Wednesday, November 3 top stories
It is Wednesday, November 3. I will share some top stories and then provide a recap of the results from the 2021 elections.
On Tuesday, a CDC panel and the CDC director approved the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. This means the vaccines will be available to children starting this Friday. The CDC has reported that there is an increase in hospitalizations among children and teenagers since school went back in session, and the vaccinations are expected to slow down the spread of the virus and provide some protection against potential new variants.
Meta announced on Tuesday that Facebook would shut down its face recognition system and delete over a billion people’s facial recognition templates. You may have noticed this technology when Facebook automatically finds and matches faces out of group photos to recommend them be tagged. The technology has been around since 2010 and it’s allowed Facebook to have the biggest trove of digital pictures in the world. Meta said they are deleting the images because there are “many concerns about the place of facial recognition technology in society.”
NFL player Henry Ruggs III, who played for the Las Vegas Raiders, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death. Prosecutors said on Tuesday early morning, he drove his Corvette at 156 mph on a city street and crashed into the back of a Toyota RAV4. The Toyota burst into flames and a 23-year-old woman named Tina Tintor and her dog were killed. Ruggs was driving with a passenger and both of them were injured. Ruggs had a blood-alcohol content of twice the legal limit. He was released by the Raiders, made his first appearance in court today wearing a neck brace, and may face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. It is a major downfall for Ruggs, who was selected 12th overall in the 2020 NFL draft from Alabama and was the Raiders’ leading receiver.
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Here are highlights from the 2021 elections.
In Virginia, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the gubernatorial race, defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The win has shocked Democrats who felt confident about winning the race because President Joe Biden won the state by a comfortable margin in 2020. A part of Youngkin’s popularity came from his opposition on schools teaching critical race theory and resistance to transgender rights. It shows how important this issue is to conservative voters.
In New Jersey, the race between incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and his Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, is too close to call. The latest numbers from this afternoon show that Murphy is ahead by about 15,000 votes, or by 1%. It was predicted days ago Murphy would easily win this race, but it’s a lot closer. The results from Virginia and New Jersey show that the Democratic Party’s popularity is fading, likely from frustration on Biden’s performance as president this year and failures of the Democratic majority in Congress to pass several bills.
In Minneapolis, voters rejected a proposal to change the police department into a new agency that would have put a greater emphasis on mental health needs and put less traditional officers on the streets. This idea came about from demands for change after George Floyd was murdered by a police officer. The proposal was voted down at a 56% to a 43% margin.
In Boston, Democrat Michelle Wu became the first Asian American to be elected as mayor. Wu is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and served on the Boston City Council before announcing her run for mayor. Her platform focused on climate change, racial justice, and housing policy.
In New York City, Democrat Eric Adams won the mayoral race. Adams is a retired NYPD captain and will be the second Black mayor in the city’s history. He said during his campaign that he opposes the “defund the police” movement but wants to make sure that racist policing practices are stopped.
“Advocate” reported that the election produced several LGBTQ+ firsts around the nation. In Detroit, Gabriela Santiago-Romero became the “first out queer woman” to be elected to its City Council. In Minneapolis, Black trans woman Andrea Jenkins was re-elected to its City Council. The report from “Advocate” said there were nine “out nonbinary people” who won elections in the U.S. It shows that America is moving in a progressive way in supporting LGBTQ+ individuals as political leaders.
That’s the updates from the 2021 elections.
And that’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/cdc-pfizer-vaccine-children-5-11-2754a31d-3f3f-48d4-ba3a-7e057e414d4c.html
https://www.axios.com/youngkin-mcauliffe-governor-virginia-5d527110-7a39-4e10-bbae-734ab1a6c3d9.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/02/us/elections/results-new-jersey.html
https://www.axios.com/election-eric-adams-wins-nyc-mayor-c64ed3f6-42c7-49e8-ad96-94cf27f81048.html
https://www.advocate.com/politics/2021/11/03/election-day-produces-lgbtq-firsts-around-nation