Trump asks Supreme Court to invalidate millions of votes in battleground states

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/09/politics/trump-supreme-court/index.html

"Our Country is deeply divided in ways that it arguably has not been seen since the election of 1860," the petition states. "There is a high level of distrust between the opposing sides, compounded by the fact that, in the election just held, election officials in key swing states, for apparently partisan advantage, failed to conduct their state elections in compliance with state election law."

Echoing arguments made by Texas, Trump says the battleground states used the pandemic "as an excuse" and "ignored or suspended the operation of numerous state laws designed to protect the integrity of the ballot."

He asks the court to block the states from using "constitutionally infirm 2020 election results" unless the legislatures of the states "review the 2020 election results."

Threats rising as Trump pushes to ‘overturn’ the election

 https://www.foxnews.com/media/threats-rising-as-trump-pushes-to-overturn-the-election

Against this backdrop, the threats are emerging as a national story. As rounded up by the New York Times, they range from the Arizona Republican Party urging supporters to be willing to “die for something” to a Democratic state rep in Michigan, Darrin Camilleri, getting emails that say “Be prepared to take your last meal,” and “We’re looking forward to bring back firing squads.”

Trump’s election fight puts embattled Texas AG in spotlight

 https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-georgia-ken-paxton-lawsuits-fc1b81690b73406ea26b6cb1582736d9

 A lawsuit that President Donald Trump is now calling “the big one” in his effort to overturn the outcome of the presidential election is helmed by an embattled Texas ally who is likewise trying to reverse his own skidding fortunes.

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate Electoral College votes in battleground states that Trump lost — a challenge dismissed by legal experts as frivolous and rebuked by state officials in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But the lawsuit is succeeding in bringing Paxton back into the embrace of the GOP at a time when his former inner circle has accused him of bribery and the FBI is investigating his dealings with a donor.

 Legal experts have predicted that the Supreme Court will reject the case, but for now Paxton’s return to the spotlight reflects Trump’s continuing power to elevate even troubled members of his party who rush to his defense. Although one Republican congressman, Rep. Chip Roy, called on Paxton to resign before the election, prominent GOP leaders have not gone farther than express concern over allegations that Paxton abused his office to benefit a donor.

Haredi developers join battle against COVID-19 in Bnei Brak hackathon

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/haredi-developers-join-battle-against-covid-19-in-bnei-brak-hackathon-651674

Hundreds of haredi developers from around Israel united to develop innovative solutions to help in the battle against the continuing coronavirus pandemic in a hackathon last Wednesday in Bnei Brak.

Senior programmers and developers joined the hackathon to help work for 24 hours on developing a variety of solutions to help Israel better deal with the challenges brought by the pandemic.

Date for new elections: March 16th, 2021

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/292796

A bill calling for the dissolution of the 23rd Knesset cleared another hurdle Wednesday, gaining approval from the Knesset House Committee.

The committee voted to back the bill, tentatively setting the date for Election Day as Tuesday, March 16th 2021, roughly a week and a half before the start of the Passover festival.

If elections are held next March, they will be Israel’s fourth general election in under two years, coming just over a year since the previous election, held on March 2nd of this year.

Senate votes down resolutions aimed at blocking $23B Trump arms deal to UAE

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/senate-votes-down-resolutions-aimed-at-blocking-23b-trump-arms-deal-to-uae/

 The US Senate voted to reject a pair of resolutions on Wednesday aimed at blocking the Trump administration’s planned $23 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the Gulf monarchy’s peace deal with Israel. Splitting mostly on party lines, opponents failed to convince a majority of 50 senators in two procedural votes that US President Donald Trump was acting hastily before President-elect Joe Biden takes over next month to bolster the UAE, which has been heavily criticized for its role in the Saudi Arabia-lead offensive in Yemen.

Federal criminal investigation into Hunter Biden focuses on his business dealings in China

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/09/politics/hunter-biden-tax-investigtation/index.html

The political implications of the probe already have been an issue in recent months for Barr, who was under public pressure from Trump to make Hunter Biden's business activities an election issue. To date, the investigation doesn't involve any allegations of wrongdoing by the President-elect, according to the two main sources briefed on the matter. Barr has said publicly the elder Biden was not under investigation, despite a public campaign by Trump urging Barr to announce a corruption probe of both Bidens.

Israel’s Former Space Security Chief Claims Aliens Exist, And Trump Knows | NBC News NOW

Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready

 https://www.jpost.com/omg/former-israeli-space-security-chief-says-aliens-exist-humanity-not-ready-651405

 Speaking in an interview to Yediot Aharonot, Eshed – who served as the head of Israel's space security program for nearly 30 years and is a three-time recipient of the Israel Security Award – explained that Israel and the US have both been dealing with aliens for years.

 But Eshed insists that Trump is aware of them, and that he was "on the verge" of disclosing their existence. However, the Galactic Federation reportedly stopped him from doing so, saying they wished to prevent mass hysteria since they felt humanity needed to "evolve and reach a stage where we will... understand what space and spaceships are," Yediot Aharonot reported.

Supreme Court rejects Pennsylvania Republicans' attempt to block Biden victory

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/08/politics/supreme-court-pennsylvania-trump-biden/index.html

 The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to block certification of the commonwealth's election results, delivering a near fatal blow to the GOP's long-shot bid to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

The Supreme Court's action is a crushing loss for Trump, who has frequently touted the high court's potential to overturn his election loss.

Republicans invite discredited vaccine critic to testify before Senate panel

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/07/politics/republicans-discredited-vaccine-critic/index.html

 Senate Democrats are outraged that a witness invited to testify before a congressional hearing on Tuesday is being given a public platform for her discredited ideas that could endanger the US response to the coronavirus pandemic.

They say Dr. Jane Orient is a vaccine skeptic who has promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 patients, despite the Food and Drug Administration stating that it should not be used to treat coronavirus patients and has criticized the federal government's role in urging Americans to get vaccinated against the virus.

The Democrats note that coronavirus cases across the United States are spiking, and that approved treatments and new vaccines are crucial tools in combating the pandemic.

 

Cooper: Trump didn't have courage to tell US people the truth

Trump compares 2020 US election to 'third world nation'

Trump keeps denouncing election as Biden transition grinds on

 https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-keeps-denouncing-election-as-biden-transition-grinds-on

If Trump is even mulling an inaugural counter-event, it means he recognizes that all of his efforts--the constant accusations of election fraud, the blizzard of lawsuits, the efforts to pressure Republican lawmakers, the 46-minute Facebook video--are likely to fail. 

And combined with the refusal of all but 27 congressional Republicans to recognize Biden as president-elect, it fuels the air of unreality that now pervades the nation’s capital.

Trump is engaged in a flurry of moves--executive orders, last-minute appointments, troop withdrawals, building more of the wall--as the clock ticks down on his tenure. That’s a longstanding tradition when presidents are leaving office, though he may be doing it on steroids.