Top 3 Stories:
1) Retailers Ramp Up Security For Black Friday:
“Best Buy shoppers can expect to find more high-value merchandise behind locked shelves and a larger security presence in certain stores. Along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, a pair of private security companies are patrolling the ritzy shopping district in response to attempted smash-and-grab robberies at Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue stores last weekend. Meanwhile, in San Francisco's Union Square, following a spate of thefts and vandalism last Friday night at nearly a dozen stores, including Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Bloomingdale's, city officials announced traffic patterns near high-end retailers had been readjusted so that thieves can't easily park, commit a robbery and then speed off. “We will do what we need to do to put an end to this madness," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott told reporters. A lingering fear of coordinated large-scale robberies is rattling retailers, not only in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, where videos of such thefts have gone viral, but in affluent suburbs not normally targeted involving tens of thousands of dollars worth of products.” (NBC NEWS)
2) American Consumerism Never Falters:
“It’s easy to marvel at how consumers have continued to spend freely through the pandemic, propping up retailers and saving the economy from almost-certain disaster. But as holiday shopping trends over the decades reveal, American shoppers have a history of spending more and more every year. Dating back to the middle of last century, holiday shopping has rarely declined from one Christmas season to the next. Craig Johnson, the president of the retail research firm Customer Growth Partners, said holiday spending decreased annually during World War II and again during the depths of the great recession in November and December of 2008, when sales fell 4.7 percent. But those are the exceptions. “It just never goes down,” Mr. Johnson said. Mr. Johnson anticipates that consumers will spend 6.7 percent more than in 2020, when brick and mortar stores had barely emerged from lockdowns and vaccines were not widely available. And despite those serious obstacles last year, holiday spending still rose 8.2 percent from 2019.” (NEW YORK TIMES)
3) Stock Market Crashes as COVID Concerns Rise:
“Stocks, oil prices and government-bond yields slumped after South Africa raised the alarm over a fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus, triggering concern that travel restrictions and other curbs will spoil the global economy’s recovery. The S&P 500 opened Friday about 1.4% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.3%, or 835 points, in the early minutes of a holiday-shortened trading session. The Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 0.9%. Brent crude slid 5% to under $77 a barrel, putting the global energy benchmark on track for its biggest one-day loss since July, as traders fretted that limits on movement could reduce demand for transportation fuels. Bitcoin skidded 8% to below $55,000 … The pullback created whiplash for markets that had, to a great extent, parked worries about coronavirus. Investors have instead been consumed with the possibility that an overheating economy would generate runaway inflation and push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to hoist interest rates.” (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Daily Verse:
Isaiah 41:10 NIV Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The President’s Schedule:
The President will remain in Nantucket, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 28. There are no public events scheduled.
This Day in History
“President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.” (HISTORY)
Daily Quote:
“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost
Daily Joke:
Dogs can’t operate MRI machines But Catscan
Environment:
BIDEN ADMIN APPROVES OFFSHORE WIND FARM: “President Biden’s administration greenlit a major offshore wind project to supply power to New York, arriving as part of a broader push to build out renewable energy and tackle climate change. The federal government’s approval Wednesday of a dozen wind turbines, located off the coast of Rhode Island, will send power to the eastern end of Long Island. The move inches the country closer to the Biden administration’s goal of generating 30 gigawatts of power from offshore wind energy by the end of the decade. Harnessing the Atlantic’s fierce winds is prominent in the president’s plan to wean the U.S. power sector off fossil fuels, which are dangerously warming the planet. But the Biden administration still faces stiff head winds ahead of meeting its clean energy goals. The effort to dot the East Coast with towering turbines has at times put advocates at odds with coastal homeowners worried about spoiled seaside views; fishermen concerned about the impact on their catch; and conservationists concerned about the impact on endangered whales.” (WASHINGTON POST)
Culture:
ARBERY AND RITTENHOUSE TRIALS HIGHLIGHT SELF-DEFENSE LAWS: “The verdicts in favor of Kyle Rittenhouse and against the men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery have shone a renewed spotlight on vigilantism and self-defense in America. While in many respects dramatically different, including their outcomes -- Rittenhouse was acquitted and the defendants in the Arbery case were convicted of murder -- both high-profile cases center on people who were armed and put themselves into potentially dangerous situations, fatally shooting people in the process and asserting that they did so in self-defense. According to experts and advocates, the landscape of self-defense laws in recent decades has shifted to a more expansive notion that includes the right not to retreat from danger. The burden of proving self-defense in court has been removed in many jurisdictions, shifting the responsibility to disprove self-defense to the prosecution. As part of this trend, at least 27 states have passed controversial "stand your ground laws" since the early 1990s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.” (ABC NEWS)
Sports:
COWBOYS VS RAIDERS VS REFEREES: “The referees might have been the biggest stars in the Las Vegas Raiders' 36-33 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys after they whistled the two teams for 28 penalties that were accepted. The officiating crew was at least a topic of discussion inside the Cowboys locker room. Team owner Jerry Jones described the game as "throw up ball" because one team would heave the ball up for grabs and look for a flag. Dallas wide receiver Michael Gallup thought his team was facing two opponents: Rookie linebacker Micah Parsons and head coach Mike McCarthy chimed in as well: Las Vegas and Dallas each had 14 penalties, though the latter racked up 56 more penalty yards. As much as those with the Cowboys might feel they were disproportionately affected by the officiating, there were questionable calls on both sides. The worst for the Raiders came late in the fourth quarter when center Andre James was whistled for a false start. The Cowboys appeared to jump offside, which would've given Las Vegas a first down. Instead, the Raiders were backed up to a 2nd-and-10 and settled for a field goal two plays later.” (BLEACHER REPORT)
Health:
NEW COVID VARIANT EMERGES FROM SOUTH AFRICA: “Nations took swift action Friday to halt air travel from southern Africa in reaction to news of a new, transmissible COVID-19 variant. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the B.1.1.529 variant, warning officials to avoid "knee-jerk responses," the 27-nation European Union said it would propose stopping air travel from southern Africa. The EU joined Israel and the United Kingdom who are likewise imposing a travel ban. Will the U.S. also impose a ban? Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN that it's a possibility but that scientists need to first determine whether the variant can evade antibodies created by vaccines and viral infection.” (FOX NEWS)