Chester County election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots for the 2020 general election in the United States at West Chester University, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in West Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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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M&T Bank rang the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning as the company celebrated a milestone of opening 100 new multicultural banking centers. David Femi, head of multicultural banking, joined Cheddar to discuss the culturally inclusive expansion as part of the bank's overarching goal to increase financial access in racially and ethnically diverse communities. "By designating branches as multicultural is just one way for us to be intentional in making sure, that number one, when [customers] come into these branches, they see people that look like them, they see people that speak their language," he said.
A second Starbucks location in the U.S. has officially voted to unionize. On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board announced workers at the Starbucks store located in the Buffalo, NY suburb of Cheektowaga voted 15-9 in favor of being represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. The New York Times reports votes were tallied in December but remained inconclusive as the union challenged the ballots of several employees it said did not work at the store. A Starbucks spokesperson has said that it may appeal the labor board's decision, which comes as several other Starbucks stores across the country are also pushing to form a union. Danka Dragic, shift supervisor for the second Starbucks store in the country to unionize, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Technology-driven sustainable waste management platform, RoadRunner Recycling, recently raised a $70 million Series D round from BeyondNetZero, the climate investing venture of General Atlantic. RoadRunner says it creates and manages end-to-end waste and recycling solutions for businesses of all sizes and that its proprietary technology can boost cost savings and improve recycling rates for companies, which in turn drives sustainability for the waste industry and our world. RoadRunner Recycling founder and CEO Graham Rihn joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Apple TV+ is in serious talks for the rights to stream MLB games next season, the first foray into sports content for the platform, according to the New York Post. Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Sports, sat down with Cheddar to discuss how such a deal might impact the tech giant and the sports content industry. "Quite often with new media platforms one of the quickest ways to create and implement a programming strategy — and actually one of the most expensive ways — is to offer up sports content," Berke noted. "So, with this package available, it puts Apple literally in the game and gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in offering up a major league sport."
A.I.-enabled fintech company Qraft Technologies recently closed a $146 million investment from SoftBank Group Corp.
The companies say they are entering a partnership to accelerate artificial intelligence in the asset management industry. Qraft has already developed A.I. solutions that have been used by major financial institutions and says its new approach to asset management maximizes investment efficiency. Qraft Technologies U.S. CEO Robert Nestor joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Peacock has announced a slate of original Olympic games documentaries set to premiere throughout January. The first series, 'Meddling' is now available to stream. The four-part docuseries details the 2002 winter Olympic scandal which alleged that the pairs figure skating competition had been fixed to favor Russia. Tara Lipinski, Olympic gold medalist, champion figure skater, and executive producer of ' Meddling,' joins Cheddar News discuss the series.
A decade ago, long before streaming services, the amount of binge-watching viewers could take part in was slim. Now, streaming services have established binge-watching as a viewing norm. However, how can viewers know when they've crossed the line from innocent entertainment to harmful addiction? Judy Grisel, professor of psychology at Bucknell University, joins Cheddar News to discuss a new study that identifies psychological predictors of problematic binge-watching.
Glassdoor has officially revealed its list of the best places to work in the year 2022. The top 10 on the list include tech companies and just one retail company. Senior economist at Glassdoor, Daniel Zhao, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Students in the Chicago Public School system will head back to class tomorrow at long last. The move comes after four days of canceled classes due to clashes between teachers and the city, including Chicago Mayor Laurie Lightfoot. National Educational Reporter at USA Today, Richard Erin, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Sixteen of the country's most prestigious universities have been hit with a lawsuit claiming those schools illegally conspired to eliminate competitive financial aid offers for students. Just some of the schools mentioned include Yale, Brown, Columbia, UPenn, and Cornell. Author of "Who Gets In and Why" and Professor of practice at Arizona State University, Jeff Selingo, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
