US passes grim milestone of 250,000 deaths from COVID-19

The United States has surpassed 250,000 deaths from the coronavirus and is turning the corner into the worst phase yet of the pandemic͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( [Who we are. 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Find us at [theworld.org/WhoWeAre]( And while you’re there, please consider [supporting the work we do](. — Marco Werman [Donate now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Coronavirus pandemic worsens with onset of cold weather [Belgium military personnel, wearing full protective equipment, clean their hands after disinfecting an ambulance used to carry a COVID-19 patient in Brussels, Nov. 13, 2020.]( Credit: Francisco Seco/AP The United States has surpassed 250,000 deaths from the coronavirus — [the highest death toll by far in the world]( — and is turning the corner into what public health experts say [will be the worst phase yet]( of the pandemic. The number of infections is skyrocketing virtually everywhere in the country, as COVID-19 seeks to propagate in the long, dark and cold winter — before [multiple hopeful vaccines]( are unleashed on the highly dangerous pathogen. In the past week alone, 36 states set daily records for new confirmed cases and 12 states saw a day with a record fatality count. The tally of cases per capita is [especially bad in the Upper Midwest](: the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming. Those states all have an average of over 1,000 new cases every day per million residents. Yet the odds of surviving the disease have increased significantly as the health system gets better at administering treatments early on. With a similarly dire situation unfolding across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe — where the mercury is falling just as fast — officials are optimistic that President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will be a boon for cooperation with the US to defeat the pandemic. “There is almost no issue where we are not [very much dependent on each other](,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. “We are convinced that Europe and the US need a new transatlantic deal.” The comments came ahead of the first meeting of EU foreign ministers since the US presidential election. Meanwhile, Czech President Milos Zeman — formerly a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump — said that Washington’s outgoing leader should [acknowledge his loss at the polls]( and leave office in a dignified way. “I personally believe that it would be much more reasonable to give up, not to be embarrassing, and allow the new president to take office,” Zeman said. What The World is following A new report shows that elite Australian soldiers [unlawfully killed 39 people]( during the war in Afghanistan. The findings from the Australian Defence Force inquiry into the “warrior-hero” culture cover the killings of prisoners, farmers and civilians from 2009 to 2013 and recommend that 19 current or former special forces members should face a police investigation and stripping of their medals. Samantha Crompvoets, a scholar who performed the initial research for the report, said that the incidents amounted to “[deliberate, repeated and targeted war crimes](.” Young climate activists around the world have [staged a mock COP26 virtual gathering]( in place of the actual UN conference that was delayed from this month until November 2021 because of the coronavirus. The postponement motivated the 350 youth from 150 countries to meet anyway — online instead — with a series of meetings over the next two weeks. Organizers say that by holding the talks via the internet, attendees produce carbon emissions 1,500 times lower than previous COPs. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Sweden’s pivot toward new virus restrictions may not 'shift mindsets,' says Swedish scientist]( [A sign reminding customers about social distancing is placed at the entrance to a grocery store in central Stockholm, Sweden, on Nov. 16, 2020.]( Credit: Amir Nabizadeh/TT News Agency/via Reuters Lena Einhorn, a filmmaker and former virologist, was an early opponent of Sweden's more relaxed COVID-19 strategy. She spoke to The World's host Marco Werman about how Sweden's newly announced virus restrictions [may not be enough](. "If you compare with our neighbors who have a really good handle on this, the other Nordic countries, of course, it's a step forward," Einhorn said. "But, you know, all the schools are open. We don't have any face mask recommendations in society at all. People can still gather en masse in malls. They're advised not to — but the prohibition is restricted to public gatherings. And that's not ... the restaurants are still open." [The movement to restore the memory of Spain’s forgotten women artists]( ["Composición cubista/Composition-cubiste," María Blanchard.]( Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped) Many of the women artists who made a name for themselves in the early 20th century and other periods have long been kept out of the spotlight. Some historians, museum curators and artists and writers [are trying to change that](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot The new tree delivered to Rockefeller Center in New York City was off to a rocky start after images emerged showing a more sparsely adorned tree than people prefer for the iconic Christmas spruce. Comparisons to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree [swept the internet](. Then, a worker setting up the tree found a tiny owl that had hitched a ride to the city hidden in the 75-foot-tall Norway spruce. A local wildlife rehab center [took in the little bird](. After giving it plenting of food and water — and finding no injuries — "Rockefeller" will be released back into the wild. A silver lining for 2020! [A screen grab of a tweet from Allison Esposito Medina]( [Credit: Courtesy of Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [Can we become immune to COVID-19?]( - [Pompeo set to be the first US secretary of state to visit Israeli West Bank settlement]( - [George Benson was performing live last year. This year, it’s been different.]( - [A new effort recognize women painters in Spain]( - [Sweden recommends stricter measures as COVID-19 cases surge]( - [China concerned COVID-19 can spread through imported frozen food]( - [US drops charges against former Mexican general]( - [Hollywood stars move to take over Welsh football club]( - [The US is reducing its forces in Iraq, Afghanistan. What does that mean?]( - [Trump fires top US election security official]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.