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The World
House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump for his role in inflaming a mob that attacked the Capitol, scheduling a Wednesday vote to charge the president with “inciting violence against the government of the United States” if Vice President Pence refused to strip him of power first. (New York Times)
Several U.S. Capitol Police officers have been suspended and more than a dozen others are under investigation for suspected involvement with or inappropriate support for the demonstration last week that turned into a deadly riot at the Capitol. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has authorized up to 15,000 National Guardsmen from across the country to deploy to the nation's capital before and during the inauguration, as the FBI warned of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington, DC. Michigan banned the open carry of guns in the state Capitol, while Minnesota’s legislative session opened with a clash over the Capitol attack, and Wisconsin’s governor activated the national guard and boarded up the state house’s windows. (Washington Post, Politico, Associated Press, The Guardian, Detroit Free Press, Star Tribune, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Banks are moving away from President Trump and his companies: Deutsche Bank won't work with him in the future, while Signature Bank, which long had close ties with Trump and Kushner, is closing his accounts — and, despite Ivanka Trump’s having sat on their board, is calling for Trump's resignation. 10 major companies so far, including some of the biggest corporate givers in politics, will withhold contributions to Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of the Electoral College votes, and dozens more are stopping all of their political donations after the riot. (David Enrich, NYT, Politico)
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf announced he would step down from his post as of 11:59 pm last night, the third Cabinet-level official to quit after the Capitol attack. (Politico)
Parler sued Amazon after the beleaguered conservative social media site was expelled from AWS, filing a fanciful complaint alleging the internet giant took it out for political reasons — and in an antitrust conspiracy to benefit Twitter. Meanwhile, Twitter said it has suspended over 70K accounts involved in spreading harmful QAnon-associated content since Friday. The moves by U.S. social media companies to shut down Trump’s accounts have been criticized by European politicians including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s biggest domestic critic. (TechCrunch, Twitter Blog, The Times)
Inside L.A.'s hospital ‘war zone’: In the last week in L.A. County, 200 people were dying every day of Covid-19 — more than the number of deaths from all other reasons combined, which average 170 a day. Said one doctor: “It’s a war zone. The way most people leave is by dying.” Now, amid the exhaustion and anguish of the last several weeks is something worse: fear that the next few weeks will be even more dire. Another COVID-19 surge, fueled by the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, is beginning to swell. (Los Angeles Times)
W.H.O.’s chief scientist warned that herd immunity is unlikely to be achieved this year despite Covid-19 vaccines being rolled out, while Moderna says its vaccine immunity will last at least a year. In the UK, a quarter of Covid hospital admissions are aged under 55 — but almost 2.3 million people have been vaccinated, as the head of the NHS in England set out plans to protect all those over 50 by April. (Axios, The Guardian, The Times)
Study: An early dose of blood plasma from recovered people cuts the risk of severe COVID in those at high risk. Researchers treated people who were over age 75 or had pre-existing conditions with antibody-laden blood, within 72 hours of symptom onset. Severe COVID developed at about half the rate in the study participants who received plasma compared with that in the placebo group. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Three recent studies out of the U.S., Sweden and Norway each found low risk of Covid-19 infection and transmission in schools, adding to the growing body of research suggesting that in-person school is a relatively low-risk activity. (New America, Pediatrics, New England Journal of Medicine, Eurosurveillance)
President Xi Jinping issued an unusually upbeat assessment about China’s future, noting that “time and the situation” were on the country’s side in a new year marked by domestic turmoil in the U.S. (Bloomberg)
US crude oil prices breached $50 a barrel last week for the first time since the start of the coronavirus crisis, spurred by Saudi Arabia’s promise of a hefty production cut that has lifted spirits in the beleaguered US shale patch. Meanwhile, Australia blocked a A$300m takeover offer by a Chinese state-owned company for a local building contractor in a move that reflects the intense diplomatic and trade tensions between Beijing and Canberra. (Financial Times, Financial Times-2)
2020 was the joint hottest year ever, as global heating continued unabated despite Covid lockdowns, with record Arctic wildfires and Atlantic tropical storms. Only 2016 was as hot, but that year saw a natural warmth-boosting El Niño weather event. Temperature data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service showed that the past six years have been the hottest six on record. (The Guardian)
Vietnam announced that almost all inbound international flights will be suspended until the end of the Lunar New Year in mid-February in a bid to prevent transmission of the new B117 variant of the coronavirus. Only flights approved by the ministries of health, defense, public security, foreign affairs and transport will be allowed to arrive in extraordinary situations. (Tuoi Tre News)
Economy
A year ago, women outnumbered men in the U.S. workforce, now they account for 100% of jobs lost in December: Employers cut 140,000 jobs in December, signaling that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is backtracking. Digging deeper into the data also reveals a shocking gender gap: Women accounted for all the job losses, losing 156,000 jobs, while men gained 16,000. Meanwhile, a separate survey of households, which includes self-employed workers, showed an even wider gender disparity and highlighted another painful reality: Blacks and Latinas lost jobs in December, while White women made significant gains. (CNBC, CNN, BLS)
America’s young adults doubled their assets over the past four years, marking the first time the assets for so-called millennials have exceeded $10 trillion. Meanwhile, a new army of social media-enabled day traders is helping push stocks to records and turning companies into market sensations. As trading by individual investors boomed during the coronavirus pandemic, so has the popularity of online communities where they gather. Platforms including TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook and messaging platform Discord have become the new Wall Street trading desks. Separately, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned investors in digital currencies that they should be prepared to lose everything as the price of bitcoin slumped by as much as 25%. (Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, The Times)
U.S. cities are losing their allure for renters, placing early signs of strain on the $50bn market in bonds backed by mortgages on apartment blocks. The pandemic is still rolling through the global population and working from home remains the norm in many professions, pushing some city residents to pack up and leave. Data company Trepp has identified 50 so-called multifamily loans with a balance of $1.5bn where the occupancy rate of buildings dropped by 15% last year. (Financial Times)
The Chicago Tribune and its parent company will leave Prudential Plaza at the end of this month, leaving the city’s largest newspaper without a downtown office less than three years after its exit from the landmark Tribune Tower. (Chicago Tribune)
Confidence in the current business environment edged up another 2% in January. CEOs’ outlook for the business environment 12 months from now is also strong, essentially flat from December but up 9% since last spring. An increasing number of CEOs expect 2021 to be a year of growth, with 72% expecting gains in profits and 75% anticipating gains in revenue (up from 65% and 73% the month prior). (Chief Executive)
Technology
Facebook told employees to avoid wearing or carrying company-branded clothing and other items in public following the company’s suspension last week of President Trump’s account and its more recent crackdown on content mentioning “Stop the Steal.” Facebook’s internal memo to employees about the issue reflects concerns that the company’s actions could put its staff at risk. (The Information)
Retailers have a new message for consumers looking to return an item: Keep it. Amazon, Walmart, and other companies are using artificial intelligence to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return. For inexpensive items or large ones that would incur hefty shipping fees, it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and let customers keep the products. (Wall Street Journal)
New York City proposes regulating algorithms used in hiring. The bill would require firms to disclose when they use software to assess candidates. (Are Technica)
VCs see customization, customer service as top e-commerce trends: Venture investors predict 2021 will be a year where more shopping experiences are customized, and retailers redouble focus on customer service. On the heels of a huge overall spike in e-commerce spending, they’re also confident more online brands will enter the public markets. (Crunchbase)
Can Mayor Francis Suarez bring Silicon Valley to Miami? As more tech execs and investors leave the San Francisco Bay Area permanently, one of the loudest siren calls is coming from Miami. The city’s mayor and several high-profile transplants have built up buzz, but numerous forces stand in their way. (The Information)
Smart Links
Jump in ‘Million-Dollar Cities’: There are now 312 U.S. metros where the typical home is $1 million. (Mansion Global)
Stimulus bill created America's newest national park: New River Gorge in West Virginia. (Vice)
“Nomadland” named best film of 2020 by the National Society of Film Critics. (Los Angeles Times)
Abbott blood test to evaluate mild concussions wins FDA clearance. (Chicago Tribune)
Brilliant X-rays reveal what might be a new type of star. (Nature)
Dutch officials seize ham sandwiches from British drivers. (The Guardian)