AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EST
Trump, on tape, presses Ga. official to 'find' Trump votes
ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump badgered and pleaded with Georgia's election chief to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state, suggesting in a telephone call that the official “find” enough votes to hand Trump the victory.
The conversation Saturday was the latest step in an unprecedented effort by a sitting president to pressure a state official to reverse the outcome of a free and fair election that he lost. The renewed intervention and the persistent and unfounded claims of fraud by the first president to lose reelection in almost 30 years come nearly two weeks before Trump leaves office and two days before twin runoffs in Georgia that will determine control of the Senate.
Trump confirmed in a tweet Sunday that he had spoken with Georgia's secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, a day earlier.
Audio snippets of the conversation were posted online by The Washington Post. A recording of the call was later obtained by The Associated Press from a person who was on the call.
The president, who has refused to accept his loss to the Democratic president-elect, is heard telling Raffensperger at one point: “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
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Republicans condemn GOP 'scheme' to undo election for Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — The extraordinary Republican effort to overturn the presidential election was condemned Sunday by an outpouring of current and former GOP officials warning the effort to sow doubt in Joe Biden's win and keep President Donald Trump in office is undermining Americans’ faith in democracy.
Trump has enlisted support from a dozen Republican senators and up to 100 House Republicans to challenge the Electoral College vote when Congress convenes in a joint session to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 win.
With Biden set to be inaugurated Jan. 20, Trump is intensifying efforts to prevent the traditional transfer of power, ripping the party apart.
Despite Trump's claims of voter fraud, state officials have insisted the elections ran smoothly and there was no evidence of fraud or other problems that would change the outcome. The states have certified their results as fair and valid. Of the more than 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. He’s also lost twice at the U.S. Supreme Court.
On a call disclosed Sunday, Trump can be heard pressuring Georgia officials to “find” him more votes.
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Pelosi narrowly reelected speaker, faces difficult 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi was narrowly reelected Sunday as speaker, giving her the reins of Democrats' slender House majority as President-elect Joe Biden sets a challenging course of producing legislation to tackle the pandemic, revive the economy and address other party priorities.
The California Democrat, who has led her party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be speaker, had been widely expected to retain her post. Pelosi received 216 votes to 209 for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who again will be the chamber's minority leader.
To gain her victory, Pelosi had to overcome some Democratic grumbling about her longevity, a slim 222-211 edge over Republicans after November's elections and a handful of absences because of the coronavirus. There were two vacancies in the 435-member House, and whatever happens Democrats will have the smallest House majority in two decades.
Democrats gave Pelosi a standing ovation as the final tally was annnounced, while the Republican side of the chamber was nearly empty.
The new Congress convened Sunday, just two days after lawmakers ended their contentious previous session and with COVID-19 guidelines requiring testing and face coverings for House members. There was widespread mask-wearing and far fewer lawmakers and guests in the chamber than usual, an unimaginable tableau when the last Congress commenced two years ago, before the pandemic struck.
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Congress opens new session as virus, Biden's win dominate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress convened Sunday for the start of a new session, swearing in lawmakers during a tumultuous period as a growing number of Republicans work to overturn Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump and the coronavirus surges.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi was set to be reelected as House speaker by her party, which retains the majority in the House but with the slimmest margin in 20 years after a November election wipeout.
Opening the Senate could be among Mitch McConnell’s final acts as majority leader. Republican control is in question until Tuesday’s runoff elections for two Senate seats in Georgia. The outcome will determine which party holds the chamber.
The House and Senate opened at noon, as required by law, with strict COVID protocols. Elbow bumps replaced handshakes as senators took the oath of office. Fewer family members than usual joined lawmakers at the Capitol.
“To say the new Congress convenes at a challenging time would be an understatement," McConnell said as the chamber opened.
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The Latest: Nancy Pelosi reelected speaker of the House
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the new session of Congress (all times local):
4:55 p.m.
Nancy Pelosi has been narrowly reelected Sunday as speaker, giving her the reins of Democrats’ slender House majority as President-elect Joe Biden sets a challenging course of producing legislation to tackle the pandemic, revive the economy and address other party priorities.
The California Democrat, who has led her party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be speaker, had been widely expected to retain her post. Rep. Kevin McCarthy R-Calif., again will be the chamber’s minority leader.
To gain her victory, Pelosi had to overcome some Democratic grumbling about her longevity, a slim 222-211 edge over Republicans after the November election, and a handful of absences because of the coronavirus.
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Fauci: Vaccinations are ramping up in a `glimmer of hope'
The U.S. ramped up COVID-19 vaccinations in the past few days after a slower-than-expected start, bringing the number of shots dispensed to about 4 million, government health officials said Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, also said on ABC's “This Week” that President-elect Joe Biden's pledge to administer 100 million shots of the vaccine within his first 100 days in office is achievable.
And he rejected President Donald Trump's false claim on Twitter that coronavirus deaths and cases in the U.S. have been greatly exaggerated.
“All you need to do ... is go into the trenches, go into the hospitals, go into the intensive care units and see what is happening. Those are real numbers, real people and real deaths,” Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The U.S. death toll has climbed past 350,000, the most of any country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, while more than 20 million people nationwide have been infected. States have reported record numbers of cases over the past few days, and funeral homes in Southern California are being inundated with bodies.
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AP FACT CHECK: Trump's made-up claims of fake Georgia votes
ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump put forth a dizzying array of fuzzy accounting and outright false claims in an extraordinary phone call to Georgia's secretary of state seeking a reversal of his election defeat, fabricating a slew of votes that he said should've been counted in his favor.
In the hourlong conversation Saturday with Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, Trump suggested that the Republican “find” enough votes to hand Trump the victory.
The Associated Press obtained the full audio of Trump’s conversation with Georgia officials from a person on the call. The AP is not publishing the full audio in keeping with its policy of not amplifying disinformation and unproven allegations.
A look at Trump's claims on the call and how they compare with reality:
TRUMP: “If we can go over some of the numbers, I think it’s pretty clear we won, we won very substantially in Georgia.”
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EXPLAINER: How Congress will count Electoral College votes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wednesday's congressional joint session to count electoral votes has taken on added importance this year as congressional Republicans allied with President Donald Trump are pledging to try and undo Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and subvert the will of the American people.
The Republicans — a handful of senators and dozens of House members — are citing Trump's repeated, baseless charges of widespread fraud. They say they will officially object to the results, forcing votes in the Republican-run Senate and the Democratic-controlled House that will almost certainly fail.
There was not widespread fraud in the election, as has been confirmed by a range of election officials and by William Barr, who stepped down as attorney general last month. Neither Trump nor any of the lawmakers promising to object to the count have presented credible evidence that would change the outcome.
Nearly all of the legal challenges put forth by Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges. The Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-nominated justices, has also denied requests to hear a pair of cases aimed at invalidating the outcome of the election in key battleground states.
The congressional meeting on Jan. 6 is the final step in reaffirming Biden’s win, after the Electoral College officially elected him in December. The meeting is required by the Constitution and includes several distinct steps.
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'You'll Never Walk Alone:' Singer Gerry Marsden dies at 78
LONDON (AP) — Gerry Marsden, lead singer of the 1960s British group Gerry and the Pacemakers that had such hits as “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and the song that became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” has died. He was 78.
His family said that Marsden died Sunday “after a short illness in no way connected with COVID-19" and that his wife, daughters and grandchildren are “devastated.”
His friend Pete Price said on Instagram after speaking to Marsden’s family that the singer died after a short illness related to a heart infection.
“I’m sending all the love in the world to (his wife) Pauline and his family,” he said. “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Marsden was the lead singer of the band that found fame in the Merseybeat scene in the 1960s. Though another Liverpool band — The Beatles — reached superstardom, Gerry and the Pacemakers will always have a place in the city’s consciousness because of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
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Businessman and family die when plane hits Michigan house
LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A small plane flying from Georgia crashed into a house in southeastern Michigan, killing the pilot and two family members.
The victims were David S. Compo, the former president of the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan, his wife Michele and their son Dawson, the association said in a news release.
The Federal Aviation Administration said a single-engine Piper PA-24 Comanche crashed in a residential area at 3:47 p.m. Saturday, roughly half a mile from Oakland Southwest Airport, according to preliminary information. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
The family was returning home to Michigan from Georgia, according to the association.
Five people inside the two-story house were able to avoid injury, but fire severely damaged the home in Lyon Township, which is 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, according to authorities.