Month: November 2020

A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Saturday dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump’s campaign that sought to block that state’s certification of millions of voters, which is expected to confirm a win for President-elect […]

Dow Futures Rise 200 Points to Kick off the Week Despite Jump in Coronavirus Cases

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were higher in early morning trade on Monday, even as Covid-19 cases rise in the U.S. and abroad, CNBC reported. Futures contracts tied to the Dow advanced 209 points. S&P […]

Biden Push to Restore U.S. Global Role Starts With Blinken

President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward on his campaign pledge to restore America as a leader on the global stage and lean on experts, tapping veteran diplomats for key posts even as President Donald Trump […]

Netanyahu Secretly Met Saudi Crown Prince, Pompeo in Saudi Arabia on Sunday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israel’s Kan public radio and Army Radio said […]

protection against coronavirus infection

COVID-19 Shots May Reach First Americans by Mid-December

U.S. healthcare workers and others recommended for the nation’s first COVID-19 inoculations could start getting shots within a day or two of regulatory consent next month, a top official of the government’s vaccine development effort […]

Biden Marches Forward With Cabinet, Trump Hopes Likely to Fade in Key States

President Donald Trump’s increasingly tenuous efforts to reverse his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden could be dealt a lethal blow on Monday, as Biden turns to the task of building his cabinet, Reuters informed. […]

US and China will meet for the first time at a high level since Russia's attack on Ukraine as Biden tries to get Beijing's help with the war.

In Latest Confrontation With China, U.S. Drafts List of 89 Firms With Military Ties

The Trump administration is close to declaring that 89 Chinese aerospace and other companies have military ties, restricting them from buying a range of U.S. goods and technology, according to a draft copy of the […]

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Can Be 90% Effective, Results Show

Britain’s AstraZeneca said on Monday its vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be around 90% effective without any serious side effects, Reuters writes. The vaccine developed by Oxford University was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 […]

A House of Representatives committee examining former President Donald Trump's withdrawal of sensitive materials from the White House.

U.S. FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization to Regeneron COVID-19 Antibody Given to Trump

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday issued emergency use authorization for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals COVID-19 antibody therapy, an experimental treatment given to President Donald Trump that he said helped cure him of the disease, […]

U.S. Hits 12 Million COVID-19 Cases as Many Americans Defy Thanksgiving Travel Guidance

The United States recorded its 12th million COVID-19 case on Saturday, even as millions of Americans were expected to travel for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, ignoring warnings from health officials about furthering the spread of […]

Palestinian Rocket Fire Draws Israeli Air Strikes in Gaza

Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel, drawing Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Sunday, Reuters writes. There were no casualties reported on either side of the border. Israeli […]

China to Launch Moon Probe, Seeking First Lunar Rock Retrieval Since 1970s

China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth’s natural satellite since the 1970s, Reuters […]

Trump Faces New Pressure to Concede Election

After a scathing court setback in Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump faces increased pressure from his fellow Republicans to drop his effort to overturn the U.S. presidential election and concede to Democrat Joe Biden, Reuters informed. […]

White House Aide Andrew Giuliani Tests Positive for COVID-19

Andrew Giuliani, a White House aide and son of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, said on Friday he had tested positive for COVID-19, Reuters writes. “This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19,” the […]

G20 to Discuss Post-Pandemic World, Back Debt Relief

Leaders of the 20 biggest world economies (G20) will debate this weekend how to deal with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that has caused a global recession and how to manage the recovery once the coronavirus […]

Michigan Republicans, After Meeting Trump, Say No Information to Change Election Outcome

Michigan’s Republican state legislative leaders said after meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday that they had no information that would change the outcome of the presidential election in the state, and would follow the […]

Panic Buying of Toilet Paper Hits U.S. Stores Again With New Pandemic Restrictions

Toilet paper aisles are emptying again as COVID-19 curfews and shutdowns in states from California to New York send pandemic-weary shoppers on a new scramble for essentials, Reuters informed. Walmart on Friday said it was “seeing […]

More Congress Republicans Openly Doubt Trump’s Election Claims

Pressure for President Donald Trump to start the transition process to President-elect Joe Biden built among Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Friday, as several voiced doubts over Trump’s claims of fraudulent voting, Reuters informed. […]

U.S. Officials Worry About Holiday Spike as Coronavirus Surges

U.S. health authorities braced for further increases in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths on Friday, capping a week in which the spread of the novel coronavirus accelerated ahead of next week’s Thanksgiving holiday, Reuters informed. […]

Mnuchin Clawback of Fed Funds ‘Deeply Irresponsible,’ Biden Team Says

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to de-fund several Federal Reserve coronavirus lending programs on Dec. 31 is “deeply irresponsible,” President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team said on Friday, and threatens to undermine the country’s fragile […]

12 Million Americans Set to Lose Unemployment Benefits by Year’s End

About 12 million Americans will lose unemployment benefits in December when CARES Act provisions lapse, absent an extension, according to a new analysis, CNBC reported. Unemployment benefits will terminate for more than half of current […]

Most U.S. Companies Optimistic About Doing Business in China After Biden’s Win, Survey Finds

The outlook for U.S. businesses in China is improving, whether politically or revenue-wise, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said in a survey released Friday, CNBC writes. Out of 124 company leaders surveyed from […]

G20 Leaders Urged to Provide Funds for COVID-19 Vaccines, Drugs, Tests

G20 leaders must help close a funding gap to buy vaccines, drugs and tests to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, a letter from South Africa’s president, Norway’s prime minister, and the heads of the World Health […]

EU Could Pay Over $10bn for Pfizer and CureVac Vaccines

The European Union could pay more than $10 billion to secure hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine candidates being developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and CureVac, an EU official involved in the talks told Reuters. […]

WHO Advises Against Gilead’s Remdesivir for All Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients

Gilead’s remdesivir is not recommended for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence the drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organization […]

Joe Biden's social spending bill approved by House Dems

Georgia Confirms Biden’s Victory in State

Georgia confirmed Democratic President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the Nov. 3 election in the state as it completed a hand audit of ballots on Thursday, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said, Reuters reported. […]

California, Ohio Order Nightly Curfews on Gatherings as Coronavirus Surges

California’s governor on Thursday imposed a curfew on social gatherings and other non-essential activities in one of the most intrusive of the restrictions being ordered across the country to curb an alarming surge in novel […]

Trump to Host Michigan Lawmakers as He Presses Dubious Effort to Overturn Election

President Donald Trump will meet with the Republican leaders of the Michigan state legislature on Friday at the White House, as his campaign pursues an increasingly desperate bid to overturn the Nov. 3 election amid […]

November 19, 2020 Focus Washington

Trump’s Vaccine Team Will Not Brief Biden Administration, Senator Claims

Officials from President Donald Trump’s vaccine distribution effort have not briefed anyone on President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, and have no plans to do so, a Democratic U.S. senator said after a White House call […]

November 19, 2020 John Ganjei

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Georgia Senate Update – Handling the Transition – Latest National Vote Count

Your Daily Polling Update for Thursday, November 19, 2020 CURRENT VOTE TALLY2020 presidential election Joe Biden: 79.5 million (51%)Donald Trump: 73.6 million (47.2%) Biden’s vote margin over Trump: 5.9 millionBiden’s % margin over Trump: 3.8 points […]