thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-08--Tropical Storm Eta Expected To Strike Florida Keys As A Hurricane

HAVANA ( AP ) — A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta sliced across Cuba on Sunday and was aimed at the southern tip of Florida , where officials braced for a storm that could to hit at hurricane force after leaving scores of dead and over 100 missing in Mexico and Central America .
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas , including Florida Bay , with the storm expected to reach that area by Sunday night or early Monday .
Florida officials closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , shut down public transportation and urged residents to stay off the street .
Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas .
Eta had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph ( 100 kph ) at midday Sunday and it was centered north of Cuba , about 145 miles ( 235 kilometers ) southeast of Marathon , Florida , and about 170 miles ( 275 kilometers ) south-southeast of Miami .
It was moving toward the north-northwest at 17 mph ( 28 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as searchers in Guatemala were still digging for people believed buried by a massive , rain-fueled landslide .
Authorities on Sunday raised the known death toll there to 27 from 15 and said more than 100 were missing in Guatemala , many of them in the landslide in San Cristobal Verapaz .
Pope Francis on Sunday spoke about the population of Central America , hit “ by a violent hurricane , which has caused many victims and huge damage , worsened as well by the already difficult situation due to the pandemic.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Square , Francis prayed that “ the Lord welcome the deceased , comfort their families and sustain all those so tried , as well as all those who are doing their best to help them.
” In Florida , Gov .
Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday for eight counties at the end of the state as Eta approached , urging residents to stock up on supplies .
South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Further south in the Keys , officials were monitoring the storm closely , but had no plans yet to evacuate tourists or residents .
They urged residents to secure their boats and encouraged visitors to consider altering plans until Eta had passed .
In the worst-hit village , Quejá , at least five bodies have been pulled from the mud .
The Indigenous community of about 1,200 residents consisted of simple homes of wood and tin roofs clinging to the mountainside .
Rescue workers used a helicopter to evacuate survivor Emilio Caal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40 family members and relatives .
Caal , 65 , suffered a dislocated shoulder when the landslide sent rocks , trees and earth hurtling onto the home where he was about to sit down to lunch with his wife and grandchildren .
Caal said he was blown several yards ( meters ) by the force of the slide , and that none of the others were able to get out .

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HAVANA (AP) — A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta sliced across Cuba on Sunday and was aimed at the southern tip of Florida, where officials braced for a storm that could to hit at hurricane force after leaving scores of dead and over 100 missing in Mexico and Central America.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay, with the storm expected to reach that area by Sunday night or early Monday.
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Florida officials closed beaches, ports and COVID testing sites, shut down public transportation and urged residents to stay off the street. Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas.
A mother lets her child play in the surf as heavy waves from Tropical Storm Eta come on the shore near the Cocoa Beach Pier in Florida on Saturday. SOPA Images via Getty Images
Broward County also shut down in-person schooling Monday and Miami seemed poised to do the same.
Eta had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) at midday Sunday and it was centered north of Cuba, about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southeast of Marathon, Florida, and about 170 miles (275 kilometers) south-southeast of Miami. It was moving toward the north-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph).
The storm swelled rivers and flooded coastal zones in Cuba, where 25,000 had been evacuated. But there were no reports of deaths.
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Eta hit Cuba even as searchers in Guatemala were still digging for people believed buried by a massive, rain-fueled landslide. Authorities on Sunday raised the known death toll there to 27 from 15 and said more than 100 were missing in Guatemala, many of them in the landslide in San Cristobal Verapaz.
Some 60,000 people had been evacuated in Guatemala.
Workers walk around a road blocked by a landslide in San Cristobal Verapaz, Guatemala, on Saturday following Hurricane Eta. An estimated 100 people were believed to have been buried by a massive, rain-fueled landslide. ASSOCIATED PRESS
At least 20 people also were reported dead in southern Mexico and local officials in Honduras reported 21, though the national disaster agency had confirmed only eight.
Pope Francis on Sunday spoke about the population of Central America, hit “by a violent hurricane, which has caused many victims and huge damage, worsened as well by the already difficult situation due to the pandemic.” Speaking to faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Francis prayed that “the Lord welcome the deceased, comfort their families and sustain all those so tried, as well as all those who are doing their best to help them.”
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday for eight counties at the end of the state as Eta approached, urging residents to stock up on supplies. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas.
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A toddler is carried over a flooded street in the aftermath of Hurricane Eta in Jerusalen, Honduras, on Thursday. The storm hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Miami-Dade County declared a state of emergency Friday night and also warned a flood watch would be in effect through Tuesday night.
Further south in the Keys, officials were monitoring the storm closely, but had no plans yet to evacuate tourists or residents. They urged residents to secure their boats and encouraged visitors to consider altering plans until Eta had passed.
Eta initially hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, and authorities from Panama to Mexico were still surveying the damages following days of torrential rains during the week.
In Guatemala, search teams first had to overcome multiple landslides and deep mud just to reach the site where officials have estimated some 150 homes were devastated.
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In the worst-hit village, Quejá, at least five bodies have been pulled from the mud. The Indigenous community of about 1,200 residents consisted of simple homes of wood and tin roofs clinging to the mountainside.
A damaged road is seen following the passage of Hurricane Eta in Gualan, north of Guatemala City, on Saturday. CARLOS ALONZO via Getty Images
Rescue workers used a helicopter to evacuate survivor Emilio Caal, who said he lost as many as 40 family members and relatives. Caal, 65, suffered a dislocated shoulder when the landslide sent rocks, trees and earth hurtling onto the home where he was about to sit down to lunch with his wife and grandchildren. Caal said he was blown several yards (meters) by the force of the slide, and that none of the others were able to get out.
“My wife is dead, my grandchildren are dead,” said Caal from a nearby hospital.
In neighboring Honduras, 68-year-old María Elena Mejía Guadron died when the brown waters of the Chamelecon river poured into San Pedro Sula’s Planeta neighborhood before dawn Thursday.
In southern Mexico, across the border from Guatemala, 20 people died as heavy rains attributed to Eta caused mudslides and swelled streams and rivers, according to Chiapas state civil defense official Elías Morales Rodríguez.
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A bridge is seen destroyed due to the heavy rains caused by Hurricane Eta in the town of Gualan on Saturday. JOHAN ORDONEZ via Getty Images
The worst incident in Mexico occurred in the mountain township of Chenalho, where 10 people were swept away by a rain-swollen stream; their bodies were later found downstream.
Flooding in the neighboring state of Tabasco was so bad that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cut short a trip to western Mexico and was flying to Tabasco, his home state, to oversee relief efforts.
Hurricane Eta’s arrival in northeast Nicaragua Tuesday followed days of drenching rain as it crawled toward shore. Its slow, meandering path north through Honduras pushed rivers over their banks.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-08--'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek Dead At 80

'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek Dead At 80

Trebek for decades had been the foundation of “ Jeopardy !
, ” one of the most popular game shows in television history .
He was known for his wit and fast-paced delivery , and won the Guinness World Record in 2014 for “ the most episodes ever hosted by the same presenter.
” He was under contract to host the trivia show through 2022 and said he planned to see it through despite his cancer .
“ Alex wasn ’ t just the best ever at what he did .
He was also a lovely and deeply decent man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every minute I got to spend with him , ” legendary “ Jeopardy !
” champion Ken Jennings tweeted .
“ Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy !
family — which , in a way , included millions of us.
” “ Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year , this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer , ” Trebek said in the video posted to the game show ’ s YouTube page and Twitter account .
“ Now , normally the prognosis for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m going to fight this , and I ’ m going to keep working , and with the love and support of my family and friends , and with the help of your prayers also , I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.
” “ [ I ’ ve lived ] a full life , and I ’ m nearing the end of that life ... if it happens , why should I be afraid that ?
” he told CTV News in Canada .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say at my funeral , as a part of a eulogy , is , ‘ He was taken from us too soon.
’ ” Fans and contestants expressed their support for the host amid his cancer treatment , including during an episode that aired a year ago , when “ Tournament of Champions ” contestant Dhruv Gaur wrote “ We love you , Alex ” as his response to the “ Final Jeopardy ” round .
“ I don ’ t mind getting choked up , ” he said in December , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ABC News interview .
“ My oncologist told me one of the symptoms , if you will , of pancreatic cancer is that you get these moments of depression , sadness.
” Alex Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a philosophy degree , but later focused on journalism , temporarily working as a fill-in newscaster for CBC .
He switched to hosting game shows in the 1960s , starting with the Canadian quiz show “ Reach for the Top.
” After jumping around some other shows , ABC asked Trebek in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jeopardy !
” His version of the trivia game show was formatted to give contestants clues in answer form , and required them to respond in the form of a question .
The show grew to international popularity , and Trebek became a pop culture icon with his charisma , clever personality and deep , unwavering voice that became a source of familiarity and comfort to viewers .
He won six Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host , as well as a lifetime achievement award , and received a standing ovation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 2019 .
“ Maybe I ’ ve been worrying about the wrong thing and I should just do what Sally Field did in a different venue many , many years ago and look at this as a sign that you guys like me and that you value my work , ” Trebek said in his acceptance speech , reflecting on whether people voted for him out of pity .
“ If that ’ s the case , I can live with that .
”

