Covid-19 Live Updates: Britain Begins Vaccinating Citizens

Britain has become the first nation to begin a mass inoculation campaign using a fully tested vaccine, kicking off a global effort to fight Covid-19. Doctors, nurses, certain people aged 80 or over and nursing home workers will be among the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Here’s what you need to know

Pfizer’s vaccine debuts in Britain as the world’s first fully tested vaccine.

As Britain begins vaccinations, here are answers to some common questions.

The U.S. has recorded its most deaths in a week.

The C.D.C.’s call for data on vaccine recipients raises an alarm over privacy.

Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered months ago to sell the U.S. more vaccine doses.

Here’s why vaccinated people still need to wear a mask.

Britain’s National Health Service delivered its first shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, opening a mass vaccination campaign with little precedent in modern medicine and making Britons the first people in the world to receive a clinically authorized, fully tested vaccine.

At 6:31 a.m. Tuesday, Margaret Keenan, 90, a former jewelry shop assistant, rolled up the sleeve of her “Merry Christmas” T-shirt to receive the first shot, and her image quickly became an emblem of the remarkable race to produce a vaccine and the global effort to end a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million people worldwide.

“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19,” said Ms. Keenan, who lives in Coventry, in central England. “It means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year.”

British regulators leapt ahead of their American counterparts last week to authorize a coronavirus vaccine, upsetting the White House and setting off a spirited debate about whether Britain had moved too hastily, or if the United States was wasting valuable time as the virus was killing about 1,500 Americans a day.

President Trump planned on Tuesday to issue an executive order proclaiming that other nations will not get U.S. supplies of its vaccine until Americans have been inoculated, a directive that appeared to have no real teeth but nevertheless was indicative of the heated race to secure the first shipments of doses.

For the people receiving vaccinations in Britain, among them doctors and nurses who have fortified the country’s ailing National Health Service this year, the shots were an early glimpse at post-pandemic life.

“Today is a great day for medical science, and the future,” Chris Whitty, Britain’s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday.

The first 800,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Britain were transported in recent days from a manufacturing plant in Belgium to government warehouses in Britain, and then to hospitals.

Fifty hospitals will be administering the shots until the government can refine a plan for delivering them at nursing homes and doctor’s offices. The vaccine must be transported at South Pole-like temperatures before it can be stored for five days in a normal refrigerator, Pfizer has said. First to receive the vaccine will be doctors and nurses, certain people aged 80 and over, and nursing home workers.

Some doctors and nurses have received invitations in recent days to sign up for appointments, with the first shots intended for those at the highest risk of severe illness. The government has indicated that people aged 80 and over who already have visits with doctors scheduled for this week, or who are being discharged from certain hospitals, will also be among the first to receive shots.

Nursing home residents, who were supposed to be the government’s top priority, will be vaccinated in the coming weeks, once health officials start distributing doses beyond hospitals.

Hundreds of people are still dying in Britain each day from the virus, and the country has made allowances for travel over the Christmas period that scientists fear will seed another uptick in infections.

“It is amazing to see the vaccine, but we can’t afford to relax now,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said on Tuesday morning as he visited a London hospital. Trying to calm a recipient’s nerves about needles, he suggested, “I always try to think of something else — recite some poetry.”

Ms. Keenan, the first vaccine recipient, showed no such nerves. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said on Twitter that watching Ms. Keenan receive the shot gave her “a bit of a lump in the throat.”

“Feels like such a milestone moment after a tough year for everyone,” Ms. Sturgeon added.

Administering Ms. Keenan’s shot was May Parsons, a nurse who is originally from the Philippines and has worked for the National Health Service for 24 years.

“The last few months have been tough for all of us working in the N.H.S.,” she said, “but now it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

— Benjamin Mueller

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/08/world/covid-19-coronavirus

فهرستی از بزرگ‌ترین هک‌ها و افشای اطلاعات ۲۰۲۰ منتشر شد

در فهرست بزرگ‌ترین هک‌های انجام‌شده در سال ۲۰۲۰، اطلاعات جالبی درباره‌ی انواع روش‌های سودجویان برای حمله به مکان‌های مختلف ذکر شده است.

