USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ron Klain has checked all the boxes of a classic Washington striver: Georgetown, Harvard Law, Supreme Court clerk and Capitol Hill staffer, White House adviser and, along the way, of course, lobbyist and lawyer.

Now Klain is preparing to serve as President-elect Joe Biden’s chief of staff, a job often referred to as the nation’s chief operating officer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks are quickly running into the political reality of a narrowly controlled Senate that will leave the new Democratic administration dependent on rival Republicans to get anything done.

Under leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican senators will hold great sway in confirming Biden’s nominees regardless of which party holds the majority after runoff elections in January. Biden will have little room to maneuver and few votes to spare.

(AP) --- An overheating world obliterated weather records in 2020, creating an extreme year for hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, floods, droughts and ice melt, the United Nations’ weather agency reported Wednesday.

02 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Just hours after the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, Tehran demanded the United Nations Security Council condemn the killing and take action against those responsible, but diplomats say the call is likely to go unheeded.

Washington, Dec 2 (AP-PTI) President Donald Trump teased running again for president in 2024 as he hosted a holiday reception at the White House on Tuesday evening.

It's been an amazing four years, Trump told the crowd, which included many Republican National Committee members. We're trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I'll see you in four years.

PHOENIX (AP) — A former Arizona politician who admitted running an illegal adoption scheme in three states involving women from the Marshall Islands was sentenced in Arkansas to six years in federal prison. It was the first of three punishments he’ll face for arranging adoptions prohibited by an international compact.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether there was a secret scheme to lobby White House officials for a pardon as well as a related plot to offer a hefty political contribution in exchange for clemency, according to a court document unsealed Tuesday.

Most of the information in the 18-page court order is redacted, including the identity of the people whom prosecutors are investigating and whom the proposed pardon might be intended for.

NEW YORK (AP) — Health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line when the first coronavirus vaccine shots become available, an influential government advisory panel said Tuesday.

The panel voted 13-1 to recommend those groups get priority in the first days of any coming vaccination program, when doses are expected to be very limited. The two groups encompass about 24 million people out of a U.S. population of about 330 million.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Disputing President Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.

Barr’s comments, in an interview with the The Associated Press, contradict the concerted effort by Trump, his boss, to subvert the results of last month’s voting and block President-elect Joe Biden from taking his place in the White House.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 01 (APP): United States President-elect Joe Biden spoke with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Tuesday and discussed the need for a “strengthened” US-UN partnership to address urgent global issues, including coronavirus pandemic, climate change, upholding peace and security and resolving conflicts.

A readout from the president-elect’s transition team said that Biden thanked the UN chief for his congratulations following his election victory on November 3. Biden will be sworn in on January 20.