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Here’s what you need to know
Tesla’s S&P 500 debut was less than stellar. The automaker’s shares fell 6.5% on their first day on the exchange, as US stocks mostly closed lower on news of new coronavirus restrictions.
The EU authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. Regulators said the bloc is on track to begin vaccinations within a week.
Indian farmers began a 24-hour relay hunger strike. Protesters also plan to disrupt highway toll collection for three days as they prepare a response to the government’s latest attempt at reconciliation over new agriculture laws.
The US attorney general won’t appoint a special counsel on the 2020 election. In a parting shot at president Donald Trump, William Barr also declined to name a special counsel for the tax investigation of president-elect Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
India added a new twist to Amazon’s ambitions in the country. The Delhi High Court said Amazon’s agreements with Future Retail seem to run contrary to India’s foreign direct investment rules, but it will leave it to regulators to decide if Reliance Retail’s bid for Future’s assets can go forward, giving Amazon an opening to raise objections.
Thousands of Hong Kong students can’t leave the UK… Hong Kong and India are among the places that have suspended flights from the UK following reports of a new, highly transmissible strain of Covid-19.
…While a Hong Kong democracy activist is desperate to stay. Nathan Law said he has applied for asylum in the UK. Separately, immigration experts say travel restrictions may delay plans by Hong Kong holders of British National Overseas passports to emigrate to the UK.
What to watch for
The US National Basketball Association’s 2020-21 season starts tonight. You’re forgiven for thinking, “Didn’t the NBA season just end?” Indeed, the pandemic-delayed season wrapped up Oct. 6, about four months later than usual, with the LeBron James-led LA Lakers defeating the Miami Heat. The NBA and its player union were loath to sacrifice more revenue, so after the briefest of breaks, a 72-game season (10 fewer than usual) will get underway in time for the league’s annual Christmas extravaganza.
Unlike the end of last season, when all games were played within a quarantine bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the 2020-21 season will be played at home arenas. In some cities, fans will be allowed at games, but for the most part they’ll be played in empty buildings. And one arena will have no games at all: The Toronto Raptors, the 2019-20 NBA champions, will play their home games in Tampa, Florida, for the time being, as the Canadian government has refused to waive quarantine rules for teams traveling from the US to Canada.
Charting how far a stimulus goes
In addition to increasing unemployment benefits and extending unemployment assistance programs, granting money to schools, and supplementing the national food relief program, the US’s $900 billion pandemic relief package includes a $600 check for many Americans (plus $600 for each of their dependent children). But how far does that go?
The cost of living varies significantly across the country. In Detroit, one of the poorer cities in the US, a single check for $600 would cover nearly all of an average resident’s housing costs for one month, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and furnishing. In San Francisco, the check would only cover half of housing costs per capita.
Your Covid-19 vaccine questions, answered
One of our best tools in the world’s uphill battle to reclaim everyday life from the pandemic is the same tool we’ve used to combat widespread disease for centuries: vaccines. And yet, with a vaccine that arrived at breakneck speed, certain administrations starved for credibility, and so much still unknown about the nature of the virus, you’ve definitely got questions.
Katherine Ellen Foley and Annalisa Merelli address concerns such as:
- What is the vaccine’s effect on our DNA? (None.)
- What is its efficacy for people with allergies? (A lot.)
- Do I have to get it if I’ve been previously exposed? (Sorry, yep.)
- How much we should trust in the leadership that brought it to us? (That’s up to you, but know that there are a lot of scientists on the job.)
- And everything else you’ve been worried about.
✦ Here’s a question, answered. Yes, you would benefit from a subscription to Quartz. And yes, it’s free for seven days.
Surprising discoveries
The US stimulus bill may save the climate. A major bipartisan measure will force the US to comply with the same Montreal Protocol it opted out of.
The pope doesn’t like the Vatican’s sci-fi nativity scene. The ceramic sculptures were made between 1965-1975 to commemorate lunar landings.
Nearly a ton of cocaine washed up on the Marshall Islands. The ghost ship carrying it might have been at sea for years.
French dressing can be whatever it wants… The orange sauce called such in the US is no longer regulated by the government.
…But soy sauce is a cautionary tale. The same company’s cricket/grasshopper miso was a big hit, so why not a soy sauce also made from bugs?
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