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MARTES 24 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2020 | Año XLV | Número 15.836 | EDICIÓN MADRID | Precio: 1,70 euros
Soledad Sevilla: “Camino al margen de las tendencias del arte” P28 PREMIO VELÁZQUEZ
Marc Gasol jugará con LeBron James en los Lakers P36
NBA
Trump pone en marcha la entrega del poder a Biden
El respaldo de Bildu a los Presupuestos aleja el apoyo de Ciudadanos Arrimadas se inclina por el voto negativo, pero sigue dialogando C. E. CUÉ / I. SANTAEULALIA P. GOROSPE, Madrid / Vitoria Los Presupuestos Generales del Estado avanzan hacia una aprobación con la mayoría que permitió la investidura. EH Bildu convocó ayer una asamblea para ratificar el sí al proyecto, que defiende su líder, Arnaldo Otegi. Este hecho, sumado a los pactos del Gobierno con ERC, empuja a Ciudadanos hacia el voto negativo, a pesar de que Inés Arrimadas asegura que no será ella la que se levante de la mesa de negociación. PÁGINA 14
El presidente ordena el inicio del proceso de transición pese a que no admite su derrota en las elecciones PABLO GUIMÓN, Washington Donald Trump dio anoche luz verde a su Administración para proceder con la transición de poder con el equipo de Joe Biden. Veinte días después de su derrota elec-
Las medidas duras frenan la segunda ola de contagios E. DE BENITO / P. LINDE, Madrid Las duras medidas restrictivas adoptadas por las autoridades han logrado frenar la segunda oleada de la pandemia en España. Los casos por cada 100.000 habitantes diagnosticados en 14 días se situaron ayer en 374, por primera vez menos que cuando entró en vigor el estado de alarma, hace casi un mes. El Gobierno se dispone a aprobar hoy el plan de vacunación, para el que espera disponer de 80 millones de inmunizaciones. PÁGINAS 22 Y 23 EDITORIAL EN LA PÁGINA 10
Oxford presenta la tercera vacuna eficaz contra la covid MANUEL ANSEDE, Madrid La vacuna experimental de la Universidad de Oxford y AstraZeneca tiene una eficacia media del 70% y hasta del 90% en función del régimen de dosis, según resultados preliminares conocidos ayer. Esta inmunización es una de las más avanzadas del mundo, junto a las de Pfizer y Moderna. La UE ha acordado la compra de 300 millones de dosis. PÁGINA 24
toral, el presidente sigue sin reconocerla. Pero, después de que la Administración de Servicios Generales (GSA) asegurara que Joe Biden es el “aparente ganador” de los comicios, despejando el camino para el relevo, Trump siguió el consejo de los asesores que le pedían que lo hiciera antes de Acción de Gracias. En un mensaje en Twitter, recomendó a su equipo que haga “lo necesario” en relación con “los protocolos iniciales”. Es “lo mejor para el interés de nuestro país”, agregó. La GSA, a través de su administradora, Emily Murphy, envió una carta al equipo de Biden para iniciar la transición. Horas antes, Michigan había certificado los resultados en ese Estado, donde el demócrata se impuso por 155.000 votos, lo que arruinaba la estrategia de Trump. PÁGINA 4
Biden pone a la expresidenta de la Fed al frente de la economía P6
El juez investiga una segunda trama policial que espiaba a Bárcenas
MICHEL EULER (AP)
Sarkozy, expresidente en el banquillo El expresidente francés Nicolas Sarkozy se sentó ayer en el banquillo por el primero de varios casos de corrupción que le acechan. Sarkozy, aún una figura influyente en la derecha, se enfrenta a una petición de pena de hasta 10 años de cárcel por el intento de conseguir que un magistrado le facilitase información sobre otro caso judicial a cambio de un alto cargo en Mónaco. En la imagen, el expresidente a su salida del Tribunal de París. PÁGINA 7
LEOPOLDO LÓPEZ
