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The World
The U.S. says the cyber hack poses ‘grave risk’ to critical infrastructure, exposing a potentially critical vulnerability in America’s technology infrastructure. The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies. DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies. Additionally, Microsoft was breached in the massive hacking campaign, adding a top technology target to a growing list of vital government agencies. Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin called the attack a “virtual invasion” that demands the U.S. show Russia and other adversaries there is “a price to pay.” (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Reuters, C4ISR.net)
Congress is preparing for a short government shutdown as leaders attempt to wrap up a nearly $1 trillion relief package ahead of today’s deadline. Weekend work appears inevitable, Republicans and Democrats were still sparring over who is eligible for stimulus checks, how to spend money for health care, disaster relief funds and winding down the Fed’s emergency lending program. The disputes could carry heavy consequences for President-elect Biden, as reining in the Fed’s lending authority could close off crucial avenues for his administration to stave off more economic havoc. Meanwhile, unemployment claims rose to 885,000 as economists expect the labor market to cool until vaccines are widely distributed. (Politico, New York Times, Wall Street Journal)
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell warned that Washington will remain on economic clean-up duty for foreseeable future. With Congress negotiating a roughly $900 billion aid package and the vaccines rolling out, Powell has an updated message: This is no time for Washington to ease up. “Getting through the next four, five, six months, that is key,” Powell said. (Finance 202)
Fewer Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction (18%) than at any point in the last four years. (Economist/YouGov Poll)
As a F.D.A. advisory panel recommended to clear Moderna’s vaccine for broad use, two people are dying every hour in Los Angeles county as it sees an “explosive surge,” and ICU availability is at at 0%, down from 7% just days ago. San Francisco mandated a 10-day quarantine for travelers from outside Bay Area. In a move that reflects the desperation of teachers, nurses, healthcare, grocery and hotel employees, their influential unions are calling for a strict monthlong Los Angeles County shutdown in January. Meanwhile, three times as many more people in the U.S. are dying each day now than three months ago, and the number of new cases is six times what it was then. (Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times-2 New York Times)
In a rare rebuke, the king of Sweden said the country has failed in its response to Covid-19, as Stockholm region hospitals warned they were struggling to cope with a surge in cases and polls showed public confidence had plunged to a new low. Meanwhile, the EU is eyeing a late-December vaccine rollout. (The Guardian, Wall Street Journal-2)
Tyson Foods fired seven top managers at its largest pork plant after an independent investigation into allegations that they bet on how many workers would test positive for the coronavirus. An outbreak centered around the Waterloo, IA plant infected more than 1,000 employees, at least six of whom died. (Associated Press, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Brexit talks are in a “serious situation” and no deal is “very likely” after speaking to Ursula von der Leyen. The talks were hit by a fresh dispute over state aid, as the two sides wrangle over EU’s €750bn recovery fund and fishing access while negotiations go to the wire. (The Guardian, Financial Times)
The group of 344 schoolboys kidnapped in northern Nigeria have been rescued and are on their way back to Katsina. (The Guardian)
A stunning new L.A. Times report details how toxic jet engine fumes can leak into airplanes’ air supplies, sickening passengers and crew — and the airline industry has known this was a problem for several decades. One pilot told colleagues the situation was “the tobacco and asbestos of aviation.” “Fume events” occur when heated jet engine oil leaks into the air supply, causing toxic gases inside the plane. “Airlines have been asking Boeing to install air sensors for years. But the company decided against developing the technology. Senior Boeing engineers worried that data from sensors would prove damaging in lawsuits by sick passengers and crew members, according to internal emails and sworn depositions obtained by The Times.” (Los Angeles Times, The Verge)
An estimated 81,000 people died from a drug overdose between June 2019 and May 2020, the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period. The provisional CDC data suggests the pandemic accelerated overdose deaths. (Axios)
Swing states had four times as much election disinformation in 2020 as non-swing states. Pennyslyvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Florida experienced the biggest disinformation deluges, in that order. (MIT Technology Review)
So far in 2020, global approval ratings of U.S. leadership are at new lows or they tie the previous lows. The number of allies where approval dropped to historic lows: Ireland (20%), the UK (15%), Denmark (14%), Switzerland (10%), Germany (6%) and Iceland (5%). China saw its ratings slide to a median of 17% in 2020, down from 22% in 2019. Approval ratings were at new lows -- or matched previous lows -- in 13 countries, including Denmark (8%), Belgium (7%) and Sweden (5%). Russia's approval remained low, but it actually rose two points from a median of 17% in 2019 across these countries to 19% in 2020. Germany’s approval ratings rose from a median of 59% to 62%, cementing its No. 1 global position. (Gallup)
