World news: Joe Biden & Kamala Harris duo named TIME Magazine's 2020 Person of the Year

US presumptive president-elect Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris have been selected together as TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year after a highly contentious and unconventional race smack in the middle of a pandemic.

The magazine, which each year chooses an individual who’s had outsized influence on world affairs over the previous 12 months, named Biden and Harris jointly as the Person of the Year on Thursday night.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/o97QNlSBrl pic.twitter.com/KuoBoebBN4
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2020

“In a historic and unprecedented election, Joe Biden was named the 46th President of the United States,” TIME said when it announced the nomination, adding that “He broke former President Barack Obama’s record for the most votes ever cast for a presidential candidate.”

The Biden-Harris ticket represents something historic.

Person of the Year is not just about the year that was, but about where we’re headed #TIMEPOY https://t.co/H4uzUe8Pli pic.twitter.com/YMylCvbkZT
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2020

While the Electoral College has yet to formally certify Biden as the winner of the 2020 race, most major media outlets have declared him the victor, despite a flurry of legal challenges from President Donald Trump, who’s repeatedly alleged widespread fraud in the election.