Month: November 2020

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris formally announced their team of foreign policy and national security officials. Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden and Harris were joined on stage by their picks, including Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary nominee Alejando Mayorkas and Avril Haines, Biden’s pick for director of national intelligence.

Also joining the group were Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden’s nominee for U.N. ambassador; Jake Sullivan, nominee for national security adviser; and former Secretary of State John Kerry, who will be joining the Biden administration as the special presidential envoy for climate.

Biden said the picks he unveiled represented “an unrelenting belief in the promise of America” and looked ahead to the next step in the nomination process: Senate confirmation, saying, “I hope these outstanding nominees receive a prompt hearing, and that we can work across the aisle in good faith to move forward for the country. Let’s begin that work to heal and unite, to heal and unite America, as well as the world.”

Key lines from the unveiling of Biden’s top national security and foreign policy team

Via www.msn.com

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced top members of his national security and foreign…

11/24/2020 2:11 PM

 

Editorial credit: Alex Gakos / Shutterstock.com

On Monday, President-elect Joe Biden was formally given the go-ahead by a federal agency to begin his transition to the White House, shortly after the battleground state of Michigan certified him as the winner there. With this news, President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his Nov. 3 election defeat appear to be coming to a close.

The U.S. General Services Administration, an independent agency, informed Biden that his transition – leading up to a Jan. 20 inauguration – could officially begin. In a tweet, Trump wrote that GSA Administrator Emily Murphy and her team should “do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”

The move by the GSA means Biden’s team will now have federal funds and an official office to conduct his transition over the next two months. It also paves the way for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to receive regular national security briefings that Trump also gets.

Trump administration officially authorizes Biden transition

Via www.nbcnews.com

11/23/2020 6:28 PM

 

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On Monday, Michigan election officials certified Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state, another setback for President Donald Trump’s efforts challenging the results of the Nov. 3 election through lawsuits and unsupported claims of fraud. The Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one abstention. Allies of Trump and losing GOP Senate candidate John James had urged the panel to delay voting for two weeks. Under Michigan law, Biden claims all 16 electoral votes. Biden won by 2.8 percentage points — a larger margin than in other states where Trump is contesting the results like Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement: “The people of Michigan have spoken. President-elect Biden won the State of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and he will be our next president on January 20th.”

The Trump legal team dismissed the certification as “simply a procedural step” and insisted it would fight on. However thus far, Trump’s challenges and baseless allegations of widespread conspiracy and fraud have been met with rejection as states move forward with confirming their results.

Michigan election board votes to certify Biden win, dealing blow to Trump effort

Via www.nbcnews.com

NBC News has projected Biden as the winner in Michigan, where the president-elect leads Trump by…

11/23/2020 5:44 PM

 

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Authorities said on Sunday that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested in a shooting that left eight people injured at a Wisconsin mall. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said in a news conference that the teenager was arrested Saturday night with a gun allegedly used in the shooting. Weber did not identify the teen. A spokeswoman for the police department also said that several other people were arrested in connection with the shooting, but did not provide details.

Authorities said the shooting followed an altercation between two groups at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, outside Milwaukee, on Friday afternoon. Among the wounded was a teenager, but authorities said they could not confirm if it was the suspected shooter.

Police say the shooter fled the mall as tactical teams cleared the space of patrons and worked to contain its 1.2 million square feet, a process that took several hours.

Teenager charged in connection with mall shooting

Via abcnews.go.com

Police say they’ve arrested a 15-year-old in connection with a shooting in a Wisconsin mall that…

11/22/2020 7:54 PM

 

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Two people were killed and two were injured after a shooting at a Bellevue, Nebraska, Sonic Drive-In over the weekend. Officers received a call on Saturday evening of a possible bomb inside a truck at the restaurant, police said in a press release. When police responded, they found the four gunshot wound victims, according to a statement released by the City of Bellevue Police Department.

Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others were taken to University of Nebraska Medical Center for treatment. Their conditions are unknown. The suspect, Roberto Carlos Silva Jr., 23, was arrested and booked at the Sarpy County Jail for two counts of first degree murder and one count of arson, according to a City of Bellevue Police Department press release. Silva was accused of identity theft last Wednesday after ordering food from the Sonic app.  At that time, Silva was arrested on suspicion of identity theft, and three firearms were discovered at the time. It was not immediately clear if those firearms were returned to Silva or if those firearms were the ones used in the shooting on Saturday.

The four victims have not been identified yet, pending family notification. Police said there was no additional information to release at this time. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing, according to officials.

2 killed, 2 injured in shooting at Sonic Drive-In

Via abcnews.go.com

Two people have been shot dead and two others hospitalized following a shooting at a Sonic…

11/22/2020 3:13 PM

 

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