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Wednesday, December 16, 2020

The AM Rundown: McConnell, Others Acknowledge Biden Is 46

One day after the electoral college vote officially made Joe Biden the president-elect, and six weeks after the election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led many top Republicans in finally acknowledging Biden's victory yesterday. Speaking from the floor of the Senate, McConnell congratulated Biden, and the two spoke later in the day. President Trump is still refusing to concede, however, and continued to tweet out baseless accusations of voter fraud. 



Meanwhile, Biden was in Georgia yesterday to campaign for Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, the Democrats in the two U.S. Senate runoff races in the state on January 5th. The outcome will determine control of the Senate; if both Democrats win, the Senate will be tied and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will have the deciding vote. If both or just one of the incumbent Republicans, Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, win, the Republicans will retain control of the Senate. Biden spoke at a drive-in rally outside Atlanta, saying, "We can get so much done, so much that can make the lives of the people of Georgia and the whole country so much better. And we need senators who are willing to do it, for God’s sake." He also criticized Loeffler and Perdue for supporting Trump's challenge of the election results, including in Georgia, which Biden narrowly won, saying, "They fully embraced nullifying nearly five million Georgia votes."

Biden also yesterday nominated his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Pete Buttigieg, to be secretary of transportation. If confirmed, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would be the first openly gay person to hold a Cabinet post.

➤VACCINATIONS RAMP UP AS SECOND VACCINE NEARS APPROVAL: Coronavirus vaccinations ramped up on yesterday, one day after the first shots of the Pfizer vaccine were given to health care workers, with hundreds of more hospitals across the the country giving it their workers. Nursing home residents, who are also first in line, will start getting their shots next week. Meanwhile, Moderna's vaccine, which uses the same new technology as Pfizer's, moved closer to also being approved, with the Food and Drug Administration saying its preliminary analysis confirmed its safety and effectiveness. A panel of outside experts is expected to recommend its approval on Thursday, with the FDA to give it soon after. 

After a difficult fall, some Midwestern states are seeing a much welcomed decline in new coronavirus cases. But at the same time, the virus' spread is accelerating on both the West and East coasts. 




The first Covid-19 home test that can be bought over-the-counter without a prescription was approved by the FDA yesterday and will soon be on store shelves. The test will let users swab their nose and run the test at home, getting results in as little as 20 minutes. The FDA noted it can give a small percentage of false positive and false negative results. The test from Ellume costs $30, however, and supplies will initially be limited.

➤EXTENT OF DAMAGE FROM JUST-REVEALED HACKING OF GOVERNMENT STILL UNKNOWN: The extent of the damage from the just-revealed months-long hacking of U.S. agencies that's being blamed on Russian government hackers is still unknown. AP cites experts as saying it will take weeks, and potentially years to find out how much was taken, some of which could have been critical information. The Treasury and Commerce Departments are among the known places that were infiltrated, and there were also high-value private-sector targets. The intrusion dates as far back as March, and the hackers got in through an update to commercial software from a Texas company called SolarWinds that was distributed to thousands of companies and government agencies worldwide.

➤CANADIAN FASHION MOGUL NYGARD ARRESTED FOR SEX ABUSE OF GIRLS, WOMEN: Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested Monday on charges of sexually abusing girls and women over the last 25 years after luring them with opportunities in fashion and modeling. The 79-year-old was arrested by Canadian authorities at the request of the U.S. Nygard denies the charges, with his attorney saying his client blames a conspiracy caused by Nygard's feud with his billionaire neighbor in the Bahamas. The arrest on sex trafficking, racketeering and related charges came after the FBI raided his Manhattan offices earlier this year. Ten women have sued Nygard, including several who said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.


➤LINCOLN'S NAME COULD BE REMOVED FROM S-F HIGH SCHOOL:  The San Francisco School Names Advisory Committee is recommending that President Abraham Lincoln's name be removed from a local high school because of his treatment of Native Americans, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Lincoln High School is one of many schools that the committee contends have problematic names, with others including George Washington High School, Herbert Hoover Middle School and Paul Revere K-8. Committee chairman Jeremiah Jeffries told the Chronicle, "The discussion for Lincoln centered around his treatment of First Nation peoples because that was offered first. Once he met criteria in that way, we did not belabor the point." Among the criticisms of Lincoln relative to Native Americans are constructing the transcontinental railroad, which affected their lands, and refusing to commute the sentences of 39 Native Americans sentenced to hanging. But Jeffries was also critical of Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, for his treatment of Black people, telling the Chronicle that he, quote, "like the presidents before him and most after, did not show through policy or rhetoric that Black lives ever mattered to them outside of human capital and as casualties of wealth building." The criteria the school names committee looked at that would be problematic included: being slave owners, known racists or white supremacists; being directly involved in colonization; and being connected to human rights or environmental abuses.



🏀ANTETOKOUNMPO AGREES TO EXTENSION WITH THE BUCKS: Giannis Antetokounmpo has agreed to an extension with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, the two-time reigning MVP posting on social media yesterday, "I’m blessed to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years." The Bucks announced later in the day that the 26-year-old forward had signed an extension without announcing the terms or length. The Athletic and Stadium reported that he agreed to a five-year extension worth $228 million.

🏀VANDERVEER BECOMES WINNINGEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer passed the late Pat Summit Tuesday (December 15th) to become the winningest women's basketball coach ever. The 67-year-old VanDerveer moved into first place on the wins list with Stanford's 104-61 victory over Pacific for the Hall of Famer's 1,099th win. This is her 35th season with Stanford and 42nd overall as a college head coach. VanDerveer said yesterday, "I really hope Pat Summitt is looking down and saying, 'Good job Tara, keep it going.'"


🏀ROCKETS' CLEMONS REPORTEDLY TEARS ACHILLES: Houston Rockets guard Chris Clemons reportedly tore his right Achilles tendon during a preseason game yesterday against the San Antonio Spurs, according to The Athletic. Just after making a three-point shot, Clemons was backpedaling when he suddenly stopped and grabbed his right ankle. He was later taken off the court in a wheelchair.

🏈TWO BIG TEN CHAMPIONS WEEK GAMES CANCELED, FRISCO BOWL ALSO CALLED OFF: Two of the seven Big Ten Champions Week games -- Indiana vs. Purdue and Michigan vs. Iowa -- were canceled Tuesday because of Covid-19 outbreaks. Also called off was the Frisco Bowl, which had been scheduled for Saturday. SMU had to withdraw from the game, and its opponent, UTSA, is switching to the First Responders Bowl on December 26th against a yet to be determined team.

🏀FLORIDA'S JOHNSON NOW SPEAKING WITH FAMILY, TEAMMATES: Florida forward Keyontae Johnson is now able to speak with his family and doctors and was even able to FaceTime with teammates, his parents said yesterday (December 15th), three days after the 21-year-old junior suddenly collapsed on the court during a game. Johnson remains hospitalized in stable condition. It's still not been disclosed what caused Johnson to collapse. Like many of his teammates, he tested positive for the coronavirus this summer.
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