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Scott Atlas, President Trump’s pandemic adviser who embraced a controversial strategy of urging Americans to return to work and school with little restriction, and spent months feuding with the White House coronavirus task force’s other doctors, resigned on Monday, according to a letter he posted to his Twitter account. Atlas had become widely disliked in the White House — even among aides who shared his view that the country should reopen and that officials should not worry about young, healthy people contracting the virus, according to two senior administration officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Atlas’s resignation was first reported by Fox News on Monday evening. The White House declined to comment. Although Atlas, a neuroradiologist with no infectious-disease or public health background, fell out of favor with senior White House advisers in recent weeks, he was the only medical adviser the president met with regularly for...

Scott Atlas, President Trump’s pandemic adviser who embraced a controversial strategy of urging Americans to return to work and school with little restriction, and spent months feuding with the White House coronavirus task force’s other doctors, resigned on Monday, according to a letter he posted to his Twitter account. Atlas had become widely disliked in the White House — even among aides who shared his view that the country should reopen and that officials should not worry about young, healthy people contracting the virus, according to two senior administration officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Atlas’s resignation was first reported by Fox News on Monday evening. The White House declined to comment. Although Atlas, a neuroradiologist with no infectious-disease or public health background, fell out of favor with senior White House advisers in recent weeks, he was the only medical adviser the president met with regularly for...

Arizona certified its results Monday, giving President-elect Joe Biden a win in yet another state where President Trump has contested the election. Trump allies have pledged to continue court challenges in the state. The action came as Biden forged ahead with plans for his presidency, announcing a committee to organize his Jan. 20 inauguration and formally unveiling his economic team. Biden was also set to receive his first President’s Daily Brief, a classified compilation of information from intelligence agencies. Source: Biden transition live updates: Arizona certifies Biden’s win; Biden names inauguration planning committee – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A top Iranian security official on Monday accused Israel of using “electronic devices” to remotely kill a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program in the 2000s. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, made the comment at the funeral for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, where Iran’s defense minister separately vowed to continue the man’s work “with more speed and more power. ”Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack. Source: Iran says Israel killed military nuclear scientist remotely The article was originally published here!

President Trump on Wednesday announced he had pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, ending a three-year legal saga that saw Flynn seek to withdraw a guilty plea for lying to the FBI and a controversial reversal by the Justice Department on his case.Flynn pleaded guilty to a felony in December 2017, admitting that he had misled investigators about details of his conversations with the Russian ambassador during Trump’s presidential transition.His plea was one of the first major courtroom victories for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who had been appointed seven months earlier.But this spring, Attorney General William P. Barr and the Justice Department declared that prosecutors should not have brought the case against him and sought to have it dismissed. That request has been pending before a federal judge, who has been reviewing the case. Source: Trump pardons former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI – The ...

President Trump on Wednesday announced he had pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, ending a three-year legal saga that saw Flynn seek to withdraw a guilty plea for lying to the FBI and a controversial reversal by the Justice Department on his case.Flynn pleaded guilty to a felony in December 2017, admitting that he had misled investigators about details of his conversations with the Russian ambassador during Trump’s presidential transition.His plea was one of the first major courtroom victories for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who had been appointed seven months earlier.But this spring, Attorney General William P. Barr and the Justice Department declared that prosecutors should not have brought the case against him and sought to have it dismissed. That request has been pending before a federal judge, who has been reviewing the case. Source: Trump pardons former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI – The ...

(CNN)The US on Sunday formally exited the decades-old Open Skies Treaty, some six months after President Donald Trump first announced the decision, according to the State Department. The 1992 treaty allows the 34 member countries to conduct short notice, unarmed, reconnaissance flights over the other countries to collect data on their military forces and activities. The Trump administration has cited Russian restrictions on Open Skies flights as the reason why it sought to exit the treaty, accusing Moscow of imposing limits on flights near its exclave of Kaliningrad, an area between Poland and Lithuania where the Russian military maintains a robust presence. The US has also accused Russia of denying flights within 6.2 miles of the Georgia-Russia border, and denying a previously approved flight over a major Russian military exercise. Source: US formally withdraws from Open Skies Treaty that bolstered European security – CNNPolitics The article was originally published here!

The two Republican leaders of Michigan’s state legislature said Friday night that after a closely watched meeting with President Donald Trump, they “have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan,” a state won by President-elect Joe Biden that has been at the center of Trump’s attempt to overturn the election. The two leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, said in a statement that they would “follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors.” Source: Trump’s Election Meeting With Michigan Leaders Backfired The article was originally published here!

