IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

November 7 highlights: Joe Biden becomes the president-elect

Joe Biden, will become the 46th president of the United States after beating Donald Trump. Biden and Kamala Harris delivered their acceptance speeches Saturday in Delaware.
Chelsea Stahl / NBC News

This live coverage has ended. Continue reading election news from November 8, 2020

Joe Biden became president-elect Saturday after winning Pennsylvania, NBC News has projected.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to press forward with a legal fight, pushing unfounded claims of voter fraud in response to the news that came while he was at his Virginia golf club.

Check here for more on the presidential results.

In first days in office, Biden to sign executive orders reversing Trump actions

+3

Geoff Bennett

Ali Vitali

Kristen Welker, Geoff Bennett, Mike Memoli and Ali Vitali

WILMINGTON, Del. — A senior campaign official for President-Elect Joe Biden confirmed Saturday night that Biden will make good on his longstanding promise to immediately sign a number of executive orders aimed at reversing several of President Donald Trump’s unilateral actions.

The Washington Post reported Saturday on a flurry of executive actions Biden has planned for his first days in office — most already announced through various policy rollouts made during the long campaign. Those actions will include rejoining the Paris climate accords and reversing Trump's withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the Post reported, citing those close to his campaign and commitments he has made in recent months.  

Biden will officially launch his transition on Monday and will name his coronavirus task force, which he mentioned in his acceptance speech.

“Folks our work begins with getting Covid under control…on Monday I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisers to help take the Biden-Harris Covid plan and convert it into an action blueprint that will start on January 20th 2021,” Biden said Saturday night.

Marianna Sotomayor, Deepa Shivaram, Amanda Golden, Molly Roecker, Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner, Gary Grumbach and Winston Wilde contributed to this report.  

 

'Touched' to be included, says tweet from Tom Petty's account

Biden broadcast to an empty White House briefing room

Image: President-elect Joe Biden's address to the nation is broadcast on a television inside the empty White House briefing room on Nov. 7, 2020.
President-elect Joe Biden's address to the nation is broadcast on a television inside the empty White House briefing room on Saturday.Alex Wong / Getty Images

Clinching victory, President-elect Biden declares 'time to heal in America'

President-elect Joe Biden addressed the nation Saturday night for the first time after winning the White House, delivering a message of unity and healing to a bitterly divided nation.

Biden promised the captivated crowd of supporters at his campaign headquarters “to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify."

"To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans," he said.

"This is the time to heal in America," Biden added, amid a chorus of blaring car horns and screams. He vowed to "work with all my heart for the confidence of the whole people. To win the confidence of all people."

Biden spoke at a drive-in rally outside the Chase Center on the Riverfront, in Wilmington, Del., where 360 cars, the campaign said, had gathered. As he spoke, supporters of all ages sat atop their cars, inside their vehicles, or beside them, yelling, screaming, cheering and pumping their car horns in enthusiastic support of the man on stage.

Read the story.

Biden and Harris celebrate after speeches to the nation

Image: JDoug Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden react as confetti falls after Biden's speech to the nation in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday.
Doug Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden react as confetti falls after Biden's speech to the nation in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday.Andrew Harnik / AP
Image: President-elect Joe Biden and his family watch fireworks explode after his address to the nation in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday.
President-elect Joe Biden and his family watch fireworks explode after his address to the nation in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday.Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Democrats react to Biden, Harris speeches

Biden elevates trans voters as members of his diverse coalition

Both Biden and Harris acknowledged in their speeches Saturday night the diverse coalition of voters who propelled the pair to apparent victory over President Trump. 

In what could be a first for any president, Biden singled out trans voters as one of the many groups that helped him take the White House: “Democrats, Republicans, independents, progressives, moderates, conservatives, young, old, urban, suburban, rural, gay, straight, transgender, white, Latino, Asian, Native American.” 

Biden to Black Americans: I have your back

President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday thanked Black voters, who were a key to his nomination and election to the White House. 

Biden's stumbling campaign for the Democratic nomination was resuscitated by a win in the South Carolina primarily, fueled by Black voters.  And then African-American support was key in narrow wins in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania this week. 

“And especially in those moments when this campaign was at its lowest ebb — the African American community stood up again for me," Biden forcefully told supporters in Wilmington, Delaware. "They always have my back, and I’ll have yours.”

Biden and Harris thank poll workers in victory speeches

Following several days of tense ballot counting throughout the country, both President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris thanked poll workers in their victory speeches Saturday night.

"To all those who volunteered, worked the polls in the middle of this pandemic, local election officials — you deserve a special thanks from this nation," Biden said.

Harris added that the "nation owes you a debt of gratitude." 

Biden takes subtle dig at Trump: Make America respected again

President-elect Joe Biden took a subtle dig at this soon-to-be predecessor on Saturday, pledging to "make America respected" again. 

Four years after Donald Trump captured the White House with the slogan, "Make America Great Again," Biden, in his first speech since he was projected the winner, crafted his own spin on that message.

"I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again, and to unite us here at home," Biden told a parking of supporters in Wilmington, Delaware.

The first, but not the last

Harris with the suffragette nod

Dance party erupts outside Harris' California childhood home

Electric atmosphere as crowd awaits victory speeches by Biden, Harris

Tonight's programming has officially kicked off, with a recorded message from Biden, followed by a rendition of "Where is the Love" by the Black Eyed Peas, blaring over the loudspeakers.

Some attendees are waving large American flags in rhythm, others are mouthing the words to the lyrics of the song.

The atmosphere is electric as people await victory speeches by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. 

Pennsylvania voters in key county explain why they supported Biden

Syndication: GoErie.com
Voters wait in line in Girard in Pennsylvania's Erie County on Nov. 3, 2020.Greg Wohlford / Erie Times-News via USA Today Network

ERIE, Pa. — Four years ago, Gary Kaminski believed America needed a change — something unexpected or different from the political norm to shake up Washington.

