Investors celebrate Biden winning U.S. presidency

By Lewis Krauskopf, Koh Gui Qing, Lawrence Delevingne


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors and financial executives took a big sigh of relief on Saturday after major networks declared Democrat Joe Biden winner of the U.S. presidential election, offering some certainty after days of conflicting reports about who might run the White House next term.



Although current President Donald Trump said he would fight the results in court, Wall Streeters who offered comments felt there was little doubt Biden would ultimately succeed. Election predictors including the Associated Press, NBC, Fox News and Edison Research, upon which Reuters relies, called the presidency for Biden.

“Biden is good news for the markets,” Christopher Stanton, chief investment officer at Sunrise Capital Partners, said on Saturday. “We’re all so tired of the whipsaw that came with the Trump tweets.”

Major U.S. stock indexes registered their biggest weekly gains since April this week, as investors bet Biden would win and Republicans would hold onto the Senate. That scenario would create a steadier hand in the Oval Office and a Congress that would check left-leaning impulses on taxes or regulations that pinch companies, investors said.

However, there are lingering risks to asset prices in the days and weeks ahead.

Republicans have already filed several lawsuits over ballot counting and Trump said his campaign will file more. The litigation could drag out election proceedings.

Investor focus also now turns to the Senate, which remains undecided ahead of two runoff elections in Georgia on Jan. 5. The significance of those races, which could potentially end up with the Democrats controlling all three of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, means January is “the new November” in terms of election volatility risk, Michael Purves, founder and CEO of Tallbacken Capital, said in a note to clients. Purves said that was evident when looking at contracts for the stockmarket’s fear gauge, the VIX, stretching out into the months ahead.

Beyond those battles, investors have been worried about the people Biden might appoint to his Cabinet. Some of those officials would be negotiating with Congress about a relief package and have extensive powers to craft Wall Street rules.

Current U.S. Federal Reserve governor and former McKinsey consultant Lael Brainard’s name has been floated as a potential Treasury Secretary, while Biden has already tapped former derivatives market regulator and Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Gary Gensler for advice on financial regulation.

Factbox: With Biden declared winner, what's next for investors

For the moment, investors and prominent Wall Street figures said they were happy with the election finally being called after what seemed like unending tension as ballots were counted through the week.

“Now is a time for unity,” JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in a statement. “We must respect the results of the U.S. presidential election and, as we have with every election, honor the decision of the voters and support a peaceful transition of power.”

Leon Cooperman, a billionaire former hedge fund manager who had previously criticized Democrats said he was pleased with the results.

“It’s a signal to the world that America has not changed its values,” said Cooperman, of Omega Family Office. “That’s a good thing in my view.”

Robert Wolf, a major Democratic donor and former UBS Group AG executive who now runs 32 Advisors, was enthusiastic: “I am ecstatic, relieved and deeply hopeful for the future of this country,” he said in a text message.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman wrote on Twitter: “There comes a time in the battle when one should fold the tent,” and urged: “Concede graciously and call for unity.”

The financial industry was not reacting in a bubble: major cities from New York to San Francisco erupted in celebration on Saturday. Though Trump undoubtedly has significant support throughout the country, including on Wall Street, 2020 has been a difficult year for the United States.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a huge toll on the country, killing some 236,250 people so far, while social unrest over the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, has only hardened divisions that already existed.

Many voters were hoping for a decisive election that would offer some calm, whichever candidate they cast ballots for.

Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz Group’s chief economic adviser, said he hoped a Biden administration could work with Congress to get a handle on the pandemic and pass an economic stimulus package for struggling Americans.

“The country needs to come together to deal better with a surge in Covid infections that risks the loss of more lives, greater disruptions to livelihoods, and long-term economic, institutional and social scarring,” he said.

Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, Koh Gui Qing and Lawrence Delevingne; Additional reporting by Ira Iosebashvili and Megan Davies; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Alden Bentley, Grant McCool and Daniel Wallis

Canada ready for talks on aid to airlines, which could include loans

By Steve Scherer

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is ready to start talks with major airlines this week about financial assistance to the hard-hit sector that could come in the form of loans or other support, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Sunday.

The government is drafting a package of measures for Canadian airlines, airports and the aerospace sector, Garneau said in a statement, confirming an exclusive story last week by Reuters.

“As part of this package, we are ready to establish a process with major airlines regarding financial assistance which could include loans and potentially other support to secure important results for Canadians,” Garneau said.

He said it would ensure that regional communities would retain their connections to the rest of Canada, the world’s second-largest country by area, and added that “strict conditions” would come with any aid.