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Legendary “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek has died at the age of 80 after fighting Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, the game show announced Sunday.
“Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex,” the show’s official Twitter account posted.
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Trebek for decades had been the foundation of “Jeopardy!,” one of the most popular game shows in television history. He was known for his wit and fast-paced delivery, and won the Guinness World Record in 2014 for “the most episodes ever hosted by the same presenter.” He was under contract to host the trivia show through 2022 and said he planned to see it through despite his cancer
Alex Trebek, longtime "Jeopardy!" host, has died. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show, said his last day in the studio was Oct. 29. New episodes hosted by Trebek will air through Dec. 25.
“The show is not announcing plans for a new host at this time,” the company said in a statement Sunday.
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Tributes poured in on Sunday, demonstrating the immeasurable impact the veteran host had on viewers.
“Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him,” legendary “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings tweeted. “Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family — which, in a way, included millions of us.”
Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend with him. pic.twitter.com/CdHCcbqmp2 — Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) November 8, 2020
Just days ago, the show aired an episode in which the winner, Burt Thakur, told Trebek that he learned English from watching the show with his grandfather every night.
Alex's impact is immeasurable. Thank you for sharing, Burt! pic.twitter.com/XgGGwJ8GlH — Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 6, 2020
Trebek announced his cancer diagnosis in a video in March 2019, saying he wanted to tell fans himself lest they hear inaccurate or exaggerated reports about his health.
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“Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Trebek said in the video posted to the game show’s YouTube page and Twitter account. “Now, normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working, and with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
He was candid about both his mental health and physical pain throughout his multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
As he underwent a second round of chemotherapy in October 2019, Trebek said he had “lived a good life” and was “not afraid of dying.”
“[I’ve lived] a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life ... if it happens, why should I be afraid that?” he told CTV News in Canada. “One thing they’re not going to say at my funeral, as a part of a eulogy, is, ‘He was taken from us too soon.’”
Fans and contestants expressed their support for the host amid his cancer treatment, including during an episode that aired a year ago, when “Tournament of Champions” contestant Dhruv Gaur wrote “We love you, Alex” as his response to the “Final Jeopardy” round.
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Trebek choked up upon reading it, telling Gaur: “That’s very kind, thank you.”
“I don’t mind getting choked up,” he said in December, when asked about the moment in an ABC News interview. “My oncologist told me one of the symptoms, if you will, of pancreatic cancer is that you get these moments of depression, sadness.”
Trebek was born in Sudbury, Canada, on July 22, 1940. His mother, Lucille Trebek, was French-Canadian with some Indigenous ancestry, and his father, George Trebek, was a Ukrainian immigrant.
Alex Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a philosophy degree, but later focused on journalism, temporarily working as a fill-in newscaster for CBC. He switched to hosting game shows in the 1960s, starting with the Canadian quiz show “Reach for the Top.”
He left Canada for the U.S. in 1973, hosting the short-lived NBC game show “The Wizard of Odds.”
After jumping around some other shows, ABC asked Trebek in 1984 to host a revival of “Jeopardy!” His version of the trivia game show was formatted to give contestants clues in answer form, and required them to respond in the form of a question.
The show grew to international popularity, and Trebek became a pop culture icon with his charisma, clever personality and deep, unwavering voice that became a source of familiarity and comfort to viewers. He won six Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host, as well as a lifetime achievement award, and received a standing ovation while accepting his most recent Emmy in May 2019.
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“Maybe I’ve been worrying about the wrong thing and I should just do what Sally Field did in a different venue many, many years ago and look at this as a sign that you guys like me and that you value my work,” Trebek said in his acceptance speech, reflecting on whether people voted for him out of pity. “If that’s the case, I can live with that.”
Trebek appeared as himself on several popular TV shows, including “The Simpsons,” “Cheers” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Will Ferrell played Trebek in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, impersonating the host in a parody “Celebrity Jeopardy!”
Will Ferrell as Trebek in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. NBC via Getty Images
Trebek took a hiatus from his hosting duties after undergoing brain surgery in December 2017 to remove a blood clot.
When he stepped outside of the entertainment industry, Trebek’s record wasn’t unblemished. He hosted a Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate in 2018 that was booed by audience members and panned by commentators as bizarre. Trebek started off with a football trivia question and included a flat joke about clergy sex abuse. He later apologized, saying he “failed to recognize the seriousness of the event for the voters.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Pfizer Says Early Data Signals COVID-19 Vaccine Is Effective

Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90 % effective at preventing COVID-19 , indicating the company is on track later this month to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators .
Monday ’ s announcement doesn ’ t mean a vaccine is imminent : This interim analysis , from an independent data monitoring board , looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. and five other countries .
Pfizer Inc. did not provide any more details about those cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change by the time the study ends .
Even revealing such early data is highly unusual .
The shots made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are among 10 possible vaccine candidates in late-stage testing around the world — four of them so far in huge studies in the U.S. Another U.S. company , Moderna Inc. , also has said it hopes to be able to file an application with the Food and Drug Administration later this month .
Volunteers in the final-stage studies , and the researchers , don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dummy shot .
But a week after their second required dose , Pfizer ’ s study began counting the number who developed COVID-19 symptoms and were confirmed to have the coronavirus .
Because the study hasn ’ t ended , Gruber couldn ’ t say how many in each group had infections .
Doing the math , that would mean almost all the infections counted so far had to have occurred in people who got the dummy shots .
Pfizer doesn ’ t plan to stop its study until it records 164 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number that the FDA has agreed is enough to tell how well the vaccine is working .
The agency has made clear that any vaccine must be at least 50 % effective .
No participant so far has become severely ill , Gruber said .
Nor could he provide a breakdown of how many of the infections had occurred in older people , who are at highest risk from COVID-19 .
FDA has required that U.S. vaccine candidates be studied in at least 30,000 people .
In addition to adequate numbers of older @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other groups at high risk , including minorities and people with chronic health problems .
And it told companies they must track half their participants for side effects for at least two months , the time period when problems typically crop up .
Pfizer expects to reach that milestone later this month , but said Monday no serious safety concerns have been reported .
Because the pandemic is still raging , manufacturers hope to seek permission from governments around the world for emergency use of their vaccines while additional testing continues — allowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ normal but raising concerns about how much scientists will know about the shots .
The FDA ’ s scientific advisers last month said they worry that allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine could damage confidence in the shots and make it harder to ever find out how well they really work .
Those advisers said it ’ s critical these massive studies are allowed to run to completion .

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Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, indicating the company is on track later this month to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators.
Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean a vaccine is imminent: This interim analysis, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. and five other countries.
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Pfizer Inc. did not provide any more details about those cases, and cautioned the initial protection rate might change by the time the study ends. Even revealing such early data is highly unusual.
“We’re in a position potentially to be able to offer some hope,” Dr. Bill Gruber, Pfizer’s senior vice president of clinical development, told The Associated Press. “We’re very encouraged.”
Authorities have stressed it’s unlikely any vaccine will arrive much before the end of the year, and limited initial supplies will be rationed.
The shots made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are among 10 possible vaccine candidates in late-stage testing around the world — four of them so far in huge studies in the U.S. Another U.S. company, Moderna Inc., also has said it hopes to be able to file an application with the Food and Drug Administration later this month.
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Volunteers in the final-stage studies, and the researchers, don’t know who received the real vaccine or a dummy shot. But a week after their second required dose, Pfizer’s study began counting the number who developed COVID-19 symptoms and were confirmed to have the coronavirus.
Because the study hasn’t ended, Gruber couldn’t say how many in each group had infections. Doing the math, that would mean almost all the infections counted so far had to have occurred in people who got the dummy shots.
Pfizer doesn’t plan to stop its study until it records 164 infections among all the volunteers, a number that the FDA has agreed is enough to tell how well the vaccine is working. The agency has made clear that any vaccine must be at least 50% effective.
No participant so far has become severely ill, Gruber said. Nor could he provide a breakdown of how many of the infections had occurred in older people, who are at highest risk from COVID-19.
Participants were tested only if they developed symptoms, leaving unanswered whether vaccinated people could get infected but show no symptoms and unknowingly spread the virus.
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FDA has required that U.S. vaccine candidates be studied in at least 30,000 people. In addition to adequate numbers of older adults, those studies must also include other groups at high risk, including minorities and people with chronic health problems.
And it told companies they must track half their participants for side effects for at least two months, the time period when problems typically crop up. Pfizer expects to reach that milestone later this month, but said Monday no serious safety concerns have been reported.
Because the pandemic is still raging, manufacturers hope to seek permission from governments around the world for emergency use of their vaccines while additional testing continues — allowing them to get to market faster than normal but raising concerns about how much scientists will know about the shots.
The FDA’s scientific advisers last month said they worry that allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine could damage confidence in the shots and make it harder to ever find out how well they really work. Those advisers said it’s critical these massive studies are allowed to run to completion.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Trump's Last, Desperate Attack On Obamacare Goes To The Supreme Court This Week

Almost No Legal Expert Thinks The Case Has Merit Today , Americans who buy insurance on their own can get @ @ @ @ @ is below four times the poverty line ( about $ 100,000 a year for a @ @ @ @ @ Those credits effectively discount premiums by hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars a year .
@ @ @ @ @ the Affordable Care Act comes off the books , leaving millions to buy coverage on @ @ @ @ @ .
A Ruling Against the Law Would Unleash Chaos One Sentence Could Make The Case @ @

