President-elect Joe Biden will take another step toward inauguration Monday when members of the electoral college gather in state capitals to cast their ballots for president and vice president. The date is established by federal law, which states that the electors “shall meet and give their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December” in presidential election years, which this year falls on Dec. 14.

Normally an afterthought, the vote will be closely watched this year as President Trump has sought to subvert Biden’s victory by promoting baseless claims that the vote was tainted by fraud and pressuring state lawmakers to back alternate slates of electors. No states have done so.

Based on the results of the Nov. 3 general election, Biden is set to have 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 by the end of the day. Votes are cast by individual electors, who are typically leaders and loyalists of the political party that won the state’s popular vote. Their ballots will be formally counted during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.

Public attention will be focused on the elector meetings in the six battleground states that cemented Biden’s victory: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Of that group, Nevada is scheduled to meet first at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. Michigan will be the last of the six to meet at 2 p.m. Eastern.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield has accepted the recommendation of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine may be given to people ages 16 and older.

This means that shots can now be administered in the United States.

On Saturday: ACIP committee members voted in favor of the recommendation, and to add the vaccine to the CDC’s immunization schedule.

On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.

LOS ANGELES — Robert Garcia remembers watching on television as then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the county to issue same-sex marriage licenses in 2004. A young gay man in his 20s at the time, Garcia called it a "light switch" that ignited his passion for public service.

Now, Garcia, 43, mayor of Long Beach, California, is one of four people Newsom, now governor, is weighing to serve in the U.S. Senate when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris vacates her seat in January.

“It inspired me to step forward, to support groups that are being marginalized,” said Garcia, who is considered the dark horse contender for the nomination.

The front-runner is current California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Also being considered are Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Karen Bass, both Black women serving in the U.S. House.

Hunter Biden’s former business partner sent him an email in 2017 saying he did not disclose on his tax returns $400,000 in income from the Ukrainian natural gas company where he sat on the board, according to a copy of the email obtained by NBC News.

The message from Eric Schwerin, then president of Rosemont Seneca Partners, says Hunter Biden would need to “amend” his 2014 returns to reflect the “unreported” income, according to the copy of the email.

“In 2014 you joined the Burisma board and we still need to amend your 2014 returns to reflect the unreported Burisma income,” says the email dated Jan. 16, 2017.

The email goes on to note that Hunter Biden, who is now the subject of a federal tax probe, netted more than $1.2 million for the year. The earnings include the $400,000 from Burisma as well as income from Rosemont Seneca Advisors and a legal firm.

I’ve got some big news:

I’m exploring a run for Mayor of New York City!

Become a founding donor »

The five boroughs are where dreams are made, underdogs triumph, and anyone can build a better future. Yet that New York is slipping away, and for too many, it’s already gone. With so much at stake, we can’t sit on the sidelines.


Even before this second surge, many of our neighbors were struggling due to the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic. Let's be clear - COVID-19 alone did not create an affordability crisis or commuting nightmare. Tens of thousands of homeless New Yorkers were left behind prior to the first COVID case. Long before any lockdown, crime was rising, justice for all wasn’t a reality, our schools were segregated, and City Hall was chasing jobs away while pushing small businesses to the brink.


No, it wasn’t just a pandemic, but generations of politicians and power brokers who dug this hole. Now they’re telling us they’ll fix it while still holding the shovel? Come on.


I'm sick of it. We all are - and that's why I'm considering entering the Democratic Primary for Mayor. Will you be one of our first donors?

In Afghanistan, and in Congress, I never backed down. I told the truth, brought people together, got the job done, and stood up for what was right - even if it meant losing my election.


When’s the last time you could say that about our current Mayor? We can’t afford another four years like the past seven.


Here’s the good news though: every dollar that NYC residents contribute, up to $250, is matched by the City’s matching fund program, so a $250 dollar donation is actually $2250!


So can you chip in $10? $50, $100, $250 or more right now?

Express donate now »

Look - this is going to be hard. I’m the underdog by every meaning of the word. If you donate now, understand you’re not betting on a sure thing: you’re betting that we can take back City Hall for every New Yorker who loves and believes in this city.


I believe that’s a fight worth fighting.

-Max