10 things you need to know today: November 22, 2021

1. Red SUV plows through Wisconsin Christmas parade, killing at least 5

A person drove a red SUV through barriers and plowed into a Christmas parade in the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, killing at least five people and injuring more than 40, local authorities said. "There were pom-poms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere," said Corey Montiho, a local school district board member whose daughter's youth dance team was hit. His wife and daughters were unharmed, but many others were injured. Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly called it a "horrible and senseless act." Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said an officer fired at the vehicle trying to stop it, adding that nobody was injured by the gunfire. Thompson said the suspected vehicle was recovered and a "person of interest" was taken into custody.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

2. 35,000 protest tighter coronavirus restrictions in Belgium

About 35,000 people marched in Brussels on Sunday to protest enhanced COVID-19 restrictions imposed to fight Belgium's latest coronavirus surge. Demonstrators shouted "Freedom! Freedom!" After some of the crowd dispersed, several hundred lingering protesters clashed with police and set bins of garbage on fire. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Numerous European countries have announced renewed measures to curb infections since the World Health Organization identified Europe as a current pandemic hot spot last week. Lockdown protests also have erupted in Holland and Austria, which starts a partial nationwide lockdown Monday.

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The Associated Press

3. 2 prominent conservatives quit Fox News over Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 special

Fox News contributors Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg have resigned in protest over what they described as incendiary and false claims by the conservative cable channel's opinion hosts in support of former President Donald Trump. Both told NPR that the breaking point was Fox News star Tucker Carlson's Patriot Purge, a three-part series on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack by a mob of Trump supporters. "It traffics in all manner of innuendo and conspiracy theories that I think legitimately could lead to violence. That for me, and for Steve, was the last straw," Goldberg said. Hayes and Goldberg in 2019 co-founded The Dispatch, an online publication they called "a place that thoughtful readers can come for conservative, fact-based news and commentary."

NPR The New York Times

4. Haitian gang releases 2 of 17 kidnapped missionaries

A notorious Haitian street gang has released two of the 17 foreign missionaries it kidnapped last month, the hostages' Ohio-based humanitarian group, Christian Aid Ministries, said on its website Sunday. The organization said the two people who were freed "are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for." The 16 Americans and a Canadian, ranging in age from 18 months to 48 years, were abducted by the 400 Mawozo gang as they returned from visiting an orphanage their organization supports. Gédéon Jean, who runs a Port-au-Prince think tank that tracks kidnapping, said the release was "a good step that indicates that the rest of the hostages could soon be free." The gang has demanded a ransom of $1 million per person.

The Miami Herald The Washington Post

5. Smash-and-grab looters target Bay Area stores for 3rd day

Dozens of smash-and-grab thieves wielding hammers ransacked stores in San Jose, California, and the Southland Mall in Hayward on Sunday in the third straight day of looting targeting San Francisco Bay Area businesses. The looters singled out a Lululemon store in San Jose and witnesses said about 40 to 50 thieves rampaged through the Hayward mall, breaking glass and stealing merchandise from a jewelry store and a Macy's department store. Panicked shopkeepers closed nearby stores and barricaded themselves inside. Hayward police said officers weren't able to make any arrests. It was not immediately clear if the Sunday spree was connected to robberies at a Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco's Union Square on Friday and a Nordstrom's in Walnut Creek on Saturday.

CBS SF

6. Protesters retrace Rittenhouse's steps in Kenosha

Demonstrators protesting Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal retraced the route the Illinois teen walked in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on the night in August 2020 when he shot and killed two people and wounded a third during protests over the police shooting that paralyzed Jacob Blake, a Black man. The marchers carried signs reading "Reject Racist Vigilante Terror" and "THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS GUILTY!" The Rev. Jesse Jackson had been scheduled to join the demonstration but didn't come. His Rainbow PUSH Coalition said the 80-year-old civil rights leader instead was preparing to ask congressional leaders to pressure the Justice Department to investigate the case. Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO, said Sunday that Rittenhouse's Friday acquittal was "a warning shot that vigilante justice is allowed in this country." Rittenhouse said he fired in self-defense.

WLBT The Associated Press

7. Venezuelan opposition returns to ballots but socialists win big

Venezuelans voted Sunday in elections with candidates from top opposition parties on the ballot for the first time in nearly four years, but early results showed the ruling socialist party winning 20 of 23 gubernatorial offices. Opposition candidates in races for governor and mayor said beforehand they were unlikely to win, accusing the government of President Nicolás Maduro of rigging the contests in favor of his allies. The opposition had hoped to use the elections to inspire new hope for its demoralized supporters and revive the struggling pro-democracy movement. But analysts said the turnout of just 41.8 percent, one of the lowest rates in two decades, reflected voter apathy toward all ballot choices as living conditions deteriorate in the South American nation.

The Washington Post

8. Bulgaria's president wins re-election after anti-corruption campaign

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev appeared to have won a second term in a Sunday runoff election, according to exit polls by Alpha Research and Gallup International. Radev, who ran on an anti-corruption theme, led challenger Anastas Gerdzhikov by about 64 percent to 32 percent in the run-off, the exit polls indicated. Public anger over graft drove former premier Boyko Borissov out of office in April after a decade in power. A new anti-corruption party dominated parliamentary elections last week in the European Union's poorest country. Radev, whose post is largely ceremonial, gained popularity last year by supporting anti-corruption protesters. Gerdzhikov, backed by Borissov's GERB party, accused Radev of turning Bulgarians against each other.

Reuters

9. Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai 'safe and well,' IOC says

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai told the president of the International Olympic Committee that she was "safe and well" during a video call on Sunday, the IOC said. The exchange came after photos and videos showed Peng at a children's tournament in Beijing earlier in the day, marking the first time she had appeared in public since she posted on Chinese social media that she had been coerced into sex by former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli. The IOC said in a statement that Peng started the call by thanking the organization's president, Thomas Bach, and expressing gratitude for the IOC's concern. France's foreign minister earlier had demanded more reassurance from Chinese authorities of her wellbeing, repeating the Women's Tennis Association's conclusion that the photos of Peng were "insufficient" proof of her condition.

Reuters

10. 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' leads weekend box office

Ghostbusters: Afterlife led the weekend box office with a solid $44 million in domestic ticket sales, slightly beating expectations but just below the $46 million debut of the previous 2016 reboot. Afterlife marked a renewed attempt to revive the franchise after 2016's Ghostbusters, with a team of female Ghostbusters led by Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, ultimately grossed $229 million, a disappointing haul given it cost $144 million to make. Another of the weekend's new offerings, the acclaimed biopic King Richard, delivered an underwhelming $5.7 million, short of the $7 million to $10 million Warner Bros. was counting on. That film stars Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father of tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams. Smith is expected to be a contender for the best actor Oscar.

The Hollywood Reporter Variety