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Donald Trump has lost the presidential election, but his last, desperate effort to kill the Affordable Care Act will get its day before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, when the justices hear arguments in a Republican-backed lawsuit alleging that Obamacare is unconstitutional.
The case, known as California v. Texas, is the third such challenge to reach the high court since the law’s 2010 enactment. And the stakes are as high as ever. If the justices wipe out the Affordable Care Act, as 18 Republican state officials and the Trump administration have asked it to do, roughly 21 million Americans could lose health insurance, according to independent projections.
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The law’s protections for people with preexisting conditions would no longer be in effect, less-visible reforms covering everything from billing fraud to food calorie postings would vanish, and the entire health care system could plunge into chaos.
Demonstrators at the Supreme Court in 2015, which is the last time a lawsuit threatening the Affordable Care Act got a hearing before the justices. Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
The merits of the case are notoriously weak. Even conservative and libertarian lawyers who supported past challenges to Obamacare have filed friend-of-the-court briefs urging the justices to reject this one. For that reason, many legal observers think the chances of this lawsuit succeeding are relatively small.
But the lawsuit has already gotten favorable rulings from three lower court judges. All three were Republican appointees, just like the Supreme Court majority, which now numbers six conservatives, with Amy Coney Barrett recently placed on the bench.
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Tuesday’s oral arguments will offer the first hints of how she and the rest of the justices view this case, although an actual ruling will likely wait several months, maybe even until the spring.
Almost No Legal Expert Thinks The Case Has Merit
In theory, even the conservatives justices should make quick work of the case.
The basis for the lawsuit is the Affordable Care Act’s “individual mandate.” As originally written, the health care law imposed a financial penalty on people who could get insurance but did not.
The idea was to make sure healthy people enrolled before they got sick, so they would have protection against bills, so that they wouldn’t require charity care that would raise costs throughout the system, and so that insurers could keep premiums low and stable.
The mandate was always among the law’s most controversial features and was the basis for the first legal challenge, which suggested Congress lacked authority to impose such a requirement. The court rejected that lawsuit, with Chief Justice John Roberts leading a 5-4 majority, on the theory that the financial penalty was simply a tax and Congress has the power to impose taxes.
In 2017, Congress reduced the penalty to zero, as part of the Republican tax cut bill that Trump signed. Twenty Republican state officials then filed a new lawsuit, arguing that if the penalty was zero, the mandate ― whose language remains part of the statute ― can no longer be a tax.
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Chief Justice John Roberts (right) has twice joined more liberal justices to save the Affordable Care Act. But now he would need at least one more conservative to join him, putting the focus on newly confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett (right). Getty Images
That means the mandate is an unconstitutional command, according to the lawsuit. And because the law’s component parts are so interconnected, the lawsuit says, the whole thing has to come off the books.
The legal theory of the plaintiffs includes a series of arguments that scholars from across the political spectrum have criticized and, occasionally, mocked. How can there be a command to get insurance when the consequence for disobeying it is literally nothing? Do the people bringing the lawsuit even have standing to sue?
But the weakest argument, the one that has prompted so many of the law’s critics to dismiss it, is about a concept called “severability.” Under a well-established doctrine, judges ruling part of a law unconstitutional are supposed to do minimal damage to the rest of the law if they can.
The plaintiffs insist the entire statute has to go because that is what Congress intended. But it was Congress, in 2017, that decided to zero out the mandate while fully aware that the rest of the Affordable Care Act would stay in place.
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More recently, some COVID-19 relief measures have extended or built upon part of the Affordable Care Act ― which is yet more proof, as University of Connecticut professor John Cogan has argued, that Congress understood the law would stay in place and supports that.
Meanwhile, the Affordable Care Act is actually functioning without a mandate penalty. That’s one more reason to preserve the law, as a separate friend-of-the-court brief from several dozen policy experts argues.
One hint to how the Supreme Court might vote on this case comes from Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who in recent rulings indicated he supports the traditional notion of severability. That might suggest he’s inclined to leave the rest of the Affordable Care Act in place, even if he buys the argument that the mandate has now become unconstitutional.
An answer Barrett gave at her confirmation hearing, when the issue of the Affordable Care Act came up repeatedly, suggests that she too has a traditional view on severability.
But there is no way to be sure, especially because her answer left some observers thinking she might agree with the plaintiffs on the rest of the argument.
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And the consequences of a decision going in the other direction, wiping out the Affordable Care Act, would be enormous.
Millions Would Lose Insurance, Insurance Protections
The Affordable Care Act protects people with preexisting conditions, mostly by prohibiting insurers from denying them coverage or charging them higher premiums. It also requires that all plans cover 10 “essential benefits,” including mental health, maternity care and prescription drugs.
If the Supreme Court strikes down the law, those protections disappear. But such a ruling would do much more.
Today, Americans who buy insurance on their own can get tax credits if their income is below four times the poverty line (about $100,000 a year for a family of four). Those credits effectively discount premiums by hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars a year. They would be gone if the Affordable Care Act comes off the books, leaving millions to buy coverage on their own without that assistance.
Some would still get insurance, and if they are young and healthy, they might even be able to get it more cheaply than they do now. But they would likely have less-comprehensive coverage with big gaps in benefits.
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Many more Americans would lose Medicaid coverage because all but a dozen states have expanded eligibility to include everybody living below or just above the poverty line, providing coverage that’s federally funded. That federal funding comes from the Affordable Care Act, and it, too, would stop if the law is no longer in effect.
“States would have to quickly decide whether to continue covering some or all of these adults with their own funds,” according to Judy Solomon, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “It’s doubtful many would be able to do that.”
In some states, cuts would happen automatically because the executive actions or laws authorizing expansion call for restoring the pre-expansion eligibility standards if the extra federal funds stop flowing.
Between the loss of tax credits and the end of Medicaid funding, 21 million people would lose insurance, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Urban Institute.
A Ruling Against the Law Would Unleash Chaos
Even that figure doesn’t capture the full extent of the consequences from a Supreme Court decision against the health care law.
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The Affordable Care Act strengthened Medicaid by funding new home-based care options for the disabled and elderly. These initiatives would lose their authorization, leaving decisions about whether to continue the programs in the hands of cash-strapped state officials.
Sponsors of private employer plans, through which roughly half of all Americans get insurance, could once again impose annual or lifetime limits on benefits, since it’s the Affordable Care Act that made such limits illegal. That could really hammer patients with rare forms of cancer or congenital conditions, such as hemophilia, for which treatments can easily exceed $1 million per year or sometimes even per month.
Medicare recipients would also feel the effects. The Affordable Care Act bolstered it in several ways, most obviously by gradually eliminating a gap in prescription drug coverage that became known as the doughnut hole. Without the Affordable Care Act in place, that gap could open back up, leaving seniors to pay more money for their drugs.
It’s unclear how precisely that would work out because a law was enacted in 2018 to close the doughnut hole ahead of schedule. That legislation was a modification of the Affordable Care Act, and judges would have to sort out what that modification means if the ACA comes off the books.
And that’s just one example in which the courts would have to sort out modifications to the Affordable Care Act that Congress has passed since its inception.
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“It’s almost impossible to wrap your brain around how this would actually work,” Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University, told HuffPost. “It’s almost like you’d need a special master to go through these changes, line by line, to figure out what’s constitutional and what’s not.”
Likewise, a number of pilot programs to reengineer Medicare payments for health care, in order to improve the program’s efficiency and promote better quality care, are now underway. The experiments are taking place through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which the Affordable Care Act authorizes and finances.
Shutting down the law would mean shutting down the center and its programs, with unknown consequences for the health care providers participating in them.
“I don’t even know what I’d tell a health system if they came to me asking what to do,” said Nicholas Bagley, a professor of law at the University of Michigan.
And then there would be effects that have nothing to do with health insurance. The law is the reason that restaurant chains must post calorie counts on their menus, for example. It modified the Indian Health Service and changed the approval process for so-called biosimilar drugs.
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One Sentence Could Make The Case Go Away
Health care policy is all about tradeoffs, so for all these changes, there would be countereffects, including a reduction in taxes on the wealthy that the Affordable Care Act raised to finance its coverage expansions.
But the “effects of invalidation of the ACA would be devastating to our entire health care system,” said Timothy Jost, a law professor emeritus at Washington and Lee.
“Medicare payment rules, fraud and abuse prohibitions, Indian Health Service reforms, the Medicaid expansion, FDA authority over generic biologics — all would fall by the wayside,” Jost said.
Congress could always render the lawsuit moot by approving a one-sentence law eliminating the language of the mandate, for example. So far, nobody has seriously tried to pass such a measure.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Do Germ-Fighting Beauty And Hygiene Products Really Prevent COVID-19?

