Vaccine won't end Covid immediately . . . Lockdowns and social distancing will still have to continue to keep the virus under control while medics scramble to get the vaccine to millions of people. There is also the chance that that the jab won't work perfectly - experts have warned that the first vaccines may not be totally effective, meaning other measures might still be needed. Daily Mail

 

US allows emergency use of first Covid-19 antibody drug . . . U.S. regulators on Monday authorized emergency use of the first experimental antibody drug for COVID-19 in patients who are not hospitalized but are at risk of serious illness because of their age or other conditions. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Eli Lilly & Co’s bamlanivimab based on trial data showing that a one-time infusion of the treatment reduced the need for hospitalization or emergency room visits in high-risk COVID-19 patients. The drug is a monoclonal antibody – a widely used class of biotech drugs which in this case is a manufactured copy of an antibody the human body creates to fight infections. Reuters

 

 

Covid hospitalizations at highest level ever . . . There were just over 59,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the United States on Monday, the country’s highest number ever of in-patients being treated for the disease, with new infections at record levels for the sixth consecutive day. The harsh statistics tallied by Reuters cemented the United States' position as the nation worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, even as drugmaker Pfizer Inc PFE.N provided some hope with successful late-stage tests of its vaccine. Reuters

 

Ben Carson, David Bossie positive for coronavirus . . . Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and David Bossie, an outside White House adviser, have both tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the latest figures in President Donald Trump's orbit to contract the virus. Bossie, a longtime Trump ally who was tapped to lead the effort to contest the presidential election, tested positive Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation. Bossie did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Politico

 

 

Attorney General Barr authorizes probe of voting fraud allegations . . . Attorney General Bill Barr authorized federal prosecutors to investigate allegations of “voting irregularities” in the 2020 election on Monday — despite little evidence of voting fraud in the contest. In a memo sent by Barr Monday evening, he said Justice Department prosecutors could investigate specific allegations of voter fraud before the election results are certified in December. The memo added, however, that “specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims should not be a basis for initiating federal inquiries.” New York Post

 

Biden spokesman accuses Facebook of not doing enough censoring . . . A representative of U.S. president-elect Joe Biden lashed out at Facebook Inc., alleging that the social media giant is “shredding the fabric of our democracy” in the aftermath of the election. “In the days after Election Day, Facebook is flooded with thousands of calls for violence,” Bill Russo, a Biden campaign spokesman, said in a tweet. “Some of them are taken down, but many are left up for hours, if not days.” Russo also cited theories about a fraudulent U.S. election going viral on Facebook, despite no evidence of widespread fraud. Bloomberg

 

 

Trump accuses networks of election "tampering with inaccurate polls . . . Donald Trump has accused Fox News of 'tampering with the election' because its polls were 'so inaccurate' along with those by other networks and newspapers. The president launched into a series of irate tweets Monday night where he threw the blame for his election defeat onto the media. He accused several outlets of 'election interference' because their polls were 'so far off' in several states. Daily Mail

 

 

Fox news cuts from Trump campaign press conference . . .

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto broke into coverage of Kayleigh McEnany's Trump campaign press conference Monday and abruptly pulled the plug following unsubstantiated and "explosive" claims of voter fraud. Shortly following White House Press Secretary McEnany's claim that the Democratic party was "welcoming fraud" and "welcoming illegal voting," Cavuto appeared. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I just think we have to be very clear," Cavuto said, referring to McEnany's statements. "She's charging the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue showing you this." USA Today

 

Trump's attacks on Fox News and the return fire are likely the prelude to an upcoming war between Fox News and a news outlet Trump will start.

 

Libertarians may have thrown the election to Biden . . . Just as the Greens hurt Al Gore in 2000, it looks like the libertarians may have cost President Trump the election. According to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal: Did the Libertarian Party throw the election to Joe Biden? Maybe. At this writing nominee Jo Jorgensen’s vote total exceeds Mr. Biden’s margin over President Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, enough to change the outcome. White House Dossier

 

 

GOP says thousands in Wisconsin may have circumvented voter ID requirement . . . Republicans in Wisconsin are raising questions about the large number of people, particularly new voters, who avoided having to show a photo ID to vote by listing themselves as “indefinitely confined.” When requesting an absentee ballot, Wisconsin law allows voters to self-certify if they are “indefinitely confined” to their residence because of age, physical illness, or are disabled for an indefinite period of time. Doing so allows them to submit an absentee ballot without having to show any form of photo ID, although they must have a ballot witness sign off. This year, the number of indefinitely confined voters soared amid the coronavirus pandemic. Washington Examiner

