Today’s In Crisis headlines

(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:

Congress certifies Biden/Harris election win after pro-Trump mob storms the Capitol
Hours after a pro-Trump mob broke into the U.S. Capitol to protest the results of the 2020 election, Congress ratified the electoral votes cast in the general election and certified the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The announcement was made by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar at 3:39 a.m. Thursday, after which Vice President Mike Pence repeated the totals at 3:40 a.m. Biden will take Trump’s place in the White House on January 20.

In a statement tweeted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino following the news, President Trump said: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” The statement marks the first time Trump has publicly acknowledged Biden’s victory and agreed to a peaceful transfer of power.

Following Wednesday’s protest and storming of the Capitol, four people are dead, according to Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee. One woman and two men suffered “medical emergencies” at the protests and subsequently died, Contee said during a press conference Wednesday night. Another woman was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer during a standoff inside the U.S. Capitol between law enforcement and pro-Trump rioters.

In the wake of Wednesday’s deadly attack on the Capitol and President Trump’s response and, some allege, his complicity, multiple sources tell ABC News there have been discussions among some members of the Trump Cabinet and Trump allies about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. The Amendment allows members of the Cabinet to remove the president if he “is unable to discharges the powers and duties of his office.”

Jon Ossoff wins second Georgia Senate runoff; Democrats will control US Senate
Democrat Jon Ossoff has defeated former Republican Senator David Perdue in the second of two Georgia Senate rate runoffs. The victory, which came Wednesday as pro-Trump rioters were storming the U.S. Capitol, hands control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats for the first time in a decade. With 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, incoming Vice President Kamala Harris, in her position as Senate president, gives Democrats the chamber majority. Ossoff will join the Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Senate following the latter’s runoff election victory over Republican incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler.

Additional 787,000 new unemployment claims filed last week
An additional 787,000 new unemployment claims were filed in the week ending January 2, according to figures released Thursday morning by the U.S. Department of Labor. Those numbers are about what was expected and represent a decrease of 3,000 claims from the previous week’s revised level of 790,000 claims. The number of new claims continues to represent historically high levels, fueled by the continuing pandemic. Additionally, Friday’s job’s report for December is expected to show a sharp decline in the number of new jobs, compared to recent months.

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: 87,323,709
Global deaths: 1,885,869. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 361,297.
Number of countries/regions: at least 191
Total patients recovered globally: 48,883,736

Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 21,306,424 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 361,297. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 38,912.
U.S. total people tested: 257,712,384

The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 2,536,686 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks first in the world. England is second in the world, with 2,450,983 cases. Maharashtra, India, which has 1,954,553 cases, ranks third, while Texas is fourth, with 1,885,306 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.

US reports new record COVID-19 daily deaths, hospitalizations; vaccine distribution continues
New data compiled by Johns Hopkins University indicates the U.S. reported a record death toll Wednesday for the second consecutive day. At least 3,865 deaths were reported January 6, marking the deadliest day since the start of the pandemic and surpassing Tuesday’s 3,775 reported deaths. The U.S. also reported a new record in current COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 132,476 inpatients reported on Wednesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That also pushed the seven-day average to a new record high 127,352 hospitalizations. Experts emphasize that delays in data reporting due to the recent holidays continue to affect the numbers reported.

As the lagging rollout of COVID-19 vaccines begins to pick up its pace in its fourth week, the Trump administration this week will launch a federal program to distribute vaccines via pharmacy to high-risk groups, including older people and front-line workers, federal health officials said at a news conference on Wednesday.

CDC again revises COVID-19 death toll upward
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised their COVID-19 deaths forecast and is now estimating a total of 405,000 to 438,000 reported COVID-19 fatalities by the week ending January 30. The CDC’s previous forecast was for between 383,000 and 424,000 total COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. by the week ending January 23. As of Thursday morning, there were at least 361,297 COVID-19 fatalities reported in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, following a day where the nation reported a record 3,865 coronavirus deaths in a single day.

News

By 101.9 The Mix | January 7, 2021