10 things you need to know today: December 9, 2020

1. Supreme Court refuses to block Pennsylvania ruling preserving Biden win

The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down Pennsylvania Republicans' effort to block the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win over President Trump in the state. The ruling marked the latest in a series of setbacks for Trump and his allies in their effort to reverse the election's outcome, but it marked the first election challenge to be rejected by the Supreme Court. Pennsylvania's top court had ruled against the GOP attempt to get the state's mail-in ballots discarded, which would have tipped the state to Trump. The Supreme Court said in a one-sentence ruling that it would not block the Pennsylvania high court's decision. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that the plaintiffs' post-election challenge of the state law permitting mail-in voting risked "the disenfranchisement of millions of Pennsylvania voters."

The New York Times

2. Biden promises 100 million coronavirus vaccine shots in 1st 100 days

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration would administer 100 million coronavirus vaccination shots and reopen most schools during its first 100 days. Biden also repeated his vow to mandate mask use in airliners, federal buildings, and other places controlled by the government. "As a new president, I'm going to speak directly to the American people," Biden said during a Delaware event where he introduced his picks to lead health agencies and the federal coronavirus response. "We need your help. Wear a mask for 100 days. It's the easiest thing you can do to reduce COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths." Biden was joined by his surgeon general pick Vivek Murthy, and Jeffrey Zients, who will coordinate the Biden administration's coronavirus response.

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Politico

3. Data indicates post-Thanksgiving coronavirus surge starting

The latest health data from numerous states has revealed the first signs of an expected post-Thanksgiving surge in coronavirus infections, several public health officials said Tuesday. Case counts in Alabama and Georgia jumped by about 50 percent in early December. "We could be just picking up the beginning of the Thanksgiving surge, but surely in the following week we're going to see it," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention at the University of Minnesota. "We're slingshotting this surge of cases into the holiday season in a way that is truly dangerous." The nation has averaged nearly 200,000 new cases a day in the last week, according to The Covid Tracking Project. Hospitalizations have surpassed 100,000, the most in the pandemic.

The Hill

4. Judge dismisses Flynn case but says pardon doesn't mean he's innocent

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Tuesday dismissed the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, citing President Trump's pardon. Sullivan wrote that the pardon meant that "the appropriate course is to dismiss this case as moot," but that the pardon didn't "render [Mr. Flynn] innocent of the alleged violation." Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI and senior White House officials about his pre-inauguration contact with Russia's ambassador after Moscow interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump. Flynn was ousted from the White House after just three weeks on the job. He became the only Trump White House adviser charged in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. He faced up to six months in prison under a plea deal, but later tried to withdraw his plea.

The Washington Post

5. Army punishes 14 senior officers after Fort Hood deaths

The Army on Tuesday announced that it was punishing 14 senior officers over the murder of a soldier and several other deaths this year at Fort Hood, an Army base in Texas. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said the senior officers had been "relieved or suspended from their positions" due to problems in the base culture "directly related to leadership failures." An Army official told CNN that the move was among the most sweeping disciplinary actions ever take by the Army, showing the depth of concerns about the seriousness of the problems at Fort Hood and the urgency of addressing issues of sexual assault, harassment, and violence against service members. The review that led to the punishment was ordered after the death of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old solder. Her remains were found in a shallow grave in June. The 20-year-old suspect, Spc. Aaron David Robinson, killed himself after police confronted him.

CNN

6. Trump defends decision to hold White House holiday parties despite pandemic

President Trump on Tuesday defended the White House's decision to go ahead with holiday parties despite the surging coronavirus pandemic. "They're Christmas parties," Trump said, "and, frankly, we've reduced the number very substantially, as you know." Trump told reporters at an event on coronavirus vaccines that in addition to trimming the size of guest lists, White House officials were encouraging guests to wear masks and practice social distancing. The White House also is providing hand sanitizer, serving food on individual plates, and covering passed beverages. "We have a lot of people wearing masks, and I think that's a good thing," Trump said. A video posted by a guest at a Tuesday event showed few people wearing face coverings. Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis, who has tested positive for COVID-19, attended a White House holiday party without a mask last week.

The Hill

7. White House pushes for stimulus checks in new coronavirus relief deal

White House officials are urging Senate Republicans to include $600 stimulus checks for individuals in the next coronavirus relief package under negotiation in Congress, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing two people with knowledge of the deliberations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) left a second round of stimulus checks out of the $600 billion proposal he unveiled last week. There were no such payments in in the $908 billion plan released by a group of bipartisan moderates, either. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have called for including the checks, with Sanders vowing to vote against any package that excludes them. Trump had his name printed on the first round of checks distributed during the spring and summer, and a White House spokesman said they "continue to be a high priority of the president's."

The Washington Post

8. House passes defense bill with veto-proof majority

The House passed a $741 billion defense policy bill on Tuesday in a bipartisan, veto-proof 335-78 vote. The legislation calls for raising pay for service members, dropping the names of Confederate figures from military bases, and providing new benefits for Vietnam-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the House "sent a strong, bipartisan message to the American people: Our service members and our national security are more important than politics." President Trump opposed the bill, first saying he would veto it over the bases being renamed, then insisting it include an unrelated repeal of legal protections for social media companies. The Senate is expected to overwhelmingly pass the legislation this week.

The New York Times

9. FDA review backs up Pfizer's case for vaccine approval

A Food and Drug Administration review published Tuesday confirmed that the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, appeared to meet the government's standard for emergency use authorization. The 53-page briefing document raised expectations that the FDA was close to allowing the two-shot vaccine to be administered in the United States. The research came out on the same day that the British government launched a massive campaign to give the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to tens of millions of people in the United Kingdom. The FDA's study backed up Pfizer's conclusion that late-stage trials had shown the vaccine to be 95 percent effective at preventing COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, once patients got both doses.

The Washington Post

10. Arizona Supreme Court rejects attempt to reverse Biden win

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld a lower court decision dismissing allegations of fraud in the November election. Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward had challenged the signature verification process Maricopa County used to authenticate mail-in ballots as part of an effort to reverse President-elect Joe Biden's 10,457-vote victory in the state. Superior Court Judge Randall Warner ruled that after a day and a half of testimony and oral arguments Ward's team failed to prove anything but a few minor errors. The Arizona Supreme Court agreed, settling the matter hours before the "safe harbor" deadline for state courts to resolve election-related disputes. Certified election results are now considered conclusive, locking in Biden's victory by requiring Congress to accept the Electoral College vote set for next week.

The Arizona Republic The New York Times