“The Biden administration is limiting travel to the U.S. from South Africa and seven other countries beginning Monday, and the European Union is considering an ‘emergency brake’ on air travel from the region to the 27-country bloc, citing concerns over the strain currently known as B.1.1.529 or Omicron, a letter in the Greek alphabet. The variant has an unusually large number of mutations—around 50, including more than 30 on the spike protein, through which the virus attaches to human cells and the structure many current Covid-19 vaccines target. It isn’t yet known how this variant’s mutations will affect the spread of the virus, but scientists have raised alarms about the pace of Omicron’s spread in South Africa, where only around 24% of its 60 million citizens are fully vaccinated. The U.K. and several countries in Asia, including Singapore and Japan, have also moved to restrict travel, and Belgian authorities said Friday that one case of the variant had been recorded in the country.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
People line up for a flight to Paris at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday as several nations move to restrict travel over the new variant.
PHOTO: JEROME DELAY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“President Biden restricted air travel from southern Africa beginning Monday in fear of Omicron — the new COVID variant that was first reported by South Africa and just got its official name this afternoon.
Biden called it ‘a precautionary measure until we have more information.’
The U.S. is banning travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are exempt.
What we know: The World Health Organization, which gave the Greek-alphabet name to the B.1.1.529 variant, said: ‘This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning.’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suspended travel from southern Africa.
What markets think: Stock tumbled in Asia, Europe and the United States.
The Dow closed with its worst day of 2021 and its biggest drop since October 2020 — down 905 points, or 2.5%. The S&P fell 2.3%.
Oil plunged.
What we don't know: Whether Omicron is a major public health threat. Some previous variants, including Beta, concerned scientists but didn't spread effectively, AP reports.
Threat level: Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, said on CNBC that while other variants have come and gone, this one ‘cannot be ignored … We haven't seen another variant outcompete Delta this effectively.’
Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, speaking later on CNBC, said closing down travel in a wholesale fashion is a ‘big mistake.’ He said it makes no sense to punish South Africa economically for being quick to detect and report the variant.
What's next: Anthony Fauci told CNN that U.S. scientists are talking to South African scientists to learn the variant's molecular makeup, so the U.S. can test for it.
That will help scientists predict how well current vaccines will protect against the variant, CNN noted.
Go deeper: Omicron explainer (Reuters).” Read more at Axios
“Merck’s Covid-19 pill was 30% effective in a final analysis. The company said its experimental treatment proved less effective than thought based on an earlier look at data, which put it at 50% effective, prompting U.S. health regulators to continue a staff review of the drug’s application days before an outside panel meets.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his assertion to reporters in Kyiv today. Photo: Ukrainian Presidency via Getty Images
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters today that his security services uncovered a plot to overthrow his government next week, with individuals from Russia caught on tape, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: The accusation raised the temperature at a time when Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Moscow of amassing troops near the Ukrainian border for a possible assault.
The Kremlin denied any role. Zelensky didn't directly accuse Moscow.” Read more at Axios
Stephen Sondheim in 1999. His lyrics, Jesse Green writes, ‘had both a greater density of meaning and a lighter footprint on their music than anyone else’s.’ Credit...Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
“Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway history’s songwriting titans, whose music and lyrics raised and reset the artistic standard for the American stage musical, died early Friday at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91.
His lawyer and friend, F. Richard Pappas, announced the death. He said he did not know the cause but added that Mr. Sondheim had not been known to be ill and that the death was sudden. The day before, Mr. Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends in Roxbury, Mr. Pappas said.
An intellectually rigorous artist who perpetually sought new creative paths, Mr. Sondheim was the theater’s most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century, if not its most popular.
His work melded words and music in a way that enhanced them both. From his earliest successes in the late 1950s, when he wrote the lyrics for ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Gypsy,’ through the 1990s, when he wrote the music and lyrics for two audacious musicals, ‘Assassins,’ giving voice to the men and women who killed or tried to kill American presidents, and ‘Passion,’ an operatic probe into the nature of true love, he was a relentlessly innovative theatrical force.” Read more at New York Times
“As a White House adviser in the Trump administration, Jared Kushner took a special interest in the petroleum-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf.