Garneau also said Canada would not spend “one penny of taxpayer money on airlines” until Canadians received refunds for flights that were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While several countries, including the United States and Australia, have offered billions in direct emergency support to their airlines, Canada has not.

Air Canada AC.TO and WestJet, the two main carriers, and transport unions have been pleading for help for months as passenger demand cratered.

Air Canada has already laid off around 20,000 workers, about half its workforce. According to the Canadian Airports Council, Canadian passenger traffic from April through August was down 92% from the same period in 2019.

“The air sector cannot respond to these challenges on its own, given the unprecedented impacts on its operations,” Garneau said.

Airlines must refund customers for cancelled flights before they get federal aid, Garneau says

ERIC ATKINS TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 8, 2020

Transport Minister Marc Garneau says airlines must refund customers' money for flights cancelled in the COVID-19 pandemic before the carriers receive any federal government aid.

The government is readying a long-awaited package of financial bailouts for Canadian airlines, airports and the aerospace industry, which have seen customer demand and traffic plunge owing to fears of catching the deadly virus, border closings and travel quarantines. Negotiations are to begin this week, and will include a requirement that customers get their money back for cancelled flights, Mr. Garneau said in a statement.

Canada’s airlines have, in most cases, collectively hung on to billions of dollars in fares for flights that never happened, offering credits instead and angering thousands of customers. The carriers face financial straits as about 90 per cent of flights have been grounded, while some, including Porter Airlines, have suspended all service.

On Sunday, Mr. Garneau signaled airlines that want government help will have pay back customers. “Before we spend one penny of taxpayer money on airlines, we will ensure Canadians get their refunds,” he said in the statement, without elaborating.

“Wow,” said John Gradek, who teaches aviation leadership at McGill University. “That’s putting a line in the sand, isn’t it? He’s making a definitive statement in terms of what has to be done.”


The Canadian Transportation Agency has received about 8,000 complaints from airline customers since mid-March, when airlines cancelled most of their flights and governments closed borders and issued stay-at-home advisories. Most carriers have added a few flights since the spring, but cancellations continue amid low demand owing to a resurgent virus and travel restrictions.

Canada’s borders are closed to most non-essential travelers, and those who enter are required to self-isolate for 14 days.

“We have heard from many Canadians who have been negatively affected,” Mr. Garneau’s statement said. “When the unprecedented pandemic broke out in the spring, Canadians who had already booked travel ended up stuck with vouchers for trips they could not take instead of getting refunds. They found themselves in a situation where they have given thousands of dollars in interest-free loans to airlines.”

He said the government will ensure Canadians and regional communities retain air connections to the rest of Canada, and that air carriers maintain their status as key customers of Canada’s aerospace industry.

“Any assistance the government of Canada provides will come with strict conditions to protect Canadians and the public interest,” the statement said.

Mr. Garneau was not available on Sunday for an interview.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. recently broke ranks with its rivals, offering refunds to some customers who paid for flights that were cancelled because of the pandemic. The refunds will take as long as nine months to arrive, and do not apply if the customer cancelled. “We will evaluate this afternoon’s statement from the government of Canada and will await greater clarity on what support for the aviation sector might include,” WestJet said in a statement on Sunday.

Air Canada has said it has provided more than $1-billion in refunds where required by law, in Europe and the United States, but generally offers credits for cancelled domestic flights. It has about $2.4-billion in prepaid fares, according to its most recent financial report. The airline had more than $9-billion in liquidity as of June 30, but has been spending about $16-million a day to keep operating, and posted a loss of $1.7-billion in the second quarter. (Air Canada is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on Monday morning.)

An Air Canada spokesman declined to comment on Sunday, and pointed to a statement by the National Airlines Council of Canada, an industry group that said it welcomed the government’s efforts to stabilize the industry but did not address the question of refunds.

The statement quotes Mike McNaney, head of the group, as saying: “Airlines are struggling to remain viable because of the economic chaos created by COVID-19.”

Mr. McNaney could not be immediately reached by phone on Sunday.

Montreal-based leisure airline Transat AT Inc., which has $564-million in non-refunded fares, said the government aid will help it reimburse customers, and it is eager to learn about the package. “Most of our foreign competitors have received massive aid from their governments many months ago,” spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said.

GardaWorld extends G4S bid deadline after ‘derisory’ response


Alan Tovey
Sun, 8 November 2020

G4S

GardaWorld has extended its hostile bid for G4S after only 0.16pc of the British security firm's investors accepted the Canadian group's £3bn offer ahead of its deadline on Saturday.

Shareholders in the FTSE 250 business now have an extra three weeks to consider the 190p-a-share approach from GardaWorld, after the deadline was pushed from Nov 7 to Nov 28.

