Russia Protests. No Bull With Raging Robert.
More than 5,100 people were arrested across Russia over the weekend as waves of demonstrators protested the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navally. The anti-government protests are the country's largest in almost a decade.
Navalny's saga has gripped the country since last summer (see timeline). The longtime critic of President Vladimir Putin was poisoned while boarding a flight from the city of Tomsk to Moscow. Evidence points to Russian intelligence services as the culprit—including the use of Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent—though the Kremlin denies the claim. After recuperating in Berlin (including emerging from a two-week coma), Navalny was promptly detained upon returning to Moscow. He is currently sentenced to 30 days in prison for violating probation.
Some analysts say the 44-year-old Navalny transcends run-of-the-mill opposition, reflecting a generational divide between the 68-year-old Putin and younger Russians.
Success, but 'Not a Knockout Punch'
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson revealed preliminary data Friday showing its COVID-19 vaccine achieved a 72% efficacy in US trials. Though lower than currently available vaccines, the rate is higher than the 50% target set by health officials last summer. Most notably, clinical trials showed an 85% drop in severe disease, and zero deaths were reported in a group of more than 44,000 participants.
The treatment showed wide variation in efficacy by location; the shots were 57% effective in trials in South Africa, where a recent mutated strain—dubbed B.1.351—was first detected. The average efficacy across the entire study was 66%. See an overview of prominent variants here.
The two currently available vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, have efficacy rates near 95%. However, public health officials consider 72% efficacy a success, capable of blunting the spread of the coronavirus while preventing severe symptoms in many patients. The two available vaccines rely on messenger RNA (or mRNA), while Johnson & Johnson relies on an engineered adenovirus—see the differences here.
Additionally, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has advantages over currently available vaccines. Most notably, it only requires one shot and can be stored at standard refrigeration temperatures, significantly simplifying logistics. The drug still requires approval from regulators, though the company said it expects distribution to begin next month.
The US has distributed 50 million vaccine doses as of this morning, with 31 million doses administered. The country has reported 441,324 total deaths, though new cases continue to fall, down roughly 40% from a peak in mid-January.
Short Squeeze Continues
Shares of brick-and-mortar retailer GameStop spiked again Friday rising to $325, up 68% from close of trading Thursday. The surge came after the popular trading app Robinhood dropped certain restrictions on trading the stock put in place the previous day. The Securities and Exchange Commission said it was closely monitoring the volatility of the markets and certain stocks.
Driven by retail investors on social media engaged in an economic game of chicken with hedge funds betting against the company (see our previous write-up), the stock has risen more than 1,500% since mid-January. Some reports have suggested Robinhood halted trading of the stock Thursday to protect certain vulnerable hedge funds—subsequent reports suggest, among other issues, the company ran out of liquid capital to facilitate the boom in trading.
Robinhood, which charges users no fee but sells trading data to financial firms, raised an additional $1B to shore up finances. On Sunday, the company announced new restrictions on the trading of GameStop and seven other companies now referred to as “meme stocks.”
Editor's note: On Friday, we incorrectly said a nitrogen leak at a Georgia poultry plant led to an explosion that killed six. In fact, it was a liquid nitrogen leak—the evaporated nitrogen displaced oxygen in the atmosphere, leading to asphyxiation.
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Business & Markets
> US stock markets down (S&P 500 -1.9%, Dow -2.0%, Nasdaq -2.0%) Friday, wrapping up worst trading week since October (More)
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> Senate Republicans offer counterproposal to President Biden administration's $1.9T COVID-19 stimulus; package includes $1,000 direct payments and would total $600B (More)
> Indian security forces set barriers to prevent thousands of farmers from entering the capital to protest proposed agricultural reforms; massive demonstrations were planned to coincide with the annual budget presentation to parliament (More)
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ETCETERA
The 15 best places to learn about Black history in the US.
The post-mortem on the internet in 2020.
How to make the home a better workplace (according to science). ($$, Quartz)
New evidence shines light on the mysterious Dyatlov Pass incident.
Drone video of a washout of California's Highway 1.
Lawsuit says Subway's tuna subs are tuna-less.
Man leaves $2.4M to French village that hid his family from Nazis.
Scientists now know why wombats poop cubes.
Clickbait: Arrested protesting Putin? Here's how to pretend you're American.
Historybook: "Oxford English Dictionary" debuts (1884); Film legend Clark Gable born (1901); Harriet Tubman becomes first Black woman on US postage stamp (1978); HBD Harry Styles (1994); Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry, all seven astronauts killed (2003).
"Life is a magical thing."
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