The two Republican leaders of Michigan’s state legislature said Friday night that after a closely watched meeting with President Donald Trump, they “have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan,” a state won by President-elect Joe Biden that has been at the center of Trump’s attempt to overturn the election. The two leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, said in a statement that they would “follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors.” Source: Trump’s Election Meeting With Michigan Leaders Backfired The article was originally published here!

On Monday, Nov. 23, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers will meet to decide whether to certify the Michigan election, which President-elect Joe Biden won by 155,629 votes at latest count. After the state of Georgia having certified its election result last week, Michigan is now ground zero in President Trump’s efforts to throw out the legitimate result of the election. Michigan’s Wayne County—home to the heavily Black and Democratic city of Detroit, which powered Biden’s win in the state—made headlines last week. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the two Republican members on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers threatened to block election certification, citing concerns that the numbers of voters did not match the number of ballots in many Detroit precincts. They reversed course later that evening, but have since sought to “rescind” their certifications. According to a spokeswoman for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, “there is no legal mechanism for them to rescind their vote[.] The...

On Monday, Nov. 23, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers will meet to decide whether to certify the Michigan election, which President-elect Joe Biden won by 155,629 votes at latest count. After the state of Georgia having certified its election result last week, Michigan is now ground zero in President Trump’s efforts to throw out the legitimate result of the election. Michigan’s Wayne County—home to the heavily Black and Democratic city of Detroit, which powered Biden’s win in the state—made headlines last week. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the two Republican members on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers threatened to block election certification, citing concerns that the numbers of voters did not match the number of ballots in many Detroit precincts. They reversed course later that evening, but have since sought to “rescind” their certifications. According to a spokeswoman for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, “there is no legal mechanism for them to rescind their vote[.] The...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House plans to hold an indoor holiday reception next week just days after Thanksgiving despite ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at the compound, and against the advice of its own advisers who are urging Americans to sacrifice their normal holiday gatherings to curb the spread of the virus. First lady Melania Trump is hosting a Nov. 30 “holiday reception” at the White House, according to an invitation obtained by ABC News. Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. U.S. officials have warned against large Thanksgiving gatherings on Thursday, instead urging Americans to stay home and forgo traveling to see relatives in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and protect vulnerable individuals as cases topped 12 million over the weekend. Source: White House plans holiday party as Americans urged to stay home | Reuters The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House plans to hold an indoor holiday reception next week just days after Thanksgiving despite ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at the compound, and against the advice of its own advisers who are urging Americans to sacrifice their normal holiday gatherings to curb the spread of the virus. First lady Melania Trump is hosting a Nov. 30 “holiday reception” at the White House, according to an invitation obtained by ABC News. Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. U.S. officials have warned against large Thanksgiving gatherings on Thursday, instead urging Americans to stay home and forgo traveling to see relatives in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and protect vulnerable individuals as cases topped 12 million over the weekend. Source: White House plans holiday party as Americans urged to stay home | Reuters The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON – The president’s legal team was thrown into tumult Sunday when two Trump attorneys – Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis – released a statement abruptly distancing the campaign from a third attorney, Sidney Powell. Giuliani, Ellis and Powell all appeared together at a news conference Thursday, when they made a range of baseless accusations about the integrity of the election. Powell in particular has been vocal in lobbing some of the most convoluted claims, alleging a conspiracy that involved “communist money,” the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and an algorithm favoring Democrats. Source: Giuliani releases statement distancing Trump campaign from lawyer Sidney Powell The article was originally published here!

President Donald Trump participated in the opening session of this year’s virtual Group of 20 summit on Saturday but did not attend a side event dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump instead left for the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, while that session was underway, CNN, The New York Times and Mother Jones reported. Source: Trump Skips Pandemic Session At G-20 Summit, Heads To Golf Club | HuffPost The article was originally published here!

President Donald Trump participated in the opening session of this year’s virtual Group of 20 summit on Saturday but did not attend a side event dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump instead left for the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, while that session was underway, CNN, The New York Times and Mother Jones reported. Source: Trump Skips Pandemic Session At G-20 Summit, Heads To Golf Club | HuffPost The article was originally published here!

Pentagon official and retired Brigadier Gen. Anthony Tata has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced Thursday. Tata, whose official title is performing the duties of under secretary of defense for policy, this week met with several top defense officials, including acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist. It was unclear when he last briefed top officials. Tata was not present for Miller’s Wednesday visit to Fort Bragg, N.C., and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, where the secretary’s chief of staff Kash Patel was also present, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the diagnosis. Tata will quarantine at home for the next 14 days. Source: Top Pentagon official tests positive for COVID-19 | TheHill The article was originally published here!

