Biden Says Battle Against Coronavirus Needs Commander in Chief

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U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday declared that the battle against COVID-19 “is like going to war. You need a commander in chief.”Biden is to be sworn in as the 46th president, succeeding Donald Trump, on January 20.During a virtual roundtable discussion with front-line health care workers, whom he hailed as heroes fighting the coronavirus, Biden predicted: “I’ll make mistakes. But I promise you I’ll acknowledge them when I make them, as well as I’ll take responsibility.”Biden said when he gets into office, he will urge state governors to order mandatory masking, testing, tracing and social distancing.“I will be usingmore

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House Democrats Nominate Pelosi as Speaker to Lead Into Biden era

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House Democrats nominated Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday as the speaker to lead them into Joe Biden’s presidency, but she’d be guiding a smaller and ideologically divided majority as she tries shepherding his agenda toward enactment.Democrats used a voice vote to make Pelosi, D-Calif., their choice to serve two more years in her post. Scattered around the country, it was the party’s first virtual leadership election, a response to the coronavirus pandemic.House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and No. 3 party leader Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Congress’ highest ranking Black member, were reelected to their positions, like Pelosi without opposition. Clyburn revivedmore

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Deadline Near for Hand Tally of Presidential Race in Georgia

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Election officials across Georgia are staring down a Wednesday deadline to complete a hand tally of the presidential race in the state.The hand recount of nearly 5 million votes stems from an audit required by a new state law and wasn’t in response to any suspected problems with the state’s results or an official recount request. The law requires the audit to be done before the counties’ certified results can be certified by the state.The deadline for the counties to complete the audit is 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, ahead of the Friday deadline for state certification.Georgia Hand Tally of Presidential Votemore

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Detroit-Area County Certifies Vote After First Blocking It

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Michigan’s largest county reversed course and unanimously certified its presidential election results Tuesday night after Republicans first blocked the move in a party-line vote that threatened to temporarily stall official approval of Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the state.The Wayne County Board of Canvassers acted after the 2-2 tie was condemned by Democrats and election experts as a dangerous attempt to overthrow the will of voters.The board met after days of unsuccessful litigation filed by Republican poll challengers and President Donald Trump’s allies. They claimed fraud during absentee ballot counting at a Detroit convention center, but two judges found nomore

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Michigan County Fails to Certify Vote, Stalling Outcome

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Republicans in Michigan’s largest county blocked the certification of local election results in a 2-2 vote along party lines that could temporarily stall official approval of Joe Biden’s win in the state. The practical effect of the move may be a delay in ultimately blessing Biden’s victory, with unofficial returns showing he defeated President Donald Trump in Michigan by 146,000 votes. Still, the failure to certify by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers is a boost for Trump. It could also embolden Republicans in key states to take similar measures on the way to the Electoral College’s final vote on the presidentialmore

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Trump Fires Cybersecurity Official

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President Donald Trump announced Tuesday on Twitter that he had fired Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, for a recent statement Krebs made regarding election security. Krebs has consistently debunked allegations of voter fraud over the past week, tweeting, “On allegations that election systems were manipulated, 59 election security experts all agree, ‘in every case of which we are aware, these claims either have been unsubstantiated or are technically incoherent.’ ” On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that Krebs’s statements were “highly inaccurate,” alleging “massive improprieties and fraud.” Trump’s tweet was labeled as “disputed” by Twitter. “Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebsmore

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Controversial Fed Nominee Shelton Stalls in Senate Test Vote

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The nomination of Judy Shelton, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for the Federal Reserve, is stalled in the Senate after Vice President-elect Kamala Harris returned to the chamber to cast a key vote in a tally Tuesday.  Two key Republicans were absent because of COVID-related concerns. The 47-50 vote came as the Republican-controlled Senate continues to focus its energies in the post-election lame-duck session on confirming Trump’s appointees. Shelton is an unusually caustic critic of the Fed and was opposed by two GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, in Tuesday’s vote. Harris has been focused onmore

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