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Tuesday, November 10, 2020

The AM Rundown: Biden Urges Mask Wearing



BIDEN FORMS CORONAVIRUS ADVISORY BOARD: President-elect Joe Biden announced a coronavirus advisory board Monday led by former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and dominated by scientists and doctors, continuing to indicate that getting the virus under control will be an immediate priority of his administration. He also urged Americans to wear masks, trying to depoliticize the issue as he said it's not about being a Republican or Democrat, but about saving American lives. Biden is moving forward with planning a transition, expected to name a chief of staff soon and start considering Cabinet appointments, even as President Trump has refused to concede the race and has made false claims of "fraud" and election theft. Because of Trump's stance, the Biden team isn't getting the kind of cooperation and assistance that's normally given by the outgoing administration to the incoming one during a transition.

Meanwhile, few Republicans have acknowledged Biden's victory, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor yesterday that Trump is, quote, "100 percent within his rights" to look into any claims of voting irregularities and bring legal claims over them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Republicans' refusal so far to accept the election results "extremely dangerous, extremely poisonous to our democracy." Legal challenges that have been brought by Trump's campaign in several states have been dismissed, and they suffered a setback yesterday when David Bossie, who'd been put in charge of the legal effort, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Attorney General William Barr authorized the Justice Department yesterday to investigate any, quote, "substantial" allegations of voter irregularities and election fraud, even before the results of the election are certified, while saying not to consider claims that are, quote, "specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched." There has so far been no evidence any such serious voter irregularities or fraud took place. Hours after Barr's action, the Justice Department official who oversees voter fraud claims, Richard Pilger, resigned from his position. The New York Times reported that he said in an email to co-workers, "Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications… I must regretfully resign . . . "

Long Island Newsday 11/10/20
➤PFIZER SAYS INDICATIONS ARE ITS COVID VACCINE MAY BE 90 PERCENT EFFECTIVE: In heartening news for a Covid-weary nation and world, Pfizer said Monday that early, though incomplete, test results indicate that its Covid-19 vaccine may be 90 percent effective, which Dr. Anthony Fauci called "just extraordinary." The nation's top infectious disease specialist said, "Not very many people expected it would be as high as that." But Pfizer, which is developing the vaccine with German company BioNTech, cautioned that the study is continuing and that the effectiveness rate could potentially change. Questions also remain about things like how long the vaccine lasts and if it protects older people as well as those who are younger. Pfizer's vaccine is made with new technology that doesn't use the coronavirus itself, but instead contains of piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus. Other companies working on vaccines are using the same technology, and yesterday's positive news is a promising indication the other vaccines will be effective too.

Even as the optimistic vaccine news was announced, confirmed cases in the U.S. passed 10 million yesterday, with the coronavirus now spreading exponentially in all parts of the country. Johns Hopkins University data showed that as of Monday, 43 states reported at least 10 percent more new cases compared to last week, and 10 of them had increases of more than 50 percent. Hospitalizations and death rates have already been increasing, and since they follow people becoming infected by a couple of weeks or more, experts warn that both are poised to surge in the next two months.

➤BEN CARSON LATEST ADMIN. FIGURE TO TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS AFTER ELECTION NIGHT PARTY: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson is the latest administration or campaign figure to test positive for the coronavirus after an Election Night watch party at the White House. Carson's deputy chief of staff said Monday that Carson was in good spirits and, quote, "feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery." It was also revealed yesterday that David Bossie, recently put in charge of the Trump campaign's legal challenges to the election results, tested positive. It had been revealed two days earlier that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who was also at the party, had also tested positive. 




➤SUPREME COURT TO HEAR 'OBAMACARE' CASE TODAY: The Supreme Court is hearing another "Obamacare" case today, with the fate of the decade-old Affordable Care Act health care law that provides health insurance for more than 20 million people again on the line before the nation's highest court. The case backed by the Trump administration and conservative states is that the entire law became unconstitutional when Congress reduced to zero the penalty people had to pay who didn't carry health insurance. 



➤TRUMP OUSTS DEFENSE SECRETARY ESPER: President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, a highly unusual move for a president to make after losing reelection, due to concerns about stability during the transition. However, the move wasn't unexpected as Trump had been unhappy with Esper since the summer, when the defense secretary publicly opposed the potential use of the military in Washington, D.C., during the civil unrest in June following George Floyd's death. Trump, who announced the news in a tweet, said that Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will serve as acting defense secretary.



🏈PATRIOTS GET COMEBACK 30-27 WIN AGAINST JETS: The New England Patriots mounted a fourth-quarter comeback against the New York Jets to pull out a 30-27 win last night. They sealed the victory with a 51-yard field goal by Nick Folk as time ran out. Quarterback Cam Newton led the Pats back from being 10 points down, and had two touchdown runs in the game, including the second one that tied it at 27 with just under two minutes left. As for the Jets, they fell to 0-9 for the first time in franchise history.

🏀NBA'S DECEMBER 22ND START, 72-GAME SEASON OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED: The NBA and the Players Association officially announced last night that the new season will start on December 22nd, and that it will be shortened to 72 games. The NBA draft will take place on November 18th, and training camps will begin on December 1st. Unlike the season that ended in mid-October that was played in a "bubble" at Disney World after it was restarted following its coronavirus suspension, the new season will have teams play in their arenas and travel to away games as usual. 


⚾BREWERS' WILLIAMS, MARINES' LEWIS WIN MLB ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams and Seattle Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis won MLB's Rookie of the Year award last night, Williams in the National League and Lewis in the American League. 


Lewis received all 30 first-place votes for the AL award from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. MLB's Managers of the Year will be announced tonight, followed by the Cy Young Awards on Wednesday and the MVPs on Thursday.

🏌GARCIA PULLS OUT OF MASTERS AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: Golfer Sergio Garcia pulled out of the Masters on Monday after being told by Augusta National that he'd tested positive for the coronavirus. Garcia played in the Houston Open last week, and said on Twitter that he was driving back home to Austin Saturday night when he started getting a sore throat and coughing. The first round of the Masters is on Thursday.

➤WHITE SOX MANAGER LA RUSSA CHARGED WITH DUI DAY BEFORE HIRING ANNOUNCED: Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa was charged in Arizona with driving under the influence one day before the surprise hiring of the 76-year-old Hall of Famer was announced on October 29th. AP cited the Maricopa County Justice Courts website as saying the arrest actually took place in February, but the case wasn't filed until October 28th. The White Sox said Monday (November 9th) that they knew about the DUI when La Russa was hired, but said they couldn't comment further, quote, "because this is an active case." La Russa also pled guilty to driving under the influence in Florida in 2007.
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