Never before has a president-elect inherited a complex set of urgent — and epic — emergencies like the ones confronting Joe Biden and America. 

Why it matters: FDR, no doubt, inherited a hot American, Depression-era mess in 1932. President-elect Biden's spoils, in some respects, are similarly rotten: a spreading pandemic, sky-high long-term unemployment, stratospheric federal debt, an outgoing president claiming the Democrat stole the election, a nation bitterly divided, and misinformation and lies spreading at scale on platforms available to every citizen for free. 

1. Politics: Cuomo on Biden win: "The political pressure of denying COVID is gone" — Biden announcing COVID task force on Monday.
2. Health: Counties with giant caseloads went for Trump.
3. Cities: Defense Department sends medical teams to El Paso as COVID-19 cases surge.
4. World: Designing digital immunity certificates for COVID-19.

Former President George W. Bush issued a statement on Sunday congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election victory.

Why it matters: Every living president has now congratulated Biden and acknowledged the outcome of the election, even as President Trump refuses to concede and continues to lodge unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

The Trump administration, in coordination with Israel and several Gulf states, is pushing a plan to slap a long string of new sanctions on Iran in the 10 weeks left until Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, two Israeli sources briefed on the effort told me.

Driving the news: The Trump administration’s envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams arrived in Israel on Sunday and met Prime Minister Netanyahu and National Security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to discuss the sanctions plan.

A source close to Jared Kushner said he has advised President Trump to pursue "legal remedies" to the election. A second source close to Kushner confirmed he had not advised Trump to concede.

Behind the scenes: The second source said some awkward conversations were happening in the president’s orbit and that almost everyone had by now accepted reality: that Trump has lost the election. But Trump is still insisting — falsely — that he won the election, and he has several advisers, including Rudy Giuliani, egging on what most in his orbit consider a futile legal fight.

The leaders of America's closest allies aren't waiting for President Trump to concede. They're already offering their congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Why it matters: The world is now preparing for a very different American administration.

More than 12 hours after the U.S. television networks called the presidential race for Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted his congratulations to the president-elect.

Why it matters: Israel is one of the main allies of the U.S., but Netanyahu’s congratulatory tweet came long after most leaders around the world had already congratulated Biden.

Cities across the U.S. erupted in celebration and, in some cases, protest on Saturday after Joe Biden was projected to be the winner of the presidential election.

The big picture: Fireworks and honking cars could be heard in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, and street dancing was on display in New York City, Philadelphia and South Pasadena, among other cities, per AP and Twitter posts.

President-elect Joe Biden said "this is the time to heal in America" and called on the nation to come together to get the coronavirus under control, address systemic racism, confront climate change and "restore decency."

Driving the news: Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation Saturday night at a drive-in style rally in Wilmington, Del., hours after news networks projected Biden as the winner of the U.S. presidential election.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Saturday that the American people chose "hope, unity, decency, science, and yes, truth" in electing Joe Biden the 46th president of the U.S.

Driving the news: Harris, 56, will become the first woman, Black American and Indian American to serve as vice president. "While I may be the first woman in this office I will not be the last," she declared.

The Trump campaign legal team is throwing everything at the wall in battleground states — a last-ditch effort to use the courts to freeze time in states where President Trump was ahead (but keep counting in key places where he appeared behind).

Why it matters: None of the legal actions was poised to change the outcome, but the effort could delegitimize the 2020 election in the eyes of millions of Trump supporters even if the final math based on legitimate counts show Joe Biden the winner.