Police investigate at the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd during a holiday parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
“Five people were killed and more than 40 were injured when a vehicle drove into a Christmas parade yesterday in Waukesha, Wisconsin, city officials said. ‘These numbers may change as we collect additional information. Many people have self-transported to area hospitals,’ the city of Waukesha said in a Twitter post early this morning. Witnesses described the horror of seeing individuals struck and lying on the ground after a red SUV drove through a series of barricades and barreled into the crowded parade route on Main Street around 4:39 p.m. local time. Police Chief Daniel P. Thompson said officers are working with the Waukesha County Medical Examiner's Office to identify victims. Thompson says there is ‘a person of interest in custody,’ but would not say whether it was the driver of the SUV nor if any arrests have been made. It is unknown at this time whether yesterday's incident was an act of terrorism, Thompson said.” Read more at CNN
“The US has been added to an annual list of ‘backsliding’ democracies for the first time, the International IDEA thinktank has said, pointing to a ‘visible deterioration’ it said began in 2019.
Globally, more than one in four people live in a backsliding democracy, a proportion that rises to more than two in three with the addition of authoritarian or ‘hybrid’ regimes, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
‘This year we coded the United States as backsliding for the first time, but our data suggest that the backsliding episode began at least in 2019,’ it said in its report.
Alexander Hudson, a co-author of the report, said: ‘The United States is a high-performing democracy, and even improved its performance in indicators of impartial administration (corruption and predictable enforcement) in 2020. However, the declines in civil liberties and checks on government indicate that there are serious problems with the fundamentals of democracy.’
The report says: ‘A historic turning point came in 2020-21 when former president Donald Trump questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election results in the United States.’
In addition, Hudson pointed to a ‘decline in the quality of freedom of association and assembly during the summer of protests in 2020’ after the police killing of George Floyd.
International IDEA bases its assessments on 50 years of democratic indicators in about 160 countries, assigning them to three categories: democracies (including those that are ‘backsliding’), ‘hybrid’ governments and authoritarian regimes.
The organisation’s secretary general, Kevin Casas-Zamora, said: ‘The visible deterioration of democracy in the United States, as seen in the increasing tendency to contest credible election results, the efforts to suppress participation (in elections), and the runaway polarisation ... is one of the most concerning developments.’
He warned of a knock-on effect, noting: ‘The violent contestation of the 2020 election without any evidence of fraud has been replicated, in different ways, in places as diverse as Myanmar, Peru and Israel.’
The number of backsliding democracies has doubled in the past decade, accounting for a quarter of the world’s population. In addition to ‘established democracies’ such as the US, the list includes EU member states Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.
Two countries that were on the list last year – Ukraine and North Macedonia – were removed this year after their situations improved. Two others, Mali and Serbia, left the list because they were no longer considered democracies.
While Myanmar moved from a democracy to an authoritarian regime, Afghanistan and Mali entered this category from their previous label of hybrid governments.
For the fifth consecutive year, in 2020, countries veering towards authoritarianism outnumbered those experiencing democratisation. International IDEA expects this trend to continue for 2021.
For 2021, according to the group’s provisional assessment, the world counts 98 democracies – the lowest number in many years – as well as 20 hybrid governments including Russia, Morocco and Turkey, and 47 authoritarian regimes including China, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Iran.
Adding backsliding democracies to the hybrid and authoritarian states, ‘we are talking about 70% of the population in the world’, Casas-Zamora said. ‘That tells you that there is something fundamentally serious happening with the quality of democracy.’
The report says the trend towards democratic erosion has ‘become more acute and worrying’ since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Some countries, particularly Hungary, India, the Philippines and the USA, have (imposed) measures that amount to democratic violations – that is, measures that were disproportionate, illegal, indefinite or unconnected to the nature of the emergency,’ it says.
