December 9, 2020 News Summary
US Politics and Economics
Yesterday, December 8, was the deadline for all states to officially certify election results, disallowing any further legal challenges with the results. This date originates from a law passed in 1887, which states that election results certified six days before the electoral college meeting are to be considered “official” by Congress. According to CBS News, every state except Wisconsin has met this deadline (after Hawaii and Colorado certified their results in the past week), as the state will be hearing a lawsuit on their election results later this week, though with former Vice President Biden up by 20,000 votes and is thus expected to take the state. The electoral college will officially vote on December 14th are supposed to choose whoever won their respective state.
Texas Politics
Yesterday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he was suing four battleground states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — whose election results gave President-elect Joe Biden his victory over President Trump. Texas Tribune reports, “In the suit, he claims that pandemic-era changes to election procedures in those states violated federal law and asks the U.S. Supreme Court to block the states from voting in the Electoral College.” Paxton claims the four states broke the law by establishing changes to election policies “through executive fiat or friendly lawsuits, thereby weakening ballot integrity.”
Things recently changed when President Trump joined in on the lawsuit. According to The New York Times, Trump personally asked U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to argue the case before the court if the justices agree to hear it. Texas Tribune covers this, reporting “As the president’s legal team loses case after improbable case in federal district and appellate courts, the Texas lawsuit offers a major advantage: It goes straight to the top. Under a special legal avenue unique to states, Paxton filed the case directly with the U.S. The Supreme Court, a body Trump has suggested, could deliver him the victory that voters did not.”
Health
According to, CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of December 9, 2020, 12:32 PM, there are 15.04 million cases nationwide and 285k deaths. Currently, Texas leads with 1.37 million cases, while California follows with 1.38 million cases.
(CNN) After two healthcare workers in the UK experienced concerning side effects after, health authorites announced, “People with a 'significant history of allergic reactions' should not be given the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine."
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Writers:
US Politics and Economics: Dylan, Miranda, Caleb, and Annabelle
Texas Politics: Stephanie, Vicki, and Megan
Health: Matthew, David, and Owen
Editor: VIA
(All writers and editors are in middle to high school)