He came to realize he got exactly what he wished for with President Donald Trump, but not the way he wanted.

The 31-year-old Democrat and Erie County, Pennsylvania, resident did his part to reverse his earlier decision by voting against Trump, like many others across the state that proved pivotal in electing former Vice President Joe Biden, according to an NBC News projection.

Erie County, in the most northwestern part of Pennsylvania, which borders Lake Erie, was part of the statewide turn back to the Democrats after supporting Trump over Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election.

Read the story.

Amtrak hopes its most famous rider can deliver funding package

Amtrak congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday and didn't waste any time lobbying its most famous customer and the upcoming 117th Congress.

“Amtrak looks forward to working with President-elect Biden and Congress," Amtrak CEO William Flynn said in a statement. "To get the economy moving and help Amtrak and our employees through this unprecedented situation, Congress must act now on pandemic relief and economic stimulus funding." 

The carrier said it needs federal assistance "to recall furloughed employees, restore service frequency on long-distance and state-supported routes, and make investments that will advance critical capital projects."

Biden famously rode the rails every day from his home in Delaware to the capitol during his days as a senator, representing the First State.

Longtime Biden confidants reflect on victory

As Joe Biden prepares to address the nation as president-elect, two of his closest confidants shared their reflections on a journey that began 48 years ago tonight with his election as senator.

When Biden won that upset against a popular incumbent Republican senator and former governor in 1972, "I said to myself, 'I will never believe anything is impossible,’” Ted Kaufman, Biden’s longtime chief of staff and his successor in the Senate, recalled."It was a big day for all of us in terms of coming from nowhere and winning. And it’s a big day today to see him become president of the United States.”

His campaign manager then was his sister, Valerie.

"We had the same commitment, the same passion, the same joy of thinking that we could do something very positive, which was to end the war in Vietnam, protect our civil rights, and protect the environment. My brother’s energy commitment and passion never changed,” she said. "Of course I’m thrilled that my brother won. But this is so much more than about my brother being president. It really was about restoring the soul of America. And in a less poetic way it was about restoring our democracy.”

“In America we often get the person we need for the moment — we got Lincoln in the Civil War, and we got Roosevelt in the Depression and World War II. And I think my brother is the right man for these challenges,” she said.

"He’s going to show up more ready to govern than any president in the history of the country in terms of the experience he has,” Kaufman said. Kaufman is now heading up Biden’s transition.

Asked how Biden remained steady and navigated difficult moments on the campaign, Kaufman said he "was convinced the whole time.”

"He wasn’t running to be president because he wanted to be president. It was about Charlottesville,” he said. “He has this ‘look in the mirror' test. He will not not do something because it’s going to be hard. So this whole thing was about, ‘How will I feel about myself if I don’t run and Trump gets re-elected?’”

Scenes from the Biden drive-in victory rally in Wilmington

The mood is sky-high for attendees of the Biden drive-in rally at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Here are some photos and videos of the people attending tonight's event: 

Photos: Jubilant mood in Harlem

Image: People celebrate in Harlem
Image: People celebrate in Harlem
Image:  Empty bottles of champagne in Harlem, New York, on Nov. 7, 2020.
People celebrate Joe Biden's election victory on Saturday in Harlem in New York City. Kamala Harris will become the first female, first Black and first South Asian American vice president.Shahrzad Elghanayan / NBC News

California Democrats rally around Vice President-elect Harris

California Democrats up and down the Golden State were quick to congratulate native daughter and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who was born in Oakland and served as the state's attorney general before becoming senator. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted a photo of him and Harris sharing a laugh, saying "California is so, so proud."

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said Harris has been a "strong ally and friend" as California senator.

Garcia lost his mother and stepfather earlier this year to the coronavirus. He has been openly critical of President Trump's handling of the pandemic and celebrated his apparent defeat Saturday with a series of tweets congratulating both Harris and President-elect Biden. 

Rep. Adam Schiff, who represents portions of Los Angeles and oversaw Trump's impeachment proceedings in the House, said that Biden and Harris' victory shows that right, truth and decency "still matters" to Americans. 

At least 3 White House aides infected with Covid-19 along with Mark Meadows

A White House official tells NBC News, in addition to chief of staff Mark Meadows, at least three other White House aides have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days.

Trump campaign aide, Nick Trainer, is also infected. There are reports that as many as five White House staffers, in addition to Meadows, have tested positive.

At Biden drive-in rally, jubilation with win, but anxiety with how close it was

Dozens of cars — and hundreds of people — have already rolled in to the most heavily secured parking lot in the country at the Chase Center on the Riverfront for tonight’s drive-in victory rally at Biden campaign headquarters.

Many attendees were sitting in camping chairs, smiling and talking happily amongst themselves, or bobbing their heads to the music being played over loudspeakers by the campaign. 

Among them was Charlie McEntee, who drove in from Wallingford, Pa., for the rally and who described his elation succinctly.

“I feel amazing, wonderful, relieved,” McEntee said. 

“I just can’t believe we are here, and that he won,” McEntee, 64, said. “Now, I just hope he can unite the country.”

Wyatt Patterson, 19, recalled the “emotional moment” she found out earlier today that Biden had been declared the winner.

“I’m feeling so inspired that they pulled it off,” she said. 

Others, while overjoyed that Biden was declared the winner of the race, said they also felt upset at how close the race ended up being.

“It’s a range of emotions,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. “There is happiness and relief and renewal, but there is also anxiety.”

“This was so much closer than I thought it would be. Given the last four years, I would’ve expected an absolute repudiation of the president,” said Vignarajah, the CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and a former Obama White House staffer.

“For me, these results were too close," she said.

How Black voters in key cities helped deliver the election for Joe Biden

Janell Ross

ATLANTA — In the way that one could on election night 2020, LaTosha Brown was making the rounds.

