News N Things
The most important climate event of the year, COP26, begins today; police officers serve as tax collectors; election day is tomorrow in Virginia - what that means for the country.
Top 3 Stories:
1) The Most Important Climate Event of the Year:
“President Biden arrived in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday on a mission to restore U.S. credibility on a crucial issue for both his administration and for the planet. Along with the leaders of other countries that signed the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Mr. Biden was in Glasgow for COP26, the United Nations climate change conference. It's the 26th time world leaders have met to try to limit global warming. The conference was postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the extra year of preparation doesn't seem to have improved its chance of success. The high-stakes summit has been called a last chance for countries to come together to stop catastrophic global warming. Almost 200 nations sent high-level delegations. They hope to strike a deal to put the world back on track to meet the goals set in Paris, including reducing global carbon emissions to zero by 2050, and limiting the planet's overall warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists calculate that to do that, planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions need to be halved by the end of this decade. As it stands now, they'll continue to rise. Experts warn that time left to take action to achieve the Paris goals is quickly slipping away, and the consequences of failure would be catastrophic for humanity.” (CBS NEWS)
2) The Police - Modern Day Tax Collectors:
“A hidden scaffolding of financial incentives underpins the policing of motorists in the United States, encouraging some communities to essentially repurpose armed officers as revenue agents searching for infractions largely unrelated to public safety. As a result, driving is one of the most common daily routines during which people have been shot, Tased, beaten or arrested after minor offenses. Some of those encounters — like those with Sandra Bland, Walter Scott and Philando Castile — are now notorious and contributed to a national upheaval over race and policing. The New York Times has identified more than 400 others from the past five years in which officers killed unarmed civilians who had not been under pursuit for violent crimes. Fueling the culture of traffic stops is the federal government, which issues over $600 million a year in highway safety grants that subsidize ticket writing. Although federal officials say they do not impose quotas, at least 20 states have evaluated police performance on the number of traffic stops per hour, which critics say contributes to overpolicing and erosion of public trust, particularly among members of certain racial groups. Many municipalities across the country rely heavily on ticket revenue and court fees to pay for government services, and some maintain outsize police departments to help generate that money, according to a review of hundreds of municipal audit reports, town budgets, court files and state highway records.” (NEW YORK TIMES)
3) All Eyes are on Virginia:
“A fiercely competitive race for governor is testing whether Democrats can generate the voter enthusiasm that propelled President Biden to a 10-point victory here last year, or whether a Republican can win by nodding at but not fully embracing former President Donald Trump. Nearly every recent poll ahead of Tuesday’s Virginia election has shown an even contest between former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, a potential sign of change, because Republicans haven’t won a statewide race since 2009. Both parties are looking for signals about the broader political climate heading into next year’s midterm elections. The results in vote-rich Northern Virginia, in particular, will be scrutinized to see whether suburban voters, who nationally swung toward Democrats during the Trump administration, are now turning away from the party. “If Youngkin loses, that reinforces that Virginia has gone blue, and it gets tougher to get the NRCC and RNC and other national groups to get involved,’” said Ron Wright, budget chairman of the state GOP, referring to his party’s congressional and national campaign arms. “And, oh boy, if Democrats lose big-time, they’re going to have a tough time getting people to run for office.”’ (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Daily Verse:
Romans 13:1-2 NIV Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
The President’s Schedule:
9:00 a.m. EST - The President delivers the COP26 Leader Statement.
12:00 a.m. EST - The President participates in a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.
2:45 p.m. EST - The President attends a reception hosted by The Right Honorable Boris Johnson, M.P., Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This Day in History
“The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo’s finest works, is exhibited to the Dpublic for the first time on November 1, 1512.” (HISTORY)
Daily Quote:
“In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” - Andy Warhol
Daily Joke:
If Apple made a car what would it be missing? Windows.
