National Geographic is now investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and pulling his show from the air until it's settled.

The astrophysicist was accused of sexual misconduct by three women in November, just after the fifth season of his show StarTalk aired. Tyson has denied the allegations, but National Geographic still pulled the show from its channel.

On Thursday, a National Geographic representative confirmed the StarTalk hiatus would continue, as its parent company Fox Networks Group investigates the claims, per Variety. The investigation will likely wrap up in a "few weeks" and the channel will decide whether to continue StarTalk then, the spokesperson said.

In the November allegations, musician Tchiya Amet said Tyson raped her while they were graduate students in the 1980s. A physics professor later said Tyson groped her at a party and one of his former assistants said he made unwanted advances toward her. Tyson denied the allegations in a Facebook post later that month.

National Geographic had already aired three episodes of StarTalk's fifth season when the allegations surfaced, and had 15 more episodes scheduled for release into 2019. After its investigation, the channel will also have to consider whether to air Tyson's 13-episode Cosmos: Possible Worlds series slated for March, Variety notes. Kathryn Krawczyk

In his first public remarks since President Trump pardoned him last month, retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn told Trump's supporters not to "get bent out of shape" after the Supreme Court tossed a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election.

Speaking at a pro-Trump demonstration from the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Flynn — who briefly served as Trump's national security adviser in 2017 before pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador — echoed other Trump allies who have been pushing unfounded allegations that the president lost the November's election to President-elect Joe Biden because of widespread voter fraud. Like the others, including the president himself, Flynn didn't produce any actual evidence of fraud, but said "in this crucible moment of our time, we have to pray that truth triumphs over lies, justice triumphs over abuse and fraud, honesty triumphs over corruption. Our sacred honor triumphs over infamy."

He added that there are "avenues" to keep challenging the results and that "courts aren't going to decide who the next president of the United States is going to be. We the people decide." He did not, however, elaborate on how that would work now that polls have been closed for more than a month.

The Washington Post notes that after Flynn finished speaking "he was chased by shouting admirers." Read more at The Hill and The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell

Getting communities to "accept" COVID-19 vaccines is the "last-inch challenge" for the incoming Biden administration, Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told Politico.

The vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is making its way to the public thanks to an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, but its full potential to help end the pandemic in the U.S. may not be realized if too few Americans opt to receive it. Both the Trump administration and the Biden transition team are working (separately) to get the message about its safety and efficacy out there, but public health experts have warned that efforts may have begun too late, giving anti-vaccine sentiment an advantage. "There should be things out in the media now," Hemi Tewarson, a visiting senior policy fellow at Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, told Politico. "They are definitely going to have to play catch up."

Peter Hotez, a virologist and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, told Politico that even public service announcements won't be enough to change the narrative he says was created by conspiracy theorists and Russian disinformation campaigns. Instead, he argues President-elect Joe Biden should prepare his Commerce, Homeland Security, and State Departments to directly counter those viewpoints. "Now we've got to do damage control," Hotez said. Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell

Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, described Saturday as "D-Day" and the "beginning of the end" of the coronavirus pandemic. That's because the Food and Drug Administration authorized the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency use Friday night, and initial shipments will leave Pfizer's manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, within 24 hours for sites across the United States, the first phase of what should be the country's largest vaccination program ever.

Perna said UPS and FedEx are prepared to deliver around 3 million initial doses to 145 sites Monday, 425 more Tuesday, and 66 locations Wednesday. The sites receiving doses in the first few days include hospitals and other locations that are equipped to meet the ultra-cold storage requirements for the vaccine, The Associated Press notes. Within the next three weeks, local pharmacies and other sites will begin to get their own shipments.

While Perna sounded optimistic about the Operation Warp Speed plan, there are still logistical hurdles, and the number of doses delivered by the end of the year will likely depend on how many vaccines "roll off the production lines." Read more at The Associated Press. Tim O'Donnell

President-elect Joe Biden's transition team doesn't seem too worried about homeland security nominee Alejandro Mayorkas' chances of getting confirmed by the Senate, noting that the choice has received an "overwhelmingly positive reaction," but there does appear to be some skepticism among Republican lawmakers, The Associated Press reports.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), for instance, told AP that Mayorkas' "brand of leadership isn't good for agency culture or the security of our nation." He was specifically referring to the findings of a 2015 report from the Office of Inspector General which concluded Mayorkas "created an appearance of favoritism and special access at Citizenship and Immigration Services when he was director from 2009 to 2013," per AP.

Still, even if there are holdouts, Biden will likely only need a handful of Republican senators to back Mayorkas, and prominent GOP donor John Rowe told AP he plans to push the party to confirm. "This is an easy vote," Rowe, the former CEO of Exelon Corporation, said. "Some of the other immigration votes are not that easy for Republicans who have to go home to primaries. No one is going to lose their seat because they vote to confirm Mayorkas." Read more at The Associated Press. Tim O'Donnell

President Trump is reportedly interested in appointing a special counsel to investigate unfounded allegations of election fraud and Hunter Biden's business and financial dealings, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Trump has reportedly directed advisers to look for candidates, and he reportedly wants to act quickly as lawsuits brought by his presidential campaign and his allies have fizzled in courts at all levels.

Ultimately, though, the appointment of a special counsel would have to be made by Attorney General William Barr, and his associates told the Journal he's unlikely to name anyone to the post, especially after he tapped Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham to lead a separate investigation into the origins of the FBI's 2016 Russia investigation.

The president already appears angry with Barr — the attorney general has recently said his department has found no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and he also prevented an existing federal investigation into Hunter Biden from being publicly exposed, which reportedly set Trump off at a meeting Friday. Trump continued to express his disappointment about the latter situation Saturday morning on Twitter, raising speculation about whether Barr's job is in jeopardy. Clashing with Trump over a special counsel appointment, if that turns out to be the case, could add to that uncertainty. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Tim O'Donnell

President Trump is not happy with the Supreme Court after it tossed a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's wins in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Late Friday night, a few hours after the decision, Trump tweeted that the court "really let us down" and didn't show "wisdom" or "courage."

He went on to complain specifically about the speed with which the justices dismissed the lawsuit.

Trump, who appointed three of the nine sitting members of the court, didn't single anyone out by name, but his disappointment was palpable. Tim O'Donnell