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Las juntas de Caixabank y Bankia aprueban la fusión P34 BANCA
El nuevo montaje de Coppola rehace la trama de ‘El padrino III’ CINE
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LA SEGUNDA OLA DE LA PANDEMIA
España sale del riesgo extremo por primera vez desde septiembre La incidencia baja de 250 y se sitúa ahora entre las menores de Europa P. LINDE / D. GRASSO, Madrid La incidencia de la covid en España bajó ayer hasta los 240 casos por 100.000 habitantes en 14 días, lo que sitúa por primera vez este indicador por debajo del nivel considerado de riesgo extre-
Un centro de mayores de Lleida registra 22 muertes en dos semanas
La residencia con un solo anciano libre de coronavirus MARC ROVIRA, Tremp (Lleida) Todos infectados, de un centenar de internos, menos uno. Y 22 fallecidos en dos semanas. La pandemia se ha cebado de nuevo con una residencia sin que las autoridades sepan qué ha fallado. Esta vez ha pasado en Tremp (Lleida), donde la Generalitat ha acabado interviniendo la residencia Sant Hospital después de que las familias se hubiesen quejado por la opacidad del centro. PÁGINA 23
mo desde el 14 de septiembre. El baremo del Ministerio de Sanidad establece ese estado a partir de los 250 casos, aunque utiliza también otras referencias. La ocupación de las UCI por pacientes de coronavirus continúa en el nivel rojo del semáforo que estableció Sanidad a final de octubre. Este descenso de la incidencia a sus mejores datos en dos meses y medio revela que las restricciones tomadas han surtido efecto. Aun así, persiste un escenario de riesgo alto, y cinco comunidades siguen en niveles extremos: Aragón, Asturias, Cantabria, el País Vasco y La Rioja. Los datos diarios de ayer sumaron a las estadísticas 10.127 positivos y 254 fallecidos. Los expertos alertan de que la situación es “inestable” y temen el impacto del próximo puente de la Constitución. En comparación con el resto de Europa, los datos de España han pasado de situarse entre los peores a estar ahora entre los mejores. Solo Francia e Irlanda tienen niveles más bajos, según los datos del Centro de Control de Enfermedades Europeo. Países como Polonia, Suecia o Portugal superan los 650 casos por 100.000 habitantes. PÁGINAS 18 Y 19
La ministra de Hacienda, María Jesús Montero, aplaudida ayer por Pedro Sánchez, Adriana Lastra y otros diputados tras la votación final de los Presupuestos del Estado en el Congreso. / ÁNGEL NAVARRETE (POOL)
Sánchez saca en los Presupuestos más votos que en su investidura El Gobierno logra 188 apoyos a las cuentas de 2021 con el mayor gasto social de la historia para afrontar la peor crisis sanitaria XOSÉ HERMIDA, Madrid El Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez inauguró ayer su nueva estabilidad. Era tal el ansia por celebrar ese resultado, inimaginable para ellos mismos hace pocas semanas, que los diputados del PSOE y de Unidas Podemos no dejaron que la presidenta del Congreso, Meritxell Batet, acabase de can-
tar los números. Puestos en pie, estallaron en una tremenda ovación que ahogó las palabras de Batet tras la última votación de los Presupuestos de 2021. El Gobierno solventó su examen más difícil con hasta 188 apoyos en la mayoría de votaciones. Sánchez logra al fin salir de la provisionalidad presupuestaria que constre-
ñía su Ejecutivo desde la moción de censura, hace dos años y medio, con un Presupuesto que recoge el mayor gasto social de la historia para la peor crisis sanitaria de los últimos 100 años. Sánchez ha aumentado en 22 votos la base parlamentaria de su investidura, el pasado enero. PÁGINAS 12 Y 13 EDITORIAL EN LA PÁGINA 8
FRANCISCO FERNÁNDEZ MARUGÁN Defensor del pueblo
El estudio lanzará las películas en la plataforma a la vez que en salas en 2021
“Confinar a los inmigrantes en Canarias no es solución”
Warner llevará todos sus estrenos a HBO
MARÍA MARTÍN, Las Palmas El defensor del pueblo, Francisco Fernández Marugán, pide al Gobierno que no descarte traslados a la Península de inmigrantes llegados a las Canarias. Confinarles en las islas “no es una opción adecuada”, dice en una entrevista con EL PAÍS. PÁGINA 16
ANTONIA LABORDE, Washington Warner Bros anunció ayer que todos sus estrenos de 2021 se lanzarán a la vez en la plataforma de streaming HBO Max, en principio solo en Estados Unidos, y en las salas de cine abiertas en todo el mundo. Con gran parte de los cines cerrados, el giro responde a “tiempos sin precedentes” que “exigen soluciones creativas”, ex-
plicó la compañía. La decisión afecta a 17 películas, algunas de gran presupuesto como The Matrix 4, Godzila contra Kong, Escuadrón suicida 2 o Dune. Warner sigue así a Disney, que estrenó Mulan en su plataforma sin incluirla en el precio de la suscripción. Esta estrategia sienta un precedente que preocupa mucho a los exhibidores de todo el mundo. PÁGINA 25
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© 2020
D
latimes.com
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020
State to issue sweeping rules to curb virus impact Newsom’s order is designed to limit gatherings and keep hospitals from being overwhelmed. By John Myers and Rong-Gong Lin II
Luis Sinco Los Angeles Times