G4S has consistently labelled GardaWorld's offer “wholly inadequate”, saying it fails to reflect the company’s value, since its suitor went public with its approach in September.

Management doubled down on the criticism following the extension, saying “an acceptance level of 0.16pc is consistent with the derisory level of GardaWorld’s offer.

“It is not surprising that GardaWorld have therefore been forced to extend their offer period.”

GardaWorld, which is backed by European buyout firm BC Partners, said it holds a further 1.55pc of its target’s shares.

Markets Hub - G4S PLC

Stephan Crétier, founder of GardaWorld said: “We are extending our offer for G4S because, despite its past problems and uncertain future, we believe we can turn the business around.

“We can give G4S shareholders the certainty of cash today, not jam tomorrow.

“We believe G4S is misrepresenting its prospects under the current management team. It is time they tell shareholders and employees the truth.”

Mr Crétier’s words were just the latest assault on G4S. He has accused his target’s management of making strategic mistakes, selling divisions for less than they worth, and claimed G4S’s pension liabilities are bigger than stated and that it faces potentially costly future legal actions. G4S has dismssed all the claims.
Who are GardaWorld?

Last week G4S said it had also rebuffed a rival offer from US Allied Universal Security Services. It said the 210p conditional offer “significantly undervalued G4S and its prospects”.

Shares in G4S had been trading at about 140p prior to the first approach, but jumped after the approaches. They closed on Friday at 213p, suggesting traders believe GardaWorld will have to raise its offer to seal a deal.

The three biggest investors in G4S who between then control a quarter of the security company’s shares have knocked back GardaWorld’s approach as being too low.

However, Schroders, which has about a 10pc stake, along with US investors Harris Associates and Sachem Head Capital, have signalled that they would be willing to consider improved offers.

Duckbill dinosaur fossils discovered in Africa for the first time
Shane McGlaun - Nov 8, 2020, 8:39am CST0

Scientists working in Morocco have discovered the very first apostles of a duckbilled dinosaur ever found in Africa. The findings suggest that the dinosaurs crossed hundreds of kilometers of open water to reach Africa after evolving in North America and migrating to South America and then Asia, Europe, and Africa. A study on the findings was recently published in Cretaceous Research.

The new dinosaur is dubbed Ajnabia odysseus, and the fossils were found in Moroccan rocks dated to the end of the Cretaceous 66 million years ago. The fossilized creature was a member of the duckbilled dinosaur family, which are plant-eating dinosaurs up to 15 meters long. However, the newly discovered fossils show a creature much smaller than other members of the family at only three meters long.

Researchers say it was approximately the size of a pony. In the Late Cretaceous, Africa was an island with deep water between where the dinosaur evolved and where the fossils found. One researcher on the team who discovered the fossils said that it was “about the last thing in the world you would expect.” He likened to find in the fossil in Casablanca to funding a kangaroo in Scotland.

The study of the fossil found that it belonged to a subfamily of duckbills known as Lambeosaurs that had bony head crests. That dinosaur subfamily evolved in North America and migrated via a land bridge to Asia. Scientists believe the dinosaurs had to cross hundreds of kilometers of open water by rafting on debris, floating, or swimming to colonize Africa.

Fossils of the dinosaurs were found in river deposits and marine rocks; they may have swum the distance. The name of the new dinosaur fossil pays homage to the sea crossing. Ajnabia translates to foreigner, and Odysseus refers to the Greek seafarer.

Remembering the Native American who was the first person of color to serve as US vice president


By Alaa Elassar, CNN
Updated  Sun November 8, 2020


Charles Curtis with group of Native Americans in 1928.


(CNN)Kamala Harris on Saturday made history as America's first woman, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect. But she will not be the first person of color to serve as vice president of the United States.

In 1928, Charles Curtis -- a Native American lawmaker and member of the Kaw Nation -- was elected as President Herbert Hoover's vice president.

Curtis grew up in North Topeka, Kansas, where he was born to a White father and a one-quarter Kaw Indian mother. He was the great-great grandson of White Plume, a Kaw chief known for offering to help the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, according to the US Senate.
He spent much of his childhood living with his maternal grandparents on the Kaw reservation in Council Grove, Kansas. Curtis even spoke Kansa, the Siouan language of the Great Plains, before he learned English.




Charles Curtis, left, and Herbert Hoover, in 1928.

His ability to speak Kansa allowed him to fit in the tribe comfortably, according to the US Senate website. He also learned to ride ponies and eventually became a winning jockey.
While Curtis hoped to continue living on reservations with his grandmother, she encouraged the young teen to return to Topeka to further his education.

