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The World
The House scrapped plans for a session today after security officials warned of a possible plot to breach the Capitol. The decision to move up votes to last night came after officials warned of credible threats of violence circulated by right-wing extremists that March 4 is the “true Inauguration Day” when former president Trump will be sworn in for a second term. The Senate plans to be in session. Meanwhile, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security predict violent domestic extremists attacks will increase in 2021. The joint report says an unidentified group of extremists discussed plans to take control of the Capitol and "remove Democratic lawmakers" on or about March 4. (Washington Post, Axios)
The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard said restrictions the Pentagon placed on him in the run-up to the Capitol riot and lag time in decision-making by his chain of command prevented him from more quickly sending forces to help quell the Jan. 6 violence. (Washington Post)
Joe Biden sharply criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, who announced they are rescinding their mask mandates, despite public health experts’ concerns about another surge. “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine,” Biden said. (The Guardian)
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order requiring schools statewide to offer in-person learning by March 15. San Francisco will reopen indoor dining, gyms and museums as Covid cases fall, while New York state will permit weddings of up to 150 people starting March 15. Wisconsin Gov. Evers suggests schools could start early this fall to help students catch up. (AZCentral, The Guardian, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
A stark link between obesity and Covid deaths revealed: 9 out of 10 deaths from coronavirus have occurred in countries with high obesity levels. W.H.O.-backed research showed mortality rates were 10 times higher where at least 50% of the population was overweight. Meanwhile, Beijing public health workers are the least willing in China to get Covid-19 vaccine, a survey finds. (Financial Times, South China Morning Post)
The Gulf Stream System is at its weakest in over a millennium: Never before in over 1000 years the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), also known as Gulf Stream System, has been as weak as in the last decades. Researchers compiled proxy data, reaching back hundreds of years to reconstruct the AMOC flow history. They found consistent evidence that its slowdown in the 20th century is unprecedented in the past millennium. (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)
California’s snowpack signals another dry year, prompting calls to save water. Water resources officials found that the snowpack, which supplies a third of the state’s water each year, had a water content of just 61% of average. (The Guardian)
Scientists in Iceland have said there are now “strong signs” that a volcanic eruption may be under way following several days of near-constant seismic activity near Mount Keilir about 20 miles south of the capital, Reykjavik. (The Guardian)
Newly released data show that global CO2 emissions had returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of last year and surpassed them in some major economies. Separate new analysis in Carbon Brief explores why emissions in China, the world's largest emitter, actually rose in 2020 despite the big restrictions early in the year. (Axios)
New satellite imagery reveals North Korea has recently taken steps to conceal a facility US intelligence agencies believe is being used to store nuclear weapons. The image shows North Korea built new structures at its Yongdoktong site over the course of 2020 -- an effort researchers say is likely intended to obscure a pair of underground tunnel entrances that lead to the facility where nuclear weapons are stored. (CNN)
Myanmar security forces dramatically escalated their crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, killing at least 34 protesters Wednesday in several cities — the highest daily death toll since the Feb. 1 takeover. (Associated Press)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tapped Israel's stockpile of Moderna vaccines to conduct COVID diplomacy with friendly governments — without consulting the relevant government ministries. Netanyahu's unilateral move may have broken Israeli law, allegedly violated Israel's contract with Moderna, and risked exposing Israel to lawsuits. He was forced to backtrack, but not before thousands of doses had already been transferred. (Axios)
China’s ‘two sessions’: Population decline, rising debt worries will be hot topics for political elite. China’s population could be surpassed by India’s as early as 2027 due to a declining birth rate, even after its one-child policy was abandoned in 2016. Beijing is also increasingly concerned about its level of debt. Meanwhile, China is firming plans for its 2035 road and railway to Taiwan, hinting at Xi Jinping's determination to change status quo. (South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asian Review)
Marathon bail proceedings for 47 Hong Kong democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion enter the fourth day on Thursday, in a landmark case after the most sweeping use yet of the city's national security law. (Reuters)
Economy
The U.S. economy got off to modest start in 2021: The U.S. economic recovery continued at a modest pace over the first weeks of this year, with businesses optimistic about the months to come and demand for housing “robust,” but the job market showing only slow improvement. (Reuters)
