Detroit News: “The Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 Tuesday along party lines on whether the county’s Nov. 3 election results should be certified, even as at least four lawsuits sought to stop the process. The decision came after a number of absentee ballot poll books were found to be out of balance, a situation that did not stop the same board from certifying the results in the August primary or the county’s November 2016 general election results.”

“A county board that fails to canvass within 14 days after the election must give all of its documentation to the Secretary of State’s office and Board of State Canvassers, which then has 10 days to complete the work and canvass and certify the results, according to the board’s canvassing manual. Wayne County must pay for the state canvassing work, according to board guidance. Board Vice Chairman Jonathan Kinloch, a Democrat, called the decision by the two Republican members ‘reckless and irresponsible.’ Chairwoman Monica Palmer, a Republican, defended the decision. ‘Based on what I saw and went through in poll books in this canvass, I believe that we do not have complete and accurate information in those poll books,’ she said. When Kinloch protested that additional county tax money is being spent on the ongoing canvass, Palmer said she would be open to certifying much of Wayne County with the exception of Detroit.”

Holiday Scheduling Update: The @POTUS & @flotus will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday at the @WhiteHouse this year. 🦃🇺🇸

— Stephanie Grisham 45 Archived (@StephGrisham45) November 17, 2020

“The judge is having to educate Rudy about strict scrutiny applying to fundamental rights.
Rudy has no idea what he’s talking about. It is hard to see how a lawyer could do worse than this on this question. The judge is having to teach Rudy basic constitutional law. That’s not hyperbole. This is a description of what is happening at this hearing.”

“I’ve never seen worse lawyering in an election law case in my life” – UC-Irvine Law professor and election expert Rick Hasen live-tweeting Rudy Giuliani’s appearance in Trump v. Boockvar.

The United States military successfully intercepted an ICBM mid-flight on Monday, the first time the US has successful used a ship-based missile to destroy an intercontinental missile, the Washington Post reports.

USS John Finn, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, launched a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor in the ocean northeast of Hawaii, which destroyed an ICBM launched from the Marshall Islands. 

CNN: “President Donald Trump’s agenda listed ‘no public events’ on Tuesday – the 10th time since the election that those words have appeared on his daily schedule. He has answered no questions from reporters, invited no cameras into the Oval Office and ventured no further than his namesake golf course, 25 miles from the White House in Virginia. According to one White House official, there is even word Trump is seriously considering canceling his annual sojourn to Mar-a-Lago to celebrate Thanksgiving, opting to remain in Washington instead.”

“‘It feels like bunker mentality,’ the official said. Even as workers dismantle and truck away the temporary metal mesh fencing that surrounded the White House on Election Day, the President remains fortified inside the building as he continues to deny losing to President-elect Joe Biden. When he looks out his north-facing windows, he can see the reviewing stand for Biden’s inaugural parade – the same one he sat in four years ago – being re-erected on his front lawn. When he ventures downstairs for meetings in the Oval Office, he often remains late into the evening conferring over his chaotic legal efforts and wondering why more of his lawyers aren’t on television defending him. During a particularly heated session last Thursday, his deputy campaign manager accused his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who was on speakerphone, of being a ‘fucking asshole.’ Some days there is talk of a public appearance, but few have materialized since Biden was projected the election’s winner, securing the same number of electoral votes – 306 – that Trump had previously deemed a landslide win when he took office in 2016”

I’ve tested positive for coronavirus. I’ll b following my doctors’ orders/CDC guidelines & continue to quarantine. I’m feeling good + will keep up on my work for the ppl of Iowa from home. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes + prayers &look fwd to resuming my normal schedule soon

— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 17, 2020

AP: “President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign was powered by a cellphone app that allowed staff to monitor the movements of his millions of supporters, and offered intimate access to their social networks. While the campaign may be winding down, the data strategy is very much alive, and the digital details the app collected can be put to multiple other uses – to fundraise for the president’s future political ventures, stoke Trump’s base, or even build an audience for a new media empire. The app lets Trump’s team communicate directly with the 2.8 million people who downloaded it – more than any other app in a U.S. presidential campaign – and if they gave permission, with their entire contact list as well.”

“Once installed, it can track their behavior on the app and in the physical world, push out headlines, fundraise, sell MAGA merchandise and sync with mass texting operations, according to the app’s privacy policy and user interface. Yet the enterprise software company that built a tool to propel Trump’s mass movement is in financial distress and has received key support from the administration and the president’s campaign, according to interviews with former employees, financial filings and court documents.”

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Republican monitors observing vote counting in Philadelphia were given sufficient access under state law to view the proceedings. In a 5-2 decision, the court overturned a lower court decision that ordered monitors with President Donald Trump’s campaign be allowed within six feet of tables where ballots were being tallied.”

“In its opinion, the Supreme Court found that the Philadelphia Board of Elections complied with requirements for observer access from the moment the first votes were counted. ‘We conclude the board did not act contrary to the law in fashioning its regulations governing the positioning of candidate representatives,’ Justice Debra Todd wrote for the majority. ‘Critically, we find the board’s regulations … were reasonable'” – Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Senate voted to block Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a setback to Trump’s drive to reshape the Fed before he leaves office. Vote was 47-50. McConnell switched his ‘yes’ vote to ‘no.’ That lets him attempt vote again at later date” reports Bloomberg news Senate correspondent Laura Litvan.