"I took her splendid advice and the next morning as the wagons pulled out for the south, bound for Indian Territory, I mounted my pony and with my belongings in a flour sack, returned to Topeka and school," Curtis said. "No man or boy ever received better advice, it was the turning point in my life."

'You can't be what you can't see': Female politicians of color discuss what Harris' win means to them

Back in Topeka, Curtis became an attorney and later turned his attention to politics. In 1892, Curtis was elected to US Congress, where he served in the House and Senate. As a senator, he was Republican whip, instrumental in helping to prevent Woodrow Wilson from having the US join the League of Nations. In 1928, he lost his bid for the presidential nomination to Herbert Hoover, who tapped him as his running mate.

During his time as a congressman, Curtis became known for sponsoring "An Act for the Protection of the People of the Indian Territory and for Other Purposes," also known as the Curtis Act of 1898, which did little to protect Indian land.

While the law allowed members of tribes to vote and established public schools on tribal lands, it also helped lead to the disintegration of Indian nations, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Some Indian tribal governments and lands were broken up as a result of the act, which overturned multiple treaty rights "by allocating federal lands, abolishing tribal courts, and giving the Interior Department control over mineral leases on Indian lands," according to the US Senate website.

Another milestone for people of color

While Curtis made history as the first person of color to become vice president, Harris is breaking barriers of her own.

Women across the US have been fighting for equal rights and representation in American life for centuries. With the election of Harris, a woman has now reached the second highest political office in the country.

On Saturday night, during her first speech as vice president-elect, Harris noted the historic moment.

"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," she said in Wilmington, Delaware.

"Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities, and to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they've never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way," she said.

 

AOC says Democratic Party's digital operations are "extraordinarily weak"

Axios NOV 8,2020


VIDEO

https://www.axios.com/aoc-democrats-digital-operation-bbb7fc6f-b370-478a-8984-900455437f49.html

Progressive member of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that parts of the official Democratic Party campaign apparatus are "extraordinarily weak" and that the left was not to blame for defeats in the House.

Driving the news: After Democrats lost several key house races in divided districts, moderates were furious and pointing fingers at the progressive wing of the party. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who is narrowly leading her Republican challenger, vented on a caucus call that Democrats should never "use the words socialist or socialism ever again."

What she's saying: "If you look at some of these some of the arguments that are being advanced, that 'defund the police hurt' or that arguments about socialism hurt, not a single member of Congress that I'm aware of campaigned on socialism or defunding the police in this general election," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN's "State of the Union."

"I believe that there are many areas that we can point at in centralized democratic operations that are extraordinarily weak. For example, our digital campaigning is very weak. This is an area where Republicans are actually quite strong."

"I believe that many Republicans were very effective at digital organizing strategy as well, whereas the Democratic Party is still campaigning largely as though it's 2005. And I know a lot of us don't want to hear this, but 2005 was 15 years ago. So we can do better."

Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Times earlier this week she tried to help swing district Democrats.

"And every single one of them, but five, refused my help. And all five of the vulnerable or swing district people that I helped secured victory or are on a path to secure victory."

GOP & WALL ST DEMS RED BAIT

AOC urges Democrats to ’not fight each other’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday said it was "irresponsible" for fellow Democrats to point fingers at each other over the party's weak showing in House races, warning that it would only inflame deep tensions.

© Tom Williams/AP Photo

 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: “It's irresponsible to pour gasoline on what is already very delicate tensions in the party.”

The New York Democrat, an icon of the party's progressive wing, appeared on CNN “State of the Union” as House Democrats faced the prospect of holding a thinner majority heading into the next Congress than they had after the 2018 election.

Some House Democratic leaders and other moderates warned last week that moving too far left cost the party House seats and imperiled the party's hopes of capturing the Senate, which will be determined by two runoff races in Georgia in January. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a "Blue Dog" Democrat from Virginia, warned colleagues on a private call after the election that "no one should say ‘defund the police’ ever again."

Ocasio-Cortez rejected that criticism on Sunday.

"When we kind of come out swinging not 48 hours after Tuesday, and we don't even have solid data yet, pointing fingers and telling each other what to do, it deepens the division in the party," she said. "And it's irresponsible. It's irresponsible to pour gasoline on what is already very delicate tensions in the party.”

Spanberger who drew headlines for her criticisms last week, is slightly ahead in her race but it has yet to be called. At least seven House Democratic incumbents lost their seats — two in Florida and one each in Iowa, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Carolina and Minnesota.

