Ticker
And the loser is ... Rudy Giuliani
Deutsche Bank seeking to offload three Trump loans
Polls show Joe Biden with edge over Donald Trump in key states
Charges over pro-Trump convoy
Biden team moves to shut down Trump’s election-night claims
Trump rips Lady Gaga, Jon Bon Jovi over support for Biden
Amerika
Joe Biden is projected to win the 2020 presidential election
Joe Biden is projected to win the 2020 presidential election, defeating Donald Trump in a nail-biter of a race sure to remain contentious given the country’s bitter partisan divide and the president’s reckless and unfounded claims voter fraud. Major news networks projected that Biden, a former Delaware senator and vice president during Barack Obama’s administration, would win Pennsylvania, pushing him over the 270 electoral-vote threshold. Counting continues in several states, where Biden is leading or expected to win.
The 10 moments when Donald Trump lost the 2020 election
It wasn’t pretty. To use a sports analogy: it was winning ugly. Especially when the projected loser racked up some 70 million votes. But Donald Trump’s botched plays and self-inflicted sacks throughout the year—along with Joe Biden’s steady hand and his and Kamala Harris’s appeal to an array of constituencies—contributed, cumulatively, to the Democrat’s winning margin in the key battleground states. No amount of working the refs (or Hail Marys to come) will change the final score.
And the loser is ... Rudy Giuliani
Deutsche Bank seeking to offload three Trump loans
Polls show Joe Biden with edge over Donald Trump in key states
Charges over pro-Trump convoy
Biden team moves to shut down Trump’s election-night claims
Joe Biden’s campaign moved swiftly to push back on President Donald Trump’s anticipated attempt to say he has won before all the votes are counted on Tuesday night. Top Biden officials also reissued assurances that Democrats have marshaled the legal muscle to quash last-minute Republican maneuvering and challenges in the courts. In a virtual briefing with reporters, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon stressed that Trump’s remarks have no bearing on the actual election results. "Under no scenario will Donald Trump be declared a victor on election night,” O’Malley Dillon said.
Trump rips Lady Gaga, Jon Bon Jovi over support for Biden
President Donald Trump is knocking Joe Biden's celebrity support, saying he's bringing in bigger crowds without his Democratic opponent's star-studded surrogates. Speaking about the former vice president during a Monday campaign rally in Scranton, Pa., Trump went on a riff about Biden's high-profile Hollywood endorsements. "Now he's got Lady Gaga," Trump said, as the crowd booed at the mention of the "Rain on Me" singer, who was poised to campaign with Biden in Pittsburgh on Monday. "I could tell you plenty of stories about Lady Gaga," Trump said. "I know a lot of stories about her."
Eminem lends hand to Biden with 'Lose Yourself' campaign ad
Eminem signaled support for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden this week by allowing Biden's campaign to use his hit single "Lose Yourself" in a new advertisement.
More than 95 million Americans have already voted
More than 95 million Americans have cast ballots as of Monday, the day before Election Day, according to an estimate by the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida, Reuters reported. The number of ballots cast early in this year's election represents nearly 70 percent of all those cast in the 2016 general election, Reuters reported. The early voting numbers reflect a marked increase in mail-in and absentee ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic in which officials are trying to limit large crowds from forming at polling places.
Cocaine binges and $30,000 wine bills
Private islands in the Bahamas, multiple penthouses, gargantuan monthly wine bills, blackout-inducing cocaine binges, drug rehab, trashed location homes and a fortune allegedly syphoned off by business managers – Johnny’s Depp’s Hollywood existence was laid bare during his libel battle with the Sun and ex-wife Amber Heard.
Hollywood assumptions overturned by Johnny Depp's court defeat
The curtain has fallen on the London act of the courtroom drama starring Johnny Depp and Amber Heard – with a final twist that has surprised many in the industry.
Democrats debate fate of Trump probes if Biden wins
House Democrats are weighing how to move forward with a flurry of ongoing probes and future investigations if President Trump loses. The big question hanging over Democrats, who are expected to keep the majority in the House, is whether to lean into post-election investigations that could detract from their legislative priorities under a Joe Biden presidency and risk further dividing the electorate.
Turner rebuked by MLB for returning to field after positive Covid-19 test
Major League Baseball issued a scathing rebuke to Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner after he returned to the field with his team-mates following their World Series-clinching Game 6 win having tested positive for Covid-19.
The polls point to a Biden victory but can they be trusted this time?
For months, activists and Democratic party officials have been telling Joe Biden supporters that the only answer to the question “can we trust the polls?” is to go out and vote for Biden, and then get others to do the same.
Trump rallies show 'disregard' for 'his greatest followers'
Dave Matthews is calling out President Trump for campaign rallies featuring largely mask-free crowds amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying they show a "disregard" for the commander in chief's own supporters.
Glenn Greenwald resigns from The Intercept
Journalist Glenn Greenwald has resigned from The Intercept, seven years after co-founding the online publication, citing censorship by his own editors over an article concerning former Vice President Joe Biden.
