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COP26 updates: Climate conference continues after world leaders leave Glasgow

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COP26 updates: Climate conference continues after world leaders leave Glasgow
COP26 updates: Climate conference continues after world leaders leave Glasgow
oonal/iStock

(GLASGOW, Scotland) — Leaders from nearly every country in the world have converged upon Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference that experts are touting as the most important environmental summit in history.

The conference, delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed as the check-in for the progress countries are making after entering the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, a value that would be disastrous to exceed, according to climate scientists. More ambitious efforts aim to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Not one country is going into COP26 on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to experts. They will need to work together to find collective solutions that will drastically cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

“We need to move from commitments into action,” Jim Harmon, chairman of the World Resources Institute, told ABC News. “The path to a better future is still possible, but time is running out.”

All eyes will be on the biggest emitters: China, the U.S. and India. While China is responsible for about 26% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than all other developed countries combined, the cumulative emissions from the U.S. over the past century are likely twice that of China’s, David Sandalow, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told ABC News.

Here’s how the conference is developing. All times Eastern:

Nov 03, 7:33 am
New climate targets announced for sports worldwide

The United Nations has announced a number of ambitious emissions reduction targets as part of its Sports for Climate Action Framework.

The goals include reaching net zero by 2040 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

Organizations such as the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, Athletics Kenya, BBC Sport, the Premier League, Formula E and Munster Rugby have signed up for the new targets.

Moreover, signatories will submit plans on how to implement these targets as well as report on overall progress each year.

“Four years since we launched the Sports for Climate Action Framework, more than 280 sports organizations have committed to the overarching objectives of aligning sport with the goals of the Paris Agreement,” U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said Wednesday.

Nov 02, 3:59 pm
‘America showed up,’ Biden says of time at summit

Biden said the U.S. was able to make “real progress” at COP26 on methane reduction and reforestation strategies, including convincing countries on “the sideline” to commit to ambitious goals in those arenas as well.

Biden criticized China, the world’s biggest emitter, and Russia for failing to show up in Glasgow.

“The rest of the world is going to look to China and say…are they providing?” Biden said. “And they’ve lost the ability to influence people around the world and all the people here at COP.”

When asked by a reporter how he would respond to “skeptical” and “angry” protesters at the conference, Biden said, “I think anyone who cares about the environment should be worried.”

“There’s a reason for people to be worried,” he said. “I’m worried.”

Biden continued, “But I’m optimistic….what I feel is that the populations of each of our countries have a different perspective that they did at COP25.”

Biden added that people are starting to recognize the disasters that have been exacerbated by climate change, such as deadly flooding from hurricanes and wildfires burning in the western U.S., which has been experiencing a megadrought.

“I think there’s a whole different attitude,” Biden said.

Nov 02, 3:44 pm
Biden, Prince Charles meet at summit

Although not a part of his official schedule, Biden met with Prince Charles at COP26, a senior administration official said.

Biden spoke on the importance of collaboration between the two nations.

“They underlined the need for ambitious commitments and concrete actions among partners worldwide and discussed Prince Charles’ initiatives to engage the private sector on sustainability,” the official said.

Biden thanked the U.K. for hosting COP26 and commended the royal family and Charles’ dedication to environmental activism over the past 50 years.

Nov 02, 3:11 pm
‘No doubt’ progress has been made over past 2 days, Boris Johnson says

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the energy in Glasgow is different than six years ago when the Paris Agreement was signed.

At COP26, world leaders are starting to “tick the boxes” on how to reduce emissions, Johnson said, adding that he now has “no doubt” that progress has been made over the last two days.

“There was no road map, there was no very clear sense of how you could do it,” he said of the Paris Agreement. “I think what you’re starting to see here, in COP26 in Glasgow, is a sense of how actually you can deliver those cuts.”

But the world leaders must also guard against false hope, he added.Johnson said he understands that leaders from developing countries don’t have the same “cautious optimism,” admitting that “in the remaining days of this COP we have a lot more to do.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Facing dire sea level rise threat, Maldives turns to climate change solutions to survive

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Facing dire sea level rise threat, Maldives turns to climate change solutions to survive
Facing dire sea level rise threat, Maldives turns to climate change solutions to survive
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The Maldives are well known as a bucket list getaway. Hearing the country’s name conjures up images of luxury huts overlooking an aqua blue ocean. But climate change may cross the country off the map completely.

