NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Florida recount:
Election workers were recounting ballots Sunday in Florida’s bitterly close races for the U.S. Senate and governor, ramping up their efforts after the secretary of state ordered a review of the two nationally watched contests. Miami-Dade County election officials began feeding ballots into scanning machines Saturday night. The tedious work in that one South Florida county alone could take days. Multiply that by 67 counties in the nation’s third most populous state, and the scope of the task was beginning to sink in Sunday. In Palm Beach County, the supervisor of elections said she doesn’t believe her department can meet the Thursday deadline. Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in the governor’s race; Republican Gov. Rick Scott led Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson in the Senate contest.
_2 Electrocutions:
Two workers were electrocuted and a third injured when industrial equipment at a potash mine in eastern Utah touched a power line. Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston died Saturday at the Intrepid Potash facility near Moab and a third man, Arthur Secrest, was hospitalized after being found unconscious, the San Juan County Sheriff ’s Office said. In a statement, Intrepid said a “corporate crisis management team has contacted the appropriate authorities and the cause of the accident is currently under investigation.”
_3 Transgender student:
A professor has sued officials at his university in Ohio after receiving a warning for violating its nondiscrimination policy by not addressing a transgender student using the gender term preferred by that student. Nicholas Meriwether filed a federal lawsuit last week against officials at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth. He contends they violated his rights by compelling him to speak in a way that contradicts his religious beliefs as a Christian. Meriwether argued he treated the student like “other biologically male students.”
_4 Bush honor:
Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush are this year’s recipients of the National Constitution Center’s Liberty Medal for their commitment to veterans. Former Vice President Joe Biden presented the award at the Philadelphia History Museum on Sunday, which was Veterans Day. This was the second year Biden has taken part in the Liberty Medal ceremony. Last year, he presented the award to Sen. John McCain, who died this year.
_5 Seattle blaze:
A large fire that began in a lumberyard warehouse in Seattle engulfed several buildings near the city’s ship canal and caused some power outages. The city’s fire department sent multiple engines as well as fire boats to battle the blaze, which began late Saturday. There were no immediate reports of injuries. In all, the blaze engulfed five buildings, including some belonging to Northwest Millwork and Gascoigne Lumber. The fire was brought under control, and no injuries were reported.