Category Archives: US Politics

Electoral college vote may be knockout blow to Trump’s ploy to subvert election

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Formality to cement outcome of election takes on real political significance as Trump continues efforts to undermine results

Donald Trump on Monday could suffer a withering blow to his increasingly hopeless effort to overturn the results of the US presidential election when 538 members of the electoral college will cast their ballots and formally send Joe Biden to the White House.

Under the arcane formula which America has followed since the first election in 1789, Monday’s electoral college vote will mark the official moment when Biden becomes the 46th president-in-waiting. Electors, including political celebrities such as both Bill and Hillary Clinton, will gather in state capitols across the country to cement the outcome of this momentous race.

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AOC’s cooking live streams perfect the recipe for making politics palatable

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is using her millennial’s instinct for social media and her star quality to get her message across

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or talk up a storm about the minimum wage, healthcare and the existential struggle for democracy.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s latest Instagram live stream found the youngest woman ever elected to the US Congress standing at a chopping board with two lemons and a plastic jug as she expounded her political philosophy.

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After the fact: the five ways Trump has tried to attack democracy post-election

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Republicans in 2020 have established what may be a new template for subverting the vote that could haunt elections for years

The decisive rejection by the US supreme court of an attempt by one state, Texas, to throw out election results in four other states might prevent the recurrence of such an effort in future presidential elections.

But the Texas lawsuit was not the only unprecedented attack to be leveled on US democracy during the November presidential election, and other such efforts could escalate in, or echo through, future elections for an unknown time to come.

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Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results

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Court blocks baseless effort by Republicans to undo Joe Biden’s victory in four states

The US supreme court has unanimously rejected a baseless lawsuit filed by Texas seeking to overturn the presidential election result, dealing the biggest blow yet to Donald Trump’s assault on democracy.

In a brief, one page order, all nine justices on America’s highest court dismissed the longshot effort to throw out the vote counts in four states that the president lost: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

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First US Covid vaccinations expected next week as FDA emergency approval appears close – live

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Dr Anthony Fauci has issued what journalists like to call a “reality check” ahead of a vaccine potentially being rolled out next week.

“If we have a smooth vaccination program where everybody steps to the plate quickly, we could get back to some form of normality, reasonably quickly.

The term #trumpconceded is now trending on Twitter, after the president’s earlier tweet about “the Biden Administration”:

Now that the Biden Administration will be a scandal plagued mess for years to come, it is much easier for the Supreme Court of the United States to follow the Constitution and do what everybody knows has to be done. They must show great Courage & Wisdom. Save the USA!!!

He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!

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‘Abolish the death penalty’: Brandon Bernard execution prompts wave of anger

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Elected officials and human rights groups in renewed plea for end to federal executions after Bernard, 40, put to death in Indiana

A wave of outrage from human rights group, activists, elected officials, and others over the execution Thursday night of federal prisoner Brandon Bernard continued to grow on Friday behind a coordinated call for the abolition of the death penalty.

Related: First US Covid vaccinations expected next week as FDA emergency approval appears close – live

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Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine approved by panel clearing way for FDA authorization for emergency use – live updates

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The Trump administration, which had arranged five federal executions before the president leaves office, plans to kill Brandon Bernard – a 40-year-old man that activists say was wrongfully convicted.

Berard was 18 at the time of the crime he as been convicted fo occured.

The planned killing of #BrandonBernard tonight is a national disgrace. https://t.co/vA6bbG9h0R

Related: Justice department plans to execute five inmates before Biden's inauguration

Matthew Cantor reports:

Each election season as campaigns ramp up get-out-the-vote efforts, socially awkward Americans face a dilemma: is it possible to help salvage democracy without having to cold-call anyone?

Related: Letter-writers look to get out the vote in Georgia – with a personal touch

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States targeted in Texas election fraud lawsuit condemn ‘cacophony of bogus claims’

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Attorneys general from both parties reject baseless allegations in case filed with US supreme court

Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Thursday urged the US supreme court to reject a lawsuit filed by Texas and backed by Donald Trump seeking to undo Joe Biden’s victory, saying the case has no factual or legal grounds and makes “bogus” claims.

“What Texas is doing in this proceeding is to ask this court to reconsider a mass of baseless claims about problems with the election that have already been considered, and rejected, by this court and other courts,” Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic attorney general, wrote in a filing to the nine justices.