After a hand recount of roughly 5 million votes cast in the presidential election, Georgia election officials confirmed President-elect Joe Biden received more votes than President Trump in the state. Georgia’s secretary of state ordered the recount as a part of the risk-limiting audit process to ensure the public’s trust in the outcome of the presidential vote in the state, where Biden led by 12,284 votes, according to the audited results. That resulted in a 0.0099 percent variation from the original margin, they said. Biden spoke virtually with governors Thursday about the coronavirus pandemic, a major focus of his transition efforts, as Trump continued to press an array of legal challenges that aim to undercut the Democrat’s victory. Source: Ga. hand recount confirms Biden’s lead; president-elect speaks virtually with governors – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

CHICAGO (WLS) — There is new and disturbing information in the alleged militia plot against the governor of Michigan. The 14 men charged had far more violent plans than just a kidnapping, according to federal and state authorities. New filings claim there was a Plan B the militiamen had drawn up, that involved a takeover of the Michigan capitol building by 200 combatants who would stage a week-long series of televised executions of public officials. And, according to government documents now on file in lower Michigan court, there was also a Plan C — burning down the state house, leaving no survivors. Source: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot: Disturbing new details revealed in court documents – ABC7 Chicago The article was originally published here!

CHICAGO (WLS) — There is new and disturbing information in the alleged militia plot against the governor of Michigan. The 14 men charged had far more violent plans than just a kidnapping, according to federal and state authorities. New filings claim there was a Plan B the militiamen had drawn up, that involved a takeover of the Michigan capitol building by 200 combatants who would stage a week-long series of televised executions of public officials. And, according to government documents now on file in lower Michigan court, there was also a Plan C — burning down the state house, leaving no survivors. Source: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot: Disturbing new details revealed in court documents – ABC7 Chicago The article was originally published here!

A dispute over dog poop turned fatal earlier this year when Michael Close fired 24 shots from a semi-automatic rifle at Isabella Thallas and her boyfriend Darian Simon, prosecutors said. The details of the June 10 attack that killed Thallas, 21, and wounded Simon, 27, were revealed during Close’s preliminary hearing on Monday, KDVR reported. Denver police homicide Detective Joseph Trujillo testified at the hearing that Close used a high-powered semi-automatic rifle in the shooting, which he said came after Simon’s dog pooped in a rock garden outside Close’s apartment building in the Ballpark neighborhood at around 11:40 a.m., KDVR reported from the hearing. According to Trujillo, Close yelled at Simon and Thallas from his window, “Are you going to train that f****** dog or just yell at it?” The outlet also reported that surveillance video was shown during Close’s hearing and it showed Close pointing the gun at the couple and firing 24 rounds at them. Simon, who was bending to pick up...

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs was glaringly absent during the acting Defense secretary’s announcement. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called President Trump’s order to halve the size of the U.S. force in Afghanistan by Jan. 15 “the right policy decision.” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.), the ranking member on the committee, said “these additional reductions of American troops from terrorist areas are a mistake.” The best indication yet that congressional Republicans accept Trump’s defeat in the election has been the flurry of statements decrying the Tuesday announcement by acting secretary of defense Chris Miller that the military will reduce troop numbers from about 5,000 to 2,500 in Afghanistan and from about 3,000 to 2,500 in Iraq before the inauguration. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) took to the floor to declare that he is “alarmed” by Trump’s plan to reduce the U.S. presence to “a potentially unstable and dangerous...

President Trump announced on Twitter Tuesday night that Christopher Krebs, the head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, had been fired effective immediately. Why it matters: Krebs, who is responsible for securing voting technology, has drawn bipartisan praise for his handling of the election and debunking of misinformation. Reuters recently reported he expected to be fired after he pushed back against false claims that Democrats “rigged” the election, a claim that Trump has heavily promoted. Our thought bubble: Krebs is a universally respected figure even in the notoriously fractious world of cybersecurity and information security, notes Zach Dorfman, author of Axios’ Codebook newsletter. What they’re saying: “Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomorrow. #Protect2020,” Krebs tweeted Tuesday evening from his personal account following the news of his termination. Source: Trump sa...

Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors failed to advance in the Senate on Tuesday, jeopardizing her prospects of being confirmed due to a combination of Republican absences and opposition to her installation to the central bank. On a 47-50 vote, Democrats and two Republican senators filibustered Shelton’s nomination to the Fed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted against moving her forward; a procedural move that allows him to bring up Shelton’s nomination at another time. Hours before the Senate was set to vote on Shelton’s confirmation, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said he would immediately quarantine while waiting for test results. The announcement further riled Shelton’s nomination process, which had already narrowed after Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Monday he would not support Shelton’s confirmation. Alexander joined Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who said they would vote “no” over the summer and...

Twitter and Facebook took unprecedented steps to limit the spread of election misinformation during the 2020 election. Now their chief executives are answering for them on Capitol Hill. Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, less than three weeks after they testified about their content moderation practices in front of a different congressional panel. Lawmakers pressed the companies on the controversial labels they appended to fact-check posts about the election — including many from President Trump. Source: Dorsey, Zuckerberg face off with senators in another tech hearing amid election crackdown – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

(CNN) President-elect Joe Biden is building out the staff that will surround him in the White House, announcing Tuesday that he is tapping two long-time advisers for top roles and naming several other veterans of his presidential campaign to senior positions. Among Tuesday’s announced hires: Mike Donilon, the chief strategist for Biden’s campaign who played a leading role in crafting his speeches and advertising as he framed the 2020 race as a “battle for the soul of the nation,” will be a senior adviser to the president. And Steve Ricchetti, the Biden campaign chairman and a veteran of the Barack Obama and Bill Clinton White Houses, will be a counselor to the president. The announcements come days after Biden tapped veteran Democratic operative Ron Klain as his chief of staff, and show that Biden is first filling out the staff that will surround him in the White House before moving on to Cabinet announcements. News of at least two of the appointments had alre...

(CNN) President-elect Joe Biden is building out the staff that will surround him in the White House, announcing Tuesday that he is tapping two long-time advisers for top roles and naming several other veterans of his presidential campaign to senior positions. Among Tuesday’s announced hires: Mike Donilon, the chief strategist for Biden’s campaign who played a leading role in crafting his speeches and advertising as he framed the 2020 race as a “battle for the soul of the nation,” will be a senior adviser to the president. And Steve Ricchetti, the Biden campaign chairman and a veteran of the Barack Obama and Bill Clinton White Houses, will be a counselor to the president. The announcements come days after Biden tapped veteran Democratic operative Ron Klain as his chief of staff, and show that Biden is first filling out the staff that will surround him in the White House before moving on to Cabinet announcements. News of at least two of the appointments had alre...

Donald Trump is not much of a note-taker, and he does not like his staff to take notes. He has a habit of tearing up documents at the close of meetings. (Records analysts, armed with Scotch Tape, have tried to put the pieces back together.) No real record exists for five meetings Trump had with Vladimir Putin during the first two years of his Presidency. Members of his staff have routinely used apps that automatically erase text messages, and Trump often deletes his own tweets, notwithstanding a warning from the National Archives and Records Administration that doing so contravenes the Presidential Records Act. Trump cannot abide documentation for fear of disclosure, and cannot abide disclosure for fear of disparagement. For decades, in private life, he required people who worked with him, and with the Trump Organization, to sign nondisclosure agreements, pledging never to say a bad word about him, his family, or his businesses. He also extracted nondisclosure agreements from women wi...

LIMA, PERU — Peru’s interim president resigned Sunday as the nation plunged into its worst constitutional crisis in two decades following massive protests unleashed when Congress ousted the nation’s popular leader. In a short televised address, Manuel Merino said Congress acted within the law when he was sworn into office as chief of state Tuesday, despite protesters’ allegations that legislators had staged a parliamentary coup. “I, like everyone, want what’s best for our country,” he said. The politician agreed to step down after a night of unrest in which two young protesters were killed and half his Cabinet resigned. Peruvians cheered the decision, waving their nation’s red and white flag on the streets of Lima and chanting “We did it!” But there is still no clear playbook for what comes next. Congress called an emergency session for Sunday evening to select a new president, but was still debating the question late into ...

(Reuters) – Moderna Inc’s experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, the company said on Monday, becoming the second U.S. drugmaker to report results that far exceed expectations. Source: We can stop COVID-19: Moderna vaccine success gives world more hope | Reuters The article was originally published here!