Casas-Zamora said: ‘The pandemic has certainly accelerated and magnified some of the negative trends, particularly in places where democracy and the rule of law were ailing before the pandemic.’” Read more at The Guardian
“Senate Democrats will try to negotiate with moderate Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to address their disagreements on the size and scope of President Joe Biden's economic package as it heads to the chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday. ‘The House did a very strong bill. Everyone knows that Manchin and Sinema have their concerns, but we're going to try to negotiate with them and get a very strong, bold bill out of the Senate which will then go back to the House and pass,’ Schumer said during a news briefing, stressing the importance of party unity. The comments come days after House Democrats passed the Build Back Better bill, a key piece of Biden's sweeping domestic agenda. The $1.9 trillion plan faces hurdles in the Senate, where Manchin and Sinema have voiced concerns over its reach and price tag. Schumer said he would like the bill done by Christmas.” Read more at CNN
“President Biden will nominate Jerome H. Powell to lead the Federal Reserve for a second term, signaling a vote of confidence for the Republican chair as the economy continues to face challenges and uncertainty amid the ongoing pandemic.
In a Monday announcement, Biden also said he would nominate Lael Brainard, the Fed board’s lone Democrat, to be the central bank’s vice chair. Brainard had long been discussed as the main alternative to Powell, due largely to her influence on the Fed board on issues ranging from monetary policy to climate issues to banking regulation. Now, if confirmed by the Senate, they will lead the Fed together.
Powell’s nomination signals Biden’s intent for continuity at the central bank, which is grappling with inflation at 30-year highs, widespread changes in the labor market and looming questions over how the Fed should and will respond. Whether the Fed’s policies prove to be right will have major implications for the U.S. and global economy.” Read more at Washington Post
“COVID-19 has killed more people in 2021 than 2020, CDC data shows. As of late Sunday, 770,461 people have died as a result of the coronavirus, around 14,700 more than last year.” Read more at USA Today
“WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 90% of federal workers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Monday's deadline set by President Joe Biden.
Biden announced in September that all federal workers were required to undergo vaccination, with no test-out option, unless they secured an approved medical or religious exemption. A U.S. official said the vast majority of federal workers are fully vaccinated, and that a smaller number have pending or approved exceptions to the mandate.
Workers who are not in compliance are set to begin a ‘counseling’ process that could ultimately result in their termination if they don't get a shot or secure an approved exception to vaccination.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the statistics because the official wasn't authorized to speak on the record before their official release later Monday.
The deadline is a major test of Biden's push to compel people across the country to get vaccinated. Beyond the federal worker rule, his administration is looking to compel large businesses to institute vaccinate-or-testing requirements, though plans for January enforcement have been on hold pending litigation.” Read more at Richmond Times-Dispatch
“‘Organized theft’: More than 80 people stormed and robbed a Nordstrom in California before heading into dozens of cars lining the block, police said.” Read more at USA Today
“More than a month since the beginning of jury selection, closing arguments were set for Monday in the trial of three white men accused of murdering 25-year-old Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in February last year. A panel of 12 jurors and three alternates – which includes just one Black man – were expected to hear from the prosecution and lawyers for each of the three defendants. After closings, the jurors are set to begin deliberations. Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William ‘Roddie’ Bryan, are charged with murder and other crimes in the fatal shooting of Arbery in a small, coastal Georgia town. The men were arrested two months later, after Bryan's cellphone video of the incident was released.” Read more at USA Today
“Days after Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges after fatally shooting two men and wounding a third during a 2020 protest over the shooting by police of Jacob Blake – a Black man – in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Fox News will air a portion of an interview with the 18-year-old on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ Monday. ‘I’m not a racist person. I support the BLM movement, I support peacefully demonstrating,’ Rittenhouse tells Carlson in excerpts of the interview. Last week's verdict sparked debates across the country: Some people declared injustice, citing the role of white privilege, while others praised the decision as an upholding of the Second Amendment.” Read more at USA Today
FILE - China's Peng Shuai waves after losing to Canada Eugenie Bouchard in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 15, 2019. Out of public view for almost three weeks, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai appeared Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 in a live video call with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
“A video call between Olympic officials and Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose nearly three-week disappearance from public view sparked an outcry, was meant to reassure the world that she was safe — but instead has raised more questions.
