Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Targeting planet killers

After weeks of speculation, U.S. President Joe Biden named Jerome Powell for a second term as the central bank’s chair and nominated governor Lael Brainard for vice chair. Insiders debated for weeks whether Biden would replace Powell, a Republican, with Brainard, a favorite of progressive Democrats for her views on stronger bank regulation. In his choice for continuity, Biden rewarded Powell for helping rescue the U.S. economy from the pandemic—though now his job will be to protect a fragile recovery from inflation. The move also restores the tradition of presidents sticking with the chair inherited from predecessors. Brainard for her part would replace Richard Clarida as vice chair. While Powell is likely to win Congressional approval, there are some on Capitol Hill who may give Brainard a hard time. —Margaret Sutherlin

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

China’s test of a hypersonic missile this summer, which alarmed Pentagon leaders in large part because America lags on such capabilities, included a potentially graver technological advance not previously seen. 

The fight over the global oil supply took a new turn Monday. The U.S. said it would release oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve in tandem with China, India, Japan and South Korea. OPEC+, which has been reluctant to speed up any output, warned it would respond. 

Oil well pump jacks operated by Chevron in California. High oil prices have continued to hit consumers and businesses.  Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin could be weighing an invasion of Ukraine early next year as his troops mass near the border, according to the U.S. The White House shared findings with European allies that showed a buildup of Russian troops and artillery to prepare for a rapid, large-scale push into the country from multiple locations.

Just about everyone in Germany will “probably be either vaccinated, recovered or dead” by the end of this winter, warned one German official as the latest surge of Covid-19 infections there is worse than anything the country has experienced. Austria, which went into its fourth national lockdown on Monday, is threatening fines of up to $4,000 for people who refuse a shot once mandatory inoculations kick in next year. The latest U.S. wave is taking its toll on some states’ intensive-care units, with several parts of the country seeing outbreaks as bad as any in the previous five waves. In 15 states, patients with confirmed or suspected Covid are taking up more ICU beds than a year earlier. Here’s the latest on the virus.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the latest surge in Covid-19 infections is worse than anything Germany has experienced so far and called for tighter restrictions to help check the spread. Above, mostly-masked visitors at a Christmas market in Frankfurt. Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is giving away billions of dollars. When he laid out his philanthropic goal, the nonprofit world was buzzing over what this new approach would look like. Dorsey promised it would be fast and it would transparent. So far, he’s delivered—though there are downsides to his unconventional methods. 

The man suspected of plowing his SUV into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, killing at least five people and injuring 48, had left the scene of a domestic dispute just minutes before, according to police.

In a high stakes gamble, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes continued testifying at her own criminal fraud trial. 

Elizabeth Holmes  Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

• Port delays in California hit a record in October.
• Monster energy drinks is looking for a tie up with the Corona brewer.
• Final arguments were heard in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial.
• A report backs up allegations of harassment by Andrew Cuomo.
• Canceled podcasts, layoffs—everything’s not well at The Athletic. 
• Bloomberg Citylab: The housing proposal that’s tearing apart Atlanta.
• Former Donald Trump fixer Michael Cohen is out of prison.  

NASA’s latest mission isn’t to the moon or Mars. It’s one that aims to keep humans on Earth alive by sparing them the mass calamity that exterminated the dinosaurs. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) launches late on Nov. 23 aboard a SpaceX rocket from California. The idea is that if humans have adequate time to react, enough energy can be transferred into a speeding rock to alter its trajectory and make it miss Earth. And no, this team doesn’t include Bruce Willis or nuclear weapons. The mission is simply to crash into the rock—and move it just a little bit.

A rendering of the DART craft.  Source: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

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