Economy
The pandemic’s slowdown in real estate deals has cost New York City $1.2 billion in lost revenue so far this year. Sales of commercial and residential properties -- everything from office buildings to hotels and condo units -- are down 49% this year through November. (Bloomberg)
The EU has agreed “in principle” to an investment agreement with China, with Germany and France ready to go ahead. The move deals a blow to Joe Biden’s hope of reviving a transatlantic partnership with Europe to take on China’s growing assertiveness. Meanwhile, with an eye on China, Japan refuses to ease TPP rules for new members, seeking to balance expansion with maintaining trade standards. (South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asian Review)
Another Covid hit to retail: Impulse shopping usually drives 25% of overall holiday spending. This year, it’s expected to drive only 18% to 20% — a potential loss of $5 billion to $7 billion in sales — as shoppers are pulling back on impulse buys as they reduce store trips and buy more online. However, customer traffic surged last week at 10 Dallas area shopping centers. (CNBC, Dallas Morning News)
The global private equity market showed higher resiliency and lower volatility over the first two quarters of 2020 compared with public equity markets, as firms dealt with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis. However, the under-reaction of private markets exhibited in Q1 was not followed by the performance bounce back that public markets went through in Q2. The adverse effects of the economic slowdown lasted longer in the European private equity market than in other regions, with US and Asian funds performing more strongly. (Private Equity Wire)
Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez is teaming with a Miami private-equity firm to invest more than a half-billion dollars in buying or developing hotels at a time when the industry has been ravaged by the pandemic. (Wall Street Journal)
Super Bowl stats: 60% of U.S. adults said they are likely to watch Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7 — though 70% of Americans say they are unlikely to host or attend a Super Bowl party amid the pandemic. Of those expecting to tune in, 60% said the big game is an appropriate platform for brands to promote social justice. 77% said they would look favorably on brands that encourage Americans to wear masks amid the pandemic. (Morning Consult)
Technology
TikTok's leaders have repeatedly sworn in court and public that they don't share any U.S. user data with China, where their parent company, ByteDance, is based. But the same can't be said for several other ByteDance apps, which also have a sizable audience in the U.S. and abroad. Some of ByteDance's most popular apps in China, including Xigua and Toutiao, appear to have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times in the U.S. And as their privacy policies clearly state — albeit in Chinese — all of the data collected from those apps is stored in China. (Protocol)
Technology giant Alibaba has facial recognition technology which can specifically pick out members of China’s Uighur minority. (Reuters)
Alphabet’s Google won EU antitrust approval for its $2.1 billion bid for Fitbit after agreeing restrictions on how it will use customers’ health related data. Meanwhile, Sony is pulling Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store and offering full refunds. (Reuters, The Verge)
Has streaming volume peaked in the U.S.? While music streaming services have continued to add U.S. subscribers this year, the number of total streams has remained the same. For the past four months and counting, audio music streams have averaged 17.5 billion a week — up slightly from the early March pre-pandemic peak, before the lockdown cut music listening down by 13%. Streaming gradually rebounded, increasing 15% by the end of June — but has plateaued since. (Billboard)
Twitter will restore traditional retweet functionality after a months-long experiment to limit the spread of misinformation on the platform ahead of the US election. The goal was to encourage more thoughtful amplification, but "we don't believe that this happened, in practice," Twitter Support said. Use of quote tweets increased, but often little substance was included, with 45% including a single-word affirmation, while 70% contained fewer than 25 characters, Twitter found. (Cnet)
Smart Links
Why are people still starving in an age of abundance? (MIT Technology Review)
Over 40% of women in tech say they’ve been harassed by a boss or investor. (CNBC)
High-frequency traders push closer to light speed with cutting-edge cables. (Wall Street Journal)
What the Dippin’ Dots ‘cold chain’ can teach us about COVID-19 vaccines. (Popular Science)
Texas A&M investigating "large scale" cheating case. (Texas Tribune)
Chicago Blackhawks won’t follow the Indians’ lead and change nickname. (Chicago Tribune)
Psychologists explain how we make donation decisions. (Harvard Gazette)
Why does Oreo keep releasing new flavors? The brand’s strategy is stunning in its simplicity. (New York Times)
President Obama highlighted his choices for the year’s 17 best books. (Washington Post)