ÓSCAR LÓPEZ-FONSECA, Madrid El juez Manuel García-Castellón imputó ayer a Jesús Vicente Galán, inspector jefe en la Unidad de Asuntos Internos, por su presunta implicación en el espionaje, sin control judicial, a Luis Bárcenas en 2013. Se abre así la investigación sobre un posible segundo operativo policial en el caso Kitchen en el que participaron agentes de la unidad encargada de prevenir malas prácticas en el seno de la Policía Nacional. PÁGINA 16
Líder opositor de Venezuela
“Muchos sectores de la dictadura buscan cómo contribuir a una salida” CECILIA BALLESTEROS, Madrid Casi un mes después de huir de Venezuela y refugiarse en Madrid, el líder opositor venezolano Leopoldo López se moviliza para alertar al mundo de la falta de libertades que caracteriza al régimen de Nicolás Maduro. En una entrevista con EL PAÍS, López advierte: “Puedo asegurar que hay muchos sectores dentro de la dictadura que buscan cómo contribuir a una salida”. PÁGINA 2
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latimes.com
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
■ ■ ■ ELECTION 2020 ■ ■ ■
Trump clears path for Biden transition plan President-elect makes several historic picks for key Cabinet posts as Michigan certifies results from election. By Evan Halper, Tracy Wilkinson and Don Lee
Christina House Los Angeles Times
SNOOP DOGG chats with Monica Sandoval after helping load food into her car during the city of Inglewood’s
turkey giveaway Monday at SoFi Stadium. Health officials are urging residents to avoid Thanksgiving travel.
Stay-at-home order looms New wave of infections puts L.A. County on cusp of shutdown By Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II The specter of another COVID-19 shutdown is looming over Los Angeles County, as a record-high number of daily coronavirus cases Monday pushed the region over its self-set threshold for issuing a new stay-at-home order. The strong possibility of more restrictions comes as health officials and epidemiologists expressed increasing alarm at the unparalleled pace of increased cases in L.A. County and throughout the state. California is on pace to see its cumulative death toll
Genaro Molina Los Angeles Times
THE POSSIBILITY of even a scaled-back shutdown
has raised concern about businesses in L.A. County.
double just before spring, from the more than 18,700 deaths currently tallied to more than 37,000 by March 1, according to model forecasts by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. A Times analysis on Monday found that the average daily number of coronavirus cases over a five-day period has more than tripled since election day. COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled since mid-October, from 730 on Oct. 18 to 1,473 on Sunday. Both California and Los Angeles County shattered single-day records on Monday, with the state recording [See Coronavirus, A7]
LOCKDOWN: As pandemic fatigue grows, people are questioning the new COVID-19 measures. CALIFORNIA, B1
COLUMN ONE
The assignments were brought home Mother-daughter teaching duo went from adjacent classrooms to laptops on the dining table. By Sonja Sharp t was five minutes past 9 a.m. on the 59th day of school, and Ms. Tai was running late. “Dad! The internet’s not connecting!” the Los Angeles Unified School District kindergarten teacher hollered from her pocket-size class-
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Pass-happy Goff outduels Brady in Rams victory L.A. quarterback completes 39 of 51 passes and engineers a late drive to set up a field goal in 27-24 win over Tampa Bay. SPORTS, B7
Feinstein won’t seek crucial role Longtime California lawmaker says she will not pursue leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee. NATION, A5
Why Prop. 16 didn’t resonate A failure to bridge the divides of age and race doomed the affirmative action measure. CALIFORNIA, B1
Weather Foggy, then sunny. L.A. Basin: 67/50. B10 Printed with soy inks on partially recycled paper.
