Five national stories of the week

Bipartisan teams of Democrats and Republicans work on an audit of Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, in Council Chambers at the City Services Center, in Columbus, Ga. Election officials in Georgia's 159 counties started counting ballots Friday morning for a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by state law. (Mike Haskey/Ledger-Enquirer via AP)
Bipartisan teams of Democrats and Republicans work on an audit of Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, in Council Chambers at the City Services Center, in Columbus, Ga. Election officials in Georgia's 159 counties started counting ballots Friday morning for a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by state law. (Mike Haskey/Ledger-Enquirer via AP)

Editor’s Note: This listicle is part of a weekly series by The Ball State Daily News summarizing five stories from around the world. All summaries are based on stories published by The Associated Press.

Michigan imposes sweeping restrictions to combat COVID-19, Georgia election workers began a presidential hand tally Friday, a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is successful in trials, the SpaceX capsule reaches the International Space Station and US governors impose new coronavirus restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving make up this week's five national stories.

FILE-This Oct. 16, 2020, file photo shows Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaking during an event with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden at Beech Woods Recreation Center, in Southfield, Mich. Whitmer's administration on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, ordered for a number of new restrictions that will begin Wednesday and last three weeks. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Michigan halts classes, indoor dining as coronavirus surges

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Sunday ordered high schools and colleges to stop in-person classes, closed restaurants to indoor dining and suspended organized sports — including the football playoffs — in a bid to curb the state’s spiking coronavirus cases. The restrictions will begin Wednesday and last three weeks. They are not as sweeping as when the Democratic governor issued a stay-at-home order last spring but are extensive. 

Cobb County Election official sort ballots during an audit, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, in Marietta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Masked workers start presidential hand tally in Georgia

Masked election workers in teams of two began counting ballots Nov. 13 in counties across Georgia, a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by a new state law. The law requires that one race be audited to check that new election machines counted the ballots accurately, not because of any suspected problems with the results. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger chose to audit the presidential race and said the tight margin — Democrat Joe Biden leads Republican President Donald Trump by roughly 14,000 votes — meant a full hand count was necessary.

FILE - In this July 27, 2020, file photo, nurse Kathe Olmstead prepares a shot that is part of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., in Binghamton, N.Y. Moderna said Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, its COVID-19 shot provides strong protection against the coronavirus that's surging in the U.S. and around the world. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

2nd virus vaccine shows striking success in US tests

A second experimental COVID-19 vaccine — this one from Moderna Inc. — yielded extraordinarily strong early results Monday, another badly needed dose of hope as the pandemic enters a new phase. Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from an ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own vaccine looked 90% effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.

NASA astronauts, from left, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, and Michael Hopkins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi leave the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to launch pad 39A for the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. (Photo/John Raoux)

SpaceX capsule with 4 astronauts reaches space station

SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The linkup occurred 262 miles (422 kilometers) above Idaho. This is the second astronaut mission for SpaceX. But it’s the first time Elon Musk’s company delivered a crew for a full half-year station stay. The two-pilot test flight earlier this year lasted two months.

Medical assistant Linh Nguyen assists two women with COVID-19 testing at a testing site set up at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif., Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Governors ratchet up restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving

From California to Pennsylvania, governors and mayors across the U.S. are progressing COVID-19 restrictions amid the record-shattering resurgence of the virus that is all but certain to get worse because of holiday travel and family gatherings over Thanksgiving. Leaders are closing businesses or curtailing hours and other operations, and they are ordering or imploring people to stay home and keep their distance from others to help stem a rising tide of infections that threatens to overwhelm the health care system.

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