Tuesday, December 15, 2020

The AM Rundown: Official..It's President-Elect Joe Biden



ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES AND OFFICIALLY CONFIRMS BIDEN PRESIDENT-ELECT: Electors gathered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia yesterday to cast their ballots, and as the Electoral College they officially confirmed Joe Biden as the president-elect. There were no faithless electors, meaning Biden received, as expected, 306 electoral votes, 36 more than the 270 needed for victory, and President Trump got 232. The results will be sent to Congress, where they'll be tallied in a January 6th joint session of Congress over which Vice President Mike Pence will preside.


After the electoral vote, Biden delivered a speech in the evening in which he spoke about the size of his win, the record number of people who had voted, and that Trump, who has continued to contest the election results, filed dozens of legal challenges to make his case and they were all rejected. He was also critical of the continued questioning of the results, calling out in particular a lawsuit led by Texas challenging the vote in other states that was rejected by the Supreme Court. He said democracy had been, quote, "pushed, tested, threatened," but ultimately prevailed. He said it was time to, quote, "turn the page" and unite, repeating as he had throughout his campaign that he'd be a president for all Americans.


➤HEALTH CARE WORKERS START GETTING VACCINE AS U.S. PASSES 300,000 DEAD: Health care workers across the country started getting Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine on Monday (December 14th), beginning a months-long campaign that will be the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history. Shipments were received at 145 sites around the country with more to come in the coming days, and health care workers were the first to get them, with nursing home residents also first in line. But the day of the first vaccines was also the same day that the U.S. passed 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus, a said milestone reached as the virus continues to surge across the country in a second wave. 


➤BARR STEPPING DOWN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL BEFORE CHRISTMAS: Attorney General William Barr, who's been one of President Trump's most steadfast allies, is stepping down, with Trump tweeting the news yesterday (December 14th). The president said Barr submitted his letter of resignation, stating, "As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family." Barr said in his letter than his last day would be December 23rd, which is four weeks before Trump leaves office. Barr's departure comes soon after Trump had been angered by the attorney general telling AP earlier this month that there had been no voter fraud found that would change the outcome of the election. Trump said Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will become acting attorney general.

🌲70 PERCENT OF AMERICAN UNLIKELY TO TRAVEL DURING HOLIDAYS: It seems that Americans are listening to the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amid the coronavirus surge, with a new survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association finding that 70 percent of Americans are unlikely to travel for Christmas this year. Of the 30 percent who do plan to travel, three-quarters of them will be staying with family and friends. The survey also found that 65 percent think it's unlikely they'll travel for spring break in 2021, and 44 percent don't think their next vacation hotel stay will be until at least a year from now. The results highlight the financial straits the hotel industry is in. AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers called for immediate financial assistance from lawmakers, saying, "We cannot afford to wait until the next Congress is sworn in for relief. We need help now."

➤SPECULATION: IVANKA TRUMP MAY RUN TO U-S SENATE: With President Trump leaving the White House in just over a month, he's been stoking talk that he might run for president again in 2024. But speculation is also swirling about the possible prospects of another Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump, with chatter that she may run for U.S. Senate in Florida, where she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have reportedly bought land for a home in a very expensive area of Miami. Florida is also where Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort is located. CNN cited a source as saying, "Ivanka definitely has political ambitions, no question about it. She wants to run for something, but that still needs to be figured out." If Ivanka, who's been a senior adviser to the president throughout her father's administration, were to run for Senate, the most immediate opportunity would be in 2022 when Republican Senator Marco Rubio is up for re-election and she could challenge him for the GOP nomination. Rubio was initially a strong critic of Trump, but became a loyal supporter once Trump won the election.

➤MOST WATCHED SHOWS THIS YEAR: Nielsen released its 2020 Top 10 list of the most-watched telecasts and series. For cable, Paramount Network’s Yellowstone topped the list. The Top 10 list of most watched telecasts (in Live+7) is dominated by football, with only Fox’s The Masked Singer and ABC’s The Oscars from entertainment programming making the cut, Deadline reports. Non-sport series were led by CBS’ NCIS, FBI and Blue Bloods. Also of note, via Deadline: Q2 2020 live and time-shifted TV consumption among people 18 and older increased by an average of 4 minutes per day (to 4 hours: 8 minutes) from the prior year. Overall, in the second quarter of this year, consumers 18 and older spent just shy of 6 hours each day with video, an increase of 35 minutes from the prior-year period.


➤DARK KNIGHT, SHREK, GREASE AMONG THOSE ADDED TO NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY: The Dark Knight, Shrek, Grease, The Blues Brothers, Lillies of the Field, The Hurt Locker, A Clockwork Orange, The Joy Luck Club and the Man With the Golden Arm are among this year year’s additions to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. “This is not only a great honor for all of us who worked on The Dark Knight, this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades,” said Christopher Nolan.


🏈RAVENS BEAT BROWNS 47-42 IN 'MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL': The Baltimore Ravens beat the Browns 47-42 in Cleveland last night in a back-and-forth game in which Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP, played the hero. Jackson had left the game with cramps in the fourth quarter with Baltimore ahead by six points. But with him out, Cleveland rallied to take the lead against his backup, Trace McSorley. Jackson came back onto the field with two minutes left after McSorley hurt his knee, and then threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown and set up a 55-yard field goal with two seconds left. Before his exit, Jackson had rushed for two touchdowns.

⚾INDIANS OWNER SAYS NAME WILL CHANGE: Confirming a New York Times report from Sunday, Paul Dolan, the owner of MLB's Cleveland Indians, said yesterday that the team will be changing its name. Native Americans had long wanted the name change, deeming it racist, and Dolan told the Associated Press yesterday, "it's time" and, "The name is no longer acceptable in our world." Dolan said the team will continue to be called the Indians until a new name is chosen, a process that he said is in its early stages and the team will have its current name at least through next season. Dolan said his, quote, "awakening or epiphany" came after George Floyd's death this summer. 


🏌A LIM KIM WINS U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN: South Korea's A Lim Kim won the U.S. Women's Open on Monday, which had its final round delayed by a day because of rain Sunday at Champions Golf Club in Houston. Kim got her victory by tying the record for the largest comeback in a U.S. Women’s Open, rallying from five shots behind to win the major by one shot over fellow South Korean Jin Young Ko and American Amy Olson, who tied for second. Kim finished at 3-under 281.

🏈WASHINGTON OUT OF PAC-12 TITLE GAME DUE TO COVID ISSUES: Washington announced yesterday that it was pulling out of the Pac-12 football championship game due to Covid-19 issues in its program leading it to not have the minimum number of scholarship players available. Oregon will now play Number 13 USC for the conference title on Friday instead.

🏀FLORIDA'S JOHNSON, WHO COLLAPSED ON COURT, ABLE TO FOLLOW SIMPLE COMMANDS: Florida forward Keyontae Johnson, who collapsed on the basketball court during a game on Saturday, was, quote, "following simple commands" yesterday, the school revealed. Officials said the 21-year-old junior remains in critical but stable condition and is undergoing further tests. USA Today quoted Johnson’s grandfather as saying he had been in a medically-induced coma. It still hasn't been disclosed what caused Johnson to collapse. Like most of his teammates, he tested positive for Covid-19 during the summer.
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