room — little more than a desk and a couple of posters, screened off from a dresser and a tidy twin bed. “Mom’s is working!” her father, Bob Carter, called back, his voice nearly drowned out by his wife’s cheerful morning song. A year ago, mother and daughter taught in classrooms one room apart at Bushnell Way Elementary School in Highland Park — Mrs. Carter with 4-year-olds, Ms. Tai in a mixed group of children ages 4 and 5. Many of the felt puppets and linking cubes they shared there are the same ones Karen Carter used when her daughter was a student
in her classroom. Out of respect for her mother’s long tenure, Tai Carter goes by Ms. Tai at school. Now, the pair teach their pint-size students from home, keeping L.A.’s youngest learners engaged online even as kindergarten enrollment has plummeted and online attendance has slumped. “I try, but it doesn’t always go as planned,” Ms. Tai explained as she waited for her laptop to restart. “By time I get in there, half of them will be gone.” Remote learning has strained educators [See Duo, A12]
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration yielded to the reality Monday that the presidential election will not be overturned, finally authorizing the start of formal transition proceedings as Presidentelect Joe Biden moved to make good his vow to appoint a historically diverse Cabinet. Soon after Michigan certified its vote for Biden, a major blow to President Trump’s efforts to contest the vote, the General Services Administration official who has blocked the start of the formal transition for three weeks formally recognized Biden as winner of the election and said she would provide office space, access to government officials and other logistical resources to assist his team. In a two-page letter to Biden, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy wrote that she decided “independently” to withhold the official nod until now and was not pressured “directly or indirectly” by the White House as Trump unsuccessfully fought the election in court with false claims of fraud. She denied that she had withheld the aid “out of fear or favoritism.” “To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination,” Murphy wrote. “I did, however, receive threats online, by phone, and by mail directed at my safety, my family, my staff, and even my pets in an effort to coerce me into making this determination prematurely. Even in the face of thousands of threats, I always remained committed to upholding the law.” Soon after, the president tweeted that he had recommended that Murphy “do what needs to be done ... and have told my team to do the same.” Trump notably did not concede, however. The start of the formal transition means Biden and his top aides will be given classified briefings on national security threats, among other assistance. They are also able to coordinate with federal health officials on the widening pan-
IN CHINA’S SHADOW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘They take it out on South Korea’ Beijing’s ire over U.S. military ties is felt in tourism and trade By Victoria Kim JEJU ISLAND, South Korea — A few years ago, Kim Kyoung-chul’s once-thriving crab restaurant on a balmy island off the southern coast of South Korea unwittingly became a casualty of escalating tensions between global powers. Hundreds of miles and a sea crossing away from Kim’s touristy street, lined with bling, fashion and cardboard cutouts of K-pop stars, South Korea was installing an American missile interceptor over China’s objections that it threatened its national security. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in 2016 that the interceptor’s radar “goes far beyond the defense need of the Korean peninsula. It will reach deep into the hinterland of Asia, which will ... directly damage China’s strategic security interests.” Kim had little idea how deeply [See South Korea, A4]
Woohae Cho For The Times
KIM KYOUNG-CHUL at his restaurant on South Korea’s Jeju Island.
His business was booming before Chinese tourism plummeted in 2017.
demic and a possible national vaccination campaign next year. The latest twist in one of the nation’s strangest elections came hours after Biden announced that he will nominate the first Latino to run the Department of Homeland Security and the first woman to lead the nation’s vast intelligence apparatus. Biden is also reportedly poised to nominate Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, as the first woman to run the U.S. Treasury. A respected figure with progressives and Wall Street alike, Yellen would help lead Biden’s response to the economy-wrecking pandemic if she is confirmed by the Senate. The nominees signal a wide-ranging White House [See Transition, A6]
Biden’s Homeland Security pick A California attorney would be the first Latino and immigrant in the Cabinet post. NATION, A6
Iranian diaspora has eyes on new president By Sarah Parvini Joe Biden wasn’t Hanieh Jodat Barnes’ first choice. An immigrant from Iran who served as a California delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders earlier this year, she threw her support behind Biden only after he was named the Democratic presidential nominee. She wanted to do whatever she could to ensure that President Trump would not be in office for another four years, she said, while also organizing to push Biden’s platform further left. So Barnes joined voter mobilization efforts and cofounded the initiative Immigrants for Biden, working on a 50-state mobilization campaign. “What was at stake was greater than ego,” said Barnes, a progressive Democrat who is in her 30s. “Another four years of Trump would have been horrendous, especially for people of color.” In California, as in other parts of the nation, Iranian Americans for decades have been caught in the middle of a geopolitical pingpong match, watching as U.S. policy toward Iran shifts from diplomacy under one administration to a more hardline approach in the next. Since 2016, they have seen the United States leave the landmark multilateral nuclear accord with Iran and witnessed the Trump administration’s targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani in January this year, bringing the two countries near the brink of war. They also have watched as additional economic sanctions leveled by Trump have further undermined Iran’s economy. As his term winds down, Trump is moving to impose even more economic restrictions on Tehran amid a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at forcing Iran to come to a better nuclear deal — de[See Iranian, A7]
BUSINESS INSIDE: Instacart delivers a 3-year-old frozen pizza, David Lazarus writes. A8
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Late Edition Today, partly sunny, a bit cooler than average, high 48. Tonight, partly cloudy, low 38. Tomorrow, variably cloudy, a little milder, high 54. Weather map appears on Page A24.