As President-elect Joe Biden labors to rescue the nation’s ragged coronavirus response, no challenge looms larger than rallying Republicans and Democrats behind a unified effort to wear masks and take other basic steps to control the pandemic. Months of political disputes over face coverings, social distancing and other public health interventions have turned even the simplest precautions into partisan minefields. And relentless attacks by President Trump and his allies have sapped trust in public health leaders and institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, even as the COVID-19 pandemic rages out of control in wide swaths of the country. Source: Can Biden convince red states to wear masks? The article was originally published here!

Results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, including electoral votes between Trump and Biden in each state, and who is winning the popular vote. Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election over incumbent Donald Trump, by an electoral college vote of 306-232. Interestingly, that is the same score Trump won over Hillary Clinton in 2016, albeit he lost the popular vote by a wide margin. He lost this year’s popular vote by an even wider margin (currently, over 5 million). Source: Presidential election results: Live map of 2020 electoral votes The article was originally published here!

Kim Ng has become the first female general manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) history after being hired by the Miami Marlins.She is also the first Asian-American general manager in MLB history.Ng, 51, has 30 years of experience in the major leagues, having previously worked for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.”When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a major league team,” she said.”But I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals.” Source: Kim Ng: Miami Marlins hire first female general manager in MLB history – BBC Sport The article was originally published here!

More than 130 Secret Service officers who help protect the White House and the president when he travels have recently been ordered to isolate or quarantine because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had close contact with infected co-workers, according to three people familiar with agency staffing. The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency’s core security team — is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the situation. The outbreak comes as coronavirus cases have been rapidly rising across the nation, with more than 152,000 new cases reported Thursday. Source: More than 130 Secret Service officers are said to be infected with coronavirus or quarantining in wake of Trump’s campaign travel – The Washington Post The article ...

More than 130 Secret Service officers who help protect the White House and the president when he travels have recently been ordered to isolate or quarantine because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had close contact with infected co-workers, according to three people familiar with agency staffing. The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency’s core security team — is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the situation. The outbreak comes as coronavirus cases have been rapidly rising across the nation, with more than 152,000 new cases reported Thursday. Source: More than 130 Secret Service officers are said to be infected with coronavirus or quarantining in wake of Trump’s campaign travel – The Washington Post The article ...

Another law firm has moved to drop its representation of President Donald Trump’s campaign in its flurry of lawsuits challenging the results of last week’s presidential election. Late Thursday night, Columbus-based firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur notified a federal judge hearing a Trump-filed suit over the election tallies in Pennsylvania that the firm is seeking to pull out of the case. Source: Another law firm bails out on Trump campaign – POLITICO The article was originally published here!

(CNN)The Covid-19 crisis in America is so dire now, international aid workers have arrived to help.”This is a humanitarian disaster — probably one of the worst stories I’ve covered in my career here at CNN,” the network’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said Thursday.Workers from Doctors Without Borders are trying to help the US get a grip on the pandemic, he said. More than 241,000 people have died from coronavirus nationwide — a number that is rapidly growing every day.”I mean, this is an organization that typically covers true disasters and medical crises all over the world,” Gupta said. Source: US coronavirus situation is a ‘humanitarian disaster,’ and the pandemic is only accelerating, experts say – CNN The article was originally published here!

(CNN)The Covid-19 crisis in America is so dire now, international aid workers have arrived to help.”This is a humanitarian disaster — probably one of the worst stories I’ve covered in my career here at CNN,” the network’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said Thursday.Workers from Doctors Without Borders are trying to help the US get a grip on the pandemic, he said. More than 241,000 people have died from coronavirus nationwide — a number that is rapidly growing every day.”I mean, this is an organization that typically covers true disasters and medical crises all over the world,” Gupta said. Source: US coronavirus situation is a ‘humanitarian disaster,’ and the pandemic is only accelerating, experts say – CNN The article was originally published here!

President-elect Joe Biden’s win has some people asking if there’s an opportunity for a 2020 census do-over.The past eight months of the national head count have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, historic hurricane and wildfire seasons, last-minute schedule changes by the Trump administration and President Trump’s call to leave unauthorized immigrants out of a key census count for the first time in 230 years.But whether there is a census redo is not entirely in the hands of the president — who has limited authority over the census — and it would come with a host of complications. Source: 2020 Census: Starting Anew Under Biden Would Be Complicated : NPR The article was originally published here!

(Reuters) – Jones Day, the go-to law firm for U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign, is under fire for representing Republicans in a lawsuit over Pennsylvania’s extended deadline to receive mail-in ballots, with law students threatening to boycott the firm and a prominent anti-Trump group targeting it online. Source: Blowback against Trump campaign law firm targets clients, recruiting | Reuters The article was originally published here!

