Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and *controversial take*: I’m ready for the most wonderful time of the year. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Today’s elections could be a sign of what’s to come for next year’s midterms

The results of local elections across the country today could have a big impact on next year’s midterm elections. Democrats and Republicans will be paying especially close attention to the governor’s race in Virginia, which is expected to be a tight race between former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin in a state President Joe Biden won by 10 percentage points last year.

McAuliffe has cast Youngkin as a “Trump wannabe,” but Youngkin has avoided Trump and other national Republicans, instead focusing on state finances and education. In New Jersey, Democrats hope new social safety-net and climate change programs will be enough to ensure a gubernatorial win.

And in Minneapolis, voters will decide whether to disband the police department and replace it with a “Department of Public Safety.” The city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, is against the measure. Frey is up for reelection against two liberals who have criticized his police reform efforts as not “aggressive enough.” [AP]

These will be the first major elections since some Republican states enacted new voting restrictions. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon called today’s elections the “great dress rehearsal” for the 2022 midterms. [AP]

2. Should all school-aged kids get vaccinated?

That’s the question being debated today by advisers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who must sign off before widespread vaccinations begin for 5- to 11-year-olds.

The Food and Drug Administration has already authorized Pfizer’s kid-sized vaccine for emergency use. But the FDA’s own advisers struggled with whether every young child needed a vaccine — a decision which has the potential to affect up to 28 million children in that age bracket.

Initial studies have shown Pfizer’s vaccine is nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 with only mild side effects, like sore arms or achiness. The studies weren’t large enough to detect extremely rare reactions, such as the heart inflammation that occasionally occurs after the second full-strength dose.

While serious cases of COVID-19 among children are rare, there have been more than 8,300 hospitalizations. [AP]

3. Prosecutor says Kyle Rittenhouse “instigated the confrontation”

Prosecutor Thomas Binger said during today’s opening statements that Kyle Rittenhouse instigated a confrontation during a protest last year in Kenosha, Wis., that led to Rittenhouse killing two people and wounding another.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, is accused of traveling from Antioch, Ill., to Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, in response to a call from a militia group saying it hoped to protect businesses during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

“The only person who killed anyone is the defendant,” Binger said. [NPR]

Rittenhouse’s lawyers are expected to argue the shootings were in self-defense, and today said the 18-year-old will testify in his own defense. He faces life in prison if found guilty of first-degree homicide and reckless endangerment. [Reuters]

4. The FBI is investigating troubled Loretto Hospital

The FBI has opened an investigation into safety-net Loretto Hospital after reports that ineligible people with connections to hospital administrators received early COVID-19 vaccinations, report Block Club Chicago and the Better Government Association.

The Illinois Department of Health received two federal grand jury subpoenas seeking patient records that would show who was vaccinated by Loretto Hospital staff over two days in March when vaccination appointments were scarce throughout Chicago.

At the same time, “[Loretto] vaccinated ineligible people at Chicago’s Trump Tower, where Loretto’s chief financial officer, Dr. Anosh Ahmed, lived, as well as a luxury jewelry shop and a high-end Gold Coast steakhouse where Ahmed hung out,” Block Club reports.

The subpoenas don’t lay out the scope of the investigation, but add to the controversy embroiling the West Side hospital. The Illinois attorney general’s office is already investigating the hospital following reports that Ahmed’s friends won lucrative contracts while board members took hospital-funded vacations. [Block Club]

5. More than 100 countries pledge to end deforestation

The first big achievement of the U.N. climate summit in Scotland came today: Countries representing more than 85% of the world’s forests have promised to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

The deal signaled countries with massive forests like Brazil and China are ready to make protecting their trees a public goal, but experts note similar promises have been broken before.

Other heavily-forested countries who signed up include Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the U.S. More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan.

That’s just one of a flurry of pledges and deals being made at the summit this week. The U.S., Britain, France and Germany announced a plan to help South Africa phase out coal. [AP]

And President Biden today proposed stricter regulations on methane leaks, which the Environmental Protection Agency says could slow the near-term rate of global warming by up to 30%. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Chicago Park District’s former top executive sat on a lifeguard abuse complaint for over six months, according to a new report. [WBEZ]

• A Chicago Bears move to Arlington Heights may leave thousands of fans with worthless seat licenses. [Chicago Tribune]

• At least 25 people were killed and more than 50 were wounded when gunmen attacked a Kabul hospital. [Reuters]

• Facebook will shut down its facial recognition system that has collected data on more than 1 billion users. [New York Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

NASA has landed a prize that outdoes any remarkable rock collection: The first slab of stone ever taken from Mars.

The sample of a hard volcanic rock, nicknamed Rochette, was collected by NASA’s latest rover, Perseverance, which arrived on the red planet in February. Scientists hope the rock can reveal water patterns below Mars’s surface and hint at whether Earth’s neighbor was ever habitable.

But for now, scientists will need patience, because Perseverance is not expected to return to Earth until 2031. Until then, these images sent back will have to suffice. [The Verge]

Tell me something good …

It’s officially November, a month for gratitude. Which has me wondering, what are you thankful for?

Becky writes:

“I am most thankful for my friends, especially my knitting group. We have met every Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. since March 2020. Initially it was via Zoom, but we still managed to pull off a couple of progressive dinners. Our neighbors must have thought we were crazy when we would gather outside someone’s house to exchange goodies. We would then “eat together” via Zoom. Now we get together in person and have even begun knitting again, not just drinking.”

What are you thankful for this week? Feel free to email or tweet us, and your response might show up here.

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