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TRANSITION TO BIDEN’S ADMINISTRATION BEGINS Yellen to Treasury Shift After Defeat for Trump in in Cabinet Full Michigan of Firsts By MICHAEL CROWLEY and JEANNA SMIALEK
ANNA MONEYMAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
The authorization of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s election victory will give his team the resources to move forward with the transition.
G.M. Ends Fuel-Efficiency Fight, A Barrier-Breaking Economist Signaling It’ll Work With Biden Who Knows How to Use Power By CORAL DAVENPORT
WASHINGTON — General Motors turned its back Monday on the Trump administration’s legal fight to nullify California’s strict fuel economy rules, signaling that it was ready to work with President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to reduce climate-warming emissions from cars and trucks. The decision by Mary Barra, the General Motors chief executive, to withdraw her company’s support for Trump administration efforts to strip California of its ability to set its own fuel efficiency standards was a striking reversal. It was also a signal that corporate America is moving on from President Trump. More specifically, it was a sign that Mr. Biden may find the auto industry amenable as he tries to reinstitute and rebuild Obama-era climate change regulations that Mr. Trump systematically dismantled, at times with the help of industry. “President-elect Biden recently said, ‘I believe that we can own the
21st century car market again by moving to electric vehicles.’ We at General Motors couldn’t agree more,” Ms. Barra wrote in a letter on Monday to leaders of some of the nation’s largest environmental groups. She added, “we are immediately withdrawing from the preemption litigation and inviting other automakers to join us,” a signal to Toyota and Fiat-Chrysler, the other two major automakers that have sided with the Trump administration against California in the continuing legal fight. G.M.’s maneuvering was a public humiliation to Mr. Trump as he pursued his democracy-defying effort to subvert the will of the American electorate and claim another term. Ms. Barra gave no warning to the administration, but she did speak by telephone on Monday with Mary Nichols, California’s top climate regulator and an architect of the Obama-era fuel economy rules. Ms. Nichols is also Continued on Page A16
WASHINGTON — Presidentelect Joseph R. Biden Jr. plans to name Janet L. Yellen as Treasury secretary, a nomination that would put a woman in charge of the Treasury for the first time in its 231-year history. The expected appointment came as Mr. Biden moved to fill other top cabinet roles, selecting Alejandro Mayorkas as the first Latino to lead the Department of Homeland Security and Avril Haines as the first woman to be the director of national intelligence. Mr. Biden is also expected to create a new post of international climate envoy and tap John Kerry, a former secretary of state who was a chief negotiator for the United States on the Paris climate change accord. In choosing Ms. Yellen, who was also the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, Mr. Biden is turning to a renowned labor economist at a moment of high unemployment, when millions of Americans remain out of work and the economy continues to struggle from the coronavirus. Ms. Yellen, 74, is likely to bring a long-held preference for govern-
By JEANNA SMIALEK
WASHINGTON — Janet L. Yellen became an economist at a time when few women entered the profession and fewer still rose in a male-dominated environment. She is now poised to become the first female Treasury secretary and one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the president’s cabinet. Her expected nomination would come as rebuilding a U.S. economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and saddled with high unemployment presents a central challenge for Presidentelect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s administration. While Ms. Yellen is not the type of firebrand nominee some progressives might have hoped for — she has warned that the United States is borrowing too much money, a fact that some liberals count against her — she has paid consistent, careful attention to inequality and labor market outcomes, even when doing so