تفاوتی نمی‌کند امنیت را به کدام زبان بنویسید؛ چراکه این واژه‌ برای بسیاری از افراد سراسر جهان معنی ثابتی دارد. در بعضی از لغت‌‌نامه‌ها، امنیت را مصونیت از خطر و آرامش‌خاطر معنی کرده‌اند؛ اما آیا همه‌ی مردم جهان چنین حسی دارند؟ جواب منفی است؛ زیرا چه در دنیای واقعی و چه مجازی، همیشه افرادی هستند که پایه‌ای‌ترین حق افراد را زیر پا می‌گذارند. هکرها در دنیای مجازی امنیت کاربران را به‌خطر می‌اندازند و با گذشتن از آن، اعمال شومشان را انجام می‌دهند.

در ابتدای سال، هنگامی‌که کرونا تازه وارد کشورهای بیشتری شده بود، بعضی از هکرها اعلام کردند به مناطق خاصی، مانند پایگاه اطلاعات داده‌های بیمارستان و مکان‌های مشابه حمله نمی‌کنند؛ اما این قول نیز فقط مدت کوتاهی پابرجا ماند. حتی کرونا نیز موفق نشده است فعالیت این سودجویان را کُندتر کند و امسال نیز مانند گذشته، کاربران بسیاری در سراسر جهان قربانی آنان شده‌اند.

باتوجه‌به اختلال اقتصادی همه‌گیر و فاجعه‌بار، ممکن است امنیت سایبری امسال دورازذهن افراد بسیاری باشد. همچنین آمار روزانه‌ی افراد فوت‌شده براثر بیماری کرونا نشان‌دهنده‌ی این است که افراد کمتری به حریم و امنیت شخصی خود اهمیت می‌دهند و این مسئله دیگر چندان در اولویت کاربران فضای مجازی قرار ندارد. بااین‌حال، مطمئنا مهاجمان سایبری امسال نیز به کسی استراحت نداده‌اند. افشای داده‌ها، نفوذ به شبکه، سرقت و فروش انبوه اطلاعات، سرقت هویت و شیوع باج‌افزارها در سال ۲۰۲۰ مانند سال‌های پیش اتفاق افتاده است و بازار زیرزمینی هکرها اصلا به توقف فکر نمی‌کند.

ر سال جاری، اکثر شغل‌ها و کارهای مختلف به‌شیوه‌ی آنلاین و دورکاری انجام می‌شوند. همین موضوع باعث افزایش آسیب‌پذیری بیشتر کاربران در دنیای فناوری شده است؛ زیرا اکنون زمان بیشتری در فضای مجازی هستند و اطلاعات بیشتری از آنان در این فضا وجود دارد. تحقیقات نشان می‌دهد کارمندان دور‌کار ۲۰ درصد از حوادث امنیتی مجازی را تشکیل می‌دهند. اکنون در دوره‌ای هستیم که باج‌افزارها در حال افزایش هستند و بسیاری هنوز نمی‌دانند ۱۲۳۴۵۶ رمزعبور مناسبی برای حساب کاربری‌شان نیست. گفتنی است بسیاری از شرکت‌ها و سازمان‌ها نیز هنوز مسائل منطقی امنیتی را رعایت نکرده‌اند و آسیب‌پذیری‌ها خطری دائمی برای شبکه‌های شرکتی هستند؛ درنتیجه، در سال جاری انواع حملات سایبری را شاهد بوده‌ایم. در این مطلب، به بدترین حملات سایبری در سال ۲۰۲۰ اشاره خواهیم کرد.

ژانویه

• Travelex: به‌دنبال آلودگی به بدافزار، سرویس‌های Travelex آفلاین شدند. همچنین، خود این شرکت و مشاغلی تحت‌تأثیر قرار گرفتند که از این بستر برای ارائه‌ی خدمات مبادله‌ی ارز استفاده می‌کردند.
• بازپرداخت مالیات IRS: یکی از ساکنان ایالات متحده‌ی آمریکا به‌‌جرم استفاده از اطلاعاتی زندانی شد که ازطریق افشای داده‌ها برای ثبت اظهارنامه‌ی مالیاتی متقلبانه به ارزش ۱۲ میلیون دلار به‌دست آمده بود.
• Manor Independent School District: منطقه‌ی مدرسه‌ی تگزاس طی کلاه‌برداری فیشینگ ۲٫۳ میلیون دلار ضرر کرد.
• Wawa: مهاجمان حدود ۳۰ میلیون مدرک حاوی اطلاعات مشتریان را برای فروش آنلاین دردسترس قرار دادند.
• مایکروسافت: ردموندی‌ها اعلام کردند پنج سرور استفاده‌شده برای ذخیره‌ی تجزیه‌وتحلیل اطلاعات کاربران ناشناس بدون محافظت کافی در اینترنت درمعرض دید و دسترسی قرار گرفتند.

