Biden Win Gets Federal Nod | NYC's First Black Mayor Dies

He hasn’t conceded. But faced with his electoral loss being certified in Michigan and another legal defeat in his effort to toss out millions of Pennsylvania ballots, President Donald Trump made a key concession: He allowed the General Services Administration to recognize President-elect Joe Biden as the presidential election’s apparent winner. That means funding, offices and access for the transition team. Trump downplayed the GSA determination, vowing to press on with unsupported fraud claims, including disparaging Dominion voting machines, to which a company representative said it was “physically impossible” to change votes, which are printed on paper in front of each voter.

Sources: NYT, USA Today, Fox News

2. WHO Sending Virus Investigators to China

After months of uncertainty, the World Health Organization said yesterday it would soon send an international team of experts to probe the animal origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Charges that the U.N. agency was too accepting of Chinese explanations of the disease’s genesis were leveled by President Trump when he withdrew U.S. membership and support from the WHO earlier this year. Meanwhile, American infections continue to break records as the world’s total approaches 60 million. At the White House, holiday gatherings are being planned as health authorities nationwide warned families against large, contagion-spreading Thanksgiving dinners.

Sources: The Guardian, CNBC, AP, JHU

3. Saudis Deny Prince’s Meeting With Netanyahu

Never happened. That’s what officials in Riyadh are saying about Israeli media reports that Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two were reportedly joined by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israel’s Mossad Director Yossi Cohen. Both the U.S. and Israeli governments declined comment. If acknowledged, the meeting would be a historic one for Islam’s standard-bearer and arguably the Arab world’s most influential nation, and the Jewish State; which comes after groundbreaking recognition of Israel by the Arab governments of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

Sources: Al Jazeera, CNN

4. Biden Taps Yellen for Treasury

If confirmed by the Senate, Janet Yellen, 74, would be the first female U.S. Treasury Secretary. President-elect Joe Biden’s choice was Federal Reserve Board chair during a time of bustling economic growth, so she’s earning plaudits from Wall Street. Also on Monday, Biden’s team named former Sen. John Kerry “climate envoy,” demonstrating with the former presidential nominee how vital the issue is to his agenda. Investors welcomed the naming of Yellen, someone expected to promote more conventional financial policies, while news of effective vaccines and the official start of a presidential transition also boosted markets.

Sources: WSJ (sub), The Hill, Bloomberg

5. Also Important …

Mexican authorities have reportedly arrested a former policeman linked to a drug cartel as a suspect in the November 2019 ambush and murder of nine Americans, including six children, connected to a Mormon settlement in Mexico. France’s interior minister has launched an investigation into police violence involving Monday’s clearing of a Paris migrant camp. And General Motors has changed sides in a legal battle where it had initially joined the Trump administration’s suit to weaken California emissions standards.

Election Update: President-elect Biden has named Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban American, as the first Latino to preside over immigration policies as head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Meet the next Rihanna. Rising music superstar Saweetie reveals to Carlos her dream to build a billion-dollar multi-industry global brand. The woman behind “Icy Grl,” “My Type” and “Tap In” shares the story behind her love affair with fellow rapper Quavo, how her relationship with her grandmother continues to shape her career — and her politics — and why sports is her true first love.

General Motors is driving change with a goal to become the most inclusive company in the world. A third — and growing — of GM’s top management jobs are held by women (compared to roughly a fifth of C-suite positions held by women nationally), and the automotive giant plans to achieve high levels of multicultural representation across all staffing levels. Similarly, OZY is dedicated to helping #ResetAmerica and fighting for racial equality, which is why we are thrilled to team up with GM as it fosters a work environment that celebrates diversity and inclusion.

His example “shines brighter than the most powerful lighthouse imaginable.” That’s how New York Attorney General Letitia James remembers David Dinkins. A barber’s son, he was elected New York’s first and only Black mayor, who died last night of natural causes at the age of 93. Serving from 1990 to 1993, Dinkins called his city a “gorgeous mosaic” and sought to calm the volatility that it brought with it while cracking down on crime and promoting his city to the world. After a single term, criticism of his handling of racial violence in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, contributed to his defeat against Rudy Giuliani, who today tweeted that Dinkins’ “service is respected and honored by all.”

Sources: NBC4 New York, NYT

2. Moon Base May Resemble Ancient Rome

So that’s what the Romans did for us. China launched the first mission to collect moon rocks since 1976 on Monday, while space scientists published a study suggesting how astronauts starting a lunar settlement might use these rocks to construct a habitat using techniques borrowed from classical Rome. Considering the prohibitive cost of bringing supplies to the moon, they’ll need to use its materials to cast building blocks. An opening at the top would allow sunlight in, Pantheon-style, to help grow crops and support 40 people in a structure that could, like Roman architecture, last a millennium.

Sources: Inverse, National Geographic

3. Qantas to Require Vaccine for Travel

No wonder it’s the world’s safest airline. Australia’s national carrier yesterday became the world’s first to say it would require passengers be vaccinated against COVID-19 before travel. The requirement, to begin after inoculations become available, was announced just as the Australian state of Victoria discharged its last infected patient from a hospital, and plans to end its pandemic border closures. Qantas expects other airlines to follow suit, but they’re bound to face pushback from vaccine skeptics, whom U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams addressed Monday, saying he wouldn’t hesitate to get a shot.

Sources: Forbes, ABC Australia, Daily Mail, The Independent

4. The Funny Side of Dictatorship

Don’t laugh. That was the rule in Gambia, at least when it came to jokes about its iron-fisted ruler, Yahya Jammeh. But his election defeat in 2016 ushered in a new era of peace, reconciliation and humor, OZY reports. One recent YouTube video mocking Jammeh has racked up 50,000 views in a small nation with sparse internet access, while women comedians have burst forth in TikTok segments. It’s something of a renaissance of Gambians’ penchant for playful teasing to blow off steam. Even the country’s current President Adama Barrow has tolerated ribbing at his expense — so far.

Sources: OZY

5. First All-Black NFL Officiating Team Takes Field

Will this make up for past fouls? Monday night football’s Rams versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers game put a rare spotlight on the officiating team: For the first time ever, all of its seven members were Black. While most of the team normally work together, a line judge and back judge were pulled from other crews for the occasion. It’s one of many conciliatory league gestures amid a historic focus on U.S. racism, with football players’ protests figuring prominently. And the quarterback who launched those protests, Colin Kaepernick, tweeted yesterday that it’s been 1,363 days since he’s played, with the hashtag #StillReady.

Sources: AP, NPR, Yahoo