PoliticsAssociated PressTrump vents about election as agencies aid Biden transition
President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that he is not giving up his fight to overturn the election results, but across the federal government, preparations were beginning in earnest to support President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration. Within hours of the General Services Administration's acknowledgement Monday evening of Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 election, career federal officials opened the doors of agencies to hundreds of transition aides ready to prepare for his Jan. 20 inauguration. An administration official said logistics on when and where Biden will first receive the briefing were still being worked out.
WorldThe Daily BeastMexican Cop Turned Cartel Boss Nabbed in Mormon Mommy Massacre
An ex-police officer alleged to be the leader of the violent La Linea drug cartel in Chihuahua, Mexico, is in custody for the murder of three American mothers and six children including 8-month-old twins, who were killed in a fiery attack on their convoy of SUVs last November. Roberto Gonzalez Montes—known in crime circles as Mudo or El 32—was taken into custody late Monday in a top-secret joint-forces operation carried out by the attorney general's office without state help out of fear Montes would be tipped off by corrupt officials. Last November, attackers fired on a convoy of SUVs carrying 17 mothers and children—all dual Mexican American citizens—as they drove from their compound in Sonora to a wedding in Chihuahua.
- WorldReuters
Russia chases off U.S. warship in row over waters in Sea of Japan
Russia said on Tuesday one of its warships caught and chased off a U.S. destroyer operating illegally in its territorial waters in the Sea of Japan, but the U.S. Navy denied wrongdoing by its vessel and accused Moscow of making excessive maritime claims. The Admiral Vinogradov, a Russian destroyer, verbally warned USS John S. McCain, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, and threatened to ram it in order to force it to leave the area, prompting it to return to neutral waters, Moscow said.
PoliticsAssociated PressAfter senate run, Harrison launching PAC to boost Democrats
On the heels of his record-breaking but unsuccessful bid to oust U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina's Jaime Harrison on Tuesday launched a political action committee, utilizing his newly minted status as a fundraising powerhouse to try to provide a sustained boost to other Democrats that he hopes can help flip more areas from red to blue. Dirt Road PAC will focus on long term investments in state-level Democratic candidates and parties like intensive voter registration efforts in areas that have been seen by Democrats as harder to win, Harrison told The Associated Press ahead of the official launch. “The days of just swooping in every few years and putting up a candidate, having no grassroots infrastructure and thinking that we're going to win - that's just not working,” Harrison told the AP on Monday.
PoliticsThe WeekGM dumps Trump pollution fight, abruptly sides with Biden and California
General Motors CEO Mary Barra threw President Trump under the electric car Monday, announcing in a letter to environmental groups that GM will no longer support the Trump administration's battle to strip California of its own clean-air standards and signaling the automaker is ready to work with President-elect Joe Biden on climate policy. "We believe the ambitious electrification goals of the president-elect, California, and General Motors are aligned, to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions."
WorldAssociated PressHong Kong’s Joshua Wong taken into custody after guilty plea
Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and two other activists were taken into custody Monday after they pleaded guilty to charges related to a demonstration outside police headquarters during anti-government protests last year. Wong, together with fellow activists Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow, pleaded guilty to charges related to organizing, taking part in and inciting protesters to join an unauthorized protest outside police headquarters last June. The trio were members of the now-disbanded Demosisto political party.
WorldReutersEthiopia's Tigray forces claim battle win, global alarm grows
Tigrayan forces said on Tuesday they had destroyed an Ethiopian army division in battles to control the northern region where a three-week-old war has killed hundreds and spread global alarm. The federal government denied that and said many Tigrayan soldiers were surrendering in line with a 72-hour ultimatum before a threatened attack on the regional capital Mekelle. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's troops launched an offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) local government on Nov. 4 and say they are closing in on Mekelle in a final push to win the conflict.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden win over Trump in Nevada made official by court
The Nevada Supreme Court made Joe Biden's win in the state official on Tuesday, approving the state's final canvass of the Nov. 3 election. The unanimous action by the seven nonpartisan justices sends to Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak results that will deliver six electoral votes from the western U.S. battleground state to Biden. The court action drew extra scrutiny amid legal efforts by the state GOP and Trump campaign to prevent sending vote-by-mail ballots to all 1.82 million active registered voters and then to stop the counting of the 1.4 million votes that were cast.