Concern grew in the last week for the former No. 1-ranked doubles player — who hadn’t been seen since accusing a senior Chinese official of sexual assault on Nov. 2. Tennis stars and fans alike demanded to know #WhereIsPengShuai, and the head of the Women’s Tennis Association threatened to pull lucrative events from China.
On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee said Peng spoke to officials, including IOC President Thomas Bach, in a 30-minute video call from Beijing. According to the organization’s statement, she reassured them that she was well and thanked them for their concern — while asking for privacy.
The IOC posted a photo that shows Bach facing a screen on which Peng appears but did not release video of the call. On the same day, China Open posted videos and photos of her appearance at a youth tennis tournament in Beijing that morning.
The IOC’s short statement, which offered few details and no follow-up on her allegations, seems unlikely to close the door on Peng’s case — and it’s leading to increasing criticism of the sports body, which was already facing calls for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which open on Feb. 4.
Even after the statement was published Sunday, the WTA repeated what chairman and CEO Steve Simon has been saying for more than a week, calling for a full, fair and transparent investigation ‘without censorship.’” Read more at AP News
“If you and your family members are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, it's OK for you to ditch the masks this holiday season when you're around each other, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Sunday. ‘That's what I'm going to do with my family,’ Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Dana Bash on ‘State of the Union.’ However, the nation's top infectious disease expert also noted that if you're traveling or are unaware of the vaccination status of the people around you, then you should wear a mask in those situations. Fauci's comments come as the US faces the second holiday season of the pandemic, but the first with safe and effective vaccines now available to people ages 5 and older. Still, a significant part of the eligible population remains unvaccinated. Meanwhile in Europe, protests against new Covid-19 restrictions turned violent over the weekend as cases continue to rise on the continent. Rioting broke out at The Hague on Saturday over the Dutch government's new coronavirus measures. Elsewhere, an estimated 40,000 people on Saturday crowded the streets of Vienna in the country's biggest coronavirus-related protest to date.” Read more at CNN
“In Michigan, Covid hospitalizations have risen 46 percent over the last two weeks.” Read more at New York Times
“Disney paused a vaccine requirement for workers at its Florida theme park after the state outlawed mandates.” Read more at New York Times
“Sudan's military chief reinstated Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister yesterday, almost a month after he was ousted in a military takeover. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan appeared with Hamdok at a signing ceremony in the Presidential Palace, according to a live video broadcast on state television. The deal agreed upon by Hamdok and Al-Burhan also includes the release of political detainees who were jailed following the October 25 coup, according to Mudawi Ibrahim, a prominent official in the National Forces Initiative, which helped mediate the talks. Hamdok becomes leader again of the transitional government, which was first established following the ousting of former strongman and President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Hamdok and Al-Burhan also agreed on a power-sharing deal between civilian and military leadership, but it will include as-of-yet unspecified restructuring, according to Ibrahim.” Read more at CNN
“Two missionaries kidnapped in Haiti over a month ago have been released, according to a statement by the US-based Christian Aid Ministries. ‘We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released. We praise God for this! Only limited information can be provided, but we are able to report that the two hostages who were released are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for,’ the organization said yesterday. ‘While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the fifteen people who are still being held,’ the statement also said. The group of 16 Americans and one Canadian were kidnapped by the Haitian gang 400 Mawozo while traveling by car northeast of capital city Port-au-Prince on October 16. They include an infant, a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, as well as two young teenagers. All hail from Amish, Mennonite and other conservative Anabaptist communities across six US states and Ontario.” Read more at CNN
“PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — When Cambodia rolled out COVID-19 vaccines, lines stretched down entire streets and people left their shoes out to save their places as they sheltered from the sun. But three months into its campaign, just 11% of the population had received at least one dose. In far wealthier Japan, it took two weeks longer to reach that level.
Now both countries boast vaccination rates that rank among the world’s best. They are two of several nations in the Asia-Pacific region that got slow starts to their immunization campaigns but have since zoomed past the United States and many nations in Europe.
