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The World
The top Democrats in Congress — House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer called for President Trump’s immediate removal from office, either by his Cabinet or possibly through impeachment. Pence reportedly refused to take their call, while Pompeo and Mnuchin are among the Cabinet secretaries who discussed 25th Amendment with their staffs. Meanwhile, various resignations were submitted, including: Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger, House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Former acting chief of staff and current special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney, Acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Tyler Goodspeed. (Washington Post, CNBC, Financial Times)
WSJ Editorial Board: “If Mr. Trump wants to avoid a second impeachment, his best path would be to take personal responsibility and resign.” (Wall Street Journal)
CEOs’ swift rebukes of the Capitol riots speak to their elevated roles in society: 50% of registered voters say they have a more favorable view of companies who condemn yesterday’s events, while 43% would be more likely to purchase from companies doing so. 71% of Americans hold CEOs responsible for being leaders not just in their organizations, but also in American society. Another 68% believe that as corporate leaders, CEOs are the best positioned to drive real change in America. (Morning Consult)
Meanwhile, President Trump’s business allies started to distance themselves from him after the riot. Further, many of America's top businesspeople have had enough and plan to deny future contributions to those who egged it on. On Monday night, 36 hours before the insurrection, Yale School of Management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld invited a group of high-profile CEOs and investors to a virtual meeting. One attendee: "The amount of anger at these 11 senators was more intense than any I can recall directed with so much universality.” (CNBC, Axios)
The U.S. set a covid-19 record of 4,000 deaths in a single day, as researchers point to asymptomatic cases as a major source of infections. Arizona became the Covid “hotspot of the world” as the state reports the U.S.’s highest new case rate, while nearly half of new U.S. Covid variant cases are in Florida. NY Gov. Cuomo warned the Covid variant discovered in UK could force a new shutdown. All international travelers, including Britons abroad, will have to produce a negative coronavirus test result to enter England under new restrictions. Arrivals will have to take a test up to three days before traveling. Russia says 1 million citizens have been vaccinated, but it has fallen far behind the number of doses it promised to deliver to cities and regions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Vladimir Putin that she is open to manufacturing doses in Germany. Japan declared a national emergency; vaccinations in France are lagging. (Washington Post, The Guardian, The Times, Axios, Nikkei Asian Review, Washington Post-2)
Scientists are monitoring a coronavirus mutation that could affect the strength of vaccines. The mutation, identified in a variant first seen in South Africa and separately seen in another variant in Brazil, changes a part of the virus that your immune system’s antibodies get trained to recognize after you’ve been infected or vaccinated. Lab studies show that the change could make people’s antibodies less effective at neutralizing the virus. (STAT News)
A new study finds that Covid-19 immunity likely lasts for years. Covid-19 patients who recovered from the disease still have robust immunity from the coronavirus eight months after infection. The researchers found that antibodies in the body declined moderately after eight months, although levels varied wildly between individuals. But T-cell numbers declined only modestly, and B-cell numbers held steady and sometimes inexplicably grew. Meanwhile, top U.S. health officials encouraged states to start vaccinating people more widely. (MIT Technology Review, Bloomberg, Statista)
China told the country’s media to censor reporting on an antitrust probe into tech group Alibaba, whose founder Jack Ma has disappeared from public view as misfortunes mount for his business empire. The move to exert media control shows that the issue has become a matter of national political sensitivity in China. (Financial Times)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would expand military capabilities to better defend the country, during a rare party congress as the country faces international sanctions and pressure and a new portrait was unveiled showing him in a formal military uniform. The Eighth Party Congress, which began on Tuesday, comes as North Korea faces increasing economic crises. (Reuters, The Times)
The Senate power shift could bring major changes in U.S. health, science and climate policy. The swing will also make it easier for the Biden administration to boost the ACA, restore environmental regulations, and overturn the EPA’s controversial ‘transparency’ rule. And the new Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has supported increased federal research spending. (Science, HealthcareDive)
The polar vortex is splitting in two, which may lead to weeks of wild winter weather: A dramatic spike in temperatures is occurring at high altitudes above the North Pole, where the air is thin and typically frigid. Known as a sudden stratospheric warming event, experts say it’s likely to have potentially significant repercussions for winter weather across the Northern Hemisphere for weeks to possibly months. (Capital Weather Gang)
Economy
Bitcoin fell more than 5% on Friday, a day after topping $40,000 for the first time. The world’s most popular digital currency slid to as low as $36,618.36 on Bitstamp exchange, after reaching an all-time high of $40,402.46 in the previous session. (Reuters)
Private payrolls posted their first drop since April. Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee held interest rates near zero and strengthened its commitment to bond buying at the meeting, pledging to maintain a $120 billion monthly pace of purchases until there is ‘substantial further progress’ toward its employment and inflation goals. (CNBC, Bloomberg)
Ahead of its anticipated 2021 IPO, Instacart named Nick Giovanni, currently head of Goldman Sachs’ technology, media and telecom group as its next chief financial officer. (CNBC)
Consumers ranked integrated system Kaiser Permanente the best health insurance for 2021. After Kaiser, the top five companies were Blue Shield of California, Humana, Florida Blue and UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare, the largest commercial payer in the country, saw one of the biggest jumps in the ratings, having been ranked No. 13 in last year's survey. (HealthcareDive)
Hipcamp, a VC-backed startup that offers people places to stay or pitch a tent in rural areas, closed a $57 million funding round that values it at more than $300 million. (The Information)
Technology
What the Democrat Senate win means for tech: Silicon Valley’s tech titans, under siege by federal regulators and lawmakers seeking to rein in their influence, are expected to face forceful new challenges. High on the Democrats’ agenda are changes to antitrust law that could make it easier to block mergers or force companies to modify how they do business. Meanwhile, Georgia’s runoff may have saved net neutrality. (The Information, Protocol, The Verge)
SolarWinds hired former Trump cyber security chief Chris Krebs. (Financial Times)
Samsung is embracing our Covid-induced obsession with videoconferencing: The company will allow consumers to connect external USB cameras to some 2021 smart TVs so they can video chat with up to five others on the big screen. It's also embracing external cameras for interactive work-outs and to add accessibility. This initiative was very much a response to 2020, according to Samsung VP Grace Dolan. (Protocol)
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messenger, is giving its 2 billion plus users an ultimatum: agree to share their personal data with the social network or delete their accounts. The requirement is being delivered through an in-app alert directing users to agree to sweeping changes in the WhatsApp terms of service. Those who don’t accept the revamped privacy policy by Feb. 8 will no longer be able to use the app. (Ars Technica)
According to The Information: Reuters last month reported that Apple’s self-driving car was coming as early as 2024, but Bloomberg reported today the car is 5 to 7 years away. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its absolutely massive 56-inch ‘Hyperscreen’ display. (The Information, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Verge)
Smart Links
Why was the U.S. Capitol so easy to breach? (Curbed)
Why Amazon and Google are skipping CES. (Protocol)
Elon Musk surpasses Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person. (Bloomberg)
Google’s next Nest Hub could use radar to track your sleep. (The Verge)
More than half of Americans turned to video games during lockdown. (The Verge)
Missouri woman believed to be last Civil War widow dies. (Associated Press)
Delta will no longer allow emotional support animals on flights. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Americans' average weight held steady in 2020. (Gallup)