As Republicans across the nation joined President Donald Trump’s unsupported accusations of election fraud, President-elect Joe Biden said Trump’s refusal to concede was an “embarrassment” to the nation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised “a smooth transition to a second Trump administration ” and assured that U.S. foreign policy would remain “successful with a president who is in office on January 20th a minute after noon.” Meanwhile, world leaders including Trump-friendly British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have called to congratulate Biden, who said he’s “letting them know that America is back.”

Sources: BBC, Fox News, NYT

2. Supreme Court Signals ACA May Be OK

The patient might pull through. Hearing oral arguments Tuesday from Republicans aiming to overturn the Affordable Care Act, two conservative Supreme Court justices questioned whether Congress removing Obamacare’s individual mandate — a penalty for failing to purchase health insurance — rendered the law unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh seemed inclined to vote with three liberal justices to preserve the 2010 law. If that’s how they eventually rule, it would be a loss for President Trump, who vowed to kill Obamacare but failed to convince Congress to strike it down completely.

Sources: Reuters, The Week

3. Peru Shaken by Leader’s Removal

As it struggles with one of Latin America’s worst COVID-19 surges, Peru faces a new crisis after President Martín Vizcarra was impeached and removed from office yesterday. The move, over unproven bribery allegations, sparked clashes between security forces and Peruvians who claim he was removed because he was cracking down on corruption. Hundreds of demonstrators were met with water cannons and tear gas as they gathered outside Congress. Meanwhile, Vizcarra, who was replaced by the speaker of Congress, has questioned the legality of his impeachment, saying it should be adjudicated by the country’s Constitutional Court.

Sources: Washington Post, BBC

4. China Clamps Down on Its Big Tech

As democratic nations debate how to police anti-competitive practices in the tech sector, the wheels turn faster in Beijing. A set of draft antitrust rules aimed at internet companies sent a shudder through the industry Tuesday, cratering online retailer Alibaba’s stock nearly 10 percent. The news emerged today amid what should have been a celebration of unfettered consumerism: Singles Day, which saw Alibaba set a $56 billion sales record. It’s a demonstration of what the new regulations aim to control, ideally clearing a path for competitors in sectors where tech giants crowd them out with limitless investment capital.

Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, TechCrunch

5. Also Important …

Hong Kong’s government has removed four pro-democracy legislators in a move advancing Beijing’s program of silencing dissent and further stripping the territory of autonomy. After losing several seats to Republicans in last week's elections, Democrats yesterday clinched the 218 seats needed to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives. And Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who served as Bahrain’s prime minister for half a century, died today at the age of 84.

Election update: After firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper, President Trump is shaking up Pentagon leadership, installing loyalists in key positions.

Today Carlos is joined by model and activist Christy Turlington. Tune in to hear how she broke through with kindness and learn about the eye-opening personal experience that caused her to become the pioneering maternal health advocate she is today.

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Snotty noses may be their superpower. A recent study by London’s Francis Crick Institute suggests that children’s low incidence of serious illness from the new coronavirus may stem from their exposure to old coronaviruses — those responsible for 1 in 5 common colds. “Cross-reactive” antibodies that fought off those innocuous infections appear to have kept this illness at bay. More ominous results from another study indicate that COVID-19 survivors were 20 percent more likely to experience mental health issues within three months of diagnosis, though it’s unclear if that’s because of stress or the illness’s effect on the brain.

Sources: HuffPost, NYT, Yahoo

2. Citing US Inaction, TikTok Seeks Breakup Delay

It’s the multibillion-dollar challenge: Will a federal court stop President Trump from forcing China-based TikTok to divest its U.S. operations? The deadline is tomorrow, but the video platform told a Washington, D.C., appeals court Tuesday that it’s received no “substantive feedback” on its plans from the White House. After Trump issued an executive order to ban the app, TikTok reached a deal for Oracle and Walmart to run a U.S.-based spinoff that would be responsible for protecting American data from Beijing authorities. Last month a federal judge blocked Trump’s ban, calling his national security concerns “hypothetical.”

Sources: BI , Deadline

3. Welcome to the Gap Year From Hell

It’s a truly open university. Pandemic restrictions have juiced demand for outdoor education programs that put college students in touch with the land in the wilderness or on farms, OZY reports. And traditional summer programs like Wilderness Adventures in Wyoming are scrambling to accommodate demand for fall and spring sessions. As one student put it, online classes “produced a lot of stress and a ton of frustration.” Now she’s sleeping in a yurt studying regenerative agriculture in North Carolina, which is not only “really liberating,” but it’s providing “more meaning about how I want to live.”

Source: OZY

4. California Cinema Closures Alarm Industry

We’ve seen this one before. Theaters in San Diego and Sacramento are closing again as their counties reach California’s “purple” pandemic alert level, triggered by 8 percent of virus tests coming back positive. Populous Los Angeles and Orange counties are already purple. Though news of a working vaccine has encouraged the entertainment industry, it’ll be months before it’s in widespread use, and the lack of new films has depressed box office revenue. That’s prompted AMC, the largest U.S. chain, to launch a private theater rental program, while Hong Kong has opened a socially distanced outdoor cinema park.

Sources: Variety, Slashfilm, THR

5. England Soccer Head Resigns Over ‘Unacceptable’ Remarks

It was a colossal own goal. When Greg Clarke, chairman of England’s Football Association, met Tuesday via Zoom with members of Parliament about pandemic relief for the sport, he got quizzed on discrimination. Clarke explained the lack of openly LGBT players by citing the treatment of “colored” and female footballers, saying, “Why would you voluntarily sign up for that abuse?” He also referred to coming out as a “life choice.” By the end of the day, following angry reactions from anti-discrimination advocates, Clarke announced his resignation and apologized for doing a “disservice to our game.” 

Sources: ESPN, The Guardian

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