Joe Biden wins Georgia, flipping the state for Democrats
Joe Biden has won Georgia and its 16 electoral votes, an extraordinary victory for Democrats who pushed to expand their electoral map through the Sun Belt. The win by Biden pads his Electoral College margin of victory over President Donald Trump. Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on Nov. 7 after flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin to the Democratsโ column. Biden now has 306 electoral votes to Trumpโs 232. Trump won Georgia by 5 percentage points in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Virus crisis easing across Sun Belt but could heat up again
The torrid coronavirus summer across the Sun Belt is easing after two disastrous months that brought more than 35,000 deaths. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)The torrid coronavirus summer across the Sun Belt is easing after two disastrous months that brought more than 35,000 deaths. Whether the outbreak will heat up again after Labor Day and the resumption of school and football remains to be seen. Now they worry that Labor Day will contribute to the virus's spread. If we were to see the same effect from Labor Day, we would be in worse shape than we were after July Fourth, said Williamson.
Watching Sun Belt spikes, other states back off on reopening
NEW YORK New York City and states that likewise seemed to have tamed their coronavirus outbreaks are hitting pause on some of their reopening plans because of the alarming surge in reported infections across the Sun Belt and other parts of the U.S. But the news we have gotten from around the country gets worse and worse all the time, he said. That is higher even than what the nation witnessed during the deadliest stretch of the crisis in mid-April through early May. Outbreaks in Florida, Arizona, Texas and California have already forced those states to backtrack and take such measures as shutting down bars and beaches and curbing restaurant capacity. Phil Murphy announced a pause on Monday, in part because of people not wearing masks and social distancing.