The archipelago, which is made up of over 1,100 coral islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is the lowest lying nation in the world. Therefore, sea level rise caused by global climate change is an existential threat to the island nation. At the current rate of global warming, almost 80% of the Maldives could become uninhabitable by 2050, according to multiple reports from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Our islands are slowly being inundated by the sea, one by one,” Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the president of the Maldives, told the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP26, earlier this week. “If we do not reverse this trend, the Maldives will cease to exist by the end of this century.”

The islands that are home to local Maldivians, not the resort islands, stand to lose the most. Mohammed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives and a leading voice for climate change equity, told ABC News that more than 90% of islands in the Maldives have severe erosion, and 97% of the country no longer has fresh groundwater.

Ibrahim Mubbasir and his family live on the island of Dhiffushi. It is suffering from severe erosion, and flooding has increased from two or three times a year to twice a month. Four years ago, the family’s well became unusable because of salt water contamination, leaving them to rely on collecting rainwater. Mubbasir said they only have enough fresh water to last for three more months.

“Things that we thought would happen towards the end of the century, we are experiencing now,” Aminath Shauna, the Maldives’ minister of environment, climate change and technology, told ABC News’ Ginger Zee.

Shauna said that more than 50% of the national budget is spent on adapting to climate change. When asked what the Maldives will look like in 2050, Shauna responded, “Are you willing to take the Maldives as climate refugees? I think that’s the conversation that needs to happen.”

And it’s not just the Maldives. Island countries around the world have been asking developed nations for funds since 2009. Countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions — China, the United States and India — are mostly responsible for the rapid sea level rise.

Maldives’ coral reefs

At the center of the Maldives’ culture are their coral reefs.

In 2016, the Maldives lost their front line of defense when a bleaching event affected about 60% of the coral reefs, according to Aya Naseem, a marine biologist and co-founder of the Maldives Coral Institute.

Without coral reefs, the islands are wide open to the rising waters. Naseem said they have one realistic choice: They need to build back and protect the reefs, “because IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is predicting that by 2050 if the temperature rises 1.5 degrees Celsius we can lose 70 to 90% of corals in the whole world.”

Research has previously shown that a healthy coral reef can absorb 97% of wave energy, dramatically reducing erosion, and it’s affordable, Naseem said.

“It’s much cheaper than building a seawall. I think it costs something like $3,000 to grow a meter of sea wall where for the coral a meter of it is about $300, including monitoring and everything,” she said.

Bebe Ahmed, founder of “Save the Beach,” travels island to island in the Maldives with the mission of teaching kids about restoring and protecting coral. He told ABC News that his dream is to inspire young Maldivians to want to start their own projects to restore coral reefs.

What’s next in the fight?

Technology, like 3D-printed coral structures or a floating city, may have to be part of the solution.

The Maldives is home to the Modular Artificial Reef Structure, or MARS, a coral-forming project on the resort island of Summer Island. to the coral forming project, MARS. The project has 3D-printed bases that are placed in the water with transplant corals attached to them. The hope is that the system is designed with the specific needs of the coral farm in mind, providing a permanent structure for coral to grow.

In the late ’90s, the Maldives began construction on the island of Hulhumale through the process of land reclamation. Hulhumale is 6.5 feet above sea level, more than double the height of Male, the current capital of the Maldives. It is possible this island may be a future site for relocation of Maldivians suffering from sea level rise. Maldivians call their manmade island the City of Hope.

The future of the Maldives could also come in the form of a floating city. In 2022, just a few miles from the dense, capital city of Male, construction and assembly will begin on the world’s first true floating city. The unique solution will not have to worry about sea level rise, because it will always be on top of the sea.

The project is being developed and led by Dutch Docklands in the Netherlands. Lead architect Koen Olthuis gave ABC News an inside look at how the floating city is designed and what it should eventually look like.

The floating city has a unique pattern, modeled after the brain, both human and coral.

The entire city will shift up and down on a pile drilled into the sea floor. It will also take advantage of its environment to better provide for those living on the floating city.

“By being on the water we want to take advantage of the water — and using the coolness of the water — so these are water-cooled cities, for which you take cool water outside the atoll and pump water through the route and activate the air conditioning systems,” Olthius said.

Since the floating city is sustainable and leaves no footprint, Olthuis called the floating cities “scarless” and said they are “renting space from nature.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 live updates: Biden reacts to CDC greenlighting child vaccinations

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COVID-19 live updates: Biden reacts to CDC greenlighting child vaccinations
COVID-19 live updates: Biden reacts to CDC greenlighting child vaccinations
AlxeyPnferov/iStock

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 748,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 67.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Nov 03, 8:24 am
CDC director: ‘We’ve taken the time to get this right’

“We’ve taken the time to get this right,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky told “Good Morning America” Wednesday, the day after she signed off on the Pfizer vaccine for young kids. “It’s taken us almost a year compared to where we had a vaccine for adults.”

Parents should have peace of mind with the vaccine’s safety, she argued. “We reviewed the evidence, we reviewed the safety profile,” she said.

“You may have questions, and we are here to answer your questions,” she said. “Go talk to your pediatrician, your trusted health care provider, your pharmacist, and get the information that you need.”

Nov 02, 8:46 pm
Biden calls CDC greenlight for child vaccinations ‘a major step forward’

President Joe Biden called Tuesday’s move by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5 to 11 years old “a turning point.”

“It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others,” he said in a statement. “It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus.”

The president said his administration has secured enough pediatric vaccines for every child in America and has begun shipping out doses.

“The program will ramp up over the coming days, and fully up and running during the week of November 8,” he said.

Nov 02, 8:21 pm
CDC director signs off on child vaccinations

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky approved the agency’s recommendations for administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between 5 and 11 years old.
MORE: In promising milestone, Pfizer vaccine soon available for kids 5 and up

Vaccinations for this age group, which includes over 28 million children, can begin as early as Wednesday morning.

The two-dose vaccine has been approved for an emergency use for children 12 to 15 years old and for full authorized use for patients above 16 years old.

Hartford HealthCare was one of the first locations in the country to administer the vaccine to kids Tuesday evening. The young patients cheered and gave doctors high fives after they received their shots.

Nov 02, 7:14 pm
Pharmacies readying COVID shots for young children

Two major pharmacy chains announced Tuesday evening they are getting ready to offer Pfizer COVID-19 shots to children 5 to 11 years-old.

Pending signoff from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, which could happen as early as Tuesday night, Walgreens told ABC News it expects to begin administering shots to that age group starting Saturday.

Walgreens said its online scheduler for children’s appointments will be available starting Wednesday.

The Pfizer pediatric vaccine will arrive “later this week in select locations throughout the country,” CVS said in a statement. Appointments will be available at individual stores after each receives vaccines.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Where LA County’s employee vaccine mandate stands a month after initial deadline

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Where LA County’s employee vaccine mandate stands a month after initial deadline
Where LA County’s employee vaccine mandate stands a month after initial deadline
gpointstudio/iStock

(LOS ANGELES) — Thousands of Los Angeles County employees are being put on notice in the weeks after a COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline passed.

County employees had by Oct. 1 to submit proof of their vaccination status. The order, announced by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in early August, encompasses sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, hospital staff, social workers and others.

As of Tuesday, 77.7% of the county’s 101,575 current employees are fully vaccinated, county data shows. A dozen departments are reporting vaccination rates of at least 90%, while nearly half of the departments are reporting vaccination rates between 80% and 89%. Seven departments are below 80%.

Nearly 10% of all county employees have yet to register to submit their vaccination status.

Those who fail to get vaccinated or submit a request for a medical or religious exemption could face disciplinary action, including termination.

In the weeks since the vaccine mandate deadline passed, the county has been sending notices in waves to non-compliant employees, advising them that they have 45 days to register as fully vaccinated or request an accommodation. After that point, the employees will be put on a five-day suspension and have 30 days upon return to comply.

Failure to comply within that time period “may result in disciplinary action and continued noncompliance may result in further disciplinary action, up to and including discharge from County service,” the notice states.

As of Oct. 12, unvaccinated employees are also required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing until submitting proof of vaccination and could face disciplinary action for failing to get tested.

The sheriff’s department has the lowest rate of compliance, with 52% of members fully vaccinated, the county data shows. Over 20% of the 16,070-person department has yet to register to submit a vaccination status.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has been a vocal critic of the vaccine mandate, warned in a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last week that the department stands to lose a “substantial” number of employees over the policy.

“People are not happy with the vaccine mandate,” Villanueva told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday, attributing hesitancy among sworn staff to a lack of “faith in a vaccine.”

“Some of it is driven by a political ideology. Some of it might be irrational, some people have legitimate reasons why they don’t trust the vaccine,” he said.

As notices are rolling out, the county has continued to address vaccine hesitancy.

“We’re encouraging vaccination through an extensive internal communications campaign, including town hall meetings with experts, weekly fliers, messages from County leaders, meetings with our labor partners and other messaging that we are continuing to expand,” Jesus Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, told ABC News in a statement.

County employees are not the only ones subject to a vaccine mandate. Workers in adult and senior care facilities and in-home direct care settings must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30 under a state order. In the city of Los Angeles, city employees, including police officers, as well as public school staff and students, have vaccine requirements.

Proof of vaccination is also required to enter or work in indoor portions of bars, lounges, nightclubs, breweries, wineries and distilleries in Los Angeles County.

County health officials stressed the importance of vaccination Tuesday, as COVID-19 transmission remains “substantial” heading into the holiday season.

“While transmission is substantial, we need to continue layering on protections, understanding that significant spread of the virus affects unvaccinated individuals and increasingly results in post-vaccination infections among those vaccinated,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “Substantial spread also creates a fertile breeding ground for new variants that can threaten our progress to date.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

US warehouses running out of room amid supply chain crisis

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US warehouses running out of room amid supply chain crisis
US warehouses running out of room amid supply chain crisis
alvarez/iStock

(NEW YORK) — Warehouses in and around U.S. ports are running out of room, experts say, adding another challenge to the country’s already crippled supply chain.

“We are either at or over capacity, and demand for space is the greatest I have ever seen,” said Michael Sarcona, president of Sarcona Management Inc. He operates several warehouses in the Newark area, the third-largest port in North America.

Hundreds of thousands of shipping containers faced record backlog at U.S. ports over the past several weeks. Now that some have made landfall, the goods stored in those containers may soon outpace warehouse capacity.

Warehouse vacancy in the country has reached 3.6%, a record low, according to recent data from Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE), an American commercial real estate services and investment firm.

“Three-and-a-half percent is effectively zero,” said John Morris, executive managing director lead for CBRE’s industrial and logistics business in the Americas. “For the year, we have basically an effective shortage of space of about 300 million square feet.”

Even if retailers can get more products shipped to the U.S., Morris explained, they will struggle to find places to store them and move them along the supply chain.

“In an efficient supply chain, you want about 15% availability of warehouse capacity in these markets and across the country,” said Craig Fuller, CEO and founder of FreightWaves, a global logistics industry data and analytics company. “At 3.6%, these warehouses are operating beyond their available capacity to even function properly.”

Warehouses in the port of Los Angeles, the largest port in North America, have a record low vacancy of 1% , according to CBRE’s analysis. This is the lowest vacancy CBRE has ever recorded for the port.

“That vacancy rate is down by more than half over the last year,” said Chris Caton, the global head of strategy and analytics at Prologis, the world’s largest logistics real estate developer. “So there is extreme scarcity in these port markets.”

Warehouse vacancy at ports in central and northern New Jersey sit around 2%. Sarcona operates eight warehouse locations in Newark with a combined capacity of almost 2 million square feet, but has a team of employees and real estate agents urgently searching for more space.

How will this impact consumers?

Consumers likely won’t be able to rely on online shopping the way they once did, according to experts.

“I’m worried that the inability of the supply chain to keep up, ends up having an impact on the wonderful growth we’ve seen in this omni-channel retail economy,” said Morris, referring to online shopping platforms that allow consumers easy and timely access to big and small brand items.

“I think we’ve lost the predictability of when products are going to be delivered to consumers,” said Fuller, explaining that sellers likely won’t be able to guarantee delivery times this holiday season. “I’ve been ordering Christmas items since mid-October — [because] if anyone tells you they can tell you when something’s going to be delivered, they’re either not truthful or they’re misinformed.”

Fuller believes the uncertainty could push consumers back into stores.

“I think people are going to find that as we get closer and closer to the Christmas holiday, that the items that they normally would be able to buy online, they’re going to have to go into stores to get it,” Fuller said.

How did this happen?

Rebounding consumer demand has led to record imports through U.S. ports on both coasts. Warehouses at those ports are the first stop for items coming into the U.S., and they’re overwhelmed.

“Are we out of space? The answer is not yet,” Morris said. “Is supply and construction keeping up with demand? Just barely… like… just barely.”

One factor: Land around these ports is becoming increasingly in demand.

“In the most sought after locations, pricing is spiking — we’ve never seen rents rise like they have,” Caton said, explaining the challenges facing warehouse creation and development.

The issues relate to the physics and scarcity of land in these key locations, per Caton.

“If you want to build a 500,000-square-foot facility in New Jersey, you need 30 to 35 acres of land that’s relatively flat and well served by infrastructure, and that is just increasingly scarce,” Caton said.

Adding to the congestion, these warehouses often send goods to distribution centers, which in turn send those items out to consumers or to brick and mortar businesses. These centers “are also at capacity or overcapacity,” Sarcona, the warehouse owner, said.

When does this all get fixed?

“Perhaps in Q3 of next year” this will all be fixed, Morris said.

The U.S. will use over 1 billion square feet of storage space this year, compared to 800 million last year. And there are already 500 million square feet of storage in development, per CBRE.

But even with more storage locations being built, supply chain issues continue.

“It’s hard to get the materials to finish that construction,” Morris said. “With a broken supply chain for construction materials, cement roofing trusses, the pins that hold the roof to the wall, they’re short on all of that.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scientists investigate the steep costs of climate change and US wildfires

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Scientists investigate the steep costs of climate change and US wildfires
Scientists investigate the steep costs of climate change and US wildfires
f00sion/iStock

(LOS ANGELES) — ​Climate change is making wildfires in the western United States larger and more destructive, and the effects are felt across the country, according to a study by Steve Davis, a professor of Earth systems science at the University of California Irvine.
 
Davis ran a study looking into the cost of wildfires, which was published in the journal Nature Sustainability.
 
According to Davis, “It’s not just relegated to California, there’s places beyond California that are being affected.”
 
The research also considers more than just the cost of destruction. It includes the price of health care for smoke inhalation from the fires, people missing work and supply chain issues nationwide from products coming from California.
 
His team found the cost of the 2018 wildfire season to have totaled about $150 billion in losses. That amounts to .7 percent of the gross domestic product of the U.S.
 
Davis says, “If we continue to have these kinds of wildfire seasons, the costs are going to maintain themselves.”
 
In 2021, living in California means an almost year-round threat of wildfires.
 
According to CAL Fire, wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape. Yet the fire season in California and across the West is starting earlier and ending later each year.
 
They say climate change is considered a key driver of this trend with warmer temperatures, less rainfall and a more intense dry season all contributing to more severe wildfires.
 
Since 2017, wildfires have broken all-time size and destruction records consistently.
 
CAL Fire’s Top 20 Largest California Wildfire statistics show the top eight largest in the state’s history have all happened in the last five years. This includes the August Complex, which burned 1,032,648 acres of land alone.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Republican Glenn Youngkin projected to win Virginia governor’s race

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Republican Glenn Youngkin projected to win Virginia governor’s race
Republican Glenn Youngkin projected to win Virginia governor’s race
Oleksii Liskonih/iStock

(NEW YORK) — Republican Glenn Youngkin, a former private equity executive running his first campaign for political office, will be the next governor of Virginia, ABC News has projected.

ABC News has yet to project the winners in the races for lieutenant governor or attorney general.

Around 10 p.m., Democrat Terry McAuliffe spoke at his election night event, but did not concede defeat.

“We still got a lot of votes to count, we got about 18% of the vote out, so we’re gonna continue to count the votes because every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted,” McAuliffe said.

Youngkin’s projected win over McAuliffe, a longtime fixture in Democratic politics and a former governor of the commonwealth, marks the first time a Republican has won the gubernatorial election since 2009 and the end to Democrats’ trifecta government control in Richmond.

It’s also a warning shot to Democrats one year out from the 2022 midterm elections.

The race, nationalized by the candidates themselves, was viewed by most as a referendum on President Joe Biden and a bellwether for next year’s contests, when Democrats have to defend their slim majorities in the House and Senate with history already against them.

Poll after poll showed Republican voters felt more enthusiastic about participating in this election than Democratic voters, and in the lead up to the election, Youngkin was able to turn the race into a dead heat.

He centered his closing message around parents’ rights to have a say in their child’s education, accusing McAuliffe of wanting to “put government in between parents and our children” after he said during the final debate that he doesn’t “think parents should be telling schools what to teach.”

Youngkin also pledged to raise the standard in schools, keep them open to in-person instruction amid the pandemic and ban critical race theory from being taught in K-12 schools, even though it’s not in the curriculum.

McAuliffe called Youngkin’s closing message around education divisive, saying, “He has pitted parents against parents. He’s got parents against teachers, and he’s bringing his personal culture wars into our classrooms.”

But according to exit polls, Youngkin’s message appears to have resonated with Virginia voters — about half say parents should have “a lot” of say in what their child’s school teaches — and now can serve as a blueprint for Republican candidates competing in bluer areas of the country.

Essentially running as the incumbent in the race, McAuliffe promised to build on Democrats’ accomplishments over the last eight years, beginning first under his administration. He made promises like increasing the minimum wage and teacher pay, making health care more affordable and requiring vaccinations for nurses, doctors and teachers.

But his campaign against Youngkin focused more on a Republican who was not on the ballot — Donald Trump — and painting a dire picture of what Virginia would look like under a Youngkin administration by asserting that Youngkin’s agenda is Trump’s agenda.

At every opportunity, McAuliffe and his allies tied Youngkin to the former president, who Virginia voters rejected by a 10-point margin in 2020. Trump endorsed Youngkin after he won the nomination and never campaigned with him directly, but that didn’t stop McAuliffe from linking them as one in the same.

The former president took partial credit for Youngkin’s projected victory, saying in a statement, “I would like to thank my BASE for coming out in force and voting for Glenn Youngkin. Without you, he would not have been close to winning.”

He mocked McAuliffe’s strategy of connecting Youngkin to Trump.

“It is looking like Terry McAuliffe’s campaign against a certain person named “Trump” has very much helped Glenn Youngkin. All McAuliffe did was talk Trump, Trump, Trump and he lost!” Trump said in a second statement. “I didn’t even have to go rally for Youngkin, because McAuliffe did it for me.”

McAuliffe’s apparent defeat Tuesday is the latest indication that trying to tap into voters’ disapproval of Trump may not be a winning strategy for Democrats — especially when they’re facing headwinds from an unpopular president and stalled agenda in Washington. According to exit polls, 54% of voters disapprove of Biden’s job performance, and nearly twice as many “strongly” disapprove of his work in office than strongly approve.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Striking John Deere workers vote against tentative new contract

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Striking John Deere workers vote against tentative new contract
Striking John Deere workers vote against tentative new contract
iStock/Wolterk

(NEW YORK) — Members of the United Auto Workers Union voted Tuesday against a tentative agreement that would have ended the ongoing strike of more than 10,000 John Deere workers.

The vote came up 55% against and 45% in favor, according to the UAW. This is the second time the union has rejected a tentative contract offer.

“The strike against John Deere and company will continue as we discuss next steps with the company,” the UAW said in a statement. “Pickets will continue and any updates will be provided through the local union.”

Earlier news of a tentative deal, which would have given approximately double the wage increase compared the previously rejected offer that kicked off the strike on Oct. 14, came as unique labor market conditions have resulted in workers wielding new power as the pandemic wanes.

