The US Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a bid by Texas to overturn the results of the presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden, in a fresh setback for the outgoing president.

The longshot suit lodged late Tuesday against four states key in the November 3 vote -- Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- challenged Biden's victory in each jurisdiction.&nbsp;

The justices in a brief order rejected the bid by Texas to file the extraordinary challenge targetting Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin directly with the Supreme Court, as is allowed in some instances of litigation between states under a legal doctrine called "original jurisdiction."

The order said Texas did not have a legal standing to bring the claim.

"Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections," the court said in the unsigned order.

The case was filed on Tuesday by the Republican attorney general of Texas, a Trump ally, against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Republican president on Wednesday filed a motion to intervene and become a plaintiff.

It was backed by 106 Republican lawmakers and 17 state attorneys general.

Texas had asked the justices to throw out the election results in the four states. Biden won all four states. Trump had won them in the 2016 election.

Biden spokesman Mike Gwin said the ruling was "no surprise."

"Dozens of judges, election officials from both parties, and Trump's own Attorney General have dismissed his baseless attempts to deny that he lost the election," he said.

Texas alleged that the results in the other four states were "unconstitutional" because of their heavy use of "fraud-prone" mail-in votes during the coronavirus pandemic. It offered no proof of significant fraud, and didn't challenge the use of mailed ballots in states Trump won.

The suit cited numerous alleged examples of potential fraud already rejected by lower courts.

Trump's campaign and his allies already had lost in numerous lawsuits in state and federal courts challenging the election results. Trump has falsely claimed he won the November 3 election and has made baseless allegations of widespread voting fraud and a system "rigged" against him.&nbsp;

State election officials have said they have found no evidence of such fraud. Lawyers for Trump and his allies have failed to present evidence in court of the type of fraud he has alleged.

On Tuesday the Supreme Court also refused his bid to overturn his loss in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;

Trump had hoped that the high court, whose bench he has tipped solidly to the right, would intervene in his favour.

In 2000, the Supreme Court halted a recount in Florida, where George W Bush was only 537 votes ahead of Democrat Al Gore, allowing the Republican to win the election.

The lawsuit came as all 50 states plus Washington, DC have formally certified their vote tallies, opening the way to convene the Electoral College.

Biden, in the November 3 vote, snagged 51.3 percent of the ballots compared to Trump's 46.9 percent, a seven million vote margin.&nbsp;

The Electoral College is set to affirm Biden's win on December 14, and he will be sworn in on January 20.

(with inputs from agencies)

The US Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a bid by Texas to overturn the results of the presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden, in a fresh setback for the outgoing president.

The US Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a bid by Texas to overturn the results of the presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden, in a fresh setback for the outgoing president. The longshot suit lodged late Tuesday against four states key in the November 3 vote -- Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- challenged Biden's victory in each jurisdiction. The justices in a brief order rejected the bid by Texas to file the extraordinary challenge targetting Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin directly with the Supreme Court, as is allowed in some instances of litigation between states under a legal doctrine called "original jurisdiction." The order said Texas did not have a legal standing to bring the claim. "Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections," the court said in the unsigned order. The case was filed on Tuesday by the Republican attorney general of Texas, a Trump ally, against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Republican president on Wednesday filed a motion to intervene and become a plaintiff. It was backed by 106 Republican lawmakers and 17 state attorneys general. Texas had asked the justices to throw out the election results in the four states. Biden won all four states. Trump had won them in the 2016 election. Biden spokesman Mike Gwin said the ruling was "no surprise." "Dozens of judges, election officials from both parties, and Trump's own Attorney General have dismissed his baseless attempts to deny that he lost the election," he said. Texas alleged that the results in the other four states were "unconstitutional" because of their heavy use of "fraud-prone" mail-in votes during the coronavirus pandemic. It offered no proof of significant fraud, and didn't challenge the use of mailed ballots in states Trump won. The suit cited numerous alleged examples of potential fraud already rejected by lower courts. Trump's campaign and his allies already had lost in numerous lawsuits in state and federal courts challenging the election results. Trump has falsely claimed he won the November 3 election and has made baseless allegations of widespread voting fraud and a system "rigged" against him. State election officials have said they have found no evidence of such fraud. Lawyers for Trump and his allies have failed to present evidence in court of the type of fraud he has alleged. On Tuesday the Supreme Court also refused his bid to overturn his loss in Pennsylvania. Trump had hoped that the high court, whose bench he has tipped solidly to the right, would intervene in his favour. In 2000, the Supreme Court halted a recount in Florida, where George W Bush was only 537 votes ahead of Democrat Al Gore, allowing the Republican to win the election. The lawsuit came as all 50 states plus Washington, DC have formally certified their vote tallies, opening the way to convene the Electoral College. Biden, in the November 3 vote, snagged 51.3 percent of the ballots compared to Trump's 46.9 percent, a seven million vote margin. The Electoral College is set to affirm Biden's win on December 14, and he will be sworn in on January 20. (with inputs from agencies)

US Supreme Court dismisses Trump's bid to overturn election result

The United States is poised to impose sanctions on&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defense systems, according to a report in Reuters, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two NATO allies.

The long-anticipated step, which is likely to infuriate Ankara and weigh on&nbsp;Turkey's relations with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, is expected to be announced this week, sources have said.

The sanctions would target&nbsp;Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries and its head, Ismail Demir, sources have said. They would be damaging but narrower than the severe scenarios some analysts have outlined.

Two sources familiar with the matter, including a US&nbsp;official speaking on the condition of anonymity, said President Donald Trump had given aides the blessing for the sanctions.

The Turkish lira weakened as much as 1.4 per cent&nbsp;following the news. US&nbsp;sanctions could harm a Turkish economy struggling with a coronavirus-induced slowdown, double-digit inflation, and badly depleted foreign reserves.

A senior Turkish official said sanctions would backfire and hurt ties between the two NATO members.

"Sanctions would not achieve a result but be counter-productive. They would harm relations," the official said. "Turkey&nbsp;is in favor of solving these problems with diplomacy and negotiations. We won't accept one-sided impositions," he said.

The decision will have repercussions far beyond&nbsp;Turkey, sending a message to US&nbsp;partners around the world that might consider buying Russian military equipment and have been warned repeatedly about US&nbsp;sanctions.

Turkey's leader, President Tayyip Erdogan, had hoped to prove US&nbsp;threats hollow, betting the relationship he developed with Trump would insulate Ankara from punitive US&nbsp;action.

Having forged a working relationship with Erdogan, Trump long opposed US&nbsp;sanctions against&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;despite the advice of advisers. Officials in his administration internally recommended sanctions against Ankara in July 2019, when the Turkish government started taking delivery of the S-400s, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

But sanctions appeared likely even if Trump did not act, the sources said.

The final version of the $740 billion annual US&nbsp;defense authorization legislation, which the Senate is expected to vote on as early as this week, would force Washington to impose sanctions within 30 days.

One of the U.S. officials said one of the reasons Trump was finally willing to move ahead with&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;sanctions was to "decouple" the issue from NDAA bill, which carries a provision that would require him to impose measures on Ankara. This way, Trump can avoid looking like his hand is being forced, the official said.

Kicked out of F-35 program

Still, increasing US&nbsp;pressure is not without risk. Washington does not want to push Erdogan even closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose goal is to weaken and divide the NATO alliance.

Russia delivered the ground-to-air S-400s last year and&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;tested them as recently as October. Ankara said they would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat, and has called for a joint working group on the issue.

But the United States maintained that the S-400 does pose a threat, and announced last year it was removing&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;from the F-35 fighter jet program over Ankara's decision.

Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter jet is the most advanced aircraft in the US&nbsp;arsenal and is used by NATO members and other US&nbsp;allies.

The US&nbsp;State Department could still change plans and widen or narrow the scope of planned sanctions against&nbsp;Turkey.

However, sources said the announcement of the sanctions in their current form was imminent.

The United States is poised to impose sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defense systems, according to a report in Reuters, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two NATO allies.

The United States is poised to impose sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defense systems, according to a report in Reuters, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two NATO allies. The long-anticipated step, which is likely to infuriate Ankara and weigh on Turkey's relations with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, is expected to be announced this week, sources have said. The sanctions would target Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries and its head, Ismail Demir, sources have said. They would be damaging but narrower than the severe scenarios some analysts have outlined. Two sources familiar with the matter, including a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity, said President Donald Trump had given aides the blessing for the sanctions. The Turkish lira weakened as much as 1.4 per cent following the news. US sanctions could harm a Turkish economy struggling with a coronavirus-induced slowdown, double-digit inflation, and badly depleted foreign reserves. A senior Turkish official said sanctions would backfire and hurt ties between the two NATO members. "Sanctions would not achieve a result but be counter-productive. They would harm relations," the official said. "Turkey is in favor of solving these problems with diplomacy and negotiations. We won't accept one-sided impositions," he said. The decision will have repercussions far beyond Turkey, sending a message to US partners around the world that might consider buying Russian military equipment and have been warned repeatedly about US sanctions. Turkey's leader, President Tayyip Erdogan, had hoped to prove US threats hollow, betting the relationship he developed with Trump would insulate Ankara from punitive US action. Having forged a working relationship with Erdogan, Trump long opposed US sanctions against Turkey despite the advice of advisers. Officials in his administration internally recommended sanctions against Ankara in July 2019, when the Turkish government started taking delivery of the S-400s, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. But sanctions appeared likely even if Trump did not act, the sources said. The final version of the $740 billion annual US defense authorization legislation, which the Senate is expected to vote on as early as this week, would force Washington to impose sanctions within 30 days. One of the U.S. officials said one of the reasons Trump was finally willing to move ahead with Turkey sanctions was to "decouple" the issue from NDAA bill, which carries a provision that would require him to impose measures on Ankara. This way, Trump can avoid looking like his hand is being forced, the official said. Kicked out of F-35 program Still, increasing US pressure is not without risk. Washington does not want to push Erdogan even closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose goal is to weaken and divide the NATO alliance. Russia delivered the ground-to-air S-400s last year and Turkey tested them as recently as October. Ankara said they would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat, and has called for a joint working group on the issue. But the United States maintained that the S-400 does pose a threat, and announced last year it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program over Ankara's decision. Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter jet is the most advanced aircraft in the US arsenal and is used by NATO members and other US allies. The US State Department could still change plans and widen or narrow the scope of planned sanctions against Turkey. However, sources said the announcement of the sanctions in their current form was imminent.

US to impose sanctions on Turkey over Russian S-400 defense system

US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been chosen as Time magazine's 2020 "Person of the Year".

The pair made history on November 7 when they beat Donald Trump in a bitter US election. Harris became the country's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect.

The pair were chosen ahead of three other finalists: frontline health care workers and Anthony Fauci, the racial justice movement, and President Donald Trump who Biden defeated in November's election.

The magazine said: “Together, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offered restoration and renewal in a single ticket. And America bought what they were selling: after the highest turnout in a century, they racked up 81 million votes and counting, the most in presidential history, topping Trump by some 7 million votes and flipping five battleground states.”

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TIMEPOY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TIMEPOY</a> <a href="https://t.co/o97QNlSBrl">https://t.co/o97QNlSBrl</a> <a href="https://t.co/KuoBoebBN4">pic.twitter.com/KuoBoebBN4</a>
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"For changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year," wrote Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal.

Last year’s winner was climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Time magazine's tradition of singling out an especially influential person started in 1927, launching as Man of the Year. The name was later changed to Person of the Year, which is bestowed on an individual, a group, a movement or an idea that had the most influence in the past year.

US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been chosen as Time magazine's 2020 "Person of the Year". The pair made history on November 7 when they beat Donald Trump in a bitter US election.

US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been chosen as Time magazine's 2020 "Person of the Year". The pair made history on November 7 when they beat Donald Trump in a bitter US election. Harris became the country's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect. The pair were chosen ahead of three other finalists: frontline health care workers and Anthony Fauci, the racial justice movement, and President Donald Trump who Biden defeated in November's election. The magazine said: “Together, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offered restoration and renewal in a single ticket. And America bought what they were selling: after the highest turnout in a century, they racked up 81 million votes and counting, the most in presidential history, topping Trump by some 7 million votes and flipping five battleground states.” Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/o97QNlSBrl pic.twitter.com/KuoBoebBN4 — TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2020 × "For changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year," wrote Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal. Last year’s winner was climate activist Greta Thunberg. Time magazine's tradition of singling out an especially influential person started in 1927, launching as Man of the Year. The name was later changed to Person of the Year, which is bestowed on an individual, a group, a movement or an idea that had the most influence in the past year.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris named Time 'Person of the Year'

US President-elect Joe Biden announced several administration picks Thursday, including Obama-era officials such as former national security advisor Susan Rice as White House Domestic Policy Council director and ex-chief of staff Denis McDonough as veterans affairs secretary.

The appointments, laid out by Biden's presidential transition team, highlight the diversity which Biden pledged to bring to his cabinet.

"This is the right team for this moment in history, and I know that each of these leaders will hit the ground running on day one to take on the interconnected crises families are facing today," Biden said in a statement.

Rice, who is Black, had been a contender for secretary of state. But she was expected to face intense opposition from Republicans in the Senate confirmation process over her role in the Benghazi crisis of 2012, and that prestigious cabinet position went to close Biden advisor Antony Blinken.

Heading the Domestic Policy Council will assure Rice, 56, gets into the president-elect's White House inner circle and see her influence key elements of Biden's "build back better" agenda amid a surging coronavirus pandemic and strains over racial justice.

But it may be seen as a surprise appointment given her experience in foreign policy.&nbsp;The position, which she tweeted she was "humbled and excited" to take, does not need Senate confirmation.

McDonough, 51, served multiple roles in Barack Obama's administration, including White House chief of staff and deputy national security advisor.

He has been nominated to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, a sprawling government agency tasked with managing a health care network that serves nine million enrolled veterans.&nbsp;

In a tweet, McDonough promised to "represent the voices of all veterans at every level, on every issue, every day."

Biden is scheduled to unveil his new picks at an event in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday.

- Biden to visit Georgia -

Biden has repeatedly stressed that his presidency will not equate to a third Obama term, and yet Thursday's announcement spotlights his close connection with his Democratic predecessor's brain trust.

He named 69-year-old Iowan Tom Vilsack, Obama's secretary of agriculture for two full terms, to the same role, which is seen as central to the coronavirus response as the department helps feed millions of Americans in need.

A tug of war over the agriculture post reportedly developed in recent weeks, with progressive congresswoman Marcia Fudge a leading candidate.

Instead Fudge, 68, was nominated to serve as secretary of housing and urban development, a position whose profile could also rise as the pandemic fuels a potential eviction crisis.

Biden also chose international trade expert Katherine Tai to be the US trade representative.&nbsp;

Tai, currently the chief trade lawyer for the House Ways and Means Committee, would be the first Asian American and first woman of color in the USTR role.

The transition team also confirmed that Biden will travel to Georgia Tuesday to boost two Democratic candidates in tight run-off elections that will determine which party controls the US Senate.

The trip coincides with the start of early voting there next Monday.

The runoffs feature former journalist Jon Ossoff challenging Republican Senator David Perdue, and Raphael Warnock, pastor at one of the most prominent Black churches in America, running to unseat Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler.

Biden narrowly won Georgia in the presidential race. The tight state contest has been challenged by President Donald Trump, who has made repeated accusations that the election was "rigged" and that massive fraud helped Biden win in Georgia and elsewhere.

No evidence has emerged to support such claims.

US President-elect Joe Biden announced several administration picks Thursday, including Obama-era officials such as former national security advisor Susan Rice as White House Domestic Policy Council director and ex-chief of staff Denis McDonough as veterans affairs secretary.

US President-elect Joe Biden announced several administration picks Thursday, including Obama-era officials such as former national security advisor Susan Rice as White House Domestic Policy Council director and ex-chief of staff Denis McDonough as veterans affairs secretary. The appointments, laid out by Biden's presidential transition team, highlight the diversity which Biden pledged to bring to his cabinet. "This is the right team for this moment in history, and I know that each of these leaders will hit the ground running on day one to take on the interconnected crises families are facing today," Biden said in a statement. Rice, who is Black, had been a contender for secretary of state. But she was expected to face intense opposition from Republicans in the Senate confirmation process over her role in the Benghazi crisis of 2012, and that prestigious cabinet position went to close Biden advisor Antony Blinken. Heading the Domestic Policy Council will assure Rice, 56, gets into the president-elect's White House inner circle and see her influence key elements of Biden's "build back better" agenda amid a surging coronavirus pandemic and strains over racial justice. But it may be seen as a surprise appointment given her experience in foreign policy. The position, which she tweeted she was "humbled and excited" to take, does not need Senate confirmation. McDonough, 51, served multiple roles in Barack Obama's administration, including White House chief of staff and deputy national security advisor. He has been nominated to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, a sprawling government agency tasked with managing a health care network that serves nine million enrolled veterans. In a tweet, McDonough promised to "represent the voices of all veterans at every level, on every issue, every day." Biden is scheduled to unveil his new picks at an event in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday. - Biden to visit Georgia - Biden has repeatedly stressed that his presidency will not equate to a third Obama term, and yet Thursday's announcement spotlights his close connection with his Democratic predecessor's brain trust. He named 69-year-old Iowan Tom Vilsack, Obama's secretary of agriculture for two full terms, to the same role, which is seen as central to the coronavirus response as the department helps feed millions of Americans in need. A tug of war over the agriculture post reportedly developed in recent weeks, with progressive congresswoman Marcia Fudge a leading candidate. Instead Fudge, 68, was nominated to serve as secretary of housing and urban development, a position whose profile could also rise as the pandemic fuels a potential eviction crisis. Biden also chose international trade expert Katherine Tai to be the US trade representative. Tai, currently the chief trade lawyer for the House Ways and Means Committee, would be the first Asian American and first woman of color in the USTR role. The transition team also confirmed that Biden will travel to Georgia Tuesday to boost two Democratic candidates in tight run-off elections that will determine which party controls the US Senate. The trip coincides with the start of early voting there next Monday. The runoffs feature former journalist Jon Ossoff challenging Republican Senator David Perdue, and Raphael Warnock, pastor at one of the most prominent Black churches in America, running to unseat Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler. Biden narrowly won Georgia in the presidential race. The tight state contest has been challenged by President Donald Trump, who has made repeated accusations that the election was "rigged" and that massive fraud helped Biden win in Georgia and elsewhere. No evidence has emerged to support such claims.

Biden taps Susan Rice for domestic policy role, other Obama vets

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is facing pressure from congressional Democrats to cancel student loan debt on a vast scale, quickly and by executive action, a campaign that will be one of the first tests of his relationship with the liberal wing of his party.

Biden has endorsed canceling $10,000 in federal student debt per borrower through legislation, and insisted that chipping away at the $1.7 trillion in loan debt held by more than 43 million borrowers is integral to his economic plan. But Democratic leaders, backed by the party’s left flank, are pressing for up to $50,000 of debt relief per borrower, executed on Day 1 of his presidency.

More than 200 organizations — including the American Federation of Teachers, the NAACP and others that were integral to his campaign — have joined the push.

The Education Department is effectively the country’s largest consumer bank and the primary lender, since 2010, for higher education. It owns student loans totaling $1.4 trillion, so forgiveness of some of that debt would be a rapid injection of cash into the pockets of many people suffering from the economic effects of the pandemic.

“There are a lot of people who came out to vote in this election who frankly did it as their last shot at seeing whether the government can really work for them,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “If we don’t deliver quick relief, it’s going to be very difficult to get them back.”

Many economists, including liberals, say higher education debt forgiveness is an inefficient way to help struggling Americans who face foreclosure, evictions and hunger. The working poor largely are not college graduates — more than 70% of unemployed workers do not have a bachelor’s degree, and 43% did not attend college at all, according to a report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

While many Black students would benefit greatly from even modest loan forgiveness, debt relief overall would disproportionately benefit middle- to upper-class college graduates of all colors and ethnicities, especially those who attended elite and expensive institutions, and people with lucrative professional credentials like law and medical degrees.

