Monday, November 9, 2020

The AM Rundown: Trump Urged To Work With Biden Transition



President Trump has yet to concede the election since it was called by the networks for Joe Biden around midday on Saturday, and is reportedly moving forward with plans to mount legal challenges to the vote count in several states. But he is now facing calls to cooperate with Biden's camp on the transition to try to work toward a smooth transfer of power in January. The official transition process begins when the General Services Administration formally recognizes the president-elect, but the Trump-appointed GSA administrator, Emily Murphy, is refusing to do so for Biden, and hasn't said when she will, which is a problem since the process can't begin in full until she does. Despite not getting transition assistance yet, Biden is moving forward with readying his administration, and will today announce details of a task force that will create a plan to try to bring the pandemic under control. He's also creating agency review teams, groups of transition staffers that have access to key agencies in the current administration. 


Meanwhile, Trump and his campaign have continued to make accusations of voter fraud without putting forward any proof. Rudy Giuliani, the president's private attorney, predicted on Fox News Channel yesterday that they will have filed four or five and possibly as many as 10 lawsuits by the end of the week. 




However, AP cited Trump aides and allies as acknowledging that any legal fights would, at best, just delay the reality that Biden won. They said instead the point of a legal fight is to give Trump an off-ramp for the loss. CNN reported that as part of a messaging offensive, Trump's campaign will present obituaries of people it claims voted in the election, and may have Trump hold campaign-style rallies calling for vote recounts.

Wall Street Journal 11/9/20

  George W. Bush, the only living Republican former president, publicly congratulated Biden on his victory yesterday, but many leading Republicans haven't said much one way or the other, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Some prominent Republicans have urged Trump to continue to mount legal challenges, among them Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz. 



➤U.S. NEAR 10 MILLION CORONAVIRUS CASES AMID SURGE: The U.S. is nearing the milestone of 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with Johns Hopkins University data showing more than 9.9 million cases as of early this morning. The country had more than 100,700 new cases yesterday amid the nationwide surge, the fifth highest day since the start of the pandemic. Worldwide, the number of cases topped 50 million yesterday morning, with the U.S. leading, followed by India, Brazil and Russia, together making up more than half of them. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said during a CBS News interview yesterday that the Trump administration needs a more aggressive strategy against the coronavirus between now and when it hands over power in January. 




➤TROPICAL STORM ETA MAKES LANDFALL IN FLORIDA KEYS: Tropical Storm Eta made landfall late Sunday in the Florida Keys, specifically on Lower Matecumbe Key, bringing heavy rains with it as forecasters said the slow-moving storm could drop six to 12 inches of rain in South Florida. Eta is located just off the southwest coast of Florida. 

Fueled by low wind shear and warm waters, Eta whipped the Keys on Sunday with damaging winds and gusts of 60 mph were recorded at Fort Lauderdale Beach. Forecasters warned that “a tornado or two” could form in South Florida on Sunday evening into Monday morning. Forecasters warned the storm could bring 8 to 12 inches of rainfall to parts of South Florida.

Eta initially hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane last week and left scores dead in several Central American countries and Mexico and over 100 missing, before moving back into the Caribbean Sea and reforming and strengthening. 

➤FRAUD REPORTS RELATED TO PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM CONTINUE: The federal government is continuing to get many reports of potential fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The program was passed by Congress in the spring to help keep small businesses afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic and be able to continue to pay their employees. But the Journal report said the Small Business Administration’s inspector general has found that tens of thousands of companies that got PPP loans appear to have been ineligible. A big part of the problem was that banks and the government allowed companies to self-certify that they were eligible, and there was little vetting of their claims. Some 5.2 million companies received PPP loans between April 3rd and August 8th.



🏁ELLIOTT WINS NASCAR CUP SERIES TITLE: Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. The 24-year-old's car failed pre-race inspection so he started from the back of the field, but he managed to race to the victory. The race ended a NASCAR season that, like all sports, was upended because of the coronavirus pandemic. But it was one of the first to return to competition, starting up again in mid-May.



🏁JOHNSON'S NASCAR CUP SERIES CAREER COMES TO AN END: Yesterday's race at Phoenix Raceway in which Chase Elliott won the title also marked the end of Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Cup Series career. He finished fifth in his final race, ending tied with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven titles and sixth on the career wins list with 83. He also holds a record for his five consecutive titles from 2006 to 2010.

🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 9: Here are the results of this weekend's NFL games:
  • New Orleans Saints 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3
  • Atlanta Falcons 34, Denver Broncos 27
  • Buffalo Bills 44, Seattle Seahawks 34
  • Tennessee Titans 24, Chicago Bears 17
  • Baltimore Ravens 24, Indianapolis Colts 10
  • Kansas City Chiefs 33, Carolina Panthers 31
  • Minnesota Vikings 34, Detroit Lions 20
  • New York Giants 23, Washington Football Team 20
  • Houston Texans 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 25
  • Las Vegas Raiders 31, Los Angeles Chargers 26
  • Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Dallas Cowboys 19 -- Steelers remain only unbeaten team at 8-0.
  • Miami Dolphins 34, Arizona Cardinals 31
Tonight's Monday Night Football game on ESPN:
  • New England Patriots at New York Jets (8:15 pm ET)
Tampa Bay Times 11/9/20

🏈BRADY SUFFERS WORST LOSS OF CAREER TO SAINTS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady suffered the most lopsided loss of his career Sunday night in the New Orleans Saints' 38-3 rout of the Bucs. Saints QB Drew Brees threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns, retaking the NFL career TD pass lead from Brady, who was intercepted three times and sacked three times, as he went 22 of 38 for 209 yards.

🏈BROWNS QB MAYFIELD ON COVID LIST: Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Sunday after a Browns staff member tested positive for the coronavirus and Mayfield was believed to have been in close contact with him. That came, however, with the Browns on a bye this week, and as long as he doesn't test positive, Mayfield could be allowed to return to practice as early as Wednesday ahead of Cleveland's game against Houston next week.

🏈RAVENS' JACKSON MATCHES MARINO FOR BEST START AT 25-5: With the Baltimore Ravens' 24-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts yesterday, Lamar Jackson tied Hall of Famer Dan Marino for the best 30-game start by a quarterback since 1966. The reigning NFL MVP is 25-5 in the regular season since taking over as the Ravens' starter in the middle of the 2018 season, tying Marino.

⚾NATIONALS INVITE BIDEN TO THROW OUT FIRST BALL ON OPENING DAY: The Washington Nationals have invited President-elect Joe Biden to throw out the ceremonial first ball on Opening Day next season, when Washington is set to host the New York Mets on April 1st. The tradition of presidents throwing out the first pitch in Washington began in 1910 with President William Howard Taft, and since then, every sitting president except President Trump has thrown out a first pitch when Washington had an MLB franchise.
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