He formed a personal friendship with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He helped forge ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and backed Emirati rulers in a feud with Qatar. Since the electoral defeat of his father-in-law, former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Kushner has stayed active in the region through a nonprofit organization he established.
Now, in a move that has raised eyebrows among diplomats, investors and ethics watchdogs, Mr. Kushner is trying to raise money from the Persian Gulf states for a new investment firm he has founded. So far, he is having only mixed success.
Qatar, whose leaders saw Mr. Kushner as an opponent in the administration, declined to invest in his firm, a person familiar with those conversations said. So did the main Emirati sovereign wealth funds; Emirati rulers saw Mr. Kushner as an ally but questioned his track record in business, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.” Read more at New York Times
“Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) tweeted an apology to Muslims on Friday after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called her out for ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’ over an anecdote she shared in a recent speech.
Hours later, Democratic leadership released a statement blasting Boebert's ‘Islamophobic and racist comments’ and calling on their GOP counterparts to ‘finally take real action to confront racism.’
In a video of her speech, Boebert tells a story — which Omar says never happened — in which they are in an elevator together and a Capitol Police officer is hurrying toward the elevator as the door is closing.
‘I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. I said, ‘Well she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine,’’ Boebert told the laughing crowd.
Omar called Boebert a ‘buffoon’ in a tweet about the video on Thursday. ‘Anti-Muslim bigotry isn’t funny & shouldn’t be normalized. Congress can’t be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation,’ she wrote.
Boebert apologized for the comments in a tweet Friday afternoon and said she had reached out to speak with Omar directly.
‘I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar,’ Boebert wrote. ‘There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.’” Read more at The Hill
“ROME — National Geographic magazine’s famed green-eyed ‘Afghan Girl’ has arrived in Italy as part of the West’s evacuation of Afghans following the Taliban takeover of the country, the Italian government said Thursday.
The office of Premier Mario Draghi said Italy organized the evacuation of Sharbat Gulla after she asked to be helped to leave the country. The Italian government will now help to get her integrated into life in Italy, the statement said.
Gulla gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after war photographer Steve McCurry’s photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on the cover of National Geographic. McCurry found her again in 2002.” Read more at USA Today
“Western states including Hawaii, Montana, Utah and Oregon saw the largest growth in the rates of people leaving their jobs in September, according to the Labor Department. Eighteen states broke or tied their records for quits levels that month, as workers across the U.S. resigned from a record 4.4 million jobs. Many Americans are leaving roles in search of better working conditions and pay during a historically fast economic recovery. Hawaii had the fastest growth in quits in September. Montana, which has the nation’s biggest share of employment in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, logged the second fastest increase in quits. Some states in the Northeast—including New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island—have seen among the fastest growth in quits in the U.S. since January.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Research shows that when Lyft enters a market, rides increase and DUI incidents decrease.
Since the availability of Lyft,
Atlanta has seen a 52% decrease in DUI charges.
Chicago has seen a 40% decrease in DUI arrests.
Los Angeles has seen a 40% decrease in DUI charges.
Learn more about Lyft’s impact.” Read more at Axios
“2.5% — The drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as of midafternoon on Black Friday, the index’s biggest one-day percentage decline since October 2020. Stocks, oil prices and government-bond yields slumped as fears about a new Covid-19 variant triggered widespread investor concerns about its potential impact on the global economy’s recovery.
15 — The number of Amazon facilities in the U.K. and Germany where demonstrators sought to disrupt Black Friday operations. Climate protesters blockaded the facilities, snarling trucks in some locales, to confront what they called ‘the exploitative and environmentally destructive business practices of one of the world’s largest companies.’ Amazon has defended its environmental record and said it was working to minimize any effects on customers.
$343 million — The value of a chunk of shares Evergrande founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan sold in the cash-strapped Chinese property giant. Evergrande, which recently reported around $300 billion in liabilities, has been scrambling to sell assets to make interest payments and avoid defaulting on its international bonds.” Read more at Wall Street Journal