B LAZE ERUPTS IN ORANGE COUNTY Crews battle the Bond fire Thursday in the Santiago Canyon area of Orange County. Roughly 25,000 residents were urged to evacuate as the blaze quickly spread to more than 7,200 acres. CALIFORNIA, B1
L.A. developer pleads guilty Samuel Leung admits repaying campaign donors as he sought project approval. By David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes A Torrance-based real estate developer pleaded guilty Thursday to felony conspiracy, closing a major chapter in a campaign money laundering case that covered more than six years’ worth of contributions to eight politicians. Businessman Samuel Leung, 70, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit campaign money laundering, admitting he took part in a scheme to reimburse campaign donors
Al Seib Los Angeles Times
SAMUEL LEUNG, left, with lawyer Daniel V. Nixon
in L.A. Superior Court for arraignment in 2018. between January 2009 and February 2015 — just as his six-story apartment project was being reviewed and approved at Los Angeles City Hall. State law prohibits donors from making politi-
cal contributions in the name of another person. After Thursday’s hearing, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Leung was guilty of illegally donating “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in the hope that
local elected officials would rezone his property and approve his 352-unit project in L.A.’s Harbor Gateway neighborhood. Daniel Nixon, Leung’s attorney, did not respond to requests for comment. Superior Court Judge Jose I. Sandoval dismissed a related bribery charge against Leung. The guilty plea came more than four years after a Times investigation revealed that a sprawling network of more than 100 people and companies with direct or indirect ties to Leung — including relatives, business partners, coworkers and others — made political donations totaling more than $600,000 while Leung’s project, then known as Sea Breeze, was under review. [See Developer, A12]
SACRAMENTO — Californians will soon be asked to comply with strict limits on community outings, travel and in-person shopping under a statewide order issued Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a set of new and far-reaching restrictions tied to regional strains on critical care services as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. The rules, which take effect on Saturday, are designed to last for at least 21 days once local critical care facilities approach capacity. But with so many hospitals in the state experiencing a rapid surge of patients with the disease, the “regional stay-at-home” order described by Newsom is likely to limit activities across California throughout the holiday season and possibly into the new year. “The bottom line is, if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” Newsom said in a midday news conference. “If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see our death rate climb, more lives lost.” Despite initial indications that 11 counties in Southern California and 12 counties in the San Joaquin Valley could be required to implement the new restrictions immediately, state health officials later pro-
By Rosanna Xia When officials in Seattle spent millions of dollars restoring the creeks along Puget Sound — tending to the vegetation, making the stream beds less muddy, building better homes for fish — they were thrilled to see coho salmon reappear. But when it rained, more than half, sometimes all, of the coho in a creek would suffer a sudden death. These mysterious dieoffs — an alarming phenomenon that has been reported from Northern California to British Columbia — have stumped biologists and toxicologists for decades. Numerous tests ruled
out pesticides, disease and other possible causes, such as hot temperatures and low dissolved oxygen. Now, after 20 years of investigation, researchers in Washington state, San Francisco and Los Angeles say they have found the culprit: a very poisonous yet little-known chemical related to a preservative used in car tires. The chemical is just one of a vast number of contaminants that wash off roads whenever it rains. This giant soup of pollutants, which includes trillions of microplastics, rushes down drains and into creeks and ultimately into the sea. “We pretty much figured out that anywhere there’s a road and people are driving their car, little bits of tire end up coming off your tire and end up in the stormwater that flows off that road,” said Ed Kolodziej, an environ[See Coho, A12]
A partial win for indoor worship
High competition for U.S. Senate
High court tells judges in California to reexamine the state’s COVID restrictions on religious services. NATION, A6
Lawmakers urge Gov. Newsom to pick a Latino as successor to Kamala Harris. CALIFORNIA, B1
Weather Sunny, winds easing. L.A. Basin: 72/46. B10
Medical workers gird for resource shortage Expecting caseloads to worsen, hospitals plan how they will allocate beds, fatigued staffers. By Jaclyn Cosgrove and Soumya Karlamangla
Scientists solve mystery of mass salmon die-offs Chemical used in car tires kills more than half of Puget Sound’s prized coho each year.
