Category Archives: US News

Why US ballot count live streams became misinformation magnets

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Live streams of the count aren’t a new phenomenon – but after Trump’s baseless vote fraud claims, some are wondering if this method of transparency is too vulnerable

At a vote-counting center in Montgomery county, Maryland, a man sat in a room with other election workers, wearing a grey hat and dark purple rubber gloves. He unfolded a ballot, looked around and leaned forward to mark it. The man appeared on a Yahoo Finance livestream of the center. The video went viral, one version ending up on YouTube, where the narrator said they found it on 4chan.

“Do you notice that, folks?” said the narrator. “How he looks around to see if anyone is watching him – as if he’s about to commit a crime?”

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Obama hails arrival of a more ‘caring government’ as memoir launches – video

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In an interview marking the launch of his memoir A Promised Land, Barack Obama tells Oprah Winfrey that the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will help lead the US back to the 'competent, caring government we so badly need'. 

He lamented the standard of governance over the past four years, saying Biden and Harris will 'level set' and show that the presidency will not label journalists 'enemies of the state' or 'routinely lie'  

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Trump Pennsylvania court hearing due as Biden sharpens criticism of concession refusal – live updates

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Gary Younge writes for us today a typically eloquent long read on Donald Trump’s desperate fight to stop the minority vote in 2020 – and how he still lost.

According to Trump, votes were illegitimate by dint of where they were cast. “Detroit and Philadelphia are known as two of the most corrupt political places anywhere in our country – easily,” he said. “They cannot be responsible for engineering the outcome of a presidential race.”

This was a new twist in the racial logic of the American right, which has gone from blocking Black people from voting to allowing them to vote as long as their votes don’t all get counted.

Related: Counted out: Trump's desperate fight to stop the minority vote

In his report on the situation with Iran just now, Patrick Wintour mentioned those reports that Donald Trump is intending to make a significant troop withdrawal from Afghanistan before vacating the White House in January. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has issued a warning about that this morning.

Associated Press report him saying “We now face a difficult decision. We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years, and no Nato ally wants to stay any longer than necessary. But at the same time, the price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high,” in a statement.

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UK, Italy and Spain record highest daily death totals since spring – as it happened

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This blog is closing now but you can follow our continuing live coverage here. Thanks for reading.

Related: Coronavirus live news: senator Chuck Grassley tests positive; airlines offer Covid testing

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Covid: chemicals found in everyday products could hinder vaccine

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Researchers worry PFAS, commonly found in the bodies of Americans, will reduce the immunization’s effectiveness

The successful uptake of any vaccine for Covid-19, a crucial step in returning a sense of normalcy after a year ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, could be hindered by widespread contamination from a range of chemicals used in everyday products.

Small amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (or PFAS) chemicals are commonly found in the bodies of people in the US, as well as several other countries. These man-made chemicals, used in everything from non-stick pans to waterproof clothes to pizza boxes, have been linked to an elevated risk of liver damage, decreased fertility and even cancer.

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Iran warns of ‘crushing response’ if Trump targets nuclear site

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Outgoing president reported to have looked at military options against Tehran and its allies

Iran has warned of a strong response if Donald Trump goes ahead with plans to use the twilight of his presidency to mount a strike on Iran or its allies in the region.

It was reported that Trump last week looked at options for striking Iran’s main nuclear site, but was dissuaded from taking action after his advisers warned it might lead to a larger conflict in the Middle East. The report was sourced to four US officials by the New York Times.

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Twitter and Facebook CEOs to testify on alleged anti-conservative bias

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Senate hearing was called in response to how the companies’ platforms handled a New York Post article about Joe Biden

The chief executive officers of Twitter and Facebook are taking the stand Tuesday to testify, again, about allegations of anti-conservative bias on their platforms.

Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey were subpoenaed in October to appear at Tuesday’s hearing with the Senate judiciary committee in order to “review the companies’ handling of the 2020 election”.