Empty office buildings squeeze city budgets as property values fall. The $16 trillion commercial property sector is being stressed in ways not seen since the Great Recession of 2008. According to Moody’s, the credit rating firm, commercial real estate values are projected to decline by 7.2% nationally from their pre-pandemic levels, bottoming out by the end of this year. The hardest-hit categories are the office and retail sectors, with values declining by 12.6% for offices and 16.5% for retailing. American cities are facing red ink for a broad swath of reasons, but the pain is unevenly distributed. the National League of Cities, an advocacy organization, estimates that cities could face a $90 billion shortfall this year. (New York Times)
New data shows San Francisco apartment rents on the rise, just as the city reopens. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Scientists want virtual meetings to stay: A year of online research conferences has brought big benefits: a poll of more than 900 Nature readers found that, despite ‘Zoom fatigue’, 74% think scientific meetings should continue to be virtual, or have a virtual component, after the pandemic ends. (Nature)
Virginia’s governor signed the nation’s second state consumer privacy bill. The law, considered less restrictive than California’s, won broad support from the tech industry, including Amazon. (Washington Post)
YSC Consulting partnered with Level 20, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving gender diversity in private equity, to survey and conduct in-depth interviews with 25 women in senior investment roles in the UK and Europe. PE remains an appealing career choice for women, with a significant number of our interviewees suggesting their unique strengths and capabilities serve an advantage. There is no “one size fits all” or “quick fix” in terms of how firms can retain women. What is needed is long-term systemic change and for senior leaders in the industry to tackle diversity and inclusion issues strategically and continuously. The interviews revealed challenges and recommended actions, which YSC distilled into five drivers of change: leadership, culture, transparency and fairness, family life support and supportive working environments. (Private Equity News)
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice surged up the shortlist this year to claim first place in the PEI Awards 2020: Americas Large-Cap category. The firm has announced at least 10 new investments since March, making 2020 its most active year to date. Transactions include the acquisition of Epicor Software Corporation and a partnership investment in US region food distributor Cheney Brothers. The firm has raised around $16 billion for its latest flagship fund, exceeding its $13 billion target in the third quarter of last year. CD&R’s Investment in SIG was also recognized by PEI as one of three finalists for EMEA Deal of the Year. (Private Equity International, Private Equity International-2)
Technology
Google plans to stop selling ads based on individuals’ browsing across multiple websites, a change that could hasten upheaval in the digital advertising industry. The company said that it plans next year to stop using or investing in tracking technologies that uniquely identify web users as they move from site to site across the internet. The decision, coming from the world’s biggest digital advertising company, could help push the industry away from the use of such individualized tracking, which has come under increasing criticism from privacy advocates and faces scrutiny from regulators. (Wall Street Journal, Google)
Facebook will lift a ban on political advertising imposed after the US election to curb the spread of misinformation, and has pledged to investigate whether its political ads systems need a further overhaul. (Financial Times)
The Arizona House passed bill HB2005, which would force Apple and Google to let apps in its app stores use alternative payment methods; the bill now heads to the AZ Senate. (The Verge)
Disney’s CEO said that once the pandemic ends and theater-going returns to near normal levels, he doesn’t expect to uphold the previous tradition of waiting more than two or three months after a movie was released in theaters before making it available to rent. While he’s dedicated to some kind of exclusive run in theaters for Disney’s biggest movies, the length of time between big screens and streaming will be far shorter. (Deadline)
The Netflix app has added Fast Laughs, a new feature for its mobile apps that presents a string of comedy clips from its stand-up specials, TV series and movies. The feature displays full-screen vertical video in an auto-playing feed, borrowing a page from apps likes TikTok, and lets users share their favorite bits with friends and social media. (Variety)
The National Football League is on the verge of signing new rights deals with media partners that could see Amazon carry many games exclusively and TV networks pay as much as double their current rate. (Wall Street Journal)
Comcast said peak internet traffic in the U.S. rose 32% in 2020 over pre-pandemic levels, with some markets rising 50% in March 2020. Video streaming accounted for 71% of all downstream traffic, and it grew 70% over 2019 levels. Comcast said that the first four months of the pandemic resulted in about two years’ worth of expected network traffic growth. (Venture Beat)
Apple has an easy new way to copy all your photos and videos to Google Photos. (CNBC)
China fined five community group-buying platforms owned and backed by the likes of Meituan, Pinduoduo, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group and Didi Chuxing, citing “improper pricing behavior.” (Reuters)
Smart Links
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma loses title as China’s richest person; bottled-water tycoon Zhong Shanshan is new no. 1. (Wall Street Journal)
Japanese billionaire seeks eight people to fly to Moon. (BBC News)
Microsoft: new Chinese hacking group targeted exchange servers. (Microsoft)
Wendy’s CEO expects to hit 10% digital sales goal in 2021, three years ahead of schedule. (CNBC)
The Glitch union just signed the first tech company collective bargaining agreement. (Protocol)
Researchers have built the fastest random-number generator ever made, using a simple laser. (Nature)
Could plastic roads make for a smoother ride? (BBC)