What A Day

Pfizer says an initial analysis of their vaccine found it was more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. President-elect Joe Biden announced his 13-member pandemic task force, which includes health experts that previously served in Republican and Democratic administrations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell backed Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the election yesterday, while simultaneously welcoming new incoming Republican senators. In Georgia, current senators Perdue and Loeffler are demanding that the Republican secretary of state step down over the election, without providing evidence to support their vague claims of “failures.”

And in headlines: Hurricane Eta made landfall in the Florida Keys, Blue Ivy Carter narrates an audiobook, and Trump ousts Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

The presidential race was called this weekend for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, leading to spontaneous celebrations across the country. Biden and Harris gave their first speeches as President-elect and Vice President-elect on Saturday night, reiterating their message of unity and sketching out a mandate that includes rooting out systemic racism, working towards and economic fairness, and tackling climate change.

The country recorded its 10 millionth COVID case over the weekend, which is higher than any other country on earth. Today Biden is set to announce a COVID task force, as part of a weeklong focus on the pandemic and healthcare.

And in headlines: the latest on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Mexico to legalize marijuana, and a closer look at the saga of Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

A significant number of ballots were counted yesterday in states where races have been too close to call, leading to gains for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia. At this point, Trump would need everything to break his way to win the election—and that doesn’t seem likely. Biden’s campaign continued to project confidence yesterday, while Trump did a press conference where he tried out every anti-Democratic lie he could think of. 

Looking at the Senate races: the Ossoff/Perdue race in Georgia got even tighter yesterday, meaning there will be a runoff election in January. This will take place alongside the Warnock/Loeffler runoff, and could allow the Democrats to tie up the Senate. 

And in headlines: rising tensions in Ethiopia lead to fears of civil war, Jared Kushner’s apartment company tries to evict hundreds during the pandemic, and another new lava planet we can move to.

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Joe Biden now has the most votes of any presidential candidate in history, and he’s won two more key states in his path to 270 electoral votes: Michigan and Wisconsin. We’re still waiting on calls in five battleground states: Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. We discuss where things stand, and how the two campaigns are responding. Spoiler alert: one is being dignified and the other is trying to derail the democratic process.

Meanwhile, things aren't looking so good for Democrats in the Senate. Susan Collins won re-election in Maine, making the chances of a Dem majority much slimmer.

And in headlines: the US sees over 100,000 new COVID cases in a single day, passage of California’s Proposition 22 sends ride-share stocks soaring, and re-examining the gender roles of hunter-gatherers.

Yesterday was Election Day, and it ended as we expected it to: without an official call on the presidential race. There wasn’t a Biden landslide like we hoped, but as we went to record last night, he still had a path to victory. We discuss that path, some surprising and less surprising calls, and how the two presidential candidates treated the results. 

Looking at Congress, Democrats retained control of the House, adding some cool new progressives including Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and Marie Newman. The jury’s still out on who will control the Senate. 

And in headlines: the US is no longer part of the Paris Climate Agreement, record-setting COVID numbers in the US, and Trump destroys Lil Wayne’s relationship.