US: Over 14.5M Cases - 283K Dead - 8.5M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 65.9M Cases - 1.5M Dead - 45.6M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 225   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 157
*Red indicates change in total deaths

'We have not yet seen the post-Thanksgiving peak,' Fauci warns as US cases soar

Nearly 213,000 new coronavirus cases were reported across the United States on Thursday, the highest figure yet.

And at least 2,500 covid-19 deaths were reported for the third consecutive day, marking the deadliest stretch since the pandemic began.

But the government's top infectious-disease expert said the record-setting surge doesn't fully account for the expected increases after Americans traveled and gathered for Thanksgiving. "We have not yet seen the post-Thanksgiving peak," Anthony S. Fauci said Friday. "That's the concerning thing, because the numbers in and of themselves are alarming." washingtonpost.com

California to impose regional stay-at-home order to ease Covid hospitalizations, governor says

Retail stores could operate at 20% capacity - Restaurants only take-out and delivery

California will impose a limited stay-at-home order on certain regions of the state where Covid-19 cases are placing a strain on intensive care units, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.

The state will be split into five regions - the Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, Northern California, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. If the remaining ICU capacity in a region falls below 15%, it will trigger a three-week stay-at-home order, Newsom said.

The order would require bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons and barbershops to temporarily close. Personal services are businesses like nail salons, tattoo parlors and body waxing, according to the state's website. Schools that meet the state's health requirements and critical infrastructure would be allowed to remain open, and retail stores could operate at 20% capacity and restaurants would be allowed to offer take-out and delivery.

So far, none of the regions have triggered the stay-at-home order, though every part of the state is expected to at some point in December. Newsom said he anticipates four of the five regions to have less than 15% ICU capacity "as early as the next day or two." The Bay Area is projected to reach that milestone by mid-to-late December, he said. cnbc.com

Florida newspaper investigation finds state government
misled public on Covid as cases rose
Florida this week became the third US state to record a million coronavirus cases and yet the public there has been misled by state leadership about the extent and dangers of the pandemic, especially in the run-up to the presidential election, an investigation has concluded.

Governor Ron DeSantis's administration has been engaged in a pattern of spin and concealment about Covid-19 amid the gravest health threat the state has ever faced, according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel investigation.

According to the newspaper, DeSantis influenced a state administration that "suppressed unfavorable facts, dispensed dangerous misinformation, dismissed public health professionals, and promoted the views of scientific dissenters" who supported the governor's ambivalent approach to the disease. theguardian.com

Can your employer require you to get a COVID-19 vaccine to go to work?
If you're wondering whether your employer can require you to get a COVID-19 vaccine to return to work, the short answer is yes. But that doesn't mean employers won't face a "legal minefield" if and when they decide to implement a vaccination policy.

Although employees can be required to take a test as a precondition of their returning to work, according to trial attorney Misty Marris, "there is no world where there is a COVID-19 mandatory vaccination policy that doesn't have exceptions to it."

As the U.S. waits for the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, as well as Moderna, to get emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, employers have to be ready to set up a framework for how employees will be allowed to come back safely. For both public and private employers this may mean encouraging employees to get vaccinated or implementing mandatory vaccination programs.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which has issued guidance to employers throughout the pandemic, says the virus meets the standard of a "direct threat." Since the virus is deemed a direct threat, employers have the ability to implement health checks in the workplace that would not normally be allowed under federal law in pre-pandemic times, according to Marris. This means employers have the ability to take someone's temperature before they come in or tell someone that they need to leave because they are exhibiting symptoms. foxbusiness.com

Cheesecake Factory settles with SEC over misleading Covid risk disclosures,
a first for a public company
The Cheesecake Factory is the first company to be charged by the SEC for misleading investors about the coronavirus pandemic's financial impacts. The restaurant company has agreed to pay a $125,000 fine. According to the SEC, Cheesecake Factory violated reporting provisions when it failed to disclose how much cash it was burning through and that it would not pay its April rent. cnbc.com

NYC Virus Positivity Rate Surpasses 5%, Highest Level In 6 Months

Indiana is 2nd in nation for hospitalizations per capita - behind only South Dakota

Biden says he plans to ask Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days in office

These States Have COVID-19 Mask Mandates

Biden says he will join former presidents in publicly getting COVID vaccine

Priority for COVID Vaccine Is Health-Care Workers but Not All Want It

Meatpacker JBS Removes 200 At-Risk Workers from Beef Plant Amid Covid-19 Surge
 

More than 50% of organizations plan to increase investment in building technology to protect health & safety of occupants
The findings of Johnson Controls' annual Energy Efficiency Indicator survey finds that more than half of organizations plan to increase investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy and smart building technology next year, comparable with investment trends after the 2010 recession.

Of the factors determining investment, according to the findings, 85% of respondents said that reducing energy costs was a very or extremely important driver of investment and more than three-quarters (76%) believe that protecting the health and safety of occupants during emergencies was a very or an extremely important driver of investment.