An October analysis by the Brookings Institution found that almost 60% of America’s educational debt is owed by households in the nation’s top 40% of earners, with an annual income of $74,000 or more.

People who go to college “are often from more advantaged backgrounds, and they end up doing very well in the labor market,” said Adam Looney, a former Treasury official who helped write the analysis.

Without a parallel effort to curb tuition growth, one-time debt relief could actually lead to more higher-education debt in the future as students take on larger loans, hoping the government would at some point wipe them clean, a “moral hazard” that often accompanies one-time interventions. And it would be expensive: Canceling even $10,000 per person in debt would eliminate more than $400 billion in government assets, although calculating the true cost to the Treasury is tricky because of student loans’ long repayment time and high default rate.

Looney said canceling $50,000, at a projected cost of $1 trillion, would be “among the largest transfer programs in American history,” on par with decades of targeted spending on programs that exclusively benefit low-income families, such as the $992 billion spent on federal Pell grants since 1972 and the $1.4 trillion spent on welfare since 1975.

If debt relief overall would disproportionately flow to better-off Americans, even modest debt forgiveness would help many financially vulnerable people, especially people of color. Student debt load has tripled since 2006 and eclipsed both credit cards and auto loans as the largest source of household debt outside mortgages, and much of it falls on Black graduates, who owe an average of $7,400 more than their white peers at the time they leave school. Black borrowers also default at higher rates.

College dropouts, especially those who attended for-profit schools, often end up trapped by debt they cannot afford to repay.

“In this moment of national reckoning on racial injustice, the president-elect must cancel all federal student debt on Day 1 of his administration,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said in a statement. “The president-elect must meet the moment. If he fails to, we will hold him accountable.”

An economic working paper published by the Roosevelt Institute casts debt forgiveness explicitly in racial-justice terms. The total percentage of Black households that would benefit would be greater than white households, and the relative gains for those households’ net worth are far larger, the researchers found. The greatest marginal gains come from canceling the smallest debts; wiping out $20,000 would end student debt for half of all households with loans.

Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a joint op-ed last week that $50,000 debt cancellations would give “Black and brown families across the country a far better shot at building financial security” and would be the “single most effective executive action available to provide massive stimulus to our economy.”

To truly break the debt cycle, though, forgiveness would need to be paired with policy changes addressing the underlying cause of America’s skyrocketing student debt: affordability.

“The real problem is the cost of higher education,” said Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors. “Unless you’re going to solve the problem, forgiveness is just throwing away money.”

Biden’s campaign platform proposed making public universities tuition-free for families making less than $125,000 a year.

“The virus epidemic has accelerated some of the trends that are strangling public higher education,” said Louise Seamster of the University of Iowa and a co-author of the Roosevelt Institute paper. She said a momentous move like debt forgiveness could spur “new ways of thinking.”

“A lot of the debate has gotten stale because we’ve been limited in thinking about the fixes,” she said.

But student debt forgiveness could have serious political implications. In 2009, relief extended by President Barack Obama to homeowners with houses suddenly worth less than their mortgages was the original spark for the Tea Party movement, driven by people who fastidiously paid their home loans and felt left out. The dynamic would almost certainly repeat itself as earlier and later borrowers wondered why they had to pay off their loans.

“I don’t believe any president has the authority to give away hundreds of billions of dollars through the stroke of a pen,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “And I think doing so is profoundly unfair to the millions of Americans who worked hard to pay down their student debt.”

The legal argument for debt cancellation by executive action hinges on a passage in the Higher Education Act of 1965 that gives the education secretary the power to “compromise, waive or release” federal student loan debts. Schumer and Warren maintain that Biden can broadly use that power, and several lawyers have written analyses backing that view.

But former government lawyers have warned that across-the-board forgiveness would face legal challenges from Republicans. And Biden has never publicly endorsed the idea. Some close to him say he recognizes the risks and consequences of bypassing Congress.

There is more consensus that the $10,000 proposal would reach the most vulnerable borrowers, the estimated 15 million who have low debt under $10,000, often because they did not complete their degrees.

Some experts argue that Biden has other, more progressive options for taming student debt, such as improving existing repayment plans that link borrowers’ loan payments to their incomes.

The government has struggled to get all borrowers who would benefit from income-linked plans enrolled in them, in part because the loan servicers it hired to work with borrowers and collect their payments have not guided people through the complicated process of getting and staying enrolled.

A separate program to forgive the debts of those who work in public-service careers has an even grimmer track record, and a long-standing program to forgive the debts of graduates bilked by their universities — usually for-profit colleges — has been crippled by the Trump administration.

The “benefit of outright cancellation is simplicity,” said Eileen Connor, legal director at the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard Law School, which represents thousands of students defrauded by their colleges and mired in legal fights with the Education Department over loan forgiveness.

“We are facing an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, and we need to use every tool readily available to keep families and the economy afloat,” Connor said.

Biden has continued to push for the passage of legislation that called for some loan forgiveness, named the Heroes Act, that the House passed in the spring.

Student debt holders are “having to make choices between paying their student loan and paying the rent, those kinds of decisions,” Biden said at a news conference last month.

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House whose endorsement was key to Biden winning the presidency, said the president-elect should first try legislation. If that fails, Clyburn argued, Biden should use an executive order.

“I sit here in this Congress because of an executive order, the Emancipation Proclamation. Harry Truman used an executive order to integrate the armed services,” Clyburn said.

“Let them sue,” he added. “They’re not the only ones that can employ lawyers.”

Clyburn, who speaks with Biden frequently, said in an interview that he did not think that what Biden proposed during the campaign “goes quite far enough.”

“I’ve got people with $130,000 in student debt. What’s $10,000 going to do for that person?” asked Clyburn, whose legislation to eliminate up to $50,000 would completely cancel student debt for 75% of borrowers.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said he hoped the two parties could find common ground on the issue. He introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow employers to contribute up to $5,250 tax-free to their employees’ student loans, which was included as a temporary provision in the coronavirus relief law this spring.

“There’s no question that student debt is a problem in this country, but simply forgiving student loans is not the answer,” Thune said.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is facing pressure from congressional Democrats to cancel student loan debt on a vast scale, quickly and by executive action, a campaign that will be one of the first tests of his relationship with the liberal wing of his party.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is facing pressure from congressional Democrats to cancel student loan debt on a vast scale, quickly and by executive action, a campaign that will be one of the first tests of his relationship with the liberal wing of his party. Biden has endorsed canceling $10,000 in federal student debt per borrower through legislation, and insisted that chipping away at the $1.7 trillion in loan debt held by more than 43 million borrowers is integral to his economic plan. But Democratic leaders, backed by the party’s left flank, are pressing for up to $50,000 of debt relief per borrower, executed on Day 1 of his presidency. More than 200 organizations — including the American Federation of Teachers, the NAACP and others that were integral to his campaign — have joined the push. The Education Department is effectively the country’s largest consumer bank and the primary lender, since 2010, for higher education. It owns student loans totaling $1.4 trillion, so forgiveness of some of that debt would be a rapid injection of cash into the pockets of many people suffering from the economic effects of the pandemic. “There are a lot of people who came out to vote in this election who frankly did it as their last shot at seeing whether the government can really work for them,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “If we don’t deliver quick relief, it’s going to be very difficult to get them back.” Many economists, including liberals, say higher education debt forgiveness is an inefficient way to help struggling Americans who face foreclosure, evictions and hunger. The working poor largely are not college graduates — more than 70% of unemployed workers do not have a bachelor’s degree, and 43% did not attend college at all, according to a report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. While many Black students would benefit greatly from even modest loan forgiveness, debt relief overall would disproportionately benefit middle- to upper-class college graduates of all colors and ethnicities, especially those who attended elite and expensive institutions, and people with lucrative professional credentials like law and medical degrees. An October analysis by the Brookings Institution found that almost 60% of America’s educational debt is owed by households in the nation’s top 40% of earners, with an annual income of $74,000 or more. People who go to college “are often from more advantaged backgrounds, and they end up doing very well in the labor market,” said Adam Looney, a former Treasury official who helped write the analysis. Without a parallel effort to curb tuition growth, one-time debt relief could actually lead to more higher-education debt in the future as students take on larger loans, hoping the government would at some point wipe them clean, a “moral hazard” that often accompanies one-time interventions. And it would be expensive: Canceling even $10,000 per person in debt would eliminate more than $400 billion in government assets, although calculating the true cost to the Treasury is tricky because of student loans’ long repayment time and high default rate. Looney said canceling $50,000, at a projected cost of $1 trillion, would be “among the largest transfer programs in American history,” on par with decades of targeted spending on programs that exclusively benefit low-income families, such as the $992 billion spent on federal Pell grants since 1972 and the $1.4 trillion spent on welfare since 1975. If debt relief overall would disproportionately flow to better-off Americans, even modest debt forgiveness would help many financially vulnerable people, especially people of color. Student debt load has tripled since 2006 and eclipsed both credit cards and auto loans as the largest source of household debt outside mortgages, and much of it falls on Black graduates, who owe an average of $7,400 more than their white peers at the time they leave school. Black borrowers also default at higher rates. College dropouts, especially those who attended for-profit schools, often end up trapped by debt they cannot afford to repay. “In this moment of national reckoning on racial injustice, the president-elect must cancel all federal student debt on Day 1 of his administration,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said in a statement. “The president-elect must meet the moment. If he fails to, we will hold him accountable.” An economic working paper published by the Roosevelt Institute casts debt forgiveness explicitly in racial-justice terms. The total percentage of Black households that would benefit would be greater than white households, and the relative gains for those households’ net worth are far larger, the researchers found. The greatest marginal gains come from canceling the smallest debts; wiping out $20,000 would end student debt for half of all households with loans. Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a joint op-ed last week that $50,000 debt cancellations would give “Black and brown families across the country a far better shot at building financial security” and would be the “single most effective executive action available to provide massive stimulus to our economy.” To truly break the debt cycle, though, forgiveness would need to be paired with policy changes addressing the underlying cause of America’s skyrocketing student debt: affordability. “The real problem is the cost of higher education,” said Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors. “Unless you’re going to solve the problem, forgiveness is just throwing away money.” Biden’s campaign platform proposed making public universities tuition-free for families making less than $125,000 a year. “The virus epidemic has accelerated some of the trends that are strangling public higher education,” said Louise Seamster of the University of Iowa and a co-author of the Roosevelt Institute paper. She said a momentous move like debt forgiveness could spur “new ways of thinking.” “A lot of the debate has gotten stale because we’ve been limited in thinking about the fixes,” she said. But student debt forgiveness could have serious political implications. In 2009, relief extended by President Barack Obama to homeowners with houses suddenly worth less than their mortgages was the original spark for the Tea Party movement, driven by people who fastidiously paid their home loans and felt left out. The dynamic would almost certainly repeat itself as earlier and later borrowers wondered why they had to pay off their loans. “I don’t believe any president has the authority to give away hundreds of billions of dollars through the stroke of a pen,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “And I think doing so is profoundly unfair to the millions of Americans who worked hard to pay down their student debt.” The legal argument for debt cancellation by executive action hinges on a passage in the Higher Education Act of 1965 that gives the education secretary the power to “compromise, waive or release” federal student loan debts. Schumer and Warren maintain that Biden can broadly use that power, and several lawyers have written analyses backing that view. But former government lawyers have warned that across-the-board forgiveness would face legal challenges from Republicans. And Biden has never publicly endorsed the idea. Some close to him say he recognizes the risks and consequences of bypassing Congress. There is more consensus that the $10,000 proposal would reach the most vulnerable borrowers, the estimated 15 million who have low debt under $10,000, often because they did not complete their degrees. Some experts argue that Biden has other, more progressive options for taming student debt, such as improving existing repayment plans that link borrowers’ loan payments to their incomes. The government has struggled to get all borrowers who would benefit from income-linked plans enrolled in them, in part because the loan servicers it hired to work with borrowers and collect their payments have not guided people through the complicated process of getting and staying enrolled. A separate program to forgive the debts of those who work in public-service careers has an even grimmer track record, and a long-standing program to forgive the debts of graduates bilked by their universities — usually for-profit colleges — has been crippled by the Trump administration. The “benefit of outright cancellation is simplicity,” said Eileen Connor, legal director at the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard Law School, which represents thousands of students defrauded by their colleges and mired in legal fights with the Education Department over loan forgiveness. “We are facing an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, and we need to use every tool readily available to keep families and the economy afloat,” Connor said. Biden has continued to push for the passage of legislation that called for some loan forgiveness, named the Heroes Act, that the House passed in the spring. Student debt holders are “having to make choices between paying their student loan and paying the rent, those kinds of decisions,” Biden said at a news conference last month. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House whose endorsement was key to Biden winning the presidency, said the president-elect should first try legislation. If that fails, Clyburn argued, Biden should use an executive order. “I sit here in this Congress because of an executive order, the Emancipation Proclamation. Harry Truman used an executive order to integrate the armed services,” Clyburn said. “Let them sue,” he added. “They’re not the only ones that can employ lawyers.” Clyburn, who speaks with Biden frequently, said in an interview that he did not think that what Biden proposed during the campaign “goes quite far enough.” “I’ve got people with $130,000 in student debt. What’s $10,000 going to do for that person?” asked Clyburn, whose legislation to eliminate up to $50,000 would completely cancel student debt for 75% of borrowers. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said he hoped the two parties could find common ground on the issue. He introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow employers to contribute up to $5,250 tax-free to their employees’ student loans, which was included as a temporary provision in the coronavirus relief law this spring. “There’s no question that student debt is a problem in this country, but simply forgiving student loans is not the answer,” Thune said.

Student loan cancellation sets up clash between Biden and the Left

WASHINGTON — No longer restrained by President Donald Trump’s affection for Turkey’s authoritarian leader, U.S. officials and Congress are using the waning days of his presidency to ready sanctions and strike a strident tone against the strategic but unreliable ally.

Turkey, a member of NATO, has vexed the administration almost since its start. That has been as much Trump’s doing — and his admiration for its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as that of actions by the government in Ankara, which has abused human rights, imprisoned Americans and journalists, and muscled into confrontations from Syria to Libya to the Caucasus to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Watch |&nbsp;

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The redirection of U.S. policy also will require President-elect Joe Biden to carefully bring Turkey back into the West’s embrace and keep from pushing it closer to Russia.

“For years, President Trump has personally shielded Erdogan and Turkey,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. He said the incoming Biden administration “will be an important check on Erdogan’s efforts to expand his influence at our expense, in a way that undermines our interests.”

“It’s a little bit of a crossroads for Erdogan,” Van Hollen said in a recent interview. “He’s going to have to make a decision — is he going to be the faithful NATO ally, or is he going to go it alone in the region?”

Congress is poised this week to approve economic sanctions against Turkey for buying Russian missile defense systems early in Trump’s term, potentially exposing NATO military technology to Moscow. Trump stalled the sanctions last year, after the defense systems were delivered to Turkey.

For the first time, and after Ankara tested the system this fall, White House officials have informed Turkish diplomats that the Trump administration will not oppose the congressional sanctions, according to two people involved in the discussions.

Instead, they said, the sanctions are meant in part to warn Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and other nations that have signaled interest in purchasing Russian military equipment.

At a meeting of foreign ministers from NATO nations last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized Turkey on several fronts, according to a person briefed on his comments. His statements — against Turkey’s defense purchases, its exploration of natural gas in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and its support of foreign forces in external conflicts such as Libya — showed that Pompeo had wearied of trying to temper rising tensions among European allies and American lawmakers.

“We are concerned about some of the Turkish behavior,” Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, told reporters ahead of the foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. “The idea that you could put a Russian-made missile defense system in the middle of our alliance is out of bounds.”

The European Union is weighing its own sanctions against Turkey as retaliation for separate disputes with Greece, Cyprus and Germany in a decision that could come as soon as Thursday, according to a European diplomat in Washington.

Taken together, Turkey is feeling increasingly isolated, according to a senior official in its government.

Last month’s basing of a U.S. Navy expeditionary ship at Souda Bay, off the Greek coast, signaled that Turkey was no longer the key U.S. ally in the Eastern Mediterranean, the senior official said.

The Abraham accords brokered this fall by the Trump administration — fostering normalized relationships among Israel and three Arab states, Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates — harnessed Middle Eastern countries that are hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist movement is supported by Erdogan.

The senior Turkish official also described feeling snubbed by Pompeo’s visits this fall to rivals in Cyprus and Greece and then his tour of Istanbul with his wife in November instead of going to Ankara to meet with government leaders.

The expected sanctions are sure to hammer Turkey’s already strained economy and may force Erdogan to pull back from most of his military missions abroad. (One exception would be in neighboring Syria, where Turkey is battling Islamic State militants and American-backed Kurdish fighters; Erdogan considers both of the groups to be terrorists and is unlikely to retreat.)

Experts warn that this could push Turkey into Russia’s arms if Biden is not careful.

“Relations with Turkey will be a major, urgent question for the Biden administration,” said James F. Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Iraq who retired last month as the State Department’s special envoy for Syria policy and the coalition to defeat the Islamic State.

“Given the country’s size, location, economic and military power, and the pro-Western sentiments of the population — if not its president — does it make sense to sideline Turkey or push it into the Russian camp?” Jeffrey said.

He noted that Turkey and Russia have been on opposite sides in ongoing conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. It also remains a critical NATO ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, and opposes Iran’s regional advances.

The senior Turkish official described Erdogan’s interests as ultimately having more in common with the West than with Russia. But, he said, how the Biden administration approaches the dispute over the missile defense systems will be a first test.

It is far from certain a compromise can be struck. But the Turkish official said Biden’s advisers have indicated in low-level discussions they were open to considering compromises as they are proposed, including convening a NATO working group to look at whether Russia could indeed penetrate Western military systems through the missile defense systems.

A spokesman for Biden’s transition team declined to comment.

The senior Turkish official also said that Biden’s advisers have made clear they will engage with Turkey through traditional and technical diplomatic channels — and not rely on the kind of spontaneous and direct lines of communication that marked the relationship between Trump and Erdogan.

That was welcome news to the Turks, the senior official said.

WASHINGTON — No longer restrained by President Donald Trump’s affection for Turkey’s authoritarian leader, U.S. officials and Congress are using the waning days of his presidency to ready sanctions and strike a strident tone against the strategic but unreliable ally.