The countries with high rates include both richer and poorer ones, some with larger populations and some with smaller. But all have experience with infectious diseases, like SARS, and strong vaccine-procurement programs, many of which knew to spread their risk by ordering from multiple manufacturers.” Read more at AP News
“Chile’s election. Chile’s presidential election is set to go to a second round on Dec. 19 after no candidate breached the 50 percent vote share threshold in Sunday’s first round. Even with some votes still to be counted, the runoff appears set for a showdown between José Antonio Kast a right-wing former Congressman whose style has been compared to Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old left wing Congressman who made his name organizing student protests in 2011.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Venezuela’s election. The results of Venezuela’s local and regional elections are expected today following a nationwide vote on Sunday. The elections are the first time since 2017 that the country’s opposition parties have taken part following a boycott campaign. With opposition support fractured and turnout at around 42 percent, the four governorships not currently in the hands of the ruling Socialist party may yet change hands once results come in.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“As anyone who was watched My Octopus Teacher will tell you, there’s more to our eight-limbed friends than an ability to predict World Cup matches, with the creatures and their close relatives showing the kinds of complex thought usually seen in advanced mammal species. The British government recognized that on Friday by designating these wise cephalopods, along with lobsters and crabs, as sentient beings, citing complex central nervous systems and an ability to feel pain.
The move will not yet change the country’s fishing habits, or impose new rules on restaurants, with the government saying the designation was only meant to ‘ensure animal welfare is well considered in future decision-making.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
Farmhand Mike Milkowski checks a turkey at the All Grass Farms, an all-natural livestock facility, in East Dundee in the north-west suburbs of Chicago. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock
“Hemlock Hill Farm, a 120-acre organic farm near Cortlandt, New York, has been in the same family since 1939. As they prepare their turkeys for this Thursday’s Thanksgiving celebrations, farmer Trish Vasta says they are facing a strange holiday season for the second year in a row.
Last week the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) warned that costs of the traditional turkey feast has risen 14% over the past year. The cost increase, up from an average of $46.90 for a family group of 10 last year to $53.31 in 2021, works out at $6 a person.
Within the overall 6.6% increase in the cost of the family sit-down, including stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, the cost of the bird has increased more than any other factor – 24%.” Read more at The Guardian
“A Las Vegas judge ordered former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III to appear in court on Monday after learning he missed a required alcohol test while under house arrest following a fatal crash he’s accused of causing by allegedly driving drunk at speeds of up to 156 mph. His lawyers said Ruggs ‘self-tested’ negative shortly after missing one of his calls for a breath test last weekend, blaming the delay on trouble with testing equipment. Prosecutors have said Ruggs’ blood-alcohol level after the crash was 0.16%, twice the legal limit for drivers in Nevada. Authorities said he and his girlfriend were injured when Ruggs’ Chevrolet Corvette slammed into the rear of Tina Tintor’s Toyota RAV4, killing her and rupturing that vehicle’s fuel tank.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Mick Rock’s images of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Debbie Harry and others made him one of rock and pop’s most acclaimed photographers. Rock died at 72.” Read more at New York Times
“New data point to an ‘attention recession’ as we ease off the shutdown era's media binge, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes.
Why it matters: The gradual return of normal life in many places — along with media overload and exhaustion — has cut consumption.
The retreat from at-home activities has negatively impacted the growth of several media industries on a year-over-year basis:
Broadband: Kagan reports broadband subscriber growth ‘cooled significantly in the third quarter,’ stalling for the first time in three years.
Streaming: Subscriber growth slowed last quarter for most of the major streaming services.
News: SimilarWeb found a 12.4% decrease in readership across the top 10 most visited news sites between October 2020 and October 2021.” Read more at Axios
BTS performs ‘Butter.’ Chris Pizzello, Invision/AP
“South Korean superstars BTS were crowned artist of the year at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, taking home three awards. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion was named favorite female hip-hop artist, her ‘Good News’ winning for favorite hip-hop album and her track ‘Body’ was crowned favorite trending song.
Olivia Rodrigo took home the crown for favorite new artist of the year. She lost favorite pop album to Taylor Swift's ‘evermore.’ The favorite Latin album went to Bad Bunny’s ‘El Último Tour Del Mundo.’” Read more at USA Today