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The World
The U.S. launched a new trilateral security partnership with the UK and Australia that will enable Canberra to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, a move that will strengthen the allies’ ability to counter China. President Biden announced the effort, which is designed to bolster alliances amid rising tensions with China over disputes ranging from the South China Sea to Taiwan, in a virtual event on Wednesday evening with British prime minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. (Financial Times)
Biden plans to host Boris Johnson at the White House next week. Rewarding Johnson with a White House visit is another indication that the two leaders plan to work collaboratively on COVID-19, China and climate change. (Axios)
South Korea answers Kim with submarine missile test: North Korea and South Korea have carried out near-simultaneous tests of advanced new missile systems in an acceleration of the arms race that is overtaking the peninsula and threatening the stability of east Asia. Japan angrily denounced the North’s second missile test in three days, which fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan earlier today. It followed the test-firing of cruise missiles by Pyongyang’s military over the weekend. (The Times)
N.Korea says it tested new railway-borne missile system to strike 'threatening forces. (Reuters)
The U.S. booster policy is in flux as studies add to dissent: A series of dueling reviews this week illustrated the fierce argument among scientists about whether boosters are needed, and if so, for whom. A study released on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine appears to bolster the case made by the White House and its senior health advisers, stating that those who received a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine in Israel were far less likely to develop severe Covid than those who received two injections. But a review by regulators at the Food and Drug Administration, also made public on Wednesday, looked at broader evidence on third doses of the Pfizer vaccine and raised caveats. (New York Times, New England Journal of Medicine)
Another grim milestone: 1 in 500 Americans has died of COVID-19. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
L.A. County plans to require COVID-19 vaccinations at bars. Employees and patrons of bars, nightclubs, wineries and breweries must have at least one vaccine dose by Oct. 7 and be fully vaccinated by Nov. 4. (Los Angeles Times)
A survey of voters in 12 EU members states released by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) shows approval for outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel's consensus style of leadership. According to the poll, many Europeans also believe Germany can be trusted as a leading voice for the EU. Ahead of the Bundestag elections on September 26, the polling also shows Germans struggling to imagine a Germany without Merkel. (Deutsche Welle)
Russia is holding the largest military exercise in Europe for 40 years: The zapad (“west”) military exercise of 1981 was the largest and grandest exercise ever conducted by the Soviet Union, mustering as many as 150,000 troops from across the ussr and its alliance of satellite states, the Warsaw Pact. Cold-war nostalgics may be pleased to learn that this year’s iteration, which began on September 10, might be larger still. Zapad-21 could involve up to 200,000 troops from Russia, Belarus and several other countries, if Russia’s defence ministry is to be believed, outnumbering even the very largest nato exercises of recent times. That reflects both the frostiness of Russia’s ties with the West, and the strengthening of those with Belarus. (The Economist)
Four amateur astronauts lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center, making history by becoming the first all-civilian crew to reach orbit in a fully commercial mission operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and paid for by a billionaire entrepreneur. The launch, dubbed Inspiration4, was the first step in what is planned to be an audacious three-day journey in orbit around the Earth by a group of people who just months ago didn’t know each other and didn’t expect to fly to space. (Washington Post)
There are really only two major climate policies to watch because together they provide some two-thirds of the carbon reductions in the bill: 1) Clean energy tax incentives. Nothing fancy about this: just use the tax code to massively ramp up the use of renewables. There are tax credits for renewable electricity (solar, nuclear), for renewable fuels (biodiesel, clean hydrogen), for getting homes and businesses to run on green energy, for buying electric vehicles so they will be as affordable as gas-powered cars, for electric bicycles and to create a greener workforce. 2) Clean Electricity Performance Program. To climate policy wonks, this is the big one. The new CEPP would pay utilities that switch to clean energy and penalize utilities that don’t. In the House bill the threshold is 4% — utilities get a big check from the government if they increase clean energy by that much each year and they get hit with a fine if they don’t. (Politico Playbook)
Four in 10 young people around the world are hesitant to have children as a result of the climate crisis, and fear that governments are doing too little to prevent climate catastrophe, a poll in 10 countries has found. Nearly six in 10 young people, aged 16 to 25, were very or extremely worried about climate change, according to the biggest scientific study yet on climate anxiety and young people. A similar number said governments were not protecting them, the planet, or future generations, and felt betrayed by the older generation and governments. Three-quarters agreed with the statement “the future is frightening”, and more than half felt they would have fewer opportunities than their parents. Nearly half reported feeling distressed or anxious about the climate in a way that was affecting their daily lives and functioning. (The Guardian, The Lancet)
The hole in the ozone layer that develops annually is “rather larger than usual” and is currently bigger than Antartica, say the scientists responsible for monitoring it. Researchers from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service say that this year’s hole is growing quickly and is larger than 75% of ozone holes at this stage in the season since 1979. (The Guardian)
Wildfires shutter Sequoia National Park and threaten famous ancient trees. (Washington Post)
Economy
Ray Dalio said regulators will shut down bitcoin if the cryptocurrency becomes too successful and dismissed predictions by Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood that its price would increase tenfold within five years. Dalio said bitcoin would be a viable investment alternative as long as it was accepted for payments, but added: “I think at the end of the day if it’s really successful . . . [regulators] will try to kill it.” (Financial Times)
Offices reopen with safety plans, but big-city commutes spook workers: Companies are trying to arrange the safe return of workers to big-city offices, but one factor remains beyond their control: the mass-transit commute. Many workers say they are reluctant to ride subways, trains and buses into city centers, particularly when they could be in close quarters with unmasked or unvaccinated people. Several executives say their employees are citing Covid-19 fears related to their commutes as a key reason they want to continue working from home. (Wall Street Journal)
The flexibility factor: who is going back to the office? Technology companies: remote and flexible. Financial services companies: office-centric and more rigid. Everyone else: hybrid. Those are the broad trends emerging from an FT sampling of companies’ “flexibility factor”, or the extent to which they are allowing employees to decide where they work once pandemic conditions ease. (Financial Times)
Americans are divided over value of a degree: (Inside Higher Ed)
About three quarters of wealthy and college-educated Americans say a college degree is "definitely" or "probably" worth it. By comparison, only half of adults without a college degree or who earn less than $50,000 per year say the same.