An apparent shortage of workers accepting low-wage jobs has left many major companies reeling for staff and has been linked to the spate of strikes that have rocked the private sector in recent weeks. The labor crunch — combined with recent record-high rates of people quitting their jobs and record-high job openings, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data — have resulted in workers gaining new leverage as they seek to bargain for better pay or working conditions.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Democrat Eric Adams projected to win New York City mayoral race

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Democrat Eric Adams projected to win New York City mayoral race
Democrat Eric Adams projected to win New York City mayoral race
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Democrat Eric Adams is projected by ABC News to win the New York City mayoral race.

The win, while expected in a city with many more registered Democrats than Republicans, makes some history as Adams is only the second Black mayor in the history of the city.

Curtis Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels as a response to crime in the subway in the 1970s and was later a political commentator, was the Republican nominee.

“This is is an amazing day, to reach this point,” Adams told reporters Tuesday morning as he took to the polls. “Back in 1977, my mom brought me into that polling place. Every little boy or little girl who was ever told they’ll never amount to anything — every child with a learning disability, every inmate sitting in Rikers, every dishwasher, every child in a homeless shelter — this is for all of you. I only have three words: I am you.”

Sliwa made his own headlines at the poll, trying to bring one of his rescue cats into his voting location. The passionate animal rescue activist was told his feline friend had to stay outside.

But even once he got inside, his ballot got jammed in the scanner and technicians were needed to fix it.

“There will be safe streets, safe parks, safe subways,” he said, later reunited with one of his 17 cats, Gizmo, outside the polling spot. “There will be safe schools. That’s what I’ve been doing as head of Guardian Angels for 42 years.”

Adams currently serves as Brooklyn borough president –first elected in 2013 and reelected in 2017 — and is a former captain in the New York City Police Department. He was also in the New York state Senate from 2006 to 2013 representing Brooklyn.

David Dinkins, who died last year at 93, was the first Black mayor in New York City history, serving from 1990 to 1993 before losing to Rudy Giuliani in a heated reelection campaign.

Adams, considered a moderate Democrat after the progressive Bill de Blasio spent two terms in office, won out for the nominee in a crowded field in June. Adams separated himself from a pack that included former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and second- and third-place finishers Kathryn Garcia, the former Department of Sanitation commissioner, and Maya Wiley, who was favored by progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In the city’s first use of ranked choice voting, Adams crept over the 50% mark with Garcia at 49.6%. A snafu from the city elections board caused confusion in the weeks after the June 22 voting date before Adams was eventually declared the nominee.

De Blasio was term-limited out of office and previously explored a presidential run during his second term. Sliwa often attempted to tie Adams to the unfavorable opinion many hold for the current mayor.

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Democrat McAuliffe facing 52% unfavorable numbers in Va. governor race, preliminary exit poll data shows

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Democrat McAuliffe facing 52% unfavorable numbers in Va. governor race, preliminary exit poll data shows
Democrat McAuliffe facing 52% unfavorable numbers in Va. governor race, preliminary exit poll data shows
Win McNamee/Getty Images

(RICHMOND, Va.) — A more closely divided electorate than a year ago, underwater ratings for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump alike and a popularity deficit for the Democratic candidate define the hard-fought, off-year contest for Virginia governor in preliminary exit poll results.

Among challenges for the Democrats — who’ve won all statewide races in Virginia dating to 2013 — is the lack of personal appeal of their candidate: former Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Just 45% see him favorably, versus 52% unfavorably, in exit poll results so far. Republican Glenn Youngkin does better on this score, 53-43%, favorable-unfavorable.

Compounding McAuliffe’s challenges are negative views of Biden’s job performance; more Virginia voters disapprove than approve, 54-45%. Intensity, which can influence turnout, is particularly poor for Biden: Nearly twice as many “strongly” disapprove of his work in office, 45%, than strongly approve, 24%.

Given those views, turnout has shifted from a year ago. Virginia voters report having split evenly between Biden and Trump in 2020, 46-46% — indicating that many Biden supporters were sitting this contest out, since he won the state by a 10-point margin.

Trump, for his part, is no more of an attraction: He’s seen favorably by 42% in these preliminary results, unfavorably by 53%, an 11-point negative score. Youngkin kept Trump at arm’s length in the campaign, as did McAuliffe with Biden (save two joint campaign rallies), for reasons that seem evident.

