JOE BIDEN’S victory in the Nov. 3 election has been recognized by the General Services Administration, according to the Associated Press. Above, a demonstration in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 7 (Flickr/Elbert Barnes).

UPDATE: The General Services Administration officially has accepted Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. The move came after President Donald Trump – without conceding defeat – agreed to support the beginning of transition “in the best interests of the country.”

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Two weeks after all major news organizations declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election, the federal agency that handles the transition from one president to another may be prepared to recognize the former vice president as the 46th President of the United States.

According to the Associated Press – although no formal public announcement has been made – Emily Murphy of the General Services Administration has determined that the Democratic is the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election. News organizations have Biden with 306 Electoral College votes to President Donald Trump’s 232. Biden also has a popular vote margin of over six million votes.

If Murphy confirms AP’s report, it would allow for the release of funding reserved for the transition as well as make possible the sharing of intelligence reports with the new administration.

In another setback to President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the election, Michigan state election officials on Monday voted to certify Biden as the winner of that state’s 16 votes. He prevailed by 154,000 votes, but the Trump campaign was hoping to delay certification to audit results in Wayne County, which includes the strongly Democratic city of Detroit.

So far, legal challenges based on errors and unsupported claims of widespread fraud have been rejected by election officials, as well as state and federal courts.

The News: Biden names Cabinet members

President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced his nominees for several posts in his Cabinet. The include Antony Blinken as secretary of state and Janet Yellen as treasury secretary.  Linda Thomas-Greenfield is his choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Jake Sullivan is the selection for national security advisor. Alejandro Mayorkas will head the Department of Homeland Security, John Kerry is slated to be special presidential envoy on climate change and Avril Haines is tapped to be director of national intelligence. •

Buoyed by news that as many as three highly-effective coronavirus vaccines should be available in the near future, Wall Street responded favorably on Monday. The Dow Jones Average leaped by 327.79 points while the S&P 500 rose by 20.05 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a gain of 25.66.

Weather: Cool, cool, then warmer

According to the National Weather Service, the West Orange County area will be enjoying seasonably autumnal temperatures this week, with daytime highs in the high 60s through Thanksgiving. Friday should be a bit warmer at 73. Overnight lows are forecast for mid- to high-40s.

Sports: Jared Goff out-Bradys Tom Brady

UPDATE: Los Angeles Rams’s quarterback passed for 376 yards and three touchdowns as the Rams defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 in a Monday Night Football games. TB’s Tom Brady had another off-night, passing for 216 yards and two scores. Each quarterback was intercepted twice. The winning score was a 40-yard field goal by Matt Gay with 1:17 left to play. The Rams are now 7-3, tied for first in the NFC West. Tampa Bay fell to 7-4.

The Los Angeles Rams face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Monday Night Football game on ESPN at 5:15 p.m. Can Jared Goff match up with Tom Brady? Tune in and see. For more on that matchup, see our Sports Monday column, debuting today. Go to: https://orangecountytribune.com/2020/11/23/is-tom-brady-still-the-man/ .