The AM Rundown: Biden Chooses Chief of Staff

➤BIDEN, MOVING FORWARD, TRUMP MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE IN DAYS: President-elect Joe Biden continued to move forward with his transition Wednesday, even as President Trump and leading Republicans continue to refuse as yet to recognize his election win, choosing his longtime adviser Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff. Biden said in a statement of Klain, "His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again."

Meanwhile, Trump appeared in public yesterday for the first time in days in a 10-minute appearance at the annual Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery. While not publicly visible, Trump has in recent days been tweeting his unsupported allegations of voter fraud. While legal challenges to the vote count have continued to be filed on his behalf in several states, none have been successful, and media reports say there's a growing recognition in the White House that the election result won't be changed. However, AP reported that aides are saying Trump believes he needs to keep fighting, quote, "almost as performance, as a show to the 70 million people who voted for him that he is still battling."

Georgia to Do Hand Count Audit: In Georgia, where the vote count shows Biden ahead of Trump by some 14,000 votes, or about three-tenths of a percent, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced an audit yesterday of the results that he said would be done with a full hand count of the ballots because the margin is so close. State law requires an audit, but leaves it up to the secretary of state, to choose the race, and Raffensperger said the presidential race makes the most sense. His office has said there’s no evidence of systemic problems with the voting or the vote count. He said he wants the audit to begin by the end of the week, and expects it to take until November 20th, the state's certification deadline. Georgia hasn't been called by media organizations for Biden because the result is so close.

Trump Wins Alaska, Sullivan Reelected: Trump was named the winner of Alaska yesterday, according to the Associated Press' call, adding three electoral votes for a total of 217. Election officials in the state didn't begin counting absentee and other ballots, of which there were a large number, until Tuesday, which accounted for the delay in naming a winner. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan was also called as having won reelection yesterday, defeating independent Al Gross. With the result, the Senate balance of power is now 50-48 in favor of the Republicans, and control of the body will be determined by the result of the two Senate runoff races in Georgia in January.

On Wednesday, there were at least 1,893 American deaths from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University -- the highest daily death toll the country has seen since early May. https://t.co/bkZRQIakJV

— CNN (@CNN) November 12, 2020

➤CORONAVIRUS CONTINUING TO SURGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY: The fall surge of the coronavirus is continuing across the country, with health officials issuing dire warnings of what will be difficult weeks and months ahead. Daily new cases are rising in 49 states, hospitalizations are at record highs, and deaths per day are increasing in 39 states, with the U.S. now averaging around 970 deaths daily. While cases are soaring everywhere, the Midwest is being particularly hard hit right now, with North Dakota having the most new cases per capita in the country, having one of every 83 residents test positive in the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Several governors put new restrictions in place yesterday to try to slow the spread of the disease, including: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo saying all restaurants, bars and gyms will have to close at 10 p.m. and barring private gatherings of more than 10 people; Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announcing new restrictions on bars and restaurants; and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issuing new orders on mask enforcement at businesses and threatening to close bars, restaurants and fitness centers.

There have been more than 241,800 deaths as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 10,401,000 confirmed cases.

 

➤TROPICAL STORM ETA DRENCHING WEST COAST OF FLORIDA: Tropical Storm Eta was drenching the west coast of Florida yesterday as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico, with forecasters predicting it will make landfall sometime today north of Tampa Bay and then travel northeast across the state. There were no immediate reports of injuries, serious damage or flooding in the Tampa Bay area as Eta moved past it Wednesday. The storm has been slowly churning in the Gulf of Mexico since crossing over South Florida on Sunday. 

That came after it first barreled into Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on November 3rd and killed at least 120 people in Central America and Mexico. It then moved into the Caribbean and reformed, headed for south Florida.

➤PASSENGER ON FIRST CRUISE SHIP TO RETURN TO CARIBBEAN TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: A passenger on the first cruise ship to return to the Caribbean since sailings were stopped at the start of the pandemic has tested positive for the coronavirus. The news was reported Wednesday by The Points Guy travel site, which has a reporter on board the SeaDream 1, who was on the trip to write about the new safety measures on the small ship, which left Barbados Saturday with 53 passengers and 66 crew members. He reported that the captain made the announcement over the intercom yesterday, and asked passengers and non-essential crew members to return to their cabins and isolate there. Doctors then began testing passengers with rapid Covid testing machines. The SeaDream 1 is now heading back to port.

This is the 3rd time that the Cy Young winners in a given season were previously teammates. pic.twitter.com/pfu8Fxu6VD

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 11, 2020

⚾INDIANS' BIEBER, REDS' BAUER WIN CY YOUNG: Pitchers Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians and Trevor Bauer of the Cincinnati Reds won the Cy Young Award on Wednesday (November 11th), Bieber in the American League and Bauer in the National League. Bieber won the AL award in unanimous voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America after going 8-1 in the coronavirus-shortened season with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts, leading the majors in ERA and strikeouts and tying the Chicago Cubs' Yu Darvish for most wins. Bauer became the first Reds pitcher to win the Cy Young, after going 5-4 with an NL-best 1.73 ERA and striking out 100.

🏈MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES CANCELED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS:

More college football games were announced canceled Wednesday because of positive coronavirus tests, including the game between Number 12 Georgia and Missouri becoming the fourth one postponed in the SEC this week. Also canceled was Number 3 Ohio's game against Maryland. In all, eight games across major college football have been called off so far this week. 

🏀THUNDER ELEVATE DAIGNEAULT TO HEAD COACH: The NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder promoted Mark Daigneault to head coach on Wednesday, replacing Billy Donovan, who's now head coach for the Chicago Bulls. The 35-year-old Daigneault was an assistant with the Thunder last season, after spending five years as coach of the organization's G League team.

🏈49ERS, BOURNE CLEARED OF COVID PROTOCOL VIOLATIONS: The San Francisco 49ers and receiver Kendrick Bourne have been cleared of potential violations of the NFL's Covid-19 protocols, one week after an investigation was opened, according to media reports yesterday. The probe began after Bourne tested positive for the coronavirus and the 49ers had to shut down their facilities before Thursday night's game against the Green Bay Packers. The league looked into whether Bourne had been wearing his face covering properly and often enough. Earlier this season, the NFL fined 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan $100,000 and the team $250,000 after he didn't wear his face covering properly during a game.

"It's heartbreaking."

Penn State coach James Franklin said tonight that running back Journey Brown has ended his football career because of a medical condition discovered in September.https://t.co/o9FbxbqdVr

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) November 11, 2020

🏈PENN STATE RUNNING BACK BROWN RETIRES FROM FOOTBALL DUE TO HEART CONDITION: Penn State running back Journey Brown announced his retirement from football yesterday due to a heart condition. The 21-year-old redshirt junior had been considered among the country's top returning running backs and a potential high-round NFL draft pick. Brown said he'd been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that causes the heart muscle to become abnormally thick. It can cause sudden death in young people and athletes, and people who have it are advised to limit their physical activity. Brown's condition was discovered during a September Covid-19 test, but isn't related to the virus. Brown said in a tweeted statement: "The pain of not being able to play the game I love anymore hurts and I can't explain how I am feeling right now. However, I can walk away from the game knowing I truly gave my all at every practice, on every down and in the locker room every day."