vided a list showing no regions currently at the threshold — meaning no more than 85% of their intensive care unit beds are filled — for closure. State officials intend to update the estimates of ICU capacity daily and post the information online. Once a region’s ICU bed capacity falls below 15%, the shutdown rules will take effect within 24 hours. But with the state’s decision to have the public health order take effect on Saturday afternoon, the earliest any region could see closures would be Sunday. A shutdown affecting the Southern California region would include Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Imperial, Inyo and [See Newsom, A7]
Alessandro Garofalo LaPresse
SOCCER PLAYER Lorenzo Insigne places a tribute to Diego Maradona, who
once played for the same club, Napoli, before a recent match in Naples, Italy.
A field day for tabloids As in life, late Maradona is still a media magnet By Patrick J. McDonnell and Andrés D’Alessandro
BUENOS AIRES — Diego Armando Maradona, the most transcendent soccer player of his generation, perhaps of all time, lived a chaotic, tabloid-ready life. He fought drug and alcohol addiction, depression, obesity and paternity claims while struggling to find his place once his playing magic escaped him. His death has been just
as messy. News that Maradona had succumbed to apparent heart failure last week at age 60 — three weeks after surgery to relieve swelling in his brain — sparked an outpouring of grief around the world. Here in his native Argentina, tens of thousands of distraught mourners bid farewell at the presidential palace, where his coffin lay in state for 16 hours. No sooner was Maradona buried — a day after his Nov. 25 death — than prosecutors, family members, exassociates and eventually
the public began raising questions about his medical care. A preliminary autopsy concluded that Maradona died in his sleep of acute pulmonary edema, a buildup of fluid in the lungs, because of congestive heart failure. Experts said that years of welldocumented drug and alcohol abuse probably contributed. But according to multiple news reports here citing inside sources, Argentine authorities are investigating whether medical negligence [See Maradona, A4]
As California hospitals rapidly approach capacity because of the unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases, there are growing concerns about shortages of workers as the healthcare system strains to handle the growing demand. Officials have contingency plans of opening up additional facilities if hospitals become overwhelmed, something developed by the first COVID-19 surge this past spring. But conditions have changed in significant ways since then that could make staffing an issue. For one thing, the spring surge was more limited in scope, with some parts of California — and the nation — being hit harder than others. That allowed more room for shifting resources and bringing in medical professionals from areas that could spare them. The current surge is not only larger than the spring one but also much more widespread, leaving fewer areas with nurses and doctors to spare. Moreover, some patients avoided emergency rooms and optional medical appointments in the spring, fearful of being infected. Fewer people are staying [See Hospitals, A7]
Confusing rules from officials It’s no wonder why the public is weary of restrictions, Erika D. Smith writes. CALIFORNIA, B1
Stay-home order: Here we go again New rules are not quite a March repeat. This time retail stays open, with limits. CALIFORNIA, B1
BUSINESS INSIDE: How to avoid workplace burnout as the pandemic grows worse. A8
Nxxx,2020-12-04,A,001,Bs-4C,E1
CMYK
Late Edition Today, mostly cloudy, afternoon showers, high 50. Tonight, cloudy, some rain, low 46. Tomorrow, some heavy rain, windy, cooler, high 47. Weather map appears on Page A24.
VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,897
States Grapple With Shortfalls As Aid Expires
Virus Deaths: A One-Day Record Previous record: 2,752 deaths recorded on April 15.
On Wednesday, 2,885 coronavirus deaths were recorded across the United States, according to a New York Times database. More than 100,000 people were hospitalized. As of Thursday evening, more than 275,500 had died since the pandemic began.
Jobs and Services Face Painful Budget Cuts 2,000 DEATHS
The 7-day average for deaths peaked on April 17 at 2,232. It was 1,623 on Wednesday. Five days had anomalies in data reporting.
7-day average
Summer peak: Aug. 12, 1,478 deaths
1,000
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUG.
Sources: State and local health agencies; the Covid Tracking Project (hospitalization data)
SEPT.
OCT.
NOV.
BILL MARSH AND ELEANOR LUTZ/THE NEW YORK TIMES
This article is by Jill Cowan, Jack Healy and Thomas Fuller.
LOS ANGELES — California, the first state to impose far-reaching lockdowns because of the coronavirus, announced on Thursday its strictest new measures since the earliest days of the pandemic in an effort to keep a surge in cases from overwhelming hospitals. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the new round of regional stay-athome orders would take effect as intensive-care beds filled up. Millions of people across Southern and Central California are likely to see outdoor dining shuttered, playgrounds roped off and hair salons closed within days if the available intensive-care capacity in their areas dips below a 15 percent threshold. The new restrictions will last for at least three weeks, strictly limit store capacity and allow restaurants to serve only takeout or delivery. The governor also said people should temporarily call off all nonessential travel. “If we don’t act now our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” Mr. Newsom said. “If we don’t act now we’ll continue to see our death rate climb.”
The state’s new orders feel eerily like the spring, when spiraling deaths compelled leaders in California, New York and elsewhere to start telling people to stay home. But now things are even worse. More than 2,750 Americans died of the coronavirus on Thursday, and another 100,000 were in hospitals. Case counts continue to skyrocket. In anticipation of a deadly holiday season, Gov. John Carney of Delaware on Thursday issued a stay-at-home advisory asking people not to gather indoors with anyone outside their household. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently ordered a threeContinued on Page A8
KENDRICK BRINSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
A playground in Los Angeles.
Lawmakers Inch Toward Deal on Aid Package Cyberattacks Are Discovered On Vaccine Supply Network Victory by Biden and This article is by Jim Tankersley, Emily Cochrane and Nicholas Fandos.
WASHINGTON — Presidentelect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory and faster-than-expected breakthroughs on a coronavirus vaccine have shifted the dynamics of stimulus talks in Congress, leading to the first serious bipartisan negotiations in months and empowering rank-and-file lawmakers who have long agitated for a compromise. With many cities and states reinstating lockdowns and the pace of job creation slowing, congressional lawmakers and Mr. Biden are facing pressure to provide a financial lifeline to the economy un-
Progress on Vaccine Reset the Talks til a widespread vaccine forces the virus into submission. Mr. Biden has used public appearances in recent days to encourage lawmakers to compromise on a quick aid package that he said would only be a “down payment” on what the incoming administration believes is necessary to mitigate the nation’s economic pain in the months ahead. His team has pushed for Demo-
crats to move off their hard-line negotiating stance for a trilliondollar-plus bill, a stance that had made discussions with Republicans a nonstarter, and to embrace a smaller, bipartisan proposal. “I think it should be passed,” Mr. Biden said of the $908 billion proposal in a CNN interview broadcast Thursday evening, though he added, “I’m going to have to ask for more help when we get there to get things done.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, announced such a shift on Wednesday, throwing their support behind a bipartisan $908 billion outline as a baseline for reContinued on Page A10
After 2 Merciless Hurricanes, Rising Fear of a New Refugee Crisis By NATALIE KITROEFF
