Plus a deadly explosion in Poland and a record-breaking global population estimate.
Trump may announce 2024 run
Just a few hours after we send this newsletter, Donald Trump will make a “special announcement” at Mar-a-Lago, his home in Florida. He is expected to announce a 2024 presidential run.
The move comes at a fragile time for the former president as he faces numerous legal challenges and continues to deny his loss in the 2020 election. Republicans are on the cusp of claiming House control, albeit by an unexpectedly narrow margin. They did not retake the Senate, defying historical trends.
Trump, in particular, fared poorly. He endorsed or handpicked roughly 300 candidates, some of whom also denied the 2020 election results. Many lost, including those running in the highest-profile races. Despite his heavy influence and devoted supporters, a growing number of Republicans see him as a liability who hurt the party more than he helped.
One of the main signs that Trump has lost clout is that conservatives, and conservative media, are more willing to criticize him, my colleagues Lisa Lerer and Reid Epstein write: “There are signs of another Republican effort to inch the party away from the former president.”
What’s next: Some Republicans are championing Ron DeSantis, the right-wing governor of Florida, who recently cruised to a second term. Several polls and surveys have shown DeSantis with a lead over Trump.
Details: Election skepticism may have hurt Trump-backed candidates. Voters who trusted the process were more likely to vote.
From Opinion: The Times spoke to 17 swing voters about Trump. When the moderator asked participants if they agreed with the statement “Donald Trump’s record was good, but his personality is bad,” 14 raised their hands.
An explosion in Poland
Poland is looking into the cause of a deadly explosion that happened yesterday at a grain processing facility near its border with Ukraine. Two people were killed, local media reported.
Top government officials called an emergency meeting. At publication time, the U.S. said it had no corroborating information about news media reports that two Russian missiles had landed in Poland.
The State of the War
- Retaking Kherson: On Nov. 11, Ukrainian soldiers swept into the southern city of Kherson, seizing a major symbolic and strategic prize and dealing a bitter blow to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin. Days after the liberation, accounts of beatings, torture and disappearances are emerging.
- What’s Next?: Cheering crowds greeted Ukrainian forces as they entered Kherson, but analysts agree that the war is far from over. Here’s a look at what might lie ahead.
- Winter Looms: Many analysts and diplomats have suggested there could be a pause in major combat over the winter. But after pushing the Russians out of Kherson, Ukraine has no desire to stop.
- Peace Talks: While Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made the case that the Ukrainians should try to cement their gains at the bargaining table, some U.S. officials say that peace talks remain a distant prospect.
The explosions in Poland came on the same day that Russia launched a widespread missile attack on Ukraine, one of the broadest aerial assaults since the invasion began. Kyiv and Kharkiv were hit, among other major cities.
Roughly 100 Russian missiles were aimed primarily at Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure, but Ukraine said it had shot 70 down. Russia is focusing on Ukraine’s ability to provide power to its residents as winter looms.
Fighting: The attacks followed Ukraine’s recapture of Kherson, a strategically important southern city.
Context: Despite Russian attacks on infrastructure, Ukraine’s vast rail system has helped it withstand the invasion.
Eight billion people
We’ve got company. Yesterday, the U.N. said the world population had reached eight billion.
Growth has been accelerating: In 1927, we hit two billion. Just 11 years ago, we passed seven billion. But it is expected to slow. The U.N. expects 15 years to pass before we hit nine billion, and another 22 before 10 billion.
And the growth rate has been uneven around the world. About 70 percent of the recent growth spurt happened in low- and lower-middle-income countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 90 percent of the next billion is expected to come from those two groups of countries. That often strains already-struggling systems.
In populous nations, slowing rates threaten to upend their societies. Take China, where births hit a historic low in 2021. That, coupled with its increased life expectancy, could create labor shortages and slow economic growth.
Climate: Population growth has contributed to climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss, the U.N. said. Our levels of consumption and production, experts say, are unsustainable.
What’s next: India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation next year.
THE LATEST NEWS
Asia Pacific
Japan’s economy unexpectedly shrank 1.2 percent as the country faces high inflation and a weak yen.
At COP27, the U.S., Japan and other wealthy countries offered Indonesia, one of the world’s largest coal consumers, $20 billion to curb its reliance on the fossil fuel.
Floods have forced thousands of Australians to evacuate, the BBC reports.
Novak Djokovic, who remains unvaccinated, will be able to compete in the Australian Open.
The G20 Summit
The G20 summit opened yesterday, amid turmoil and high inflation. Leaders called for an end to the war in Ukraine. Here’s an explainer.
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, tried to smooth relations with China when he met with Xi Jinping yesterday, The Guardian reports.
Hun Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, left the summit after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Around the World
A Palestinian killed three Israelis in the West Bank yesterday.
Alaa Abd El Fattah, the Egyptian prisoner, has ended his hunger strike, his family said.
Britain continues to incarcerate people for murders they did not commit, using a tactic that disproportionately affects Black people.
A Morning Read
In 1972, metrologists began occasionally inserting an extra second — a leap second — to compensate for Earth’s slowing rotation.
But it has become a technical nightmare, and the world’s time mavens are making a bold proposal: to abandon the leap second by 2035. A vote is expected on Friday.
CLIMATE
Powerful, power-producing tides
The Bay of Fundy has a record-setting 50-foot high tide, one of the most powerful in the world. (That’s about 15 meters.)
The body of water, between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, has long tantalized and frustrated engineers, who have sought to generate electricity from the swings.
Now, after more than a century of attempts, one company’s technology has successfully operated for more than seven months, producing enough electricity for about 250 homes. Instead of trying to place turbines on the seabed, the innovation floats movable ones on the surface that can automatically lift if a whale or other large creature approaches.
If the platform proves reliable, economically viable and doesn’t harm marine life, it will be a breakthrough. It will have harnessed one of the world’s most reliable sources of renewable energy: Unlike wind or sunshine, tides are unceasing and completely predictable.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to Cook
Cranberry martinis are a festive and easy holiday drink.
Books
Read an incisive new biography of Shirley Hazzard, the acclaimed Australian novelist.
Music
Rauw Alejandro’s third album, “Saturno,” further reimagines reggaeton.
Travel
Like rock climbing? Check out Malawi.
Games
Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: “___ tov!” (five letters).
Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.
You can find all our puzzles here.
Thanks for reading us. Enjoy the rest of your day, and see you tomorrow morning. — Amelia
P.S. “Drop everything”: Here’s how our obituary reporters cover people who die unexpectedly.
On “The Daily,” Maggie Haberman talks Trump.
I love getting your feedback and I read every note. If you’ve got questions or concerns, write to us at briefing@nytimes.com. Thanks!
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