‘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'.
Continue reading...Category Archives: US News
Georgia’s secretary of state says Lindsey Graham suggested he throw out legal ballots
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.
Continue reading...Biden warns ‘more people may die’ if Trump refuses to cooperate on transition – live
- Biden urges Trump team to work with him on Covid planning
- ‘The idea that [Trump] is playing golf is beyond my comprehension’
- National security adviser appears to accept Trump lost election
- Campaign reportedly withdraws illegally processed ballots claim
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.”
Continue reading...Macron accuses English-language media of ‘legitimising’ violence in France
- 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
Continue reading...Hopes of Covid vaccine for more than 1bn people by end of 2021
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.
Continue reading...Obama scolds ‘petulant’ Trump but reveals conservative sympathies
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.”
Continue reading...Obama tells Trump to concede defeat – video
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'.
Continue reading...What does the Moderna vaccine mean for the fight against Covid?
How does it work and how is it different from the Pfizer/BioNTech jab?
- Moderna Covid vaccine almost 95% effective, trials show
- Coronavirus – latest updates
- See all our coronavirus coverage
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.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Japan may reimpose state of emergency; Sweden limits public gatherings to eight people
Moderna is latest to reveal impressive vaccine results; Sweden cuts public gatherings limit from 300 as it blames fall in adherence to rules
- Second vaccine candidate almost 95% effective, trials show
- What does the Moderna vaccine mean for fight against Covid?
- Trump bids to take credit for Moderna vaccine while Biden offers cautious optimism
- Boris Johnson and Tory MPs forced to self-isolate after No 10 event
- Schools and parties in spotlight as Germany weighs new 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
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Russia and Iran report worst daily increase; Merkel to push for tougher curbs in Germany
Russia confirms over 22,000 new cases; Iran sees 13,053 new cases; German chancellor wants masks in all schools and more contact restrictions
- Self-isolating Boris Johnson says he is ‘bursting with antibodies’
- ‘We’re at the precipice’: US records 11m Covid cases
- Time for a four-day week, say European politicians
- Japanese shop deploys robot to check customers are wearing masks
- UK coronavirus updates - live
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.
Continue reading...We’re being told Biden won’t be able to achieve much. We must reject that idea | Astra Taylor
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.
Continue reading...‘Heal the damage’: Activists urge Joe Biden to move beyond ‘border security’
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.
Continue reading...EU must assert autonomy in face of US-China dominance, says Macron
French president says US election chance to pursue sovereignty amid rising populism
European leaders must not let up on efforts to construct an autonomous bloc that is capable of resisting the duopoly of China and the US, Emmanuel Macron has said in his first extended response to the US presidential election.
The French president said the US would only respect Europe if it was sovereign with respect to its own defence, technology and currency. Warning that US values and interests were not quite the same as Europe’s, he said: “It is not tenable that our international policies should be dependent on it or to be trailing behind it.” The same need for independence applied even more to China, he added.
Continue reading...America’s flawed democracy: the five key areas where it is failing
The US system has survived four years of a norm-busting president by the skin of its teeth – which areas need most urgent attention?
On 7 November the United States pulled back from the brink of re-electing a president who has repeatedly shown disdain for democratic norms and institutions. Donald Trump has fused his own business interests with the White House, dubbed the media “enemies of the people”, embraced foreign strongmen, sidelined science and politicized the justice department, falsely cast doubt on the electoral process and is currently distinguishing himself as the first sitting president since 1800 to frustrate a peaceful transition of power.
Continue reading...A youth group helped Biden win. Now they want him to fix climate crisis
The Sunrise Movement helped reach 3.5m voters in swing states and are determined to hold the president-elect to his promises
Joe Biden will have to navigate a path for the most ambitious climate agenda ever adopted by a US president through not only stubborn Republican obstruction but also an emergent youth climate movement that is already formulating plans to hold him to account.
Continue reading...‘We went through our rough patches’: Obama on married life as president – video
Former US president Barack Obama discusses how his marriage was affected by the constant pressures that come with being US president.
In an interview for Apple TV, Obama told Oprah Winfrey he and wife Michelle 'went through our rough patches in the White House ... but I tell you that the thing that I think we were good about was talking stuff through, never losing fundamental love and respect for each other, and prioritising our kids'
• Barack Obama rules out role in Biden cabinet – 'Michelle would leave me'
Continue reading...US and UK yet to show support for global treaty to tackle plastic pollution
More than two-thirds of UN member states have declared they are open to a new agreement to stem the rising tide of plastic waste
Support is growing internationally for a new global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, it has emerged, though so far without the two biggest per capita waste producers – the US and the UK – which have yet to signal their participation.
A UN working group on marine litter and microplastics met at a virtual conference last week to discuss the issue. More than two-thirds of UN member states, including African, Baltic, Caribbean, Nordic and Pacific states, as well as the EU, have declared they are open to considering the option of a new agreement.
Continue reading...Trump campaign abandons part of legal challenge to Pennsylvania election results
Allegation that 682,479 mail-in and absentee ballots were illegally processed without its representatives watching has been dropped
President Donald Trump’s campaign has withdrawn a central part of its lawsuit seeking to stop the certification of the election results in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Joe Biden beat Trump to capture the state and help win the White House.
Ahead of a Tuesday hearing in the case, Trump’s campaign on Sunday dropped the allegation that 682,479 mail-in and absentee ballots were illegally processed without its representatives watching.
Continue reading...SpaceX Nasa launch: astronauts head to International Space Station onboard Dragon capsule
Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi successfully lifted off for the 27-hour flight on Sunday
SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company.
The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three Americans and one Japanese onboard, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably Covid-19 – is due to reach the space station after 27-and-a-half hours and remain there until spring.
Continue reading...Trump insists ‘I concede nothing’ after tweeting that Biden ‘won’ – live coverage
The president’s scattershot comments came in a morning Twitter blitz in which he also lashed out at Fox News
- Arrests as Trump supporters assemble, rejecting Biden victory
- Million Maga March: Trump fans rage against dying of the light
- Democrats divided: Biden win brings end to uneasy truce
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Many New York City parents breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that public schools would remain open next week, as Covid-19 testing rates remain below the threshold for closures.
Increasing positivity rates in New York City and state have prompted rollbacks of reopening initiatives, spurring De Blasio to warn on Friday that schools could close again. De Blasio said classrooms would close if the seven-day test positivity rate exceeded 3%.
Today’s indicators are similar to yesterday:
• 117 patients admitted to the hospital
• 937 new cases
• The test positivity 7-day average is 2.57%
Thankfully, schools will remain open on Monday, but we have to keep fighting back with everything we’ve got.
While his aides seek to turn up the pressure on Donald Trump, to force his co-operation with the presidential transition, Joe Biden is going about his business as the president-elect:
JUST IN: President-elect Joe Biden will address the nation on Monday about the state of the economy.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will join Biden from Wilmington, Delaware.
Related: Trump faces growing pressure to start transition as Covid surges across US
Continue reading...