QUEJÁ, Guatemala — By the time they heard the slab of earth cracking off the mountain, it was already burying their neighbors. So the people of Quejá — the lucky ones — ran out of their homes with nothing, trudging barefoot through mud as tall as their children until they reached dry land. All that’s left of this village in Guatemala is their memories. “This is where I live,” said Jorge Suc Ical, standing atop the sea of rocks and muddy debris that entombed his town. “It’s a cemetery now.” Already crippled by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic crisis, Central America is now confronting another catastrophe: The mass destruction caused by two ferocious hurricanes that hit in quick succession last month, pummeling the same fragile countries, twice. The storms, two of the most powerful in a record-breaking season, demolished tens of thousands of homes, wiped out infrastructure and swallowed vast swaths of cropland. The magnitude of the ruin is only beginning to be understood, but its repercussions are likely to spread far beyond the region for
California to Reimpose Strict Lockdown Rules As Hospitals See Surge Biden Will Ask for 100 Days of Masks — Several States Ramp Up Actions
By PATRICIA COHEN
The coronavirus pandemic has inflicted an economic battering on state and local governments, shrinking tax receipts by hundreds of billions of dollars. Now devastating budget cuts loom, threatening to cripple public services and pare work forces far beyond the 1.3 million jobs lost in eight months. Governors, mayors and county executives have pleaded for federal aid before the end of the year. Congressional Republicans have scorned such assistance, with the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, calling it a “blue-state bailout.” But it turns out this budget crisis is colorblind. Six of the seven states that are expected to suffer the biggest revenue declines over the next two years are red — states led by Republican governors and won by President Trump this year, according to a report from Moody’s Analytics. Those on the front lines agree. “I don’t think it’s a red-state, bluestate issue,” said Brian Sigritz, director of state fiscal studies at the National Association of State Budget Officers. The National Governors Association’s top officials — Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, a Republican — issued a statement this fall saying, “This is a national problem, and it demands a bipartisan and national solution.” Efforts to forge a new stimulus bill gained momentum this week with a $900 billion proposal — offered by a bipartisan group of legislators and endorsed by Democratic leaders — that includes $160 billion for state, local and tribal governments. While short of plugging the widening fiscal gaps, such a sum would provide welcome relief. But the Republican leadership shows no sign of coming around on state and local aid. In reality, the degree of financial distress turns less on which party controls a statehouse or a city hall than on the number of Covid-19 cases, the kinds of businesses undergirding a state’s economy, and its tax structure. Wyoming, Alaska and North Continued on Page A10
$3.00
NEW YORK, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020
© 2020 The New York Times Company
By DAVID E. SANGER and SHARON LaFRANIERE
A series of cyberattacks is underway aimed at the companies and government organizations that will be distributing coronavirus vaccines around the world, IBM’s cybersecurity division has found, though it is unclear whether the goal is to steal the technology for keeping the vaccines refrigerated in transit or to sabotage the movements. The findings were alarming enough that the Department of Homeland Security issued its own warning on Thursday about the threat. Both the IBM researchers and the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the attacks appear intended to steal the network log-in credentials of corporate executives and officials at global organizations involved in the refrigeration process necessary to protect
Unclear if Intent Is to Disrupt Distribution vaccine doses. Josh Corman, a coronavirus strategist at the cybersecurity agency, said in a statement that the IBM report was a reminder of the need for “cybersecurity diligence at each step in the vaccine supply chain.” He urged organizations “involved in vaccine storage and transport to harden attack surfaces, particularly in cold storage operation.” Researchers for IBM Security X-Force, the company’s cybersecurity arm, said they believed that the attacks were sophisticated enough that they pointed to a government-sponsored initiative, not a rogue criminal operation aimed purely at monetary gain. But they could not identify Continued on Page A9
For Black Women, a Long Fight To Change How Georgia Voted By ASTEAD W. HERNDON
DANIELE VOLPE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Villagers in Guatemala returned to recover what they could and see what was left of their harvests. years to come. The hurricanes affected more than five million people — at least 1.5 million of them children — creating a new class of refugees with more reason than ever to migrate.
INTERNATIONAL A11-14
A Vanishing London Icon With the streets deserted during the pandemic, many taxi drivers have had to turn in their rented cabs. PAGE A11
Officials conducting rescue missions say the level of damage brings to mind Hurricane Mitch, which spurred a mass exodus from Central America to the United States more than two dec-
ades ago. “The devastation is beyond compare,” said Adm. Craig S. Faller, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, which has been deContinued on Page A14
RIVERDALE, Ga. — Decades before Joseph R. Biden Jr. flipped Georgia for the Democrats, Felicia Davis was a one-stop political organizing dynamo in Clayton County, canvassing for issues rather than candidates, for her community rather than a political party. The boom of her voice and the clarity of her convictions command respect. In her operation, even the teenagers are paid $15 an hour to knock on doors and distribute literature. Almost everyone is diligent: She is not someone to disappoint. “I am unapologetically Black,” Ms. Davis said. “My agenda is Black. My community is Black. My county is Black. So what I do is Black. And for 20 years, we’ve been trying to tell people what
NATIONAL A15-23
BUSINESS B1-8
Trump Allies Tied to Inquiry
Fuel From the Frying Pan
A Justice Department investigation into a bribe-for-pardon scheme was said to focus on a fund-raiser for the president and a lawyer for his son-in-law. PAGE A20
Energy companies are turning to renewable diesel, often made from used restaurant grease, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to profit from government incentives. PAGE B1
Rush to Drill in Arctic Refuge The Trump administration plans to sell oil and gas leases on pristine Alaska land before Inauguration Day. PAGE A15 TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-10
WEEKEND ARTS C1-14
A Good Year to Read, Anyway Dwight Garner, Parul Sehgal and Jennifer Szalai share their favorite fiction and nonfiction works of 2020. PAGE C8
Visa Rules Aimed at Beijing
New York Awaits First Doses
A Rosebud by Any Other Name
New guidelines mean Chinese Communist Party members will be limited to one-month U.S. permits. PAGE A13
The city expects about 480,000 doses of vaccine by January, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio said. PAGE A6
Gary Oldman plays a Hollywood hack in “Mank,” a reinterpretation of the legend of “Citizen Kane.” PAGE C1
Straight to the Sofa in 2021 Warner Bros. said all 17 of its releases next year would arrive in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously, the biggest challenge ever to Hollywood’s business model. PAGE B1 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27
David Brooks
PAGE A27
Years of Outreach With Little Party Support was possible.” When Georgia turned blue for Mr. Biden this year after record voter turnout, it validated the political vision and advocacy of a group of Black women who have led a decades-long organizing effort to transform the state’s electorate. Democrats celebrated their work registering new voters, canvassing and engaging in longterm political outreach. The achievement seemed to confirm mantras that have become commonplace in liberal politics, like “trust Black women” and “Black women are the backbone of the Continued on Page A19
SPORTSFRIDAY B9-12
Mourning at Maradona’s Places Argentines traveled — sometimes hundreds of miles — to honor Diego Maradona at the sites where his talent once made them smile. PAGES B10-11
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DJIA 29969.52 À 85.73 0.3%
NASDAQ 12377.18 À 0.2%
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 132 STOXX 600 391.72 À 0.01%
10-YR. TREAS. À 9/32 , yield 0.919%
OIL $45.64 À $0.36
WSJ.com GOLD $1,836.80 À $11.10
Wildfires Erupt Anew in California, Forcing Evacuations
What’s News Business & Finance
O
PEC and a group of Russia-led oil producers agreed to increase their collective output by 500,000 barrels a day next month, signaling that they are betting the worst of a pandemic-inspired shock to demand is behind them. A1 Chevron said it would cut its annual capital spending budget by 26% next year and sharply through the middle of the decade. B1
The Senate confirmed Waller for a seat on the Fed’s board in a vote that reflected increased partisan tensions over issues related to the looming change in presidential administrations. A2 Ryanair agreed to buy 75 of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets, a boost for the troubled plane maker following the aircraft’s grounding. B1 Southwest told more than 6,800 employees that their jobs are at risk without concessions from labor unions or more federal aid. B2 The Dow rose 0.3%, while the Nasdaq set another record, gaining 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%. B10 Walmart said it would pay another round of bonuses to U.S. workers as it seeks to retain and reward staffers during the pandemic. B3 Luminar started trading publicly Thursday and made its 25-year-old founder and chief executive a billionaire. B1