Republicans and Democrats showed a similar split in opinion. Seven in 10 Democrats say that a college degree is "definitely" or "probably" worth it, compared with only 53% of Republicans and 52% of independents.
Opinions about the value of a college degree also vary by age. About 61% of adults born between 1997 and 2012 -- Gen Z -- and 63% of adults born between 1981 and 1996 -- millennials -- are more likely to say college is "definitely" or "probably" worth the investment. About 54% of Gen Xers -- adults born between 1965 and 1980 -- and 59% of baby boomers -- adults born between 1946 and 1964 -- say the same.
China’s leading ride-hailing app, Didi, has seen its daily users fall by 30% since its IPO in New York in June triggered a fierce backlash by Beijing. Didi shares have fallen more than 40% since the IPO and its rivals have begun to lure its customers with promotions. (Financial Times)
Thousands of workers at CVS stores across California are demanding better pay, increased safety standards, healthcare improvements and more security for workers in new union contract negotiations. The demands followed the drug chain’s report of record profits over the past 18 months, in part due to keeping stores open throughout the pandemic and offering Covid-19 testing and vaccines in stores. CVS reported a profit of more than $7bn in 2020 and posted a $2.8bn profit in 2Q21. CVS has offered a wage increase of just 5 cents an hour for most workers in the contract negotiations. (The Guardian)
Technology
The New York Times named a new interdepartmental team to help leadership build audience trust, working closely with the newsroom's Standards department. The cross-functional team will help the company's leadership “establish a vision for how our report can continue to evolve to convey our values and ensure accuracy.” (New York Times)
You’ve got a lot of passwords to keep track of for your online bank account, insurance company, social media profiles and even your kid’s school software. But starting today, your Microsoft account doesn’t have to be one of them. The company said it is officially retiring written passwords for personal accounts, including Outlook, OneDrive and Family Safety. Corporate accounts have been eligible for password-free sign-on since March. The change comes as the entire IT industry rethinks its decades-long reliance on “shared secret” passwords — or the kind you have to remember. People have a tendency to lose and forget them, creating extra costs and headaches for companies and customers alike. (Washington Post)
Video game sales skyrocket to record highs: U.S. video game sales in August hit a record $4.4 billion, proving that the bump in gaming seen during the pandemic last year wasn't a passing trend. It was a huge month for hardware, which the NPD Group reports hit $329 million, the best August sales number since 2008. The Nintendo Switch continues to outshine competitors Microsoft and Sony, as it maintained sales highs last month. The console was the best-selling hardware in August and for the year to date. Consumer spending for hardware, content and accessories rose 7% since the same period last year. Year-to-date hardware is up 49% since 2020. (Axios)
A total of 31 ed-tech companies worldwide now have valuations of at least $1 billion, after eight companies vaulted above the “unicorn” threshold over roughly the last three months. That’s according to an analysis conducted by HolonIQ, an global education research and intelligence company, which has tracked global ed-tech unicorns since 2017. The 31 companies raised a combined $20 billion in funding during the last decade and are collectively valued at $91 billion. (EdWeek)
DoorDash files another lawsuit against NYC, saying a new law requiring it to share customer data with restaurants constitutes an invasion of user privacy. (The Verge)
Discord says it has raised $500M led by Dragoneer, Fidelity, and others, source says at a ~$15B post-money valuation. (Bloomberg)
Smart Links
Covid lockdown in Vietnam could keep coffee prices ‘relatively high’ through 2022. (CNBC)
Two women of color will compete to become Boston’s next mayor, marking historic shift. (Washington Post)
PwC reveals its working-class staff are paid 12% less than their peers. (The Times)
Goldman Sachs is acquiring buy now, pay later fintech GreenSky for $2.2 billion. (CNBC)
Major college sports are under siege and they want K Street to save them. (Politico)
Reddit’s ad revenue expected to double to at least $350 million this year. (The Information)
Spending on billboards and travel hubs predicted to remain below pre-pandemic level until at least 2023. (Financial Times)
Commercial fusion by 2030? With latest test, scientists say it’s in reach. (WBUR)