Experts advising the World Health Organization recommended against expanding beyond 28 days the time between the two doses currently needed for coronavirus vaccination. This followed a move by the U.K. to extend the interval to as long as 12 weeks to maximize the number of people receiving the first shot. British authorities say 1 in 50 of its residents are infected with the virus. In the U.S., coronavirus cases in the South account for a larger portion of the nation’s total than anywhere else. Tennessee and South Carolina stood out with the worst new case rates while in Alabama more than 45% of tests over the past two weeks came back positive. Some 41% of American Covid-19 hospitalizations are in the South. Here is the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic globally and across America. Here are today’s top stories Voters in the state of Georgia are deciding who will have the power in the U.S. Senate in twin runoffs Tuesday. If the Democratic candidates win both races, their party will control each chamber of Congress (as well as the White House in a few weeks). Tomorrow, a group of Republican lawmakers plan to challenge the electoral votes won by President-elect Joe Biden (citing fraud that did not occur), while President Donald Trump is pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to help them (with power he does not have). Noah Feldman writes in Bloomberg Opinion that the 134-year-old law that allows this to happen needs an overhaul. While Biden’s inauguration is almost a foregone conclusion since Democrats control the House, Feldman says that “if the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, they would be in the position to carry out a constitutional coup d’état.” Trump is planning to address supporters who are gathering in Washington to protest his defeat. Biden bested Trump 306 to 232 in the Electoral College, and by more than 7 million in the popular vote. Streets near the U.S. Capitol were closed Tuesday in preparation for protests expected Wednesday when Congress is to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg Kenosha County, Wisconsin District Attorney Michael Graveley has declined to charge Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, a White man who shot a Black man several times in the back, with a crime. The victim, Jacob Blake, was left paralyzed by the shooting last year, which occurred in front of his three young children and renewed protests against U.S. police killings of Black Americans. Saudi Arabia surprised the oil market with a large reduction in its output for February and March. Crude surged. The New York Stock Exchange’s decision to spare three major Chinese telecommunications companies from being delisted is only a temporary reprieve. As a growing number of Wall Street firms plan to move New York employees to cheaper U.S. hubs and even let rainmakers work from faraway homes, BlackRock is staying put. No longer satisfied with leasing cargo planes, internet behemoth Amazon purchased its own fleet of 11 used 767s. Amazon’s air force is expected to grow to 200 aircraft. Electric-truck startup Rivian Automotive (backed by Amazon and Ford) is close to raising a new round of funding that values the company at about $25 billion. What you’ll need to know tomorrow What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg WealthEven before the pandemic landed full-force on North America, people were already talking about how lockdowns would create a bonanza for divorce lawyers. Well, it turns out the number of Americans getting divorced plummeted last year. Like getting the Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters. The best in-depth reporting from Asia Pacific and beyond, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Sign up here for The Reading List. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more. |