Tipsheet: Biden slowly expands lead as counting stretches into weekend

View in your browser     Biden slowly expands lead as counting stretches into weekend BY TAL AXELROD   Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is expanding his leads in key swing states as voting to determine the victor in the White House race stretches into the weekend. Biden has expanded his leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia, two states where he was trailing President Trump heading into Friday, while protecting his advantages in Nevada and Arizona, putting him in a strong position to win the presidential contest. Read the full story here     Trump, allies pledge fight in election as some acknowledge possible defeat BY BRETT SAMUELS   President Trump and his allies on Friday insisted the presidential race against Democratic nominee Joe Biden was not over and pledged to pursue unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, even as some aides privately reckoned with the fact that Biden was closing in on a victory. Read the full story here     Supreme Court orders separate count of late-arriving Pa. ballots BY JOHN KRUZEL   The Supreme Court on Friday ordered Pennsylvania election boards to separately count mail ballots that arrived after Election Day, while rejecting a GOP request to stop counting those votes. Read the full story here     Georgia Senate race between Perdue, Ossoff heads to runoff BY MAX GREENWOOD   Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Democrat Jon Ossoff are heading to a runoff Senate election, with both parties seeing the seat as crucial to the balance of power in the Senate.   Read the full story here       Mark Meadows tests positive for coronavirus BY BRETT SAMUELS   White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has tested positive for the coronavirus, an official familiar with the matter confirmed late Friday, becoming the latest high-ranking White House official to test positive for the highly-contagious virus. Read the full story here     McConnell: 'Of course' there will be a peaceful transfer of power BY JORDAIN CARNEY   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday that he believes there will be a peaceful transition of power if President Trump loses reelection. Read the full story here     Postal Service delivers 40,000 more ballots after court-ordered sweep BY CAMERON JENKINS   Approximately 40,000 mail-in ballots were delivered by the United States Postal Service on Thursday as it continued court-ordered sweeps of postal centers across the country, Reuters reports. Read the full story here     Election scrambles prospects for next COVID-19 relief bill BY NIV ELIS   The election results, both known and unknown, have scrambled the prospects for a new coronavirus relief bill after months of negotiations. Read the full story here     Talk grows of Trump firings at Pentagon, CIA BY REBECCA KHEEL AND OLIVIA BEAVERS   Talk is picking up that President Trump could fire members of his Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper, even as the presidential election goes uncalled. Read the full story here     Office of Special Counsel investigating use of White House for Trump campaign 'war room' BY BRETT SAMUELS A federal government watchdog has opened an investigation into the Trump campaign's use of the White House complex for a "war room" on Election Day, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said. Read the full story here     So much for the 'blue wave' BY J.T. YOUNG OPINION l On Tuesday, America waved bye-bye to a blue wave. Despite being long-heralded by Democrats, echoed by the establishment media, predicted by pollsters and aided by cash and circumstances, the anticipated blue tsunami was instead a blue “so what?”  Read the full story here     Trump didn't create the country's division, but he stoked it: What's next? BY BILL SCHNEIDER OPINION l Why is Donald Trump different from all other presidents? It’s not just that he’s divisive. It’s that he deliberately divides the country. It’s his way of governing. Every issue is “us” versus “them.” The result is the agony the country experienced in this year’s election. An intensely divided campaign has been tearing the country apart. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Biden's team steps up transition plans BY SHANE GOLDMACHER, GLENN THRUSH AND MICHAEL D. SHEAR With Joe Biden leading in several important battleground states, his advisers and allies have moved rapidly to discuss hiring in critical roles, especially those overseeing the coronavirus response. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Advisers urge Trump to prepare for defeat — but maybe without a concession speech BY ASHLEY PARKER AND JOSH DAWSEY The president has vowed to keep fighting, privately urging allies and advisers to defend him publicly and insisting that he still can win. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Trump’s wild claims test limits of Republican loyalty BY STEVE PEOPLES AND JILL COLVIN President Donald Trump’s wild and unsupported claims of voter fraud have emerged as a high-stakes Republican loyalty test that illustrates the tug of war likely to define the future of the GOP whether he wins or loses the presidency. Read the full story here     Reuters: Republicans seeking to raise at least $60 million to fund Trump legal challenges BY JARRETT RENSHAW, ARAM ROSTON, STEVE HOLLAND AND JEFF MASON Republicans are trying to raise at least $60 million to fund legal challenges brought by President Donald Trump over the U.S. presidential election’s results, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Facing worst COVID-19 surge, US tries to avoid lockdowns BY JENNIFER LEVITZ AND ERIN AILWORTH The rebound of the pandemic is driving some cities and states to bring back restrictions on daily life, but with a lighter touch than before in hopes of minimizing the economic damage caused by sweeping lockdowns. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? 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