Monday, November 23rd, 2020
Election Latest, More Vaccine Results & Double World Records
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by ButcherBox.com/NEWSWORTHY and LiquidIV.com (listen for how to get a discount)
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want to review the latest happenings...
MI, PA to Certify Results Today
More states are certifying the results of the presidential election. Georgia became the first battleground state to certify its vote for President-elect Biden on Friday. Michigan and Pennsylvania are expected to do the same today. Tomorrow is the deadline for Minnesota and Nevada. Major news outlets have already called those states for Biden, but this makes the vote count official.
Read More: The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, CNN, Politico
Trump Requests Another GA Recount
Even after the ballots were certified in Georgia, President Trump has requested another recount there. This means all five million ballots will get counted again, for the third time. This time, it won’t be by hand like last time. The ballots will go through a machine, so the process should be quicker. In Georgia, the losing candidate is allowed to request another recount if the margin is close enough, so taxpayers will foot the bill.
Read More: NBC News, FOX News, NPR, AP, Axios
WI Recount Issues
Another recount is underway in two Wisconsin counties. The Trump campaign requested that too, but in Wisconsin, state law says candidates must pay themselves, so the Trump campaign sent over $3 million. Some issues are popping up though. Over the weekend, some Wisconsin officials said Trump’s poll watchers were “obstructing” the recount and acting in “bad faith.” For example, one election commissioner said a pro-Trump observer was trying to reject every ballot because they were folded. That’s allowed though.
Read More: FOX News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, AP
Trump PA Lawsuit Tossed
The Trump campaign still has lawsuits pending. However, one of them that claimed voter fraud in Pennsylvania got tossed out over the weekend. The judge criticized the Trump campaign for presenting the case without enough evidence. Trump has said he’ll appeal that ruling. All election disputes are supposed to be settled by December 8th. Each state’s electors cast their votes on December 14th. That officially and formally determines the next president.
Read More: Axios, WSJ, Reuters, Trump Tweet
MI Group Sues Trump Campaign
A group of Michigan voters is suing the Trump campaign. The lawsuit says the Trump campaign is attempting mass voter suppression by pressuring election officials into not certifying the election results in their state. Lawyers from the NAACP are representing the voters and they’re focusing on Wayne County, home to Detroit. So far, no response from the Trump campaign. Trump’s lawyers rescinded their lawsuit challenging Michigan’s election results.
Read More: Politico, The Hill, WDIV, Full Lawsuit
Donald Trump Jr. Tests Positive
President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has tested positive for COVID-19. He posted to social media that he’s quarantining, but feeling fine. Donald Trump Jr.’s announcement came hours after Rudy Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, a special assistant to the president, announced he tested positive. Last week, two Republican senators, Rick Scott of Florida and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, also said they had the virus.
Read More: NY Times, NPR, AP
Coronavirus Hospitalizations Hit Record High
More than three million new infections were reported in the U.S. since November 1st. That’s about a quarter of all American cases since the start of the pandemic. Most cases are still mild, but thousands of people are dealing with severe symptoms and hospitals are getting overwhelmed. At last check, there were nearly 84,000 COVID-19 patients in American hospitals. At least 24 hospital leaders told the American Hospital Association they’re having staffing shortages.
Read More: WSJ, CNN, Stat, COVID Tracking, Johns Hopkins
AstraZeneca Vaccine Update
A third drugmaker said its late-stage trials showed its COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective. This time, we’re talking about AstraZeneca. Depending on the dosage of the vaccine, it was said to be between 62-90% effective. Those early results still need to be fully reviewed. Two other drugmakers, Pfizer and Moderna, already reported their vaccines are around 95% effective. Pfizer officially requested emergency authorization from the FDA on Friday.
Read More: AP, WSJ, CNBC, Bloomberg
FDA Authorized Antibody Cocktail
The FDA authorized Regeneron’s antibody cocktail on an emergency basis. It says doctors can use it on high-risk coronavirus patients with mild to moderate symptoms. By high-risk, we mean people over 65, and/or people with underlying conditions. This is one of the treatments President Trump received when he was hospitalized with COVID-19 last month. Regeneron says it hopes to have enough doses for 80,000 patients by the end of this month. It will have 300,000 by the end of January.
Read More: NY Times, Politico, Axios, CNN, FDA, Regeneron
G20 Summit Wrap
Leaders from the world’s most powerful nations wrapped up the latest G20 summit over the weekend. The two-day meeting was mostly virtual. President Trump took part with some pre-recorded speeches. He told his fellow heads of state he’s looking forward to working with them “for a long time,” making no mention of his election defeat. He also pointed out some accomplishments made by the U.S., highlighting the military, economy, and COVID-19 vaccine developments.
Read More: AP, NY Times, NPR, WaPo
Holiday Travel Surges
More than a million people passed through TSA at U.S. airports Friday. That made it the second-busiest travel day since Mid-March. Just under a million passengers were screened by TSA on both Saturday and Sunday. While this is high for the pandemic era, it’s less than half of what we saw at the same time last year. Usually, the day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest of the year. Overall, AAA estimates up to 50 million Americans will travel for the holiday, five million fewer than last year. Most will drive to their destinations.
Read More: WaPo, AP, Bloomberg, TSA, AAA
Satellite to Track Sea Levels
NASA launched a new satellite to track sea levels worldwide. A SpaceX rocket blasted the satellite into orbit on Saturday. Its mission is to circle the Earth and measure how quickly sea levels are rising. Scientists say it will help them track the speed of climate change. The satellite will also gather data for weather forecasting and hurricane tracking. This is just the first of two satellites being launched to monitor the ocean. The second will go up in about five years.
Read More: The Verge, TechCrunch, CBS News, NASA
Ice Bucket Challenge Co-Founder Dies
The co-creator of the ice bucket challenge, Pat Quinn, has died of ALS at 37 years old. The ALS Association says he’ll be missed, but he will continue to inspire until we have a world without ALS. The challenge raised hundreds of millions of dollars for ALS research and led to new, helpful discoveries. Still, there is no cure for the disease. It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. The other co-creator of the ice bucket challenge, Pete Frates, died of ALS last year.
Read More: CBS News, USA Today, Reuters, ALS Association
NFL First All-Black Officiating Crew
The NFL is set to make history. It’s happening during a matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams. There will be seven officials on the field and they’ll all be Black. This has never happened in the NFL’s 100-year history. The league says this is a nod to the “immeasurable” contributions of Black officials. Tonight’s game is in Tampa Bay starting at 8:15 ET. You can watch it on ESPN.
Read More: NFL, ESPN, USA Today
Swimmer Breaks Two World Records
An American swimmer shattered two world records over the weekend. Caeleb Dressel made history competing in the International Swimming League final in Budapest, Hungary. First, he set a new world record for the 100-meter butterfly. About 40 minutes later, he got back in the pool and broke his own world record in the 50-meter freestyle. Dressel has been called “the best swimmer on the planet.” You’ll probably hear more about him soon since he’s expected to be one of the stars at the Summer Olympics.
Read More: CNN, CBS Sports, Florida Times-Union
Monday Monday - Thanksgiving Dinner Cheaper this Year
The traditional holiday meal, including the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and more is the cheapest it’s been in a decade. The American Farm Bureau Federation says on average, people will pay $46.90 for a ten-person dinner. That’s about 4% less expensive than last year. Whole turkeys are leading the downward trend since grocers have ample supply and are pricing them lower than usual.
Read More: CBS News, Fox Business, Farm Bureau, Lending Tree