of the call. "Trump never did seem willing to fully mobilize the federal government and continually seemed to push problems off on the states... Beyond being a reporter, I was worried for the country."

For all the talk of Woodward's responsibility to share Trump's early February warning with the public, it is notable that Woodward was trying... in his own way, by asking Q's... to focus the president's scattershot mind on the crisis at hand. "Bob Woodward, leadership coach" is the impression I came away with. I'm curious to see if others readers agree or disagree...

"Rage" rollout

Woodward will be on the "Today" show with Savannah Guthrie; "All Things Considered" with Mary Louise Kelly Monday evening; and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Monday night. I hear he is also on "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday, with CNN and MSNBC appearances to follow...

How many copies is Simon & Schuster printing?

The publishing house is not commenting. But the number must be huge and will be confirmed soon. Last month CNN's Jamie Gangel reported an initial printing of 1.3 million copies, which is eye-popping...

The media ethics debate

We went there on Sunday's "Reliable Sources:" Dr. Seema Yasmin, Bill Carter and Sam Donaldson all had important things to say. Watch part one here and part two here...

One on one with Mary Trump

On Amazon, Mary Trump's "Too Much and Never Enough" is the No. 1 best selling book of 2020 to date. I spoke with her on "Reliable" about the interest in Trump tell-alls, which she attributed to a "hunger" for the truth: "People in this country have been gaslit for so long. There's so much cognitive dissonance on a daily basis that I think people are just desperate to put everything into context that they haven't had before."

I also asked if the press has been too timid about scrutinizing the president's fitness for office, and she said yes. For more, Alexis Benveniste has a recap for CNN Business here...

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- On "Reliable," I presented an incomplete list of what Trump said at his Saturday night rally, making the point that these unhinged events aren't just "raucous" or "controversial," and shouldn't be papered over... (Twitter)

-- Chris Wallace to Trump surrogate Steve Cortes: The prez "either plays the rosy scenario or he sets his hair on fire. There was something in the middle, which is just being honest with the American people..." (Beast)

-- ABC chief White House correspondent Jon Karl talked on "Reliable" about his decision to ask Trump, bluntly, "Why did you lie?" (CNN)

-- On Sunday Fareed Zakaria announced his next book, the product of six months of research and writing: "Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World" comes out on October 6... (Amazon)

A sickening ambush caught on camera

Saturday's ambush shooting of two police officers in Compton shocked L.A. and the entire country. Video of the attack showed just how atrocious it was. The two injured officers are now out of surgery... Here's the latest...

Why was this reporter arrested?

Public radio reporter Josie Huang was covering the fallout from the shooting when she was arrested by L.A. County sheriff's deputies on Saturday night. "The incident drew widespread condemnation from journalism organizations and prompted the sheriff’s chief watchdog to launch an investigation," the LAT's Alex Wigglesworth wrote. Wigglesworth's story pointed out that the police account of what happened "was directly contradicted by videos Huang shared on Twitter."Here's what she is sharing...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- CNN's Abby Phillip has inked a deal to write "The Dream Deferred," a "political history of Rev. Jesse Jackson's presidential runs and the impact they had," for Flatiron Books... (Twitter)

-- New by Jesselyn Cook: "How QAnon undermines legitimate anti-trafficking efforts..." (HuffPost)

-- Via CNN's Alaa Elassar: "Here's how NFL Sunday games highlighted racial inequality in the US..." (CNN)

-- On Media Twitter, the implementation of faux crowd noise was widely mocked... (Awful Announcing)

Always two steps behind

Donie O'Sullivan writes: "Remember we reported that authorities in Oregon were pleading with the public to stop sharing false claims that Antifa had started the wildfires raging in the state? Because 911 dispatchers were being overwhelmed with questions about the false info. That was Thursday. On Saturday, Facebook announced it would begin removing posts containing the false claims. Twitter still isn’t removing them, but said on Sunday it would work to 'reduce the visibility' of the nonsense."

