WTF Just Happened Today

Friday, November 13, 2020

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1/ The U.S. topped more than 153,000 coronavirus cases for the first time, hospitalizations hit another all-time high, and New Mexico and Oregon issued new lockdown orders. It’s the seventh time in nine days that the confirmed cases reached a new high. The death toll, meanwhile, surpassed 242,000. Biden’s coronavirus task force rejected the possibility of a national lockdown, but Biden did say he would ask governors to institute a mask mandate in their states. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

• ???? Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”

• Global: Total confirmed cases: ~53,186,000; deaths: ~1,301,000

• U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~10,708,000; deaths: ~245,000

• Source: Johns Hopkins University

• Live Blogs: New York Times / Washington Post / The Guardian / CNN / Bloomberg

2/ More than 130 Secret Service officers are quarantining due to positive coronavirus tests or exposure stemming from Trump’s campaign rallies before Election Day. Roughly 10% of the agency’s core security team has been sidelined. At least 30 uniformed Secret Service officers tested positive and about 60 have been asked by the agency to quarantine. (Washington Post / New York Times / Axios)

3/ Trump’s efforts to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory suffered three major setbacks in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. In Arizona, Trump’s campaign dropped a legal challenge of a number of ballots in Maricopa County, saying Biden’s overall lead in the state is too big for the disputed ballots to make a difference. In Michigan, a judge declined a request to block the certification of election results in Detroit. And in Pennsylvania, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said a recount and a re-canvass was not necessary because Biden leads the vote count by more than 53,500 votes – outside the margin that would permit a recount. The law firm leading the Trump campaign’s efforts to challenge the election results in Pennsylvania withdrew from a federal lawsuit that it had filed on behalf of the campaign. And, a top lawyer at Jones Day, told colleagues that the firm would not get involved in additional litigation in this election. Meanwhile, North Carolina was called for Trump by four networks, with ABC and CNN projecting a Biden win in Georgia. All 50 states’ presidential races have been called, leaving Trump with 232 electoral votes to Biden’s 306 electoral votes. (...

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