10 things you need to know today: November 14, 2020

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1. Biden wins Georgia, Trump wins North Carolina
2. Warp Speed chief: 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses may be ready next month
3. U.S. breaks another coronavirus record as states prepare more restrictions
4. Biden calls for 'urgent action' from Trump administration as coronavirus cases rise
5. Report: No. 2 al Qaeda leader killed in Iran
6. Trump reportedly hands election lawsuit reins to Giuliani
7. Conflict in Ethiopia escalates
8. Labor leaders push for Rep. Andy Levin as Biden's Labor Secretary
9. Suspects in Arbery killing denied bond
10. Miami Marlins hire Kim Ng, MLB's 1st female general manager

published 14 November 2020

1. Biden wins Georgia, Trump wins North Carolina

The 2020 presidential election's final states were called on Friday, with President-elect Joe Biden winning Georgia, and President Trump winning North Carolina. The results bring Biden's total Electoral College win to a margin of 306-232, the exact number Trump won in 2016. Biden's win in Pennsylvania brought him past the 270 threshold last Saturday, making him president-elect. Trump has yet to concede the race as he pursues legal options in an attempt to turn over results, alleging widespread voter fraud, although officials say there is none. Georgia has initiated a recount of its election results because of the narrow margin. Biden became the first Democrat to win Georgia since 1992.

President Trump gave an update on Friday on Operation Warp Speed, the program working to quickly develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The program's chief adviser, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, said "potentially two vaccines and two therapeutics may be granted an emergency use authorization before the end of this year," and that could mean millions of Americans could receive vaccine doses as soon as next month. If approved, "we plan to have enough vaccine doses available for use in the U.S. population to immunize about 20 million individuals in the month of December, and another 25-30 million per month on an ongoing basis from there on," Slaoui said. No vaccine has been approved for use, though Pfizer's promising candidate may seek approval for emergency use this month.

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The United States on Friday broke another daily record after reporting more than 181,000 coronavirus infections, bringing the seven-day average to 140,000 cases. The country also set a new mark for hospitalizations. Across the U.S., 16 states reported single-day infection highs, and 30 states added more cases in the last week than any other seven-day period since the pandemic began. Several states, including Oregon and New Mexico, implemented heavy new restrictions, while other states, like New York, are preparing for additional steps. Hospitals are overwhelmed in North Dakota, which is home to the highest rate of new cases per person and deaths in the U.S. After months of resisting more intense measures, the state's Gov. Doug Burgum (R) announced a mask mandate, an indoor-dining limit, and the suspension of high school winter sports and extracurricular activities until Dec. 14.

President-elect Joe Biden on Friday night called for "urgent action" from the Trump administration as coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continue to rise across the United States. "I am the president-elect, but will not be president until next year," Biden tweeted. "COVID-19 does not respect dates on the calendar, it is accelerating right now." Biden said the crisis "demands a robust and immediate federal response which has been woefully lacking." His comments came not long after President Trump spoke publicly for the first time since the presidential election, which he has yet to concede despite Biden picking up 306 electoral votes. The president said his administration won't implement a federal lockdown.

Intelligence officials have confirmed that Israeli operatives, at the behest of the United States, assassinated Abu Muhammad al-Masri, al Qaeda's second-highest leader, in Tehran, Iran, in August, The New York Times reports. Al Qaeda has not announced al-Masri's death, and Iran, which considers al Qaeda a bitter enemy, denies the claims he was killed in Tehran, warning media outlets not to fall for the "Hollywood script." Per the Times, al-Masri was driving his car with his 27-year-old daughter, Hamza bin Laden's widow Miriam, when two gunmen drew up beside him on a motorcycle and fired five shots. At the time, Iran identified the victims as Habib Daoud, a Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese history professor, and his daughter, Maryam, but intelligence officials told the Times those were aliases. One of Al Qaeda's founding members, al-Masri was a mastermind behind the 1998 attacks on American embassies in multiple African countries.

As President-elect Joe Biden's lead grew in Arizona, the Trump campaign dropped its legal challenges throughout Maricopa County on Friday. In response, President Trump tapped his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to lead his campaign lawsuits related to the election outcome, The New York Times reports. The move has reportedly drawn criticism inside both the campaign and the White House. Trump's longshot attempts to disqualify enough ballots to win the presidency suffered elsewhere on Friday, as well. A Michigan judge rejected a conspiracy-laden injunction claiming election irregularities were rampant in Detroit's Wayne County, and a federal appeals court in Philadelphia rejected Republicans' attempt to toss out 9,300 mail-in ballots that arrived late. Biden's leads in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia are even wider than his edge in Arizona.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front, which controls Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, said it targeted two airports in the neighboring state of Amhara in retaliation for recent airstrikes by the federal government and warned of further rocket strikes, BBC reports. Two military personnel were killed and as many as 15 were injured at one of the airports. Tensions between Ethiopia's government and the TPLF have escalated into military clashes over the past month. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has accused forces loyal to Tigray's leaders of carrying out mass killings and ethnic cleansing. Tigray's regional government denies the claims and the TPLF has accused the federal government of persecution. Amnesty International said it confirmed hundreds of people "were stabbed or hacked to death" in the Tigray town, Mai Kadra, earlier this week.

In a Friday letter to President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, the UAW — the major union of automobile and mechanical workers — strongly recommended the incoming administration pick Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) to head the Department of Labor. UAW President Rory Gamble wrote that Levin has a background in the labor movement and "impeccable credentials," including working under former President Bill Clinton's Labor Department. Levin is "the only sitting representative or senator who has run a state workforce system," Gamble noted. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has also reportedly expressed interest in the position. Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton also endorsed Levin earlier this week, and progressive groups Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats picked Levin among their top three, alongside Sanders and Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry.

Gregory and Travis McMichael, a father and son who are facing malice murder and felony murder charges for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old Black man who was shot while jogging in Georgia earlier this year, were denied bond on Friday, as was a third man involved in the shooting, William Bryan. The McMichaels claim they pursued Arbery in their truck before his death because he fit the description of a burglary suspect, but NPR notes that no such crimes had been committed in the seven weeks leading up to the killing. Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said she was "relieved" the McMichaels will "stay behind bars."

The Miami Marlins on Friday announced Kim Ng has been hired as the team's general manager, making her the first female Major League Baseball GM. She's also the "second person of Asian descent to lead an MLB team," MLB says. Ng had previously served as MLB's senior vice president of baseball operations since 2011 and before that worked for the Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. "After decades of determination, it is the honor of my career to lead the Miami Marlins as their next general manager," Ng said. From 1998 to 2001, Ng worked as the New York Yankees' assistant general manager, and at 29, she made history as the youngest person and second woman to serve in that role, NBC News reports.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.