WASHINGTON — No longer restrained by President Donald Trump’s affection for Turkey’s authoritarian leader, U.S. officials and Congress are using the waning days of his presidency to ready sanctions and strike a strident tone against the strategic but unreliable ally. Turkey, a member of NATO, has vexed the administration almost since its start. That has been as much Trump’s doing — and his admiration for its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as that of actions by the government in Ankara, which has abused human rights, imprisoned Americans and journalists, and muscled into confrontations from Syria to Libya to the Caucasus to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Watch | The redirection of U.S. policy also will require President-elect Joe Biden to carefully bring Turkey back into the West’s embrace and keep from pushing it closer to Russia. “For years, President Trump has personally shielded Erdogan and Turkey,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. He said the incoming Biden administration “will be an important check on Erdogan’s efforts to expand his influence at our expense, in a way that undermines our interests.” “It’s a little bit of a crossroads for Erdogan,” Van Hollen said in a recent interview. “He’s going to have to make a decision — is he going to be the faithful NATO ally, or is he going to go it alone in the region?” Congress is poised this week to approve economic sanctions against Turkey for buying Russian missile defense systems early in Trump’s term, potentially exposing NATO military technology to Moscow. Trump stalled the sanctions last year, after the defense systems were delivered to Turkey. For the first time, and after Ankara tested the system this fall, White House officials have informed Turkish diplomats that the Trump administration will not oppose the congressional sanctions, according to two people involved in the discussions. Instead, they said, the sanctions are meant in part to warn Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and other nations that have signaled interest in purchasing Russian military equipment. At a meeting of foreign ministers from NATO nations last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized Turkey on several fronts, according to a person briefed on his comments. His statements — against Turkey’s defense purchases, its exploration of natural gas in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and its support of foreign forces in external conflicts such as Libya — showed that Pompeo had wearied of trying to temper rising tensions among European allies and American lawmakers. “We are concerned about some of the Turkish behavior,” Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, told reporters ahead of the foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. “The idea that you could put a Russian-made missile defense system in the middle of our alliance is out of bounds.” The European Union is weighing its own sanctions against Turkey as retaliation for separate disputes with Greece, Cyprus and Germany in a decision that could come as soon as Thursday, according to a European diplomat in Washington. Taken together, Turkey is feeling increasingly isolated, according to a senior official in its government. Last month’s basing of a U.S. Navy expeditionary ship at Souda Bay, off the Greek coast, signaled that Turkey was no longer the key U.S. ally in the Eastern Mediterranean, the senior official said. The Abraham accords brokered this fall by the Trump administration — fostering normalized relationships among Israel and three Arab states, Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates — harnessed Middle Eastern countries that are hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist movement is supported by Erdogan. The senior Turkish official also described feeling snubbed by Pompeo’s visits this fall to rivals in Cyprus and Greece and then his tour of Istanbul with his wife in November instead of going to Ankara to meet with government leaders. The expected sanctions are sure to hammer Turkey’s already strained economy and may force Erdogan to pull back from most of his military missions abroad. (One exception would be in neighboring Syria, where Turkey is battling Islamic State militants and American-backed Kurdish fighters; Erdogan considers both of the groups to be terrorists and is unlikely to retreat.) Experts warn that this could push Turkey into Russia’s arms if Biden is not careful. “Relations with Turkey will be a major, urgent question for the Biden administration,” said James F. Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Iraq who retired last month as the State Department’s special envoy for Syria policy and the coalition to defeat the Islamic State. “Given the country’s size, location, economic and military power, and the pro-Western sentiments of the population — if not its president — does it make sense to sideline Turkey or push it into the Russian camp?” Jeffrey said. He noted that Turkey and Russia have been on opposite sides in ongoing conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. It also remains a critical NATO ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, and opposes Iran’s regional advances. The senior Turkish official described Erdogan’s interests as ultimately having more in common with the West than with Russia. But, he said, how the Biden administration approaches the dispute over the missile defense systems will be a first test. It is far from certain a compromise can be struck. But the Turkish official said Biden’s advisers have indicated in low-level discussions they were open to considering compromises as they are proposed, including convening a NATO working group to look at whether Russia could indeed penetrate Western military systems through the missile defense systems. A spokesman for Biden’s transition team declined to comment. The senior Turkish official also said that Biden’s advisers have made clear they will engage with Turkey through traditional and technical diplomatic channels — and not rely on the kind of spontaneous and direct lines of communication that marked the relationship between Trump and Erdogan. That was welcome news to the Turks, the senior official said.

US takes tougher tone with Turkey as Trump exits

US President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said on Thursday that the US Attorney's office in Delaware was investigating his tax affairs. Hunter Biden who is often seen as the 'bad boy' of Biden family has had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past and his life has been in public eye. Hunter Biden is often targetted by US President Donald Trump and Republican Party in order to put Joe Biden in a tight spot.

"I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors," Hunter Biden said in a statement.

Hunter said he learned of the investigation on Tuesday when prosecutors informed his lawyers about the probe.

The transition team for President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday released a statement saying Biden "is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger."

Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-17-states-back-texas-bid-to-overturn-us-election-result-at-supreme-court-348692">Trump, 17 states back Texas bid to overturn US election result at Supreme Court</a>

As per a report by CNN, investigators are looking at various issues including whether Hunter Biden violated tax and money laundering laws while making deals in foreign countries, principally China.

During US Presidential Election 2020 campaign, Donald Trump had called on China to investigate Hunter Biden's involvement in a fund that sought to raise Chinese capital. Trump had accused Hunter Biden of using his position of influence to secure China`s financial backing for his investments.

(With Reuters inputs)

US President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said on Thursday that the US Attorney's office in Delaware was investigating his tax affairs. Hunter Biden who is often seen as the 'bad boy' of Biden family has had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past and his life has been in public eye.

US President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said on Thursday that the US Attorney's office in Delaware was investigating his tax affairs. Hunter Biden who is often seen as the 'bad boy' of Biden family has had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past and his life has been in public eye. Hunter Biden is often targetted by US President Donald Trump and Republican Party in order to put Joe Biden in a tight spot. "I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors," Hunter Biden said in a statement. Hunter said he learned of the investigation on Tuesday when prosecutors informed his lawyers about the probe. The transition team for President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday released a statement saying Biden "is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger." Also Read: Trump, 17 states back Texas bid to overturn US election result at Supreme Court As per a report by CNN, investigators are looking at various issues including whether Hunter Biden violated tax and money laundering laws while making deals in foreign countries, principally China. During US Presidential Election 2020 campaign, Donald Trump had called on China to investigate Hunter Biden's involvement in a fund that sought to raise Chinese capital. Trump had accused Hunter Biden of using his position of influence to secure China`s financial backing for his investments. (With Reuters inputs)

US attorney's office is investigating my taxes, says Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden

If you think only US President Donald Trump can have the honour of high-rise towers being named after him around the world, you might be in for a surprise. President-elect Joe Biden has a municipal swimming pool in Delaware named after him.

Biden has been a US senator for nearly four decades and vice-president under Barack Obama. He's hardly unknown. But his humility strikes a chord with many in his hometown.

His son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, is buried at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic church. So are Biden's first wife Neilia and their infant daughter, Naomi, killed in a 1972 car crash.

But there's a self-promotion vibe too, which somehow, if not fully, matches with Trump's.

Take the three most prominent Biden landmarks found in Delaware:

- Joseph R Biden Jr Aquatic Center (the Wilmington swimming pool where he worked as a lifeguard in his youth).

- Joseph R Biden Jr Railroad Station (Wilmington's Amtrak stop, which the soon-to-be 46th president used every day while in the Senate to get back to his family at night).

- And last but not least, the Biden Welcome Centre, a stopoff with toilets and fast food for motorists on the Interstate-95 motorway.

Also, Wilmington -- Biden's hometown -- isn't famous for much. But efforts are underway to revitalise the depressed downtown.

Talking of Trump, he has emblazoned his name in huge capital letters -- often in gold for good measure -- on buildings and swanky properties all the way from Las Vegas to Scotland.

In New York City alone there's Trump Tower, Trump World Tower, Trump Plaza, The Trump Building, Trump Parc, Trump Park Avenue and Trump International Hotel and Tower.

Then there are the Trump books, like "Trump: How to Get Rich," the Trump golf courses, Trump casinos and more.

So enamoured is the Republican with his own name that he has a habit of referring during speeches to "Trump" in the third person, as if standing back to admire himself.

So, in comparison, to say that Biden is grounded in Wilmington is no exaggeration.

But there's surely this vibe -- that reeks of self-promotion. Maybe it comes with being the most important person in the most important country. After all, a president's got to do what he ought to do.

(with inputs)

If you think only US President Donald Trump can have the honour of high-rise towers being named after him around the world, you might be in for a surprise. President-elect Joe Biden has a municipal swimming pool in Delaware named after him.

If you think only US President Donald Trump can have the honour of high-rise towers being named after him around the world, you might be in for a surprise. President-elect Joe Biden has a municipal swimming pool in Delaware named after him. Biden has been a US senator for nearly four decades and vice-president under Barack Obama. He's hardly unknown. But his humility strikes a chord with many in his hometown. His son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, is buried at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic church. So are Biden's first wife Neilia and their infant daughter, Naomi, killed in a 1972 car crash. But there's a self-promotion vibe too, which somehow, if not fully, matches with Trump's. Take the three most prominent Biden landmarks found in Delaware: - Joseph R Biden Jr Aquatic Center (the Wilmington swimming pool where he worked as a lifeguard in his youth). - Joseph R Biden Jr Railroad Station (Wilmington's Amtrak stop, which the soon-to-be 46th president used every day while in the Senate to get back to his family at night). - And last but not least, the Biden Welcome Centre, a stopoff with toilets and fast food for motorists on the Interstate-95 motorway. Also, Wilmington -- Biden's hometown -- isn't famous for much. But efforts are underway to revitalise the depressed downtown. Talking of Trump, he has emblazoned his name in huge capital letters -- often in gold for good measure -- on buildings and swanky properties all the way from Las Vegas to Scotland. In New York City alone there's Trump Tower, Trump World Tower, Trump Plaza, The Trump Building, Trump Parc, Trump Park Avenue and Trump International Hotel and Tower. Then there are the Trump books, like "Trump: How to Get Rich," the Trump golf courses, Trump casinos and more. So enamoured is the Republican with his own name that he has a habit of referring during speeches to "Trump" in the third person, as if standing back to admire himself. So, in comparison, to say that Biden is grounded in Wilmington is no exaggeration. But there's surely this vibe -- that reeks of self-promotion. Maybe it comes with being the most important person in the most important country. After all, a president's got to do what he ought to do. (with inputs)

Move over Trump Tower. Think Biden municipal swimming pool now

President Donald Trump and 17 US states have thrown their support behind a lawsuit by Texas seeking to overturn the result of the November 3 vote.

They have asked the US Supreme Court to throw out the voting results in four states.

The Republican president lost to Democrat Joe Biden in the recently concluded election, and also in the four election battleground states after winning them in the 2016 election.

Trump filed a motion with the court asking the nine justices to let him intervene and become a plaintiff in the suit filed on Tuesday by Republican-governed Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

If the justices let Trump join the lawsuit, it would create a very extraordinary circumstance of a sitting US president asking the top American court to decide that the millions of votes cast in the four states did not count.&nbsp;

To this end, Trump tweeted, "This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!"

In a separate brief, lawyers for 17 states led by Missouri's Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt also urged the justices to hear the case.

Election law experts have said the Texas lawsuit stands little chance of success and lacks legal merit.

The lawsuit, the latest in a series of election challenges brought by Trump's campaign and supporters that so far have failed in numerous courts, was brought by Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas and an ally of the president.

In addition to Missouri, the states joining Texas were: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. All of the states were represented by Republican officials in the filing. All but three of the states have Republican governors.

Trump has falsely claimed he won re-election and has made baseless allegations of widespread voting fraud. Election officials at the state level have said they have found no evidence of such fraud.

Officials from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have called the lawsuit a reckless attack on democracy. It was filed directly with the Supreme Court rather than with a lower court, as is permitted for certain litigation between states.

The New York Times, quoting an unnamed source familiar with the discussion, reported that Trump has asked Republican US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to argue the case if the Supreme Court agrees to hear it.

Trump's filing with the court said the four states "conducted the elections according to unauthorised rules," adding that it was "not necessary for the Plaintiff in Intervention (Trump) to prove that fraud occurred" to have the election results thrown out.

Trump brought his motion in his personal capacity, rather than through the US Justice Department or his campaign.

Trump is represented by John Eastman, a conservative legal scholar who drew criticism for falsely questioning whether Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is eligible to serve as vice president because her immigrant parents were born outside the United States.

The Texas suit argued that changes made by the four states to voting procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic to expand mail-in voting were unlawful. Texas asked the Supreme Court to immediately block the four states from using the voting results to appoint presidential electors to the Electoral College.

Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - far higher than the necessary 270 - compared to Trump's 232 in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election's outcome. The four states contribute a combined 62 electoral votes to Biden's total.

Texas also asked the Supreme Court to delay the December 14 date for Electoral College votes to be formally cast, a date set by law in 1887.

President Donald Trump and 17 US states have thrown their support behind a lawsuit by Texas seeking to overturn the result of the November 3 vote. They have asked the US Supreme Court to throw out the voting results in four states.

President Donald Trump and 17 US states have thrown their support behind a lawsuit by Texas seeking to overturn the result of the November 3 vote. They have asked the US Supreme Court to throw out the voting results in four states. The Republican president lost to Democrat Joe Biden in the recently concluded election, and also in the four election battleground states after winning them in the 2016 election. Trump filed a motion with the court asking the nine justices to let him intervene and become a plaintiff in the suit filed on Tuesday by Republican-governed Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. If the justices let Trump join the lawsuit, it would create a very extraordinary circumstance of a sitting US president asking the top American court to decide that the millions of votes cast in the four states did not count. To this end, Trump tweeted, "This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!" In a separate brief, lawyers for 17 states led by Missouri's Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt also urged the justices to hear the case. Election law experts have said the Texas lawsuit stands little chance of success and lacks legal merit. The lawsuit, the latest in a series of election challenges brought by Trump's campaign and supporters that so far have failed in numerous courts, was brought by Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas and an ally of the president. In addition to Missouri, the states joining Texas were: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. All of the states were represented by Republican officials in the filing. All but three of the states have Republican governors. Trump has falsely claimed he won re-election and has made baseless allegations of widespread voting fraud. Election officials at the state level have said they have found no evidence of such fraud. Officials from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have called the lawsuit a reckless attack on democracy. It was filed directly with the Supreme Court rather than with a lower court, as is permitted for certain litigation between states. The New York Times, quoting an unnamed source familiar with the discussion, reported that Trump has asked Republican US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to argue the case if the Supreme Court agrees to hear it. Trump's filing with the court said the four states "conducted the elections according to unauthorised rules," adding that it was "not necessary for the Plaintiff in Intervention (Trump) to prove that fraud occurred" to have the election results thrown out. Trump brought his motion in his personal capacity, rather than through the US Justice Department or his campaign. Trump is represented by John Eastman, a conservative legal scholar who drew criticism for falsely questioning whether Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is eligible to serve as vice president because her immigrant parents were born outside the United States. The Texas suit argued that changes made by the four states to voting procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic to expand mail-in voting were unlawful. Texas asked the Supreme Court to immediately block the four states from using the voting results to appoint presidential electors to the Electoral College. Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - far higher than the necessary 270 - compared to Trump's 232 in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election's outcome. The four states contribute a combined 62 electoral votes to Biden's total. Texas also asked the Supreme Court to delay the December 14 date for Electoral College votes to be formally cast, a date set by law in 1887.

Trump, 17 states back Texas bid to overturn US election result at Supreme Court

In a separate brief, lawyers for 17 states led by Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt also urged the justices to hear the case.

US Election 2020: Donald Trump pins his last hope on Texas lawsuit

President-elect Joe Biden has selected Katherine Tai, the chief trade lawyer for the House Ways and Means Committee, to serve as U.S. trade representative, four sources familiar with the decision said on Wednesday.

Tai, 45, who won the backing of congressional Democrats, labor and business circles in recent weeks, played a key role in negotiating stronger labor provisions with the Trump administration in the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal.

If confirmed as Biden`s "trade czar," Tai will play a pivotal role in helping to rebuild ties with key allies, re-energize manufacturing at home and punish Beijing for anti-competitive trade practices.

She would be the first woman of color to hold the job.

Her name surfaced as the leading contender for the job earlier this month, as reported by Reuters.

Biden is expected to formally announce Tai as his top trade negotiator later this week, said one of the sources. A spokesman for the Biden transition declined to comment on the news, which was first reported by Politico.

A Yale and Harvard-educated Chinese American who speaks Mandarin and taught university English for two years in Guangzhou, Tai headed China trade enforcement at the U.S. Trade Representative`s office (USTR) from 2011 to 2014.

In that role, Tai was the main attorney litigating trade violation cases against China before the World Trade Organization, experience that will guide her as she works to hammer out the next phase of a trade agreement with Beijing.

In August, Tai called for a different approach to China from the 2-1/2-year tariff war waged by current trade czar Robert Lighthizer, arguing that the United States needed a better offense than tariffs, which, she said, were largely defensive in nature.

News of her selection was welcomed by Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate.

Senator Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, called Tai "an inspired choice" and urged the Republican-controlled Senate to process her nomination as quickly as possible.

"Ms. Tai has the experience she needs to succeed as USTR, and her record of getting wins for American workers demonstrates she knows how to champion the values that matter to U.S. families," he said in a statement.

David Skillman, a senior associate at the Arnold &amp; Porter law firm who worked closely with Tai when he was chief counsel to the head of the House trade subcommittee, said she would do well leading USTR as it faced coming challenges.

"Katherine has terrific policy chops and great political skills, but more importantly, she’s just unflappable. The next USTR has a very tough road ahead of her, and Katherine has the ability to bring people together to make progress," he said.

President-elect Joe Biden has selected Katherine Tai, the chief trade lawyer for the House Ways and Means Committee, to serve as U.S. trade representative, four sources familiar with the decision said on Wednesday.

President-elect Joe Biden has selected Katherine Tai, the chief trade lawyer for the House Ways and Means Committee, to serve as U.S. trade representative, four sources familiar with the decision said on Wednesday. Tai, 45, who won the backing of congressional Democrats, labor and business circles in recent weeks, played a key role in negotiating stronger labor provisions with the Trump administration in the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal. If confirmed as Biden`s "trade czar," Tai will play a pivotal role in helping to rebuild ties with key allies, re-energize manufacturing at home and punish Beijing for anti-competitive trade practices. She would be the first woman of color to hold the job. Her name surfaced as the leading contender for the job earlier this month, as reported by Reuters. Biden is expected to formally announce Tai as his top trade negotiator later this week, said one of the sources. A spokesman for the Biden transition declined to comment on the news, which was first reported by Politico. A Yale and Harvard-educated Chinese American who speaks Mandarin and taught university English for two years in Guangzhou, Tai headed China trade enforcement at the U.S. Trade Representative`s office (USTR) from 2011 to 2014. In that role, Tai was the main attorney litigating trade violation cases against China before the World Trade Organization, experience that will guide her as she works to hammer out the next phase of a trade agreement with Beijing. In August, Tai called for a different approach to China from the 2-1/2-year tariff war waged by current trade czar Robert Lighthizer, arguing that the United States needed a better offense than tariffs, which, she said, were largely defensive in nature. News of her selection was welcomed by Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate. Senator Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, called Tai "an inspired choice" and urged the Republican-controlled Senate to process her nomination as quickly as possible. "Ms. Tai has the experience she needs to succeed as USTR, and her record of getting wins for American workers demonstrates she knows how to champion the values that matter to U.S. families," he said in a statement. David Skillman, a senior associate at the Arnold & Porter law firm who worked closely with Tai when he was chief counsel to the head of the House trade subcommittee, said she would do well leading USTR as it faced coming challenges. "Katherine has terrific policy chops and great political skills, but more importantly, she’s just unflappable. The next USTR has a very tough road ahead of her, and Katherine has the ability to bring people together to make progress," he said.

Biden picks Capitol Hill staffer Tai as US trade 'czar'

Current US President Donald Trump said he was hopful that he would be the next US president on the same day Republican Party's assertion of election fraud was rejected by US Supreme Court. In spite of ample indication of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential election 2020, Trump has continued to make unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud.

"Hopefully the next administration will be the Trump administration, a continuation -- which has led us to the highest stock markets we've ever had, the best employment numbers we've ever had, a rebuilt military," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday (local time) during a vaccine summit.

Trump was responding to a question on why he did not invite members of the Biden transition team to the meeting, which deliberated on his plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccine in the US.

Trump said because of the "great work" he did, he was "rewarded" with a victory.

On Tuesday itself, Republican Party's attempts to invalidated election results in Pennsylvania were thwarted by US Supreme Court

The lawsuit was brought-in by US congressman Mike Kelly, a Trump ally and other Pennsylvania Republicans. They said that state's 2019 expansion of mail-in voting was illegal under state law.

Trump had won the state in 2016 presidential elections but this time Biden clinched the state by 80,000 votes.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-supreme-court-throws-out-trumps-claim-of-election-fraud-in-pennsylvania-348430">US Supreme Court throws out Trump's claim of election fraud in Pennsylvania</a>

Pennsylvania has already certified election results in favour of US President-elect Joe Biden.