She was in a suite near the top of a luxury hotel so close to the airport that the balcony view overlooked a Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport airplane parking lot. Also there was Cliff Albright, who, with Brown, co-founded the voter mobilization organization Black Voters Matter. After a Google Hangout with the field directors they had hired to register, engage and boost voter participation around the country, Brown sequestered herself in a bedroom, resting her body in a hotel chair, her tired feet — by then stripped to the socks — on the bed.

Between bites of food and watching election returns turn bits of the national map red or blue, Brown juggled calls, internet video sessions and texts, in each countering the conventional wisdom with journalists, political operatives and others that the election would come down to Donald Trump's mythical all-white suburbs filled with stay-at-home moms or Joe Biden's ability to convert them. Instead, it was decided in racially diverse urban centers and increasingly diverse suburbs in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia.

The Black people who make up 39 percent or more of the population in those areas chose Biden, with some exceptions. In fact, once the vote counts from Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee and Atlanta started to near completion, Trump's lead in their respective states disappeared. Biden — who would not have been the Democratic presidential nominee without Black voters in South Carolina — reached 270 Electoral College votes in large part because of Black voters in these cities.

Click here for the full story. 

Letter carriers take a bow, delivering ballots that fueled Biden win

Letter carriers congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Saturday and accepted well wishes of their supporters, who voted by the millions via the mail

"NALC is excited to continue this important work and stands ready to work with the Biden-Harris administration in the coming months and years," the National Association of Letter Carriers  union said in a statement.

In a scene repeated over and over Saturday as Biden supporters celebrated in streets, letter carriers were stopped and thanked for their work during the election season.

Former pro basketball player Rex Chapman, who has a million Twitter followers, posted video of revelers cheering letter carriers in Brooklyn.

"Postal workers getting the love they deserve," he wrote.

 

Georgia's secretary of state says Fulton County 'discovered an issue' in Friday's reporting

Good vibes, loud music, as cars roll in at the drive-in Biden victory rally

The sun has set in Wilmington, and the parking lot at Biden campaign headquarters at the Chase Center on the Riverfront is quickly filling up with cars for tonight’s drive-in victory rally.

The mood is bright, the air is chilly and a cheerful playlist — heavy, for the moment, on R&B songs from the early 1980’s including “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross and “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince — is blaring over loudspeakers to the growing audience.

Minivans are adorned with Biden-Harris signs, compact SUV’s are decorated with Biden-Harris blankets and tapestries, and more than a few supporters are discreetly mixing cocktails.

There’s also a man wearing a full-body Donald-Trump-in-a-diaper costume walking around the lot posing for photos with excited Biden supporters.

Tonight’s drive-in event — during which both Biden and Harris will speak — is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET. 

After round of golf and Biden announced as winner, Trump mingles with club guests

The moment Biden found out that news outlets had declared him the winner

Biden and his wife, Jill, were enjoying the warm fall weather on their backyard patio Saturday morning when from inside their home, a chorus of applause erupted.

Biden’s grandchildren, watching as his victory was announced on television, rushed to share the news.

"Pop, Pop! We won!” they told the now-president-elect, a source with knowledge shared with NBC News.

Biden’s granddaughter Naomi tweeted a photo of their celebration.

 

Clyburn jokes Biden 'owes me' — for interrupting golf outing

At the moment Joe Biden was projected as the president-elect, the man whose critical endorsement put him in position for victory was “on the 14th tee box” on a golf course in South Carolina. But aides implored him to interrupt his round once the result came in.  

“It was one of the best rounds moneywise I’ve had all year!” Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., joked in an interview with NBC News, saying he was ahead $30 in his round with some friends. “So when I see Joe, I’m going to let him know he owes me some money.”

The South Carolina congressman said he hasn’t spoken yet with Biden, but expects he will soon. They last spoke on election night, when Biden was “in a cautious mood” — unsure yet if he would be able to overcome the early leads President Trump posted in key states like Pennsylvania. “There was some apprehension there,” he said. 

But Clyburn said he was elated now at Biden’s victory and eager to get to work with him.

“He gave my kind of speech last night, so I don’t need to tell him anything,” he said. “What he said was pitch perfect.”

Clyburn said he would listen to any entreaties to join the administration but that it wasn't his preference. “I would never say never. But I will say this: I do not aspire to be in the administration.”

From Wall Street to weed, corporate America prepares for life in purple

Reuters

President Donald Trump has left much on the to-do list for President-elect Joe Biden. And American companies have had plenty of time to consider what a Biden presidency will mean for them. 

Here's a closer look at what will shape the agenda for various industries, from Wall Street to weed.

Consumer-goods firms will have their eye on the big prize — a stimulus package — since consumer spending slowed once the $600 weekly boost to unemployment payments ended in July.

On Wall Street, Republicans did little to unravel the post-crisis protections in the first place — and while Biden will put forward his own people to run financial regulators, they will have to pass muster with a Senate that is likely under GOP control.

When it comes to the energy sector, Biden has called for a “transition” from oil and other fossil fuels and a pledge to make polluters bear the cost of carbon emissions and proposes large investments in green technologies.

And then there's infrastructure week.

Read the story here.

 

 

New Yorkers celebrate Joe Biden's election victory

Celebrations at Columbus Circle and Times Square.
Celebrations at Columbus Circle and Times Square.Amy Lombard / for NBC News

More photos: Celebrations spread with news of Biden victory

Biden's victory snaps Ohio's long winning streak in presidential elections

Joe Biden's projected victory snaps Ohio's perfect record of picking the winner in every presidential election since 1964.

It was the longest active streak of any state in the country, and the 2020 election will mark its end.

Biden is poised to be the first president since John F. Kennedy in 1960 without carrying the Buckeye State, which NBC News called for President Donald Trump on election night Tuesday.