Environment:
BY 2070 LOTS OF THE WOLRD COULD LOOK LIKE THE SAHARA: “Up to 3bn out of the projected world population of about 9bn could be exposed to temperatures on a par with the hottest parts of the Sahara by 2070, according to research by scientists from China, US and Europe. However, rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could halve the number of people exposed to such hot conditions. “The good news is that these impacts can be greatly reduced if humanity succeeds in curbing global warming,” said study co-author Tim Lenton, climate specialist and director of the Global Systems Institute at Exeter university. The report highlights how the majority of humans live in a very narrow mean annual temperature band of 11C-15C (52F-59F). Researchers noted that despite all innovations and migrations, people had mostly lived in these climate conditions for several thousand years. “This strikingly constant climate niche likely represents fundamental constraints on what humans need to survive and thrive,” said Professor Marten Scheffer of Wageningen University, who co-ordinated the research with his Chinese colleague Chi Xu, of Nanjing University. Global warming has resulted in a 1.1C rise in temperatures since pre-industrial times, according to scientists. This is expected to reach 1.5C within 20 years, even in the best-case scenario of deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.” (FINANCIAL TIMES)
Culture:
LOWER YOUR BLACK FRIDAY EXPECTATIONS: “Amid a supply chain crunch and shipping snarls that have kept retailers scrambling to keep shelves stocked, shoppers panicking about not finding enough gifts will face another shortage this season — deals. Across the board, retailers including Best Buy, Kohl’s and Macy’s have limited the number of discounts at their stores as billions of dollars of merchandise sits on container ships at American ports. Rising prices, increased disposable income driven by stimulus money and record retail bankruptcies have also led retailers to roll out fewer promotions, according to company earnings calls and retail analysts. “Our goal is not to accelerate in promotional activity, but we’ll also see where the landscape goes and make sure that we’re continuing to gain share,” Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell told investors last month. “But we won’t be leading promotional activity.” This year’s promotional levels have been at historic lows, Macy’s Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mitchell told investors in September. The company is focused on items with higher average price points, he said, adding that Macy's has "been more thoughtful about the categories that need promotion.”’ (NBC NEWS)
Sports:
WHERE ARE THE AFGHAN ATHLETES? “There were Vespas humming through the streets, tourists crowding the sidewalks and this old Gothic church that Sajjad Husaini stopped to marvel at each time he walked the cobblestone streets of his new neighborhood. Husaini, 30, was raised in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. But for weeks, he had been living in a tropical climate in Italy’s coastal Cagliari, swimming regularly in the Tyrrhenian Sea — a refugee and an athlete hoping to soon be back where he belonged: on the slopes. Not long before arriving in Italy, Husaini was a top slalom skier in Afghanistan whose Olympic dreams had garnered international attention. He did not quite qualify for the 2018 PyeongChang Games, which would have made him the first Afghan winter athlete to do so. But he had his eyes on 2022, and, as a tour guide in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains, he was building a life and career on snow. Then came this summer, when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban roared back to power and 130,000 civilians fled, displaced all over the world. Female athletes were especially vulnerable; the country’s women’s soccer team fled to Australia with the help of a global network of supporters. But those women weren’t the only athletes to escape. And many, such as Husaini, have found refuge in Italy.” (WASHINGTON POST)
Health:
COVID CLAIMS THE LIVES FOR 5 MILLION GLOBALLY: “The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 5 million on Monday, less than two years into a crisis that has not only devastated poor countries but also humbled wealthy ones with first-rate health care systems. Together, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Brazil — all upper-middle- or high-income countries — account for one-eighth of the world’s population but nearly half of all reported deaths. The U.S. alone has recorded over 740,000 lives lost, more than any other nation. “This is a defining moment in our lifetime,” said Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health. “What do we have to do to protect ourselves so we don’t get to another 5 million?” The death toll, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the populations of Los Angeles and San Francisco combined. It rivals the number of people killed in battles among nations since 1950, according to estimates from the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Globally, COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and stroke.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS)