Hello, Quartz members, and welcome to Sunday Reads!
It’s a new year, and the world is setting out on some new adventures: The second Trump presidency is approaching, the war in Ukraine continues, the markets are poised to keep rising, and a lot of very rich people got even richer this year. You can read about it all in some of our favorite Quartz stories from the week, and get a sneak peek at one story coming next week to get your day started.
Enjoying this newsletter? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you.
5 things we especially liked on Quartz
⚕️RiteAid zombies. As the drug store chain RiteAid struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection, it’s closed nearly 500 locations and plans to close 188 more this year, leaving America pocked with zombie drug stores. Francisco Velasquez tours the graveyard.
🎆Don’t drop the ball on the ball drop. As a Times Square hotel prepared for New York City’s famous New Year’s Eve celebration, Quartz’s Madeline Fitzgerald got an inside look at how they prepped for the final moment of 2024.
💉Weighting game. Wegovy, Ozempic, and similar drugs could vastly reduce the U.S. obesity epidemic, but beyond the manufacturing crunch, high costs and insurance gaps remain major obstacles to using the wonder drugs to make America healthy. Bruce Gil explains.
💸Must be funny in a rich man’s world. The rich are no different from you and I; they just made even more money this year.William Gavin takes a look at how the world’s wealthiest got even wealthier—and none of them made less than $38 billion this year.
📱It’s all about AI: Just when you thought your toaster couldn’t get any smarter, CES 2025 is about to prove you wrong. The world’s biggest tech show returns to Las Vegas from January 7-10, promising to stuff artificial intelligence into literally everything that has a power button. Jackie Snow has a preview.
1 sneak peek
🏦Making bank: One way that presidents legally sell access to the White House is by raising money for their inauguration committees. The money is meant to sponsor the pageantry and balls that light up Washington when a new president takes office. Check-in Monday to read Will Gavin’s look at who’s been giving the most to President-elect Donald Trump and what they want in return.
Thanks for reading! Here’s to the week ahead, and don’t hesitate to reach out with comments, questions, feedback, joy, or donations to Quartz’s inauguration ball. Sunday Reads was brought to you by Peter S. Green.