10 things you need to know today: December 4, 2020

1. Biden calls for Americans to wear masks for his 1st 100 days

President-elect Joe Biden said Thursday that he would call on all Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days in office as part of a national campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus. "Just 100 days to mask, not forever," Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper. Biden is preparing to take office as coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths surge to record levels despite positive news about potential vaccines. His approach marks a shift from that of President Trump, who has downplayed the importance of wearing face coverings. In another contrast, Biden said he had asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, whom Trump has criticized, to stay on as the government's top infectious disease specialist and to become "chief medical adviser for me as well."

CNN

2. California issues stay-at-home orders to ease intensive-care overload

California will issue a new stay-at-home order in areas where COVID-19 cases are overwhelming intensive-care facilities, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday. The government is dividing the state into five regions, and imposing the limited lockdown rules in any region where ICU capacity drops below 15 percent. The restrictions require bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons, and barber shops to close temporarily. Schools meeting state health requirements would be allowed to remain open. Stores would be allowed to operate at 20 percent capacity, and restaurants restricted to take-out and delivery, Newsom said. None of the regions has fallen below 15 percent ICU capacity yet, but they could "as early as the next day or two," Newsom said. "The bottom line is if we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed," he said.

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CNBC

3. Facebook to remove false claims on COVID-19 vaccines

Facebook announced Thursday that it would start taking down posts containing misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines "that have been debunked by public health experts." The company said it would remove the posts from both Facebook and Instagram. "This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical harm," the company said in a blog post. "This could include false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients, or side effects of the vaccines." Facebook previously only removed COVID-19 misinformation if it determined that it "could lead to imminent physical harm," or if the posts or advertisements discouraged people from getting vaccinated.

The New York Times

4. Wisconsin high court rejects Trump lawsuit

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump's lawsuit challenging election results in the state, which President-elect Joe Biden won by nearly 21,000 votes. The justices ruled 4-3 that they would not accept the case Trump filed directly with them, although Trump still can pursue it in a lower court. The ruling came hours after Trump filed a separate lawsuit asking a federal court to let the Republican-controlled state legislature, rather than voters, determine who gets the state's electoral votes. The justices made their decision quickly, noting that Tuesday is the "safe harbor" date by which election challenges must be resolved under federal law. The Electoral College meets Dec. 14, and Congress counts its votes on Jan. 6. Biden has won 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.

USA Today

5. Trump criticizes Barr for not backing baseless vote-fraud claims

President Trump on Thursday criticized Attorney General William Barr for failing to back up his baseless claim that widespread voter fraud cost him the November election. Barr this week told The Associated Press that the Justice Department had not found evidence of enough fraud to have changed the outcome. Trump said Barr "hasn't done anything," and that his department hadn't "looked very hard, which is a disappointment, to be honest with you." Trump said if Barr looked harder he would find that "massive fraud" tipped crucial swing states to President-elect Joe Biden. A group of federal officials has declared the 2020 election was the "most secure" in the nation's history.

Politico

6. Pfizer halves expected 2020 COVID-19 vaccine deliveries

Pfizer said Thursday that it would only be able to deliver half the COVID-19 vaccine doses it promised to ship by the end of the year. The drugmaker and its German partner BioNTech SE had said they would distribute 100 million vaccines worldwide in 2020, but they cut the number to 50 million. "Scaling up the raw material supply chain took longer than expected," a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal, and the vaccine's clinical trial finished "somewhat later than the initial projection." The U.K. on Wednesday granted emergency-use authorization for Pfizer's two-shot vaccine, making it the first Western country to do so. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing Pfizer's vaccine for a similar authorization after it proved safe and effective at stopping the transmission of COVID-19.

The Wall Street Journal

7. Supreme Court tells California courts to reconsider ban on indoor worship

The Supreme Court on Thursday told California judges to reconsider a religious-liberty challenge of Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) rules banning most indoor worship services due to the coronavirus crisis. Last week, the high court ruled 5-4 that New York City's limits on churches and synagogues in neighborhoods with bad outbreaks violated the 1st Amendment guarantee of the free exercise of religion. Florida-based lawyers for the Harvest Rock Churches in California said Newsom's restrictions prohibited indoor worship services "for 99.1 percent of Californians." The Supreme Court's unsigned order had no immediate concrete effect, but it was interpreted as a sign that California's ban on indoor services in its current form would likely fall. The court in May rejected a challenge to Newsom's earlier policy limiting indoor church gatherings to 100 people.

Los Angeles Times

8. McConnell, Pelosi discuss coronavirus relief for 1st time since election

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday discussed a new coronavirus relief package for the first time since the Nov. 3 election, signaling growing support for a deal. They also talked about a spending bill Congress must pass before Dec. 11 to avert a government shutdown. "We had a good conversation," McConnell said. "I think we're both interested in getting an outcome, both on the [spending bill] and on a coronavirus package." The conversation came after leading Democrats said that a $908 billion bipartisan coronavirus relief proposal should serve as the basis for negotiations. McConnell is calling for a targeted package costing just over half as much, saying it's what President Trump will sign.

The Washington Post

9. Trump administration rushes Arctic drilling auction

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it would press ahead with an early January auction for drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The auction is set for Jan. 6, two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. Biden has said he will take steps to permanently protect the refuge, home to migrating caribou and polar bears. Tax legislation passed by the GOP-led Congress in 2017 requires the Bureau of Land Management to hold two lease sales for drilling rights in the refuge's coastal plain within seven years, with the first one having to take place by December 2021. The Trump administration has accelerated the sale, with the Bureau of Land Management not waiting the required 30 days for oil companies to say what land they want included.

NPR CBS News

10. Warner Bros. to release films on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously

Warner Bros. on Thursday revealed plans to debut every film it has scheduled for 2021 on HBO Max in the United States on the same day that it arrives in movie theaters. The list of movies Warner Bros. has scheduled for next year includes Godzilla vs. Kong, The Suicide Squad, Dune, and The Matrix 4. The movies will be available to watch on HBO Max for one month, after which they'll still be in theaters. Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff described this as a "unique one-year plan" made necessary by the fact that "most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021." She said, "We're living in unprecedented times which call for creative solutions."

Variety The Verge