Trump returns to the White House after new agencies project Biden win

Image: U.S President Donald Trump returns to the White House after news media declared Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden to be the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in Washington
President Donald Trump returns to the White House from the Trump National golf club in Sterling, Va., after news media declared Joe Biden to be the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election on Saturday.Carlos Barria / Reuters

Biden inherits a battered economy with 10 million still unemployed

One of the top priorities for President-elect Joe Biden will be to rebuild America’s battered workforce and kick-start business growth.

The labor market still faces a deficit of more than 10 million jobs, with more disappearing permanently. 

Yet, the United States does not currently have the tools to realign workers and their skill sets to the new realities of the labor market.

Biden has proposed providing two years of community college or equivalent training to all Americans, along with a $50 billion investment in workforce training through community college partnerships and free four-year tuition for students with family incomes below $125,000.

But first, Biden must address the coronavirus pandemic, which is inextricably linked with America's economic trajectory. The current rise in infection rates flashes danger signals for the consumer-driven economy, since businesses will struggle to stay open if customers are concerned about catching the virus.

"Getting the virus under control is the only path to a full economic recovery," AnnElizabeth Konkel, economist at Indeed hiring services company, said.

Read the story here.

ANALYSIS: Biden won. Now comes the unimaginably hard part.

Election 2020
Joe Biden addresses supporters as Sen. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., listens inside The Chase Center on Nov. 4, 2020 in Wilmington, Del.Demetrius Freeman / The Washington Post via Getty Images

The good news for President-elect Joe Biden is that he defeated Donald Trump. The bad news is he has to preside over an angry and polarized nationa broken Congress, and the continuing economic and public health crises posed by the coronavirus.

He has promised to unify the country, a brutal task that will require him to manage the expectations of the left wing of his own party and the anger of defeated Republicans. And to enact his legislative agenda, he will have to satisfy a Senate that may be led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., depending on the outcome of remaining races, as well as a House led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The political bases of both sides are suspicious of anything that unites them.

That's why many political insiders say Biden will only be successful if his presidency matches a campaign in which he rejected the most extreme proposals of fellow Democrats and embraced coalition-of-the-willing Republicans.

"It’s going to be a difficult environment," Doug Heye, a former leadership aide on Capitol Hill who backed Biden, said. "He may be the best-suited person to get anything done."

Read the analysis.

Biden to launch presidential transition, name Covid task force

+3

Geoff Bennett

Ali Vitali

Geoff Bennett, Mike Memoli, Kristen Welker and Ali Vitali

Joe Biden on Monday will officially launch his presidential transition, for which, as a major party nominee, he laid the groundwork months ago by establishing a transition team as required by federal law.

Biden is also expected to name his coronavirus task force Monday, according to a campaign source — a move that indicates how he is prioritizing the issue. The task force will be co-chaired by former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate professor of medicine at Yale University. 

'Democracy won!': Biden's victory cheered by Lizzo, Eva Longoria, LeBron other activist celebs

Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump to become the next U.S. president prompted a wave of reaction on social media on Saturday, including from celebrities who had actively supported the former vice president’s candidacy.

Actress Eva Longoria, who campaigned for Biden and emceed the Democratic National Convention earlier this year, shared a video showing her TV screen when Biden was declared president-elect. Her enthusiastic cheers can be heard in the background.

"Democracy won!!! USA USA USA," the actress, producer and philanthropist tweeted alongside the video.

Singer Lizzo shared an emotional video on her Instagram page.

"There are a few times in this country when I'm hopeful. But I feel like every time I'm hopeful, it gets taken away from me... I think this is the end of a four-year term that felt like a thousand years," she said tearfully about the coming end to Donald Trump's presidency. "Whether you were blue or were red, that man didn't care about you."

Biden will be sworn in as the 46th U.S. president on Jan. 20, and Harris will become the first female, first Black and first South Asian American vice president.

"The people have spoken! Thank you to everyone who used your vote and your voice to make history. PRESIDENT Joe Biden and VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris," tweeted Kerry Washington, an actress, producer and director who also emceed the Democratic National Convention alongside Longoria.

Other celebrities such as NBA star LeBron James, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, musician John Legend and many more also cheered Biden's victory.

Read our full story here.

As Trump leaves Virginia golf course, Biden supporters wave goodbye, give him thumbs down

Rebecca Shabadis in Washington, D.C.

Trump left his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday afternoon where he spent the first half of the day as networks called the presidential race for Biden. 

His motorcade left around 2:30 p.m. ET and a couple hundred people had lined up outside along the entrance to the golf club, with Biden supporters on one side and Trump supporters on the other. 

The Biden side of the crowd was all waving bye and giving the motorcade the thumbs down. 

There was also a small parade of pro-Trump cars doing laps and someone with a loud speaker chanting "defund the media." 

An enormous crowd has formed, meanwhile, outside the White House celebrating Biden's victory. 

Clyburn: 'I'm very ecstatic'

Rep. James Clyburn, who's been credited with reviving Joe Biden's struggling presidential campaign in South Carolina during the Democratic primaries earlier this year, hailed his victory in the presidential race in an interview with CNN on Saturday.

"I'm very pleased with the results. I'm very ecstatic about what may be the future of this great country of ours," the powerful South Carolina Democrat said. "I could not sit idly by and watch this country take backward steps in that pursuit of perfection. And so, I am pleased that we can now get back on course."

He also said he was "moved" by Sen. Kamala Harris becoming vice president-elect, and revealed that despite what he was saying publicly at the time, he'd urged Biden to pick a running mate of color.

"I never said that publicly so I don't think you ought to diminish your candidate, and when you ever tell a candidate what he must do publicly, that diminishes the standard with the public. So, I gave all my advice to him in private, but I'm very  pleased that it was a Black woman selected. I think it cemented his relationship to the Black community," he said.

"I'm the father of three daughters and I have two granddaughters, and to me this breaks the glass ceiling for them and all other daughters and granddaughters in the world. So, I was very, very moved by this."  

'Major' day: Biden's German shepherd Major to become first rescue dog in the White House

Nicole Via y Rada

President-elect Joe Biden's adopted German shepherd, Major, will become the first rescue dog to live in the White House. 