(Reuters) – Jones Day, the go-to law firm for U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign, is under fire for representing Republicans in a lawsuit over Pennsylvania’s extended deadline to receive mail-in ballots, with law students threatening to boycott the firm and a prominent anti-Trump group targeting it online. Source: Blowback against Trump campaign law firm targets clients, recruiting | Reuters The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump is “100% within his rights” to question  election results , as GOP lawmakers fall in line behind the White House. The Republican leader’s remarks on Monday, his first public comments since  Biden  was declared the winner of the presidential election, show how reluctant Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill have been to defy the president, even in his defeat. Most Republicans are refusing to congratulate Biden or declining to push Trump to accept the outcome, even though there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Source: After Biden win, McConnell says Trump OK to fight election The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump is “100% within his rights” to question  election results , as GOP lawmakers fall in line behind the White House. The Republican leader’s remarks on Monday, his first public comments since  Biden  was declared the winner of the presidential election, show how reluctant Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill have been to defy the president, even in his defeat. Most Republicans are refusing to congratulate Biden or declining to push Trump to accept the outcome, even though there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Source: After Biden win, McConnell says Trump OK to fight election The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper was fired by President Trump on Monday, the latest casualty in the president’s revolving door of top national security officials who fell on the wrong side of their boss. Mr. Trump announced the decision on Twitter, saying Mr. Esper had been “terminated.” Mr. Esper’s downfall had been expected for months, after he took the rare step in June of disagreeing publicly with Mr. Trump and saying that active-duty military troops should not be sent to control the wave of protests in American cities. The president, who had threatened to use the Insurrection Act to do exactly that, was furious, officials said. Mr. Esper’s spokesman tried at the time to walk back the damage, telling The New York Times that Mr. Trump did not want to use the Insurrection Act, either, or else he would have invoked it already. “We fail to see the disconnect,” said Jonathan Hoffman, a spokesman for Mr. Esper. Source: Esper Is Out as Trump’s Defense Secretary – The ...

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper was fired by President Trump on Monday, the latest casualty in the president’s revolving door of top national security officials who fell on the wrong side of their boss. Mr. Trump announced the decision on Twitter, saying Mr. Esper had been “terminated.” Mr. Esper’s downfall had been expected for months, after he took the rare step in June of disagreeing publicly with Mr. Trump and saying that active-duty military troops should not be sent to control the wave of protests in American cities. The president, who had threatened to use the Insurrection Act to do exactly that, was furious, officials said. Mr. Esper’s spokesman tried at the time to walk back the damage, telling The New York Times that Mr. Trump did not want to use the Insurrection Act, either, or else he would have invoked it already. “We fail to see the disconnect,” said Jonathan Hoffman, a spokesman for Mr. Esper. Source: Esper Is Out as Trump’s Defense Secretary – The ...

Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, ABC News’ Katherine Faulders reported. Several other media outlets including Bloomberg, CNN, and NBC News confirmed the news shortly after.Carson’s “deputy chief of staff says he’s ‘in good spirits & feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery,'” Faulders tweeted. She added that Carson attended the election night watch party at the White House last week.The White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told associates last Wednesday that he tested positive for COVID-19. Meadows also attended the election night watch party the night before, The New York Times reported. Source: Ben Carson tests positive for COVID-19: report – Business Insider The article was originally published here!

The United States Special Counsel is investigating the use of the White House as a campaign “war room” by President Trump’s reelection campaign, according to Rep. Bill Pascrell, who made the initial push for an investigation. On Tuesday, Pascrell wrote a letter to the Special Counsel demanding a federal probe of the Trump campaign’s use of the White House after reports of the president’s campaign operating out of the Eisenhower Executive Office. That would violate the Hatch Act, which limits political activities of federal employees, Pascrell said. Pascrell tweeted Thursday night that the Special Counsel is “investigating the Trump campaign’s use of the White House as an Election Day campaign command center.” The Hatch Act excludes the president and vice president. Source: Bill Pascrell urges Hatch Act investigation of Trump White House The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Republican senator said Friday he saw no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election and called the president’s words “very disturbing.” Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, whose state is a key battleground in the presidential election, said “There’s simply no evidence anyone has shown me of any widespread corruption or fraud” to supported Trump’s claim Thursday of fraud in balloting. “The president’s speech last night was very disturbing to me because he made very, very serious allegations without any evidence to support it,” Toomey told “CBS This Morning.” Source: GOP senator: no evidence to support Trump vote-fraud claims The article was originally published here!