Axios

Joe Biden will face three urgent nuclear challenges upon entering the White House.

Why it matters: Arms control with Russia is crumbling, Iran’s uranium stockpiles are growing, and North Korea is as vexing and threatening as ever.

A top committee made up of officials from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and its election partners refuted President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud and irregularities in a statement Thursday, calling the election "the most secure in American history."

The big picture: Trump has refused to concede to President-elect Joe Biden and is pursuing lawsuits in a number of states with baseless claims of voter fraud. The public statement from the president's own Department of Homeland Security undermines his narrative and is sure to infuriate him.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the oldest member of Congress, tweeted Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Why it matters: At 87 years old, Young is part of the age group at "greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19," according to the CDC.

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday prohibiting American companies and individuals from owning shares in any of the 31 Chinese companies previously listed as enabling the People’s Liberation Army, effective Jan. 11.

Why it matters: Many of these companies trade on U.S. exchanges and are sometimes purchased by American investors as part of mutual funds. It’s unclear what effect Trump’s latest sanctions could have on the markets.

Former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta demonstrated "poor judgement" when he signed off on a plea deal with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but did not commit “professional misconduct,” the Justice Department concluded in a report released Thursday.

Why it matters: The federal criminal investigation, which took place from 2006 to 2008, allowed Epstein to avoid a possible life sentence. He was released after serving 13 months in prison and largely continued business operations and travels until 2019 when he was charged in a new sex trafficking case.

Parler has become the social network refuge for Trump supporters who believe that legacy platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become too restrictive, helping it shoot to the very top of the app store charts.

Axios Re:Cap digs into Parler's popularity, process and controversies with Parler chief policy officer Amy Peikoff.

In this episode of “Axios on HBO," Valerie Biden Owens shares her thoughts on the next administration — including personal insights on her brother, President-elect Joe Biden — in an interview with Axios co-founder Mike Allen.

This interview was filmed on Nov. 8 and aired Nov. 9 on HBO.

The Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against Visa is important, not just for the outcome of a $5 billion fintech acquisition, but for the whole future of the industry.

Why it matters: While there are a lot of financial startups, very few of them are genuinely disruptive. In fact, many of them implicitly rely upon the Visa and Mastercard duopoly. The DOJ wants to ensure that there's still a chance that duopoly could face real competition.

A growing number of Republican senators, including members of GOP leadership, said Thursday that President-elect Joe Biden should get the intelligence briefings that he is currently unable to receive because of President Trump's refusal to accept the election results.

Why it matters: Only four GOP senators have acknowledged Biden as the next president, with the rest saying the appropriate legal processes should be allowed to play out. But even the ones still supporting President Trump's legal fight are pushing for Biden to begin to receive classified briefings for national security reasons.

President-elect Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday, thanking him for "extending blessings and congratulations" and praising the pope for his leadership in "promoting peace, reconciliation, and the common bonds of humanity around the world," according to the Biden transition team.

The big picture: Biden will be the second-ever Catholic president, joined only by John F. Kennedy.

Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser for President Trump's re-election campaign, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the New York Times reported. Lewandowski confirmed to CNN that he tested positive.

Why it matters: Lewandowski is the latest person to test positive after he attended last week's White House election night party. His diagnosis comes after Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson tested positive for the virus.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday defended newly elected members of Congress who have previously supported the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon, telling reporters: "Give them an opportunity before you claim what you believe they have done, and what they will do."

The big picture: QAnon's rising role in Republican politics was highlighted this election, with individuals including Reps.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.) winning public office. Both Greene and Boebert have sought to distance themselves from QAnon since entering the national spotlight.

As the dust settles on the 2020 presidential election, it's becoming clear that the process proved sturdy, with no known attacks on voting infrastructure and no 2016-style vast foreign meddling campaigns to disrupt American democracy.

Yes, but: The ongoing disinformation campaign from President Trump and his allies, as they refuse to accept his loss, illustrates that the country does not need outside intrusions to undermine the integrity of our elections.

An appeals court on Thursday upheld a decision that found Harvard University's admissions process does not violate the federal civil rights law Title VI.

The big picture: The ruling marks a defeat for nonprofit Students for Fair Admission, which argued in a 2014 lawsuit against Harvard that Asian American applicants were held to a higher admission standard compared to Black and Hispanic students.

Former President Barack Obama writes about the ideological shift in the Republican Party following his election in 2008 in the first volume of his new, 768-page memoir, according to a copy of the book obtained by CNN.

Driving the news: In the book, titled A Promised Land, Obama says the shift in the Republican Party can be traced to when John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate during the 2008 campaign. Her elevation to the Republican presidential ticket "would provide a template for future politicians, shifting [McCain's] party's center and the country's politics overall in a direction he abhorred."

President Trump has told friends he wants to start a digital media company to clobber Fox News and undermine the conservative-friendly network, sources tell Axios.

The state of play: Some Trump advisers think Fox News made a mistake with an early call (seconded by AP) of President-elect Biden's win in Arizona. That enraged Trump, and gave him something tangible to use in his attacks on the network.

The coronavirus is not only a life-or-death crisis that will be waiting for President-elect Joe Biden on Day One. It’s a crisis that will keep getting worse every day, making it harder and harder for a new administration to solve.

The big picture: The virus will not know there’s a new president. It will simply keep spreading, and killing people, until we stop it. The challenge of stopping it will be Biden’s first, most urgent order of business. And it will be incredibly difficult.

When was Joe Biden elected president? The answer is: When the media declared him president.

Why it matters: Most of the time, when the media reports a major news story, some event in the world happened that is worth reporting. In this case, however, the important event was simply the fact that the media is reporting the story.

Karl Rove wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday that President Trump's lawsuits are "not enough to change the final outcome" of the election" and "unlikely to move a single state" from President-elect Joe Biden's column.

Why it matters: The political consultant is one of the most prominent Republican figures to publicly acknowledge Biden's projected win as Trump and his allies continue to refuse to concede.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) told Fox Business Network Wednesday there's "no evidence" of voter fraud in the state and "there are no facts that would lead anyone to believe that the election results will change."

Why it matters: President Trump filed lawsuits in Arizona and other swing states in an effort to change the outcome of President-elect Biden's projected election win.

Eight world leaders have now called to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden — four more than the number of GOP senators who have publicly done so.

Why it matters: The refusal by top Republicans to accept Biden's victory and allow legal options to be exhausted could mean weeks of drama and serve as a distraction from the work that is necessary to ensure a smooth transition of power.

President-elect Joe Biden announced Wednesday veteran Democratic operative Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff, highlighting their long history of working together on crucial issues related to the economy and public health crises.

Why it matters: Klain's experience working across the aisle and his role on Biden's coronavirus task force are two signals of the type of leadership Biden wants to bring to the White House.

President Trump tweeted Wednesday evening that he has given his "full support and endorsement to Ronna McDaniel to continue heading the Republican National Committee."

Between the lines: By tweeting this endorsement, President Trump makes clear he intends to continue running the Republican Party even after his election loss. McDaniel met with Trump in the Oval on Tuesday, per source with direct knowledge.