Our conversations began in the summer of 2016, a few months before Donald Trump was elected president. A friend who worked in IT at a Fortune 500 company said he wanted to start monthly breakfasts to talk politics, sports and current events. I joined Joe, the IT manager, and Jon, an EPA lawyer. We were neighbors with center-left political leanings, but all of us had voted across the aisle on occasion. Over the past six years, the group has grown in unexpected ways and moved well beyond the realm of a typical coffee klatch. Although two early members have moved away, we now meet weekly for lunch and, at the suggestion of Joe, our founder, the group now spans much of the U.S. political and geographical spectrum.

With war, inflation and electoral chaos preoccupying world leaders, the Biden administration is looking for corporations to take center stage as the U.N. Climate Change Conference gets underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. At the summit, known as COP27, the administration and its partners will unveil a plan for private companies to finance the energy transition of developing countries, according to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussions. While government action typically dominates these talks, political paralysis and public pressure are pushing companies to step up with their own emission pledges — and money to help poorer countries bearing the brunt of climate change’s impacts.

Many employees remain reluctant to return to the office — even on a part-time basis as part of a hybrid workplace — and many managers plan to step up enforcement of attendance policies. That’s according to a new survey by technology firm Capterra, which found 74% of managers said they will factor office attendance into employee reviews. Another 46% said they have already cut or plan to cut pay or benefits for employees who did not comply with office attendance policies. Experts have warned employers about the risks of being too rigid with their hybrid setups due to the tight market for talent, but many believe companies will increase their focus on in-office time if the economy turns south after previously embracing a more laid-back approach during the hybrid shift.

I recently took my 11-year-old minivan in for an oil change and asked the mechanic to please turn off all the idiot lights on the dashboard because the reddish glare was becoming quite annoying. Imagine my surprise when I got a call sometime later from the same fellow with the news that they could put the vehicle in fine working order for $3,250. I assumed I had misheard. Who pays that kind of money to repair something that hadn’t actually been in a crash? “You mean $32.50? or maybe $325.00?” No, the caller patiently explained. He then went on to list all that was wrong with the van. I think he mentioned axles or steering or possibly struts. I think there were bald tires and some kind of leak as well. (Frankly, I had kind of mentally tuned out at that point. Where was I going to come up with that kind of money?

As Americans await the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections, they should remember what happened two years ago. Vote-counting delays in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada meant that news organizations could not project the winner of the 2020 presidential race until the Saturday after Election Day. The electoral vote count did not turn out to be close. Nevertheless, countless conspiracy theories and bogus fraud allegations have flourished, fueled by Donald Trump and his sycophantic allies. This election could be even more complicated. Once again, simple issues of election logistics could delay final results — and provoke wild accusations of fraud amid an information void. And unlike what occurred in 2020, there could be serious post-election voting litigation.

Hundreds of elementary school students were surprised with free tickets to see the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Sunday at The Senator Theatre. The lucky students at City Springs Elementary Middle School learned of their reward Monday morning. And they were excited. “I feel really good because we worked hard for it, student Amira said. The premiere is a collaboration between WJZ and The Baltimore Baltimore, which puts on a day at the movies for hundreds of school children. The event features the premiere, concessions and inspirational messages from WJZ talent, the Baltimore Banner, and Ravens players.

Producing crab meat isn’t just a profitable industry in Maryland — it’s an art. That art, mastered by seafood processors along the Maryland shore, is threatened by a lack of workers, according to Jack Brooks, president of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association. “We’re food manufacturers. You know, we were declared essential during the pandemic, provided we had staffing, but it’s very, very difficult to operate like this,” said Brooks, who is also the co-owner of J.M. Clayton Seafood Company. For years, Brooks said, employers in the seafood industry have struggled to obtain enough H-2B visas — temporary nonagricultural worker permits — to properly staff crab and seafood businesses.