The debate was the dominant theme among Democrats appearing on political talk shows Sunday, even as the party celebrated projections that Joe Biden won the presidency.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the No. 3 Democrat in the House, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that fears about the socialism label and the phrase "Defund the police" weighed on Democratic candidates including those in his state, citing the failed Senate campaign of Jamie Harrison and the unsuccessful reelection effort of Rep. Joe Cunningham.

"I just hope that going forward we will think about each one of these congressional districts and let people represent their districts," he said.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), a centrist, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that Biden lost in his state because Democrats "didn't have a good message." He said voters "went from being mad [in 2016] to being scared in 2020." Biden lost West Virginia by by nearly 40 percentage points.

"They were scared of this socialism that was thrown out there by a radical part of the so-called left," Manchin said. "That hung on and hung on strongly, and it's not who we are. ... I have fought against that. Joe Biden has fought against that."

Ocasio-Cortez, who was easily reelected, said Democrats instead should focus on campaign operations that are more resilient to Republican attacks, in part by improving what she called a "very weak" digital campaign apparatus.

She warned that with a slimmer majority, "it's going to be more important than ever for us to work together and not fight each other."

"There are, at least in the House caucus, very deep divisions within the party," she said. "We need to really come together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart."

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a member of “The Squad” with other progressive female lawmakers including Ocasio-Cortez, said on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that Democrats’ approach “shouldn't be to attack one another and to allow the Republicans — who benefit when we are a divided House — to have the last word.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says Progressives Aren't the Enemy After Biden's Victory, Reveals She's Not Sure How Long She'll Be in Politics

Jason Lemon 

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, pushed back against criticism targeting her left-wing coalition in a new interview, while also saying that she remains uncertain about her political future.

© BRIAN SNYDER/POOL/AFP/Getty 

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) speaking in a video feed during the second day of the Democratic National Convention, held virtually amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, at its hosting site in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 18

Ocastio-Cortez, who describes herself as a democratic socialist, has been at odds with moderates in her party since she defeated former Democratic Representative Joe Crowley in the 2018 primary midterms. Although the congresswoman backed Senator Bernie Sanders against Biden in the Democratic presidential primaries, she and fellow progressive Democrats rallied in support of President-elect Joe Biden as he campaigned against President Donald Trump.

In a new interview published by The New York Times on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez argued that campaigning by her progressive colleagues helped propel Biden to victory.

"I've been begging the party to let me help them for two years. That's also the damn thing of it. I've been trying to help. Before the election, I offered to help every single swing district Democrat with their operation. And every single one of them, but five, refused my help. And all five of the vulnerable or swing district people that I helped secure victory or are on a path to secure victory," the congresswoman said.

"And every single one that rejected my help is losing. And now they're blaming us for their loss," Ocasio-Cortez told The Times. "So I need my colleagues to understand that we are not the enemy. And that their base is not the enemy. That the Movement for Black Lives is not the enemy, that Medicare for all is not the enemy."

Democrats won the presidency and picked up at least one additional seat in the Senate, but Republicans managed to pick up several seats in the House of Representatives. Democrats maintained their majority in the House, however.

Ocasio-Cortez pointed to the grassroots campaigning by fellow progressive Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan in her key battleground state, as well as the efforts by activists in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania—saying these actions appeared to be key to Biden's victory in the Electoral College. She voiced concern over comments from some of Biden's Republican and moderate backers about how the president-elect should act once he enters the White House.

"These transition appointments, they send a signal. They tell a story of who the administration credits with this victory. And so it's going to be really hard after immigrant youth activists helped potentially deliver Arizona and Nevada. It's going to be really hard after Detroit and Rashida Tlaib ran up the numbers in her district," Ocasio-Cortez pointed out.

"If the party believes after 94 percent of Detroit went to Biden, after Black organizers just doubled and tripled turnout down in Georgia, after so many people organized Philadelphia, the signal from the Democratic Party is the John Kasichs won us this election? I mean, I can't even describe how dangerous that is," she said. Kasich, a Republican, served as Ohio's governor from 2011 to 2019. He endorsed Biden but his state went for Trump.

Newsweek reached out to press representatives for Biden to ask for comment on Ocasio-Cortez's remarks, but they did not immediately respond. In a victory speech on Saturday evening, after the Associated Press and networks officially called the race, Biden voiced his plan to be unifying president.

"To my campaign team, and all the volunteers, to all those who gave so much of themselves to make this moment possible, I owe you everything. And to all those who supported us: I am proud of the campaign we built and ran. I am proud of the coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse in history," Biden said.

"Democrats, Republicans and independents. Progressives, moderates and conservatives. Young and old. Urban, suburban and rural. Gay, straight, transgender. White. Latino. Asian. Native American," the president-elect said.