Products that promise to disinfect , sanitize and purify your beauty routine have become all the rage lately ― especially when you consider our makeup brushes are loaded with potentially deadly bacteria ― but there are many mysteries about whether disinfecting , sanitizing and purifying will actually fight COVID-19 .
Science-backed data notwithstanding , there are plenty of products for sale that claim to provide an added barrier of protection against COVID-19 , and plenty more that technically don ’ t claim to do any such thing , but are assumed to do so as a result of clever marketing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ germs are not created equally , and neither is their treatment Germs , which exist everywhere , are tiny living beings that can cause illness in humans .
Though the term itself is nonspecific and refers to various organisms ( such as fungi , bacteria and viruses ) that lead to infection and disease , treatment of these respective germs requires specificity in order to be successful .
As unique as they may be in name and structure , two types of germ in particular ― bacteria and viruses ― are regularly mistaken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to assumed interchangeability of their remedies .
Deciphering between the two can be difficult , and often requires testing , because according to board-certified physician Brooke Goldner , “ they can be spread in similar ways and can cause similar symptoms.
” Comparable indicators and discomforts aside , treating these germs entails entirely different approaches .
“ It ’ s important to understand that you need different medications to target bacteria versus viruses , ” said Goldner , who specializes in autoimmune diseases and disease reversal .
While bacterial infections can typically be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viruses ( like COVID-19 ) can not .
As far as virus treatment goes , “ antiviral medications can help with some infections and block their ability to spread in the body ... but do not kill the virus , ” Goldner said .
The difference between ‘ antimicrobial , ’ ‘ antibacterial ’ and other buzzwords The influx of germ-fighting products saturating the market ( especially since the onset of COVID-19 ) , with their vague claims of germicidal capability , has caused much confusion .
Terms like “ antimicrobial , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on contact ” have become popular , often plastered across product packaging .
With minimal explanation offered as to what they specifically combat , these illness-tackling promises don ’ t always add up and may not have any effect at all on the spread of COVID-19 .
As impressive a success rate as it may sound , products that promise to kill 99 % of germs on contact are not instantly effective or universally defensive .
Goldner cautions that “ contact with the product must be for a significant period of time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ your hands with soap will leave behind a lot more active viruses or bacteria , whereas a full 30 seconds of washing hands [ with the same soap ] will remove most or all of these particles.
” Can beauty products help beat the bad stuff ?
Disinfecting is ubiquitous these days , so it was inevitable that beauty and hygiene products would soon be judged by their antiseptic attributes .
Many cosmetics , skin care products and aesthetic devices have been given sanitary upgrades and promise added protection against harmful germs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there is an effort being made to market these antiseptic properties nonetheless .

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Germ-fighting has become a literal contact sport since the spread of COVID-19. Extending beyond household cleaning supplies and hand sanitizers, now the demand for items with antiseptic properties has spread to the world of beauty.
Products that promise to disinfect, sanitize and purify your beauty routine have become all the rage lately ― especially when you consider our makeup brushes are loaded with potentially deadly bacteria ― but there are many mysteries about whether disinfecting, sanitizing and purifying will actually fight COVID-19. Science-backed data notwithstanding, there are plenty of products for sale that claim to provide an added barrier of protection against COVID-19, and plenty more that technically don’t claim to do any such thing, but are assumed to do so as a result of clever marketing, coupled with consumer fears.
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To establish what works and what doesn’t, we spoke with experts to clear it all up. But first, let’s find out how the science works.
All germs are not created equally, and neither is their treatment
Germs, which exist everywhere, are tiny living beings that can cause illness in humans. Though the term itself is nonspecific and refers to various organisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) that lead to infection and disease, treatment of these respective germs requires specificity in order to be successful.
Jose A. Bernat Bacete via Getty Images Makeup brushes can be loaded with potentially deadly bacteria.
As unique as they may be in name and structure, two types of germ in particular ― bacteria and viruses ― are regularly mistaken for one another, which often leads to assumed interchangeability of their remedies. Deciphering between the two can be difficult, and often requires testing, because according to board-certified physician Brooke Goldner, “they can be spread in similar ways and can cause similar symptoms.” Comparable indicators and discomforts aside, treating these germs entails entirely different approaches.
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“It’s important to understand that you need different medications to target bacteria versus viruses,” said Goldner, who specializes in autoimmune diseases and disease reversal. While bacterial infections can typically be treated with antibiotics, infections caused by viruses (like COVID-19) cannot. As far as virus treatment goes, “antiviral medications can help with some infections and block their ability to spread in the body... but do not kill the virus,” Goldner said.
The difference between ‘antimicrobial,’ ‘antibacterial’ and other buzzwords
The influx of germ-fighting products saturating the market (especially since the onset of COVID-19), with their vague claims of germicidal capability, has caused much confusion. Terms like “antimicrobial,” “antibacterial” and “kills germs on contact” have become popular, often plastered across product packaging. With minimal explanation offered as to what they specifically combat, these illness-tackling promises don’t always add up and may not have any effect at all on the spread of COVID-19.
Puritize Home The UVC-based Puritize Home device, which can clean makeup brushes and other items, has evidence of being both antibacterial and antiviral.
“Antimicrobial agents kill microbes... so generally speaking, they can be used to kill COVID-19,” said emergency medicine specialist Robert Helman. However, products that offer antibacterial properties, according to Helman, do not have the same ability, “since antibacterial agents kill only bacteria and COVID-19 is a virus.”
As impressive a success rate as it may sound, products that promise to kill 99% of germs on contact are not instantly effective or universally defensive. Goldner cautions that “contact with the product must be for a significant period of time. For example, a quick rinse of your hands with soap will leave behind a lot more active viruses or bacteria, whereas a full 30 seconds of washing hands [with the same soap] will remove most or all of these particles.”
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Goldner also recommends examining product labels “to see if the germs it kills are indeed the ones you are trying to eliminate, since not all products are effective against the same germs.”
Can beauty products help beat the bad stuff?
Disinfecting is ubiquitous these days, so it was inevitable that beauty and hygiene products would soon be judged by their antiseptic attributes. Many cosmetics, skin care products and aesthetic devices have been given sanitary upgrades and promise added protection against harmful germs. Although some of the details are disputable, there is an effort being made to market these antiseptic properties nonetheless.
Can their efforts provide a barrier against contracting COVID-19 ― or any other illnesses, for that matter? We’ll let medical experts answer that.
Germ-fighting claim: According to a brand rep, this product can “sanitize makeup brushes and cosmetic tools.”
Expert response: Dermatologist Sapna Westley agrees that “the Puritize home device, which is UVC based, has data for being antibacterial as well as antiviral. Currently many hospitals, operating rooms and doctor’s offices are using UVC for germicidal properties in the age of COVID.”
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Germ-fighting claim: The brand’s website says this product gently yet deeply cleanses away dirt, oil, makeup and toxins through its patented counter-rotating, pore-tightening action.
Expert response: Westley “does not see anything specifically germicidal with the Nu Skin LumiSpa,” but thinks “it seems to be a good cleansing and exfoliating product for the skin.”
Germ-fighting claim: A brand spokesperson said that “this lotion uses Benzalkonium Chloride – 0.13% (Antimicrobial) to kill 99.9% of germs and help provide protection against germs that you may come into contact with later.”
Expert response: “If and when used properly, products containing benzalkonium chloride can be effective in killing microbes on recommended surfaces,” Helman says. However, Goldner warns that per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “evidence shows that benzalkonium chloride is less reliably effective against the coronavirus than alcohol.”
Germ-fighting claim: According to a brand spokesperson, “this sanitizing and purifying mist is created from food-grade ingredients to protect you from pathogens that you could get on your hair, clothes, shoes, or even accessories.”
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Expert response: “Using 70% ethyl alcohol, colloidal silver and copper may have some benefit,” Westley says. “Copper in nanoparticles has some data for being antibacterial, and colloidal silver has been known to be antibacterial and used on wounds.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--President-Elect Biden Names COVID-19 Advisory Board Stacked With Experts

President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday the members of a COVID-19 advisory board as he transitions into the White House .
The roster of experts and doctors will help guide his administration as it confronts a rapidly worsening crisis that has already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and infected millions more .
The board will be co-chaired by three public health heavyweights : Dr. David Kessler , a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration under President Bill Clinton ; Dr. Vivek Murthy , who served as surgeon general under President Barack Obama ; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University .
“ Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face , and I will be informed by science and by experts , ” Biden said in a statement .
“ The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections ; ensuring vaccines are safe , effective , and distributed efficiently , equitably , and free ; and protecting at-risk populations.
” The nation will likely still be gripped by the coronavirus as Biden returns to Washington in January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institute aggressive policies to get COVID-19 under control , instead downplaying the pandemic and undermining public health experts .
“ I will spare no effort , none , or any commitment to turn around this pandemic , ” Biden said in his victory speech Saturday , which was held outdoors and with a socially distanced crowd .
More than 237,000 people have died from the virus and the U.S. set a new record on Saturday after the country recorded 126,742 new infections in a 24-hour period .
The nation also neared 10 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being recorded in just a 10-day period as cases continue to skyrocket across the country .
Biden has been working with Kessler and Murthy for months and has spent the past few days assuring the public that he will enter the Oval Office with an aggressive plan in place .
NBC News reported Sunday that he will personally begin calling governors around the country to encourage them to enact mask mandates and move down the line of power to local mayors to do so if he meets resistance .
“ I want everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re going to put our plan to control this virus into action , ” Biden said in a speech on Friday .
“ We can ’ t save any of the lives lost — any of those that have been lost — but we can save a lot of lives in the months ahead .
”

