Wisconsin counties finish recounts, Biden’s lead reconfirmed

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The recount of presidential ballots in Wisconsin’s two largest counties finished on Sunday, confirming that Democratic President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the key swing state by more than 20,000 votes.

Dane County finished its recount on Sunday, according to the county clerk, a few days after Milwaukee County finished its. Each recount produced little change in the final breakdown of the more than 800,000 ballots cast in the state. In the end, Biden’s lead over Trump in Wisconsin grew by 87 votes.

New York City public schools will begin to reopen with weekly COVID-19 testing

The schools, which make up the country’s largest school system, were closed less than two weeks ago after the citywide rate of coronavirus tests coming back positive exceeded a 3% benchmark agreed to by the mayor and the teachers’ union.

β€œIt’s a new approach because we have so much proof now of how safe schools can be,” de Blasio told reporters, saying the 3% benchmark was being scrapped and pointing to research that shows young children appear to be less vulnerable to COVID-19. On Sunday, the city’s seven-day rolling average of positive tests was 3.9%, de Blasio said.

Iran to give a ‘calculated’ response to nuclear scientist killing, says official

β€œUndoubtedly, Iran will give a calculated and decisive answer to the criminals who took Martyr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh from the Iranian nation,” Kamal Kharrazi, who is also head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said in a statement.

Fakhrizadeh, long suspected by Western and Israeli government of masterminding a secret nuclear weapons program, was ambushed on a highway near Tehran on Friday and gunned down in his car.

At least 110 civilians killed in β€˜gruesome’ Nigeria massacre

A β€œgruesome” massacre against farmers in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 110 people, the United Nations has said, raising tolls initially indicating 43 and then at least 70 dead.

The killings took place in the early afternoon of Saturday in the village of Koshobe and other rural communities in the Jere local government area near Maiduguri, the capital of the conflict-hit Borno state.

Israel’s gift to Joe Biden, 52 days before he even takes office: War with Iran

The assassination of Tehran’s top nuclear scientist is a ploy by Israel to compel the likely US president-elect to reject diplomacy and choose military action to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambition. Which option will he choose?

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the shadowy father of Iran’s nuclear program; his existence, let alone his work, was barely acknowledged by Iran. A brigadier general with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Command, Fakhrizadeh was involved in the academic aspects of Iranian national security, eventually heading up the Physics Research Center, where he masterminded the design and material acquisition in support of Iran’s uranium enrichment effort. 

Panic as Indonesian volcano erupts, sending ash & smoke into the air

The eruption of one of Indonesia’s most dangerous volcanoes has caused panic and the evacuation of almost 2,800 people, with authorities warning nearby areas may be affected by β€œhot clouds, lava avalanche[s] and poisonous gas.”

A video by RT’s Ruptly video agency has captured a massive four-kilometer-tall (13,123 feet) plume of ash and smoke coming out of the Lewotolo volcano on the Indonesian island of Lembata. The island is located some 2,600km east of the country’s capital, Jakarta.