SWEARING in of the president and vice president is scheduled for Jan. 20 (Shutterstock).

President Donald Trump’s comments that he may not accept the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election have prompted pushback from prominent Republicans as well as Democrats.

Claiming the prospect of widespread election fraud with mail-in ballots, the president responded to a reporter’s question with “We’re going to see what happens,” refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Senate majority leader and a staunch Trump supporter, wrote in a tweet “The winner of the Nov. 3 election will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792,” according to United Press International.

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and a senator from Utah, called Trump’s position “unthinkable and unacceptable.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, said that Trump’s comments were “dangerous” and “authoritarian.”

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said, “Look, he says the most irrational things. I just don’t know what to say.”

In the news: Even with vaccine, keep your masks

The stock market rebounded a bit on Thursday after some rough days earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Average crept up 52.31 points, while the S&P 500 was up 9.67 and the Nasdaq rose by 9.67. • Even if a coronavirus vaccine is developed and made available relatively soon, the necessity of continuing to wear face coverings, wash hands frequently and socially distance will not go away immediately, several prominent health officials said on Thursday. An estimated 2 percent of the U.S. population has been infected, according to Johns Hopkins University. • President Trump said Thursday he was considering overruling the Centers for Disease Control’s announced tightening of requirements to ensure that a coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective. He called the CDC’s action “a political move.” • The Pac-12 has voted to reverse an earlier decision and will play a seven-game football season starting on Nov. 6. No fans will be allowed to attend games played on college campuses. With this change, all five “power” college football conferences will be in action for 2020.

Weather: More but then a little warmer

Things are getting monotonous … and a bit warmer. The National Weather Service forecast for West Orange County calls for slightly cooler temperatures on Friday, then a gradual warming trend through the weekend and into the beginning of next week.  Generally, it’ a continuation of the same trend: patchy fog in the morning, followed by sunny skies in the afternoon. Friday’s high should be 79, with an overnight low of 61. Saturday’s high will be 80, rising to 86 on Sunday and then 87 on Monday. Overnight lows in the low 60s. No rain, of course. Daytime highs should be five to seven degrees lower along the coast.

Sports Today: Lakers are up 3-1 now

Here is the schedule for area pro sports teams. Times are Pacific Daylight. Results are posted as they are available. The Angels are idle.

• Lakers 114, Denver Nuggets 108. The Lakers took a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals with the win. Anthony Davis scored 34 points and LeBron James added 26. Jamal Murray scored 32 points for Denver. The fifth – and potentially final – game of the series is Saturday at 6 p.m.
• Dodgers 5, Athletics 1.Walker Buehler pitched four shutout innings for LA, striking out six batters and the bullpen did the rest as the Dodgers wrapped up the series with a A’s. They are 40-17.