US News Roundup: Biden's transition team to begin meeting with federal officials; GSA chief says decision to allow transition to begin was 'solely mine' and more

GSA chief says decision to allow transition to begin was 'solely mine' The head of the General Services Administration on Monday said the decision allowing the start of a presidential transition to Democrat Joe Biden was "solely mine" despite a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump in which he said he recommended the move.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden's transition team to begin meeting with federal officials: executive director

President-elect Joe Biden's team will begin meeting with federal government officials to discuss the pandemic response, national security and other issues after a U.S. agency gave the go-ahead for the formal transition on Monday, a transition official said. "In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain complete understanding of the Trump administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies," Biden transition executive director Yohannes Abraham said in a statement.

GSA chief says decision to allow transition to begin was 'solely mine'

The head of the General Services Administration on Monday said the decision allowing the start of a presidential transition to Democrat Joe Biden was "solely mine" despite a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump in which he said he recommended the move. "I want you to hear directly from me: I was never pressured with regard to the substance or timing of my decision. The decision was solely mine," GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said in a letter.

Ghislaine Maxwell quarantined after jail staff member tests positive for COVID-19

Ghislaine Maxwell has been quarantined after staff tested positive for coronavirus at the jail where she is awaiting trial on charges she aided late financier Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of girls, U.S. prosecutors said in a letter on Monday. The staff tested positive last week and Maxwell was checked for the virus on Nov. 18 using a rapid test which was negative, the prosecutors said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan.

Trump gives GSA official go-ahead to start transition to Biden administration

President Donald Trump on Monday said he had given Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, the go-ahead to proceed with a transition for President-elect Joe Biden's administration despite plans to continue with legal challenges. "I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA," Trump said in a tweet.

Biden forges ahead with building team after Trump clears way for transition

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday began a new phase in his transition to the White House after the Trump administration gave the Democrat access to critical resources that will enable him to take the reins of power in January. The General Services Administration's announcement on Monday that it would formally recognize Biden's transition came after weeks of the president falsely claiming that the Nov. 3 election had been marred by widespread voter fraud.

Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins dies at 93: police

David Dinkins, who served as New York City's first and only African American mayor during the 1990s, died on Monday at the age of 93, police said. His death appeared to be of natural causes, Detective Adam Navarro of the city's police department told Reuters.

First African-American cardinal seeks common ground with Biden administration

Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C. who this week will become the first African-American cardinal, said on Tuesday he wanted to find common ground with the incoming U.S. administration despite disagreements on some issues. Gregory, who clashed with President Donald Trump earlier this year, is one of the 13 Roman Catholic Church prelates whom Pope Francis will raise to the rank of cardinal on Saturday.

'We're drowning': COVID cases flood hospitals in America's heartland

Dr. Drew Miller knew his patient had to be moved. The vital signs of the 30-year-old COVID-19 victim were crashing, and Kearny County Hospital in rural Lakin, Kansas, just wasn't equipped to handle the case. Miller, Kearny's chief medical officer - who doubles as the county health officer - called around to larger hospitals in search of an ICU bed. With coronavirus cases soaring throughout Kansas, he said, he couldn't find a single one.

Caribbean resorts get starring role in U.S airlines' COVID-19 holiday playbook

U.S. airlines are adding flights, and in some cases COVID-19 testing programs, for travel to Mexico and the Caribbean, a region central to carriers' strategies to tap into pockets of holiday demand before a vaccine makes its way around the world. Beachside resort destinations in areas like Cancun are the only spots that now have more flights from U.S. cities scheduled for November and December than last year, numbers from aviation data firm Cirium show. Overall, U.S. airlines are flying about 50% less than 2019, with flights to traditional European vacation hotspots like Paris down by as much as 82% due to travel bans and quarantines. While new revenue streams from destinations like the Caribbean will help, they won't be enough to put airlines in the black for the year, analysts have said. The holiday period is traditionally when airlines thrive ahead of slow months in January and February. But this year they have said they will continue to burn millions of dollars daily through the fourth quarter as they wrestle with slashed demand. Ahead of Thanksgiving, U.S. airports saw their busiest weekend since mid-March, even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans not to travel amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. Still, demand is down by around 60% and airlines say it's too soon to know how Christmas travel will play out. Still, airlines are hoping to build up a base of customers who feel comfortable about flying before a COVID-19 vaccine becomes widely available, eyeing the typically lucrative summer travel season.

Thanksgiving travelers give U.S. airports their busiest weekend since March

More than 3 million airline passengers passed through U.S. airports over the weekend, disregarding calls to avoid Thanksgiving trips and making it the busiest air-travel weekend since coronavirus lockdowns hit in mid-March. The Transportation Security Administration reported the traffic based on traveler numbers at airport security checkpoints.