All private-sector employees in New York City, from Wall Street traders to Times Square Power Rangers, will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio said yesterday.

In justifying the new rule (a “first-in-the-nation” measure, per de Blasio), the mayor said the spread of Delta + the incoming Omicron variant + more inside activities during winter = a potent mix that could lead to a worsening Covid picture in the city over the next few months.

• The Xs and Os: Employees at ~184,000 businesses in the city will need to have at least one dose of the vaccine by Dec. 27. There is no testing option alternative.

NYC currently requires proof of vaccination for adults to enter restaurants, work out at gyms, or watch the Knicks be mediocre at MSG, but it’s tightening those requirements as well: Children ages 5–11 will need to flash their vax cards to participate in indoor activities starting Dec. 14.

Business groups are pushing back

“We were blindsided,” Partnership for New York City President Kathryn Wylde said. “There’s no forewarning, no discussion, no idea about whether it’s legal or who he expects to enforce it.” Wylde added that the requirement was counterproductive to de Blasio’s efforts to get workers back in the office and revitalize business districts (the vax mandate only applies to employees who work in-person).

De Blasio is probably thinking, “Not my problem.” On Jan. 1, he’s being replaced by bitcoin bull and certified party animal Eric Adams, whose office said he will “evaluate” the policy.

Big picture: NYC is pushing ahead with a private-sector vax requirement while Biden’s federal mandate has hit a legal brick wall. That proposal, which would apply to all companies with 100+ employees and was set to go into effect on January 4, has been blocked by a federal appeals court.—NF

The US will stage a “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, citing the Chinese government’s human rights abuses and “crimes against humanity” in the Xinjiang region.

What’s a diplomatic boycott? The US won’t send any officials to Beijing, but the cool people—athletes—are free to go and compete.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle supported a diplomatic boycott as a way for the US to protest China’s crackdown on political dissidents and ethnic minorities. But some politicians, such as Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, said the US is just figure skating around the issue and should have fully boycotted the games.

• During the Cold War in 1980, the US barred athletes from competing in the Summer Olympics in Moscow following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Big picture: The Biden administration's move is sure to escalate tensions between the world’s two largest economies and was immediately labeled “outright political provocation” by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The announcement also gives an opening to other governments that have considered a diplomatic boycott (Australia and the Netherlands, for two) to go through with it.—NF

It was another normal one for Digital World Acquisition Corp., folks. On Monday morning, the SPAC that’s taking former President Trump’s media startup public disclosed that it’s the subject of a probe by the SEC and another financial regulator, FINRA.

• You may remember DWAC for its dizzying autumn rally of more than 1,200% in just two days, following the announcement that it would merge with Trump Media & Technology Group.

The regulators asked DWAC for information related to its trading policies, investors, and communications with Trump's media company. A NYT report in October found that the Digital World CEO and Trump met as early as March about the SPAC deal, which would be a potential securities violation—SPACs are not allowed to pick merger targets prior to raising money.

That seemed like the end of it, until…GOP Congressman Devin Nunes of California said he would resign from Congress in the coming weeks to become CEO of Trump’s fledgling social media company in January.

Although a well-known Trump loyalist, it’s still a surprising move for Nunes, who was in line to be the Ways and Means chairman if the Republicans took back the House next year.—MK

Stat: Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe is releasing 170 limited-edition versions of its famous Nautilus Ref. 5711 watch in partnership with Tiffany. It’s retailing for $52,635, but if you can get your hands on one you can likely resell it for a much greater fortune. Patek recently announced it will be retiring the Ref. 5711 next year.

Quote: “If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off.”

Vishal Garg, the CEO of online mortgage company Better.com, told about 900 employees at the company they were out of a job in a single 3-minute Zoom call last week. A few days later, Garg posted messages on an anonymous professional network accusing at least 250 of those employees of “stealing” from their colleagues and customers by working an average of 2 hours a day, Fortune reported.

Read: A profile of Jeremy Strong, the enigmatic but brilliant actor who plays Kendall Roy on Succession. (The New Yorker)

DoorDash is launching an ultrafast delivery pilot program in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood to compete with the rush of other 15-minutes-or-less delivery startups in the city.

That’s not the only new play in the playbook. After exclusively relying on a workforce of gig workers and spending $47 million on a California ballot measure to keep it that way, DoorDash is hiring 60 full-time couriers with benefits and standardized pay to work under a new subsidiary, DashCorps.

• DoorDash said the decision to make the positions full-time (and some additional roles part-time) was a mix of logistics and outdated employment laws.

Everyone wants their ham in 10 minutes. Ultrafast grocery delivery services, which operate by strategically plopping “dark stores” in urban neighborhoods, have become more popular this year than making fun of Lin-Manuel Miranda. In fact, speedy delivery startup Jokr hit unicorn status last week after launching just six months ago.

Looking ahead...Instacart could be the next delivery dinosaur to shove its way into the crowded ultrafast delivery market next year, according to The Information.—MM

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Life Tip Tuesday: Here are the dates to know to make sure your presents arrive in time for Christmas.

Cool, random links: 1) A map of global shipping routes 2) Amanda Gorman’s poetry collection is out today 3) who can relate? 4) reminder to vote for the Golden Mug Awards.

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Brew Mini: Today’s puzzle is called, “Hello.” Find out whether it’s a reference to a certain British singer by playing the Mini here.

Stage names

For every Bob Dylan, there’s a Robert Zimmerman. We’ll give you a famous musician’s birth name, and you have to figure out what they’re known by professionally.

1. Shawn Corey Carter
2. Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini
3. John Roger Stephens
4. Peter Gene Hernandez
5. Megan Jovon Ruth Pete
6. Montero Lamar Hill
7. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye