Joe Biden

On Monday, Biden and Harris's victory was sealed in the Electoral College after electors from every state gathered at Capitols across the country. They voted 306 for Biden and 232 for President Donald Trump. Members of Congress are expected to certify the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021, after which Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President on January 20.

Putin wished Biden a successful tenure and said he personally "was ready for cooperation and contacts" with the President-elect, the statement said. The message from the Russian President further said that despite differences, the US and Russia can help solve many world problems, RT News reported citing the Kremlin statement.

Trump's remarks came after the US Supreme Court on December 11 rejected a lawsuit from Texas in a bid to overturn the election results in four battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, the latest blow to the President's efforts to reverse Biden's projected Electoral College victory.

In a statement on Thursday, Biden said Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa who served as Secretary of Agriculture for all the eight years during former President Barack Obama's administration, has been nominated to the job again.

According to a CNN report citing informed sources, investigators have been examining multiple financial issues, including whether Hunter Biden and his associates violated tax and money laundering laws in business dealings in foreign countries, including China.

Republicans in the state wanted to overturn certification of the result, but justices rejected the request in a one-sentence ruling, the BBC reported.

The US policy towards China is unlikely to change in the early stages of Biden administration. Outside China, his policy may attempt to revive the “pivot to Asia” adopted by former President Barack Obama, the report further added.

The petition was led by US Congressman Mike Kelly, a Republican and ally of President Donald Trump, who argued that virtually all of the state's mail-in ballots were unlawful.

Murthy said, "And in this moment of crisis, when so many Americans have fallen sick and lost loved ones, when people are losing jobs and struggling with childcare, I feel grateful to be able to do everything I can to end this pandemic."

If confirmed, the retired general would become the first black Defence secretary even as Biden goes about the task of putting together what he calls the most diverse team of senior administration officials in American politics.