My Daily Grind News

For the first time in the course of the pandemic, the United States reported more than 3,100 deaths in a single day, according to a Washington Post analysis. With overtaxed intensive care units running out of beds in many parts of the country, the number of people hospitalized with covid-19 reached a record 106,000 on Wednesday. The grim reminders of the pandemic’s devastating toll came as two vaccine candidates appeared to be on the verge of clearing the final U.S. regulatory hurdles. An advisory panel convened Thursday morning to decide whether to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Source: Covid live updates: U.S. coronavirus deaths hit record 3,140 in one day – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

For the first time in the course of the pandemic, the United States reported more than 3,100 deaths in a single day, according to a Washington Post analysis. With overtaxed intensive care units running out of beds in many parts of the country, the number of people hospitalized with covid-19 reached a record 106,000 on Wednesday. The grim reminders of the pandemic’s devastating toll came as two vaccine candidates appeared to be on the verge of clearing the final U.S. regulatory hurdles. An advisory panel convened Thursday morning to decide whether to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Source: Covid live updates: U.S. coronavirus deaths hit record 3,140 in one day – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his campaign will join an improbable case before the Supreme Court challenging election results in Pennsylvania and other states that he lost as he tries to look past the justices’ rejection of a last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. The high court has asked for responses by Thursday. Out of the roughly 50 lawsuits filed around the country contesting the Nov. 3 vote, Trump has lost more than 35 and the others are pending, according to an Associated Press tally. The suit from the Texas attorney general, Republican Ken Paxton, demands that the 62 total Electoral College votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin be invalidated. That’s enough, if set aside, to swing the election to Trump. Paxton’s suit repeats a litany of false, disproven and unsupported allegations about mail-in ballots and voting in the four battlegrounds. Source: Trump looks past Supreme Court l...

A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation. Why it matters: The alleged operation offers a rare window into how Beijing has tried to gain access to and influence U.S. political circles. While this suspected operative’s activities appear to have ended during the Obama administration, concerns about Beijing’s influence operations have spanned President Trump’s time in office and will continue to be a core focus for U.S. counterintelligence during the Biden administration. Source: How a suspected Chinese spy gained access to California politics – Axios The article was originally published here!

Both Pfizer and Moderna, the two major drug manufacturers likely to receive emergency authorizations for a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, have rejected invitations from President Trump to appear at a White House “Vaccine Summit” on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the event’s planning. The Trump administration has openly feuded with Pfizer in recent weeks over its involvement in Operation Warp Speed and the timing of a data release showing its vaccine to be highly effective, but had nonetheless invited CEO Albert Bourla to appear on a panel about the vaccine development process. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel was also invited, but neither he nor another company executive will attend. The vaccine manufacturers’ absences will be conspicuous at a “Vaccine Summit,” an event that drug industry figures and one Trump administration official largely viewed as a public relations stunt when STAT first reported the event last week. Source: Pfizer, Moderna decline invitations...

WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr has told associates in recent weeks that he may leave his post before the Trump administration ends next month, according to people familiar with the discussions. Barr, in his second stint as the nation’s top law enforcement official, has been the target of growing criticism from President Donald Trump and his supporters – public attacks that intensified in recent days after the attorney general said the Justice Department had not found evidence of widespread voter fraud that could affect the outcome of the presidential contest. But people close to the attorney general, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said Barr’s contemplation of resigning before Jan. 20 predates that fresh burst of criticism from the right. Source: Barr may leave Trump administration before Inauguration Day The article was originally published here!

WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr has told associates in recent weeks that he may leave his post before the Trump administration ends next month, according to people familiar with the discussions. Barr, in his second stint as the nation’s top law enforcement official, has been the target of growing criticism from President Donald Trump and his supporters – public attacks that intensified in recent days after the attorney general said the Justice Department had not found evidence of widespread voter fraud that could affect the outcome of the presidential contest. But people close to the attorney general, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said Barr’s contemplation of resigning before Jan. 20 predates that fresh burst of criticism from the right. Source: Barr may leave Trump administration before Inauguration Day The article was originally published here!