November 8, 2020 News Summary
US Politics and Economics
After Former Vice President Joe Biden was declared president-elect by the Mainstream Media (MSM), celebrations and a victory speech followed. However, now, the attention is focused on the US Senate races, as North Carolina, Alaska, and both Georgia senate seats, remain uncalled. Although the Republicans are expected to keep their seats in North Carolina and Alaska, the race remains tight in Georgia, where both Senate seats have gone to a runoff. Winning these two seats would get the Democrats to 50, which is sufficient as the Vice President, in this case, Kamala Harris, has the authority to break the tie. As for the Presidential and House elections, Biden sits at 279 electoral votes while Trump sits at 214, and for the House, Democrats have 215 seats, with 3 more needed for control, and Republicans have 196 seats, with 22 more needed for control. Republicans have currently gained 5 seats.
Despite the MSM’s declaration of Joe Biden as president-elect, the election is not completely over as no states have certified their votes. Trump’s campaign has also filed pending lawsuits demanding recounts in many states with razor-thin voter margins such as Pennsylvania and Georgia. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas insisted to Sunday Morning Futures that Trump “still has a path to victory, and that path is to count every single legal vote that was cast, but also not to count any votes that were fraudulently cast or illegally cast, and we have a legal process to determine what's legal and what isn't.” Around 800,000 votes are in question, according to information obtained by the host, Maria Bartiromo, which is enough to turn the tide of the election. Sen. Cruz further made his point using an example of the voter count software that erroneously gave thousands of votes to Biden in Michigan (though corrected), arguing that the “same software is used in 47 counties throughout Michigan.”
With the election of the new presidential-elect Biden, it is not only the US’ economy and safety procedures that will change, but also its relationship with allies, bordering countries, and trade partners. One major international agreement that has come to light during the presidential campaigns was Biden’s plan to rejoin the Paris Agreement. In addition to slowing down global climate change, the rejoining of the Paris agreement would also work to reestablish our bond with our European allies that were harmed during the initial withdrawal from the plan. Additionally, many allies are expressing high hopes for the new Biden administration, with Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne saying that he is “really hopeful... about climate change... the COVID response… [and] the economic recovery plan” (CTV News). Nonetheless, only time will tell how successful the new administration will be at strengthening our foreign relationships, and the change in leadership is bound to have lasting impacts on our trade, economy, and foreign relationships.
Texas Politics
Per Texas Tribune, after mainstream media (MSM) outlets called the election for Biden, many of his supporters arrived at the Texas Capitol for a rally. However, they clashed with pro-Trump citizens, who planned to protest the election.
Photography credits: (Top to bottom) Amna Ijaz and Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
Health
According to CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, as of November 8, 2020, 12:32 PM, there are over 9.8 million cases and 236.5k deaths nationwide. California leads with the most cases at a total of 940k, and Texas follows by a total of 926k cases.
(ABC 13) The Houston City Council members raise concerns about the CARES Act spending and whether it’s necessary. “This week's list, totaling more than $14 million, included PPE like masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, but it also included...laptops, batteries, keyboard sets and docking stations to enhance telecommuting for HPW associates, and additional audio-visual equipment necessary to enhance communication with internal and external stakeholders."
Southeast US Weather
(Atlantic) The Atlantic is currently heating up again with three disturbance -- two of them being low-chance forming storms located at the center of the Caribbean sea, while the other is located west of Africa. Tropical storm Eta will likely barely touch the tip of Florida as it makes its turn west before heading north around the mouth of the Gulf and skimming Florida with hurricane winds.
(Pacific) There are currently no storms or disturbances in the Pacific.
(Local: Houston, Texas) The skies will stay clear as the temperatures reach a high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 58 degrees Fahrenheit.
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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)