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‘We should be thankful to him’: why some Muslim voters stood by Trump

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Despite the president’s anti-Muslim policies, the margin between Trump and Biden among Muslim voters was closer than experts predicted

Dr Khalid Khan is an internal medicine physician in Houston, Texas. Even in the face of a pandemic that has cost almost quarter of a million American lives and administration that often seemed to demonize Islam, the doctor and self-proclaimed devout Muslim cast his ballot for Donald Trump.

“When you eat a dish, you might not like every ingredient. But you like the whole dish. We should take the good and leave the bad,” Khan said, comparing the US president to a mediocre meal.

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Joe Biden says Trump blocking Covid plans may lead to more deaths – video

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‘The idea the president is still playing golf and not doing anything about it is beyond my comprehension. You’d think he’d at least want to go off on a positive note’, US president-elect, Joe Biden, said after a meeting with  CEOs and labor leaders. ‘I find this more embarrassing for the country than debilitating for my ability to get started’, he said. Biden warned that if outgoing president Donald Trump continues blocking a US transition of power as the coronavirus pandemic worsens, 'more people may die'. 

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Georgia’s secretary of state says Lindsey Graham suggested he throw out legal ballots

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Brad Raffensperger says the Republican senator asked if he had the authority to toss out all mail-in ballots in certain counties

Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger has said that Senator Lindsey Graham asked whether it was possible to invalidate legally cast ballots after Donald Trump was narrowly defeated in the state.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Raffensperger said that his fellow Republican, the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, questioned him about the state’s signature-matching law and asked whether political bias might have played a role in counties where poll workers accepted higher rates of mismatched signatures. According to Raffensperger, Graham then asked whether he had the authority to toss out all mail-in ballots in these counties.

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Biden warns ‘more people may die’ if Trump refuses to cooperate on transition – live

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According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, if Donald Trump wants a statewide recount, he will have to pay $7.9m.

The president lost the state by more than 20,000 votes - which means a recount is very unlikely to change the fact that he lost. Even if a recount, miraculously, left Trump ahead in the state, Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes are not enough to change the election outcome.

Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, told the Washington Post that senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina was among several members of his party who pressured him to toss out legally cast ballots so that Trump could win the state.

From the Post:

In a wide-ranging interview about the 2020 election, Raffensperger expressed exasperation with a string of baseless allegations coming from Trump and his allies about the integrity of the Georgia results, including claims that Dominion Voting Systems, the Colorado-based manufacturer of Georgia’s voting machines, is a “leftist” company with ties to Venezuela that engineered thousands of Trump votes not to be counted.

The atmosphere has grown so contentious, Raffensperger said, that both he and his wife, Tricia, have received death threats in recent days, including a text to him that read, “You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it.”

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Macron accuses English-language media of ‘legitimising’ violence in France

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  • French president says concept of laïcité is misunderstood
  • Macron accused of targeting Muslims in wake of terror attacks

Facing protests in the Muslim world over his response to terror attacks in France, President Emmanuel Macron phoned a New York Times media columnist to rail against “bias” in the English-language media and accuse some newspapers of “legitimising this violence”.

Related: Trump adviser says it 'looks like' Biden has won and predicts 'very professional transition' – live

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Hopes of Covid vaccine for more than 1bn people by end of 2021

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Moderna becomes second firm to reveal positive results with nearly 95% protection in trials

More than 1 billion people could be immunised against coronavirus by the end of next year with shots from the first two companies to reveal positive results, after the latest vaccine was shown to be nearly 95% effective in trials.

With the US’s top infectious diseases official, Anthony Fauci, hailing “the light at the end of the tunnel”, the US biotech firm Moderna announced impressive results for its mRNA vaccine on Monday, a week after interim results for a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showed 90% effectiveness.