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Susan Rice tapped for top domestic policy role in Biden administration

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  • Former UN ambassador would not need Senate approval
  • Denis McDonough nominated to run veterans affairs

Susan Rice has been tapped by president-elect Joe Biden to run his domestic policy council, an under-the-radar but highly influential group with broad sway over the administration’s approach to issues including immigration, healthcare and racial inequality.

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Hunter Biden says US attorney’s office is investigating his ‘tax affairs’

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President-elect’s son, who has been targeted by Trump for unproven corruption charges, said he handled his affairs ‘legally and appropriately’

President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, said on Wednesday that the US attorney’s office in Delaware had opened an investigation into his “tax affairs”.

Hunter Biden, who has long been a target of Donald Trump and his allies, said he had learned about the federal investigation on Tuesday from his lawyer, who was informed of the matter by the US attorney’s office earlier that day.

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‘A civilian leader’: Lloyd Austin nominated as Biden’s defense secretary – video

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have formally introduced Lloyd Austin as the nominee to become US defense secretary.

The retired general, who will be the first African American to steer the Pentagon, said he appreciated 'the prevailing wisdom of civilian control' of the US military

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Biden introduces vaccine pledge as US Covid cases soar past 15 million – live

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Donald Trump mocked Germany over its climbing coronavirus death rate, even though the US death toll remains significantly higher than Germany’s.

Trump said in a new tweet, “Germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics as the country that we should follow on the way to handle the China Virus. So much for that argument. I love Germany - Vaccines on the way!!!”

Germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics as the country that we should follow on the way to handle the China Virus. So much for that argument. I love Germany - Vaccines on the way!!! https://t.co/hEeKIqDMQn

This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Belam.

Here’s what the blog is keeping an eye on today: Joe Biden will formally introduce his nominee to lead the defense department, Lloyd Austin, at an event in Wilmington, Delaware.

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Trump’s ‘Warp Speed’ vaccine summit zooms into alternative reality | David Smith’s sketch

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Sketch: The president’s attempt at a victory lap offered a stark contrast to Joe Biden’s sombre yet ambitious event

The US government’s drive for a coronavirus vaccine was named “Operation Warp Speed” by Peter Marks, an official at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and longtime Star Trek fan.

A staple of Star Trek storylines is alternative realities: someone slipping through a wormhole into a parallel universe where history took a radically different turn. Cable news viewers went through the wormhole at 2pm on Tuesday: two captains, two crews, two languages (one English, the other Klingon).

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‘100m shots in 100 days’: Biden urges Americans to wear masks as he makes vaccine pledge – video

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Joe Biden pleads with Americans to wear masks for 100 days after he takes office. 'It's not a political statement, it's a patriotic act,' says the president-elect. At an event announcing nominees for his health team, Biden pledged to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days

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Texas sues four states over election results in effort to help Donald Trump

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Long-shot lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin is latest legal effort intended to reverse Biden’s victory

The state of Texas, aiming to help Donald Trump upend the results of the US election, decisively won by Joe Biden, said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin at the US supreme court, calling changes they made to election procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic unlawful.

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Trump administration refused offer to buy millions more Pfizer vaccine doses

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Decision could delay the delivery of a second batch until the manufacturer meets its orders for other countries

The Trump administration passed up a chance last summer to buy millions of additional doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until the manufacturer fulfills other international contracts.

The revelation, first reported by the New York Times and confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday, came a day before Donald Trump aimed to take credit for the speedy development of forthcoming vaccines at a White House summit.

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Georgia debate: Loeffler and Warnock spar over Trump election loss – video

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Republican senator Kelly Loeffler repeatedly dodged questions about Donald Trump's election defeat during her debate with Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock ahead of a crucial Senate runoff election in January. Declining to acknowledge Joe Biden had won after a direct question from Warnock, Loeffler said Trump had the right to 'legal recourse' . Warnock replied by attacking Loeffler's response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Georgia.

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Rudy Giuliani has coronavirus, Donald Trump says

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Multiple US media reports say the lawyer is in hospital, as Arizona closes state legislature for a week in wake of his recent visit

Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has tested positive for Covid-19, the president tweeted on Sunday, prompting Arizona to close its legislature after the lawyer visited the state last week.

Related: Trump's attacks on election integrity 'disgust me', says senior Georgia Republican

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Trump’s attacks on election integrity ‘disgust me’, says senior Georgia Republican

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Donald Trump’s attacks on Republican officials in Georgia and insistence his defeat by Joe Biden must be overturned are disgusting, the Republican lieutenant governor of the southern state said on Sunday.

Related: Just 27 of 249 Republicans in Congress willing to say Trump lost, survey finds

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