Bloomberg

When it comes to the world’s most innovative economies, the U.S. is no longer the undisputed leader. Not even close, as it turns out. For the first time, the U.S. fell out of the top 10 on the Bloomberg Innovation Index. After topping the ranking in 2013, America has become less dominant in science and engineering while scoring poorly when it comes to higher education. China fell as well, a sign the fierce competition between the two biggest economies might be opening the door for others. So if not the U.S. or China, then which nation is the best innovator? —Margaret Sutherlin

Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic globally and across America. 

Here are today’s top stories  

U.S. President Joe Biden told Congressional Democrats Wednesday that backing anything less than $1,400 relief checks would mean starting his term with a broken promise. In a closed-door meeting on his $1.9 trillion rescue package, Biden signaled he was open to tighter eligibility requirements, but wasn’t willing to cut the payment amount. Meanwhile, key economic indicators are showing signs of progress, lending support to arguments by Republicans and others that the bill may be too big. A new study also indicated that the vast majority of checks would go directly into savings accounts, instead of being spent.

On the coronavirus front, drugmakers are rushing back to the lab to tackle more easily transmitted variants. GlaxoSmithKline and CureVac along with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford are looking to engineer new versions of vaccines to defeat mutations. AstraZeneca said a tweaked version of its shot could be available by fall. New York expanded vaccine eligibility to taxi drivers and restaurant workers, two weeks before limited indoor dining is set to resume. The U.K. hit a milestone with 10 million residents (about 15% of the population) getting at least one Covid vaccination. And Bloomberg Businessweek looks ahead in this week’s cover story, asking what steps must be taken before the next deadly virus strikes. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

The new U.S. vaccine czar is tasked with crushing a virus that has managed to transform America into a poster child for how not to fight a pandemic. But he doesn’t have a medical degree or a military background.

Federal prosecutors and Internal Revenue Service agents spent years building a case against billionaire money manager Robert Smith over $200 million in allegedly hidden income. A team led by the Justice Department’s top tax prosecutor argued the evidence warranted a grand jury indictment. Instead, Smith ended up with a pretty good deal, one that avoided prosecution entirely. Here’s how he did it.

Robert Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Vista Equity Partners, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, in 2018. 

Photographer: Bloomberg

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it was looking for possible fraudulent conduct in social media posts that drove up the share price of GameStop last week. While no-fee trading has “democratized” the stock market in many ways, the Robinhood crisis showed that it can come with heavy costs. Here’s your markets wrap. 

Covid-19 is finally on the retreat in South Dakota, which not long ago was the U.S. epicenter. There’s a grim reason for its progress: as many as 2 in 5 residents have already been infected. The red state was turned into a herd immunity experiment after Republican Governor Kristi Noem refused to mandate safety precautions. More than 1,700 of her constituents are dead from the virus.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem with former-President Donald Trump in 2018.

Photographer: The Washington Post

The U.S. Supreme Court canceled arguments over restrictive Trump-era asylum rules and his Mexican border wall after the Biden administration said it was ditching the policies at the center of the dispute.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow 

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Green

Welcome to an Undersea Research Wonderland

The grandson of the famous explorer Jacques Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau, is creating a sea laboratory where scientists can live under the ocean while studying climate change. Here’s a closer look at the International Space Station under the sea. 

Fabien Cousteau waves from inside Aquarius Reef Base, a laboratory 63 feet below the surface in the waters off Key Largo.

Photographer: Wilfredo Lee/AP

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