Trump's attempt to invalidate elections results via legal routes has not been successful and he or Republican Party have suffered defeat after defeats in various courts in the US.

(With agency inputs)

Current US President Donald Trump said he was hopful that he would be the next US president on the same day Republican Party's assertion of election fraud was rejected by US Supreme Court.

Current US President Donald Trump said he was hopful that he would be the next US president on the same day Republican Party's assertion of election fraud was rejected by US Supreme Court. In spite of ample indication of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential election 2020, Trump has continued to make unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud. "Hopefully the next administration will be the Trump administration, a continuation -- which has led us to the highest stock markets we've ever had, the best employment numbers we've ever had, a rebuilt military," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday (local time) during a vaccine summit. Trump was responding to a question on why he did not invite members of the Biden transition team to the meeting, which deliberated on his plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccine in the US. Trump said because of the "great work" he did, he was "rewarded" with a victory. On Tuesday itself, Republican Party's attempts to invalidated election results in Pennsylvania were thwarted by US Supreme Court The lawsuit was brought-in by US congressman Mike Kelly, a Trump ally and other Pennsylvania Republicans. They said that state's 2019 expansion of mail-in voting was illegal under state law. Trump had won the state in 2016 presidential elections but this time Biden clinched the state by 80,000 votes. Also Read | US Supreme Court throws out Trump's claim of election fraud in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania has already certified election results in favour of US President-elect Joe Biden. Trump's attempt to invalidate elections results via legal routes has not been successful and he or Republican Party have suffered defeat after defeats in various courts in the US. (With agency inputs)

Hopeful I'll remain US president, says Trump on same day of legal defeat in US Supreme Court

US Supreme Court gave a blow to Republicans seeking to throw out 2.5 milliion mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and undo Joe Biden's election victory. The court refused to block the state from formalising Joe Biden's victory there.

The lawsuit was brought-in by US congressman Mike Kelly, a Trump ally and other Pennsylvania Republicans. They said that state's 2019 expansion of mail-in voting was illegal under state law.

Trump had won the state in 2016 presidential elections but this time Biden clinched the state by 80,000 votes.

The Republican plaintiffs argued that the universal, "no-excuse" mail-in ballot program passed by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature in 2019, enabling voters to cast ballots by mail for any reason, violated the state`s constitution.

Trump`s campaign and his allies have lost in a stream of lawsuits in key states won by Biden, also including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. Judges have rejected sweeping assertions of voting irregularities.

Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - exceeding the necessary 270 - compared to 232 for Trump in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election`s outcome, while also winning the national popular vote by more than 7 million votes.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hopeful-ill-remain-president-says-trump-on-same-day-of-legal-defeat-in-us-supreme-court-348441">Hopeful I'll remain president, says Trump on same day of legal defeat in US Supreme Court</a>

However, Trump is yet to concede and instead chosen to make baseless allegations about election fraud and has not provided any evidence.

"This election is over. We must continue to stop this circus of `lawsuits` and move forward," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter.

(With Reuters inputs)

US Supreme Court gave a blow to Republicans seeking to throw out 2.5 milliion mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and undo Joe Biden's election victory. The court refused to block the state from formalising Joe Biden's victory there.

US Supreme Court gave a blow to Republicans seeking to throw out 2.5 milliion mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and undo Joe Biden's election victory. The court refused to block the state from formalising Joe Biden's victory there. The lawsuit was brought-in by US congressman Mike Kelly, a Trump ally and other Pennsylvania Republicans. They said that state's 2019 expansion of mail-in voting was illegal under state law. Trump had won the state in 2016 presidential elections but this time Biden clinched the state by 80,000 votes. The Republican plaintiffs argued that the universal, "no-excuse" mail-in ballot program passed by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature in 2019, enabling voters to cast ballots by mail for any reason, violated the state`s constitution. Trump`s campaign and his allies have lost in a stream of lawsuits in key states won by Biden, also including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. Judges have rejected sweeping assertions of voting irregularities. Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - exceeding the necessary 270 - compared to 232 for Trump in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election`s outcome, while also winning the national popular vote by more than 7 million votes. Also Read | Hopeful I'll remain president, says Trump on same day of legal defeat in US Supreme Court However, Trump is yet to concede and instead chosen to make baseless allegations about election fraud and has not provided any evidence. "This election is over. We must continue to stop this circus of `lawsuits` and move forward," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter. (With Reuters inputs)

US Supreme Court throws out Trump's claim of election fraud in Pennsylvania

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his government would work to establish dialogue with the United States under President-elect Joe Biden

Venezuela's Maduro says he hopes for better dialogue with U.S. under Biden

US president-elect Joe Biden has laid out a plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic during his first 100 days in office -- according to which his first few months will likely be dominated by the pandemic, which is straining hospitals amid a nationwide resurgence.

He has vowed his administration would vaccinate 100 million Americans.

At a briefing in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, Biden said he needed Congress to fully fund delivering vaccines to all corners of the United States.

Getting children back to school will be a national priority in the first 100 days, Biden said.

"In 100 days, we can change the course of the disease and change life in America for the better," said Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20. "Whatever your politics or point of view, mask up for 100 days."

The coronavirus has killed more than 283,000 Americans and caused millions to lose their jobs.

Biden, who formally introduced his public health team on Tuesday, also announced he would nominate retired Army General Lloyd Austin as the country's first Black defence secretary.

He also picked US Representative Marcia Fudge of Ohio to be the second Black woman to lead the Housing and Urban Development Department, and Tom Vilsack, the former agriculture secretary, to fill the same role again, according to news reports on Tuesday.

Biden introduced California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Latino former congressman, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services. Becerra has a long record of supporting the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

Jeff Zients, an economic adviser known for his managerial skills, will serve as Biden's coronavirus "czar," overseeing the pandemic response, including the vaccine distribution.

"Help is on the way," Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said after Biden's new healthcare team members introduced themselves. "And it is long overdue."

Trump has so far refused to concede his November 3 election defeat, citing unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. On Tuesday, Texas filed a lawsuit petitioning the US Supreme Court to throw out the results in four other states in a long-shot bid to help Trump reverse the election's outcome.

The Trump campaign and allies have filed numerous lawsuits seeking to challenge vote counts in multiple states but have met with little success. State officials have said they have found no evidence of widespread fraud.

The rest of Biden's top public health advisors include Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who will run the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who will also be Biden's chief medical adviser on the virus; and Dr. Vivek Murthy, the former surgeon general, who will reprise that role under Biden.

US president-elect Joe Biden has laid out a plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic during his first 100 days in office -- according to which his first few months will likely be dominated by the pandemic, which is straining hospitals amid a nationwide resurgence.

US president-elect Joe Biden has laid out a plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic during his first 100 days in office -- according to which his first few months will likely be dominated by the pandemic, which is straining hospitals amid a nationwide resurgence. He has vowed his administration would vaccinate 100 million Americans. At a briefing in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, Biden said he needed Congress to fully fund delivering vaccines to all corners of the United States. Getting children back to school will be a national priority in the first 100 days, Biden said. "In 100 days, we can change the course of the disease and change life in America for the better," said Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20. "Whatever your politics or point of view, mask up for 100 days." The coronavirus has killed more than 283,000 Americans and caused millions to lose their jobs. Biden, who formally introduced his public health team on Tuesday, also announced he would nominate retired Army General Lloyd Austin as the country's first Black defence secretary. He also picked US Representative Marcia Fudge of Ohio to be the second Black woman to lead the Housing and Urban Development Department, and Tom Vilsack, the former agriculture secretary, to fill the same role again, according to news reports on Tuesday. Biden introduced California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Latino former congressman, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services. Becerra has a long record of supporting the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Jeff Zients, an economic adviser known for his managerial skills, will serve as Biden's coronavirus "czar," overseeing the pandemic response, including the vaccine distribution. "Help is on the way," Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said after Biden's new healthcare team members introduced themselves. "And it is long overdue." Trump has so far refused to concede his November 3 election defeat, citing unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. On Tuesday, Texas filed a lawsuit petitioning the US Supreme Court to throw out the results in four other states in a long-shot bid to help Trump reverse the election's outcome. The Trump campaign and allies have filed numerous lawsuits seeking to challenge vote counts in multiple states but have met with little success. State officials have said they have found no evidence of widespread fraud. The rest of Biden's top public health advisors include Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who will run the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who will also be Biden's chief medical adviser on the virus; and Dr. Vivek Murthy, the former surgeon general, who will reprise that role under Biden.

Biden vows 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations in his first 100 days in office

Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong&nbsp;on Wednesday lashed&nbsp;South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha who raised doubts over Pyongyang's claim that it has reported zero coronavirus cases.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said over the weekend that it's hard to believe North Korea's claim that there has been no virus outbreak on its soil. She added that the North has been unresponsive to South Korea's offer for cooperation to jointly tackle the pandemic.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/north-korea-kim-yo-jong-slams-seoul-over-questioning-zero-virus-claim-348570/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo Jong, responded in a statement carried by state media.

"It can be seen from the reckless remarks made by her without any consideration of the consequences that she is too eager to further chill the frozen relations between North and South Korea,"&nbsp;she said.

"Her real intention is very clear. We will never forget her words and she might have to pay dearly for it,"&nbsp;Kim said.

The remarks show how sensitive North Korea is to what it considers any outside attempt to tarnish its image as its guards against the pandemic and the economic fallout.

Despite its zero-virus case claim, North Korea's state media have repeatedly said there is a ''maximum emergency''&nbsp;anti-epidemic campaign in which it has closed its international borders, flown out diplomats, and isolated residents with suspected symptoms.

The North's border closure with China, its biggest trading partner, is wrecking its already fragile economy. The North has admitted it's facing multiple crises&nbsp;due to the pandemic, a spate of natural disasters last summer, and persistent US-led sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.

Experts have said a major disease outbreak in North Korea could cause a humanitarian disaster because of its fragile health care system.

South Korea’s foreign minister told a forum in Bahrain on Saturday that the pandemic had “made North Korea more North Korea — that is, more closed, very top-down decision-making process where there is very little debate on their measures in dealing with COVID-19”.

“They still say they do not have any cases, which is hard to believe,” Kang said. “So, all signs are the regime is very intensely focused on controlling the disease that they say they do not have.” Also this week, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is in Seoul for talks on North Korea and other issues.

South Korea's spy agency recently told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un had ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke Washington because it is worried about President-elect Joe Biden's expected new approach toward North Korea.

Some observers say North Korea could still do something provocative to try to draw Biden's attention and create the need to restart stalled nuclear talks in which it could win concessions.

Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong on Wednesday lashed South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha who raised doubts over Pyongyang's claim that it has reported zero coronavirus cases.

Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong on Wednesday lashed South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha who raised doubts over Pyongyang's claim that it has reported zero coronavirus cases. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said over the weekend that it's hard to believe North Korea's claim that there has been no virus outbreak on its soil. She added that the North has been unresponsive to South Korea's offer for cooperation to jointly tackle the pandemic. The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo Jong, responded in a statement carried by state media. "It can be seen from the reckless remarks made by her without any consideration of the consequences that she is too eager to further chill the frozen relations between North and South Korea," she said. "Her real intention is very clear. We will never forget her words and she might have to pay dearly for it," Kim said. The remarks show how sensitive North Korea is to what it considers any outside attempt to tarnish its image as its guards against the pandemic and the economic fallout. Despite its zero-virus case claim, North Korea's state media have repeatedly said there is a ''maximum emergency'' anti-epidemic campaign in which it has closed its international borders, flown out diplomats, and isolated residents with suspected symptoms. The North's border closure with China, its biggest trading partner, is wrecking its already fragile economy. The North has admitted it's facing multiple crises due to the pandemic, a spate of natural disasters last summer, and persistent US-led sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme. Experts have said a major disease outbreak in North Korea could cause a humanitarian disaster because of its fragile health care system. South Korea’s foreign minister told a forum in Bahrain on Saturday that the pandemic had “made North Korea more North Korea — that is, more closed, very top-down decision-making process where there is very little debate on their measures in dealing with COVID-19”. “They still say they do not have any cases, which is hard to believe,” Kang said. “So, all signs are the regime is very intensely focused on controlling the disease that they say they do not have.” Also this week, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is in Seoul for talks on North Korea and other issues. South Korea's spy agency recently told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un had ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke Washington because it is worried about President-elect Joe Biden's expected new approach toward North Korea. Some observers say North Korea could still do something provocative to try to draw Biden's attention and create the need to restart stalled nuclear talks in which it could win concessions.

Kim Jong-un's sister threatens South Korea's foreign minister for questioning zero-virus claim

Axios' report that US President-elect Joe Biden is considering Pete Buttigieg as his pick for Ambassador to China didn't take long to cross the Pacific.

Joe Biden considering China ambassadorship for former Mayor Buttigieg

President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear that his preferred method for dealing with Iran is to find a way back to the nuclear deal the Obama administration concluded in 2015, while bargaining for an extension to some of its key provisions.

“If Iran returns to strict compliance,” Biden wrote in a September op-ed for CNN, “the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.”

The Iranian regime, for its part, has made it clear that, in reaction to last month’s assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, it intends to ramp up its production of enriched uranium while threatening to expel international inspectors by early February if the United States doesn’t immediately lift sanctions.

The regime has also ruled out any extensions to the nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. “It will never be renegotiated,” said Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. “Period.”

There’s a way out of this impasse. The Biden administration should — and, more important, can — bide its time.

Tehran is desperate to have sanctions lifted. In 2016, after the nuclear deal had taken effect, it exported roughly 2.1 million barrels of crude oil a day. In 2020, after the Trump administration imposed sanctions, it exported less than a quarter of that. The inflation rate is running somewhere between 42% and 99%. Protests a year ago, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, led to massive street demonstrations calling for an end to the regime.

The regime’s response to its economic and political crises has been to up the stakes. It wagers that it can provoke a nuclear crisis and then stampede the new administration into giving up its immense economic leverage even before meaningful negotiations begin. Once the main sanctions are lifted, Tehran can concede things it never had a right to withdraw, such as U.N. access to its nuclear facilities under the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, while haggling for things it shouldn’t be allowed to get, such as the lifting of sanctions on an Iranian airline that supports the regime’s proxies.

But Tehran’s escalation is also a bluff. There’s a limit to how far it can go in provoking a nuclear crisis with the United States without risking a confrontation with an enemy that is much closer to home.

In the past six months, explosions in Iran have destroyed large parts of a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Natanz, a secretive military installation at Parchin, a power plant in Isfahan, a missile facility in Khojir and an underground military installation in Tehran, among other places. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, al-Qaida’s second-highest leader, was gunned down in August in the streets of Tehran. As for Fakhrizadeh, he was not the first Iranian nuclear scientist to meet a violent end and probably won’t be the last.

Nobody has taken responsibility for these attacks, but nobody is in much doubt about their source, either. They reveal an astonishing degree of penetration of the Iranian security complex. If Tehran tries to race toward nuclear breakout, it knows it will encounter a determined and effective challenge. There’s a limit to how far the regime can go with its provocations before those provocations become dangerous to the regime itself.

In short, Tehran’s negotiating position is weak and its options for escalation are limited. (Even its apparent attack last year on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while technically impressive, did little permanent damage to the kingdom while accelerating the recent Arab-Israeli rapprochement.) If disputed rumors of the 81-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ill health prove true, the country would experience its first transfer of real authority since 1989, another tumultuous event for an already unpopular regime.

Contrast this with the Biden administration, which will come into office holding four powerful cards — assuming it chooses to play them. First, it can credibly outsource effective deterrence to Israel without having to bear the immediate risks. Second, it can leverage the military, economic, intelligence and diplomatic resources of an increasingly united Israeli-Arab front. Third, it doesn’t have to impose new sanctions to cripple Iran’s economy. It merely has to enforce the ones already in place.

Finally, there is growing evidence that Iran has long been in breach of its past commitments by hiding hundreds of tons of nuclear equipment and material that should have been disclosed under the terms of the nuclear deal. The Biden administration and its European partners have a right and responsibility to insist that Tehran provide a full accounting of that material as the entry price of negotiations.

There is a road toward a credible and durable deal with Iran that can muster the kind of regional support and bipartisan buy-in the last one lacked. It’s a deal that forces the regime to choose between a nuclear program or a functioning economy, rather than getting both. A Biden administration that has the patience to see through Tehran’s bluster can be rewarded with a lasting diplomatic achievement that a future administration, unlike the last one, will not easily erase.

President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear that his preferred method for dealing with Iran is to find a way back to the nuclear deal the Obama administration concluded in 2015, while bargaining for an extension to some of its key provisions.

President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear that his preferred method for dealing with Iran is to find a way back to the nuclear deal the Obama administration concluded in 2015, while bargaining for an extension to some of its key provisions. “If Iran returns to strict compliance,” Biden wrote in a September op-ed for CNN, “the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.” The Iranian regime, for its part, has made it clear that, in reaction to last month’s assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, it intends to ramp up its production of enriched uranium while threatening to expel international inspectors by early February if the United States doesn’t immediately lift sanctions. The regime has also ruled out any extensions to the nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. “It will never be renegotiated,” said Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. “Period.” There’s a way out of this impasse. The Biden administration should — and, more important, can — bide its time. Tehran is desperate to have sanctions lifted. In 2016, after the nuclear deal had taken effect, it exported roughly 2.1 million barrels of crude oil a day. In 2020, after the Trump administration imposed sanctions, it exported less than a quarter of that. The inflation rate is running somewhere between 42% and 99%. Protests a year ago, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, led to massive street demonstrations calling for an end to the regime. The regime’s response to its economic and political crises has been to up the stakes. It wagers that it can provoke a nuclear crisis and then stampede the new administration into giving up its immense economic leverage even before meaningful negotiations begin. Once the main sanctions are lifted, Tehran can concede things it never had a right to withdraw, such as U.N. access to its nuclear facilities under the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, while haggling for things it shouldn’t be allowed to get, such as the lifting of sanctions on an Iranian airline that supports the regime’s proxies. But Tehran’s escalation is also a bluff. There’s a limit to how far it can go in provoking a nuclear crisis with the United States without risking a confrontation with an enemy that is much closer to home. In the past six months, explosions in Iran have destroyed large parts of a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Natanz, a secretive military installation at Parchin, a power plant in Isfahan, a missile facility in Khojir and an underground military installation in Tehran, among other places. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, al-Qaida’s second-highest leader, was gunned down in August in the streets of Tehran. As for Fakhrizadeh, he was not the first Iranian nuclear scientist to meet a violent end and probably won’t be the last. Nobody has taken responsibility for these attacks, but nobody is in much doubt about their source, either. They reveal an astonishing degree of penetration of the Iranian security complex. If Tehran tries to race toward nuclear breakout, it knows it will encounter a determined and effective challenge. There’s a limit to how far the regime can go with its provocations before those provocations become dangerous to the regime itself. In short, Tehran’s negotiating position is weak and its options for escalation are limited. (Even its apparent attack last year on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while technically impressive, did little permanent damage to the kingdom while accelerating the recent Arab-Israeli rapprochement.) If disputed rumors of the 81-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ill health prove true, the country would experience its first transfer of real authority since 1989, another tumultuous event for an already unpopular regime. Contrast this with the Biden administration, which will come into office holding four powerful cards — assuming it chooses to play them. First, it can credibly outsource effective deterrence to Israel without having to bear the immediate risks. Second, it can leverage the military, economic, intelligence and diplomatic resources of an increasingly united Israeli-Arab front. Third, it doesn’t have to impose new sanctions to cripple Iran’s economy. It merely has to enforce the ones already in place. Finally, there is growing evidence that Iran has long been in breach of its past commitments by hiding hundreds of tons of nuclear equipment and material that should have been disclosed under the terms of the nuclear deal. The Biden administration and its European partners have a right and responsibility to insist that Tehran provide a full accounting of that material as the entry price of negotiations. There is a road toward a credible and durable deal with Iran that can muster the kind of regional support and bipartisan buy-in the last one lacked. It’s a deal that forces the regime to choose between a nuclear program or a functioning economy, rather than getting both. A Biden administration that has the patience to see through Tehran’s bluster can be rewarded with a lasting diplomatic achievement that a future administration, unlike the last one, will not easily erase.

