Axios PM … Biden: “Democracy prevailed” — Historic COVID vaccine pic — 🎵 "McCartney III"

1 big thing: From here on, it's just noise | Monday, December 14, 2020

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios PM By Mike Allen ·Dec 14, 2020 Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 496 words, a 2-minute read. Situational awareness: The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 reached 300,000 today — the first day of the public rollout for COVID-19 vaccines.     1 big thing: From here on, it's just noise Stacey Abrams on the Georgia Senate floor in Atlanta, where members of the state's Electoral College met today. Photo: John Bazemore/AP   President Trump still hasn't conceded. But in state capitols, over Zoom and from undisclosed locations, today's Electoral College votes made it clear: from here on, 2020 resistance is just noise. (Now officially) President-elect Joe Biden says in remarks prepared for delivery in Wilmington this evening: "In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed." Why it matters: The last month has featured the most vigorous opposition to a peaceful transfer in generations. Georgia's 16 votes today went for Biden, with a roll call overseen by Stacey Abrams. Michigan's 16 remained with Biden after the state's House GOP speaker said "we'd lose our country forever" if they swapped out electors. Arizona's 11 for Biden were cast at an undisclosed location due to escalating threats to the safety of the electors. Wisconsin's 10 were cast for Biden after the state Supreme Court ruled against the Trump effort last night for the third time this month. Nevada's 6 went for Biden, with votes cast over Zoom. Via CNN The big picture: The votes will be tabulated on Jan. 6th by a joint session of Congress — led by Vice President Pence. The Supreme Court has shown no interest in lawsuits challenging the results. The alternate elector slates some state groups are sending to Congress are legally toothless. The last-ditch effort in Congress to challenge the electors seems to be going nowhere. The bottom line: 64% of the House GOP caucus — including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — signed on to an effort that would have invalidated millions of votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Go deeper: More from Biden's remarks for this evening     2. Pic du jour Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP The first person to get the publicly available COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. was Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. She was inoculated by Dr. Michelle Chester. Go deeper: Photos from across the U.S. Axios Re:Cap interviewed former FDA head Margaret Hamburg. Listen here.     A message from Facebook Facebook supports updated internet regulations     We support updated internet regulations to set clear rules for today's toughest challenges and hold companies, including Facebook, accountable for: Combating foreign election interference. Protecting people's privacy. Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms. Read more     3. Catch up quick The Cleveland Indians will keep their old name in the 2021 season. "We don't want to be the Cleveland Baseball Team or some other interim name," said owner Paul Dolan. Go deeper. Scoop: The FTC will announce a new inquiry into the privacy and data collection practices of major tech firms, Axios has learned. Stagecoach car: Amazon-backed Zoox unveiled an autonomous electric vehicle with no steering wheel that might one day be summoned with a ride-hailing app. Go deeper. Exxon announced new targets for reining in greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years. Go deeper. Electronic voting system company Smartmatic is demanding retractions from Fox News, Newsmax and One America News for making "false and defamatory statements" about the company surrounding the presidential election. Go deeper.     4. 1 smile to go: McCartney III Photo: Capitol Records via AP Paul McCartney will release his "McCartney III" album 40 years after 1980's "McCartney II" and 50 years after his solo debut in 1970, AP reports. The new album features the former Beatle playing all the instruments on the 11-track set. Between the lines: McCartney didn't originally plan to release an album this year, but being stuck at home during the pandemic allowed him time to record in his home studio and produce a full-length album.     A message from Facebook It's time for updated regulations to improve privacy standards     We continue to take action to build privacy into our products and give people the tools to help manage their privacy like Privacy Checkup and Off-Facebook Activity. But there's more to do. We support updated internet regulations to improve privacy standards. Read more     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: