HOT AIR BALLOON FLIGHT

Wednesday 11.03.21

The Atlanta Braves are World Series champions for the first time in 26 years. So, if you're a little groggy this morning after a long night of watching baseball ... you're not alone! Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.
 

By AJ Willingham

Glenn Youngkin, the Republican elected to be Virginia's next governor, takes the stage last night in Chantilly.

Elections

Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race, CNN projects, becoming the first Republican to win statewide office there since 2009. The race was the centerpiece of a slew of local and state elections yesterday, and Youngkin's victory could portend serious problems for Democrats heading into next year's midterms. Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to Youngkin's winning strategy -- especially how he mobilized supporters of former President Trump without alienating suburban voters who are less enamored of him -- as a way to possibly approach other contests. Across the country, other results are rolling in. The New Jersey governor's race is still too close to call, marking another sobering result for Dems who thought they had the race in the bag. Voters in Minneapolis also rejected the possibility of widespread police reform spurred by the 2020 death of George Floyd.

Climate

On the second day of the COP26 talks in Glasgow, about 100 nations and parties signed on to a global pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% of 2020 levels by 2030. Reducing this greenhouse gas could immediately slow down climate change, the European Commission President said. World leaders also got more specific about ways to deliver on other big climate-related pledges, like reducing deforestation and committing to eventual "net-zero" steel production. In a news conference, US President Biden criticized China and Russia for not doing more to tackle the climate crisis. China has been reluctant to adhere to the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, China's special envoy at the conference said the country is "not resisting" the target.

Congress

Sen. Joe Manchin has laid out his terms for fellow Democrats to secure his vote on the $1.75 trillion economic package after saying this week that he wouldn't commit to supporting it just to move forward with a vote on the complementary infrastructure bill. Manchin's biggest issues? Climate change, taxes, Medicare and immigration. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he wants to bring the bill to the floor during the week of November 15 -- a timeline Manchin seems to support. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have reached an agreement to lower drug costs by empowering Medicare to negotiate prices of certain costly medications. The deal would also cap what Americans pay for insulin at $35 a month. Such provisions were originally in the massive spending bill but were cut to reduce the bill's price tag. 

Coronavirus

The CDC director has endorsed the recommendation for vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 against Covid-19. Her approval was the last stop to clear the way for immediate vaccination of the age group in the US. Vaccine clinics, children's hospitals and pediatricians' offices already have gotten shipments of Pfizer's one-third-sized vaccine for kids and are ready to put shots into arms as soon as possible. During the approval process, Pfizer told CDC advisers that side effects from the vaccine were much less common in the 5-to-11 age group than among 16- to 25-year-olds. Biden called the authorization "a turning point in our battle against COVID-19."

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is under a state of emergency after forces from the northern Tigray region claimed to have gained territory. Ethiopia's Prime Minister has even called on citizens to take up arms against Tigrayan forces as they advance toward the nation's capital. Fighting first broke out in Ethiopia's Tigray region last year when the region's former ruling party clashed with the Ethiopian government. Since then, the international community has been concerned about human rights violations resulting from the conflict. The United Nations launched a joint investigation, and the results recently led the group to condemn all parties to the conflict, saying they have, to varying degrees, "committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

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Got a job interview? This is how to find out what it's really like working at a company

Without seeming, you know, overly nosy. 

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch calls in sick, hears arguments over the phone
Even Supreme Court justices need sick days. 

Chipotle is testing a new chicken recipe for the first time in its 28-year history
But don't worry, it's not replacing its classic flavor. 

White Castle is trying out a new fry-flipping robot, and its name is ... Flippy 2! 
If they're trying to endear us to the idea of robot labor via a very adorable name, well, darn it, it's working. 

1 million

Roughly the number of people who have applied to work unpaid at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games -- an undertaking that requires entering a Covid-free "bubble." About 20,000 people were selected, according to the Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times.

We need to weigh the positive use cases for facial recognition against growing societal concerns, especially as regulators have yet to provide clear rules.

Facebook's artificial intelligence vice president Jerome Pesenti in a Facebook blog post, announcing the company plans to stop using facial-recognition software that can automatically recognize people in photos and videos posted on its platform

'I don't care if I ever get back'
I'm always sad when baseball season ends, so let's do the seventh-inning stretch one more time with a very cool rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." (Click here to view.)