In an increasingly digital world, the integration of systems has become more important than ever. Three-quarters (75%) of respondents' organizations have invested in the integration of security systems with other building technology systems, a 36% increase from the 2019 study.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to improve the health and safety of buildings, particularly by increasing their ability to operate under different conditions, both planned and unforeseen," said Clay Nesler, Vice President of Global Energy and Sustainability at Johnson Controls. prnewswire.com

The economy added 245,000 jobs in November,
the slowest month of growth since recovery began
The U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November - the slowest month of growth since spring and a warning for the recovery in the months ahead as infections surge to new heights across the country. The November unemployment rate ticked down to 6.7, from 6.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the decrease was largely due to workers leaving the labor force.

Retail jobs were down 35,000; bars, restaurants and other food-service establishment places lost 17,000. The shift to online shopping was reflected in increased hiring for warehousing workers - mostly delivery couriers. But retail declined overall even as the holiday season - typically a boom time for retailers - was getting into swing.

Of the 12 retail sub-sectors tracked by the Labor Department, 10 posted their worst month of the recovery. washingtonpost.com

U.S. bans cotton imports from China producer XPCC citing Xinjiang 'slave labor'
The Trump administration expanded economic pressure on China's western region of Xinjiang, banning cotton imports from a powerful Chinese quasi-military organization that it says uses the forced labor of detained Uighur Muslims.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said on Wednesday its "Withhold Release Order" would ban cotton and cotton products from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), one of China's largest producers.

The ban against XPCC, which produced 30% of China's cotton in 2015 could have a sweeping effect on companies globally involved in selling textiles and apparel to the United States. reuters.com

Retail Trade Groups Issue Joint Statement on XPCC Cotton Prohibition
The American Apparel and Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, and The United States Fashion Industry Association responded to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) this week, on enforcement action regulating cotton imports from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China to address widespread human rights abuses.

Our industry condemns forced labor and strives to eradicate it whether in China or elsewhere in the world. We are on the frontlines of efforts to ensure forced labor does not taint our supply chains or enter the United States. We welcome increased efforts by the U.S. Government and other entities to address the human rights abuses, including forced labor and the persecution and detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China. We note that today's action is focused specifically on XPCC, which is already the subject of sanctions the industry is helping to enforce. nrf.com

Chinese dissident targets Apple, Nike, others after report says they lobbied to weaken forced labor bill

U.S. Law Enforcement takes action against approximately 2,300 money mules in global crackdown on money laundering
The U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and six other federal law enforcement agencies announced the completion of the third annual Money Mule Initiative, a coordinated operation to disrupt the networks through which transnational fraudsters move the proceeds of their crimes. Money mules are individuals who assist fraudsters by receiving money from victims of fraud and forwarding it to the fraud organizers, many of whom are located abroad. Some money mules know they are assisting fraudsters, but others are unaware that their actions enable fraudsters' efforts to swindle money from consumers, businesses, and government unemployment funds.

Over the last two months, U.S. law enforcement agencies took action against over 2,300 money mules, far surpassing last year's effort, which acted against over 600 money mules. This year, actions occurred in every state in the country. The initiative announced today targeted money mules involved in a wide range of schemes including lottery fraud, romance scams, government imposter fraud, technical support fraud, business email compromise or CEO fraud, and unemployment insurance fraud. Many of these schemes target elderly or vulnerable members of society. justice.gov

Six Men Charged for Scheme Defrauding Businesses of Luxury Goods & Services

Chicago Rapper G Herbo, 5 Others Charged With Using Stolen Credit Info For Flights, Vacations, And Designer Puppies

Six men - including Chicago rapper G Herbo - were charged in an indictment unsealed on Wednesday for their alleged participation in a nation-wide scheme to defraud dozens of businesses across the United States of luxury goods and services.

Antonio Strong, 28, Herbert "G Herbo" Wright, 24, Joseph Williams, 28, Steven Hayes Jr., 27, Demario Sorrells, 34, and Terrence Bender, 28, all from the greater Chicago, Illinois area, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, along with various identity theft charges.

The indictment alleges that the defendants, often presenting themselves as musicians and promoters, engaged in a nation-wide scheme to defraud businesses and individuals across the United States of goods and services by using fraudulently obtained credit card account information. These goods and services included trips on private jets, private yacht charters, private chef and security guard services, designer puppies, limousine and chauffer services, and commercial airlines flights, among other things. The defendants allegedly used pseudonyms, including the names of other real persons, and purported to be from real and fictitious businesses to perpetuate the scheme and for the conspiracy to avoid detection from law enforcement. justice.gov chicago.cbslocal.com

Francesca's files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection, plans to close 140 stores

Japanese retailer in business for 1,020 years and counting

2020 Holiday Sales: How, Where and When Consumers Are Buying