فوریه

• Estée Lauder: گزارش شده است ۴۴۰ میلیون پرونده‌ی داخلی به‌دلیل نقص در امنیت میان افزار درمعرض دید قرار گرفتند.
• پورتال مالیاتی دولت دانمارک: شماره‌ی شناسایی مالیات‌دهندگان ۱٫۲۶ میلیون شهروند دانمارکی به‌طورتصادفی فاش شد.
• DOD DISA: آژانس سیستم‌های اطلاعاتی دفاعی (DISA)، اداره‌کننده‌ی بخش فناوری اطلاعات کاخ‌سفید، به افشای داده‌هایی اعتراف کرد که سوابق کارمندان را بالقوه به‌خطر می‌اندازد.
• سازمان رفتار مالی انگلیس: این سازمان که به اختصار FCA نامیده می‌شود، به‌عنوان بخشی از درخواست FOIA، اطلاعات حساس متعلق به تقریبا ۱۶۰۰ مصرف‌کننده را به‌طور تصادفی منتشر کرد.
• Clearview: کل فهرست مشتری Clearview AI به‌دلیل آسیب‌پذیری نرم‌افزار دزدیده شد.
• جنرال‌الکتریک: این شرکت به کارگران هشدار داد فردی غیر‌مجاز به‌دلیل نقص امنیتی در Canon Business Process Service، توانست به اطلاعات آنان دست یابد.

مارس

• T-Mobile: یکی از هکرها به حساب‌های ایمیل کارمندان دسترسی پیدا کرد و داده‌های متعلق به مشتریان و کارمندان را به‌خطر انداخت.
• ماریوت: هتل‌های زنجیره‌ای دچار حمله سایبری شدند که در آن، حساب‌های ایمیل دردسترس و حدود ۵٫۲ میلیون مهمان هتل تحت‌تأثیر قرار گرفتند.
• Whisper: این شبکه‌ی اجتماعی که به اشتراک‌گذاری ناشناس مطالب معروف است، میلیون‌ها پروفایل و مجموعه‌داده‌ی خصوصی کاربران را آنلاین افشا کرد.
• حلقه‌های هک SIM-swap: آژانس دولتی یوروپول در سراسر اروپا دستگیر‌کردن عوامل مختلف را شروع کرد؛ ازجمله هکرهای SIM-swap که بیش از سه‌میلیون یورو را سرقت کرده بودند.
• ویرجین مدیا: این شرکت ازطریق پایگاه داده بازاریابی باز، اطلاعات ۹۰۰ هزار کاربر را افشا کرد.
• Whisper: دوباره میلیون‌ها پروفایل و مجموعه‌اطلاعات خصوصی کاربران به‌صورت آنلاین در‌معرض دید جهانی قرار گرفت.
• Wizard MCA: حدود ۴۲۵ گیگابایت اسناد حساس متعلق به شرکت‌های مالی ازطریق پایگاه داده مرتبط با برنامه‌ی MCA Wizard دردسترس عموم قرار گرفت.
• NutriBullet: این شرکت قربانی حمله Magecart شد. هکرها با کد اسکیم‌ کارت پرداخت، فروشگاه تجارت الکترونیکی شرکت را آلوده کردند.
• ماریوت: دچار نقص امنیتی جدیدی شد که اطلاعات ۵٫۲ میلیون مهمان هتل را تحت‌تأثیر قرار داد.

آوریل

• اداره‌ی تجارت كوچک آمریكا (SBA): حداكثر ۸ هزار متقاضی وام‌های اضطراری درگیر افشای اطلاعات شخصی شدند.
• نینتندو: ۱۶۰ هزار کاربر تحت‌تأثیر کمپین بزرگ هک حساب‌های کاربری قرار گرفتند.
• Email.it: بستر ارائه‌دهنده‌ی ایمیل ایتالیایی نتوانست از داده‌های ۶۰۰ هزار کاربرش محافظت کند و این مسئله به فروش آنان در دارک‌وب منجر شد.
• نینتندو: ۱۶۰ هزار کاربر تحت‌تأثیر حمله‌ی هکرها به حساب‌های کاربری قرار گرفتند. طبق اعلام نینتندو، این تهاجم به‌دلیل استفاده از سیستم ورود قدیمی NNID است.

می

• EasyJet: این شرکت هواپیمایی مقرون‌به‌صرفه تخلف داده‌ای را نشان داد که به افشای اطلاعات ۹ میلیون مشتری و برخی سوابق مالی آن مربوط می‌شد.
• Blackbaud: این شرکت ارائه‌دهنده‌ی خدمات ابری با حمله‌ی اپراتورهای باج‌افزاری مواجه شد که سیستم‌های مشتری را ربوده بودند. بعدها این شرکت برای جلوگیری از درز اطلاعات آنلاین مشتریانش مجبور شد به هکرها باج بدهد.
• میتسوبیشی: افشای اطلاعات این شرکت به‌طوربالقوه به سرقت اطلاعات محرمانه‌ی طراحی موشک نیز منجر شد.
• Toll Group: این غول تدارکات در سه ماه، برای دومین بار با حمله‌ی باج‌افزار روبه‌رو شد.
• کاربران تلفن‌همراه پاکستانی: اطلاعات مربوط به ۴۴ میلیون کاربر تلفن‌همراه پاکستانی به‌صورت آنلاین به بیرون درز کرد.
• Illinois: اداره‌ی امنیت شغلی Illinois سوابق مربوط به شهروندان متقاضی کمک‌هزینه‌ی بیکاری را فاش کرد.
• Wishbone: گروه هک ShinyHunters اطلاعات ۴۰ میلیون کاربر را آنلاین فاش شد.

https://www.zoomit.ir/security/365503-biggest-hacks-data-breaches-2020/

در این مقاله درباره هزینه گواهینامه پایه سه و یا ماشین و هزینه جریمه رانندگی + قوانین کلی رانندگی در کشور های ایسلند و ایرلند و انگلستان می خوانید و نکات مهمی را مورد بررسی قرار می دهیم :

قوانین رانندگی در کشور ایسلند :

رانندگی در ایسلند بسیار بسیار شبیه به رانندگی در ایرلند و اسکاتلند است .

همانطور که میدانید در این کشور نیز مانند دیگر کشور های اروپایی , جریمه های رانندگی بسیار سنگین است و این یعنی شما برای رانندگی سختگیرانه در ایسلند خود را باید آماده کنید .

بگذارید ابتدا برویم به سراغ قوانین کلی رانندگی در این کشور کوچک با قوانین سختگیرانه اش .

قوانین کلی رانندگی در ایسلند :

رانندگی در این کشور درست بر عکس جهت رانندگی در دانمارک است و این یعنی دقیقا جهت رانندگی در این کشور مانند ایران خودمان می باشد .

جاده های کوهستانی و ساحلی که اغلب به صورت شن و ماسه ایست قدری رانندگی در این کشور را با خودروهای لوکس سواری سخت میکند برای همین به ایسلندی ها میگویند : ” مردمان عاشق آفرود ” .

در ایسلند برای رانندگی میتوانید خودروهای بسیار زیادی را اجاره کنید اما با خودروهای اجاره ای حق رانندگی در مناطق کوهستانی و جاده های سنگی و شنی را ندارید .

البته ECU خودرو ها طوری برنامه نویسی شده اند که وقتی به محدوده های تعریف شده نزدیک می شوید خودرو ناگهان خاموش شده و یا طبق قوانینی که امضاء کرده اید , باید مبلغی را به عنوان جریمه به شرکت مورد نظر پرداخت نمایید .

وقتی هم که خودرو خاموش شود می آیند دنبالتان خودرو را برداشته و می برند و شما باید برای گرفتن مدارک با پرداخت جریمه و ارائه فیش بانکی به شرکت مذکور , در آن مکان حاضر شوید .

These ‘Little Land Mines’ Could Prevent a Summertime Boom

A roaring recovery is in sight, but a lot depends on what Congress does next for the winter economy. A roaring recovery is in sight, but a lot depends on what Congress does next for the winter economy.

months ago, the end is in sight.

The development of vaccines that appear to be safe, effective and ready for wide distribution in the months ahead means it’s now possible to envision a post-Covid economy by summer.

There is a distinct possibility that the economy could roar back to full health quickly as soon as public health conditions allow. But for that to happen, the United States will need to make it through what might be a cold, dark winter in which damage could be done to the tissue of the economy that prevents that rapid healing.

With many service businesses having already depleted cash reserves and the government aid they received earlier in the year, another wave of failures looms. And that imperils not only individual shops and restaurants, but also the commercial landlords they pay rent to, and the state and local governments relying on their tax dollars.

