November 22, 2020 News Summary

US Politics and Economics

As key battleground states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania prepare to certify their election results, President Trump doubles down on his refusals to concede, claiming in a press conference yesterday, “Big Pharma ran millions of dollars of negative ads against us in the campaign, which I won, by the way, but, y know, we’ll find that out.” This statement comes after Georgia certified its results, showing that Biden won the state. Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said he was disappointed that his party lost but also stated that “numbers don’t lie”. Other key states, namely Michigan and Pennsylvania, are expected to certify their election results on Monday, November 23, which, if they do indeed go to Biden, will end up as a massive blow to the Trump campaign as certification of election results makes it very difficult for legal disputes to change the results. As of 8 am this morning, Biden leads Trump by roughly 6 million votes.

Texas Politics

As holidays quickly approach, the Texas Medical Association has ranked 34 activities on a chart so that “holiday revelers can make informed choices during the busiest travel and social-gathering season of the year” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chart states, “The more people, the closer together, the fewer the masks, the more mingling indoors, the longer the time, the more singing and voice projection, and the more alcohol – the greater the risk.” TMA COVID-19 Task Force member and UT Southwestern Medical Center infectious disease specialist Trish Perl, MD, reminds, “Think of other ways to connect, like Facetime, and include them in the celebration without physically being there. Remember, no hugs for grandma this year.”

Health

According to, CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of November 22, 2020, 12:32 PM, there are 12.02 million cases nationwide and 255k deaths. Currently, Texas leads with 1.16 million cases, while California follows with 1.08 million cases.

(BBC) American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its partner BioNTech submitted an application on Friday for emergency authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. The first few frontline workers to be vaccinated may possibly be in early December.

_________________________________________________________________________

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)