CBS News: “President Trump is ‘seriously’ considering a 2024 bid for president and has ‘100%’ mentioned it in conversations with his top advisers in recent days, a Trump campaign senior adviser and a Trump ally told CBS News. CBS News previously reported that while no decisions have been made, Trump advisers have been actively working to keep the president’s options open as they begin to plan his political future. However, the president plans to exhaust his legal options before any decisions are made. Republican Senator Kevin Cramer called President Trump last week to convey his support for the president’s efforts to contest the election results, as first reported by Politico. An official close to Cramer said that Mr. Trump told the North Dakota lawmaker, ‘If this doesn’t work out, I’ll just run again in four years.'”

“In a new interview with me, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says 24,000 Republicans who voted absentee in primary did not vote in general – says Donald Trump cost himself the election by sowing distrust in absentee: ‘he would have won by 10 thousand votes.. he actually suppressed, depressed his own voting base'” says WSBTV reporter Justin Gray.

Um… are they actually watching the show? @antonystarr #TheBoystv #theboys @PrimeVideo @TheBoysTV #SPNFamilyForever https://t.co/wJPNjJf0Bj

— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) November 15, 2020

Explainer: ‘The Boys’ is an Amazon Prime streaming series adapted from a comic book of the same name about a team of superpowered crime fighters managed and merchandised by a large corporation. The leader of the ‘heroes’ is the Captain America/Superman-knockoff ‘Homelander’ (blue costume pictured above) who to the public is outwardly just and virtuous, but in private is a sadistic mass murderer. Very sadistic.

Three health care associations have sent a joint letter to the White House to urge outgoing president Donald Trump to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team for the sake of saving Americans’ lives, the Washington Post reports.

“We urge your Administration to work closely with the Biden transition team to share all critical information related to COVID-19,” said the letter, signed by Richard J. Pollack, president of the American Hospital Association; James L. Madara, chief executive of the American Medical Association; and Debbie Dawson Hatmaker, acting chief executive of the American Nurses Association.

President-elect Biden said during a media briefing yesterday that Trump’s recalcitrance will end up costing lives.  Biden noted that his transition team and coronavirus need to get updates on government operations so they can step into the office on Day One and make sure functional plans are continued smoothly.

“Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last week ordered Pro V&V, a U.S. Election Assistance Commission certified testing laboratory, to do an audit of a random sample of machines to confirm no hack or tamper: ‘Pro V&V found no evidence of the machines being tampered… We are glad but not surprised that the audit of the state’s voting machines was an unqualified success,’ said Secretary Raffensperger. ‘Election security has been a top priority since day one of my administration. We have partnered with the Department of Homeland Security, the Georgia Cyber Center, Georgia Tech security experts, and wide range of other election security experts around the state and country so Georgia voters can be confident that their vote is safe and secure'” – Press release from Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

New York Times: “Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has helped oversee a string of failed court challenges to President Trump’s defeat in the election, asked the president’s campaign to pay him $20,000 a day for his legal work, multiple people briefed on the matter said. The request stirred opposition from some of Mr. Trump’s aides and advisers, who appear to have ruled out paying that much, and it is unclear how much Mr. Giuliani will ultimately be compensated.”

“Since Mr. Giuliani took over management of the legal effort, Mr. Trump has suffered a series of defeats in court and lawyers handling some of the remaining cases have dropped out. A $20,000-a-day rate would have made Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who has been Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer for several years, among the most highly compensated attorneys anywhere. Reached by phone, Mr. Giuliani strenuously denied requesting that much. ‘I never asked for $20,000,’ said Mr. Giuliani, saying the president volunteered to make sure he was paid after the cases concluded. ‘The arrangement is, we’ll work it out at the end.’ He added that whoever had said he made the $20,000-a-day request ‘is a liar, a complete liar.'”

“All 72 Wisconsin counties have canvassed the vote. Based on those reports, Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by 20,612 votes in Wisconsin. Trump can file for a recount, as he’s promised, any time from now until 5 p.m. Wednesday” reports AP’s Scott Bauer.

This is false. I have not spoken with @LindseyGrahamSC. https://t.co/Cy9iUvrg3K

— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) November 17, 2020

The transition team for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has names seven people to key posts within the transition and presumably, within the Administration for the incoming 46th President of the United States.

Our White House senior staff is composed of individuals who demonstrate the President-elect's commitment to building an administration that looks like America, has expertise in governing, and will be ready deliver results for working families on Day One.https://t.co/MXnMExXAFp pic.twitter.com/DaWmRI8PRk

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 17, 2020

“The Milwaukee Health Department received a threat after health inspectors attempted to enforce the city’s order aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19 during a Saturday rally outside Serb Hall held by supporters of President Donald Trump, according to an online comment obtained by the Journal Sentinel. ‘You (expletives) showed up and Trumps rally in Milwaukee(serbhall) and shut it down. I dare you to try it at the nex (sic),’ the message read. ‘Me and a \’few\’ of my friends will be at the rest of the rallies and if you health chumps show up you’ll be leaving (in) body bags.'”

“Milwaukee police did not respond to a request for comment about the threat. ‘We take the safety of our employees very seriously and we’re actively working to address it,’ Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement Monday. As many as 500 Trump supporters turned out to protest the election of Democrat Joe Biden as president at the Saturday rally, which ended following a brief struggle that involved Serb Hall’s general manager falling to the ground, where he says he was kicked by Trump supporters. The Milwaukee ‘Defend Your Vote’ rally broke up after Nick Alioto, the general manager, asked protesters to comply with the city’s public health order, which is aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus” – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.