Ocasio-Cortez has taken aim at criticism from moderates and Republican Biden-backers on Twitter over the last 24 hours. "John Kasich, who did not deliver Ohio to Dems, is saying folks like @IlhanMN, who did deliver Minnesota, are the problem," she tweeted on Saturday. "Please don't take these people seriously and go back to celebrating and building power."

"I've been thinking so much of @IlhanMN. Trump made Minnesota explicitly about HER. Said he'd win because of her. Many Dems in DC believed him, & marginalized her. That burden wasn't fair, but she took on the challenge anyway. She won," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in another post. "Credit and respect her. @RashidaTlaib too."


Just a friendly reminder: @AOC isn’t the enemy or a threat, she is an asset to our party.

When you allow the GOP to dictate who should be included in our “big tent” party, we all lose.

For god’s sake, the GOP has QAnon members in their ranks and won’t throw them under the bus. https://t.co/Stn0DP75wS— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 8, 2020

Representative Ilhan Omar, a progressive Democrat from Minnesota, shared Ocasio-Cortez's interview in a Sunday Twitter post. The congresswoman wrote: "Just a friendly reminder: @AOC isn't the enemy or a threat, she is an asset to our party. When you allow the GOP to dictate who should be included in our 'big tent' party, we all lose. For god's sake, the GOP has QAnon members in their ranks and won't throw them under the bus."

In her interview with the Times, Ocasio-Cortez explained that she still isn't sure about her political future. Although many have speculated that she could launch a bid for the Senate, the representative said making such a move was just as likely as her leaving politics all together.

"I chose to run for re-election because I felt like I had to prove that this is real. That this movement was real. That I wasn't a fluke. That people really want guaranteed health care and that people really want the Democratic Party to fight for them," she said.

"But I'm serious when I tell people the odds of me running for higher office and the odds of me just going off trying to start a homestead somewhere—they're probably the same."

Ocasio-Cortez calls on Democratic Party to 'come together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart'

Justine Coleman 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Democratic Party to "come together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart."

© Getty Ocasio-Cortez calls on Democratic Party to 'come together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart'

The New York progressive encouraged party unity during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" after moderate House Democrats slammed the progressive wing of the party in a caucus phone call last week.

"There are, at least in the House caucus, very deep divisions within the party, and I believe that we need to really come together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart," she said on Sunday.

Ocasio-Cortez also noted that the Democratic majority in the House will be "slimmer" after the 2020 election.

"It's going to be more important than ever for us to work together and not fight each other," she said.

"When we kind of come out swinging not 48 hours after Tuesday, when we don't even have solid data yet, pointing fingers and telling each other what to do, it deepens the division in the party, and it's irresponsible," she added. "It's irresponsible to pour gasoline on these already very delicate tensions in the party."

The New York Democrat also argued that the progressive wing of the party has "assets to offer the party that the party has not yet fully leaned into or exploited."

"The conversation's a little bit deeper than that, than just saying anything progressive is toxic and a losing message," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez made her plea to the Democratic Party one day after President-elect Joe Biden was projected to win the 2020 election.

Her remarks also follow a tense week in which Democrats lost seats in the lower chamber

Over 1 million Americans filed for unemployment for 33rd straight week

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets AXIOS

Data: U.S. Department of Labor; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios


The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits continues to fall, but data from the Labor Department showed more than 1 million people filed for first-time jobless benefits for the 33rd week in a row.

By the numbers: More than 738,000 people applied for first-time traditional unemployment benefits last week, and nearly 363,000 applied for benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program.

Why it matters: The rate of unemployment filings has been remarkably high for a remarkable amount of time.

Between the lines: The number of people receiving benefits through the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program for the long-term unemployed has risen by 14,348% since it started in April, while the PUA program is up 6,741% during that time.
"The small increase in PEUC relative to the decline in continuing claims for regular state UI is due in part to workers running into administrative glitches getting on to PEUC," Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Department of Labor and current director of policy at left-leaning think tank EPI, said on Twitter.

What's next: Shierholz also points out that unemployment benefits are starting to run out for more people and will expire for all of the nearly 14 million Americans on pandemic programs at the end of the year.

Why NASA's moonshot, Boeing, Bezos and Musk have a lot riding on U.S. election

By Joey Roulette and Eric M. Johnson 2020-10-30

WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's differences with rival presidential candidate Joe Biden extend far beyond planet earth.

President Trump's plans to win the race in space call for a 2024 moon mission, and ending direct U.S. financial support for the International Space Station in 2025 - turning over control of the decades-old orbital laboratory to private space companies.

