Friday briefing: Talks break down at COP27; chaos at Elon Musk’s Twitter; Nancy Pelosi; Taylor Swift; World Cup; and more

(Jordan Robertson for The Washington Post)

1

Talks at the U.N.’s climate summit in Egypt have broken down.

• What to know: COP27 is supposed to end today, and countries haven’t made much progress on a new agreement to tackle climate change.
• A key sticking point: Developing nations, which are often more vulnerable to rising temperatures, want money from rich nations, who are responsible for the most emissions.
• Why this matters: We’re still on track for dangerous global warming in less than 80 years, unless countries agree to make more drastic changes.

2

Hundreds of Twitter employees have reportedly decided to quit.

• Why? Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the new owner, told workers to choose by last night between working longer hours or leaving with severance pay. Many chose the second option.
• What this means: It immediately threatens the social media site’s ability to keep running. Some critical systems may not have any engineers left.

3

Nancy Pelosi is stepping down as the top House Democrat after two decades.

• Why? It’s time for a new generation to lead, the House speaker said yesterday. She’ll still be a member of the House.
• Her legacy: She made history in 2002 as the first woman to become speaker — a role many experts say she has redefined.
• Who could replace her? Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is an early favorite.

4

Closing arguments will begin today in a high-profile Jan. 6 trial.

• What to know: The founder and four other members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group, are accused of helping organize the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
• Why it matters: All five are facing a rare Civil War-era charge of seditious conspiracy and other counts punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

5

There’s been chaos over tickets for Taylor Swift’s next tour.

• What’s happening? Glitches on Ticketmaster’s website left fans stranded for hours, and the company canceled today’s planned ticket sales because there aren’t enough left.
• The bigger picture: The meltdown has sparked calls to investigate and break up Ticketmaster, which critics say has become a monopoly.

6

The World Cup kicks off this weekend.

• The details: Soccer’s biggest tournament is being played in Qatar. It will feature 32 nations with matches starting Sunday and going through Dec. 18.
• What the U.S. men’s team faces: Group games against Wales (on Monday), then England and Iran. Here’s how to watch on a budget.
• There’s a lot of controversy: Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ laws and its mistreatment of migrant workers have caused calls to boycott the tournament.

7

Octopuses may deliberately throw things at each other.

Researchers captured wild Octopus tetricus “throwing” sea debris at one another in what they said could be deliberate attacks. (Video: Peter Godfrey-Smith)

• How we know: They were caught on camera flinging objects at each other in what could be intentional attacks, a new study found.
• Why are they doing this? It’s probably to defend their personal space, researchers said. They might be protecting their eggs or simply be angry.

And now … get ready for Thanksgiving next week: Try these turkey alternatives, a 20-ingredient dinner menu, dessert ideas, stuffing recipes and tips to avoid food waste. Plus, make sure to avoid these cooking disasters.

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