The Bidens adopted Major in 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association after fostering the German shepherd.

Major joins Champ, the Bidens' other German shepherd, in accompanying the incoming first family. Presidential pets are a tradition in the White House. 

Pennsylvania to Supreme Court: Don't stop the count of later-arriving mail-in ballots

The state of Pennsylvania urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday to deny the request from the state Republican Party, which on Friday sought an order stopping the counting of mail-in ballots that arrived during the extended deadline period.

For starters, the state said, that would complicate tabulating the results in state races, "impacting the commonwealth’s ability to seat its General Assembly by December 1, 2020, as required by the Pennsylvania Constitution."

Second, the state said, there's no evidence that any counties are disregarding the secretary of state's directive to keep those ballots separate and tally them separately: "63 counties have already confirmed to the secretary their compliance with the prior guidance, including the commonwealth’s two largest counties (Allegheny and Philadelphia). And no county has expressed an intention to violate the guidance," officials said.

One of those counties, Luzerne, filed its own response, asking, in essence, what difference does any of this make? The county says it's hard to see "how the ballots in question will have any relevance to the electoral outcome."

Photo: Chuck Schumer celebrates in New York

Image: Reaction after media declare Biden has won the election
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrates in Brooklyn, N.Y., as media announce that Joe Biden has won the 2020 U.S. presidential election.Dane Rhys / Reuters

Carter says he looks forward to the 'positive change' coming

Rebecca Shabadis in Washington, D.C.

Former President Jimmy Carter released a statement Saturday congratulating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their projected win.

"Rosalynn joins me in congratulating our friends President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris," he said. "We are proud of their well-run campaign and look forward to seeing the positive change they bring to our nation." 

Carter is only one of a few incumbent presidents in the 20th century not to win re-election to the White House.

Obama has spoken to both Biden and Harris

NBC News

"President Obama spoke separately this afternoon with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris," a spokesperson for the former president said. "He congratulated each of them on their historic victory and told them how proud he was of the campaign they ran in unprecedented times."

Biden wins Nevada, NBC News projects

Rebecca Shabadis in Washington, D.C.

Around 2 p.m. ET, NBC News projected that Biden has won Nevada, allocating 6 electoral votes to the president-elect. 

Biden now has 279 Electoral College votes, while Trump has 214 votes. NBC News projected Biden had become the president-elect earlier on Saturday. 

The only states that NBC News has not called yet in the presidential race are Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Alaska.

Ukrainian president, of the 'perfect phone call,' congrats Biden and Harris

Rebecca Shabadis in Washington, D.C.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the world leader whose phone call with President Donald Trump last year led to the House impeaching the president, congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Twitter Saturday afternoon. 

He said Ukraine is "optimistic" about the future of its strategic partnership with the U.S.

The House impeached Trump in December 2019 after Democrats said there was ample evidence that Trump had abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to announce investigations into Biden and his son, Hunter, while withholding almost $400 million in U.S. aid. 

After Joe Biden's win over Donald Trump, relief sweeps through America's allies

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Holds News Conference
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Joe Biden.David Kawai / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sighs of relief rippled through the capitals of the United States' traditional allies Saturday after Joe Biden became president-elect.

Many leaders have been battered by four years of the convention-smashing President Donald Trump and see in Biden a counterpart who will try and return America onto a path of multilateralism and international cooperation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had a fraught relationship with Trump, was among the first world leaders to issue a statement congratulating Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris.

"Our two countries are close friends, partners, and allies. We share a relationship that’s unique on the world stage," Trudeau wrote soon after news emerged that the former vice president had won the pivotal state of Pennsylvania, according to NBC News projections. "I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was less diplomatic. "Welcome back America!" she wrote on Twitter. "Congratulations to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for their election!"

Read the story.

Jill Biden says husband will be a president for 'all families'

'Adiós Trump' T-shirt sale will fund DACA kids, says Julián Castro

SAN ANTONIO — Former presidential candidate Julián Castro has the words some Democrats may be looking for as the news sinks in that Joe Biden is the projected president-elect: Adiós Trump!

Castro, who made that a catchphrase of his primary campaign, relaunched T-shirts with the phrase as soon as Biden hit the magic Electoral College vote number to become the projected president-elect Saturday. 

Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama-Biden administration, said repeatedly on the trail that he looked forward to the day when the traditional moment would come for the new president to usher out the old one. 

He imagined it would be him with his wife and children, as any ambitious candidate would, and Marine One would be taking off and the nation would be saying, "Adiós Trump." 

The proceeds from the sale of his T-shirts will go toward helping young immigrants who are renewing their permission to remain in the country and work under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program — which President Donald Trump has tried to end.

'America has spoken and democracy has won': Bill Clinton congratulates Biden, Harris

Rebecca Shabadis in Washington, D.C.

Former President Bill Clinton congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their election victory Saturday afternoon on Twitter, saying they will "bring us together."

Pelosi, Schumer call Biden on his victory, say they hope to 'achieve great things' together

Rebecca Shabadis in Washington, D.C.

Around 12:45 p.m. ET, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called President-elect Biden to congratulate him on his victory, according to a senior Democratic aide. 

"It was a happy call," the aide said, adding that Biden's wife, Jill, also participated. "Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to achieve great things for the American people."

Desi Twitter bursts with pride over Kamala Harris as VP-elect

Desi Twitter erupted Saturday in response to the news that Joe Biden became president-elect and Sen. Kamala Harris will become the first female, first Black and first South Asian American vice president.

Many on Desi Twitter, the space where South Asians share everything from political commentary to inside jokes and memes, celebrated the win for representation.

Leading up to the election, a report found that 65 percent of Indian Americans were planning to vote for Biden. Demographic breakdowns for Asian Americans have not yet been released for this year's election.

Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, had highlighted her roots in her vice presidential acceptance speech in August, acknowledging "my chitthis," the Tamil word for "aunts."

