Don Jr tests positive, as his father dodges media questions

Donald Trump may be refusing to start the transition of power to Joe Biden, but the president-elect’s transition team is working to prepare him nonetheless.  

Mr Biden, who launched a presidential transition website the day after the election, has been preparing for the transition for months.

Obama administration officials, advisers to other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, and even Republicans are all on board with the effort to ensure a smooth transition of power for him and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Ted Kaufman, the man who wrote the laws on presidential transitions as a senator and long-time Biden adviser, was appointed earlier this year to lead the team.

The Independent’s Gino Spocchia has more.

Israel’s president and prime minister spoke with Joe Biden on Tuesday for the first time since his victory in the U.S. election, joining other world leaders in referring to him as the president-elect despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a close ally of Trump, congratulated Biden after the election was called earlier this month but did not refer to him as president-elect then and has avoided commenting on the election results.

Israelis have welcomed Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran and his unprecedented support for Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians. Biden’s plans to return to the Iran nuclear agreement and press for the revival of the Mideast peace process could set him on a collision course with Netanyahu, who had icy relations with the Obama administration.

“In a warm conversation, the president-elect reiterated his deep commitment to the state of Israel and its security,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. - AP

Acting secretary of defence Christopher Miller announced the reduction, which will bring the number of US forces in the two countries to 2,500 each by 15 January 2021.

There are currently between 4,500 and 5,000 troops in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 in Iraq.

Miller said it’s not aa change in policy and is consistent with US “strategic objectives”, via White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

Rudy Giuliani reportedly asked Donald Trump’s campaign for fees of $20,000 per day to represent the president, according to the New York Times.

That would explain the first appearance in a court room since 1992.

Giuliani, however, disputed the figure.

“I never asked for $20,000,” Giuliani told the Times. “The arrangement is, we’ll work it out at the end.” He added that whoever had said he made the $20,000-a-day request “is a liar, a complete liar.”

According to Times, quoting “multiple people briefed on the matter”, a $20,000-a-day rate would have made Giuliana among the most highly paid lawyers of all time.

“I made a bad mistake," California governor Gavin Newsom said after breaking lockdown to go to a dinner party as he put the state under new coronavirus restrictions.

“You can quibble about the guidelines, et cetera, et cetera, but the spirit of what I'm preaching all the time was contradicted and I got to own that.

Gov. Newsom was part of a group of more than 12 people who celebrated the birthday of political advisor Jason Kinney at the famed French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley.

The governor said that as soon as he arrived at the party he realised the group was larger than anticipated.

The Independent’s Graeme Massie has the full story.

Donald Trump has until 5 pm. on Wednesday to submit the $7.9 million estimated cost for a statewide recount and other required paperwork. Trump could also file for a recount only in select counties, which would reduce his cost and allow him to target areas where votes were predominantly for Biden. Counties would have to start the recount no later than Saturday and complete it by 1 December.

Trump has been promising a recount in Wisconsin as part of fundraising pleas he’s been issuing since he lost the election to Biden, but a campaign spokeswoman stopped short of promising a recount on Tuesday.

“The legal team continues to examine the issues with irregularities in Wisconsin and are leaving all legal options open, including a recount and an audit,” said Jenna Ellis, Trump 2020 legal adviser.

The canvassed totals show Biden beat Trump by 20,608 votes, which is a roughly six-tenths of a point margin — close enough for Trump to file for a recount. - AP

Chelsea Clinton has confirmed recent reports about President Donald Trump’s supporters arriving to her parents’ home in upstate New York and chanting “Lock Her Up," writing in a tweet: "I hope they’re wearing masks and some day get over 2016."

The crowd of Mr Trump’s supporters gathered outside of the former first family’s Chappaqua home in northern Westchester on Sunday night, waving flags in support of the outgoing president and chanting one of his campaign’s rallying cries against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the 2016 race.

“There are Trump supporters outside my parents’ house shouting through megaphones ‘Lock Her Up,’” Ms Clinton, 40, wrote in a tweet. “I just keep thinking, I hope they’re wearing masks and some day get over 2016.

Chris Riotta has more.

Barack Obama has suggested that American pop culture – including rap music and some TV shows – helped fuel the rise of Donald Trump.

The former US president broached the topic in a sweeping interview with The Atlantic.

At one point during the conversation, Obama reflected on the parts of American culture he believes helped make Trump’s brand popular, by extolling materialism and emphasising wealth and status.

“I’m not surprised there was a market for populism, not just in the United States but around the world,” Obama said, to which interviewer and editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg replied: “You’re just surprised by the horse populism rode in on.”

“Yes, and it’s this indication of parts of popular culture that I’ve missed,” Obama elaborated.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon has the story.

President-elect Joe Biden does not intend to politicize or intervene in Department of Justice affairs when he assumes the White House, according to a new report, and was not keen to investigate President Donald Trump or his inner circle.

The president-elect would instead be focused on key issues like the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery efforts, his advisers told NBC News, noting how he “just wants to move on” from the Trump era.

“He’s going to be more oriented toward fixing the problems and moving forward than prosecuting them,” one aide told the news outlet.

However, Mr Biden would still consider authorizing warranted probes into certain actions by his predecessor or the former administration: another adviser said “it’s going to be very situational” when it comes to opening investigations into the Trump administration

Chris Riotta has more.

The senate has voted to block President Donald Trump’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, Judy Shelton, setting back his plans to significantly alter the board before leaving office next year.

Ms Shelton’s nomination was rejected in a 47-50 vote, in which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R—Ky) switched his vote from “yes” to “no” — a move that effectively allows him to recast his vote at a later point.  

Her nomination to the Fed was enveloped in controversy, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a California senator, writing in a statement: “Judy Shelton’s dangerous ideas would devastate our economy, and her lack of commitment to using the full force of the Fed to provide COVID-19 relief is unacceptable. I voted no on her nomination.”

Chris Riotta has the story.