Biden, on the other hand, would likely call for a delayed moonshot and propose a funding extension for the International Space Station if he wins the White House, according to people familiar with the fledging Biden space agenda.

Pushing back the moon mission could cast more doubt on the long-term fate of Boeing Co's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, just as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin scramble to bring rival rockets to market as soon as next year.

Extending support for the space station for a decade would also be a major boost for Boeing, whose $225 million annual ISS operations contract is set to expire in 2024 and is at the depths of a financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 737 MAX grounding after fatal crashes.

Boeing and SpaceX are already supplying spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the ISS under a program begun under the Obama administration and supported by both Trump and Biden.

Though slowing the moonshot would push back contracts for moon landers and related equipment the companies aim to win, the emerging Biden space agenda appears broadly set to promote competition between traditional defense contractors like Boeing and "new space" rivals like SpaceX who promise lower-cost and reusable rocket systems and space vehicles.

© Reuters/Joe Skipper FILE PHOTO: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A with the seventh batch of SpaceX broadband network satellites, at the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral

CRAVING CONSISTENCY

For the commercial space industry, "consistency is key," said Mike French, a vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association trade group who earlier served as NASA chief of staff under Obama.

"If you shake the etch-a-sketch now, you will (be) risking a series of potentially historic accomplishments and the strong and sustained bipartisan support NASA has seen across its portfolio," French told Reuters.

Roughly 20 former senior NASA officials and scientists have assembled as a volunteer subgroup under the Biden campaign's science committee to informally help draw up ideas for a space platform.

Many held jobs in the Obama administration and are jockeying for influential roles on the transition team or in a Biden administration.

Reuters spoke to three of those people, as well as over a dozen lobbyists, industry executives, and former NASA officials who have held their own discussions with Biden's campaign.

Members of the subgroup also want to boost NASA funding for Earth science and support partnerships with other nations. They stressed that Biden's space agenda, and the staff assignments to lead it, were in a formative stage as his campaign prioritizes more pressing issues, like the coronavirus pandemic and joblessness.

A Biden campaign spokesman pointed to earlier remarks from Biden. In August, after SpaceX launched and returned the first astronauts from U.S. soil on a trip to the ISS in nearly a decade, Biden said he looked forward to "leading a bold space program that will continue to send astronaut heroes to expand our exploration and scientific frontiers."

Representatives for Blue Origin and Boeing declined to comment. SpaceX and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

FIGHT OVER BOEING ROCKET

But the Biden space group is divided on what to do about Boeing's SLS, several sources said.

The super heavy-lift rocket has been beset by development delays and cost overruns, but supports tens of thousands of jobs in Alabama and California and is seen by backers as central to NASA's exploration plans and the only path to Trump's 2024 timeline for the Artemis mission.

Critics say the rocket's ageing technology and launch costs of $1 billion or more per mission should prompt a formal White House or Congressional review of the program, particularly if SpaceX and Blue Origin are able to offer new rockets at lower cost.

It costs as little as $90 million to fly Musk's massive but still less-powerful Falcon Heavy, and some $350 million per launch for United Launch Alliance's legacy Delta IV Heavy.

Whether a Biden space policy would be more friendly to SLS or to newer commercial alternatives from "new space" players will be heavily influenced by his choice for NASA administrator, a role the campaign wants to be filled by a woman, two people said.

NASA views SLS as its only human-rated ride to the moon in the near term, said Doug Loverro, the former NASA head of human spaceflight.

"But is that the long-term direction to continue to pursue?" Loverro asked.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette in Washington, D.C. and Eric M Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Edward Tobin)

Man mauled by black leopard after paying for ‘full contact experience’

Josh K. Elliott 2020-10-30

A Florida man who paid $150 to get up-close and personal with a black leopard is now suing the sanctuary that made it happen, after the animal mauled him instead of submitting for pictures and belly-rubs

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© Michael Poggi/YouTube Michael Poggi, owner of Poggi's Animal House in Davie, Fla., is shown with a black leopard at his zoo in Davie, Fla.

The attack happened at a backyard animal sanctuary in Davie, Fla., on Aug. 31, according to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Dwight Turner, 50, paid $150 for a "full contact experience" with the black leopard, and expected to "play with it, rub its belly and take pictures," local station WPLG reports.

Read more: Carole Baskin of ‘Tiger King’ sued for defamation

Turner entered the backyard enclosure and the leopard growled at him, then attacked, according to the FWC report obtained by WPLG.

“The owner of the facility brought the victim into the leopard cage," said the victim's attorney, Steve Lander. "About three seconds after entering the cage, the leopard attacked, going for the jugular and took his head in its mouth.”

