On Nov. 7, the Associated Press and several other news outlets called the 2020 U.S. presidential race for former Vice President Joe Biden. A countless number of his supporters flocked to social media to rejoice in his victory and to applaud him, but only a fraction of those folks were able to tweet a video clip of the President-elect quoting them.

Kara Lawson could do that.

New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week for the second week in a row, signaling ongoing weakness in the job market as coronavirus infections continue to soar.

The Labor Department reported 778,000 people applied for state benefits in the week ending Saturday, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week.

More votes were cast in the 2020 presidential election than in any other U.S. election in history, and the turnout rate was the highest in more than a century.

President-elect Joe Biden has now earned 80 million votes, and ballots are still being counted. That is by far the most votes cast for any presidential candidate in U.S. history. President Trump holds the distinction, however, of earning the second-most votes all time. About 74 million Americans voted for him.

Adam Woodrum was out for a bike ride with his wife and kids on July 19 when his then 9-year-old son, Robert, crashed.

"He cut himself pretty bad, and I could tell right away he needed stitches," says Woodrum.

Because they were on bikes, he called the fire department in Carson City, Nevada.

"They were great," says Woodrum. "They took him on a stretcher to the ER."

Robert received stitches and anesthesia at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center. He's since recovered nicely.

Then the denial letter came.

Officials in Illinois have ordered an independent investigation into a coronavirus outbreak that killed 27 people at a state-operated veterans' home. The state's Department of Veterans' Affairs announced the decision in a statement Tuesday, pledging to "immediately address any findings from that investigation."

Signs of a tattered, but resilient, voting system were on full display this week, as one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history rolled toward completion.

After record-breaking wildfires this year, thousands of people across the West are still clearing piles of charred debris where their homes once stood in the hope of rebuilding their lives.

With climate change fueling bigger, more destructive wildfires, rebuilding offers an opportunity to create more fire-resistant communities by using building materials that can help homes survive the next blaze.