World-Wide The U.S. Justice Department is discussing a deal with Huawei finance chief Meng Wanzhou that would allow her to return to China from Canada in exchange for admitting wrongdoing in a criminal case that strained Beijing’s relations with the U.S. and Canada. A1 Covid-19-related deaths reported in a single day hit a record in the U.S. as hospitalizations surpassed 100,000 for the first time this week, leaving hospitals in some regions without enough beds in intensive-care units to meet their patients’ needs. A1 Lawmakers dived into negotiations over the two thorniest components of a new coronavirus aid package as momentum grew for a roughly $900 billion compromise proposal. A2 Congress moved via a provision in the annual defense authorization bill to stop Trump from reducing the number of U.S. troops in Germany. A10 The Trump administration sued Facebook, accusing it of illegally reserving highpaying jobs for immigrant workers it was sponsoring for permanent residence. A3 Wisconsin’s top court dealt another setback to Trump’s bid to overturn his election defeat, turning away a lawsuit challenging the validity of hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots. A6 Trump’s campaign and the RNC have raised more than $207.5 million in the weeks after Election Day, the campaign said. A4 CONTENTS Arts in Review A12-13 Banking & Finance B9 Business News.. B3,5 Crossword.............. A13 Heard on Street.. B11 Mansion............. M1-14
Markets................... B10 Opinion.............. A15-17 Sports....................... A14 Technology............... B4 U.S. News............. A2-8 Weather................... A13 World News.......... A10
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Detained Huawei Executive In Talks With DOJ Proposed deal would resolve charges against finance chief over Iran sanctions The U.S. Justice Department is discussing a deal with Huawei Technologies Co. finance chief Meng Wanzhou that would allow her to return to China from Canada, in exchange for admitting wrongdoing in a criminal case that strained Beijing’s relations with the U.S. and Canada, people familiar with the matter said.
NOAH BERGER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
AT&T’s Warner Bros. will release its entire 2021 slate of theatrical films simultaneously in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service, the studio said. A1
HHHH $4.00
FIERY WAIT: A property owner in Silverado watches as wind gusts push the flames through parts of Orange County on Thursday. Utilities cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers and many neighborhoods were ordered to evacuate. A8
U.S. Virus Deaths Hit Record Amid Strain on Hospital ICUs BY MELANIE EVANS Covid-19-related deaths reported in a single day hit a record in the U.S. as hospitalizations surpassed 100,000 for the first time this week, leaving hospitals in some regions of the country without enough beds in intensive-care units to meet their patients’ needs. The U.S. recorded 2,804 deaths on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins University reported and newly reported infections
OPEC, Partners To Boost Oil Output BY BENOIT FAUCON AND SUMMER SAID OPEC and a group of Russia-led oil producers agreed to increase their collective output by 500,000 barrels a day next month, signaling the world’s biggest producers are betting the worst of a pandemic-inspired shock to demand is behind them. The deal marks a compromise after sharp disagreements earlier in the week among a group of producers that have acted in relative concert for months, agreeing to cut production deeply to stabilize oil markets. The coronavirus pandemic sapped global demand early this year, tanking prices and straining the finances of big producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. The price rout has also laid low big, publicly traded oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, triggering big losses and job cuts. Shell and BP PLC both recently cut their dividend for the first time in years to preserve cash. Chevron Corp. said on Thursday it was joining peers in slashing spending. In recent weeks, international oil prices have started to bounce back, climbing some 25% since the start of last month. Asian economies have been recovering strongly, boosting oil demand there. Oil investors, meanwhile, have bet on future demand growth elsewhere after a series of promising milestones hit by several Covid-19 vaccines in development. This week, the U.K. authorized one for emergency use, setting in motion the Please turn to page A6 Chevron to slash capital spending........................................ B1
topped 200,000 for the second time in less than a week. More than 100,000 people were hospitalized with Covid-19 as of Wednesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project, including a record number of people in intensive care and near-record numbers of patients on ventilators. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said most of the state would face new stay-at-home orders in the coming days under a new mandate that would
close some businesses and restrict others when hospital ICUs have less than 15% capacity. The restrictions would last for three weeks. “The bottom line is if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” said Mr. Newsom, a Democrat. At overstretched hospitals in regions of the U.S., some patients who need intensive care can’t receive it. Hospital officials said they are racing to hire more nurses,
Layoffs Show Sign of Easing New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but some economists warned the drop might be an anomaly because of volatile data during the Thanksgiving holiday. A11 Initial unemployment claims, weekly
Continuing unemploymentbenefits recipients*
7 million
25 million Week ended Nov. 28
6
712,000
5
20
Week ended Nov. 21
5.52 million
15
4 3
10
2 5
1
*Regular state programs
0
0 March
Nov.
