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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, November 4, 2021:
ELECTION DAY FALLOUT
Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy has been narrowly reelected in New Jersey, according to the AP. Murphy prevailed in a shockingly close race that, combined with broader gains by Republicans across the country on Tuesday, signals serious problems for Democrats ahead of the midterms next year. The GOP made significant inroads in the suburbs of Virginia, N.J. and NYC among voters who had previously been turned off by Donald Trump. Exit polls in Virginia illustrate the shift: white women swung 15 points to the GOP just a year after they helped President Biden carry the state by 10 points. NY TIMES
SCOTUS GUN CASE
The Supreme Court seems prepared to strike down a New York handgun law in a big Second Amendment case that would determine whether Americans have a constitutional right to carry a loaded and concealed weapon in public. In oral arguments, all six conservative justices appeared inclined to side with a challenge to the N.Y. law backed by the NRA. If the law is overturned, people would have an essentially unfettered right to carry guns in public spaces like the subway. LAW & CRIME
JURY SET FOR ARBERY MURDER SUSPECTS
A nearly all-white jury has been seated in the trial for the three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery. The Georgia judge overseeing the trial acknowledged that the defense appeared to be intentionally discriminatory in repeatedly striking qualified potential jurors who were Black, but allowed the case to go forward. Opening arguments start tomorrow in the highly charged Georgia trial. The jury will consist of 11 white people and one Black man. CNN
KABUL DRONE STRIKE
A U.S. military drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in August did not violate any laws of war, according to a Pentagon review. The DOD is not recommending any disciplinary action for the mistaken strike, calling it a “mistake” but “not negligence.” Officials also confirmed that surveillance video showed at least one child in the area two minutes before the drone launched the missile, but said it would have been easy to miss in real time. NBC NEWS
FED TAPER
The Federal Reserve has announced plans to start “tapering” its monthly bond-buying program that is widely seen as having kept the economy from collapsing during the pandemic by regularly injecting billions of dollars into the financial system. Other central banks around the world are also starting to scale back their monetary support. The process of unwinding those asset purchases is a possible precursor to raising interest rates, which would typically have the effect of curbing rising inflation. CHEDDAR
RETURN OF THE MEME TRADE
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond jumped more than 50% after the retailer announced a new partnership to sell products in Kroger stores, part of a broader reorganization of the struggling retailer. The stock took off because of a short squeeze, similar to how shares of AMC and GameStop traded in the “meme stock” frenzy earlier this year. Short sellers also got crushed this week in a squeeze of Avis Budget that sent shares of the rental-car company up more than 100%. WSJ
RODGERS IN TROUBLE
Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has tested positive for Covid and will have to sit out Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. That essentially confirms that he is unvaccinated, because vaccinated players don’t have to automatically isolate under the NFL’s Covid protocol. Rodgers is under fire not just because he didn’t get the vaccine, but because he appears to have misled the league and the public about his vaccination status. When asked in August if he got the shot, the quarterback responded that he was “immunized.” Since then, he’s been observed flouting the NFL’s rules for unvaccinated players -- he hasn’t been wearing a mask indoors or on the sidelines -- suggesting that he was vaccinated. ESPN
MARVEL SEX SCENE
The first sex scene in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming to a theater near you this weekend. Eternals, directed by Oscar-winning indie auteur Chloe Zhao, includes a brief but unmistakable love scene between superheroes, but still skates by with a PG-13 rating. It’s a first for the MCU, where sex is famously often implied but never shown. Eternals will open with another first -- the first Marvel movie to be “certified rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes. The flick is getting decidedly mixed reviews in spite of a diverse, all-star cast. THE RINGER
SPOTTED...
...a rare photo of Carl Dean, the reclusive husband of Dolly Parton. The country music legend posted a throwback pic of her with Dean, whom she married in 1966. He was photographed in public last year for the first time in 40 years: SEE PIC
...Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson, reportedly on a dinner date in Manhattan a day after they were seen eating together on Davidson’s native Staten Island: DETAILS
LEFTOVERS: LONDON AIRLIFT
Three Boeing 747s landed at Heathrow this week, reportedly filled entirely with PlayStation 5 consoles. Sony has been chartering decommissioned jumbo jets to deliver the un-gettable gaming console to store shelves in the UK, bypassing the delays at the ports ahead of the holidays. PS5 restocks have been increasing at U.S. stores too, though automated bots have made it near impossible to snag one online. No signs yet of any PS5 planes coming to American airspace. METRO UK
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