🌍 Manchin derails Build Back Better

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Here’s what you need to know

Joe Manchin derailed the Biden administration’s $2 trillion spending plans. The West Virginia senator, a Democrat with a deciding vote, announced he won’t support a bill that promises expanded healthcare, free preschool education, and a comprehensive climate package.

Elon Musk said his tax bill will top $11 billion this year. The world’s richest person has been arguing with senator Elizabeth Warren over his fiscal commitments, and said he “will pay more taxes than any American in history this year.”

The new Spider-Man movie broke US pandemic box-office records. It took in $253 million to make the third biggest debut of all time.

The exodus of financial services professionals from London is slowing down. According to EY, the Brexit effect is not as bad as previously feared.

Chile elected millennial leftist Gabriel Boric as its new president. The 35-year-old becomes the youngest leader in the country’s history, and promised to “firmly fight against the privileges of a few.”

Israel is set to ban travel to the US and Canada over omicron. Trips to Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey will also be prohibited.

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai denied making a sexual assault allegation. The athlete told a Singaporean newspaper she’d never accused a Chinese official of forcing her to have sex with him, contrary to her original post on Weibo.

What to watch for

Nike reports its second-quarter earnings today. It’s a key moment for company—fresh off its first metaverse deal—as it will signal whether slowing revenue growth is become a longer-term trend. Its revenue gains eased to 12% last quarter, down from 17% in the previous year.

Nike CFO Matthew Friend has blamed the slowdown on supply-chain snarls rather than a decrease in demand for the world’s largest sportswear brand. Although analysts don’t expect Nike to raise its guidance much, they will be looking for estimates of how the company has performed during the peak holiday selling period and whether supply-chain challenges are receding.

It’s too soon to say if Nike’s bet on virtual sneakers will significantly boost its sales, but analysts expect executives to focus on long-term growth from new products and digital sales, which were up 25% last quarter.

Omicron’s threat

Early signs out of South Africa suggest that the covid-19 omicron variant might be somewhat milder than delta was. But in the US, hospital ICU capacity is already in a tenuous spot. ICUs nationwide are currently operating at 79% capacity, the highest rate since September 2021.

In some states where omicron has already been detected, like Texas, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, hospitals are operating with more than 90% of ICU beds filled. Even a “mild” omicron wave in the US, which is not guaranteed, could overwhelm already-strained hospitals—and healthcare workers—making omicron far more dangerous.

21,027: New covid cases in New York on Friday, a record for the state

77: Countries that have identified omicron

1 in 5: US healthcare workers who have left the profession since the start of the pandemic

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Surprising discoveries

Conspiracy theorists are buying “anti-5G” jewelry. But the necklaces and bracelets are radioactive, the Dutch nuclear authority has warned.

Human brain cells can learn how to play Pong faster than AI. Point one for humanity.

Do you need Slack notifications to convince people you’re working? There’s a busy simulator for that.

A tardigrade is the first to survive quantum entanglement. Scientists believe the microscopic animal existed in a state of life called cryptobiosis, or extreme inactivity.

The highest-ranking belt color in karate is the same in Six Sigma. Followers of the management theory even used black belts to determine raises, as discussed in the latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast.

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