earned her backlash from lawmakers. As the chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, Ms. Yellen also oversaw an extremely slow set of interest rate increases as she and her colleagues tested whether unemployment could fall further without leading to higher prices. Her patience drew criticism from inflation-wary economists at the time, but the policies laid the groundwork for a strong labor market and a record-long expansion that drove unemployment to its lowest rate in 50 years before the pandemic turned the world upside down. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, one of the most prominent progressive Democrats in Congress, wrote on Twitter that Ms. Yellen “would be an outstanding choice for Treasury Secretary.” But she faces a steep challenge: As Treasury secretary, Ms. Yellen will be at the forefront of navigatContinued on Page A15
Janet L. Yellen and Alejandro Mayorkas, who was chosen as homeland security secretary. ment help for households that are struggling economically. But she will be thrust into negotiating for more aid with what is expected to be a divided Congress, pushing her into a far more political role than the one she played at the independent central bank. “While the pandemic is still seriously affecting the economy, we need to continue extraordinary fiscal support,” Ms. Yellen said in a Continued on Page A14 ‘CLIMATE CZAR’ John Kerry was
named to a new cabinet-level post, a powerful signal. PAGE A16
This article is by Michael D. Shear, Maggie Haberman, Nick Corasaniti and Jim Rutenberg.
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s government on Monday authorized President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to begin a formal transition process after Michigan certified Mr. Biden as its winner, a strong sign that the president’s last-ditch bid to overturn the results of the election was coming to an end. Mr. Trump did not concede, and vowed to persist with efforts to change the vote, which have so far proved fruitless. But the president said on Twitter on Monday night that he accepted the decision by Emily W. Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, to allow a transition to proceed. In his tweet, Mr. Trump said that he had told his officials to begin “initial protocols” involving the handoff to Mr. Biden “in the best interest of our country,” though his announcement followed weeks of trying to subvert a free and fair election with false claims of fraud. Ms. Murphy’s designation of Mr. Biden as the apparent victor provides the incoming administration with federal funds and resources and clears the way for the president-elect’s advisers to coordinate with Trump administration officials. The decision from Ms. Murphy came after several additional senior Republican lawmakers, as well as leading figures from business and world affairs, denounced the delay in allowing the peaceful transfer of power to begin, a holdup that Mr. Biden and his top aides said was threatening national security and the ability of the incoming administration to effectively plan for combating the coronavirus pandemic. And it followed a key court decision in Pennsylvania, where the state’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the Trump campaign and the president’s Republican allies, stating that roughly 8,000 ballots with signature or date irregularities must be counted. In Michigan, the statewide canvassing board, with two Republicans and two Democrats, voted 3 to 0 to approve the results, with one Republican abstaining. It officially delivered to Mr. Biden a key Continued on Page A12
Latest Vaccine Candidate Said to Be Cheaper and Easier to Store China’s Message to the World: Play by Our Economic Rules By REBECCA ROBBINS and BENJAMIN MUELLER
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced on Monday that their inexpensive, easyto-produce coronavirus vaccine appears effective, the latest in a string of encouraging results this month from leading vaccine developers. An early analysis of data from late-stage clinical trials found that AstraZeneca’s vaccine was either 62 percent or 90 percent effective, depending on the manner in which the doses were given. While the overall efficacy of the vaccine remains unclear, the encouraging preliminary results indicate that it has the potential to become a powerful new weapon in the war on the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide since January and is still spreading rapidly. AstraZeneca said it expected to begin distributing the vaccine this year and that it would be able to make up to three billion doses next year. At two doses per person, that would be enough to inoculate nearly one in five people worldwide.
