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VIRUS TODAY: Americans travel as Biden addresses nation

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Holiday travelers crowd the ticketing area of terminal one Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 at MSP in Minneapolis. Millions of Americans took to the skies and the highways ahead of Thanksgiving at the risk of pouring gasoline on the coronavirus fire, disregarding increasingly dire warnings that they stay home and limit their holiday gatherings to members of their own household.


David Joles

AP

Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:

— Millions of Americans are traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday despite warnings from health officials that family gatherings could make a bad situation worse.

— More people are applying for unemployment benefits as the economy remains burdened by the coronavirus. About 778,000 people applied for unemployment last week, the second straight week the number has risen.

— Authorities are desperately pleading with people to stay home for the holidays and dramatically increasing fines for businesses that break

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Travel
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  • November 26, 2020
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Who Might Joe Biden Select To Lead The Justice Department? : NPR

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates arrives for a ceremony for FBI Director Chris Wray at the FBI Building, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Washington.

Andrew Harnik/AP


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Andrew Harnik/AP

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates arrives for a ceremony for FBI Director Chris Wray at the FBI Building, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Washington.

Andrew Harnik/AP

Choosing an attorney general is a critical task for a new president in normal times.

But after nearly four years of attack from President Trump, who pushed the Justice Department to punish his enemies and protect his friends, these are not normal times, as former Solicitor General Don Verrilli pointed out recently to an online audience at the Brennan Center for Justice.

“I think we have to not only rebuild the public’s confidence in the Department of Justice as an institution, we have to rebuild the sense of

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Travel
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  • November 19, 2020
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Head Of Government Agency Under Pressure To Let Biden Transition Proceed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of an obscure federal agency that is holding up the presidential transition knew well before Election Day that she might soon have a messy situation on her hands.

Before Nov. 3, Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, held a Zoom call with Dave Barram, the man who was in her shoes 20 years earlier.

The conversation, set up by mutual friends, was a chance for Barram, 77, to tell Murphy a little about his torturous experience with “ascertainment” — the task of determining the expected winner of the presidential election, which launches the official transition process.

Barram led the GSA during the 2000 White House race between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, which was decided by a few hundred votes in Florida after the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in more than a month after Election Day.

“I told her,

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Hotel
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  • November 17, 2020
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What should Biden do with NASA and the Artemis Program?

As of this writing, it looks like former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenViolence erupts between counter-protestors, Trump supporters following DC rally Biden considering King for director of national intelligence: report Here are the 17 GOP women newly elected to the House this year MORE has won the 2020 presidential election. President Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpViolence erupts between counter-protestors, Trump supporters following DC rally Biden considering King for director of national intelligence: report Here are the 17 GOP women newly elected to the House this year MORE has not conceded and will continue to pursue matters in the courts. In the meantime, it also looks like the Republicans will hold the Senate, pending the results of a pair of runoffs in Georgia and will increase their numbers in the House.

Little is known of what Biden believes about NASA and its role in promoting space exploration. Because the United

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Travel
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  • November 15, 2020
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How Biden can undo Trump’s damage and protect our oceans

For four years, President TrumpDonald John TrumpBiden has spoken with some GOP senators, chief of staff says Trump told advisers he could announce 2024 bid shortly after certification of Biden win: report Ivy League cancels winter sports amid US COVID-19 pandemic surge MORE has attacked fundamental environmental protections for our oceans and proposed opening nearly all U.S. waters to fossil fuel companies for dirty and dangerous offshore drilling. We now have hope that we can reverse course to protect our oceans and environment, and as President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden has spoken with some GOP senators, chief of staff says Trump told advisers he could announce 2024 bid shortly after certification of Biden win: report Obama ‘troubled’ by GOP attempts to cast doubt on election results: ‘That’s a dangerous path’ MORE says, we can “build back better.”

Four years of deregulation have crippled protections for marine mammals and endangered

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Recreation
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  • November 14, 2020
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Weekend reads: Stocks for the Biden presidency

President-elect Joe Biden.


Getty Images

Now that it is clear that Joe Biden will become president on Jan. 20, investors are thinking ahead — with enthusiasm. The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+1.36%
was up 5% from the close on Election Day through Nov. 12.

Michael Brush listed 23 stocks and ETFs he expects to benefit from important trends during Biden’s time as president.

What rate of return do I need to keep saving for retirement if I switch to a lower-paid job?

Continuing her retirement planning series, Alessandra Malito  helps a 31-year-old engineer who expects to eventually switch to a job with a lower salary but wants to make sure he will still have enough money for retirement under various economic scenarios.

ESG and your retirement account

Many investors are interested in doing good while making money, focusing on environmental, social and governance criteria. But many 401(k), 403(b) and other

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Travel
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  • November 13, 2020
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Gov. Jared Polis. Sen. Michael Bennet, Rep. Joe Neguse discuss road money under Biden | Colorado Politics

Gov. Jared Polis and a cadre of lawmakers on Tuesday morning talked about the flow of traffic and money in northern Colorado, as the region hopes to keep the long-needed improvements for Interstate 25 on track.

“Northern Colorado is a driver in our state’s economy,” Polis told the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance’s annual Issues Summit, held online this year.

The issues included: energy jobs, environmental activists, wildfires and traffic jams from Denver to Fort Collins, as local and state leaders try to find the federal dollars to keep work going on the region’s spine, I-25.

“Supporting transportation infrastructure is not only an important way to stimulate the economy, it is truly important to our state’s competitiveness,” Polis told the chamber leaders, citing quality of life, commercial centers and access to recreation. 

Last week, when the governor presented his budget recommendations for next year, he included a one-time state stimulus package

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Recreation
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  • November 11, 2020
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Why Vietnam Isn’t Happy About a Biden Presidency

Vietnam

Books about Trump translated in Vietnamese on sale at a shop in Hanoi. Photo: Michael Tatarski

While governments around the world have congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. presidential election last week, Vietnam’s leaders have yet to even comment on the topic. 

The most recent tweet from Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, on Nov. 6, welcomed the appointment of New Zealand’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the Vietnamese government’s official website had made no mention of the outcome as of Tuesday afternoon.

Independent media is restricted in the one-party state, and it is virtually impossible to ring up senior officials. On Thursday, the foreign affairs ministry’s weekly press conference will offer the first chance for reporters in Hanoi to ask for a reaction.

“I think they are being a bit careful because the result is not formal yet,” Le Hong Hiep, a fellow at the ISEAS

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Hotel
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  • November 10, 2020
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2 post-election worlds emerge for Trump, Biden

On the first Monday since Joe Biden clinched the presidency, the presumptive president-elect and President Donald Trump proceeded on parallel tracks.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris started planning to assume control of the government’s battle against the coronavirus. They gathered virtually with a newly announced Covid advisory board and were briefed on the pandemic. Biden then spoke, standing from a podium in front of American flags, and called on the country to “come together,” take precautions and prepare for a potential “dark winter.”

“Let’s wear a mask and let’s get to work,” Biden said.

Conversely, Trump remained sight unseen, although active on Twitter. He continued to ignore Biden’s win, and his campaign vowed to continue its fight to challenge the outcome of the election, even as leaders around the world reached out to Biden and offered their congratulations. In the afternoon, Trump tweet-fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the first

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Vacation
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  • November 10, 2020
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As Biden wins, Trump golfs, snaps photos with fans, vows to fight

When Donald Trump heard he lost the election to Joe Biden, he was on the golf course.

After being cooped up in the White House since Election Day, the president had traveled to his namesake golf club outside Washington to play a round of golf, like he had so many warm, sunny weekends during his presidency.

He was there at 11:25 a.m. when news outlets declared Democrat Joe Biden had secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, cutting short Trump’s presidency after one term.

But Trump wasn’t ready to concede. A few minutes after the race was called, the campaign issued a prepared statement from the president, refusing to acknowledge Biden as the winner and continuing to offer vague, unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.

“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said. “Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of

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Hotel
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  • November 7, 2020