Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, November 12, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. is back up to 1,400 coronavirus daily deaths, a tally that hasn’t been seen since August, as more states add new restrictions. New York will require bars, restaurants and gyms to close at 10 pm and put a limit on private gatherings. Ohio is the latest state to issue a mask mandate. Nevada’s governor told residents they have two weeks to get the virus under control or he will impose new rules. Texas is the first state to hit one million cases, with California on track to become the second any day. WSJ
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION
President-elect Biden has made his first senior leadership appointment, naming Ron Klain as White House Chief of Staff. Klain is a longtime confidant of Biden who served as his chief of staff during the Obama years. He was also Obama’s “Ebola czar” during the 2014 outbreak and is widely respected in the medical community. As the White House stalls on the transition, GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma says he will use his authority on the Senate oversight committee to step in and make sure Biden is getting the presidential daily briefing by tomorrow. WASH POST
GEORGIA ON EVERYONE'S MIND
The one outstanding Senate race in Alaska has been called by the AP for the incumbent Republican, Sen. Dan Sullivan. That means that control of the chamber will indeed come down to whatever happens in the runoffs for Georgia’s two Senate seats, scheduled for Jan. 5. Before that, the Peach State will do an audit and hand recount of every ballot cast for president, where Biden is winning by about 14,000 votes. CBS NEWS
THE STORM THAT WON'T GO AWAY
Tropical Storm Eta made its fourth (!) landfall overnight, coming ashore north of Tampa with heavy rain, 50 mph winds and knocking out power to about 30,000 Floridians. Eta has been kicking around the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico for two weeks -- strengthening, weakening, strengthening and weakening again as it now moves over the Florida peninsula and then back out into the Atlantic. The Southeast and mid-Atlantic will see heavy rain today into tomorrow. TRACK
STUDENT DEBT FORGIVENESS
Can -- or will -- a Biden administration cancel student-loan debt? Biden has said he’s open to the idea, and Sen. Chuck Schumer has said he believes it would be one of Biden’s first executive actions. The plan reportedly being floated among Democrats is to zero out $10,000 per federal borrower as part of a larger coronavirus relief bill, which wouldn't require Congressional sign off. The majority of borrowers owe less than $20,000. YAHOO FINANCE
RING RECALL
About 350,000 Ring doorbell cameras are being recalled after some of them have caught fire. According to the CPSC, the cameras in question were sold on Amazon between June and October of this year. TECHCRUNCH
MASTERS LIKE NO OTHER
It’s not Augusta in April, but it is still the Masters. The iconic golf tournament starts today, seven months late, from the pristine greens of Augusta National, and without any spectators. Tiger Woods, defending his Masters title, tees off just before 8 a.m. ET. Bryson DeChambeau is the consensus favorite to win the green jacket this year following his U.S. Open victory in September. GOLF CHANNEL
SPOTTED...
...the Bush and Obama daughters, in throwback snapshots shared by Jenna Bush on Instagram, showing her and her twin sister giving Sasha and Malia a tour of the White House during the transition in 2008: SEE PICS
BRITNEY CONSERVATORSHIP
Britney Spears has lost her motion in court to have her father removed as the conservator of her estate. Jamie Spears has been the legal guardian of his daughter’s $60 million fortune for more than a decade, and a judge found that he can continue to control her finances for now. Spears has said she’s afraid of her dad and won’t perform so long as he’s her conservator. AP
LEFTOVERS: MEMES OF THE YEAR
If there was ever a golden age for the meme, 2020 has been it. Four Loko, the boozy drink brand, surveyed Americans in order to rank the top memes of this crazy year. No surprise: 8 of the top ten were pandemic themed: SEE THE LIST
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