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Obama scolds ‘petulant’ Trump but reveals conservative sympathies

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In interview about new memoir, Obama says ‘I am sympathetic to a certain strain of conservatism’ and lauds ‘gracious’ George Bush

In an interview with the Atlantic to mark publication of his memoir A Promised Land, Barack Obama ponders Joe Biden’s chances of working with Republicans in Congress, comes close to admitting to being a never-Trump conservative himself – and compares America under Trump to Central Asia under Genghis Khan.

“If we were going to have a rightwing populist in this country,” Obama says, “I would have expected somebody a little more appealing.”

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Obama tells Trump to concede defeat – video

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Barack Obama has said that if Donald Trump wants to be remembered as someone who 'put country first' then he must concede the presidency to Joe Biden. 

Speaking on CBS, the former US president said Trump's actions are 'one more step in delegitimising democracy generally'. 

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What does the Moderna vaccine mean for the fight against Covid?

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How does it work and how is it different from the Pfizer/BioNTech jab?

As promising results are released from a second vaccine trial, we take a look at what this could mean in the battle against Covid-19.

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Coronavirus live news: Japan may reimpose state of emergency; Sweden limits public gatherings to eight people

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Moderna is latest to reveal impressive vaccine results; Sweden cuts public gatherings limit from 300 as it blames fall in adherence to rules

South Africa has recorded 1,245 new coronavirus cases and 73 further deaths.

The caseload stands at 752,269 , while 20,314 people have died.

#COVID19 Statistics in SA as at 16 November.

Use the COVID Alert SA app to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community. Start using this privacy preserving app today. Add your phone to the fight! Download the Covid Alert SA app now! https://t.co/8YKEqaiiRF pic.twitter.com/MwMJovMXA9

The Australian state of Victoria has recorded its 18th day without a new coronavirus case or death.

Yesterday there were 0 new cases, 0 lives lost. Three active cases remain, 0 with an unknown source. #EveryTestHelps and thanks to all who were tested, there were 17,412 results received. https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz#StaySafeStayOpen #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/k0HwjYcBrE

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Coronavirus live news: Russia and Iran report worst daily increase; Merkel to push for tougher curbs in Germany

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Russia confirms over 22,000 new cases; Iran sees 13,053 new cases; German chancellor wants masks in all schools and more contact restrictions

We have more from Reuters on the tough new measures expected to be agreed in Germany, in a meeting between state leaders and the chancellor, Angela Merkel, later on Monday.

Earlier we reported how they would include compulsory mask-wearing at schools and drastic restrictions on household gatherings. A draft document of the measures, seen by Reuters, also said people would be urged to avoid private parties completely in coming weeks.

Hullo! This is Damien Gayle taking the reins on the live blog now for the rest of the working day here in the UK.

If you have any interesting coronavirus-related news, suggestions or comments from your part of the world, that you think is worth our including on the blog, please drop me a line, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter DM to @damiengayle.

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We’re being told Biden won’t be able to achieve much. We must reject that idea | Astra Taylor

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If Joe Biden is going to accomplish anything, we need to start thinking differently about power and our political system

One thing we have learned from this election is just how crazy our democratic system is. Many crucial victories came down to slim margins in swing states and the idiosyncrasies of the electoral college.

Moving forward, progressives need to rally around serious democracy reform. Every issue we care about, from heathcare to climate justice, flows from that. Without a major intervention – and even with radical candidates winning office here and there – our political system is becoming less and less representative and responsive.

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‘Heal the damage’: Activists urge Joe Biden to move beyond ‘border security’

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Biden has said he will end construction of Trump’s wall, but activists say they hope for more than a return to the status quo

As Joe Biden prepares to take office, activists say the president-elect must not only take meaningful action to stabilize the US-Mexico border, but also reckon with his own history of militarizing the border landscape and communities.

Biden has promised to end many of the Trump administration’s border policies, but has yet to unveil the kind of bold immigration plan that would suggest a true departure from Obama-era priorities. Cecilia Muñoz, Obama’s top immigration adviser who memorably defended the administration’s decision to deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants, was recently added to Biden’s transition team.

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