On Iran, Biden can bide his time

WASHINGTON — One president all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a “medical miracle” and congratulating himself for doing what “nobody has ever seen before.” The next president declared the pandemic deadlier than ever, calling it a “mass casualty” event that is leaving “a gaping hole” in America with more misery to come.

“We’re here to discuss a monumental national achievement,” President Donald Trump boasted on one screen. “From the instant the coronavirus invaded our shores, we raced into action.”

“We’re in a very dark winter,” President-elect Joe Biden said minutes later in his own speech on another screen. “Things may well get worse before they get better.”

Rarely has there been a single hour on a single day that saw such discordant messages emanating from Washington in a time of national crisis. In the middle of a transition of power that has already proved more unsettling than any in more than a century, the departing and incoming presidents on Tuesday offered the American people vastly divergent assessments of the state of their union.

The split-screen speeches beamed from the White House and the headquarters of the next administration in Wilmington, Delaware, could hardly have underscored the differences between the 45th and 46th presidents more starkly. Trump offered told-you-so triumphalism as he bragged about the “incredible,” “amazing” and “unprecedented” development of vaccines for the coronavirus. Biden projected feel-your-pain empathy, urged resisters to wear masks and warned that “this mess” would not end quickly.

At Trump’s event, dozens of officials and guests crowded into an auditorium, most of them wearing masks, which is a change for this White House. But they were still not socially distant. The president himself, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, wore no mask as 15 members of his team gathered behind him for the signing of an executive order meant to prioritize the vaccine for Americans over people in other nations.

At Biden’s event, where he formally announced his top health care nominees and advisers, only a handful of people were present, all masked and sitting far apart. Some of those whose appointments he announced beamed in their remarks remotely. Shortly before the event, the Biden team made its regular announcement that the president-elect had once again tested negative for the virus.

The contrast comes at a perilous moment for the United States as coronavirus cases keep rising to new peaks, hospitals are overwhelmed with sick patients and the number of virus deaths is spiking. The new vaccines developed on Trump’s watch may be approved within days. But only health care workers and the most vulnerable Americans will get inoculated in the short term, and most Americans will likely not get access to lifesaving shots until spring.

The American tradition of one president at a time during the 10-week period between election and inauguration days has fallen by the wayside as Biden seeks to assert moral leadership even without the instruments of power. Trump spreads evermore outlandish claims about an invented conspiracy to steal the election and evermore desperate efforts to overturn the will of the people.

More than 53,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the United States since the Nov. 3 election, and at the current rate 97,000 more could die by Jan. 20 when Biden takes over — roughly the equivalent of every man, woman and child living in Albany, New York, or Dearborn, Michigan, or Erie, Pennsylvania.

But Trump, who repeatedly claimed during the campaign that the pandemic was “rounding the corner,” has shown almost no interest in talking about it since then. Nor has he offered any guidance to Americans about how to protect themselves beyond trumpeting the new vaccines.

“People that aren’t necessarily big fans of Donald Trump are saying whether you like him or not, this is one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern-day medicine or any other medicine, any other age of medicine,” Trump said during his “Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit” on Tuesday.

Intent on claiming credit and disproving his critics, the White House played a videotape mashing together clips of pundits and doctors — including Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of Trump’s own coronavirus task force — cautioning against expecting fast action on a vaccine. The tape did not note that many experts warned that any vaccine would not be widely available until next spring, which is the timetable now envisioned, nor did it show Trump promising as far back as March that a vaccine would be available almost immediately, which it was not.

But Trump was correct that with his administration prodding Operation Warp Speed, the vaccine was developed faster than any has been produced before in medical history. It represents a major breakthrough that should change the course of the pandemic, even if not as quickly as the president has previously claimed.

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.)

“Nobody thought it was even remotely possible to do what we’ve done in a period of less than nine months,” Trump said. “And we took a lot of heat when we said this is our goal.”

Now, he said, “we want to just get back to normal, get back to where we were a little more than nine months ago, when we were doing incredibly, and in many respects, we are still doing incredibly, with our stock markets and everything else, which are hitting all new highs.”

The new highs he did not want to talk about were the coronavirus cases. When a reporter asked about the message to Americans as they wait for the vaccines to become available, Trump brushed it off, noting that protocols devised by public health experts “are very important guidelines” before quickly pivoting back to the vaccines. “The vaccine was our goal,” he said. “That was No. 1 because that was the way it ends.”

He likewise dismissed concerns about Christmas parties that he has been hosting in recent days at the White House with crowds far larger than public health guidelines dictate. “Well, they’re Christmas parties and frankly, we’ve reduced the number very substantially as you know,” he said. “And I see a lot of people at the parties wearing masks.”

(END OPTIONAL TRIM.)

From his own stage in Wilmington, Biden presented the situation quite differently, painting a grim picture of grief and suffering. He noted that last week the coronavirus was the No. 1 cause of death in the United States and that Black, Hispanic and Native American people were dying in far greater numbers proportionately.

Unlike Trump, who made no mention of the victims of the pandemic, Biden addressed them directly. “For families and friends left behind, there’s a gaping hole in your heart that will never be fully healed,” he said. “As a country, we’ve been living with this pandemic for so long, we’re at risk of becoming numb to its toll on all of us. You know, we’re resigned to feel that there’s nothing we can do, that we can’t trust one another, that we must accept death, pain and sorrow.”

Biden said that he would “credit everyone” involved in developing the vaccine without mentioning Trump, but said that “developing a vaccine is only one herculean task.” He also expressed concern that under the Trump administration plan, vaccinations would stall after the initial doses are administered unless Congress approves more money.

Waiting for a shot, however, is not enough, he said. He vowed to require mask wearing on federal property and on interstate planes, trains and buses while encouraging Americans in other settings to also cover their faces at least for the first 100 days of his presidency to break the back of the outbreak.

“We need your help,” he said. “Wear a mask for just 100 days. It’s the easiest thing you can do to reduce COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Help yourself, your family and your community. Whatever your politics or point of view, mask up for 100 days once we take office, 100 days to make a difference. It’s not a political statement. It’s a patriotic act.”

But as he faces the prospect of taking over a country afflicted by disease, he sought to leaven his grim message with hope, promising to channel hardship into commitment for action. “Out of our collective pain,” he said, “we’re going to find collective purpose, to control the pandemic, to save lives and to heal as a nation.”

WASHINGTON — One president all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a “medical miracle” and congratulating himself for doing what “nobody has ever seen before.

WASHINGTON — One president all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a “medical miracle” and congratulating himself for doing what “nobody has ever seen before.” The next president declared the pandemic deadlier than ever, calling it a “mass casualty” event that is leaving “a gaping hole” in America with more misery to come. “We’re here to discuss a monumental national achievement,” President Donald Trump boasted on one screen. “From the instant the coronavirus invaded our shores, we raced into action.” “We’re in a very dark winter,” President-elect Joe Biden said minutes later in his own speech on another screen. “Things may well get worse before they get better.” Rarely has there been a single hour on a single day that saw such discordant messages emanating from Washington in a time of national crisis. In the middle of a transition of power that has already proved more unsettling than any in more than a century, the departing and incoming presidents on Tuesday offered the American people vastly divergent assessments of the state of their union. The split-screen speeches beamed from the White House and the headquarters of the next administration in Wilmington, Delaware, could hardly have underscored the differences between the 45th and 46th presidents more starkly. Trump offered told-you-so triumphalism as he bragged about the “incredible,” “amazing” and “unprecedented” development of vaccines for the coronavirus. Biden projected feel-your-pain empathy, urged resisters to wear masks and warned that “this mess” would not end quickly. At Trump’s event, dozens of officials and guests crowded into an auditorium, most of them wearing masks, which is a change for this White House. But they were still not socially distant. The president himself, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, wore no mask as 15 members of his team gathered behind him for the signing of an executive order meant to prioritize the vaccine for Americans over people in other nations. At Biden’s event, where he formally announced his top health care nominees and advisers, only a handful of people were present, all masked and sitting far apart. Some of those whose appointments he announced beamed in their remarks remotely. Shortly before the event, the Biden team made its regular announcement that the president-elect had once again tested negative for the virus. The contrast comes at a perilous moment for the United States as coronavirus cases keep rising to new peaks, hospitals are overwhelmed with sick patients and the number of virus deaths is spiking. The new vaccines developed on Trump’s watch may be approved within days. But only health care workers and the most vulnerable Americans will get inoculated in the short term, and most Americans will likely not get access to lifesaving shots until spring. The American tradition of one president at a time during the 10-week period between election and inauguration days has fallen by the wayside as Biden seeks to assert moral leadership even without the instruments of power. Trump spreads evermore outlandish claims about an invented conspiracy to steal the election and evermore desperate efforts to overturn the will of the people. More than 53,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the United States since the Nov. 3 election, and at the current rate 97,000 more could die by Jan. 20 when Biden takes over — roughly the equivalent of every man, woman and child living in Albany, New York, or Dearborn, Michigan, or Erie, Pennsylvania. But Trump, who repeatedly claimed during the campaign that the pandemic was “rounding the corner,” has shown almost no interest in talking about it since then. Nor has he offered any guidance to Americans about how to protect themselves beyond trumpeting the new vaccines. “People that aren’t necessarily big fans of Donald Trump are saying whether you like him or not, this is one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern-day medicine or any other medicine, any other age of medicine,” Trump said during his “Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit” on Tuesday. Intent on claiming credit and disproving his critics, the White House played a videotape mashing together clips of pundits and doctors — including Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of Trump’s own coronavirus task force — cautioning against expecting fast action on a vaccine. The tape did not note that many experts warned that any vaccine would not be widely available until next spring, which is the timetable now envisioned, nor did it show Trump promising as far back as March that a vaccine would be available almost immediately, which it was not. But Trump was correct that with his administration prodding Operation Warp Speed, the vaccine was developed faster than any has been produced before in medical history. It represents a major breakthrough that should change the course of the pandemic, even if not as quickly as the president has previously claimed. (BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.) “Nobody thought it was even remotely possible to do what we’ve done in a period of less than nine months,” Trump said. “And we took a lot of heat when we said this is our goal.” Now, he said, “we want to just get back to normal, get back to where we were a little more than nine months ago, when we were doing incredibly, and in many respects, we are still doing incredibly, with our stock markets and everything else, which are hitting all new highs.” The new highs he did not want to talk about were the coronavirus cases. When a reporter asked about the message to Americans as they wait for the vaccines to become available, Trump brushed it off, noting that protocols devised by public health experts “are very important guidelines” before quickly pivoting back to the vaccines. “The vaccine was our goal,” he said. “That was No. 1 because that was the way it ends.” He likewise dismissed concerns about Christmas parties that he has been hosting in recent days at the White House with crowds far larger than public health guidelines dictate. “Well, they’re Christmas parties and frankly, we’ve reduced the number very substantially as you know,” he said. “And I see a lot of people at the parties wearing masks.” (END OPTIONAL TRIM.) From his own stage in Wilmington, Biden presented the situation quite differently, painting a grim picture of grief and suffering. He noted that last week the coronavirus was the No. 1 cause of death in the United States and that Black, Hispanic and Native American people were dying in far greater numbers proportionately. Unlike Trump, who made no mention of the victims of the pandemic, Biden addressed them directly. “For families and friends left behind, there’s a gaping hole in your heart that will never be fully healed,” he said. “As a country, we’ve been living with this pandemic for so long, we’re at risk of becoming numb to its toll on all of us. You know, we’re resigned to feel that there’s nothing we can do, that we can’t trust one another, that we must accept death, pain and sorrow.” Biden said that he would “credit everyone” involved in developing the vaccine without mentioning Trump, but said that “developing a vaccine is only one herculean task.” He also expressed concern that under the Trump administration plan, vaccinations would stall after the initial doses are administered unless Congress approves more money. Waiting for a shot, however, is not enough, he said. He vowed to require mask wearing on federal property and on interstate planes, trains and buses while encouraging Americans in other settings to also cover their faces at least for the first 100 days of his presidency to break the back of the outbreak. “We need your help,” he said. “Wear a mask for just 100 days. It’s the easiest thing you can do to reduce COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Help yourself, your family and your community. Whatever your politics or point of view, mask up for 100 days once we take office, 100 days to make a difference. It’s not a political statement. It’s a patriotic act.” But as he faces the prospect of taking over a country afflicted by disease, he sought to leaven his grim message with hope, promising to channel hardship into commitment for action. “Out of our collective pain,” he said, “we’re going to find collective purpose, to control the pandemic, to save lives and to heal as a nation.”

Two presidents, two messages, one killer virus

The US Supreme Court denied a last-minute attempt by President Donald Trump’s allies to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania, a blow to the president’s continuing efforts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Scotus denies Trump allies' attempt to overturn results

US President-elect Joe Biden has selected Xavier Becerra, the Democratic attorney general of California, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services.

Biden picks Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services

As a part of adding to his cabinet, the US President-elect <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> has appointed Lloyd Austin as the first African-American secretary of defense of the US.

Austin led the US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and was chosen as the US Central Command later. The 67-year-old is now retired but has served the US as a four-star army general in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Have a look|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/new-residents-white-house-starts-preparing-for-joe-bidens-inauguration-347910" hreflang="en">New residents: White House starts preparing for Joe Biden's inauguration</a>

Some believe he was able to beat&nbsp;the former under-secretary of defense Michele Flournoy for the post simply because of the mounting pressure on Biden for electing more minorities for the positions in his cabinet.

Biden had also promised to promote gender equality in his campaign, and living up to it, he elected US' first all-women senior communication team. Ither than that, from his Vice President-elect to several other key positions, Biden has chosen women to fill the existing gender gap in the White House.

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On Monday it was also reported by the US media that Biden has elected&nbsp;a 62-year-old former congressman and California Attorney General <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-selects-xavier-becerra-as-health-secretary-to-battle-covid-19-348128">Xavier Becerra</a> for secretary of health and human services. Becerra will be handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as soon as he joins the cabinet.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-wouldnt-demand-it-be-mandatory-biden-on-vaccine-347715" hreflang="en">I wouldn't demand it be mandatory: Biden on vaccine</a>

"Biden is living up to his commitment to make the cabinet a reflection of the diversity," said Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach, California, and a longtime ally of Becerra and Biden.

Garcia said Becerra "has a strong record on healthcare but I think it goes beyond that. The president-elect selected someone with the highest levels of integrity and intellect."

As a part of adding to his cabinet, the US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Lloyd Austin as the first African-American secretary of defense of the US. Austin led the US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and was chosen as the US Central Command later.

As a part of adding to his cabinet, the US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Lloyd Austin as the first African-American secretary of defense of the US. Austin led the US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and was chosen as the US Central Command later. The 67-year-old is now retired but has served the US as a four-star army general in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Have a look| New residents: White House starts preparing for Joe Biden's inauguration Some believe he was able to beat the former under-secretary of defense Michele Flournoy for the post simply because of the mounting pressure on Biden for electing more minorities for the positions in his cabinet. Biden had also promised to promote gender equality in his campaign, and living up to it, he elected US' first all-women senior communication team. Ither than that, from his Vice President-elect to several other key positions, Biden has chosen women to fill the existing gender gap in the White House. × On Monday it was also reported by the US media that Biden has elected a 62-year-old former congressman and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for secretary of health and human services. Becerra will be handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as soon as he joins the cabinet. Also read| I wouldn't demand it be mandatory: Biden on vaccine "Biden is living up to his commitment to make the cabinet a reflection of the diversity," said Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach, California, and a longtime ally of Becerra and Biden. Garcia said Becerra "has a strong record on healthcare but I think it goes beyond that. The president-elect selected someone with the highest levels of integrity and intellect."

Joe Biden appoints first African-American secretary of defense of US

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled an executive order prohibiting US&nbsp;investments in Chinese companies that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the US&nbsp;election.

The order, which was first reported by Reuters, could impact some of China's biggest companies, including China Telecom Corp Ltd, China Mobile Ltd,&nbsp;and surveillance equipment maker Hikvision&nbsp;

The move is designed to deter US&nbsp;investment firms, pension funds, and others from buying shares of 31 Chinese companies that were designated by the Defense Department as backed by the Chinese military earlier this year.

Starting Jan. 11, the order will prohibit purchases by US&nbsp;investors of the securities of those companies. Transactions made to divest ownership in the companies will be permitted until Nov. 11, 2021.

"China is increasingly exploiting United States capital to resource and to enable the development and modernization of its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses," said the order released by the White House.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a stock exchange filing, China Telecom said it estimated the executive order might impact the price of its shares, which closed down 7.8% in Hong Kong on Friday, and American depository shares, adding that it would "closely monitor" developments.

Another telecom operator, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, said companies affected by the order would include its parent, China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd.

China Unicom also said in its filing, it expected an impact on its shares, which fell 6.7% on Friday, and American depository shares, adding it was "considering appropriate steps to protect its and its investors' lawful rights".

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro estimated that at least half a trillion dollars in market capitalization was represented by the Chinese companies and their subsidiaries.

"This is a sweeping order designed to choke off American capital to China's militarization," he told reporters on a call.

The move is the first major policy initiative by President Donald Trump since losing the Nov. 3 election to Democratic rival Joe Biden and indicates that he is seeking to take advantage of the waning months of his administration to crack down on China, even as he has appeared laser-focused on challenging the election result.

Biden has won enough battleground states to surpass the 270 electoral votes needed in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the next president, but Republican Trump has so far refused to concede, citing unsubstantiated claims of voting fraud.

Thursday's action is likely to further weigh on already fraught ties between the world's top two economies, which are at loggerheads over China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its move to impose security legislation on Hong Kong.

Biden has not laid out a detailed China strategy but all the indications are that he will continue a tough approach to Beijing, with whom Trump has become increasingly confrontational in his last year in office.

WALL STREET INTERESTS

The order echoes a bill filed by Republican senator Marco Rubio last month that sought to block access to U.S. capital markets for Chinese companies that have been blacklisted by Washington, including those added to the Defense Department list.

"Today's action by the Trump administration is a welcome start to protecting our markets and investors," said Rubio, a top congressional China hawk. "We can never put the interests of the Chinese Communist Party and Wall Street above American workers and mom and pop investors."

His comments were echoed by Republican Congressman Jim Banks, who described the order as "one of the wisest and most significant foreign policy decisions President Trump has made since he entered office".

Rubio's bill and the order are part of a growing effort by Congress and the administration to thwart Chinese companies that have the backing of U.S. investors but do not comply with U.S. rules faced by American rivals. It also shows a new willingness to antagonize Wall Street in the rivalry with Beijing.

In August, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Treasury officials urged Trump to delist Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges and fail to meet its auditing requirements by January 2022.

Thursday's move received a cool reception on Wall Street, where shares were already pulling back from recent gains. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF &lt;FXI&gt; extended falls.

"The market is probably worried that President Trump is going to increase tensions with China and Iran in his last two months as president," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer of the Independent Advisor Alliance.

Still, it was unclear how investors would react. The order bans transactions, which it defined as "purchases," so investors would technically be able to hold onto current investments.

While the document does not spell out specific penalties for violations, it gives the Treasury Department the ability to invoke "all powers" granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which authorizes the use of tough sanctions.

Questions also remain about whether Biden, who is set to take office just nine days after the order goes into effect, would enforce it or simply revoke it. His campaign declined to comment.

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled an executive order prohibiting US investments in Chinese companies that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the US election.

