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Networks call Georgia for Biden as security officials say vote was ‘secure’

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Arizona's GOP AG says people voted Republican, but not for Trump

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As Donald Trump continues to refuse conceding the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden, the president-elect was said to have spoken with Senate Republicans who have begun to admit he should at least receive intelligence briefings that have so far been denied. 

On Friday afternoon most networks called Georgia for Mr Biden and North Carolina for Mr Trump bringing their respective electoral college vote totals to 306 to 232.

US federal and state cybersecurity officials, meanwhile, have delivered a direct rebuke to Donald Trump, who continues to allege irregularities and widespread fraud without evidence. 

Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the 3 November vote was “the most secure in history" in a report published Thursday, and added that Americans should trust the result. His agency had not find any evidence of ballots being lost, deleted or altered, he said. 

UK peer ‘should be ashamed’ for calling Kamala Harris ‘the Indian’, says former top Biden official

The British peer who referred to US vice president-elect Kamala Harris as “the Indian” has been condemned by a former special adviser to Joe Biden, writes Adam Forrest.

Jon Wolfsthal, a former special adviser to the president-elect, said Lord Kilclooney “should be ashamed” of his racially-charged remark – reminding the life peer that Ms Harris “is American”.

UK peer ‘should be ashamed’ for calling Kamala Harris ‘the Indian’, says former Biden official

Lord Kilclooney has been told to apologise for his ‘appalling’ tweet

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 10:36

Biden team considers suing over delay in recognition by federal agency — and hold-up of funds and intelligence

Joe Biden’s presidential transition team could take legal action against a federal government agency's failure to recognise his election win last week, writes Gino Spocchia.

A Biden transition official argued on Monday that the General Services Administration’s (GSA) failure to officially recognise the Democrat’s election victory was now delaying preperations on the changeover of power in the White House.

Biden team considers suing over delay in recognition by federal agency

Government agency still considering Democrat’s election win amid legal threats from Donald Trump

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 10:55

US police chief resigns over ‘death to all Democrats’ posts

A police chief in Arkansas has resigned after posting messages on a right-wing social media app calling for “death to all” Democrats, writes Stuti Mishra.

Lang Holland’s posts on the Parler app went viral and received widespread condemnation on other social media platforms such as Twitter. 

US police chief resigns over ‘death to all Democrats’ posts

Lang Holland, chief of police in Arkansas city of Marshall, wrote there should be ‘no survivors’ 

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 11:14

Opinion: It will be unpopular – but Biden could be helped by a return to militarism

As president-elect Joe Biden prepares for office, he and the new generation of staffers, pundits, think-tankers, speechwriters and policy wonks circling around him have a big problem, writes Vince Cable.  

The president can make nice, conciliatory, heart-warming speeches. But what can he actually do which is politically unifying in the country, rebuilds bridges to America’s alienated allies and doesn’t become ensnared in the likely Congressional gridlock?

It will be unpopular – but Biden could be helped by a return to militarism | Vince Cable

All my liberal instincts rebel against such a prospect – but it ticks a lot of political boxes both domestically and internationally

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 11:33

Is Biden facing the hardest presidential transition in history?

Until now, there has been remarkably little argy-bargy in the handover of power between presidents, at least in modern times, writes Sean O’Grady.

There is usually a certain froideur left over from a highly partisan campaign – nothing new there – because the winner will inevitably have spent months trashing the record of the incumbent, whether they’re retiring or, even worse, trying to get another term.

Is Biden facing the hardest presidential transition in history?

With the animosity between the two parties and the overwhelming pressure of the pandemic, the 46th president is being set up for a very difficult start, writes Sean O'Grady

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 12:02

Most Republicans believe election was not ‘free and fair’, poll claims

Seventy per cent of Republicans do not believe last week’s presidential election was “free and fair”, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll.

That figure is double the pessimistic 35 per cent who believed prior to the vote that it would not be free or fair.

And nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, now say they believe the result is not reliable. The polling suggested that Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread fraud have cut through to his party’s supporters.

Half of Democrats did not believe the election would be “free and fair” before it took place. However, since their candidate won, that proportion has shrunk to just 10 per cent.

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 12:24

How times change

This tweet was posted the day after the election was called for Donald Trump in 2016.

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 12:38

#icymi

Fox News cuts away from McEnany press conference: ‘I can’t in good countenance continue showing this’

Fox News cut away from a Trump campaign press conference outlining its allegations of so-called voting fraud in the presidential election, writes Justin Vallejo.

Host Neil Cavuto cut into White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s opening statement saying the election was far from over.

Fox News cuts away from McEnany press conference

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa … not so fast’

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 12:56

Trump’s awake and tweeting

The president seems to have had a little more sleep last night.

But he’s still been glued to Fox News, it seems.

He quotes the host Maria Bartiromo, who says his predictions of a vaccine by the end of 2020 have been borne out.

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 13:03

This one’s just straight-up false

Not sure virology and microbiology are in the president’s skill set.

Scientists put a lot of work into this apparent breakthrough.

Jon Sharman10 November 2020 13:08

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