The challenge is to keep everything going long enough to prevent irreparable damage to the ecosystem on which a huge share of American economic activity is built — office buildings filled with workers, hotels and airplanes that are full, vibrant street retail, and the public services that maintain it all — when so many individual elements of the ecosystem are under severe strain.

Boka Restaurant Group in Chicago had 2,000 employees working at 20 restaurants before the pandemic, and in the immediate aftermath of shutdowns in March furloughed more than 1,800 of them, said Kevin Boehm, a co-founder of the group.

But as the weather warmed and Chicago allowed extensive outdoor dining, the company’s restaurants were able to claw back. By midsummer, sales were down only 35 percent to 40 percent compared with normal. A refundable loan through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program helped meet rent and payroll obligations.

Now, the federal loan is long gone, the weather has turned cold again, and a new wave of Covid-19 infections has put a pall on indoor dining. Sales are down 90 percent from normal levels.

“I’ve spent the last two days sitting in a room with employees who are being furloughed or having a salary reduction,” Mr. Boehm said in mid-November. “This is happening right now. One of our restaurants is one of the highest grossing in America, and last night we did $900 of sales. On a normal night, that restaurant would have done $50,000.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/upshot/economic-boom-possible-covid.html

0

A U.S. Record: Two Million New Virus Cases in Two Weeks

For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak hit the United States, the country has added more than one million cases in each of the past two consecutive weeks. Covid deaths, which lag reported cases by weeks, are also at a level not seen since the spring. Some epidemiologists project that the number of deaths in the coming weeks could exceed the spring peak, in spite of improved treatment.

In the past week, the United States added an average of 173,000 new daily cases. If this growth pattern holds, the total number of cases reported for the full month of November is likely to hit 4.5 million. That would be more than double the number of any previous month.

With several days still left in the month, about 3.3 million people in the United States had already tested positive for the coronavirus as of Nov. 23.

North Dakota continues to have the country’s worst outbreak when adjusted for population, a position it has maintained since early September. Almost one in 10 North Dakotans have tested positive for the virus since the outbreak began, a vast majority in the last two months.

But cases there as well as in other parts of the Upper Midwest and Mountain West that drove the initial fall surge have leveled off slightly, while cases are growing on both coasts and in the South and Southwest.

Nearly 2,000 counties across the United States are now recording their worst month in November — nearly five times as many as in October. The maps below show in which month counties saw their biggest caseloads.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/25/us/coronavirus-cases-rising.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Trump Administration Approves Start of Formal Transition to Biden

A key official designated President-elect Joe Biden as the apparent winner after Michigan certified his victory there and President Trump lost another court decision in Pennsylvania. WASHINGTON — President Trump’s government on Monday authorized President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to begin a formal transition process after Michigan certified Mr. Biden as its winner, a strong sign that the president’s last-ditch bid to overturn the results of the election was coming to an end.

Mr. Trump did not concede, and vowed to persist with efforts to change the vote, which have so far proved fruitless. But the president said on Twitter on Monday night that he accepted the decision by Emily W. Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, to allow a transition to proceed.

In his tweet, Mr. Trump said that he had told his officials to begin “initial protocols” involving the handoff to Mr. Biden “in the best interest of our country,” even though he had spent weeks of trying to subvert a free and fair election with false claims of fraud. Hours later, he tried to play down the significance of Ms. Murphy’s action, tweeting that it was simply “preliminarily work with the Dems” that would not stop efforts to change the election results.

Still, Ms. Murphy’s designation of Mr. Biden as the apparent victor provides the incoming administration with federal funds and resources and clears the way for the president-elect’s advisers to coordinate with Trump administration officials.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/us/politics/trump-transition-biden.html

Biden Chooses Antony Blinken, Defender of Global Alliances, as Secretary of State

The president-elect is also expected to name Jake Sullivan, another close aide of his, as national security adviser, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year Foreign Service veteran, as his ambassador to the U.N.

WASHINGTON — Antony J. Blinken, a defender of global alliances and President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s closest foreign policy adviser, is expected to be nominated for secretary of state, a job in which he will try to coalesce skeptical international partners into a new competition with China, according to people close to the process.

Mr. Blinken, 58, a former deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama, began his career at the State Department during the Clinton administration. His extensive foreign policy credentials are expected to help calm American diplomats and global leaders alike after four years of the Trump administration’s ricocheting strategies and nationalist swaggering.