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled an executive order prohibiting US investments in Chinese companies that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, ramping up pressure on Beijing after the US election. The order, which was first reported by Reuters, could impact some of China's biggest companies, including China Telecom Corp Ltd, China Mobile Ltd, and surveillance equipment maker Hikvision The move is designed to deter US investment firms, pension funds, and others from buying shares of 31 Chinese companies that were designated by the Defense Department as backed by the Chinese military earlier this year. Starting Jan. 11, the order will prohibit purchases by US investors of the securities of those companies. Transactions made to divest ownership in the companies will be permitted until Nov. 11, 2021. "China is increasingly exploiting United States capital to resource and to enable the development and modernization of its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses," said the order released by the White House. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a stock exchange filing, China Telecom said it estimated the executive order might impact the price of its shares, which closed down 7.8% in Hong Kong on Friday, and American depository shares, adding that it would "closely monitor" developments. Another telecom operator, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, said companies affected by the order would include its parent, China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd. China Unicom also said in its filing, it expected an impact on its shares, which fell 6.7% on Friday, and American depository shares, adding it was "considering appropriate steps to protect its and its investors' lawful rights". White House trade adviser Peter Navarro estimated that at least half a trillion dollars in market capitalization was represented by the Chinese companies and their subsidiaries. "This is a sweeping order designed to choke off American capital to China's militarization," he told reporters on a call. The move is the first major policy initiative by President Donald Trump since losing the Nov. 3 election to Democratic rival Joe Biden and indicates that he is seeking to take advantage of the waning months of his administration to crack down on China, even as he has appeared laser-focused on challenging the election result. Biden has won enough battleground states to surpass the 270 electoral votes needed in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the next president, but Republican Trump has so far refused to concede, citing unsubstantiated claims of voting fraud. Thursday's action is likely to further weigh on already fraught ties between the world's top two economies, which are at loggerheads over China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its move to impose security legislation on Hong Kong. Biden has not laid out a detailed China strategy but all the indications are that he will continue a tough approach to Beijing, with whom Trump has become increasingly confrontational in his last year in office. WALL STREET INTERESTS The order echoes a bill filed by Republican senator Marco Rubio last month that sought to block access to U.S. capital markets for Chinese companies that have been blacklisted by Washington, including those added to the Defense Department list. "Today's action by the Trump administration is a welcome start to protecting our markets and investors," said Rubio, a top congressional China hawk. "We can never put the interests of the Chinese Communist Party and Wall Street above American workers and mom and pop investors." His comments were echoed by Republican Congressman Jim Banks, who described the order as "one of the wisest and most significant foreign policy decisions President Trump has made since he entered office". Rubio's bill and the order are part of a growing effort by Congress and the administration to thwart Chinese companies that have the backing of U.S. investors but do not comply with U.S. rules faced by American rivals. It also shows a new willingness to antagonize Wall Street in the rivalry with Beijing. In August, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Treasury officials urged Trump to delist Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges and fail to meet its auditing requirements by January 2022. Thursday's move received a cool reception on Wall Street, where shares were already pulling back from recent gains. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF <FXI> extended falls. "The market is probably worried that President Trump is going to increase tensions with China and Iran in his last two months as president," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer of the Independent Advisor Alliance. Still, it was unclear how investors would react. The order bans transactions, which it defined as "purchases," so investors would technically be able to hold onto current investments. While the document does not spell out specific penalties for violations, it gives the Treasury Department the ability to invoke "all powers" granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which authorizes the use of tough sanctions. Questions also remain about whether Biden, who is set to take office just nine days after the order goes into effect, would enforce it or simply revoke it. His campaign declined to comment.

Trump bans US investments in companies linked to Chinese military

President-elect Joe Biden has selected the Democratic attorney general of California, Xavier Becerra, as the nominee for Health Secretary

Your Story: Joe Biden picks Xavier Becerra as health secretary to battle COVID-19

US&nbsp;President-elect Joe Biden will nominate California Attorney General Xavier&nbsp;Becerra&nbsp;for secretary of health and human services as soon as Monday, a source familiar with the decision said, as he builds up his team to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The choice of&nbsp;Becerra, 62, a Latino former congressman, comes as Biden faces more pressure to add diversity to his cabinet appointments, including complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the number of Latinos.

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Becerra&nbsp;will lead the health agency as officials struggle to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus, including record infections and a daily death toll that has exceeded 2,000 in recent days, and to prepare for a mammoth effort to vaccinate Americans against the virus.

If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a USD 1-trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans.

Biden's selection of Becerra was confirmed Sunday by two people familiar with the decision, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement anticipated Tuesday.

Biden's choice of&nbsp;Becerra&nbsp;gives him an administrator with a long record of supporting the Affordable Care Act - former President Barack Obama's key domestic policy achievement.

A former senior House Democrat, Becerra was involved in steering the Obama health law through Congress in 2009 and 2010.

Becerra&nbsp;played a key role in passing the landmark law during his time in Congress, and in his current role in California leads the coalition of 20 states defending the program better known as Obamacare, including in a case before the Supreme Court last month.

"Biden is living up to his commitment to make the cabinet a reflection of the diversity," said Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach, California, and a longtime ally of&nbsp;Becerra&nbsp;and Biden.

Garcia said&nbsp;Becerra&nbsp;"has a strong record on healthcare but I think it goes beyond that. The president-elect selected someone with the highest levels of integrity and intellect."

Biden is also expected to nominate Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, to run the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a different person familiar with hiring for the President-elect's health team said.

Biden already has asked Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Trump's coronavirus task force, to stay on as a chief medical adviser.

The former vice president also has named Jeff Zients, an economic adviser touted for his managerial skills, as a coronavirus "czar" to oversee an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies.

Biden picked Vivek Murthy, a physician, and former surgeon general who has gained prominence in recent months as co-chairman of Biden's advisory board dealing with the pandemic, to return for a second term as surgeon general.

Becerra&nbsp;served as a Democratic US&nbsp;representative from 1993 to 2017 before moving back to his home state to become attorney general. In that post, he succeeded Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

US President-elect Joe Biden will nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for secretary of health and human services as soon as Monday, a source familiar with the decision said, as he builds up his team to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

US President-elect Joe Biden will nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for secretary of health and human services as soon as Monday, a source familiar with the decision said, as he builds up his team to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The choice of Becerra, 62, a Latino former congressman, comes as Biden faces more pressure to add diversity to his cabinet appointments, including complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the number of Latinos. Becerra will lead the health agency as officials struggle to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus, including record infections and a daily death toll that has exceeded 2,000 in recent days, and to prepare for a mammoth effort to vaccinate Americans against the virus. If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a USD 1-trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans. Biden's selection of Becerra was confirmed Sunday by two people familiar with the decision, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement anticipated Tuesday. Biden's choice of Becerra gives him an administrator with a long record of supporting the Affordable Care Act - former President Barack Obama's key domestic policy achievement. A former senior House Democrat, Becerra was involved in steering the Obama health law through Congress in 2009 and 2010. Becerra played a key role in passing the landmark law during his time in Congress, and in his current role in California leads the coalition of 20 states defending the program better known as Obamacare, including in a case before the Supreme Court last month. "Biden is living up to his commitment to make the cabinet a reflection of the diversity," said Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach, California, and a longtime ally of Becerra and Biden. Garcia said Becerra "has a strong record on healthcare but I think it goes beyond that. The president-elect selected someone with the highest levels of integrity and intellect." Biden is also expected to nominate Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, to run the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a different person familiar with hiring for the President-elect's health team said. Biden already has asked Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Trump's coronavirus task force, to stay on as a chief medical adviser. The former vice president also has named Jeff Zients, an economic adviser touted for his managerial skills, as a coronavirus "czar" to oversee an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies. Biden picked Vivek Murthy, a physician, and former surgeon general who has gained prominence in recent months as co-chairman of Biden's advisory board dealing with the pandemic, to return for a second term as surgeon general. Becerra served as a Democratic US representative from 1993 to 2017 before moving back to his home state to become attorney general. In that post, he succeeded Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Joe Biden selects Xavier Becerra as health secretary to battle COVID-19

Last April, when Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, told me that the former vice president’s team planned to use feel-good videos and inspirational memes to beat President Donald Trump in a “battle for the soul of the internet,” my first thought was, Good luck with that.

After all, we were talking about the internet, which doesn’t seem to reward anything uplifting or nuanced these days. In addition, Trump is a digital powerhouse, with an enormous and passionate following; a coalition of popular right-wing media outlets boosting his signal; and a flair for saying the kinds of outrageous, attention-grabbing things that are catnip to the algorithms of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. And after I wrote about Biden’s comparatively tiny internet presence last spring, I heard from legions of nervous Democratic strategists who worried that using “heal the nation” messaging against the MAGA meme army was like bringing a pinwheel to a prizefight.

But in the end, the bed-wetters were wrong. Biden won, and despite having many fewer followers and much less engagement on social media than Trump, his campaign raised record amounts of money and ultimately neutralized Trump’s vaunted “Death Star” — the name his erstwhile campaign manager, Brad Parscale, gave to the campaign’s digital operation.

Figuring out whether any particular online strategy decisively moved the needle for Biden is probably impossible. Offline factors, such as Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic and the economic devastation it has caused, undoubtedly played a major role. But since successful campaigns breed imitators, it’s worth looking under the hood of the Biden digital strategy to see what future campaigns might learn from it.

After the election, I spoke with Flaherty, along with more than a dozen other people who worked on the Biden digital team. They told me that while the internet alone didn’t get Biden elected, a few key decisions helped his chances.

1. Lean on Influencers and Validators

In the early days of his campaign, Biden’s team envisioned setting up its own digital media empire. It posted videos to his official YouTube channel, conducted virtual forums and even set up a podcast hosted by Biden, “Here’s the Deal.” But those efforts were marred by technical glitches and lukewarm receptions, and they never came close to rivaling the reach of Trump’s social media machine.

So the campaign pivoted to a different strategy, which involved expanding Biden’s reach by working with social media influencers and “validators,” people who were trusted by the kinds of voters the campaign hoped to reach.

“We were not the biggest megaphone compared to Trump, so we had to help arm any who were,” said Andrew Bleeker, president of Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic strategy firm that worked with the Biden campaign.

One validator at the top of the team’s list was Brené Brown, a popular author and podcast host who speaks and writes about topics like courage and vulnerability. Brown has a devoted following among suburban women — a critical demographic for Biden’s campaign — and when Biden appeared as a guest on her podcast to talk about his own stories of grief and empathy, the campaign viewed it as a coup.

Also high on the list was actor Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, whose following skews center-right and male. Johnson’s endorsement this fall of Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, created a so-called permission structure for his followers — including some who may have voted for Trump in 2016 — to support Biden, members of the campaign staff told me.

Celebrity endorsements aren’t a new campaign strategy. But Biden’s team also worked with lesser-known influencers, including YouTubers like Liza Koshy, and struck a partnership with a group of creators known as TikTok for Biden, which the campaign paid to promote pro-Biden content on the teen-dominated video app TikTok.

Perhaps the campaign’s most unlikely validator was Fox News. Headlines from the outlet that reflected well on Biden were relatively rare, but the campaign’s tests showed that they were more persuasive to on-the-fence voters than headlines from other outlets. So when they appeared — as they did in October when Fox News covered an endorsement that Biden received from more than 120 Republican former national security and military officials — the campaign paid to promote them on Facebook and other platforms.

“The headlines from the sources that were the most surprising were the ones that had the most impact,” said Rebecca Rinkevich, Biden’s digital rapid response director. “When people saw a Fox News headline endorsing Joe Biden, it made them stop scrolling and think.”

2. Tune Out Twitter and Focus on ‘Facebook Moms’

A frequent criticism of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign was that it was too focused on appealing to the elite, high-information crowd on Twitter instead of paying attention to the much larger group of voters who get their news and information on Facebook. In 2020, Biden’s digital team was committed to avoiding a repeat.

“The whole Biden campaign ethos was, ‘Twitter isn’t real life,’” Flaherty said. “There are risks of running a campaign that is too hyperaware of your own ideological corner.”

As it focused on Facebook, the Biden campaign paid extra attention to “Facebook moms” — women who spend a lot of time sharing cute and uplifting content, and who the campaign believed could be persuaded to vote for Biden with positive messages about his character. Its target audience, Flaherty said, was women “who would go out and share a video of troops coming home or who would follow The Dodo,” a website known for heartwarming animal videos.

One successful clip aimed at this group showed Biden giving his American flag lapel pin to a young boy at a campaign stop. Another video showed Biden, who has talked about overcoming a stutter in his youth, meeting Brayden Harrington, a 13-year-old boy with one. Both were viewed millions of times.

Voters also responded positively to videos in which Biden showed his command of foreign policy. In January, after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the campaign posted a three-minute Facebook video of Biden explaining the situation. Despite the snoozy title — “Joe Biden Discusses Donald Trump’s Recent Actions in the Middle East” — the video became one of the campaign’s earliest viral successes.

The campaign experimented with lighter fare, putting virtual Biden for President lawn signs in Animal Crossing, the hit Nintendo game, and setting up a custom “Build Back Better” map in Fortnite, the popular battle royale game, in hopes of reaching younger voters. Some of these efforts were more gimmicky than others. But they all reflected the campaign’s decision to take a pro-Biden message to as many corners of the internet as possible.

“Our goal was really to meet people where they were,” said Christian Tom, head of Biden’s digital partnerships team.

3. Build a Facebook Brain Trust

One of the campaign’s goals, Biden staff members told me, was promoting content that increased “social trust” — in other words, avoiding the kind of energizing, divisive fare that Trump has used to great effect.

But Biden’s digital strategy wasn’t all puppies and rainbows. The campaign also joined ranks with a number of popular left-wing Facebook pages, many of which are known for putting out aggressive anti-Trump content.

They called this group the “Rebel Alliance,” a jokey nod to Parscale’s “Death Star,” and it eventually grew to include the proprietors of pages like Occupy Democrats, Call to Activism, The Other 98 Percent and Being Liberal. On the messaging app Signal, the page owners formed a group text that became a kind of rapid-response brain trust for the campaign.

“I had the freedom to go for the jugular,” said Rafael Rivero, a co-founder of Occupy Democrats and Ridin’ With Biden, another big pro-Biden Facebook page.

Rivero, who was paid by the Biden campaign as a consultant, told me that in addition to cross-posting its content on Occupy Democrats, he often offered the campaign advice based on what was performing well on his pages.

During the Republican National Convention, for example, Rivero noticed that a meme posted by Ridin’ With Biden about Trump’s comments on Medicare and Social Security was going viral. He notified the rest of the Rebel Alliance group and recommended that the campaign borrow the message for Biden’s official Twitter account.

“It was sort of a big, distributed message test,” Flaherty said of the Rebel Alliance. “If it was popping through Occupy or any of our other partners, we knew there was heat there.”

These left-wing pages gave the campaign a bigger Facebook audience than it could have reached on its own. But they also allowed Biden to keep most of his messaging positive while still tapping into the anger and outrage many Democratic voters felt.

4. Promote ‘Small-Batch Creators,’ Not Just Slick Commercials

In its internal tests, the Biden campaign found that traditional political ads — professionally produced, slick-looking 30-second spots — were far less effective than impromptu, behind-the-scenes footage and ads that featured regular voters talking directly into their smartphones or webcams about why they were voting for Biden.

“All our testing showed that higher production value was not better,” said Nathaniel Lubin, a Biden campaign consultant. “The things that were realer, more grainy and cheaper to produce were more credible.”

So the campaign commissioned a series of simple, lo-fi ads targeted at key groups of voters, like a series of self-recorded videos by Biden supporters who didn’t vote in 2016, talking about their regrets.

In addition to hiring traditional Democratic ad firms, the campaign also teamed up with what it called “small-batch creators” — lesser-known producers and digital creators, some of whom had little experience making political ads. Among the small-batch creators it hired: Scotty Wagner, a former art school professor from California, who produced a video about young people who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary sharing things they didn’t know about Biden, and Jawanza Tucker, a TikTok creator, who made a video styled after a TikTok meme about why he was voting for Biden.

5. Fight Misinformation, but Pick Your Battles

One of the biggest obstacles the Biden campaign faced was a tsunami of misinformation, much of it amplified by the Trump campaign and its right-wing media allies. There were baseless rumors about Biden’s health, unfounded questions about Harris' citizenship and spurious claims about the business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter.

The campaign formed an in-house effort to combat these rumors, known as the “Malarkey Factory.” But it picked its battles carefully, using data from voter testing to guide its responses.

When the Hunter Biden laptop story emerged, for example, some Democrats — worried that it would be 2020’s version of the Hillary Clinton email story — suggested that the Biden campaign should forcefully denounce it. But the campaign’s testing found that most voters in its key groups couldn’t follow the complexities of the allegations and that it wasn’t changing their opinion of Joe Biden.

“The Hunter Biden conversation was many times larger than the Hillary Clinton email conversation, but it really didn’t stick because people think Joe Biden’s a good guy,” said Bleeker of Bully Pulpit Interactive.

The campaign still responded to the reports, and Biden defended his son on the debate stage. But it stopped short of mounting a full-throated countermessaging campaign.

When it did respond to misinformation, the Biden team tried to address the root of the narrative. After right-wing influencers posted compilation videos of Biden stumbling over his words and appearing forgetful, the campaign surveyed voters to try to figure out whether the attempt to paint him as mentally unfit was resonating. It discovered that the real concern for many people wasn’t Biden’s age or his health, per se, but whether he was an easily manipulated tool of the radical left.

The Biden team identified the voters who were most likely to see those clips and ran a targeted digital ad campaign showing them videos of Biden speaking lucidly at debates and public events.

Flaherty, the campaign digital director, said the campaign’s focus on empathy had informed how it treated misinformation: not as a cynical Trump ploy that was swallowed by credulous dupes but as something that required listening to voters to understand their concerns and worries before fighting back. Ultimately, he said, the campaign’s entire digital strategy — the Malarkey Factory, the TikTok creators and Facebook moms, the Fortnite signs and small-batch creators — was about trying to reach a kinder, gentler version of the internet that it still believed existed.

“It was about, how do we throw the incentives of the internet for a bit of a loop?” he said. “We made a decision early that we were going to be authentically Joe Biden online, even when people were saying that was a trap.”

Last April, when Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, told me that the former vice president’s team planned to use feel-good videos and inspirational memes to beat President Donald Trump in a “battle for the soul of the internet,” my first thought was, Good luck with that.

Last April, when Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, told me that the former vice president’s team planned to use feel-good videos and inspirational memes to beat President Donald Trump in a “battle for the soul of the internet,” my first thought was, Good luck with that. After all, we were talking about the internet, which doesn’t seem to reward anything uplifting or nuanced these days. In addition, Trump is a digital powerhouse, with an enormous and passionate following; a coalition of popular right-wing media outlets boosting his signal; and a flair for saying the kinds of outrageous, attention-grabbing things that are catnip to the algorithms of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. And after I wrote about Biden’s comparatively tiny internet presence last spring, I heard from legions of nervous Democratic strategists who worried that using “heal the nation” messaging against the MAGA meme army was like bringing a pinwheel to a prizefight. But in the end, the bed-wetters were wrong. Biden won, and despite having many fewer followers and much less engagement on social media than Trump, his campaign raised record amounts of money and ultimately neutralized Trump’s vaunted “Death Star” — the name his erstwhile campaign manager, Brad Parscale, gave to the campaign’s digital operation. Figuring out whether any particular online strategy decisively moved the needle for Biden is probably impossible. Offline factors, such as Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic and the economic devastation it has caused, undoubtedly played a major role. But since successful campaigns breed imitators, it’s worth looking under the hood of the Biden digital strategy to see what future campaigns might learn from it. After the election, I spoke with Flaherty, along with more than a dozen other people who worked on the Biden digital team. They told me that while the internet alone didn’t get Biden elected, a few key decisions helped his chances. 1. Lean on Influencers and Validators In the early days of his campaign, Biden’s team envisioned setting up its own digital media empire. It posted videos to his official YouTube channel, conducted virtual forums and even set up a podcast hosted by Biden, “Here’s the Deal.” But those efforts were marred by technical glitches and lukewarm receptions, and they never came close to rivaling the reach of Trump’s social media machine. So the campaign pivoted to a different strategy, which involved expanding Biden’s reach by working with social media influencers and “validators,” people who were trusted by the kinds of voters the campaign hoped to reach. “We were not the biggest megaphone compared to Trump, so we had to help arm any who were,” said Andrew Bleeker, president of Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic strategy firm that worked with the Biden campaign. One validator at the top of the team’s list was Brené Brown, a popular author and podcast host who speaks and writes about topics like courage and vulnerability. Brown has a devoted following among suburban women — a critical demographic for Biden’s campaign — and when Biden appeared as a guest on her podcast to talk about his own stories of grief and empathy, the campaign viewed it as a coup. Also high on the list was actor Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, whose following skews center-right and male. Johnson’s endorsement this fall of Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, created a so-called permission structure for his followers — including some who may have voted for Trump in 2016 — to support Biden, members of the campaign staff told me. Celebrity endorsements aren’t a new campaign strategy. But Biden’s team also worked with lesser-known influencers, including YouTubers like Liza Koshy, and struck a partnership with a group of creators known as TikTok for Biden, which the campaign paid to promote pro-Biden content on the teen-dominated video app TikTok. Perhaps the campaign’s most unlikely validator was Fox News. Headlines from the outlet that reflected well on Biden were relatively rare, but the campaign’s tests showed that they were more persuasive to on-the-fence voters than headlines from other outlets. So when they appeared — as they did in October when Fox News covered an endorsement that Biden received from more than 120 Republican former national security and military officials — the campaign paid to promote them on Facebook and other platforms. “The headlines from the sources that were the most surprising were the ones that had the most impact,” said Rebecca Rinkevich, Biden’s digital rapid response director. “When people saw a Fox News headline endorsing Joe Biden, it made them stop scrolling and think.” 2. Tune Out Twitter and Focus on ‘Facebook Moms’ A frequent criticism of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign was that it was too focused on appealing to the elite, high-information crowd on Twitter instead of paying attention to the much larger group of voters who get their news and information on Facebook. In 2020, Biden’s digital team was committed to avoiding a repeat. “The whole Biden campaign ethos was, ‘Twitter isn’t real life,’” Flaherty said. “There are risks of running a campaign that is too hyperaware of your own ideological corner.” As it focused on Facebook, the Biden campaign paid extra attention to “Facebook moms” — women who spend a lot of time sharing cute and uplifting content, and who the campaign believed could be persuaded to vote for Biden with positive messages about his character. Its target audience, Flaherty said, was women “who would go out and share a video of troops coming home or who would follow The Dodo,” a website known for heartwarming animal videos. One successful clip aimed at this group showed Biden giving his American flag lapel pin to a young boy at a campaign stop. Another video showed Biden, who has talked about overcoming a stutter in his youth, meeting Brayden Harrington, a 13-year-old boy with one. Both were viewed millions of times. Voters also responded positively to videos in which Biden showed his command of foreign policy. In January, after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the campaign posted a three-minute Facebook video of Biden explaining the situation. Despite the snoozy title — “Joe Biden Discusses Donald Trump’s Recent Actions in the Middle East” — the video became one of the campaign’s earliest viral successes. The campaign experimented with lighter fare, putting virtual Biden for President lawn signs in Animal Crossing, the hit Nintendo game, and setting up a custom “Build Back Better” map in Fortnite, the popular battle royale game, in hopes of reaching younger voters. Some of these efforts were more gimmicky than others. But they all reflected the campaign’s decision to take a pro-Biden message to as many corners of the internet as possible. “Our goal was really to meet people where they were,” said Christian Tom, head of Biden’s digital partnerships team. 3. Build a Facebook Brain Trust One of the campaign’s goals, Biden staff members told me, was promoting content that increased “social trust” — in other words, avoiding the kind of energizing, divisive fare that Trump has used to great effect. But Biden’s digital strategy wasn’t all puppies and rainbows. The campaign also joined ranks with a number of popular left-wing Facebook pages, many of which are known for putting out aggressive anti-Trump content. They called this group the “Rebel Alliance,” a jokey nod to Parscale’s “Death Star,” and it eventually grew to include the proprietors of pages like Occupy Democrats, Call to Activism, The Other 98 Percent and Being Liberal. On the messaging app Signal, the page owners formed a group text that became a kind of rapid-response brain trust for the campaign. “I had the freedom to go for the jugular,” said Rafael Rivero, a co-founder of Occupy Democrats and Ridin’ With Biden, another big pro-Biden Facebook page. Rivero, who was paid by the Biden campaign as a consultant, told me that in addition to cross-posting its content on Occupy Democrats, he often offered the campaign advice based on what was performing well on his pages. During the Republican National Convention, for example, Rivero noticed that a meme posted by Ridin’ With Biden about Trump’s comments on Medicare and Social Security was going viral. He notified the rest of the Rebel Alliance group and recommended that the campaign borrow the message for Biden’s official Twitter account. “It was sort of a big, distributed message test,” Flaherty said of the Rebel Alliance. “If it was popping through Occupy or any of our other partners, we knew there was heat there.” These left-wing pages gave the campaign a bigger Facebook audience than it could have reached on its own. But they also allowed Biden to keep most of his messaging positive while still tapping into the anger and outrage many Democratic voters felt. 4. Promote ‘Small-Batch Creators,’ Not Just Slick Commercials In its internal tests, the Biden campaign found that traditional political ads — professionally produced, slick-looking 30-second spots — were far less effective than impromptu, behind-the-scenes footage and ads that featured regular voters talking directly into their smartphones or webcams about why they were voting for Biden. “All our testing showed that higher production value was not better,” said Nathaniel Lubin, a Biden campaign consultant. “The things that were realer, more grainy and cheaper to produce were more credible.” So the campaign commissioned a series of simple, lo-fi ads targeted at key groups of voters, like a series of self-recorded videos by Biden supporters who didn’t vote in 2016, talking about their regrets. In addition to hiring traditional Democratic ad firms, the campaign also teamed up with what it called “small-batch creators” — lesser-known producers and digital creators, some of whom had little experience making political ads. Among the small-batch creators it hired: Scotty Wagner, a former art school professor from California, who produced a video about young people who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary sharing things they didn’t know about Biden, and Jawanza Tucker, a TikTok creator, who made a video styled after a TikTok meme about why he was voting for Biden. 5. Fight Misinformation, but Pick Your Battles One of the biggest obstacles the Biden campaign faced was a tsunami of misinformation, much of it amplified by the Trump campaign and its right-wing media allies. There were baseless rumors about Biden’s health, unfounded questions about Harris' citizenship and spurious claims about the business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter. The campaign formed an in-house effort to combat these rumors, known as the “Malarkey Factory.” But it picked its battles carefully, using data from voter testing to guide its responses. When the Hunter Biden laptop story emerged, for example, some Democrats — worried that it would be 2020’s version of the Hillary Clinton email story — suggested that the Biden campaign should forcefully denounce it. But the campaign’s testing found that most voters in its key groups couldn’t follow the complexities of the allegations and that it wasn’t changing their opinion of Joe Biden. “The Hunter Biden conversation was many times larger than the Hillary Clinton email conversation, but it really didn’t stick because people think Joe Biden’s a good guy,” said Bleeker of Bully Pulpit Interactive. The campaign still responded to the reports, and Biden defended his son on the debate stage. But it stopped short of mounting a full-throated countermessaging campaign. When it did respond to misinformation, the Biden team tried to address the root of the narrative. After right-wing influencers posted compilation videos of Biden stumbling over his words and appearing forgetful, the campaign surveyed voters to try to figure out whether the attempt to paint him as mentally unfit was resonating. It discovered that the real concern for many people wasn’t Biden’s age or his health, per se, but whether he was an easily manipulated tool of the radical left. The Biden team identified the voters who were most likely to see those clips and ran a targeted digital ad campaign showing them videos of Biden speaking lucidly at debates and public events. Flaherty, the campaign digital director, said the campaign’s focus on empathy had informed how it treated misinformation: not as a cynical Trump ploy that was swallowed by credulous dupes but as something that required listening to voters to understand their concerns and worries before fighting back. Ultimately, he said, the campaign’s entire digital strategy — the Malarkey Factory, the TikTok creators and Facebook moms, the Fortnite signs and small-batch creators — was about trying to reach a kinder, gentler version of the internet that it still believed existed. “It was about, how do we throw the incentives of the internet for a bit of a loop?” he said. “We made a decision early that we were going to be authentically Joe Biden online, even when people were saying that was a trap.”

How Joe Biden’s digital team tamed the MAGA internet

Outgoing US president Donald Trump launched into another tirade of baseless claims at his first post-poll rally on Saturday.

At a rally in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump said the November 3 presidential vote was stolen from him, adding he would still end up winning.

"We're winning this election," Trump said.

"It's rigged. It's a fixed deal," he said of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Despite surging cases of Covid-19 nationwide, few masks could be seen at the rally and many in the crowd were not abiding by social-distancing measures.

Trump was campaigning in Georgia on behalf of two Republican Senate candidates facing a hugely important runoff on January 5. The runoff races will decide which party controls the US Senate, and Trump continued his fear-mongering about rival Democrats.

He was joined by first lady Melania Trump, who gave a short speech before the president's.

"The voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar," he said.&nbsp;

"Very simply, you will decide whether your children will grow up in a socialist country or whether they will grow up in a free country."

Trump yet again made it clear he was neither ready to concede to Biden nor give up on his claims of fraud -- even though they have been dismissed by a long line of courts.

Biden won Georgia by just under 12,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992 to win the Republican stronghold.

Outgoing US president Donald Trump launched into another tirade of baseless claims at his first post-poll rally on Saturday. At a rally in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump said the November 3 presidential vote was stolen from him, adding he would still end up winning.

Outgoing US president Donald Trump launched into another tirade of baseless claims at his first post-poll rally on Saturday. At a rally in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump said the November 3 presidential vote was stolen from him, adding he would still end up winning. "We're winning this election," Trump said. "It's rigged. It's a fixed deal," he said of President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Despite surging cases of Covid-19 nationwide, few masks could be seen at the rally and many in the crowd were not abiding by social-distancing measures. Trump was campaigning in Georgia on behalf of two Republican Senate candidates facing a hugely important runoff on January 5. The runoff races will decide which party controls the US Senate, and Trump continued his fear-mongering about rival Democrats. He was joined by first lady Melania Trump, who gave a short speech before the president's. "The voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar," he said. "Very simply, you will decide whether your children will grow up in a socialist country or whether they will grow up in a free country." Trump yet again made it clear he was neither ready to concede to Biden nor give up on his claims of fraud -- even though they have been dismissed by a long line of courts. Biden won Georgia by just under 12,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992 to win the Republican stronghold.

'We're winning this election': Trump at first post-poll rally

Pentagon on Sunday said that officials of its intelligence agencies will begin meeting members of US President-elect Joe Biden's transition team. Pentagon denied allegations that it was deliberately delaying commencement of the meetings. Washington Post has published a report on December 4 saying that Trump administration did not allow Biden's team to meet intelligence officials and US Defence Department "rejected" or "did not approve" requests for the meeting.

Pentagon released a statement and denied the allegations and said that it was fully cooperating with the President-elect's team.

“The accusation by anonymous sources that DoD has not been fulfilling its commitment to professionally assist any of the Agency Review Teams is demonstrably false and patently insulting,” said the statement.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/were-winning-this-election-trump-at-first-post-poll-rally-347807">'We're winning this election': Trump at first post-poll rally</a>

Donald Trump is yet to concede defeat in US Presidential Election 2020. He has continued levelling baseless charges of election fraud without presenting any evidence. In spite of suffering legal setbacks in number of courts in the US, Trump has chosen to repeat his allegations.

Even at his first post-poll rally in Georgia on Sunday (Indian Time) Trump said that he was <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/were-winning-this-election-trump-at-first-post-poll-rally-347807">going to win the presidential election</a>.

"We're winning this election," Trump said.

"It's rigged. It's a fixed deal," he said of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

In the immediate aftermath of the election results when it was amply clear that Biden had won, there was reluctance from Trump administration to co-operate in the transition process. It is a norm for the ourgoing administration to co-operate with the President-elect and his team so that power transfer takes place smoothly. 
&nbsp;

Pentagon on Sunday said that officials of its intelligence agencies will begin meeting members of US President-elect Joe Biden's transition team. Pentagon denied allegations that it was deliberately delaying commencement of the meetings.

Pentagon on Sunday said that officials of its intelligence agencies will begin meeting members of US President-elect Joe Biden's transition team. Pentagon denied allegations that it was deliberately delaying commencement of the meetings. Washington Post has published a report on December 4 saying that Trump administration did not allow Biden's team to meet intelligence officials and US Defence Department "rejected" or "did not approve" requests for the meeting. Pentagon released a statement and denied the allegations and said that it was fully cooperating with the President-elect's team. “The accusation by anonymous sources that DoD has not been fulfilling its commitment to professionally assist any of the Agency Review Teams is demonstrably false and patently insulting,” said the statement. Also Read | 'We're winning this election': Trump at first post-poll rally Donald Trump is yet to concede defeat in US Presidential Election 2020. He has continued levelling baseless charges of election fraud without presenting any evidence. In spite of suffering legal setbacks in number of courts in the US, Trump has chosen to repeat his allegations. Even at his first post-poll rally in Georgia on Sunday (Indian Time) Trump said that he was going to win the presidential election. "We're winning this election," Trump said. "It's rigged. It's a fixed deal," he said of President-elect Joe Biden's victory. In the immediate aftermath of the election results when it was amply clear that Biden had won, there was reluctance from Trump administration to co-operate in the transition process. It is a norm for the ourgoing administration to co-operate with the President-elect and his team so that power transfer takes place smoothly.

Pentagon spy agencies to meet Biden team after facing accusations of non-cooperation

There have been few surprises this past month in how Donald Trump has dealt with the reality of his electoral defeat.

Anyone familiar with his career could have predicted that he would claim to have been cheated out of victory. Anyone watching how he wielded power (or, more often, didn’t) as president could have predicted that his efforts to challenge the election results would be embarrassing, ridiculous and dismissed with prejudice in court. And anyone watching how the Republican Party dealt with his ascent could have predicted that its leaders would mostly avoid directly rebuking him, relying instead on the inertial forces of American democracy, the conscientiousness of judges and local officialdom, and Trump’s own incompetence to turn back his final power grab.

So far, so predictable. But speaking as a cynical observer of the Trump era, one feature of November did crack my jaded shell a bit: not his behavior or the system’s response, but the sheer scale of the belief among conservatives that the election was really stolen, measured not just in polling data but in conversations and arguments, online and in person, with people I would not have expected to embrace it.

The potency of this belief has already scrambled some of the conventional explanations for conspiratorial beliefs, particularly the conceit that the key problem is misinformation spreading downward from partisan news outlets and social media fraudsters to the easily deceived. As I watch the way certain fraud theories spread online, or watch conservatives abandon Fox News for Newsmax in search of validating narratives, it’s clear that this is about demand as much as supply. A strong belief spurs people to go out in search of evidence, a lot of so-called disinformation is collected and circulated sincerely rather than cynically, and the power of various authorities — Tucker Carlson’s show or Facebook’s algorithm — to change beliefs is relatively limited.

But what has struck me, especially, is how the belief in a stolen election has spread among people I wouldn’t have thought of as particularly Trumpy or super-partisan, who aren’t cable news junkies or intensely online, who didn’t even seem that invested in the election before it happened.

Others have taken note of the same phenomenon: At National Review, Michael Brendan Dougherty writes that “friends who I did not know were political are sending me little snippets of allegations of voter fraud and manipulation.” At The American Mind, the pseudonymous Californian Peachy Keenan describes watching a passel of lukewarm Trump-supporter moms in her Catholic parish suddenly “get MAGAfied” by election conspiracy theories. (As a fraud believer herself, she thinks that’s a good thing.)

Drawn from my conversations in the past few weeks, here’s an attempt at a taxonomy of these unlikely seeming fraud believers.

The conspiracy-curious normie

I say “normie” to reflect the reality that being open to the possibility of conspiracies is itself extremely normal and commonplace. There is nothing unusual, statistically speaking, about believing that a Cold War-era deep state assassinated John F. Kennedy or that the government is concealing evidence of UFOs. Conspiracy theories are common among Democrats as well as Republicans: Witness the polling on Russia’s supposed tampering with vote totals in 2016 or George W. Bush’s supposed foreknowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; recall the voting-machine theory spun to explain John Kerry’s narrow defeat in 2004.

This means you don’t need a complex story about Facebook or Fox News to understand why a person who isn’t intensely political might nonetheless be open to the idea that an election settled by tens of thousands of votes in a few key states was actually fixed for the winner. That kind of openness is just human nature — and not the worst part of human nature, either, given that conspiracies and cover-ups exist (the military really has been hiding weird evidence of UFOs!) and even wrongheaded theories often partake of a reasonable skepticism about elite malfeasance, from the Gulf of Tonkin era to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

What’s happened in the past month with our open-minded normie, though, is that this openness has been validated by the president of the United States and his retainers in a way that other forms of conspiracy curiosity are not. There is a long-standing pattern in both political parties of gently encouraging conspiracizing. (The Diebold-stole-Ohio theories in 2004 were given oxygen by prominent congressional Democrats; MSNBC’s Russiagate coverage was not exactly cautious in the theories that it entertained.) But Trump is obviously different — higher-profile and more radical. He’s a president, not a cable TV host or a congressman, and he’s shouting allegations, any allegations, with no pussyfooting, hedging or deniability involved.

If you are biased against conspiracy theories, this shouting is ridiculous. If you’re somewhat open toward them, though, and somewhat right-of-center, it provides encouragement. It’s not that the curious normie listens to Trump and thinks that everything he says is true. It’s that Trump is providing validation for the belief that something might be true, that where there are so many claims of fraud a few might be accurate, that where there’s so much smoke there might be a blaze or two as well.

Of course there are also lots of pure Trump loyalists who trust his claims absolutely, and a certain number of QAnon-type fantasists who embrace any theory no matter how baroque. But the voter fraud narrative is pervasive on the right because you don’t have to be a loyalist or a fantasist to take something from Trump’s rants — not belief itself, but the permission to believe.

The outsider-intellectual

The next category of believer consists of extremely smart people whose self-identification is bound up in constantly questioning and doubting official forms of knowledge. Conservatism has always had plenty of this sort in its ranks, but the consolidated progressive orthodoxy in elite institutions means that more and more people come to conservative ideas because they seem like a secret knowledge, an account of the world that’s compelling and yet excluded from official discourse.

This, in turn, instills a perpetual suspicion about anything that seems to have too much of a liberal consensus defending it, especially any idea that gets mocked and laughed at more than it gets rebutted. And it creates a strong epistemological bias toward what you can only find out for yourself,&nbsp;as opposed to what Yale’s experts or Twitter’s warning labels or The New York Times might tell you.

In many cases the outsider-intellectual’s approach generates real insight. (Anonymous right-wing Twitter was way out ahead of the coronavirus threat, for instance, at a time when official liberalism was still fretting more about xenophobia than the virus itself.) But it also tends to recapitulate the closed-circle problems of the official knowledge it rejects.

Thus the outsider-intellectual type looks at the no-voter-fraud consensus and immediately goes out in search of cracks in the pillar of official truth, anomalies that official certainty elides. A lot of the supposed evidence of fraud that circulates online comes from these efforts — not from grifts or lies (though grifters and liars do pick them up) but from sincere analyses of election data, which inevitably turn up anomalies here and there, which confirm the searchers’ assumptions, which closes the circle and convinces them that the official narrative is false and voter fraud is real.

