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Here’s what you need to know
Donald Trump is getting deplatformed… After Facebook indefinitely suspended the US president’s account, Shopify and Twitch followed suit. PayPal shut down an account that raised funds for Trump supporters to travel to Washington.
…and inched closer to admitting defeat. After yesterday’ near-concession through someone else’s Twitter account, Trump committed to an “orderly” transition of power in his first tweet after his own account was reinstated. Meanwhile, calls for his early removal are building, and two cabinet members have resigned over the insurrection.
French goods won’t get hit by US tariffs for now. The 25% levies on imports like cosmetics and handbags, due to take effect on Jan. 6 in retaliation against a French digital services tax, have been suspended indefinitely.
Hyundai is in early talks with Apple about a car partnership. The South Korean motor firm’s shares surged 20% after confirming its discussions with the tech giant on developing a self-driving car together.
South Korea ordered Japan to compensate sex slavery victims. The landmark ruling requires Tokyo to pay $91,000 each to 12 women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two.
China is censoring media coverage of Alibaba. Authorities have ordered outlets to “strictly invoke” the party line in any reporting on the antitrust probe into the tech giant, highlighting the issue’s political sensitivity.
Boeing agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine. The US Justice Department’s criminal division accused the airplane manufacturer of covering up the 737 Max’s failures and choosing “the path of profit over candor.”
What to watch for
Financial markets are looking ahead to Joe Biden’s presidency. While violence unfolded at the US Capitol on Wednesday, it seemed like investors didn’t get the message: Yields on US Treasury bonds, which are typically in demand at times of turmoil, barely registered in the mayhem. A day later, the US stock market hit record highs.
Markets appear to be betting that the disturbing episode in Washington won’t affect corporate earnings or the ability of the world’s largest economy to tax and spend. With Democrats now in control of the US Senate, president-elect Biden will probably be able to pass more ambitious economic support than he would have otherwise been able to.
Could traders and investors be wrong? Of course. But they seem to have decided that voters and US institutions, not Donald Trump, would determine the next American president, and that is what has happened.
Decoding the pro-Trump insurrectionists’ flags
Many in the rabid mob who stormed the US Capitol Wednesday came armed with a portable and potent weapon: a flag. The most incendiary was a battle pennant from the Confederate army (middle row, center), widely appropriated by white supremacists as a hate symbol. There were also large election banners, neo-Nazi flare, Christian symbols, and a smattering of national and state flags. Anne Quito and Amanda Shendruk explain the meanings behind each of the flags they spotted.
Déjà vu?
As the world watched the chaos in Washington, some drew comparisons to events in their own countries. Indians were reminded of the five militants who attempted to make their way into India’s parliament in New Delhi on Dec. 13, 2001, as well as violent riots in response to peaceful protests in the capital city last year.
In contrast, while images of Hong Kong protesters taking over the local legislature in July 2019 looked similar to recent scenes from the US, the motivations of the two groups were pretty much diametrically opposed. Where one moment symbolized hunger for the right to a full and free vote, the other was a willful denial of a fair election won in part thanks to grassroots efforts at expanding voter rights.
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You asked about Pfizer vs. Moderna vaccines
Is there any actual difference between the Moderna and Pfizer versions? I know they are built on the same principle, but what about efficacy, side effects, etc.?
At this point, we can only go on the data that has been presented by Moderna and Pfizer to the health regulators that have granted emergency authorization for their vaccines, both of which are based on a novel application of mRNA. There are likely slight differences in the shots’ code for the viral spike protein, or the lipid nanoparticle globs that ferry that code into your cells, but those differences are pretty small (and proprietary!).
The most important news: These two shots are as close to identical in terms of efficacy as you could imagine. Accounting for some statistical wiggle room, Moderna’s 94.1% efficacy and Pfizer’s 95% are functionally identical.
The side effect profiles for both vaccines are also very similar. A majority of people receiving either vaccine experienced pain at the injection site, fatigue, and headache—but those disappear quickly.
For people receiving the vaccine, the biggest difference may be the space between doses: Pfizer’s two shots are spaced 3 weeks apart, while Moderna’s are delivered a month apart.
Surprising discoveries
Leave.EU leaves Britain. The campaign group critical of the European Union ultimately decided to keep its domain name.
A new origin story for dogs? According to researchers, humans hunted plenty of meat, but couldn’t eat it all, so wolves stuck around.
Elon Musk is now the world’s richest person. Tesla’s Thursday gains pushed his net worth to $185 billion.
Identical twins don’t have identical genes. New research found an average of 5.2 genetic mutations per set.
His last name means “Penis Man.” John Dillermand is a Danish cartoon made for four- to eight-year-olds about a man with an extraordinary penis.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, scraps for friendly wolves, and non-identical identical twins to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Mary Hui, Tripti Lahiri, Jordan LeBeau, and Liz Webber.