November 28, 2020 News Summary
US Politics and Economics
Despite the Trump Administration's agreement to work with Biden’s team should there be a transition of power, the President and his legal team are refusing to concede with yet another request to stop the certification of votes in the state of Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that Biden won by roughly 1.2 percent. However, on Friday, that request was rejected by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, with Judge Stephanos Bibas writing “charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.” Another blow to the campaign came after a Trump campaign requested recount in Milwaukee county in the state of Wisconsin (where Biden leads by roughly half a percent), the state’s largest county, ended with Biden gaining 132 votes. The state is expected to certify its results on Tuesday.
A former House Republican, David Valadao, has taken his seat back from California’s incumbent representative, Rep. T.J. Cox, by a narrow victory of 862 votes. The Associated Press hints that this result was likely due to the agricultural centers in California, such as CA’s 21st district, that tend to lean Republican. Valadao has notably taken on a new strategy to endorse President Trump, a strategy that seems to have worked out well for him. Another Republican, Mike Garcia, also flipped California’s 25th district. All in all, Republicans have performed much better than expected during 2020 elections.
Texas Politics
Per Gov.Texas, Gov. Abbott “...has placed numerous resources on standby across the state in anticipation of potentially severe weather that is expected to impact Texas throughout the evening” of today. Storms are expected to bring moderate to heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding to south and southeast Texas. Abbott declares, "These resources will help the State of Texas respond to potential flash flooding and keep our communities safe."
Health
According to, CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of November 28, 2020, 12:32 PM, there are 12.99 million cases nationwide and 263k deaths. Currently, Texas leads with 1.22 million cases, while California follows with 1.17 million cases.
(Fox News) United Airlines is expected to transport Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine once it is approved by the FDA. According to the Journal, Pfizer has expanded storage capacity at specific distribution sites in Pleasant Prairie, Wisc., and Karlsruhe, Germany. The company plans to use frozen storages to transport the vaccines.
Science and Technology
Engineers at UT-Austin created the world’s smallest memory device, which may lead to “faster, smaller, smarter and more energy-efficient chips for everything from consumer electronics to big data to brain-inspired computing.” Deji Akinwande, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, expands on the structure of memory chips, “When a single additional metal atom goes into that nanoscale hole and fills it, it confers some of its conductivity into the material, and this leads to a change or memory effect.”
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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
Science and Technology: Bryan
Editor: VIA
(All writers and editors are in middle to high school)