The recently radicalized

This final camp includes many of the people reading and circulating the outsider-intellectual analyses — people on the right whose perceptions of what liberal institutions and actors are capable of doing have been altered by the coronavirus era.

Many liberals have spent the Trump years worried about a kind of Reichstag Fire moment, a crisis that Trump might use as an excuse to consolidate authoritarianism. But a lot of conservatives experienced May and June of the COVID era as a mirror image of those anti-Trump fears — as a crisis that seemed to be deliberately exploited for revolutionary purposes by politicians and activists of the left.

Their story of the spring and early summer starts with our country’s leaders and experts calling for unprecedented sacrifice, with lockdowns and closures that disproportionately affected small businesses, churches and families with children — all conservative-coded groups and institutions — while liberal professionals on Zoom were in better shape and the great powers of Silicon Valley expanded their influence and wealth. Then, based on a single activist-amplified case of police brutality, the same experts and politicians suddenly abandoned restrictions for the sake of left-wing protests … which the official media pretended were peaceful even when they cut a violent swathe through American cities … which included a wave of iconoclasm against key symbols of American history … even as a new ideological vocabulary seemed to suddenly take over elite institutions … and dissenting figures were purged … and in the background the world’s elites loudly announced that they were seeking a “Great Reset,” a post-coronavirus new world order.

For the radicalized, all this felt stage-managed, prearranged — both as a further escalation in the establishment’s battle against Trump, a successor to the Robert Mueller investigation and the impeachment push, and as an attempt to use the weirdness of the COVID situation to consolidate radical power within elite institutions. Experiencing and interpreting the summer of 2020 this way primed people to expect further escalation in the fall: After all, if liberals exploited a pandemic to stage-manage an ideological revolution, why wouldn’t&nbsp;they exploit all the weird features of pandemic voting to stage-manage the election outcome?

No doubt some of my liberal readers will find this question too ridiculous to even merit an answer. You can’t argue someone out of a conspiracy theory,&nbsp;a common axiom goes, which means the only appropriate response to these ideas is condemnation and a kind of quarantine — to be achieved, presumably, through better Facebook algorithms, the comprehensive political defeat of the Republican Party and some sort of “have you no sense of decency, sir” courage from news anchors and political leaders whenever right-wing paranoia reemerges.

I don’t see any way that these efforts will work. (Certainly on the evidence of 2020, the Republican Party isn’t going anywhere, let alone about to be “burned to the ground” as some anti-Trumpers hoped.)

Of course the alternative — actually trying to argue with people in the camps I’ve just described — may not work either, especially given the curated virtual realities that the internet increasingly enables us all to inhabit. But I’ve been argued in and out of a few outré theories in my life. (Only the best outré theories, I assure you.) And if you accept that there’s more reasoning&nbsp;involved in conspiracy theorizing than official wisdom suggests, then once such theories achieve a certain prominence, there’s an obligation to actually make the case against them rather than just laugh them away.

My own attempts at argument have run as follows: To the conspiracy-curious Republican whose curiosity is validated by Trump’s allegations of fraud, I’ve suggested that the place to look for fire amid the smoke is in claims that the president’s lawyers are actually willing to advance in court, as opposed to in news conferences, semiofficial hearings and on Twitter. Those lawyers — especially now that it’s mostly just the Rudy Giuliani show — have every incentive to blow a fraud case wide open. If their &lt;em&gt;legal&lt;/em&gt; claims don’t actually allege fraud or they fall apart under scrutiny, then so should your assumption that the president’s blustering must have some real-world correlative.

To the outsider-intellectuals fascinated by anomalies in ballot counts or ballot return patterns, I’ve argued that anomalies indicating fraud would have to show up in the final vote totals — meaning some pattern of results in key swing state cities that differ starkly from the results in cities in less-contested states, or some turnout pattern in a swing state’s suburbs that looks weird relative to the suburbs in a deep-blue or deep-red state. But where claims for those kinds of anomalies have been offered, they’ve turned out to be false. So until a compelling example can be cited, anomalies in the counting process should be presumed to be error or randomness, not fraud.

Finally to the radicalized, I’ve tried to convey, based on my own knowledge of how liberal institutions work, that what looked stage-managed to outsiders in the May and June disturbances actually reflected organic upheaval and division, sincere anti-racism and disorganized Trump-phobia, a crisis in the mind of liberalism, a dose of religious revival, plus a chaotic revolt by city-dwellers against a lockdown experience that fell heavily on them. Hypocrisy and radicalism alike there was in plenty, but literally nobody was in charge, except sometimes for activists in the younger generation who sensed a professional opportunity, and any supposed “plan” or “reset” was just a hapless attempt by elder statesmen to get woke.

Put more succinctly: The liberal establishment that I watched stagger through May and June could not plan a sweeping voter-fraud conspiracy to save its life.

Have I persuaded anyone with these arguments? Maybe not, and as a columnist for a noted establishment organ, I’m probably not the best person to make them anyway. That distinction belongs to people more enmeshed in the conservative universe, scribes for National Review and talk radio hosts and conservative media critics, all of whom are the more important arguers for an intra-Republican debate.

I am certain that these issues are connected to a larger and more important question for the future of the right. At the moment, the voter-fraud narrative is being deployed, often by people more cynical than the groups I’ve just described, to help an outgoing president — one who twice lost the popular vote and displayed gross incompetence in the face of his administration’s greatest challenge — stake a permanent claim to the leadership of his party and establish himself as the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024.

And it’s being used to push aside the more compelling narrative that the Republican Party could take away from 2020, which is that Trump’s presidency demonstrated that populism can provide a foundation for conservatism, but to build on it the right needs a very different leader than the man Joe Biden just defeated.

That’s the most important argument for the next four years — and one I’ll be making firmly, passionately, right up until the Republican Party nominates Trump again in 2024.

There have been few surprises this past month in how Donald Trump has dealt with the reality of his electoral defeat. Anyone familiar with his career could have predicted that he would claim to have been cheated out of victory.

There have been few surprises this past month in how Donald Trump has dealt with the reality of his electoral defeat. Anyone familiar with his career could have predicted that he would claim to have been cheated out of victory. Anyone watching how he wielded power (or, more often, didn’t) as president could have predicted that his efforts to challenge the election results would be embarrassing, ridiculous and dismissed with prejudice in court. And anyone watching how the Republican Party dealt with his ascent could have predicted that its leaders would mostly avoid directly rebuking him, relying instead on the inertial forces of American democracy, the conscientiousness of judges and local officialdom, and Trump’s own incompetence to turn back his final power grab. So far, so predictable. But speaking as a cynical observer of the Trump era, one feature of November did crack my jaded shell a bit: not his behavior or the system’s response, but the sheer scale of the belief among conservatives that the election was really stolen, measured not just in polling data but in conversations and arguments, online and in person, with people I would not have expected to embrace it. The potency of this belief has already scrambled some of the conventional explanations for conspiratorial beliefs, particularly the conceit that the key problem is misinformation spreading downward from partisan news outlets and social media fraudsters to the easily deceived. As I watch the way certain fraud theories spread online, or watch conservatives abandon Fox News for Newsmax in search of validating narratives, it’s clear that this is about demand as much as supply. A strong belief spurs people to go out in search of evidence, a lot of so-called disinformation is collected and circulated sincerely rather than cynically, and the power of various authorities — Tucker Carlson’s show or Facebook’s algorithm — to change beliefs is relatively limited. But what has struck me, especially, is how the belief in a stolen election has spread among people I wouldn’t have thought of as particularly Trumpy or super-partisan, who aren’t cable news junkies or intensely online, who didn’t even seem that invested in the election before it happened. Others have taken note of the same phenomenon: At National Review, Michael Brendan Dougherty writes that “friends who I did not know were political are sending me little snippets of allegations of voter fraud and manipulation.” At The American Mind, the pseudonymous Californian Peachy Keenan describes watching a passel of lukewarm Trump-supporter moms in her Catholic parish suddenly “get MAGAfied” by election conspiracy theories. (As a fraud believer herself, she thinks that’s a good thing.) Drawn from my conversations in the past few weeks, here’s an attempt at a taxonomy of these unlikely seeming fraud believers. The conspiracy-curious normie I say “normie” to reflect the reality that being open to the possibility of conspiracies is itself extremely normal and commonplace. There is nothing unusual, statistically speaking, about believing that a Cold War-era deep state assassinated John F. Kennedy or that the government is concealing evidence of UFOs. Conspiracy theories are common among Democrats as well as Republicans: Witness the polling on Russia’s supposed tampering with vote totals in 2016 or George W. Bush’s supposed foreknowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; recall the voting-machine theory spun to explain John Kerry’s narrow defeat in 2004. This means you don’t need a complex story about Facebook or Fox News to understand why a person who isn’t intensely political might nonetheless be open to the idea that an election settled by tens of thousands of votes in a few key states was actually fixed for the winner. That kind of openness is just human nature — and not the worst part of human nature, either, given that conspiracies and cover-ups exist (the military really has been hiding weird evidence of UFOs!) and even wrongheaded theories often partake of a reasonable skepticism about elite malfeasance, from the Gulf of Tonkin era to the Jeffrey Epstein case. What’s happened in the past month with our open-minded normie, though, is that this openness has been validated by the president of the United States and his retainers in a way that other forms of conspiracy curiosity are not. There is a long-standing pattern in both political parties of gently encouraging conspiracizing. (The Diebold-stole-Ohio theories in 2004 were given oxygen by prominent congressional Democrats; MSNBC’s Russiagate coverage was not exactly cautious in the theories that it entertained.) But Trump is obviously different — higher-profile and more radical. He’s a president, not a cable TV host or a congressman, and he’s shouting allegations, any allegations, with no pussyfooting, hedging or deniability involved. If you are biased against conspiracy theories, this shouting is ridiculous. If you’re somewhat open toward them, though, and somewhat right-of-center, it provides encouragement. It’s not that the curious normie listens to Trump and thinks that everything he says is true. It’s that Trump is providing validation for the belief that something might be true, that where there are so many claims of fraud a few might be accurate, that where there’s so much smoke there might be a blaze or two as well. Of course there are also lots of pure Trump loyalists who trust his claims absolutely, and a certain number of QAnon-type fantasists who embrace any theory no matter how baroque. But the voter fraud narrative is pervasive on the right because you don’t have to be a loyalist or a fantasist to take something from Trump’s rants — not belief itself, but the permission to believe. The outsider-intellectual The next category of believer consists of extremely smart people whose self-identification is bound up in constantly questioning and doubting official forms of knowledge. Conservatism has always had plenty of this sort in its ranks, but the consolidated progressive orthodoxy in elite institutions means that more and more people come to conservative ideas because they seem like a secret knowledge, an account of the world that’s compelling and yet excluded from official discourse. This, in turn, instills a perpetual suspicion about anything that seems to have too much of a liberal consensus defending it, especially any idea that gets mocked and laughed at more than it gets rebutted. And it creates a strong epistemological bias toward what you can only find out for yourself, as opposed to what Yale’s experts or Twitter’s warning labels or The New York Times might tell you. In many cases the outsider-intellectual’s approach generates real insight. (Anonymous right-wing Twitter was way out ahead of the coronavirus threat, for instance, at a time when official liberalism was still fretting more about xenophobia than the virus itself.) But it also tends to recapitulate the closed-circle problems of the official knowledge it rejects. Thus the outsider-intellectual type looks at the no-voter-fraud consensus and immediately goes out in search of cracks in the pillar of official truth, anomalies that official certainty elides. A lot of the supposed evidence of fraud that circulates online comes from these efforts — not from grifts or lies (though grifters and liars do pick them up) but from sincere analyses of election data, which inevitably turn up anomalies here and there, which confirm the searchers’ assumptions, which closes the circle and convinces them that the official narrative is false and voter fraud is real. The recently radicalized This final camp includes many of the people reading and circulating the outsider-intellectual analyses — people on the right whose perceptions of what liberal institutions and actors are capable of doing have been altered by the coronavirus era. Many liberals have spent the Trump years worried about a kind of Reichstag Fire moment, a crisis that Trump might use as an excuse to consolidate authoritarianism. But a lot of conservatives experienced May and June of the COVID era as a mirror image of those anti-Trump fears — as a crisis that seemed to be deliberately exploited for revolutionary purposes by politicians and activists of the left. Their story of the spring and early summer starts with our country’s leaders and experts calling for unprecedented sacrifice, with lockdowns and closures that disproportionately affected small businesses, churches and families with children — all conservative-coded groups and institutions — while liberal professionals on Zoom were in better shape and the great powers of Silicon Valley expanded their influence and wealth. Then, based on a single activist-amplified case of police brutality, the same experts and politicians suddenly abandoned restrictions for the sake of left-wing protests … which the official media pretended were peaceful even when they cut a violent swathe through American cities … which included a wave of iconoclasm against key symbols of American history … even as a new ideological vocabulary seemed to suddenly take over elite institutions … and dissenting figures were purged … and in the background the world’s elites loudly announced that they were seeking a “Great Reset,” a post-coronavirus new world order. For the radicalized, all this felt stage-managed, prearranged — both as a further escalation in the establishment’s battle against Trump, a successor to the Robert Mueller investigation and the impeachment push, and as an attempt to use the weirdness of the COVID situation to consolidate radical power within elite institutions. Experiencing and interpreting the summer of 2020 this way primed people to expect further escalation in the fall: After all, if liberals exploited a pandemic to stage-manage an ideological revolution, why wouldn’t they exploit all the weird features of pandemic voting to stage-manage the election outcome? No doubt some of my liberal readers will find this question too ridiculous to even merit an answer. You can’t argue someone out of a conspiracy theory, a common axiom goes, which means the only appropriate response to these ideas is condemnation and a kind of quarantine — to be achieved, presumably, through better Facebook algorithms, the comprehensive political defeat of the Republican Party and some sort of “have you no sense of decency, sir” courage from news anchors and political leaders whenever right-wing paranoia reemerges. I don’t see any way that these efforts will work. (Certainly on the evidence of 2020, the Republican Party isn’t going anywhere, let alone about to be “burned to the ground” as some anti-Trumpers hoped.) Of course the alternative — actually trying to argue with people in the camps I’ve just described — may not work either, especially given the curated virtual realities that the internet increasingly enables us all to inhabit. But I’ve been argued in and out of a few outré theories in my life. (Only the best outré theories, I assure you.) And if you accept that there’s more reasoning involved in conspiracy theorizing than official wisdom suggests, then once such theories achieve a certain prominence, there’s an obligation to actually make the case against them rather than just laugh them away. My own attempts at argument have run as follows: To the conspiracy-curious Republican whose curiosity is validated by Trump’s allegations of fraud, I’ve suggested that the place to look for fire amid the smoke is in claims that the president’s lawyers are actually willing to advance in court, as opposed to in news conferences, semiofficial hearings and on Twitter. Those lawyers — especially now that it’s mostly just the Rudy Giuliani show — have every incentive to blow a fraud case wide open. If their legal claims don’t actually allege fraud or they fall apart under scrutiny, then so should your assumption that the president’s blustering must have some real-world correlative. To the outsider-intellectuals fascinated by anomalies in ballot counts or ballot return patterns, I’ve argued that anomalies indicating fraud would have to show up in the final vote totals — meaning some pattern of results in key swing state cities that differ starkly from the results in cities in less-contested states, or some turnout pattern in a swing state’s suburbs that looks weird relative to the suburbs in a deep-blue or deep-red state. But where claims for those kinds of anomalies have been offered, they’ve turned out to be false. So until a compelling example can be cited, anomalies in the counting process should be presumed to be error or randomness, not fraud. Finally to the radicalized, I’ve tried to convey, based on my own knowledge of how liberal institutions work, that what looked stage-managed to outsiders in the May and June disturbances actually reflected organic upheaval and division, sincere anti-racism and disorganized Trump-phobia, a crisis in the mind of liberalism, a dose of religious revival, plus a chaotic revolt by city-dwellers against a lockdown experience that fell heavily on them. Hypocrisy and radicalism alike there was in plenty, but literally nobody was in charge, except sometimes for activists in the younger generation who sensed a professional opportunity, and any supposed “plan” or “reset” was just a hapless attempt by elder statesmen to get woke. Put more succinctly: The liberal establishment that I watched stagger through May and June could not plan a sweeping voter-fraud conspiracy to save its life. Have I persuaded anyone with these arguments? Maybe not, and as a columnist for a noted establishment organ, I’m probably not the best person to make them anyway. That distinction belongs to people more enmeshed in the conservative universe, scribes for National Review and talk radio hosts and conservative media critics, all of whom are the more important arguers for an intra-Republican debate. I am certain that these issues are connected to a larger and more important question for the future of the right. At the moment, the voter-fraud narrative is being deployed, often by people more cynical than the groups I’ve just described, to help an outgoing president — one who twice lost the popular vote and displayed gross incompetence in the face of his administration’s greatest challenge — stake a permanent claim to the leadership of his party and establish himself as the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024. And it’s being used to push aside the more compelling narrative that the Republican Party could take away from 2020, which is that Trump’s presidency demonstrated that populism can provide a foundation for conservatism, but to build on it the right needs a very different leader than the man Joe Biden just defeated. That’s the most important argument for the next four years — and one I’ll be making firmly, passionately, right up until the Republican Party nominates Trump again in 2024.

Why do so many Americans think the election was stolen?

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-uk-bahrain-approves-pfizerbiontech-coronavirus-vaccine-347576">After UK, Bahrain approves Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine</a>

Bahrain said on Friday it has granted emergency use authorisation for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the second country after Britain to approve it | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-uk-bahrain-approves-pfizerbiontech-coronavirus-vaccine-347576">READ MORE</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-sets-new-record-of-225000-covid-cases-in-one-day-347624">US sets new record of 225,000 Covid cases in one day</a>

The United States has registered a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours -- for the second day in a row, reaching 225,201 new infections | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-sets-new-record-of-225000-covid-cases-in-one-day-347624">READ MORE</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-matthew-perry-to-release-friends-inspired-apparel-line-for-charity-347613">Matthew Perry to release 'Friends'-inspired apparel line for charity</a>

Matthew Perry is all set to help the Corona-warriors as Chandler Bing | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-matthew-perry-to-release-friends-inspired-apparel-line-for-charity-347613">READ MORE</a>

 
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Biden officially clinches electoral college win as California certifies Joe Biden now officially has more than the 270 Electoral College votes -- which he needs

Biden officially clinches electoral college win as California certifies Joe Biden now officially has more than the 270 Electoral College votes -- which he needs to claim the US presidency -- after California certified its election results | READ MORE US plans to not extend TikTok divestiture deadline The Trump administration has opted to not grant ByteDance a new extension of an order requiring the Chinese company to divest TikTok's US assets | READ MORE US judge orders Trump administration to restore DACA The Trump administration must accept new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme that protects young immigrants from deportation, a federal judge in the United States has ruled | READ MORE US slaps visa restrictions on Chinese nationals involved in crushing dissent US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said that the country will impose visa restrictions on Chinese nationals who are engaged in overseas influence operations or have tried to silent dissent via threatening or any other coercive tactics | READ MORE Trudeau reiterates comments on farmer protests amid diplomatic row with India Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on Friday once again reiterated his stance on farmer protests in India amid worsening ties with New Delhi | READ MORE US House passes landmark bill to decriminalise marijuana The US House of Representatives on Friday voted to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, days after the United Nations removed it from the list of world's most dangerous drugs | READ MORE After UK, Bahrain approves Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine Bahrain said on Friday it has granted emergency use authorisation for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the second country after Britain to approve it | READ MORE US sets new record of 225,000 Covid cases in one day The United States has registered a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours -- for the second day in a row, reaching 225,201 new infections | READ MORE Matthew Perry to release 'Friends'-inspired apparel line for charity Matthew Perry is all set to help the Corona-warriors as Chandler Bing | READ MORE

Morning news brief: With Biden inching towards inauguration, a lot is happening in US

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