>> Our Jon Passantino had an exchange with Facebook's Andy Stone on Twitter Saturday night, asking what took so long? Stone pointed out that FB had been labeling some of the fake posts earlier in the week. Passantino pointed out, "So the notices were not effective at eliminating the spread of misinformation. Why were law enforcement pleas on Thursday and Friday not sufficient warning this was a serious problem? It was widely reported."

>> Donie's two cents: "This is more of the same -- the biggest tech companies in the world always being behind the curve. FB failed to shut down the page of a Kenosha militia group a few weeks ago, despite being warned about it..."

LA Times front page for the history books:

On the campaign trail...

Joe Biden will speak about the western wildfires from Delaware at 1pm ET on Monday. Trump is slated to visit McClellan Park, California for a briefing on Monday...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- Two books by "The Home Edit" crew hit the top ten on Amazon's best sellers list this weekend, propelled by the premiere of Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin's new show on Netflix... I watched a few episodes with Jamie on Saturday and liked the show a lot... (Yahoo)

-- Jazmin Goodwin writes: "This year, vinyl sales have outpaced CD sales in the United States for the first time since the 1980s." Overall, per the RIAA, physical music sales plunged 23% in the first half of the year... (CNN Business)

-- The Toronto International Film Festival continues, mostly virtually on Monday... And, as Deadline says here, "who the hell knows how this pandemic-challenged market will unfold..." (Deadline)

-- Netflix "continues to set the tone" for the Toronto film fest market, Mike Fleming Jr. writes, as "the streamer is wrapping up a deal near $30 million for worldwide rights to 'Malcolm & Marie,' a Sam Levinson-directed romantic drama that stars Zendaya and John David Washington..." (Deadline)

"Cuties" controversy

Why was "Cancel Netflix" trending recently? The Verge's Julia Alexander has an explanation here. She says a "bad marketing poster" for the new film "Cuties" mutated into "a QAnon conspiracy theory and harassment campaign." Details here.

This has become a huge controversy on the right -- with many of Netflix's opponents sharing the very same images that they say are inappropriately sexualizing the stars of the film. As the NYT's Christina Morales writes, "several members of Congress have called for the film to be removed from Netflix or for a formal investigation."

>> Netflix's POV on the matter: "'Cuties' is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. It's an award winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up -- and we'd encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie."

The "Tenet" challenge

This seems to be the current consensus view in Hollywood about Warner Bros.' "Tenet" and the viability of the domestic box office, expressed by Rich Greenfield: "There is simply no consumer demand to return to movie theaters."

Greenfield was commenting on this Variety story about the "lackluster" US box office for "Tenet." Rebecca Rubin reported that the Christopher Nolan film has "crossed the $200 million mark globally, propped up by overseas grosses while U.S. cinemas struggle to draw audiences during the coronavirus pandemic."

In the story, Rubin explains how, "in an attempt to control the conversation around Tenet's box office performance, Warner Bros. has been shielding domestic grosses for the film." Warner's counter-argument: Domestic grosses are a too-narrow view of a global studio's performance. The key line about the movie industry's recovery from the Covid-19 freeze: It's a marathon, not a sprint...

Disney's 'Mulan' difficulties

Brian Lowry writes: "Warner Bros. has been stingy with 'Tenet' numbers, and Disney has also been tightlipped about the 'Mulan' results via Disney+, another closely watched distribution gambit during the pandemic. It's easy to appreciate why these studios would be reluctant to advertise their failures – or successes – while navigating such unprecedented waters. But given that everyone is trying to figure out what makes sense and would benefit from more info, the lack of disclosure doesn’t qualify as particularly good corporate citizenship, or collegiality toward their competitors and peers."

Lowry adds: "As for those 'Mulan' numbers in China, which Frank Pallotta wrote about here, there are numerous factors, but one probably not getting enough attention is the maturation of its homegrown film industry, which is producing domestic hits that have helped fill the void left by the US..."