LifestyleMiami HeraldWould you hop a train to Disney World? The yellow Brightline is making a bet you will
Brightline will offer a car-free connection to the millions of visitors from around the state and the world who plan to make Walt Disney World Resort part of their vacation plans,” said Brightline President Patrick Goddard in a statement. Our mission has always been to connect our guests to the people and places that matter, and Walt Disney World Resort is a tremendous example of this. Once the Brightline station at Disney Springs is built, the company said people will have a “convenient travel option” between Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando International Airport, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Brightline's planned stations in Aventura, Boca Raton and PortMiami.
HealthBBCCovid: 'Entire families in hospital after coronavirus surge'
On 14 October, Farah Husain, a critical care specialist in Delhi's largest Covid-19 hospital, heaved a sigh of relief. Doctors fear that Delhi may well become the epicentre of India's first wave of winter infections. Delhi is now recording more cases a day than any state.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump worried Giuliani and legal team are ‘fools making him look bad’, report says
President Donald Trump is reportedly worried that he is being embarrassed by his campaign legal team, led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who have been unsuccessful in a string of cases challenging the results of the US election. Three weeks after the vote on 3 November, Mr Trump continues to complain about widespread irregularities without providing evidence, and his campaign has brought cases across several key swing states. Now, according to NBC News, the president is worried that his campaign's legal team is made up of “fools” whose failures and outlandish press appearances are “making him look bad”, a source said.
WorldAssociated PressOfficials: Roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan kills 14
Roadside bombs exploded in central Afghanistan on Tuesday killing at least 13 civilians and a traffic policeman, officials said, even as government negotiators and the Taliban meet to try to end decades of war. Tariq Arian, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said 45 people were also wounded in a late afternoon blast in Bamiyan city in Bamiyan province. Several shops and vehicles were destroyed or damaged.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
UK wants fines for telcos using firms like Huawei
British telecoms companies could soon face big fines if they deal with tech firms like China's Huawei. A new law put forward Tuesday (November 24) aims to fine British telcos 10% of turnover - or around $133,000 a day - if they break a ban on using equipment made by Huawei. The UK government said the new bill would raise security standards of the country's telco firms, and remove the threat of high-risk suppliers.
HealthBusiness InsiderThe creator of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine is a mom to triplets. Her children participated in the trial.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced Monday that their COVID-19 vaccine was 70% effective on average. Sarah Gilbert, the vaccine's creator, had faith in its efficacy from the start; her triplets participated in the UK trial. The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca received some long-awaited good news on Monday: The company's coronavirus vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, was found to be 70% effective on average in late-stage clinical trials with more than 20,000 volunteers in the UK and Brazil.
PoliticsReutersInterior Department contender says Biden would target Trump Arctic drilling push on first day
President Donald Trump's last-minute push to allow drilling in a pristine part of Alaska's Arctic will be an early target for the next administration, according to Senator Tom Udall, a contender to lead the Interior Department under Joe Biden. The New Mexico Democrat was speaking of the Trump administration's plan to pull off a sale of oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before Biden, who wants to ban new drilling on all federal lands and waters as part of a strategy to fight climate change, becomes president on Jan. 20.
- WorldAssociated Press
Kurdish and Turkey-backed fighters clash in Syria, 18 killed
Clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkey-backed opposition gunmen in northern Syria left at least 18 fighters dead in some of the most intense fighting in weeks, an opposition war monitor and a Kurdish news agency said Tuesday. Exchanges of fire and shelling between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkey-backed opposition gunmen who identify as the Syrian National Army have not been uncommon since Turkish troops invaded parts of northern Syria in October last year. The clashes began before midnight Monday near the town of Ein Issa and were triggered by an assault from Turkey-backed gunmen on SDF positions, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, and the Kurdish ANHA news agency.