Note: Seasonally adjusted
i
Nov. Source: Labor Department
En Vogue at Gucci: The Over-40 Set i
March
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Fashion house courts older buyers with Jackie O BY MATTHEW DALTON Two years ago, Gucci emblazoned its clothes with the New York Yankees logo and the face of Bugs Bunny. Now, the Italian fashion house is embracing Princess Diana and Jackie O. Gucci is courting older, wealthier clientele to stabilize revenue as its five-year run of remarkable growth, fueled by younger shoppers, peters out. Creative Director Alessandro Michele—hailed as a visionary for eclectic, pop-culture infused designs that lit up social media and attracted millennials and Gen Z—is shifting to more subPlease turn to page A2
squeezing extra beds onto floors and, in some cases, moving patients across state lines to find room for the critically ill. In some overrun pockets of the country, these emergency measures are no longer enough, doctors and nurses said. An estimated one in four intensive-care beds nationally is occupied by Covid-19 patients, Please turn to page A8 Virus doubts challenge health workers......................................... A8
LOS ANGELES—Warner Bros., the Hollywood studio founded as a Pennsylvania nickelodeon in 1903 and responsible for classics like “Casablanca,” signaled Thursday that the entertainment industry’s future isn’t in the theater, but in the living room. The AT&T-owned studio said it would release its entire 2021 slate of theatrical films simultaneously in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service, the most drastic step yet taken by a major studio as the coronavirus pandemic continued to move Hollywood’s focus away from movie theaters and toward in-house streaming services. The strategy covers all 17 movies scheduled for release by the studio next year, including big-budget films like the science-fiction adaptation
Lawyers for Ms. Meng, who faces wire and bank fraud charges related to alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran on Huawei’s behalf, have spoken to Justice Department officials in recent weeks about the possibility of reaching a “deferred prosecution agreement,” the people said. Under such an agreement, which prosecutors usually use with companies but rarely grant to individuals, Ms. Meng would be required to admit to some of the allegations against her but prosecutors would agree to potentially defer and later drop the charges if she cooperated, the people said. Ms. Meng has so far resisted the proposed deal, believing she did nothing wrong, some of the people said. She declined to comment through a Huawei spokesman. A JusPlease turn to page A4
Covid Squeezes Labor Market Women, baby boomers are pushed out BY GWYNN GUILFORD AND SARAH CHANEY CAMBON Since spring lockdowns were lifted, the demand for workers has snapped back faster than many economists expected. Between April and October the unemployment rate fell by more than half, to 6.9%, undoing more than two-thirds of its initial rise. But unemployment data overstates the health of the labor market because the supply of people either working or looking for a job has declined. The U.S. labor force is 2.2% smaller than in
Warner Films to Open In Homes and Theaters BY ERICH SCHWARTZEL AND JOE FLINT
By Jacquie McNish, Aruna Viswanatha, Jonathan Cheng and Dan Strumpf
“Dune” and a new installment in the “Matrix” franchise. HBO Max will host the movies for only their first month of theatrical release before the films follow their usual distribution pattern. The decision follows recent similar moves by other studios and cements a new reality in Hollywood: Subscriptions are more important than box office. What began as an effort to counterbalance the dominance of Netflix Inc. has rewritten the strategies at every major studio with a home streaming service of its own. The reorientation was accelerated by a pandemic that has closed most movie theaters and all but eliminated whatever leverage their owners once had. The head of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the Please turn to page A6 AMC Plans stock sale, warns of chapter 11.............................. B5
February, a loss of 3.7 million workers. The labor-force participation rate, or the share of Americans 16 years and over working or seeking work, was 61.7% in October, down from 63.4% in February. Though up from April’s trough, that is near its lowest since the 1970s, when far fewer women were in the workforce. The supply of workers and their productivity are the building blocks of economic growth. A smaller labor force leaves fewer workers Please turn to page A11
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BUSINESS & FINANCE Makers of dry ice brace for demand because of shipping needs for Covid-19 vaccine. B1
MANSION Homeowners rethink the walk-in pantry to beautify food-storage spaces. M1