Jan 3, 2018

Winner of tied Virginia House race to be decided Thursday

Election officials in Newport News, Va., examine ballots that a computer failed to scan during a recount for a House of Delegates race on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Ben Finley/AP Photo

The winner of Virginia's closely-watched 94th House District race will be determined Thursday by random name drawing after a court denied a request by Democrat Shelly Simonds to re-hear arguments about a contested ballot, The Virginian-Pilot reports.

Why it matters: Thursday's final results will ultimately determine the balance of power in the chamber, which now has a rare 50-50 split after the Democratic wave on Nov. 7. The first recount of the contest named Simonds the winner by one vote, but the recount court later ruled that a disputed ballot should be counted for Republican David Yancey, meaning both Simonds and Yancey received 11,608 votes in the Nov. 7 contest.

Go deeper

Sara Fischer, Ashley Gold, Kyle Daly, Dan Primack
5 hours ago - Technology

Trump tightens screws on ByteDance to sell Tiktok

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump added more pressure Friday night on China-based TikTok parent ByteDance to exit the U.S., ordering it to divest all assets related to the U.S. operation of TikTok within 90 days.

Between the lines: The order means ByteDance must be wholly disentangled from TikTok in the U.S. by November. Trump had previously ordered TikTok banned if ByteDance hadn't struck a deal within 45 days. The new order likely means ByteDance has just another 45 days after that to fully close the deal, one White House source told Axios.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m. ET: 21,056,850 — Total deaths: 762,293— Total recoveries: 13,100,902 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m ET: 5,306,215 — Total deaths: 168,334 — Total recoveries: 1,796,309 — Total tests: 65,676,624 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC: Survivors of COVID-19 have up to three months of immunity —Fauci believes normalcy will return by "the end of 2021" with vaccine — The pandemic's toll on mental health — FDA releases first-ever list of medical supplies in shortage.
  4. States: California passes 600,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
  5. Cities: Coronavirus pandemic dims NYC's annual 9/11 Tribute in Light.
  6. Business: How small businesses got stiffed — Unemployment starts moving in the right direction.
  7. Politics: Biden signals fall strategy with new ads.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Alexi McCammond
11 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Harris: "Women are going to be a priority" in Biden administration

Sen. Kamala Harris at an event in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In her first sit-down interview since being named Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris talked about what she'll do to fight for women if elected VP, and how the Democrats are thinking about voter turnout strategies ahead of November.

What they're saying: "In a Biden-Harris administration women are going to be a priority, understanding that women have many priorities and all of them must be acknowledged," Harris told The 19th*'s Errin Haines-Whack.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow