Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The latest encouraging news: “A leading coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and BioNTech will be submitted for regulatory approval ‘within days,’ the companies announced Wednesday, after their final analysis suggested the drug was even more effective than previously thought.”
* In the mean time: “North Dakota had the highest COVID-19 mortality rate of any other state or even any other country in the world last week, according to a shocking analysis by the Federation of American Scientists. South Dakota ranked third-worst in the world. Both states also have the lowest rates of face mask use in the nation. The rates are what health experts would expect in a war-torn nation — but not in the U.S., the scientists said.”
* Madness: “Arizona law enforcement officers are investigating an apparent death threat against the state’s top elections official. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the threat was made on Parler, a social media site that’s become a haven for conservatives and extremist views.”
* On a related note: “New video obtained by 12 News shows a group outside of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ home chanting, ‘We are watching you.’”
* She had no credible rivals: “Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was re-elected Wednesday to serve as House Democrats’ leader, preserving her role as the key Democratic player in Congress and solidifying her power alongside a future Biden administration.”
* Speaking of Pelosi, it’s worth mentioning that the next two years will be her last term as Speaker.
* At the Southern border: “A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to stop expelling immigrant children who cross the southern border alone, halting a policy that has resulted in thousands of rapid deportations of minors during the coronavirus pandemic.”
* I’d like to hear more about this: “More than three years after Congress mandated that the Defense Department elevate its civilian head of special operations to the same level as a military service secretary, that order has finally been carried out. Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller on Wednesday signed a memo realigning the assistant defense secretary for special operations/low-intensity conflict to report directly to him, as the Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries currently do.”
* The obvious call: “The Health and Human Services department has scrapped a planned ad campaign featuring celebrities discussing Covid-19, a senior HHS official told a congressional oversight panel in a letter shared with POLITICO.” * Elections have consequences: “The Palestinian Authority announced on Tuesday that it was resuming its cooperation with Israel, ending six months of financial hardship for tens of thousands of West Bank residents and signaling relief over the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr.” * So much preventable suffering: “Nationwide, authorities have pointed to multiple weddings as super-spreader events, including an event in Maine in August that has been tied to almost 200 cases and seven deaths and a Washington wedding attended by more than 300 people earlier this month where at least 17 guests have tested positive, sparking two separate outbreaks.” * On a related note, seven sitting governors, including two Republicans, wrote a joint op-ed urging Americans to stay home this Thanksgiving. That’s very good advice. See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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