QUOTE OF THE DAY

'Despite what has happened on the national stage, we will continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge or retribution.'

New York State Attorney General Letitia James congratulating Donald Trump on his win while noting that her office is "prepared to fight back" against any erosion of rights under his new administration

THE EXPLAINER

China's young people are rejecting marriage

The threat of a demographic crisis is growing in China, as latest figures reveal a drop in marriage registrations for the first nine months of 2024. Despite a "sweeping government campaign to boost matrimony and encourage births," said CNN, marriages and births are "plummeting," posing a "major challenge" for China's leaders.

How much have marriage rates fallen?
A total of 4.74 million Chinese couples registered their marriages in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, a decline of 16.6% from 5.69 million in the same period last year. The latest figures are "consistent with a falling trend" since 2013, when more than 13 million marriages took place, said CNN. That has knock-on effects, as the birth rate in 2023 was the lowest since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.

What's behind the decline?
"Growing economic uncertainty and rising living costs" have "forced" many young couples to delay marriage, said Reuters. Getting married and starting a family has become a "heated subject" among young Chinese people, and many are choosing to wait because of "poor job prospects and worries about the future."

The "stubborn downward trend" also reflects changing attitudes among young women, who are becoming "more educated and financially independent" and are growing "disillusioned with marriage." "Decades of policies" designed to limit China's population growth are another factor, said CNN. The result is fewer young people of marriageable age.

What's being done about it?
Local and national authorities across China have been trying a "slew" of measures to "bolster its sagging population levels," said Reuters. A pro-marriage campaign in the southern city of Changsha included a "marriage-themed" street displaying pink slogans such as "I enjoy making breakfast" and "having three children is the coolest." The display ignited "widespread controversy," said the South China Morning Post.

Other schemes have been more practical. As of next year, the city of Luliang, in Shanxi province, will offer a "cash reward" of 1,500 yuan ($209) to couples registering their marriage, as long as the woman is 35 years old or younger, said the Global Times.

Statistic of the day

34%: The amount by which Japan's transport capacity will fall by 2030, according to Japanese government officials. The country faces logistical challenges, especially with its trucking industry, and new Japanese laws limit truck drivers, who carry 91% (4.3 billion tons) of the nation's current transport capacity.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Usha Vance's 'conspicuous resume'

A bit of history came out of the presidential election. Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, will be the first Indian American second lady. And she will be the first Hindu.

Vance, 38, took a "more behind-the-scenes role on the campaign trail," said ABC News. She introduced her husband at the Republican National Convention, but that was the end of her public remarks in the election runup.

Vance has a "conspicuous resume" for a political spouse, said The New York Times. She was a law clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., then went to work as a litigator for a "prestigious San Francisco law firm." She's the daughter of Indian immigrants and attended Yale Law School, where she met her husband. But her own views on today's big issues are mostly unknown.

A couple in 'lockstep,' moving right
Even at Yale, Vance's politics were a mystery, said Business Insider. "She was more tight-lipped" with her political views, said Marvin Lim, a Yale Law School classmate. Vance was a registered Democrat until 2014, and the law firm she worked for, Munger, Tolles & Olson, has been described as "woke." But in 2021, she made a donation to Arizona Republican Blake Masters. (She stepped away from the firm when her husband joined the Trump ticket.) The thread through it all? "Her devotion to her husband," said Business Insider.

J.D. Vance has "leaned heavily on his wife over the past decade-and-a-half" as he emerged into the national spotlight, said USA Today. Friends and family say the pair have been in "lockstep" as her husband moved from the Never Trump camp to one of Donald Trump's most reliable allies in the U.S. Senate to his running mate.

'Some real good for the country'
Vance has told interviewers that she and her husband "don't always agree politically," said Politico. But she told "Fox & Friends" that she's on board for another Trump presidency. "If I didn't feel that the Trump-Vance ticket was able to do some real good for the country, then I wouldn't be here supporting him," she said.

