“The U.S. dropped its travel ban Monday , making tourism possible for millions of fully vaccinated foreign nationals. The ban prevented travel from dozens of countries – including most European Union member states, the U.K. and China – since early 2020. Meanwhile, visitors from countries not part of the ban will face stricter requirements with a new vaccine mandate. Air travelers will need to provide proof of vaccination status to fly to the U.S. They will also need to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test taken no more than three days ahead of boarding, according to a White House official.” Read more at USA Today
“Romania, where religious figures have pushed anti-vaccine disinformation, has the world’s highest Covid death rate.” Read more at New York Times
“The Biden administration is igniting a nationwide brawl with its January deadline for employers with 100+ employees to require COVID shots or regular testing, Axios health care editor Tina Reed reports.
Why it matters: The planned mandates affect more than 100 million Americans — over two-thirds of the workforce.
What's happening: Lawsuits from 15 GOP-led states rolled in mere hours after the administration announced Jan. 4 as the deadline for employers.
Even a Democratic governor, Kansas' Laura Kelly, criticized the rule as not ‘the correct, or the most effective, solution for Kansas.’
Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who is unvaccinated and missed last night's game after testing positive for COVID, complained that some vaccine rules are ‘trying to out and shame people.’
State of play: A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily blocked enforcement of the mandate. The administration says it's confident the requirement will withstand legal challenges.” Read more at Axios
“Houston authorities say the criminal investigation into a crowd surge that killed eight people and injured dozens more Friday evening at the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park could take weeks. The crowd of 50,000 was packed so tightly that as headliner Travis Scott took the stage, concertgoers were crushed and trampled as waves of people moved toward him. The youngest victim was just 14 years old. Scott has spoken out about the tragedy, saying he is devastated and is working to help the families of the victims. A concertgoer who was injured is suing Scott, who organized the festival, as well as entertainment company Live Nation, concert promoter Scoremore and others involved in the event.” Read more at CNN
“The House has passed the much-debated $1 trillion infrastructure bill after months of tense negotiation and despite pushback from progressives. The bill already passed the Senate in August. Once President Biden signs it, federal money will soon flow to repair the country's potholed roads, aging airports, crumbling bridges and antiquated railroads, with more funds targeting rural broadband and earmarked to catalyze a fast evolution of electric vehicles. Experts consider the bill's passage a big win for Biden after a week of disappointing returns for Democrats in several state elections. It is less of a win for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which tried to delay the vote until the Senate passed the massive spending package.” Read more at USA Today
“A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s new vaccine mandate for private businesses with 100 or more employees, health care workers and federal contractors. The White House chief of staff says he’s confident the courts will uphold the rule before January 4, when it is due to take effect. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has signed agreements with 20 unions to reaffirm the city's vaccine mandate -- but not with the police or fire departments' unions.” Read more at USA Today
“Suspected foreign hackers have breached nine organizations in the defense, energy, health care, technology and education sectors, including at least one organization in the US. This is the conclusion of findings that security firm Palo Alto Networks shared exclusively with CNN. A senior executive of the firm said the confirmed victims are the ‘tip of the spear’ of the apparent spying campaign, and more victims are expected to emerge. While it's unclear who is responsible for the activity, some of the attackers' tactics and tools reportedly overlap with those used by a suspected Chinese hacking group. The National Security Agency and other federal units have been working with cybersecurity experts to track down hackers trying steal key data from US defense contractors and other sensitive targets. Federal officials told CNN this revelation of hacking activity is evidence of their work to stay on top of threats.” Read more at CNN
“Multiple Ivy League college campuses were evacuated on Sunday following reports of bomb threats, days after several Ohio universities received similar threats.
Cornell, Columbia, and Brown Universities all issued emergency alerts after receiving bomb threats Sunday afternoon. They each evacuated buildings and cautioned students to stay away from campus.” Read more at USA Today
“Protests broke out across the world this weekend in reaction to Nicaragua’s fraught presidential election. President Daniel Ortega has received international condemnation for eliminating dissent and quashing competition in the run-up to his reelection bid. Dozens of opposition figures, including seven presidential candidates, have been arrested in Nicaragua in the past few months. At least 20 more people were arrested Saturday, a day before the election. While the Nicaraguan government spoke highly of voter turnout, some citizens called voting a ‘joke’ and said others were afraid to even leave their houses to cast a ballot. Biden called the election a ‘sham’ and a ‘pantomime’ and said the international community would work to support the Nicaraguan people until a functioning democracy is restored.” Read more at CNN
“Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has attempted to defuse tensions, calling for ‘a constructive dialogue for Iraq and its future’ following an apparent assassination attempt in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The attack has been roundly condemned by regional leaders and the wider international community. U.S. President Joe Biden called the attempt on Kadhimi a ‘terrorist attack’ and has offered ‘all appropriate assistance’ to Iraq’s security forces to help investigate.
The failed plot involved the use of three explosives-laden drones, Iraqi authorities said, adding that two were shot down before they could reach their target. Appearing on video soon after the attack, Kadhimi appeared only lightly injured, wearing a bandage on his wrist.
While the Iraqi government has formed a committee to investigate the attack, no suspects have been named.
The weapons of choice, and the context in which they were launched, indicates the involvement of Iran-backed local militias. The political wings of the militias suffered heavy losses in October’s parliamentary elections and hundreds of supporters have protested outside Baghdad’s fortified green zone in recent days, claiming fraud tipped the results.
The protests turned deadly on Friday, when hundreds attempted to breach the green zone’s fortifications. At least one protester was killed, with a further 120 injured.
