USA

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is cutting short his Florida holiday vacation and returning to Washington on Thursday, one day earlier than expected for reasons the White House didn’t explain.

The White House announced the abrupt change in the president’s schedule late Wednesday, hours after Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he will raise objections next week when Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.

DETROIT (AP) — As a barrier-breaking year draws to a close, there’s one undeniable fact: the strength of Black political power.

Black voters were a critical part of the coalition that clinched President-elect Joe Biden’s White House bid. The nation will swear in its first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent as vice president, Sen. Kamala Harris, who herself may be a leading presidential candidate in four years. And as the global push for racial justice continues, Congress is set to welcome several new Black, progressive freshmen next year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s little doubt that Nancy Pelosi will be reelected House speaker when the new Congress convenes Sunday. It could take a high-wire act for her to get there, largely thanks to the pandemic.

The only woman in history to serve as speaker, the California Democrat has a reputation as a formidable vote-counter and wily deal-cutter. Those skills have helped her fend off threats and cement her as leader of her party in the House since 2003, and seem likely to carry the day on Jan. 3, when the Constitution requires the new Congress to begin.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday called a tweet by President Donald Trump demanding his resignation a “distraction” and said he was focused on the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and upcoming runoff elections for two U.S. Senate seats.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Wednesday he will raise objections next week when Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the election, forcing House and Senate votes that are likely to delay — but in no way alter — the final certification of Biden’s win.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than a year before Anthony Warner detonated a Christmas Day bomb in downtown Nashville, officers visited his home after his girlfriend told police he was building bombs in a recreational vehicle at his residence, according to documents. But they did not make contact with him, or see inside his RV.

(AP) --- The Census Bureau will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats, a delay that could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the figures aren’t submitted before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The Census Bureau plans to deliver a population count of each state in early 2021, as close to the missed deadline as possible, the statistical agency said in a statement late Wednesday.

(AP) --- California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the infection found in Southern California during an online conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“I don’t think Californians should think that this is odd. It’s to be expected,” Fauci said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate was due on Wednesday to hold a procedural vote that could pave the way for Congress to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a key defense bill, as tension between the outgoing Republican president and party leaders grows.

Trump has ramped up pressure on his fellow Republicans to support his decision to veto the bill because it does not repeal certain unrelated legal protections for tech giants, and to back $2,000 onetime stimulus checks for struggling Americans.

“$2000 ASAP!” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

30 Dec 2020; MEMO: The US State Department has approved the potential sale of 3,000 precision-guided munitions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a deal valued at up to $290 billion, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, reports Reuters.