We’re off for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. That means no Daily Brief on Tuesday or Wednesday. We’ll be back in your inbox first thing Thursday morning.
Good morning, Quartz readers!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Amazon union workers vow to keep fighting. Their holiday-season strike is considered the largest one against the e-commerce giant to date.
OpenAI may be getting serious about its pivot to being a for-profit entity. The reasoning is that its operations need “more capital than imagined.”
You could live next door to Jeff Bezos for a small fee. A $200 million spot on South Florida’s “Billionaire’s Bunker” island just opened up.
A Tyson plant explosion left one person dead, several injured. The cause of the blast was not initially clear.
Doctors are noticing an uptick in vaccine hesitancy. A survey found that 85% of health care professionals are running into more people on the fence about getting their shots.
A helping hand in old age
When people get older, they sometimes become more vulnerable to disadvantageous situations. Some states have more protections for elders against that outcome than others.
California gets poor ratings for its elder abuse safeguards. Massachusetts, on the other hand, gets much better marks.
Which states have the best — and worst — elder abuse protections? Quartz’s Ben Kesslen explains the lay of the land.
A bird flu mutation
One anxiety prompted by the spread of animal viruses like H5N1 is that they might evolve to spread more easily among humans. A recent severe human case in Louisiana suggests that reality might be getting closer.
Tests run on the patient suggest a number of variations that allow it to more easily bind to human upper airway cells. For now, however, the Centers for Disease Control says the risks to humans remain low.
What’s up with the latest bird flu update? Quartz’s Bruce Gil runs down the most recent developments.
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🚀 Bezos’ Blue Origin just got approval to launch its New Glenn for the first time
🧑‍🚀 Boeing’s space business could experience liftoff in 2025
🛫 Airline stocks had an incredible 2024
📉 The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a rough Friday
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
United Airlines makes up 75% of the traffic at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier’s operations staff are a crucial part of the airport’s infrastructure. (paywall)
Beyoncé was worth three million viewers to the NFL. Her Christmas-day Netflix halftime show peaked at 27 million streamers, compared to a game-long 24-million streamer average.
Hand-made lace enthusiasts are dealing with a man-made threat. AI-generated books are proliferating the hobby, bringing stolen patterns and inadequate instructions. (paywall)
Paper passports are slowly slipping into the past. Smartphones and face-scanning technology are becoming an increasingly popular means of international identity verification. (paywall)
Here’s how Kevin’s parents afforded the Home Alone house. Director Chris Columbus said the “very successful fashion designer” career of Catherine O’Hara’s Kate McCallister was part of it.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news or comments to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Audrey McNamara.