Abu Ali al-Askari, the name used by the leader of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, denied his group’s involvement, suggesting the operation was a false flag to garner sympathy for Kadhimi. ‘If there is anyone who wants to harm this Facebook creature there are many ways that are less costly and more guaranteed to achieve this,’ Askari said.
Iran, like everyone else, has condemned the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh pointing the finger vaguely toward Washington: ‘Such incidents are in line with the interests of parties that have violated the stability, security, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq over the past 18 years, and through creation of terrorist and seditionist groups, seek to achieve their sinister objectives in the region.’
Republicans in the U.S. Congress have called for a forceful response from President Joe Biden, tying the attack to the U.S. approach to international nuclear negotiations with Iran, set to resume on Nov. 29. Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said a response to ‘Iran’s aggression’ should involve ending ‘the farce of the nuclear talks and go back to a maximum pressure approach without delay.’
While the attack is a low point, some analysts have suggested Sunday’s attack was likely meant as intimidation rather than assassination.
Patrick Osgood, a senior analyst with the consultancy Control Risks, said on Twitter that there was ‘a significant prospect that the attack, by being near-universally recognized as having gone too far, marks the high point of brinkmanship from which post-elections compromise will begin.’
Lahib Higel, a senior Iraq analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the attack indicates attempts by pro-Iran groups to influence a new government may have ‘reached the ceiling of escalation.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Ethiopia’s civil war. Tens of thousands joined a rally in Addis Ababa over the weekend in support of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces move south toward the capital. Attendees could be seen with placards denouncing the United States, which has urged negotiations with the TPLF, as the government on Saturday decried ‘orchestrated media propaganda against Ethiopia.’
Non-essential U.S. embassy staff, previously authorized to leave voluntarily, have now been ordered to leave the country.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“A flurry of early-season snow arrived in Beijing on Sunday, perhaps too early for Winter Olympic organizers as they come under increasing pressure to account for the city’s dry winter climate ahead of the games, which open in February. Drawing on nearby reservoirs, Beijing is expected to use up to 49 million gallons of water to produce artificial snow to facilitate the competition.
Beijing follows in the snowprints of the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where an estimated 90 to 98 percent of the snow was artificial.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Tesla Inc. shares fell in premarket trading after Twitter users directed Chief Executive Elon Musk to sell a 10th of his stock in an online poll.
The electric-vehicle maker’s stock lost 5.2% in brisk trading ahead of the bell Monday. Tesla shares changed hands more than 700,000 times, according to FactSet, more than any other stock on the S&P 500. ‘I was prepared to accept either outcome,’ Mr. Musk said in a tweet Sunday after participants in the poll backed a sale by 58% to 42%. Neither Mr. Musk nor Tesla has said when a share sale would take place.
Mr. Musk consulted Twitter users on whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, worth about $21 billion at Friday’s closing price. The question, posed on Saturday, marked his latest intervention in a debate over how the richest Americans should pay tax. More than 3.5 million votes were cast.
Tesla’s shares are notoriously volatile. They have a relatively small so-called free float, or the amount of shares regularly traded and not held by insiders. Tesla’s shares have fallen more than 5% nine times this year, according to FactSet. A Tesla representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the stock’s loss ahead of the opening bell.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel ran the fastest time ever by an American woman at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, shattering the previous course record by more than a minute.
Then, a little more than an hour later, she revealed she had done so with two broken ribs.
‘It started hurting later in the race, like badly,’ Seidel said. ‘But I didn't feel like it was messing up my stride or anything. I went all out with what God gave me today. I think I made the most of the situation I was in.’
Seidel, 27, declined to specify how she suffered the injury but said it happened about a month ago. And up until two weeks prior to Sunday's race, she said she was in so much discomfort that she considered withdrawing from the event altogether.
After what she described as ‘frank’ conversations with her coach and agent, the Wisconsin native felt healthy enough to give it a go. She credited a team of physical therapists for aiding in her recovery and said she was grateful that she sustained the injury so far in advance from the race….
Seidel ended up not just running and finishing the race – which was just the fourth marathon she's ever run – but also placing fourth with a time of 2:24:42.
The previous course record had been held by Kara Goucher, who finished in 2:25:53 in 2008….
Peres Jepchirchir ended up pulling away to win Sunday's race, which marked the 50th running of the New York City Marathon. Jepchirchir and Seidel both finished on the podium at the recent Summer Olympics in Tokyo, with the Kenyan winning gold and the American taking bronze.
Seidel said one of the reasons she chose to compete in New York, despite her injury, was the promise of being able to celebrate the result with her family members, who had to watch her Olympic performance from home due to COVID-19 protocols at the Games.” Read more at USA Today
“The defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks will visit the White House on Monday becoming the first NBA franchise to do so in five years. The Bucks won their first title in 50 years by beating the Phoenix Suns in six games in the NBA Finals last July. Milwaukee will be the first NBA champion to visit the White House since 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers visited former President Barack Obama. The Bucks will make the trip on their day off, following a 101-94 loss to the Washington Wizards Sunday.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Julie Green, whose art memorialized the last suppers of death-row inmates for over two decades, died at 60.
The National Rifle Association used to dominate discussions of gun control. Mark Glaze, the former executive director of Everytown for Gun Safety, helped change that. He died at 51.” Read more at New York Times
Photo: Robert F. Bukaty/AP
“M.J. ‘Sunny’ Eberhart (trail name: Nimblewill Nomad) — age 83 — is the oldest person to hike the entire 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, AP reports.
Above, we see the Alabaman descending Mount Hayes, near Gorham, N.H.” Read more at Axios
No posts