Daily Digest for December 3, 2020 Posted at 7:45 a.m. by Michael Olson |
Good morning. We are starting in Washington today where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say a $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal should be the starting point for bipartisan aid.
It is the first time Pelosi, D-Calif., and Schumer, D-N.Y., have accepted any COVID-19 legislation other than the $2.2 trillion bill that passed the House of Representatives in October. But their shift to the moderates' plan comes after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., already rejected the bipartisan proposal.
"In the spirit of compromise we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by Senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations," Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement. "Of course, we and others will offer improvements, but the need to act is immediate and we believe that with good-faith negotiations we could come to an agreement."
Both parties are under intense pressure to approve further relief as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to surge across the country. Public health officials have warned the pandemic could worsen over the next several months, even as states begin to distribute the first rounds of a vaccine.
Trump seriously considering 2024 run as he continues false 2020 claims Even as President Donald Trump fluctuates between false claims he really won the 2020 election and that it was stolen from him, he is also seriously considering launching a bid for 2024, two campaign sources and a third source with close ties to Trump's circle tell NPR.
The three sources, who were not authorized to speak to reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity, said a quick move by Trump to position himself for a comeback will have the impact of freezing out Republicans who may be considering a bid of their own — and will enable Trump to continue to raise questions about the legitimacy of Joe Biden's presidency once the president-elect takes office in January.
"I think he'd probably like to do it. And so dangling it out there is something that's very real, very real," a campaign official said.
Trump allies discourage Georgia residents from voting in January runoff Georgia allies of President Donald Trump continue to push baseless accusations of voter fraud in an attempt to have the election results overturned, following weeks of news networks, legal bodies and state certification boards affirming the election win for President-elect Joe Biden. At a rally Wednesday, they went even further, discouraging Georgia residents from voting in the Jan. 5 Senate runoff election.
Lin Wood, an attorney and prominent Trump supporter in the state, falsely alleged that the election had been "rigged." In a free-wheeling, conspiracy-laden "Stop the Steal" rally speech, Wood also spoke against Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, and urged rally attendees not to vote for the two in the runoff election.
"Do not be fooled twice. This is Georgia, we ain't dumb. We're not going to go vote on January 5th on another machine made by China. You're not going to fool Georgians again," Wood said, pushing the unfounded conspiracy theory that voting machines had been compromised in the Nov. 3 election.
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