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President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday the members of a COVID-19 advisory board as he transitions into the White House. The roster of experts and doctors will help guide his administration as it confronts a rapidly worsening crisis that has already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and infected millions more.
The board will be co-chaired by three public health heavyweights: Dr. David Kessler, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration under President Bill Clinton; Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general under President Barack Obama; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of public health at Yale University.
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The board will also include a slate of global health experts, infectious disease researchers and doctors.
“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” Biden said in a statement. “The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations.”
The nation will likely still be gripped by the coronavirus as Biden returns to Washington in January. President Donald Trump has failed to institute aggressive policies to get COVID-19 under control, instead downplaying the pandemic and undermining public health experts.
“I will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic,” Biden said in his victory speech Saturday, which was held outdoors and with a socially distanced crowd.
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More than 237,000 people have died from the virus and the U.S. set a new record on Saturday after the country recorded 126,742 new infections in a 24-hour period. The nation also neared 10 million infections on Sunday, the last million being recorded in just a 10-day period as cases continue to skyrocket across the country.
Biden has been working with Kessler and Murthy for months and has spent the past few days assuring the public that he will enter the Oval Office with an aggressive plan in place. NBC News reported Sunday that he will personally begin calling governors around the country to encourage them to enact mask mandates and move down the line of power to local mayors to do so if he meets resistance.
“I want everyone to know on day one, we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action,” Biden said in a speech on Friday. “We can’t save any of the lives lost — any of those that have been lost — but we can save a lot of lives in the months ahead.”
The other members of the advisory board are: Dr. Luciana Borio, Dr. Rick Bright, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Dr. Atul Gawande, Dr. Celine Gounder, Dr. Julie Morita, Dr. Michael Osterholm, Loyce Pace, Dr. Robert Rodriguez and Dr. Eric Goosby.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Biden Will Reportedly Begin Calling Mayors, Governors To Urge Mask Mandates

President-elect Joe Biden will begin to phone governors and mayors of major cities this week to encourage mask mandates that help stem the tide of COVID-19 , NBC News reported .
Biden is preparing to launch his administration during a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in America .
The nation broke a daily record with nearly 133,000 cases on Friday , which was also the fourth straight day of 1,000 daily deaths .
Nearly a quarter of a million Americans have died from COVID-19 .
If a governor declines to institute a mask mandate , the president-elect will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and ask them to lead , ” a senior Biden adviser told NBC .
“ In many states , there is the capacity of mayors to institute mandates.
” Biden is also reportedly considering a mask mandate for federal buildings .
A study released last month estimated that a universal mask requirement could save 130,000 lives in the U.S. by the end of February .
Some 20 states already have mask mandates .
On Sunday , Utah Gov .
Gary Herbert ( R ) became the latest governor to require masks after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his state surged .
The next step in Biden ’ s pandemic plan will be to organize a national testing program , the adviser told NBC .
At a campaign rally last month , President Donald Trump warned that if Biden was elected president , he would “ listen to the scientists ” concerning the disease .

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President-elect Joe Biden will begin to phone governors and mayors of major cities this week to encourage mask mandates that help stem the tide of COVID-19, NBC News reported.
Biden is preparing to launch his administration during a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in America. The nation broke a daily record with nearly 133,000 cases on Friday, which was also the fourth straight day of 1,000 daily deaths. Nearly a quarter of a million Americans have died from COVID-19.
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If a governor declines to institute a mask mandate, the president-elect will “go to the mayors in the state and ask them to lead,” a senior Biden adviser told NBC. “In many states, there is the capacity of mayors to institute mandates.”
Biden is also reportedly considering a mask mandate for federal buildings. A study released last month estimated that a universal mask requirement could save 130,000 lives in the U.S. by the end of February.
Some 20 states already have mask mandates. On Sunday, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) became the latest governor to require masks after rebuffing the idea for months when cases in his state surged.
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The next step in Biden’s pandemic plan will be to organize a national testing program, the adviser told NBC.
At a campaign rally last month, President Donald Trump warned that if Biden was elected president, he would “listen to the scientists” concerning the disease.
Biden responded in a tweet:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--U.S. Becomes First Nation To Surpass 10 Million Coronavirus Cases

President-elect Joe Biden , who spent much of his election campaign criticizing President Donald Trump ’ s handling of the pandemic , pledged on Saturday to make tackling the pandemic a top priority .
Biden will announce a 12-member task force on Monday to deal with the pandemic that will be led by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy and former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler .
The coronavirus task force will be charged with developing a blueprint for containing the disease once Biden takes office in January .
The Midwest remains the hardest-hit region based on the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South Dakota , Wisconsin , Iowa and Nebraska the top five worst-affected U.S. states .
Illinois emerged as the new epicenter in the Midwest , with the state reporting over 60,000 COVID-19 infections in the last seven days , the highest in the country , according to Reuters data .
The state reported more than 12,454 new cases on Saturday , the highest single-day number so far .
Texas , which accounts for 10 % of total U.S. cases , is the hardest-hit state and became the first to surpass a million coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
According to a Reuters analysis , the South region comprises nearly 43 % of all the cases in the United States since the pandemic began , with nearly 4.3 million cases in the region alone , followed by the Midwest , West and Northeast .
New York , with over 33,000 fatalities , remains the state with highest number of deaths and accounts for about 14 % of total U.S. deaths .
The United States performed about 10.5 million coronavirus tests in the first seven days of November , of which 6.22 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6.17 % the prior seven-days , according to data from The COVID Tracking Project , a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak .

President-elect Joe Biden, who spent much of his election campaign criticizing President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, pledged on Saturday to make tackling the pandemic a top priority.
Biden will announce a 12-member task force on Monday to deal with the pandemic that will be led by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy and former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler. The coronavirus task force will be charged with developing a blueprint for containing the disease once Biden takes office in January.
The Midwest remains the hardest-hit region based on the most cases per capita with North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska the top five worst-affected U.S. states.
Illinois emerged as the new epicenter in the Midwest, with the state reporting over 60,000 COVID-19 infections in the last seven days, the highest in the country, according to Reuters data. The state reported more than 12,454 new cases on Saturday, the highest single-day number so far.
Texas, which accounts for 10% of total U.S. cases, is the hardest-hit state and became the first to surpass a million coronavirus cases in the United States on Saturday.
According to a Reuters analysis, the South region comprises nearly 43% of all the cases in the United States since the pandemic began, with nearly 4.3 million cases in the region alone, followed by the Midwest, West and Northeast.
New York, with over 33,000 fatalities, remains the state with highest number of deaths and accounts for about 14% of total U.S. deaths.
The United States performed about 10.5 million coronavirus tests in the first seven days of November, of which 6.22% came back positive, compared with 6.17% the prior seven-days, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Michael Cohen Predicts When And How 'Loser' Trump Leaves The White House

President Donald Trump may leave the White House for next month ’ s Christmas break and never return , according to his former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen .
But it ’ s not because Trump plans to concede to President-elect Joe Biden .
“ I wouldn ’ t be shocked if there ’ s no concession speech at all , ” Cohen told MSNBC ’ s Alex Witt on Sunday .
“ My theory is that Christmastime he heads to Mar-a-Lago and I don ’ t believe he comes back to Washington .
I think he stays at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Cohen , who worked for Trump for years before turning on him in 2018 , added that Trump was unlikely to attend the inauguration .
“ He can not let the camera look at him and basically pull down the curtain and see the wizard that ’ s standing beside , ” Cohen said .
“ That he ’ s a loser , and it ’ s killing him.
” Since Trump can ’ t accept losing , he had to fabricate a conspiracy theory to explain it .
“ Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost , ” Cohen said at another point in the interview .
“ To him , it ’ s tantamount to calling him a loser , which is the worst thing in the world that you can actually call him.
” As a result , Trump will fight the election ’ s results , even after leaving office , to damage the new administration .
“ He ’ s gon na start his own media company , ” Cohen predicted , noting that Trump wanted to launch one in 2015 .
“ Every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more chaos with more fake information disseminated out there in order to be a thorn in President-elect Biden ’ s thigh.
” Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and to campaign finance violations for facilitating hush-money payments on behalf of Trump to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal .
He was sentenced to three years behind bars , but was released from prison earlier this year and is serving in home confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic .

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President Donald Trump may leave the White House for next month’s Christmas break and never return, according to his former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.
But it’s not because Trump plans to concede to President-elect Joe Biden.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s no concession speech at all,” Cohen told MSNBC’s Alex Witt on Sunday. “My theory is that Christmastime he heads to Mar-a-Lago and I don’t believe he comes back to Washington. I think he stays at Mar-a-Lago all the way through the inauguration.”
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Cohen, who worked for Trump for years before turning on him in 2018, added that Trump was unlikely to attend the inauguration.
“He cannot let the camera look at him and basically pull down the curtain and see the wizard that’s standing beside,” Cohen said. “That he’s a loser, and it’s killing him.”
Since Trump can’t accept losing, he had to fabricate a conspiracy theory to explain it.
“Donald Trump cannot accept the fact that he lost,” Cohen said at another point in the interview. “To him, it’s tantamount to calling him a loser, which is the worst thing in the world that you can actually call him.”
As a result, Trump will fight the election’s results, even after leaving office, to damage the new administration.
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“He’s gonna start his own media company,” Cohen predicted, noting that Trump wanted to launch one in 2015. “Every day he’s gonna sow more chaos with more fake information disseminated out there in order to be a thorn in President-elect Biden’s thigh.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Trump Appointee Needed To Start Biden Transition Refusing To Sign Off, Report Says

The federal official whose job is to sign off on President-elect Joe Biden ’ s election victory and begin the mammoth task of transitioning between presidents has refused to do so , potentially delaying the official transfer of power , The Washington Post reported on Sunday evening .
Emily Murphy , a Trump appointee who heads the General Services Administration , has resisted signing the paperwork that would give Biden and his team access to millions of dollars in transitions funds , as well as official access to government officials and equipment to prepare the incoming administration .
Biden was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after a historic , heated election that stretched for days as election workers counted mountains of mail-in ballots .
Biden defeated President Donald Trump by more than 4 million votes .
Murphy , who was sworn into office in 2017 , is tasked with making an “ ascertainment ” that Biden won the presidency before signing off on the transition , the Post noted .
The GSA declaration would grant the Biden team access to $ 9.9 million for salaries and spending until the inauguration .
Biden officials would also get office space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin to work with Trump government officials to wade through the complicated process of replacing one president with another .
The GSA said over the weekend in a statement to Politico that it had not yet made the ascertainment .
It could wait until Dec. 14 , when the Electoral College votes are cast and certified , but doing so would undercut weeks of transition time Biden needs to enter the White House prepared for the job .
“ GSA and its Administrator will continue to abide by , and fulfill , all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency said in a brief statement .
Trump has so far refused to concede , bucking decades of tradition while continuing to spread conspiracy theories about voter fraud that have been discredited again and again .
Axios reported Sunday that while many within the Trump administration have already reckoned with the loss , some die-hards within the West Wing have supported long-shot efforts to challenge Biden ’ s victory .
A Biden transition spokesperson told the Post it looked “ forward to the GSA Administrator quickly ascertaining Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America ’ s national security and economic interests depend on the federal government signaling clearly and swiftly that the United States government will respect the will of the American people and engage in a smooth and peaceful transfer of power , ” the said .
Biden and his team have already begun to prepare for their first day in office after the inauguration on Jan. 20 , and the president-elect announced a COVID-19 task force on Monday to guide his policies on the ongoing pandemic .

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The federal official whose job is to sign off on President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory and begin the mammoth task of transitioning between presidents has refused to do so, potentially delaying the official transfer of power, The Washington Post reported on Sunday evening.
Emily Murphy, a Trump appointee who heads the General Services Administration, has resisted signing the paperwork that would give Biden and his team access to millions of dollars in transitions funds, as well as official access to government officials and equipment to prepare the incoming administration.
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Biden was projected to win the presidency on Saturday after a historic, heated election that stretched for days as election workers counted mountains of mail-in ballots. Biden defeated President Donald Trump by more than 4 million votes.
Scroll down or click here for the latest updates from HuffPost’s election live blog
Murphy, who was sworn into office in 2017, is tasked with making an “ascertainment” that Biden won the presidency before signing off on the transition, the Post noted. The GSA declaration would grant the Biden team access to $9.9 million for salaries and spending until the inauguration. Biden officials would also get office space and government email addresses, and could begin to work with Trump government officials to wade through the complicated process of replacing one president with another.
The GSA said over the weekend in a statement to Politico that it had not yet made the ascertainment. It could wait until Dec. 14, when the Electoral College votes are cast and certified, but doing so would undercut weeks of transition time Biden needs to enter the White House prepared for the job.
“GSA and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law,” the agency said in a brief statement.
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Trump has so far refused to concede, bucking decades of tradition while continuing to spread conspiracy theories about voter fraud that have been discredited again and again. Axios reported Sunday that while many within the Trump administration have already reckoned with the loss, some die-hards within the West Wing have supported long-shot efforts to challenge Biden’s victory.
A Biden transition spokesperson told the Post it looked “forward to the GSA Administrator quickly ascertaining Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the President-elect and Vice President-elect.”
“America’s national security and economic interests depend on the federal government signaling clearly and swiftly that the United States government will respect the will of the American people and engage in a smooth and peaceful transfer of power,” the said.
Biden and his team have already begun to prepare for their first day in office after the inauguration on Jan. 20, and the president-elect announced a COVID-19 task force on Monday to guide his policies on the ongoing pandemic.
Biden’s early plans also include rejoining the Paris climate accord.
Read live updates on the election below. (Note: An ad blocker may prevent you from seeing the blog, so if you’re using one, please pause or turn it off.)


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Just Skip The Senate To Install A Cabinet, Progressives Urge Joe Biden

“ There are legal tools are available and Biden should be unafraid to use every legal tool available — just as McConnell has used to stack the courts , ” said Jeff Hauser , founder and director of the Revolving Door Project , which scrutinizes executive branch appointees for their ties to corporate interests .
“ There ’ s no need to heed to McConnell ’ s demands to install corporatists , ” said David Segal , who runs the group Demand Progress and has been leading the progressive effort to influence the Biden transition process .
“ He ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members ] If he ’ s got any chance to attack the crises before us and stave off total democratic collapse in the midterms.
” Demand Progress and the progressive group Data for Progress ran a survey in September that looked at support for the types of people Biden could install in his administration , which they shared with HuffPost .
A majority of likely voters all said that lobbyists , Wall Street executives , executives of large technology companies and oil and gas executives all already have too much influence over government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acting secretaries to run the administration , including for high-profile positions like for the Office of Management and Budget director , the director of national intelligence as well as the head of the Department of Homeland Security , which has not had an official head since early 2019 .
“ The many people who swung back to Democrats relative to Trump need to see that Biden is in a position to actually address the crisis , ” Segal said .
“ We need to not repeat 2010 — 2010 was not a function @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it was a combination of insufficiency and too much largess to corporations.
” Biden has already received backlash for some of his more centrist influences ; over the summer his campaign had to distance itself from Larry Summers , a longtime economic adviser who has become a bogeyman on the left for his ties to Wall Street and Silicon Valley and for repeatedly backing bailouts for big financial institutions .
“ These transition appointments , they send a signal .
They tell a story of who the administration credits with this victory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so it ’ s going be really hard after immigrant youth activists helped potentially deliver Arizona and Nevada .
It ’ s going to be really hard after Detroit and Rashida Tlaib ran up the numbers in her district .
It ’ s really hard for us to turn out nonvoters when they feel like nothing changes for them .
When they feel like people don ’ t see them , or even acknowledge their turnout.
” If the Senate continues to be controlled by McConnell , Biden would have an easy excuse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of his administration .
But it could also hamper much of his agenda , which is certainly more progressive than any Democratic presidential candidate in recent history .
“ We ’ ve always been worried that Biden ’ s not going to have the will or interest in using his authority aggressively , ” the Democratic Senate strategist said .
“ But hopefully he ’ ll see that it will be necessary for his administration to get anything done and ultimately to succeed .
”

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President-elect Joe Biden faces the very real possibility of taking office with a Senate controlled by Republicans, ready to block him at every turn. Progressive activists say they have a simple solution, at least when it comes to installing his top officials: Just go around Congress.
The Senate is currently split, with two races still to be called and two others in Georgia to be decided in Jan. 5 runoffs.
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Allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Axios last week that a GOP-controlled Senate would be willing to go along with Biden’s nominations for his administration, as long as they’re centrists.
But progressive activists say that path would be unacceptable, and they’re already putting pressure on the incoming Biden administration to go around the Senate so that McConnell doesn’t get to decide a Democratic Cabinet.
“There are legal tools are available and Biden should be unafraid to use every legal tool available — just as McConnell has used to stack the courts,” said Jeff Hauser, founder and director of the Revolving Door Project, which scrutinizes executive branch appointees for their ties to corporate interests.
The two main options center around using a law called the Vacancy Act, and appointing officials when the Senate is in recess. Transition officials have so far been unwilling to discuss what sort of strategies they’re considering.
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The first option is a 1998 law that allows a president to temporarily fill vacant executive branch positions that typically require Senate confirmation with “acting” secretaries.
“There’s no need to heed to McConnell’s demands to install corporatists,” said David Segal, who runs the group Demand Progress and has been leading the progressive effort to influence the Biden transition process. “He’s got to [appoint liberal Cabinet members] If he’s got any chance to attack the crises before us and stave off total democratic collapse in the midterms.”
Demand Progress and the progressive group Data for Progress ran a survey in September that looked at support for the types of people Biden could install in his administration, which they shared with HuffPost. A majority of likely voters all said that lobbyists, Wall Street executives, executives of large technology companies and oil and gas executives all already have too much influence over government policy.
In other words, these groups argue, picking the types of people who usually have power in Washington ― and could perhaps get McConnell’s approval ― will be a bad idea.
Trump has relied heavily on acting secretaries to run the administration, including for high-profile positions like for the Office of Management and Budget director, the director of national intelligence as well as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, which has not had an official head since early 2019.
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Installing these temporary picks through the Vacancy Act is limited. They can serve for only 210 days once the position becomes open, although it can be extended if the president nominates someone to be the permanent secretary.
Still, that period would be long enough for Biden to enact the agenda of his first 100 days and to start to address the most pressing crises, including the raging coronavirus pandemic and the struggling economy.
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may very well still be majority leader under a Biden administration. Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press
Even aside from appointments, Democrats are hoping that Biden uses his executive authority to get as much done on policy as he can without the Senate.
“Biden’s got to use executive orders,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said on MSNBC last week.
“It’s important to get personnel right so that you can use executive authority robustly, and in this context it will also be important to use executive authority robustly to get personnel right,” said a Democratic Senate strategist who requested anonymity to speak freely.
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Progressives argue that unless Democrats pick firmly liberal officials for top posts in the new administration, the party will face even more crushing results in the next election cycle.
“The many people who swung back to Democrats relative to Trump need to see that Biden is in a position to actually address the crisis,” Segal said. “We need to not repeat 2010 — 2010 was not a function of too much response to the crisis, it was a combination of insufficiency and too much largess to corporations.”
Democrats lost control of the House majority in 2010, fundamentally changing the course of President Barack Obama’s remaining years in office.
Biden’s administration could also make appointments when the Senate is in recess, according to Segal. But the Senate has, in the past, blocked the president from making recess appointments by scheduling “pro forma” sessions ― when the Senate meets for a very short time to avoid technically being in recess.
These acting appointments aren’t without drawbacks. Government experts say they don’t have the full authority within their departments of someone who is Senate-confirmed, and their temporary nature makes it harder for them to implement a full agenda.
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But supporters of this approach say it’s better than allowing an opposing party hellbent on blocking Biden’s agenda from controlling the entire process.
Biden has already received backlash for some of his more centrist influences; over the summer his campaign had to distance itself from Larry Summers, a longtime economic adviser who has become a bogeyman on the left for his ties to Wall Street and Silicon Valley and for repeatedly backing bailouts for big financial institutions.
Biden won with a large, ideologically diverse coalition. It includes corporate-friendly moderate Democrats who have long been at the center of power in Washington, and a growing progressive grassroots, advocating for the working class. And people from both sides of the spectrum ― and even a few Republicans ― have been discussed as Cabinet secretary choices.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The New York Times that if the administration shuts out progressives and caters to centrists and conservatives, it will be disappointing ― and will alienate a portion of the country that the Democratic Party needs to win.
“These transition appointments, they send a signal. They tell a story of who the administration credits with this victory,” she said. “And so it’s going be really hard after immigrant youth activists helped potentially deliver Arizona and Nevada. It’s going to be really hard after Detroit and Rashida Tlaib ran up the numbers in her district. It’s really hard for us to turn out nonvoters when they feel like nothing changes for them. When they feel like people don’t see them, or even acknowledge their turnout.”
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If the Senate continues to be controlled by McConnell, Biden would have an easy excuse to pick more moderate figures to be part of his administration. But it could also hamper much of his agenda, which is certainly more progressive than any Democratic presidential candidate in recent history.
“We’ve always been worried that Biden’s not going to have the will or interest in using his authority aggressively,” the Democratic Senate strategist said. “But hopefully he’ll see that it will be necessary for his administration to get anything done and ultimately to succeed.”
“There is a corporate wing of each party and they could definitely make deals together,” Hauser said. “I’m definitely worried that they might say that the election means we should go to the center.”
For now outside groups and labor organizers who have also been involved in transition talks — at least on the periphery — are not giving up hope on Democrats’ chances in the Senate.
Mary Kay Henry, the president of the Service Employees Union International (SEIU), who has a direct line to the Biden campaign, told HuffPost she’s not yet entertaining the idea of a McConnell-led Senate. Her members are planning on organizing around an outstanding race in North Carolina and the possibility of two runoff elections in Georgia.
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Losing the Senate, she said, however, will not be an excuse to lower the party’s ambitions.
“We just had essential workers turned out in this election and created a record-setting vote in this country,” Henry said. “We are not going to reduce our expectations one bit no matter who is in the Senate. They have to understand their political future rests on taking bold and dramatic actions to address the crises of a generation.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Ex-RNC Chair Michael Steele Says Republican Party Needs A 'Political Enema'