These are preliminary exit poll results, including early voters, and can change as data are updated throughout the evening.

The race is being watched as an early test of Democratic vulnerabilities under Biden, with an eye toward the 2022 midterm elections. More Virginia voters say a reason for their vote was to show opposition to Biden (29%) than support for him (21%). Still many more, 47%, say he wasn’t a factor in their choice for governor.

In terms of preliminary exit poll estimates among voter groups:

The suburbs are a key battleground in Virginia, as elsewhere. A big group — they account for more than six in 10 voters — suburbanites are tipping slightly toward Youngkin in preliminary exit poll results, 53-47%.

Robust turnout by college-educated voters is one factor for McAuliffe. College graduates account for 49% of voters in preliminary exit poll results, up 6 points from last year’s presidential election, and McAuliffe is winning 58% of this group. Youngkin, for his part, does strongly among those without a college degree, outperforming Trump a year ago.

Youngkin may have done himself a favor by keeping Trump at a distance. Among the majority of Virginia voters who hold an unfavorable opinion of Trump, 2 in 10 are voting for Youngkin regardless. About half as many Biden disapprovers are backing McAuliffe, 9% percent.

Youngkin made education a centerpiece of his campaign, arguing for parental input and against critical race theory. Just fewer than a quarter of voters pick education as the top issue in their vote — second only to the economy — and Youngkin is winning them by 56-44% in these preliminary results.

This is the first election in which Virginia has offered early in-person voting, from mid-September through Saturday, and the exit poll estimates that 27% voters availed themselves of it — a group in which McAuliffe won 57%, countered by strong results for Youngkin among Election Day voters.

Youngkin is winning 87% of white evangelical voters, the largest share of white evangelicals for a Republican in Virginia in exit poll data in gubernatorial or presidential elections dating to 2008. They make up more than a quarter of the electorate.

Voters’ criticisms extend to the major parties overall, indicating more vulnerability for the Democratic Party — 52% call it too liberal — than for the Republican Party, called too conservative by fewer, 43%.

On specific issues, though, the electorate itself is not so easily categorized. Fifty-eight percent in these preliminary results favor legal abortion and 54% support employer mandates for coronavirus vaccines, both closer to McAuliffe’s views than to Youngkin’s. On the other hand, 54% say monuments to Confederate leaders on government property should be left in place.

Youngkin sought to make parental involvement in school curricula a key issue, striking a chord; 53% of voters say parents should have “a lot” of say in what their child’s school teaches.

Voters divide in choosing the most important of five issues facing Virginia: the economy and jobs (33%), education (23%), taxes (15%), the pandemic (14%) and abortion (9%). It’s notable that the economy finishes as the top issue even as 56% rate it positively — and also that the pandemic trails as a top concern.

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, and McAuliffe run closely in trust to handle the economy, 42-40% in these preliminary results. Youngkin opens a 4-point edge in trust to handle crime, 42-38%; McAuliffe counters with a 7-point lead in trust to handle the pandemic, 43-36%. Neither approaches majority preference on any of these, given the numbers who trust both or neither.

The poll, conducted for ABC News and its media partners, includes interviews conducted both in advance of Election Day, to capture the views of early and absentee voters, and among in-person voters today. Results will be adjusted to reflect the official results after votes are counted.

In an additional potentially key measure of turnout, white Virginians account for 74% of voters in exit poll results so far, compared with 67% in 2020, when Trump won them by 8 percentage points. Members of racial and ethnic minority groups are 26% of voters in these data, vs. 33%last year, when Biden won them by a vast 53 points. That said, minority voters accounted for about the same share of turnout, 28%, when McAuliffe won the governorship in 2013.

Preliminary data indicate a dearth of young voters and a surfeit of those age 65 and older. Still, another shift suggests potentially higher turnout in the more Republican-leaning central and mountain regions of the state. And one region flipped — Richmond/Southside, from +14 for Biden in 2020 to +6 for Youngkin in these results.

In partisan preferences, Democrats and Republicans are evenly matched, 35-35% in these preliminary results, with independents — likely the decisive group — making up the rest.

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