Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, November 5, 2020:
WHERE THINGS STAND
As of this morning, Joe Biden has 264 electoral votes and President Trump has 214, according to the Associated Press, which has called Michigan and Wisconsin for Biden. Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Alaska have not yet been called. Should one of the first four go for Biden, he wins (also assuming that AP’s Arizona call holds). Biden has received more than 71 million votes, the most in history, surpassing Hillary Clinton’s popular vote by more than 5 million. Here’s an explanation of every race that the AP has called: READ IT
LEGAL BATTLE BEGINS
The Trump campaign says it will formally request a recount in Wisconsin. The campaign is suing to stop ballots from being counted in Michigan and Pennsylvania, and said it has also filed suit in Georgia to separate ballots that arrived after the voting deadline. At a convention center in Detroit where mail-in ballots were being tallied, police had to push back crowds as they demanded to be let in. AP
DEM DOWN-BALLOT DISAPPOINTMENT
Even though Joe Biden could very well become president-elect, Democrats had a very disappointing showing down-ballot. In the Senate, the party raised more than $300 million and ended up losing six of the biggest races. In the House, Dems are set to keep control but Republicans are on track to pick up at least seven seats. At the statehouse level, the National Conference of State Legislatures predicts that only four chambers in the whole country will flip -- two for Dems, two for the GOP -- the lowest number since 1946. NY TIMES
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The UK has re-entered a national lockdown, with restaurants, bars and non-essential businesses closing for at least a month and households banned from mixing indoors. Italy is also instituting severe new restrictions via a “traffic-light” regional system. Four regions, including Milan and the surrounding area, are essentially quarantine zones, with no one allowed in or out. The restrictions will be reevaluated every two weeks. Denmark will kill its entire population of mink, culling all 15 million of the animals over fears that a mutated virus among the mink could jump to humans. The U.S. shattered its own single-day record of cases with a tally of more than 104,000 new infections on Wednesday. CNN
RELIEF RALLY
Is a divided government good for business? That may be the takeaway, judging by how the market reacted on the first day of trading post-election. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq all surged in a classic “relief rally,” as investors appeared to like the idea of a Democratic White House and Republican Senate. While that all but ensures more gridlock in D.C., it also means it’s less likely that there will be legislation to strengthen regulation or hike corporate taxes. CHEDDAR
BIGGEST IPO ON HOLD
The Chinese fintech giant Ant Group was supposed to be going public today via a dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong that would have been the largest IPO in history. But in a shocking move, China’s ruling party stepped in at the last minute and yanked the listing. Beijing says Ant needs to fix some capital requirements if it wants to go public. The message is clear: the government can and will show it’s in charge of the economy, even if that means Chinese investors lose out. BLOOMBERG
NBA SEASON
Normally, the NBA would be in week two of its regular season by now. The league is reportedly close to an agreement with the players’ association on starting the 2020-21 season just before Christmas, on or around Dec. 22. If both sides agree, the plan on the table calls for a reduced 72-game season that would end just before the Summer Olympics next July. ESPN
SPOTTED...
...Michael J. Fox, opening up in a new interview about his struggle with Parkinson’s. Fox reveals that his “short-term memory is shot.” PEOPLE
AUNT BECKY IN JAIL
Lori Loughlin is said to be a “wreck” as she serves out her first week behind bars. The Full House actress reported to federal prison in California last Friday, where she is serving a two-month sentence for her role in the college admissions scandal. Loughlin is reportedly hoping to get released by Christmas. US WEEKLY
LEFTOVERS: BOOZE AND FRIES
It wasn’t just you. Google searches for “liquor stores near me” hit an all-time high as returns started coming in on Election Night. Google Trends reported that searches for “fries near me” also hit a new high. See what else people were Googling: SEARCH TRENDS
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