Michael Steele , former chair of the Republican National Committee , said it ’ s time to clean house within the GOP now that President Donald Trump has lost reelection to President-elect Joe Biden .
“ It ’ s particularly disappointing when I see members of my party ’ s leadership sycophantically kowtow to an egomaniacal henchman who has one view of the world and that ’ s himself , ” Steele told Larry Wilmore .
Steele , a senior adviser to the never-Trump conservative group The Lincoln Project , which endorsed Biden , said he doesn ’ t want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But you got ta deal with stupid , ” Steele said .
“ What the party ’ s gon na need when this is all said and done is a political enema .
And I ’ m happy to deliver it.
” Steele also said he ’ s not planning to leave the party .
“ They got ta deal with me , baby .
I ain ’ t going nowhere until I decide to go somewhere , ” he said .
“ And that ’ s how this works , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video below to hear Steele discuss how he might work with the incoming administration and where they might clash as well as the future of The Lincoln Project :

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Michael Steele, former chair of the Republican National Committee, said it’s time to clean house within the GOP now that President Donald Trump has lost reelection to President-elect Joe Biden.
“It’s particularly disappointing when I see members of my party’s leadership sycophantically kowtow to an egomaniacal henchman who has one view of the world and that’s himself,” Steele told Larry Wilmore.
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Steele, a senior adviser to the never-Trump conservative group The Lincoln Project, which endorsed Biden, said he doesn’t want to fight his own party.
“But you gotta deal with stupid,” Steele said. “What the party’s gonna need when this is all said and done is a political enema. And I’m happy to deliver it.”
Steele also said he’s not planning to leave the party.
“They gotta deal with me, baby. I ain’t going nowhere until I decide to go somewhere,” he said. “And that’s how this works, I’ve been here since 1976.”
Watch the video below to hear Steele discuss how he might work with the incoming administration and where they might clash as well as the future of The Lincoln Project:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Arkansas Police Chief Resigns After Calling For 'Death To All Marxist Democrats'

The police chief of a small Arkansas town has resigned after writing social media posts calling for “ death to all Marxist Democrats ” and saying he hoped certain Democratic leaders , including former President Barack Obama , would be “ drawn and quartered.
” “ Death to all Marxist Democrats .
Take no prisoners , leave no survivors !
!
” Holland said in one post , ABC affiliate KATV-Channel 7 reported .
In another , Holland reportedly posted images of Obama and Hillary Clinton in prison uniforms with the caption : “ I pray all those in that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drawn and quartered !
!
!
!
Anything less is not acceptable.
” Elliott said he learned of the posts , which were also shared on Twitter and Reddit , when he received calls from concerned citizens in the community of 1,300 .
Elliott told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he consulted with city attorneys and met with Holland , who apologized for his “ profanity-laden ” posts and resigned , effective immediately .
For a time , a new Parler account that appeared to belong to Holland popped up , and messages on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the other account ’ s offensive posts .
The person behind the new account claimed to be the “ real Chief ” and “ protector of all people.
” “ The City of Marshall strongly condemns the actions of Mr. Holland in his posts to social media , ” Elliott said a statement .
“ The Marshall community does not in any way support or condone bullying or threats of violence to anyone of any political persuasion !
We condemn it !
We are a welcoming community that is humbly working to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens.
” ( 2/n ) These posts made Friday night quickly circulated social media .
Since made , another Parler account was made under “ Lang Holland ” claiming to be the real chief , stating the other account is fake and did not represent things he stood for as a “ protector of all citizens ” pic.twitter.com/IPdbrh68s4 — Viktoria Capek ( @ KATVViktoria ) November 7 , 2020 Elliott said he was surprised by the posts from Holland , whom he had considered a “ hero ” because of his multiple military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The mayor told the Democrat-Gazette that Holland , who had been the police chief for two years , had been the town ’ s best police chief in 26 years .
Earlier this year , Holland refused to enforce a mask mandate to help stem the spread of COVID-19 that had been issued by Republican Gov .
Asa Hutchinson , calling it unconstitutional .

The police chief of a small Arkansas town has resigned after writing social media posts calling for “death to all Marxist Democrats” and saying he hoped certain Democratic leaders, including former President Barack Obama, would be “drawn and quartered.”
Marshall Police Chief Lang Holland resigned Saturday afternoon after it was revealed that he had posted offensive comments on right-wing social media site Parler, Mayor Kevin Elliott announced.
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“Death to all Marxist Democrats. Take no prisoners, leave no survivors!!” Holland said in one post, ABC affiliate KATV-Channel 7 reported.
In another, Holland reportedly posted images of Obama and Hillary Clinton in prison uniforms with the caption: “I pray all those in that picture hang on the gallows and are drawn and quartered!!!! Anything less is not acceptable.”
He also posted QAnon conspiracy theories and repeated President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that the presidential election had been stolen.
Holland’s posts and accounts have been taken down.
(1/n) These are screenshots made from the Parler social media app, posts by Marshall, AR police chief Lang Holland.
“Death to all Marxist Democrats. Take no prisoners leave no survivors!”
“Throw water on them in restaurants. Push them off sidewalks.” @KATVNews #ARnews pic.twitter.com/oXCFrnJj6T — Viktoria Capek (@KATVViktoria) November 7, 2020
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Elliott said he learned of the posts, which were also shared on Twitter and Reddit, when he received calls from concerned citizens in the community of 1,300.
Elliott told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he consulted with city attorneys and met with Holland, who apologized for his “profanity-laden” posts and resigned, effective immediately.
For a time, a new Parler account that appeared to belong to Holland popped up, and messages on it insisted that he was not responsible for the other account’s offensive posts. The person behind the new account claimed to be the “real Chief” and “protector of all people.”
But Holland eventually acknowledged that he was responsible for the threatening messages, Elliott said.
“The City of Marshall strongly condemns the actions of Mr. Holland in his posts to social media,” Elliott said a statement. “The Marshall community does not in any way support or condone bullying or threats of violence to anyone of any political persuasion! We condemn it! We are a welcoming community that is humbly working to build a bright future of ALL our citizens.”
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(2/n) These posts made Friday night quickly circulated social media.
Since made, another Parler account was made under “Lang Holland” claiming to be the real chief, stating the other account is fake and did not represent things he stood for as a “protector of all citizens” pic.twitter.com/IPdbrh68s4 — Viktoria Capek (@KATVViktoria) November 7, 2020
Elliott said he was surprised by the posts from Holland, whom he had considered a “hero” because of his multiple military tours overseas, according to CNN. The mayor told the Democrat-Gazette that Holland, who had been the police chief for two years, had been the town’s best police chief in 26 years.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--DOTUS: The Bidens' Dogs Champ and Major Debut Their Own Twitter Account

