On a night that produced the longest partial lunar eclipse in 581 years, the House moved closer to making history of its own with the imminent passage of the Build Back Better (BBB) bill. This behemoth of a package, supported by Democrats but opposed by Republicans, pours $1.75 trillion into everything from education to healthcare to fighting climate change.

The bill is poised to pass today. Democrats had been waiting on a report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan agency that crunches the numbers on major pieces of legislation to determine how much they would cost. Some Dems refused to vote on the bill until the CBO report was released—and it was released yesterday.

So how much will BBB cost?

The CBO said that Build Back Better will add $367 billion to the federal deficit over a decade, indicating that the bill isn’t fully paid for by initiatives to boost revenue. However, in its bottom line the CBO did not include one of those initiatives—a plan to give the IRS more resources to enforce tax collection.

• The CBO estimates that ramped up IRS enforcement will bring in an additional $207 billion in revenue.
• The Treasury thinks that’s an understatement. Its estimates show that an IRS crackdown on tax evaders would bring in at least $400 billion in revenue.

Big picture: For a bill that checks off so much on Democrats’ wish list—such as universal pre-K, expanding Medicare and Medicaid, and extending the enhanced child tax credit—the CBO score is certainly one they can stomach.

What happens next?

Once BBB is passed by the House, it'll head to the Senate, where Democrats have a razor-thin majority. Expect lawmakers to take a fat Sharpie to the legislation in order to gain support from moderate Dems in the chamber.

Bottom line: With the $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law on Monday, Biden’s economic agenda is set up for a huge week.—NF

The Chinese tennis star hasn’t been heard from in the two weeks since she made sexual assault allegations against a former top Communist Party official on social media—and people are growing increasingly worried about her safety.

Actually, she has been heard from, kind of. An email allegedly written by Peng Shuai was sent on Wednesday to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), in which the author wrote, “I am not missing, nor am I unsafe,” and asserted that the sexual assault allegations were not true. The statement was also published online by Chinese state-run media.

The head of the WTA, Steve Simon, is calling BS. “I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her,” he said, adding that the note “only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts.”

Simon has threatened to yank tournaments out of China if he doesn’t get an adequate response.

Big picture: Peng’s disappearance comes just months ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Biden administration is considering a diplomatic boycott of the games to protest human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government.—NF

Doritos put up a good fight with 3D Crunch, but after the last few quarters, there's no denying that Nvidia will be the chip company of the future. Shares jumped 8.3% yesterday after the tech giant reported a meaty 50% bump in Q3 sales.

That move pushed Nvidia’s market cap beyond $800 billion at one point yesterday. Since October, the company has added $300 billion in value—roughly the size of Pfizer, Disney, or Netflix. Without much fanfare, Nvidia has become the seventh-largest company in America.

What’s behind the surge? Put simply, it’s a bet on the metaverse, a virtual work/hangout space where you can buy and sell digital goods and services.

And if the metaverse were Italian cuisine, Nvidia, which is the world’s largest maker of video game chips, would be the olive oil. CEO Jensen Huang is a firm believer in the inevitability of virtual worlds, arguing that the metaverse will be “much, much bigger than the 3D physical world that we enjoy today.”

Bottom line: As more companies from Meta to Microsoft to Nike launch plans to help build virtual worlds, Nvidia is saying, “What took you so long?”—MK

Stat: Grammarly, the software maker that helps people nail their “there's” when they’re writing, is now among the 10 most valuable startups in the US. It raised new funds at a $13 billion valuation.

Quote: “I don’t know whether to call you ‘professor’ or ‘comrade.’”

Republican Senator John Kennedy and others personally attacked President Biden’s nominee to head US banking regulation at a hearing yesterday. Saule Omarova, who also faced some hard questions from moderate Democrats, said she definitely wasn’t a communist and that her upbringing in the Soviet Union helps her appreciate the US’ free enterprise system.

Read: The Bored Apes take Manhattan. (Input Mag)

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