 

John King trolled on internet with PornHub gaga 

Detroit election worker files affidavit that colleagues coached voters to back Biden . . . What? Fraud in the city of Detroit? Round up the usual suspects! According to the Washington Examiner. A Detroit election worker claimed in an affidavit that she witnessed other employees “coaching” voters to vote for Joe Biden. The affidavit came on Monday as part of a lawsuit filed against parties in Detroit and Wayne County, where Detroit is located. In it, a city employee named Jessy Jacob alleges wrongdoing. White House Dossier

 

 

Trump campaign suit claims two-tier voting system existed in Pennsylvania . . . The Trump campaign filed another lawsuit in the swing state of Pennsylvania on Monday, alleging officials there created “an illegal ‘two-tiered’ voting system” which unfairly favored mail-in ballots. According to the suit, Democratic-leaning counties gave voters a chance to “cure” mailed ballots which were defective before Election Day, while Republican counties followed the law and did not provide a notice and cure. New York Post

 

Supreme Court to being hearing Obamacare case today . . . The fate of Obamacare will again go before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with the health care of millions of Americans potentially hanging in the balance. For the third time in its 10-year life, the Affordable Care Act will be litigated before the highest court in the land, in the case of California v. Texas. At the heart of the case is the question of whether a 2017 tax cut package that eliminated Obamacare’s monetary penalty for not having health insurance renders the whole program unconstitutional. New York Post

 

Trump fires Defense Secretary Esper . . . President Trump dismissed Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, saying in a Twitter post that he had “terminated” his Pentagon chief and replaced him with a new acting secretary, signaling the start of a shake-up in the remaining weeks of the Trump administration. The acting secretary appointed by Mr. Trump is Christopher Miller, who had just become the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in August after being confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Esper opposed the use of the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows presidents to deploy active-duty forces to control American streets. Wall Street Journal

 

Vaccine euphoria pushed stocks higher . . . Stock markets and commodities continued to push higher on Tuesday, after the euphoria of a coronavirus vaccine had sent global equity indexes soaring to an all-time high and shaken bond yields higher. Having surged 4% on Monday on the vaccine breakthrough from U.S. and German drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech there was little surprise that Europe saw the pace drop, though things were still moving forward. Reuters

 

MSNBC analyst was writing Biden speeches . . . 

Presidential historian Jon Meacham was reportedly let go as an MSNBC contributor after he apparently failed to disclose to the network that he was a speechwriter for President-elect Joe Biden, including the victory speech he gave on Saturday night. Meacham had been "playing a larger role than was previously known" behind the scenes, "both writing drafts of speeches and offering edits on many of Mr. Biden’s big addresses, including one he gave at Gettysburg last month and his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention." Fox News

 

George Stephanopoulos wants to host jeopardy . . . Following Alex Trebek’s death on Sunday at age 80, George Stephanopoulos’ rep is lobbying for the ABC News anchor to become the next host of the hit game show “Jeopardy!,” a highly placed person with knowledge of the situation said. Stephanopoulos’s agent Alan Berger did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment, but a knowledgeable individual close to the “Good Morning America” co-host denied that he was “actively” pursuing the role. However, the highly placed person told TheWrap that Stephanopoulos has his eye on the lucrative position and that his agent was lobbying hard at ABC, where he serves as ABC News’ chief anchor and political correspondent. The Wrap

 

McDonald's to launch The McPlant . . . McDonald's is finally testing its own plant-based burger: the McPlant. The fast food chain today announced that it has developed its own plant-based meat substitute in partnership with popular food company Beyond Meat, and will begin testing the faux-meat burger it in select markets next year. Daily Mail

 

Woman makes husband stop at elections office so she can vote . . . There are civic duties and there are motherly responsibilities – and one pregnant Florida woman fulfilled both Tuesday as she stopped to vote on her way to the hospital to give birth, according to local reports. She had already gone into labor by the time she arrived at the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office in Orlando Tuesday, a spokesperson told local media. The wife reportedly waited in the car as her husband went inside, waited in line, and asked for poll workers to help his wife vote early, according to Gonzalez. “He's like ‘Yeah, she's about to have a baby, but she won't go to the hospital to have a baby until she votes,’” Gonzalez told the outlet. “I was like, OK, what can I do to facilitate her to vote? Where is she? Where can I go to help?” Fox News