Dire budget problems in cities from coast to coast mean that furloughs and layoffs of essential workers could ring in the new year.

• So President-elect Biden will face instant, high-stakes calls for relief, writes Jennifer A. Kingson, interim mayor of Axios Cities.

Why it matters: Suffering municipalities say there's no way they can tackle COVID-19 and all their other problems without direct and immediate aid.

• Both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities say the COVID emergency surmounts their longtime priorities for Washington, including issues like infrastructure, affordable housing and workforce training.
• Many are elated by Biden's choice of Julie Chávez Rodriguez, a Biden deputy campaign manager who previously advised Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Fun fact: Biden's first elected office, in 1970, was on the New Castle County Council in Delaware. "He gets us," says Joe Buscaino, president of the National League of Cities and president pro tempore of the L.A. City Council.

• Share this story.

President Trump's frantic post-election machinations are actually hurting him, Axios' Glen Johnson writes.

• He's documenting his demise with court fights and recounts showing President-elect Biden's victory to be all the more unassailable.

Reality check:

• In Georgia, the largest hand recount in U.S. history is underway, with some counties finding exactly the same vote tallies they reported two weeks ago.
• In Michigan, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers certified Detroit's election results on the last day possible, after initially deadlocking in a party-line vote.
• In Wisconsin, the Trump campaign paid $3 million this week for recounts in two counties.
• In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Philadelphia did not violate the law by restricting poll observers’ proximity to ballots.
• In Arizona, the Trump campaign's lead lawyer acknowledged last week that the vote count was not affected by fraud but "good-faith" errors that did not approach Biden's 11,000-vote margin of victory.

Share this story.

Tom Donohue — CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and longtime confidant of Republican presidents — tells Axios AM that Joe Biden is president-elect, and President Trump "should not delay the transition a moment longer."

• "President-elect Biden and the team around him have a wealth of executive branch experience that should allow them to hit the ground running," Donohue said in a statement.
• "[W]hile the Trump administration can continue litigating to confirm election outcomes, for the sake of Americans' safety and well-being, it should not delay the transition a moment longer."

Why it matters: Even business leaders who held back at first are now saying Trump needs to move on.

Business leaders are speaking with one voice:

• National Association of Manufacturers president and CEO Jay Timmons, and other NAM leaders, said the GSA should sign the letter opening transition resources to Biden: "Further, we call on the Trump administration to work cooperatively with President-elect Biden and his team."
• JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon told Andrew Ross Sorkin at the N.Y. Times' DealBook conference: "We need a peaceful transition. We had an election. We have a new president."
• The Business Roundtable, representing top CEOs, on Nov. 7 congratulated "President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris."

The big picture: This is another case of CEOs filling the D.C. leadership vacuum.

• Share this story.

No state in America could clear the threshold right now to safely allow indoor gatherings, Axios' Sam Baker and Andrew Witherspoon report.

• Why it matters: This is bad as the pandemic has ever been — the most cases, the most explosive growth and the greatest strain on hospitals.

Over the past week, the number of new infections rose in 46 states, held steady in three and declined in only one — Hawaii.

• 🥊 Cases are still rising faster than testing.

The bottom line: Back in the spring, the Trump administration said states should only open restaurants after seeing a 14-day decline in new infections.

• No state has seen two straight weeks of improvement since September.

Share this map.

The leading coronavirus vaccines are shaping up to be on par with some of the most effective vaccines in medicine, Axios' Marisa Fernandez writes.

• Share this graphic.

President Obama's "A Promised Land" (list price: $45) sold nearly 890,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada in its first 24 hours, putting it on track to be the best selling presidential memoir in modern history, AP's Hillel Italie writes.

• Why it matters: Obama's book is the highlight of publishing's holiday season, and for some independent bookstores, the potential difference between remaining in business or closing.

The only book by a former White House resident to come close to the early pace of "A Promised Land" is the memoir by Obama's wife, Michelle Obama.

• Her "Becoming" sold 725,000 copies in North America its first day and has topped 10 million worldwide since its release in 2018.
• "Becoming" is still so in demand that Crown, which publishes both Obamas and reportedly paid around $60 million for their books, has yet to release a paperback.

Bill Clinton's "My Life" sold around 400,000 copies in North America its first day.

• George W. Bush's "Decision Points" sold around 220,000, with sales for each memoir currently between 3.5 and 4 million copies.
• The fastest-selling book in memory remains J.K. Rowling's seventh and final Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which came out in 2007 and sold more than 8 million copies within 24 hours.

The FAA cleared Boeing's 737 MAX to fly again in the U.S. yesterday — 20 months after the plane’s worldwide grounding due to two fatal crashes, Axios markets reporter Courtenay Brown writes.

• Why it matters: The fallout from the incidents, which killed 346 people, led to the resignation of top executives — including Boeing's CEO — a criminal investigation, and the company’s biggest financial hit.

Bitcoin's market cap — the amount of bitcoin in the world multiplied by its current price — is at an all-time high, CoinDesk's Zack Seward writes for Axios.

• A recent embrace by PayPal and other mainstream figureheads along with expansionist Fed policy and a weaker dollar have sent prices skyrocketing.

Share this graphic.

Cindy McCain today will speak today during a 2 p.m. ET digital summit that's part of a push to establish a White House Office of Bereavement Care, to help families cope with the devastation of COVID, gun violence, opioids and suicide.

• Also speaking at the event by the nonprofit Evermore will be Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, advocate and widow of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings ... Academy Award winners Ellen Burstyn and Casey Affleck ... and Ken Feinberg, first special master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

Details.

WeWork is trying to find its place amid the pandemic by making its office space available on demand, Axios' Erica Pandey writes.

• The sharing economy has worked with cars and vacation homes, but you don't really see this kind of thing in commercial real estate. Office space leases are usually several years — or even decades — long.

Between the lines: A free-for-all in which anyone can book space at any number of WeWorks raises a number of virus safety questions, despite WeWork's promises of social distancing, mask mandates and increased ventilation.

• Share this story.