Supreme Court rejects second GOP effort
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied a Republican bid to block a mail-ballot extension in North Carolina, a day after rejecting a similar GOP effort in the key battleground state. The court's three most conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito — would have granted the Republican request. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the bench Tuesday, took no part in considering the case.
Florida judge resigns from vote-counting board
A Florida judge has resigned from a vote-counting board following a report that he donated multiple times to President Trump's campaign. Judge Brent Shore stepped down from his position as Duval County canvassing board chair Thursday, The Florida Times-Union reported.
Atlas push to 'slow the testing down' tracks with dramatic decline in key state
Shortly after joining the White House as President Donald Trump's pandemic adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas launched a quiet effort that seemed counterintuitive to some of his colleagues - encouraging officials to limit Covid-19 testing mainly to people experiencing symptoms.
Spike in coronavirus infection rate
New York City is seeing a “very worrisome” sustained increase in Covid-19 infections across the five boroughs, Mayor Bill de Blasio and public health officials said Thursday. The city’s positive test rate hit 1.92 percent based on a seven-day average, the highest number in weeks and the first time the metric has seen a "meaningful jump" since the city began tracking it in September, de Blasio said. The one-day rate was even higher, at 2.7 percent.
I predict that Trump will lose the election
If we want to predict the vote, we must know what is on voters' minds. We need to ask questions like: Is there anything in particular about [candidate X] that might make you want to vote for him/her?" "…against him/her?" "What do you think are the most important problems facing the country?" "Which political party do you think would be the most likely to do a better job in dealing with the problem?"
Fox News's Tucker Carlson mocked for 'lost in the mail' Biden documents claim
The Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been mocked for his attempt to explain why he could not produce some documents he had promised relating to Joe Biden. He said the only copy of the papers, which he claimed added to claims about Biden’s son Hunter, had been lost.
Barack Obama, Trump battle in new wrinkle for 2020 campaign
Former President Obama appears to be getting under President Trump’s skin as he returns to the campaign trail to try to end the Trump presidency and win Democrat Joe Biden’s election. Obama has traveled to the swing states of Pennsylvania and Florida to stump for his former vice president, to the apparent annoyance of Trump — who is zeroing in on his predecessor more than ever. Trump criticized Fox News for airing an Obama speech from Florida on Tuesday, just the latest incident of him lashing out at Obama.
Pompeo's wife and son made personal requests of State Dept staff
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s wife and son reportedly sent personal requests to department officials. The emails come as both Congress and the Office of Special Counsel are overseeing investigations into allegations of personal misuse of government resources by the secretary and his wife. While emails previously indicated that Susan Pompeo, asked top State Department staffers to work the week of Christmas in order to finish their personal holiday cards, the new emails reportedly show additional cases when Susan Pompeo instructed staff to complete personal tasks.
GOP sees path to hold Senate majority
Republicans see a path running through Michigan and Minnesota to hold a slim Senate majority in the next Congress. The odds are stacked against them, and many see the GOP as the underdog in the fight for control of the Senate. But Republicans think that even if as many as four GOP incumbents go down in defeat next week, they can keep their majority by ousting Sen. Gary Peters (D) in Michigan or Sen. Tina Smith (D) in Minnesota.
Shortnews
Spike in coronavirus infection rate
New York City is seeing a “very worrisome” sustained increase in Covid-19 infections across the five boroughs, Mayor Bill de Blasio and public health officials said Thursday. The city’s positive test rate hit 1.92 percent based on a seven-day average, the highest number in weeks and the first time the metric has seen a "meaningful jump" since the city began tracking it in September, de Blasio said. The one-day rate was even higher, at 2.7 percent.
Snowden given permanent residency in Russia
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor charged with espionage in 2013, was granted permanent residency in Russia, according to multiple reports. Snowden has lived in Russia since 2013 to avoid prosecution in the United States. He was charged after releasing classified documents on American surveillance programs.
School teachers go on strike
Hundreds of school teachers in an Idaho district have gone on strike over an uptick in local COVID-19 outbreaks. Over 700 educators in the West Ada School District called out sick Monday, leading to more than 400 teachers calling out sick on Tuesday after the district said it would proceed with some in-person and virtual learning, a local ABC affiliate KSAW-LD reported.
Trump calls 200,000 deaths in U.S. ‘a shame’
The coronavirus death toll in the United States surpassed 200,000 on Tuesday, marking another milestone of loss at a time when many have become numb to the rising fatality count. The tally represents the upper boundary of a fatality range that President Trump in March said would signal that his administration had “done a very good job” of protecting Americans from the coronavirus. As he left the White House for Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening, Trump responded to a reporter’s question about the 200,000 deaths, saying, “It’s a shame.”
Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has reportedly raised more than $16 million in an effort to help convicted felons in Florida register to vote. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition estimated Bloomberg's fundraising push has already paid off monetary obligations for 32,000 felons, Axios reported. "The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and no American should be denied that right," a Bloomberg spokesperson told the news outlet.