That instance had created an emotional stir for her South Asian supporters. Here's how the community reacted to the news of her election Saturday.

Click here to see more reactions

Pennsylvania Latinos were pivotal for Biden in the state

Latinos are a small part of Pennsylvania’s electorate but came out strong for Joe Biden and were pivotal in helping deliver the state he needed to become the winner in the presidential race Saturday.

Exit polling showed Latinos were about 4 percent of all voters who showed up at the polls this election. As many as 6 in 10 Latino voters cast their ballots for him. President Donald Trump got 35 percent of Latino votes.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton won about three-quarters of the Latino vote in Pennsylvania and Trump got 22 percent.

A little more than half a million Latinos — about half of the state's Hispanic residents — are eligible to vote in Pennsylvania. Puerto Ricans are the dominant Latino group, followed by Dominican Americans and Mexicans.

“We already knew that since the last presidential election, there were 300,000 new Latino voters in Pennsylvania, and we know that based on the results we have seen that without those folks coming and participating, maybe the result wouldn’t have been the same,” said Thaís Carrero, Pennsylvania director of CASA in Action, a progressive group that does political organizing around Latino and immigrant rights advocacy, which endorsed Biden in August.

Click here for the full story.

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani vows lawsuits challenging votes in Pennsylvania

NBC News

 

Senate Democrats contemplate divided government under a Biden presidency

Leigh Ann Caldwell

Leigh Ann Caldwell and Julie Tsirkin
Image: Joe Biden Kamala Harris
U.S Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks about election results next to vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 6, 2020.Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Senate Democrats are coming to terms with the possibility of a different type of Congress than they had expected — one without a clear Democratic majority.

Instead of sweeping Democratic policy changes with a Democratic president willing to sign bills into law, they are bracing for a best-case scenario of cooperative Republicans agreeable to incremental policy wins. But they fear a brick wall will be built by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who could retain his position as majority leader after all Senate races are called.

“I am going to clean the slate and be open-minded to the idea that this will open up a new era of cooperation,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a phone interview.

“The real test is whether there’s going to be a blockade against [Biden] Cabinet. If there is, we know [Republicans] are deciding to go scorched-earth,” Schatz added.

Democrats have little trust in McConnell, a partisan tactician whose top priority is maintaining his Republican majority. They also say McConnell will have little incentive to cooperate — he will be navigating as many as a half-dozen Senate Republicans who will immediately begin posturing for a potential 2024 presidential run.

Read the story.

NBC News

Trump golfs as Biden named president-elect

NBC News

Image: President Donald Trump plays a round of golf at Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Va., on Saturday.
President Donald Trump plays a round of golf at Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Va., on Saturday.Patrick Semansky / AP

Photos: Spontaneous celebrations as news spreads of Biden victory

Image: People react as media announce that Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden has won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in, Philadelphia
People in Philadelphia react as media announce that Joe Biden has won the presidential election.Rachel Wisniewski / Reuters
Image: People react as media announces that Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden has won the 2020 U.S. presidential election in New York City
Biden supporters in New York's Central Park.Caitlin Ochs / Reuters
Image:
Outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.Rebecca Blackwell / AP

Biden's win sparks street celebrations around the country

The announcement that Democrat Joe Biden has won the presidential election sparked spontaneous street celebrations around the country on Saturday.

Within seconds of the race being called, a group at Black Lives Matter plaza outside the White House erupted in cheers.

Shouts of joy could also be heard around several New York City neighborhoods. In one video filmed in Washington Heights, cars honked their horns as pedestrians lining the sidewalks clapped and cheered.

Biden amassed 273 Electoral College votes after winning Pennsylvania’s 20 electors, according to NBC News, surpassing the 270 needed to defeat President Donald Trump. The victory ended one of the most tumultuous and longest campaigns in modern history.

Read the story.

The scene in Times Square

 

'We did it, Joe': Harris calls Biden

NBC News

'History-making ticket': Hillary Clinton reacts to the Biden-Harris win

Nancy Pelosi responds to Biden's win

Nicole Via y Rada

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responded to the election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in a statement

“Today marks the dawning of a new day of hope for America. A record-shattering 75 million Americans cast their ballots to elect Joe Biden President of the United States – a historic victory that has handed Democrats a mandate for action," she said.

Pelosi highlighted Biden's plans to combat Covid-19 and the safe reopening of schools and businesses, followed by "mandates" to rebuild health care, infrastructure and "cleaner government." 

"President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris won with a strong margin, and they will have a strong Democratic House Majority by their side," she said. "Working together, we have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress For The People."

Doug Emhoff tweets on Harris

NBC News

Harris makes history as first female, Black, South Asian American VP-elect

Dartunorro Clark

Image: Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination for Vice President in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 19, 2020.
Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination for Vice President in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 19, 2020.Erin Schaff / NYT via Redux file

With Joe Biden now projected to win the presidency, his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, also solidified her place in history Saturday by becoming the first woman, the first Black American and the first South Asian American elected vice president in U.S. history.

Harris’ political career has included many barrier-breaking moments, such as serving as the elected attorney general of California and being the second Black woman in history to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Harris, 56, the only Black woman currently in the Senate, was elected in 2016 after serving as California’s attorney general and, before that, as the San Francisco district attorney. The child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, the native of Oakland, California, has said she was inspired to attend law school after attending civil rights protests with her parents.

"This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me," Harris tweeted Saturday after NBC News projected her victory. "It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started."

Read the story.

Photos: Philadelphia reacts to announcement of Biden winning election

Image: Joe Biden reaction
People celebrate in Philadelphia, after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become 46th president of the United States, on Nov. 7, 2020.Rebecca Blackwell / AP
Image: Joe Biden reaction
People celebrate outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become 46th president of the United States, on Nov. 7, 2020, in Philadelphia.Rebecca Blackwell / AP
Image: Joe Biden
People celebrate after Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become 46th president of the United States, on Nov. 7, 2020, in Philadelphia.Rebecca Blackwell / AP

Trump responds to projection of Biden's win

Ginger GibsonSenior Washington Editor

President Donald Trump reacted to news that Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election by vowing to continue to fight. 

"Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated," Trump said in a statement. "The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election." 

Trump blamed news outlets for declaring Biden the victor and repeated unfounded claims that rampant voter fraud occurred. 

"We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed," Trump said in a statement. "The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process.  Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media."

 

Biden and Harris tweet their thanks to the country

 

NBC News Exit Poll: How Biden rebuilt the Democrats' 'blue wall'

NBC News Exit Poll Desk

If 2018 was the year of the suburban woman, 2020 was the year of the white man. This latter group was a major factor in Joe Biden’s ability to rebuild the so-called Democratic blue wall and win the White House.

Biden may not have won the majority of white men, but he significantly improved on Hillary Clinton’s performance with this group. The NBC News Exit Poll of early and Election Day voters found this was a significant component in his ability to flip key battleground states back into the Democratic column.

Donald Trump won 58 percent of the white male vote, but Biden’s 40 percent showing shrunk the president’s margin with the group from 31 points in 2016 to 18 points in 2020. This was especially important in the blue wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where white men made up between 38 and 41 percent of the total electorate — a higher share than the nation as a whole (32 percent).

Biden’s strong showing with white men, combined with the backing of more than 7 in 10 voters of color, helped propel him to victory. 

Another reason why Biden won the popular vote is because most voters like him. Just over half (52 percent) said they have a favorable opinion of him, which is better than Clinton’s 43 percent favorable rating in 2016. By contrast, less than half (45 percent) of 2020 voters had a favorable opinion of Trump, although this is an improvement from four years ago (38 percent). 

A key element in Trump’s 2016 victory was the fact that he won over voters who held unfavorable views of both candidates. He repeated that feat this year, but with one crucial difference: Far fewer voters this time around disliked both candidates — just 4 percent, compared with 18 percent who felt that way four years ago.

Other factors in Biden’s success are that he won:

  • independent voters (54 percent to 40 percent), a group Trump carried by 4 points in 2016
  • voters under age 30 (62 percent to 35 percent)
  • those who said the recent rise in Covid-19 cases was the most important factor in their vote (61 percent to 38 percent)
  • those who believe climate change is a serious problem (68 percent to 29 percent)
  • those who believe racism is the nation’s most important problem (87 percent to 11 percent)
  • those who are dissatisfied or angry with the federal government (70 percent to 28 percent)

BIDEN DEFEATS TRUMP TO WIN THE WHITE HOUSE, NBC NEWS PROJECTS

NBC News

Joe Biden became president-elect Saturday after winning Pennsylvania and its 20 Electoral College votes.

He had focused his campaign aggressively on President Donald Trump’s widely criticized handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which was seen by many voters as the most important issue facing the country. The results came on the fourth day of ballot counting after Election Day.

Biden will become the 46th president on Jan. 20.

Incendiary texts traced to outfit run by top Trump aide

The Associated Press

A texting company run by one of President Donald Trump’s top campaign officials sent out thousands of targeted, anonymous text messages urging supporters to rally where votes were being counted in Philadelphia on Thursday, falsely claiming Democrats were trying to steal the presidential election.

The messages directed Trump fans to converge at a downtown intersection where hundreds of protesters from the opposing candidates’ camps faced off Thursday afternoon. Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state where former Vice President Joe Biden's jumped ahead Friday and in a televised address later predicted a victory that would give him the presidency.

“This kind of message is playing with fire, and we are very lucky that it does not seem to have driven more conflict,” said John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s online watchdog Citizen Lab. Scott-Railton helped track down the source.

The texts were sent using phone numbers leased to the text-messaging platform Opn Sesame, said two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition they not be further identified. The company’s CEO is Gary Coby, the Trump campaign’s digital director. It provides text-messaging services to GOP clients including the Republican National Committee.

“ALERT: Radical Liberals & Dems are trying to steal this election from Trump! We need YOU!” the text said, directing recipients to “show your support” on a street corner near the Philadelphia Convention Center where votes were being counted and tensions were running high.

A top Trump campaign official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the message did not come from the campaign. Because Opn Sesame is used by multiple customers, none of whom the company would identify, it could not be determined exactly who sent the message. Coby declined to comment.

Click here for the full story.

Fact check: Trump claims tractors, cardboard as signs of fraud

Emily Siegel

Jane C. Timm and Emily Siegel

The president continued to make baseless allegations of voter fraud and illegal voting Saturday morning, complaining in particular that “tractors blocked doors & windows were covered with thick cardboard so that observers could not see into the count rooms.”

There are no news reports of a polling site being affected by farm equipment, though Newt Gingrich made a similar claim on Fox News yesterday. None of the more than 165,000 general election reports made to the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline mentioned a tractor, either; NBC News reviewed those reports in partnership with ProPublica’s Electionland.

As for the windows and the cardboard — that did happen, but not the way Trump says it did. At a polling site in Detroit, there were hundreds of challengers and observers from both parties inside the poll counting rooms, but when protesters began filming poll workers and challengers from the outside, The Detroit News reported poll workers put up cardboard on the windows to keep protesters from filming them. Only the media is allowed to film inside ballot-count rooms.

The Trump campaign sued over a lack of “meaningful access” to observe the ballot counting, but the lawsuit was tossed lacking evidence of wrongdoing or a lack of access. The suit, the court said, was moot because the counting was done.

Biden widens margin in Georgia, Pennsylvania as final votes tabulated

Image: Georgia Election Officials Continue Ballot Counting
Gwinnett County election workers look over absentee and provisional ballots at the Gwinnett Voter Registrations and Elections office on Nov. 6, 2020, in Lawrenceville, Ga.Jessica McGowan / Getty Images

Joe Biden's vote margin over President Donald Trump continued on Saturday to widen in several key battleground states, where the final votes were being tabulated.