The animal ripped off part of the victim's scalp and tore his ear in half, officials said. Turner says he spent a week in hospital and required multiple surgeries to recover from injuries sustained in the attack.

Turner alleges that the entire visit was illegal and so any safety waiver he might have signed is invalid. He announced plans to sue the sanctuary operator on Thursday on allegations that the operator let his insurance lapse.

The property's occupant, Michael Poggi, describes himself on Facebook as an "exotic animal breeder" who owns a "private animal sanctuary" for rare, exotic and endangered animals.

The website for Poggi's Animal House lists a black leopard named Dasha as the "resident carnivore."

Poggi has already been charged with allowing full contact with an extremely dangerous animal, wildlife officials told WPLG. He was also cited for maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe condition.

"Mr. Poggi allowed the victim access to inside of the leopard's cage for a full contact experience which led to the leopard attacking the victim, causing extensive damage to the head and right ear," an FWC officer wrote in a citation filed in court.

The citation adds that full contact with a black leopard is in violation of Florida law.

Officials say Poggi was licensed to have the leopard but not to offer full-contact experiences.

Read more: Puma prince? War vet and his cat lead police on manhunt in Polish woods

The Facebook page for Poggi's Animal House was offline Friday morning. However, videos posted on Poggi's YouTube page show a wide variety of animals on his property, including iguanas, zebras and big cats. Several of his most recent videos advertise marmosets for sale.

Poggi can be seen showing off a caged black leopard in 2012, in a video he flagged as a "pilot" for his "reality show."

He describes one black leopard in the video as a female between six and eight months old. It's unclear how many he had in the zoo at the time.

Big cat experiences have captured the spotlight this year following the release of Tiger King, Netflix's documentary series about eccentric cat breeder Joe Exotic.

Poggi did not respond to requests for comment from WPLG and WSVN.

He is due for a court hearing on Dec. 2.

‘Absolutely huge’ iceberg on collision course with British island

A massive iceberg that broke off of Antarctica in 2017 is now on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a British territorial island that's home to thousands of penguins and seals.

© Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

 A king penguin is shown in this January 2015 file photo from South Georgia.

The iceberg, known as A68-A, looks like a giant hand pointing a finger. It measures 150 kilometres long and 48 kilometres wide, with a surface area nearly as large as Canada's Prince Edward Island. It's the largest remnant of an even bigger iceberg that calved off the Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017.

"It is absolutely huge and it's the largest iceberg in the Southern Ocean," Dr. Sue Cook, a glaciologist at the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, told The Guardian.

Tracking data from the European Space Agency (ESA) shows the iceberg has already travelled more than 1,400 kilometres north over the last three years, and it's now only 500 kilometres away from South Georgia. ESA projections show it's on course for the island.

Scientists are concerned that the relatively thin iceberg will run aground off the island, where it could linger for months or years. The iceberg is large enough to cause major disruptions around South Georgia, which is a major wildlife sanctuary for penguins and seals.

"There's a danger here that if the iceberg gets stuck, it could be there for 10 years," said Geraint Tarling, a professor with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

"That would make a very big difference, not just to the ecosystem of South Georgia but its economy as well," Tarling told BBC News.

He added that a large iceberg could make it difficult for penguins and seals to feed their young, because they would be forced to travel much further to find food.

"A close-in iceberg has massive implications for where land-based predators might be able to forage," he said. "If they have to do a big detour, that means they're not going to get back to their young in time to prevent them starving to death in the interim."

He added that a melting iceberg can also benefit the local ecosystem by depositing dust that will fertilize the ocean life.

There are no permanent settlements in South Georgia or the nearby Sandwich Islands, but the U.K. maintains two research bases and oversees commercial fishing in the area.

Cook says it's hard to know for sure where the iceberg will go. It's currently following a path through "iceberg alley," but weather patterns and ocean currents can subtly change its route. There's also the chance that it might break apart again before it reaches South Georgia.

Many icebergs have become caught in the shallow waters around South Georgia, where they linger and slowly melt over long periods of time.

Part of a massive iceberg known as A38 ran aground at South Georgia in 2004, causing mass die-offs among seal pups and penguin chicks. The iceberg had split in two, leaving behind one piece that measured 70 kilometres long and 19 kilometres wide.

Researchers with the British Arctic Survey are asking the ESA to take more photos of A68-A due to its incredible size.

"A68-A is spectacular," BAS researcher Andrew Fleming told the BBC. "The idea that it is still in one large piece is actually remarkable, particularly given the huge fractures you see running through it in the radar imagery.

"I'd fully expected it to have broken apart by now.