Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Booster shots are coming

While the situation at Kabul airport has calmed down since Monday, Afghanistan remains on edge, wondering what this latest iteration of the Taliban will do next. Former Afghan government officials said they plan to meet with Taliban leaders for talks in Doha. Meanwhile, Pentagon officials are pushing for hourly flights to speed the evacuation of personnel and refugees, though German officials said that for now only members of the international community are getting through Taliban checkpoints. In an attempt to appease global skeptics, the Taliban said they wouldn’t let the country become a haven for terrorist groups again, and that the group aimed to build an inclusive government, one including women—so far as Shariah law allows. While China and Russia have been quick to embrace the change, members of NATO are grappling with their response. Here’s the latest on the end of the war in Afghanistan. —Margaret Sutherlin

Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic worldwide. 

As the delta variant rages and Covid-19 deaths surge yet again, the U.S. is expected to make vaccine booster shots available to all adults as soon as next month. Biden administration officials are finalizing a plan expected to recommend a booster eight months after Americans received their last dose. Florida parents are hitting back at Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s mask mandate ban. Meanwhile, New Zealand will enter a nationwide lockdown over a single case. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

Stocks dropped the most in a month as concerns grew that the global economic recovery will lose momentum with further pandemic shutdowns. Here’s your markets wrap.

It’s been almost six months since Congress approved the latest Covid-19 economic rescue package. At least 10 states haven’t spent any of the money.

The Sackler family, which owns OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, won’t contribute billions of dollars to a legal settlement unless they are let off the hook for all current and future lawsuits over the company’s behavior, one family member told a court.

The origin story of Covid-19 remains a mystery—one that’s deeply mired in geopolitics. A little known study of the wet market in Wuhan, China—a potential ground zero of the pandemic—could answer some of the world’s burning questions.

It’s pretty clear now that China investors are panicking—even if only a little—about Beijing’s crackdown on domestic industries. Chinese stocks tumbled Tuesday as officials released a draft of new competition rules. Even hedge fund filings show some of the best and brightest money managers didn’t anticipate the sweeping regulations. 

Ark’s Cathie Wood didn’t mince words about Chinese regulators during an interview on Bloomberg Television, calling their moves “contradictory” to Beijing’s push to become an innovation leader. Wood contends it will give the U.S. a competitive edge.  

• China is conducting live-fire military drills near Taiwan.
• Last year was the worst year for destruction of the Amazon.
• A new court filing highlights turmoil at the National Rifle Association.
• Winds are stoking California fires: “Everything is just ready to burn.”
• Waymo is nearing a self-driving car, but the last mile is the hardest.
• The creator of Soduku puzzles has died.
• Bloomberg Citylab: In Texas’s Silicon Valley, there’s no hybrid work. 

Pandemic lockdowns have meant fewer crowds, less garbage and a lack of rowdy drunk tourists all across Europe’s hottest destinations. Now, Bloomberg Pursuits reports on how cities like Amsterdam, Prague and Barcelona want to make some of the unexpected changes wrought by Covid-19 permanent. Their plan is to attract sophisticated, less noisy visitors who spend more. Call it curated tourism.

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