Saturday ’ s victory is giving President-elect Joe Biden ’ s dogs a whole new leash on life .
On Sunday , they debuted their very own fetching Twitter account .
German shepherds Champ and Major Biden will share a single account , but neither is whining about it .
“ We are the First Dogs of the USA , Champ and Major Biden , ” their Twitter profile said .
“ You can call us # DOTUS .
We love nom noms , snuggles and we can ’ t wait to explore the WH !
” Early tweets feature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like “ pawsidential , ” “ pawsitive ” and “ pawblic.
” ( The pooches refer to Joe Biden as “ Dad.
” ) They also gave a woof-out to supportive “ doggos ” that stood by the humans who fought for Biden ( Beto O ’ Rourke and Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass. )
.
As of Sunday night , the dogs had already attracted nearly 64,000 followers .
They mostly followed politicians and media sites .
No surprise , countless pets introduced themselves in tweets and congratulated the whole family on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Hello world !
It ’ s us , Champ and Major .
We are the Bidens ’ family puppers and First Dogs Elect ( s ) of USA .
We want to thank you all for your suppawrt by sharing our pawsidential adventures here !
Woof !
Woof !
🐶🇺🇸🐕 pic.twitter.com/J46aiXKVFW — Champ & Major Biden 🇺🇸 ( @ First_Dogs_USA ) November 8 , 2020 🐾 We ’ re so proud of our dad @ JoeBiden , the first ever presidential candidate to receive 75 million votes .
But Major will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he 's the first ever rescue pupper to live in the WH .
We ’ re gon na play all day & receive countless treats !
# DOTUS # FirstDogs pic.twitter.com/o1Hsr7nZ8e — Champ & Major Biden 🇺🇸 ( @ First_Dogs_USA ) November 9 , 2020 🐾 We woof like to thank our suppawrters , the doggos that stood by their hoomans as they ran for office and then endorsed our dad : @ First_Dog_USA , @ firstdogsSB , @ FirstDogBailey and all the other puppers who helped us win this race .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pic.twitter.com/1WUkJCDN5E — Champ & Major Biden 🇺🇸 ( @ First_Dogs_USA ) November 8 , 2020 🐾 We love cats !
Turtles too !
We ’ re best friends with the O ’ Rourke family cat Silver , as well as their turtle Gus and of course , their doggo Artemis @ First_Dog_USA .
We ’ re very inclusive .
All pets are welcome in our # PetCoalition pic.twitter.com/bwpKMaCaKD — Champ & Major Biden 🇺🇸 ( @ First_Dogs_USA ) November 8 , 2020 Congratulations Champ and Major !
We are Maple , Hudson , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We support you and thank you for representing us !
@ MSzobota pic.twitter.com/5k2Qb3QKAF — Erik Szobota ( @ ErikSzobota ) November 9 , 2020 Hi Champ & Major !
I ’ m Baxter , I ’ m a big fan , & so excited to have a rescue dog like me in the White House !
# dogsforbiden # AdoptDontShop pic.twitter.com/TSdpPs7uWC — Kate Hamill ( @ katerone ) November 8 , 2020 We ’ re Dharma and Sam !
!
We have been celebrating with our humans all weekend !
!
🥳 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dharmaandsam ) November 8 , 2020 Oh heck yeah !
Had to follow you !
Greetings from Bellatrix & Gavin !
pic.twitter.com/qSz3cTKsUI — Marifran Smith 🦇🎃🦇 ( @ msmiih ) November 8 , 2020 We are so happy to see animals in the White House again !
!
Welcome Champ & Major !
!
pic.twitter.com/r6o8JKEu6G — Murph says “ vote Biden/Harris !
” ( @ murphy_the_gr8 ) November 9 , 2020

View this post on Instagram
🐾 Hello America! Hello world! It’s us, Champ and Major. We are the Bidens’ family puppers and First Dogs Elect(s) of USA. We want to thank you all for your suppawrt by sharing our pawsidential adventures here! Woof! Woof! 🐶🇺🇸🐕


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 'I Don’t Even Know If I Want To Be In Politics'

“ I don ’ t even know if I want to be in politics , ” the progressive star said in an interview with The New York Times on Saturday , after Democrat Joe Biden clinched the presidential election .
Ocasio-Cortez discussed the “ extreme hostility ” her ideas have faced within her own party , prompting the Times to ask if she ’ d consider a run for the Senate .
“ I genuinely don ’ t know , ” she replied .
“ I don ’ t even know if I want to be in politics .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first six months of my term , I didn ’ t even know if I was going to run for reelection this year.
” She continued : “ It ’ s the incoming .
It ’ s the stress .
It ’ s the violence .
It ’ s the lack of support from your own party .
It ’ s your own party thinking you ’ re the enemy.
” Ocasio-Cortez has backed aggressive measures to combat climate change , promote universal health care and defund the police .
Her views have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump and the GOP .
Ocasio-Cortez said she pursued reelection to prove that the progressive movement was “ real , ” and that guaranteed health care was a true mandate from Democrats .
But she characterized her chances of remaining in the public arena to pursue those goals as 50-50 .
“ I ’ m serious when I tell people the odds of me running for higher office and the odds of me just going off trying to start a homestead somewhere — they ’ re probably the same , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ odds of me running for higher office and the odds of me just going off trying to start a homestead somewhere — they ’ re probably the same .
”

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For a politician who easily won reelection, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) doesn’t sound very eager to continue in public office.
“I don’t even know if I want to be in politics,” the progressive star said in an interview with The New York Times on Saturday, after Democrat Joe Biden clinched the presidential election.
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Ocasio-Cortez discussed the “extreme hostility” her ideas have faced within her own party, prompting the Times to ask if she’d consider a run for the Senate.
“I genuinely don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t even know if I want to be in politics. You know, for real, in the first six months of my term, I didn’t even know if I was going to run for reelection this year.”
She continued: “It’s the incoming. It’s the stress. It’s the violence. It’s the lack of support from your own party. It’s your own party thinking you’re the enemy.”
Ocasio-Cortez has backed aggressive measures to combat climate change, promote universal health care and defund the police. Her views have made her a prominent target of President Donald Trump and the GOP.
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Ocasio-Cortez said she pursued reelection to prove that the progressive movement was “real,” and that guaranteed health care was a true mandate from Democrats. But she characterized her chances of remaining in the public arena to pursue those goals as 50-50.
“I’m serious when I tell people the odds of me running for higher office and the odds of me just going off trying to start a homestead somewhere — they’re probably the same,” she said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--John Oliver Exposes How Trump's Exploiting His Followers With 1 Final Grift

John Oliver celebrated President Donald Trump ’ s defeat and President-elect Joe Biden ’ s win in last week ’ s election by sharing scenes of spontaneous parties around the nation .
New York , he said , was a “ reverse 9/11 ” after Biden ’ s victory was announced .
“ Why ?
Because it combined complete euphoria , an abiding disgust for Rudy Giuliani and this time people were actually dancing on the rooftops in New Jersey , ” Oliver said .
“ It was a really good day .
Never forget !
” Trump , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Since Saturday , the president has repeatedly claimed that he won , and made accusations of voter fraud without providing any evidence .
He ’ s also vowed legal action ― led by Giuliani ― and has been hounding his supporters with relentless emails and text messages begging for money to support the effort .
But Oliver spotted a detail in the fine print : At least half of that money won ’ t go to pay for Trump ’ s legal battles ; it will pay off the debt accumulated by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bleeding cash in the final months .
Check out the full “ Last Week Tonight ” segment below :

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John Oliver celebrated President Donald Trump’s defeat and President-elect Joe Biden’s win in last week’s election by sharing scenes of spontaneous parties around the nation.
New York, he said, was a “reverse 9/11” after Biden’s victory was announced.
“Why? Because it combined complete euphoria, an abiding disgust for Rudy Giuliani and this time people were actually dancing on the rooftops in New Jersey,” Oliver said. “It was a really good day. Never forget!”
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Trump, he said, won’t go quietly. Since Saturday, the president has repeatedly claimed that he won, and made accusations of voter fraud without providing any evidence. He’s also vowed legal action ― led by Giuliani ― and has been hounding his supporters with relentless emails and text messages begging for money to support the effort.
But Oliver spotted a detail in the fine print: At least half of that money won’t go to pay for Trump’s legal battles; it will pay off the debt accumulated by his failed reelection campaign, which was bleeding cash in the final months.
Check out the full “Last Week Tonight” segment below:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-11-09--Trump-Supporting Televangelist Kenneth Copeland Has The Weirdest Meltdown Over Biden Victory

Televangelist and private jet aficionado Kenneth Copeland isn ’ t coping very well with President-elect Joe Biden ’ s victory @ @ @ @ @ last week ’ s election , and he picked an unusual way to show it @ @ @ @ @ by the progressive group Right Wing Watch , Copeland laughed maniacally ― laughing so much @ @ @ @ @ : Televangelist Kenneth Copeland laughs at the media for declaring that Joe Biden has won @ @ @ @ @ president .
pic.twitter.com/ARHqmsEbo7 — Right Wing Watch ( @ RightWingWatch ) November 8 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ of being “ a very wealthy man ” while also pleading with donors for cash @ @ @ @ @ jet to avoid flying with “ demons , ” served on President Donald Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @

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