Good day 💰

… for Guyana's citizens. Those who qualify will receive the equivalent of $479 each as a share of the profits from the country's recent oil boom. The payout can be claimed by any citizen age 18 and up living in the tiny South American nation, home to 800,000 people, and by the 400,000 Guyanese citizens residing abroad, though they must return to collect the payment.

Bad day 🚒

… for Knoxville College. A fire destroyed an administration building at the historically Black college in Knoxville, Tennessee. The blaze erupted around 8:30 p.m. earlier this week and caused the 100-year-old building to be labeled a complete loss, according to fire officials. Nobody was injured in the fire, the cause of which remains unknown.

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The Week recommends

Movies to watch this month

Whatever your feelings on the election results, one thing is certain: It's always a good time to see a movie. Whether you seek solace or celebration, November's releases have something for just about everyone.

'Emilia Pérez'
Jacques Audiard's musical was the darling of this year's Cannes festival, securing both the Jury Prize and Best Actress award. Based on Audiard's opera of the same name, which was adapted from Boris Razon's 2018 novel, "Écoute," the story is set during Mexico's drug wars and follows a cartel leader who dreams of transitioning into a woman. (in theaters Nov. 1, on Netflix Nov. 13)

'Gladiator II'
It has been more than 20 years since Ridley Scott's triumphant "Gladiator" swept the Oscars, and the 86-year-old director's hotly anticipated sequel is dropping at long last. "Gladiator II" takes place 20 years after the first film ended and stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal, with Mescal playing Maximus' son, Lucius. (Maximus was played by Russell Crowe in the original.) "Paul Mescal is a great action star without sacrificing his indie grit, a worthy heir to the throne," said AwardsWatch's Erik Anderson on X. (in theaters Nov. 22)

'Wicked'
"Wicked" is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the eponymous musical based loosely on a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. "Wicked" is a prequel of sorts, detailing a reluctant friendship between green-skinned outsider Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), aka the eventual Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera), a popular blonde who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North. (in theaters Nov. 22)

Poll watch

Americans' income is making them rethink their holiday outings and spending, according to a new Ipsos poll. The poll surveyed 1,085 adults and found that 29% of those earning under $50,000 plan to cut back on holiday celebrations at sit-down restaurants, compared to 13% of those earning more than $100,000.

INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'How America embraced gender war'
Jia Tolentino at The New Yorker
The "big two genders are said to be at war. The results of the presidential election can hardly be read otherwise," says Jia Tolentino. Kamala Harris' strategy "reflected a reality that has since been unveiled by the results — a gendered battle intensified by young people, who are fighting for a sense of individual purchase on a world they have barely begun to properly live in." For "those of us whom God made heterosexual, the intimate realm is politicized."

'Massie should go full Milei on the USDA'
Dominic Pino at the National Review
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) "would be a good person to lead" the USDA, which is "perhaps our most socialistic government department," says Dominic Pino. Massie "would be a positive sign that Trump intends to keep his promise to shake up the federal bureaucracy." Massie would be a "departure from Trump's first term, when he increased subsidies and the farm bill continued its long-running expansion." It "could be a good test case of the new powers available to cut the administrative state."

'Biden's failure to deliver this campaign promise might have cost Democrats'
Ryan Teague Beckwith at MSNBC
If Americans "want to debate what Biden should have done to put the Democratic ticket in a better place, we should start with what he wanted to do and couldn't," says Ryan Teague Beckwith. This "includes most of the social safety net expansion that Biden campaigned on." To "break through that wall of indifference, a president needs not only to deliver but to do it in such a tangible way that voters notice and connect the results with the president's actions."

WORD OF THE DAY

cordycepin

A chemical produced by Cordyceps militaris, a bright orange fungus that infects and grows on caterpillars. Cordycepin could be used to fight cancer by interrupting growth signals that are overactive in cancerous cells, according to new research outlined in the biology journal FEBS Letters.

Where does Elon Musk go from here?