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and KEITH BRADSHER
ANDREW TESTA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
AstraZeneca’s vaccine is 62 percent or 90 percent effective, depending on how it is administered. Unlike some other leading vaccine candidates, the AstraZeneca offering can be quickly produced in vast quantities, will cost only a few dollars per dose and is easy to store for long periods. That could
substantially expand the number of countries and people that have access to the vaccine. AstraZeneca’s announcement came on the heels of Pfizer and Moderna’s releasing trial results
that showed their vaccines to both be about 95 percent effective. Those vaccines, however, can only be kept outside of ultracold freezers for a few weeks, making their Continued on Page A6
After Australia dared last spring to call for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, China began quietly blocking one import after another from Australia — coal, wine, barley and cotton — in violation of free-trade norms. Then this month, with no clear explanation, China left $3 million worth of Australian rock lobsters dying in Shanghai customs. Australia nonetheless joined 14 Asian nations and just signed a new regional free-trade deal brokered by China. The agreement covers nearly a third of the world’s population and output, reinforcing China’s position as the dominant economic and diplomatic power in Asia. It’s globalization with Communist characteristics: The Chinese government promotes the country’s openness to the world, even as it adopts increasingly aggressive and at times punitive policies that force countries to play by its rules.
TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-7
INTERNATIONAL A8-10
ARTS C1-6
A Lesson for Canada
Saudi-Israel Meeting? Maybe
The Cinematographer’s Case
School districts in the largest province — in contrast to big U.S. cities — are finding that in-class learning for students outweighs the risks. PAGE A4
Israeli reports say the Saudi crown prince and Israel’s prime minister met in the kingdom on Sunday. The Saudi foreign minister denies it. PAGE A9
Matty Libatique was treated like a rock star during a visit to Poland, but now he is accused of assaulting a paramedic who came to his aid there. He says he’s being treated unfairly. PAGE C1
‘The Escape Route Is in Sight’ The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, plans to ease restrictions based on good news on the pandemic. PAGE A7 NATIONAL A11-19
BUSINESS B1-7
Clawing for Their Lifeline Nail salons have lost half of their business. “No matter how hard I work, I make no money,” an owner said. PAGE B4
China Launches Moon Mission The Chang’e-5 spacecraft took flight on Monday, tasked with bringing lunar rock samples back to Earth. PAGE A9 SPORTSTUESDAY B8-9
Rivergeddon in the West
Shopping Is Forever Changed
He’d Rip a Picasso for the Mets
Montana’s urbanites are flooding natural areas as they try to avoid the coronavirus threat. PAGE A11
As online sales soar and stores become fulfillment centers, the retail industry is being pushed into its future. PAGE B1
Steven Cohen, in a departure from previous team ownership, is playfully engaging fans on Twitter. PAGE B8
Focusing on ‘Gilmore Girls’ A 2016 revival of the show is being aired this week on the CW network. The “Gilmore” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and other veterans of the show look back on its lasting appeal. PAGE C1 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23
Paul Krugman
PAGE A22
With the United States and others wary of its growing dominance in areas like technology, China wants to become less dependent on the world for its own needs, while making the world as dependent as possible on China. “China wants what other great powers do,” Yun Jiang, a researcher and editor of the China Story at the Australian National University. “It wants to follow international rules and norms when it is in its interest, and disregard rules and norms when the circumstances suit it.” China’s strategy is born out of strength. The coronavirus has practically disappeared within its borders. The country’s economy is growing strongly. And China’s manufacturing sector has become the world’s largest by a wide margin, leaving other nations heavily dependent on it for everything from medical gear to advanced electronics. China’s government is also Continued on Page A10
SCIENCE TIMES D1-12
All About Artificial Intelligence We take an in-depth look at the promise and perils of the rapidly developing field, including how easy it is to make fake faces seem so real. PAGE D1
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 124
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DJIA 29591.27 À 327.79 1.1%
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STOXX 600 388.84 g 0.2%
10-YR. TREAS. g 9/32 , yield 0.857%