HealthAssociated PressKeep the mask: A vaccine won't end the US crisis right away
Despite the expected arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in just a few weeks, it could take several months — probably well into 2021 — before things get back to something close to normal in the U.S. and Americans can once again go to the movies, cheer at an NBA game or give Grandma a hug. “If you're fighting a battle and the cavalry is on the way, you don't stop shooting; you keep going until the cavalry gets here, and then you might even want to continue fighting,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, said last week. This week, AstraZeneca became the third vaccine maker to say early data indicates its shots are highly effective.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestClever’s 2020 Gift Guide Is Here and It Just Wants You to Have a Nice Time
We rounded up a mix of gifts that help others, keep folks healthy, and add a little something-something to the home Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsThe Daily BeastBiden Weighs Mike Morell as His CIA Chief. A Key Dem Senator Says Don’t Bother.
President-elect Joe Biden is strongly considering Mike Morell, the former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to run the CIA, according to four individuals familiar with the matter. Morell served as deputy CIA director for three years under President Barack Obama and also worked as acting director of the agency twice. According to three of the four sources familiar with the matter, the president-elect was considering both Morell and Avril Haines, another former deputy CIA director, for the position.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump's top election lawyer in Wisconsin says he and his wife voted illegally in the campaign's latest legal argument
Jim Troupis, President Donald Trump's top campaign lawyer in Wisconsin, said he voted illegally. He asked the Dane County Board of Canvassers to invalidate all absentee ballots returned in person, a method the state offered for returning ballots. Troupis and his wife both voted in-person absentee, and he even included their names on an exhibit he gave to the board.
PoliticsThe IndependentAntony Blinken: A smooth, old-school diplomat who will take on a harsh new world of wary allies and foes
Tony will be operating under a very different set of circumstances since he was deputy secretary of state,” says Matthew Bryza, a former US diplomat who has known and worked with Blinken since the late 1990s. Why would the world ever believe that the US is going to be on its old reliable path when it signed agreements and stuck to them? His main job is restoring a sense of credibility that the US will stick to its commitments and be ready to lead.
WorldAssociated PressOil-rich Kuwait faces reckoning as debt crisis looms
Its break-even price for this year's budget was $86 a barrel, double current sales figures, putting its finances under strain. That's not to say Kuwait will be begging for aid at international summits any time soon. The Kuwait Investment Authority holds assets of $533 billion, according to the Las Vegas-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, making it the world's fourth-largest such fund.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden team is reportedly pushing congressional Democrats to strike an immediate stimulus deal with Republicans to stave off a renewed recession
President-elect Joe Biden's economic advisors fear another recession is looming, The New York Times reported. The impasse over another stimulus package and the prospect of millions of people losing unemployment benefits are leading them to press congressional Democrats to pass another aid package very quickly, The Times said. President-elect Joe Biden's economic advisors are reportedly pressing congressional Democrats to quickly strike a stimulus deal with Republicans, fearing the US is on course for a recession as virus cases surge and a new aid package remains elusive.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestMore Inside Photographer Jason Schmidt's New Quarantine Project: His Own Home
Amid the pandemic, photographer Jason Schmidt finds a new muse: his unique Brooklyn house—and its inhabitants. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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Republicans sue to stop Wisconsin vote certification
Republicans filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to block certification of the presidential election results even as a recount over President-elect Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump is ongoing. The lawsuit echoes many of the same arguments Trump is making in trying, unsuccessfully, to have tens of thousands of ballots discounted during the recount. It also seeks to give the power to name presidential electors to the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“Donald Trump defeated Donald Trump.”
“The victory was a vindication of a style of American politics that many feared was gone forever.”
“Mr. Biden’s victory — and Mr. Trump’s defeat — is a testament to the resilience of American democracy.”
“Trump’s 2020 reelection bid was doomed by his boorish behavior. Time and again, he refused to act like a president.”
“Biden took the opportunity to unite the Democratic Party.”