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President Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency is hurtling toward a dramatic end, with calls for his removal, impeachment and prosecution after Wednesday’s shocking attack on the U.S. Capitol by white supremacists and other far-right Trump supporters. David Fickling writes in Bloomberg Opinion that the sacking of the seat of U.S. democracy encouraged by Trump came close to being an attempted coup, but not quite. Looking beyond President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Democratic takeover of the Senate by the thinnest of margins could pave the way to more coronavirus rescue checks to restart a stalled recovery, greener climate goals and maybe student debt forgiveness. It may also bring higher taxes to pay for those programs, the huge cost of the pandemic and the $1.5 trillion tax break Republicans handed out mostly to corporations and the rich.

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

What you’ll want to read this weekend

The hobbled U.S. vaccine rollout has been much slower than the Trump administration promised, while the U.K.’s health service is close to the breaking point in London.

A slump in restaurant jobs hit the U.S. jobs market particularly hard in December, but investors are betting the grim data will spur more bailout legislation. Across the pond, international eateries are discovering that Brexit has made business even tougher. 

Elon Musk has landed atop the biggest cash pile and China’s bottled water king is richer than Warren Buffett. As the fortunes of the ultra-rich soar while much of the rest of humanity struggles to get by, calls for a wealth tax have gone global.

Elon Musk

Photographer: Bloomberg Daybreak/Getty Images

Stay-at-home professionals loaded up with discretionary income are splurging on expensive cars. Meanwhile, airlines are offering ultra-cheap fares to get people flying again. Here are 24 destinations to visit safely in 2021.

Covid-19 has supercharged the takeout habit and left a big mess of packaging waste in the process. As for the atmosphere, last year was the second-warmest on record, costing the world $210 billion. This year, maybe consider climate-proofing your home.

What you’ll need to know next week

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Screentime

Xbox: Oral History of a U.S. Video Game Empire

Video games didn’t come naturally at Microsoft. The original product was ungainly, over-budget and nearly canceled. Twenty years later, Bloomberg asked two dozen people instrumental in creating the Xbox to recount how it became a hit and reshaped an industry.

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Bloomberg The Year Ahead: Join us Jan. 26 through Jan. 28 when global business leaders from Delta Air Lines, Kohl’s, Apollo Global Management, Bridgewater, Hilton and many more will discuss the most important trends, challenges and opportunities facing executives in 2021 and beyond. Sponsored by IBM. Register here.

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