November 20, 2020 News Summary
US Politics and Economics
Although former Vice President Joe Biden has effectively won the 2020 US presidential election, states still need to certify their election results and have their respective electors officially vote for the next commander-in-chief. According to the NYT, Georgia, one of the key states this election, has until 5 pm this afternoon to certify the results of their hand recount that showed Biden ahead by roughly 12,000 votes, and although the Trump campaign is allowed to ask for a machine recount, it is unlikely to overturn the margin in the state. Three days later, on November 23, Michigan and Pennsylvania, two of Biden’s must-win states, will also certify election results despite tough legal battles by the Trump campaign and, the day after, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio, states that were not as close as expected, will certify their results.
Results from all states will be locked on December 8, which closes all legal challenges, and on December 14, all electors will officially cast their ballots for President, though they usually have to pledge to vote for whoever won their respective state (for example, Trump won Texas, meaning the state’s 38 electors all have to pledge to vote for the President, and all 55 electors in California, a state won by the Democrats, have to vote for Biden). This means that if no disputes overturn results in any state, Biden is expected to end up with around 306 electoral votes, and Trump is expected to have roughly 232.
Texas Politics
Dallas has had more murder cases so far this year than it had in all of 2019. For the second time in the past two years, Gov. Abbott, acting at the request of local police, is sending in people from the state police to help the Dallas police get a hold of that situation.
However, COVID-19 cases are proving harder to contain than crime rates. Texas has entered its third wave of rising COVID-19 cases, specifically in El Paso, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Midland. Gov. Greg Abbott is sticking to his plan and has not been shutting things down as quickly as some local and health officials would like or allowing them to go outside the regulatory boundaries set in Austin.
Health
According to, CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of November 20, 2020, 12:32 PM, there are 11.65 million cases nationwide and 251k deaths. Currently, Texas leads with almost 1.3 million cases, while California follows with 1.03 million cases.
(CNN) Nearly a million people have been given an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Sinopharm as part of an emergency-use program authorized by Beijing. Major side effects have been reported.
Southeast US Weather
(Atlantic) A disturbance east of the US, or at the center of the Atlantic, currently has a 10% chance of forming in the next 5 days while heading North. Even if the storm does form, it will shortly face a cold front and dissipate due to a lack of rotation and moisture in the air.
(Pacific) There are no storms or hurricanes expected to form in the next 48 hours.
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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
Southeast US Weather: Simon
Editor: VIA
(All writers and editors are in middle to high school)