Good morning. It's Thursday, Nov. 12, and we're covering a recount in Georgia, China's Singles' Day, and lawmakers resigning in Hong Kong. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Georgia Recount

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced there will be a hand recount of ballots cast last Tuesday. President-elect Joe Biden (D) maintains a 14,000 vote lead (0.3%) over President Trump (R) in the state; a recount was already anticipated but the move goes further than what is required by law, which would involve simply rescanning ballots. Raffensperger said the process would be complete by Nov. 20, when the state must certify election results. See certification deadlines for contested states here.

One analysis found just three recounts in the past 20 years that reversed an election outcome, each coming in races where the initial margin was 0.1% or less. Recounts changed the final margins by an average of 0.02%. 

The news comes as the race was called for incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) in Alaska. The victory gives the GOP a 50-48 advantage in the Senate, forcing Democrats to win both Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia to take control of the upper chamber—a challenging task in a traditionally Republican stronghold.

North Carolina and Georgia are the two remaining uncalled races, with Trump commanding a (1.3%) lead in the former. Today is the deadline for mail-in ballots in North Carolina, which are only valid if postmarked by Election Day. Biden holds a 11,600 vote lead (0.4%) in Arizona, which has been called by The Associated Press and Fox News, but not other outlets. President Trump is officially projected to win Alaska (with 25% of the vote left to be counted), gaining its three electoral votes. Biden leads the popular vote by 5.2 million as of this morning.

President Trump has yet to concede the race, launching a number of legal challenges, including a suit yesterday in Michigan seeking to prevent the state from certifying the results, citing voting irregularities (Biden leads in the state by 2.6%, or about 148,000 votes). 

Finally, Biden will reportedly name Ron Klain, a longtime Democratic operative, as White House chief of staff in his incoming administration.

The electoral college votes Dec. 14, followed by a joint session of Congress Jan. 6 to count and confirm the electoral vote—see a timeline for the entire process.

Editor's note: We've gotten a number of questions about the term "president-elect." Colloquial use of the phrase refers to the person projected to win the presidential election. Formal recognition is finalized following the Jan. 6 session of Congress.

Singles' Day Smashes Records

Chinese online retailer Alibaba raked in record cash during its Singles' Day event, estimating at least $75B in total sales since its Nov. 1 launch. The figure is almost double last year's total, though this year's event was extended beyond the traditional one-day sales. The boom is largely fueled by pent-up customer demand, now unleashed as the country continues to control the pandemic within its borders. 

Alibaba—China's version of eBay—coopted the concept in 2009, ultimately turning it into the world's biggest shopping event. Envisioned as an informal celebration of single people (symbolized by the one in the date 11/11), Singles' Day has come to dwarf Amazon's two-day Prime Day event ($10.4B this year) and Black Friday through Cyber Monday sales ($28.5B last year). Alibaba rival JD.com reported more than $30B in total sales.  

Beyond sales figures, the event is a logistical feat—more than 3 million people and 4,000 cargo planes and ships are mobilized to help deliver the orders, with sales peaking at 583,000 per second.

Resigned in Hong Kong

Members of Hong Kong's opposition party resigned en masse from parliament yesterday, protesting the removal of four colleagues. The 15 lawmakers stepped down after China's ruling party passed a law allowing city officials—appointed by Beijing—to bypass local courts and expel legislators deemed national security threats. The four dismissed lawmakers had been involved in pro-democracy protests that gripped Hong Kong for more than a year before a crackdown by the central government.  

Hong Kong and China have maintained a tenuous relationship since the territory was returned to China by the British in 1997. Its historical relationship with the West left the city of 7 million with greater democratic tendencies than the mainland, and the majority of residents identify as Hongkongers rather than Chinese. Chinese President Xi Jinping long sought to squash dissent in the city, and used the past year's demonstration as justification to exert greater authority over its government.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> The 2020 Masters, postponed since April due to COVID-19, begins today from Augusta, Georgia; US Open champ Bryson DeChambeau and world No.1 Dustin Johnson are favorites (More)

> Eric Church wins Entertainer of the Year, Luke Combs wins Album of the Year at Country Music Association Awards; see full list of CMA Awards 2020 winners (More)

> Lucille Bridges, whose daughter Ruby Bridges became a civil rights icon for integrating an all-white elementary school in 1960, dies at 86 (More)

Science & Technology

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> Big data model tracking millions of mobile phones identifies COVID-19 superspreader venues, including restaurants and gyms; data suggest capacity caps at such venues are more effective than full lockdowns (More)

> Diet and gut microbes found to be the key drivers determining the molecular makeup of human blood (More)

> New study suggests tree rings may hold records of ancient supernovas, with changes in the concentration of carbon-14 linked to radiation from the stellar explosions (More)

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Business & Markets

> US stock markets mixed (S&P 500 +0.7%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq +2.0%) as investors move back into tech stocks after large declines earlier this week (More)

> TikTok asks court to halt enforcement of executive order by President Trump to spin-off from Chinese parent company ByteDance by today’s deadline (More)

> Sony's PlayStation 5 (PS5) console launches today; already sold out in Japan (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> COVID-19 cases in Texas pass 1 million total (More) | More than 140,000 cases reported in the US yesterday, setting another record (More) | See rolling averages (cases, deaths)

> Typhoon Vamco batters the Philippine capital of Manila; at least two killed amid widespread flooding, millions left without power (More) 

> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expected to announce new process for the US to label groups anti-Semitic; label would consider stances toward the Israeli government (More)

IN-DEPTH

The Great 21st Century Treasure Hunt

Intelligencer | Benjamin Wallace. More than a decade ago, eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn buried a treasure box, sparking a hunt that ranged across the American West. Ten years, five deaths, and numerous hoax accusations later, Fenn's treasure was finally found. (Read, $$)

Why are COVID-19 Death Rates Falling?

Nature | Heidi Ledford. The real second wave of the coronavirus appears to have arrived, with new cases growing exponentially across the Western world. Yet experience, new treatments, and demographics have combined to keep the death rate from rising as quickly—but for how long can this trend hold? (Read)

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ETCETERA

The best Veterans Day photos from around America.

Spain brings us another fantastically botched art restoration.

"Genius Dog Challenge" brings together six of the world's smartest dogs.

America's first recovered Asian giant hornet nest had almost 200 queens.

You'll be able to land your flying car in central Florida.

Some poorly installed Ring doorbells are catching on fire.

Ever wonder why birds sing at dawn?

A 1,000-year-old Viking burial site was uncovered in Norway—feast hall and all.

Clickbait: Illinois woman gives birth to her own granddaughter.

Historybook: American suffragist and civil rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton born (1815); Joseph Stalin gains undisputed control of Soviet Union (1927); Actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly born (1929); RIP comic book writer Stan Lee (2018).

"Truth is the only safe ground to stand upon."

- Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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