While no winner has been projected, Biden entered Saturday with higher vote totals in four key states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. But all four remained rated by NBC News Decision Desk as too close to call.

A call in both Nevada and Arizona in Biden's favor would put him right at the 270 electoral votes needed to win, while a victory in Pennsylvania alone would give him 273 electoral votes.

As Americans watched as the vote count entered the fourth day, Democrats have tried to project optimism.

“We don’t have a final declaration, a victory yet. But the numbers tell us a clear and convincing story,” Biden said in a brief speech Friday night. “We’re going to win this race.”

Read the story.

'My ideals are driven by my faith': Raphael Warnock on his Senate runoff race

Curtis Bunn

Image: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock holds Election Night event in Atlanta
Democratic Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock speaks during an Election Night event in Atlanta on Nov. 3, 2020.Jessica McGowan / Pool via Reuters

From the pulpit of one of the most storied churches in America, the Rev. Raphael Warnock has blended his fiery sermons of faith and love with urgent social messages of fairness and democracy for the last 15 years.

Many members of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta — the church of Martin Luther King Jr. — wondered from early on, whether Warnock, the church’s senior pastor, had political aspirations.

He confirmed those longstanding impressions by running for Senate in Georgia, and finds himself one runoff victory away from taking his influential voice to Washington, D.C.

“I have been preaching in this campaign the same message I have been preaching for years,” Warnock, 51, told NBC News. “I’ve been trying to point us toward the highest ideals in our humanity and in the covenant we have with one another as American people — that all of us deserve an opportunity to create a prosperous life for us and our families.”

Read the story.

Trump's election falsehoods 'put a smile' on the faces of dictators, observers warn

LONDON — Accusations of vote-rigging, protests at counting centers and false declarations of victory from an embattled incumbent.

President Donald Trump's baseless claims in the wake of the election are a gift to the world's dictators and undermine American efforts to call out antidemocratic behavior abroad, experts have warned.

Since the election, Trump has launched a rhetorical assault on the basic tenets of American democracy.

He urged officials to stop counting votes when his lead in several battleground states began to narrow; he alleged widespread voter fraud without evidence and wrongly labeled mail-in ballots illegal; and he repeatedly accused the Democrats of trying to "steal" the election.

Even after a first term in which the president has repeatedly undermined democratic values, his comments this week have caused a whole new level of alarm. This only increased when his supporters, some of them armed, began crowding polling centers during knife-edge counts in Arizona and Michigan.

Read the full story here.

Image: Supporters of President Donald Trump bang on the glass and chant slogans outside the room where absentee ballots for the 2020 general election are being counted at TCF Center
Supporters of President Donald Trump bang on the glass and chant slogans outside the room where absentee ballots for the 2020 general election are being counted in Detroit on Wednesday.Jeff Kowalsky / AFP - Getty Images

Biden predicts win, calls for unity, as presidential race still undecided

WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden on Friday night once again predicted victory in the 2020 race, calling for unity after the final results come in and claiming that the vote that had so far been counted proved that the nation had given him a “mandate for action” on issues like combatting the pandemic.

“We don’t have a final declaration, a victory yet. But the numbers tell us a clear and convincing story,” Biden said in a brief speech from his campaign headquarters. “We’re going to win this race.”

According to NBC News, Biden has received 253 Electoral College votes, compared to 214 for President Donald Trump. The battleground states of PennsylvaniaArizonaGeorgiaNevada, and North Carolina remain too close to call, according to NBC News.

 

Citing the fact that he’d already received more than 74.3 million votes — the most ever by any presidential candidate — Biden said he was “going to win this race with a clear majority, with the nation behind us.”

Click here for the full story. 

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tests positive for Covid-19

Dartunorro Clark

Hallie Jackson

Dartunorro Clark and Hallie Jackson

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive for Covid-19, a source familiar with the diagnosis told NBC News on Friday.

The news comes as the U.S. has recorded for the third day in a row of more than 100,000 new cases, breaking previous records.

Meadows, 61, was among those in attendance Wednesday morning hours after the polls closed for an election night party at the White House, where Trump falsely claimed that he had won the presidential election as millions of votes had yet to be counted and several battleground states were not called.

Click here for the full story. 

What are 'provisional ballots' and why it takes time to count them

Provisional ballots — used by voters if there's a question about their eligibility when they show up at the polls — are slowing the count of the presidential election three days after polls closed. And there could be enough provisional ballots to affect the race in some key states.

Such ballots are used only when a voter has an issue that needs to be resolved before their vote can be counted, so they take longer to process than regular ballots and can be subject to legal action and challenges.

They are a fallback when a voter can't immediately prove they're eligible to vote when they show up at the polls or their information doesn't match what's listed on voter rolls.

Click here for the full story. 

Supreme Court Justice Alito weighs in on Pennsylvania mail-in ballot case

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito late Friday granted part of a request from Pennsylvania state Republicans, who wanted an order regarding mail ballots that came in during the extended deadline.

He ordered county election officials to comply with a previous directive issued by the secretary of state to keep separate the mail ballots that arrived after Election Day but before Friday at 5 p.m. But he did not order the state to stop counting them.

He also ordered the state to file a response to the Republican request by 2 p.m. Saturday.

The state GOP told the court midday Friday that even though the secretary of state directed counties to separate out the ballots that arrived after Election Day but before Friday at 5 p.m., it was unclear whether all the counties were obeying that directive. 

"The vote in Pennsylvania may well determine the next President of the United States, and it is currently unclear whether all 67 county boards of elections are segregating late-arriving ballots," they told the justices.

They asked the Supreme Court to order the secretary to repeat her directive to keep the late ballots separate — and this time to add that they should not even be counted. Otherwise, the Republicans said, it might not be possible to remove those ballots from the count if the party later prevails on its argument that the deadline extension was illegal.