Mr. Biden is also expected to name another close aide, Jake Sullivan, as national security adviser, according to a person familiar with the process. Mr. Sullivan, 43, succeeded Mr. Blinken as Vice President Biden’s national security adviser, and served as the head of policy planning at the State Department under Hillary Clinton, becoming her closest strategic adviser.

Together, Mr. Blinken and Mr. Sullivan, good friends with a common worldview, have become Mr. Biden’s brain trust and often his voice on foreign policy matters. And they led the attack on President Trump’s use of “America First” as a guiding principle, saying it only isolated the United States and created opportunities and vacuums for its adversaries.

https://www.nytimes.com/international/

Transition Highlights: Judge Dismisses Trump Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a Republican, said that with the dismissal, the president had “exhausted” his legal options in the state. Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia is in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The Trump campaign’s legal efforts to challenge election results in Pennsylvania met with a sharp defeat Saturday night, and some fellow Republicans began to signal their desire to move on, acknowledging that the president had lost both the state and his bid for re-election.

Mr. Trump said in a series of tweets late Saturday that he would continue his effort to overturn the results, including asking state legislatures to intervene on his behalf.

A federal judge’s ruling in Pennsylvania on Saturday night, which dismissed a lawsuit by the Trump campaign that had claimed there were widespread improprieties with mail-in ballots in the state, ended the last major effort to delay the certification of Pennsylvania’s vote results, which is scheduled to take place on Monday.

Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a Republican, said in a statement released Saturday night that with the decision, President Trump “has exhausted all plausible legal options” to challenge the results in Pennsylvania. He added that the outcome of the challenge and others “confirm that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.”

Mr. Toomey congratulated President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory and urged Mr. Trump to “accept the outcome” for his own legacy and “to help unify our country.”

On Twitter, Mr. Trump hit back at Mr. Toomey, calling him “no friend of mine” and said that he would appeal the decision.

In that decision handed down on Saturday, Judge Matthew W. Brann wrote that Mr. Trump’s campaign, which had asked him to effectively disenfranchise nearly seven million voters, should have come to court “armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption” in its efforts to essentially nullify the results of Pennsylvania’s election.

But instead, Judge Brann complained, the Trump campaign provided only “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations” that were “unsupported by evidence.”

After legal defeats in nearly all of the key swing states — Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Wisconsin — Mr. Trump’s path to overturning the results of the election through the courts has all but vanished.

With his chances diminishing, Mr. Trump on Saturday night made his most explicit call yet for state legislatures to intervene with the aim of reversing the result, once again relying on false claims of fraud. “Hopefully the Courts and/or Legislatures will have the COURAGE to do what has to be done to maintain the integrity of our Elections, and the United States of America itself,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Pennsylvania lawsuit, filed on Nov. 9, accused its secretary of state, Kathy Boockvar, and several counties with largely Democratic populations of unfairly handling mail-in ballots, which were used in unprecedented numbers during this year’s election.

The suit claimed that under Ms. Boockvar’s guidance, the Democratic counties gave voters who had submitted mail-in ballots with minor flaws an opportunity to “cure” or fix them while counties with mostly Republican populations did not alert voters about faulty ballots.

That, according to the Trump campaign, violated the equal protections clause of the United States Constitution.

Judge Brann, a former Pennsylvania Republican Party official and a member of the conservative Federalist Society, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, rejected this argument, likening it to Frankenstein’s monster, which, he noted, had been “haphazardly stitched together.” He ruled that the Trump campaign, lacking standing to make the claim, could not prove that it had suffered any harm if some counties, anticipating a deluge of mail-in ballots, helped their voters to file proper ballots while others did not.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/21/us/joe-biden-trump

New Pfizer Results: Coronavirus Vaccine Is Safe and 95% Effective

The company said it planned to apply for emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration “within days.” The drug maker Pfizer said on Wednesday that its coronavirus vaccine was 95 percent effective and had no serious side effects — the first set of complete results from a late-stage vaccine trial as Covid-19 cases skyrocket around the globe.

The data showed that the vaccine prevented mild and severe forms of Covid-19, the company said. And it was 94 percent effective in older adults, who are more vulnerable to developing severe Covid-19 and who do not respond strongly to some types of vaccines.

Pfizer, which developed the vaccine with its partner BioNTech, said the companies planned to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization “within days,” raising hopes that a working vaccine could soon become a reality.

The trial results — less than a year after researchers began working on the vaccine — shattered all speed records for vaccine development, a process that usually takes years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/health/pfizer-covid-vaccine.html