(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
General Services Administration releases transition funds to Biden-Harris team
Nearly three weeks after the election, the transition can begin. A letter from the General Services Administration frees up funds, office space and access to security clearances and COVID-19 experts for President-elect Joe Biden’s team. However, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy’s letter, sent to Biden late Monday, doesn’t refer to Biden as the president-elect or the apparent winner of the election. “Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts,” she writes.
President Trump, meanwhile, tweeted Monday, “I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols.” But Trump also does not concede the election, writing, “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!”
A transition official confirms to ABC News that all six of Biden’s cabinet nominees announced so far will join the president-elect and vice president-elect today in-person in Delaware for the announcement of their selection. The official adds that the event will adhere to coronavirus safety guidelines, including mask-wearing and social distancing.
Sources also tell ABC News that Secret Service agents in the president’s detail are being asked whether they’re interested in transferring to Palm Beach, Florida, the location of Mar-a-Lago, the president’s club and presumed home, having officially changed his residence in September from Manhattan, New York to Palm Beach, Florida. The Secret Service’s Miami field office also has begun looking at physical reinforcements to Mar-a-Largo, A police source tells ABC News that, come January 21, the New York City Police Department is planning to work with the Secret Service to reduce the law enforcement footprint around Trump Tower in Manhattan since it will no longer be Trump’s primary residence.
Regarding the Trump campaign’s continuing but dwindling legal challenges to the election outcome, as of 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, Georgia’s 159 counties could officially start recounting the approximately five million votes cast in the presidential race after the Trump campaign requested a machine recount. Georgia last Friday certified the state’s election results after a hand audit of the vote confirmed President-elect Biden’s victory in that state. Also Monday, Michigan certified a victory for President-elect Joe Biden, with Pennsylvania set to do so soon, after the Trump campaign’s legal challenges in those states failed.
Check ABCNews.com for the latest vote counts and other election updates.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections and deaths.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 59,315,201
Global deaths: 1,399,073. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 257,707.
Number of countries/regions: at least 191
Total patients recovered globally: 38,003,850
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 12,431,995 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 257,707. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 34,339.
U.S. total patients recovered: 4,633,600
U.S. total people tested: 181,142,529
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in Texas, with 1,159,843 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million. This ranks fourth in the world after Maharashtra, India, which has 1,784,361 reported cases; England, which has 1,314,888 reported cases; and Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has 1,210,625 reported cases.
US tops 12 million COVID-19 cases; record high hospitalizations continue
The U.S. now has more than 12 million reported COVID-19 cases. The latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University puts the total number of reported cases at 12,431,995 as of Tuesday morning. That number continues to increase as the infection rate in the U.S. likewise continues its dramatic rise, averaging more than 100,000 new cases daily for the last 18 consecutive days, and more than 167,000 daily cases for the past week or more.
Those numbers in turn are driving record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. The Covid Tracking Project reports the nation on Monday set yet another single-day record for the 14th consecutive day, with a reported 85,836 people hospitalized. An internal Department of Health and Human Services memo, obtained by ABC News, declares 26% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled, compared to 17-18% during the summertime infection peak. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told National Public Radio Monday that “it is really conceivable” that the U.S. could run out of intensive care unit beds “if we don’t turn around the trajectory” of the virus.
There are currently 257,707 reported COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., with the Covid Tracking Project reporting an average 1,515 Americans dying every day for the last seven days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently forecasts a total of 276,000 to 298,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported in the U.S. by the week ending December 12. Worldwide, the total number of reported cases is nearing 60 million, with Johns Hopkins University reporting 59,315,201 global cases as of Tuesday morning, and 1,399,073 deaths. The U.S. continues to lead the world in both infections and deaths, with 21% and 18% of those totals, respectively.
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Nearly three weeks after the election, the transition can begin. A letter from the General Services Administration frees up funds, office space and access to security clearances and COVID-19 experts for President-elect Joe Biden’s team. However, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy’s letter, sent to Biden late Monday, doesn’t refer to Biden as the president-elect or the apparent winner of the election. “Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts,” she writes.
President Trump, meanwhile, tweeted Monday, “I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols.” But Trump also does not concede the election, writing, “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!”
A transition official confirms to ABC News that all six of Biden’s cabinet nominees announced so far will join the president-elect and vice president-elect today in-person in Delaware for the announcement of their selection. The official adds that the event will adhere to coronavirus safety guidelines, including mask-wearing and social distancing.
Sources also tell ABC News that Secret Service agents in the president’s detail are being asked whether they’re interested in transferring to Palm Beach, Florida, the location of Mar-a-Lago, the president’s club and presumed home, having officially changed his residence in September from Manhattan, New York to Palm Beach, Florida. The Secret Service’s Miami field office also has begun looking at physical reinforcements to Mar-a-Largo, A police source tells ABC News that, come January 21, the New York City Police Department is planning to work with the Secret Service to reduce the law enforcement footprint around Trump Tower in Manhattan since it will no longer be Trump’s primary residence.
Regarding the Trump campaign’s continuing but dwindling legal challenges to the election outcome, as of 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, Georgia’s 159 counties could officially start recounting the approximately five million votes cast in the presidential race after the Trump campaign requested a machine recount. Georgia last Friday certified the state’s election results after a hand audit of the vote confirmed President-elect Biden’s victory in that state. Also Monday, Michigan certified a victory for President-elect Joe Biden, with Pennsylvania set to do so soon, after the Trump campaign’s legal challenges in those states failed.
Check ABCNews.com for the latest vote counts and other election updates.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections and deaths.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 59,315,201
Global deaths: 1,399,073. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 257,707.
Number of countries/regions: at least 191
Total patients recovered globally: 38,003,850
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 12,431,995 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 257,707. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 34,339.
U.S. total patients recovered: 4,633,600
U.S. total people tested: 181,142,529
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in Texas, with 1,159,843 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million. This ranks fourth in the world after Maharashtra, India, which has 1,784,361 reported cases; England, which has 1,314,888 reported cases; and Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has 1,210,625 reported cases.
US tops 12 million COVID-19 cases; record high hospitalizations continue
The U.S. now has more than 12 million reported COVID-19 cases. The latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University puts the total number of reported cases at 12,431,995 as of Tuesday morning. That number continues to increase as the infection rate in the U.S. likewise continues its dramatic rise, averaging more than 100,000 new cases daily for the last 18 consecutive days, and more than 167,000 daily cases for the past week or more.
Those numbers in turn are driving record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. The Covid Tracking Project reports the nation on Monday set yet another single-day record for the 14th consecutive day, with a reported 85,836 people hospitalized. An internal Department of Health and Human Services memo, obtained by ABC News, declares 26% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled, compared to 17-18% during the summertime infection peak. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told National Public Radio Monday that “it is really conceivable” that the U.S. could run out of intensive care unit beds “if we don’t turn around the trajectory” of the virus.
There are currently 257,707 reported COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., with the Covid Tracking Project reporting an average 1,515 Americans dying every day for the last seven days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently forecasts a total of 276,000 to 298,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported in the U.S. by the week ending December 12. Worldwide, the total number of reported cases is nearing 60 million, with Johns Hopkins University reporting 59,315,201 global cases as of Tuesday morning, and 1,399,073 deaths. The U.S. continues to lead the world in both infections and deaths, with 21% and 18% of those totals, respectively.