OIL $43.06 À $0.64
The Face of Hong Kong Activism Awaits Jail
What’s News Business & Finance iden plans to nominate former Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, an economist at the forefront of policy-making for three decades, to become the next Treasury secretary. A1
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Snap is launching a videosharing feature to rival TikTok, a move that will let users produce content with hopes of it going viral. B4
World-Wide Trump said his administration would cooperate with Biden’s transition to the White House, ending a delay that had come under increasing criticism from members of both parties. A1 Michigan officials certified the Nov. 3 election results, and Pennsylvania moved closer to ratifying Biden’s victory, following efforts by Trump and his supporters to delay final approval of the outcome. A4 Biden rolled out a nationalsecurity team with deep government experience, declaring his intent to nominate the first woman to oversee the U.S. intelligence community. A4 AstraZeneca and Oxford University said their Covid-19 vaccine was as much as 90% effective in preventing infection without serious side effects. A1 The U.S. reported 142,732 new cases of coronavirus and registered a record number of hospitalizations for the 13th straight day. A6 Sen. Dianne Feinstein will step down as top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, after drawing criticism from the party’s progressive wing over her handling of Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. A3 Israel’s Netanyahu secretly met Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the first known meeting between those leaders of two longtime foes. A10 France opened a trial into whether Sarkozy tried to bribe a magistrate in an attempt to obtain information about a police probe of his 2007 presidential campaign finances. A11 CONTENTS Arts in Review... A15 Business News.. B3,5 Capital Journal...... A4 Crossword.............. A15 Heard on Street. B10 Markets...................... B9
Opinion.............. A17-19 Personal Journal A13-14 Sports........................ A16 Technology............... B4 U.S. News............. A2-6 Weather................... A15 World News...... A8-11
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TYRONE SIU/REUTERS
BY JENNY STRASBURG AND JOSEPH WALKER LONDON—AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford added their vaccine candidate to a growing list of shots showing promising effectiveness against Covid-19—setting in motion disparate regulatory and distribution tracks that executives and researchers hope will result in the start of
widespread vaccinations by the end of the year. AstraZeneca and Oxford said their vaccine was as much as 90% effective in preventing the infection without serious side effects, though they said the vaccine’s efficacy varied widely based on dosage. At the lower end, its 62% efficacy trailed the trial results of two other Western-developed vaccine candidates,
INSIDE
WORLD NEWS Netanyahu traveled to Saudi Arabia to secretly meet the crown prince. A10
Thanksgiving Rookies Face Cooking Solo i
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People used to being guests will try preparing feast BY JENNIFER LEVITZ AND CHARLES PASSY Tradition dictates that the Guglielmo family—Ryann, her husband, Paul, and now, their toddler Leo—leave their home in Rochester, N.Y., to celebrate Thanksgiving with Paul’s clan in northeastern Ohio each year. The couple has been making this trip for a decade and is so accustomed to trekking to someone else’s home for the big holiday that a turkey roaster they got for their wedding four years ago remained unopened in the basement. “My mother-in-law takes care of everything,” said Ms. Guglielmo, who is 31 years old. Please turn to page A2
one from Moderna Inc. and one from Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech SE. The limited results at the top end of the range, however, came close to matching those of the rival drugmakers. Each Please turn to page A8 No letup in sight for cases, deaths............................................ A6 Merck to acquire biotech firm with a Covid treatment....... B3
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first woman to lead the Fed, would become the first person to have headed the Treasury, the central bank and the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Ms. Yellen declined to comment on Monday. Separately, Mr. Biden’s transition team said he would nominate Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security and Avril Haines as director of national intelligence. Both are former Obama administration aides. John Kerry, who was secretary of state under President Barack Obama, will serve as special Please turn to page A2 Manufacturing’s rise gives recovery a boost...................... A2 Biden assembles nationalsecurity team............................ A4
Trump Clears Way To Start Transition BY ANDREW RESTUCCIA AND REBECCA BALLHAUS WASHINGTON—President Trump said his administration would cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to the White House, ending a delay that had come under increasing criticism from members of both parties as Mr. Trump’s long-shot effort to overturn the election foundered. General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy, who had been formally holding up the transition for more than two weeks citing uncertainty in the results, said on Monday her agency would provide Mr. Biden federal resources meant to ensure a smooth transfer of power. Mr. Trump said he has in-
structed aides to cooperate with the transition approved by the GSA, though he pledged to continue legal efforts to overturn the election result. “I believe we will prevail!” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.” The decision by the GSA came as Michigan certified the results of its election, which Mr. Biden won, and authorities Please turn to page A4 Michigan certifies election outcome........................................ A4 Gerald F. Seib: For GOP, risks in postelection fight rise..... A4
DuPont’s Travails Shaped President-Elect’s Business Views DEAN MUSGROVE/SCNG/ZUMA PRESS
Merck is buying OncoImmune, which has reported positive results from a late-stage study of a coronavirus therapeutic candidate, for $425 million. B3
AstraZeneca Widens List Of Promising Virus Shots
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Japan’s detention of Ghosn for more than four months with limited access to legal counsel was arbitrary and violated his human rights, a U.N. panel concluded. B1
If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Yellen would become the first woman to hold the job. Mr. Biden’s selection positions the 74-year-old labor economist to lead his administration’s efforts to further the recovery from the destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic and shutdowns. Ms. Yellen, who was the
DETAINED: Pro-democracy leaders Joshua Wong, right, and Ivan Lam are taken into custody in Hong Kong after pleading guilty to inciting a protest last year. A third former student leader, Agnes Chow, also pleaded guilty. The three will be held until they are sentenced Dec. 2. A10
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Biden Chooses Yellen to Lead U.S. Treasury By Nick Timiraos, Kate Davidson and Ken Thomas
U.S. stocks rose, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq advancing 1.1%, 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively. B9
Index compilers FTSE Russell, JPMorgan and MSCI are rethinking their stance on securities of companies the U.S. government says help the Chinese military. B1
GOLD $1,837.80 g $34.80
President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, an economist at the forefront of policy-making for three decades, to become the next Treasury secretary, according to people familiar with the decision.
The U.S. economy continues to recover from the pandemic-induced downturn, according to business surveys that show services and manufacturing activity growing despite rising infections. A2
GM will no longer back the Trump administration in its legal battle to strip California’s authority to set its own fuel-efficiency regulations. B1 GM agreed to recall 5.9 million sport-utility and pickup-truck models to replace potentially faulty Takata air-bag inflaters. B2
WSJ.com
BUSINESS & FINANCE GM backs off legal battle over California emission rules. B1
Targeted by Wall Street, ‘Uncle Dupie’ shed Delaware jobs, broke up BY JACOB M. SCHLESINGER To see what President-elect Joe Biden thinks is wrong with the economy today and how he would try to fix it, look to his relationship with DuPont Co. For much of his life the company was the largest employer and philanthropist in his home state of Delaware, funding schools, libraries and theaters. At age 29, Mr. Biden staffed his first Senate bid with DuPont employees, who opened a campaign office on the highway built by and named for the chemical giant. While bashing other big companies for tax avoid-
Malls Attract Shoppers As Covid-19 Cases Rise Shoppers visited malls this past weekend saying they wanted to do holiday buying before potential shutdown reBy Sarah Nassauer, Elizabeth Findell and Nora Naughton strictions are implemented or to avoid Black Friday crowds, as the spreading coronavirus looms over the season. Tiffany Lambert and her 15year-old son hunted for an Xbox Series X, a new hard-tofind videogame console, inside the Best Buy Co. store at Crossgates Mall in Albany, N.Y., on Saturday. “We normally would come here and a few other places on Thanksgiving and Black Friday,” said Ms. Lambert, wearing a blue surgical mask and hoping to avoid bigger crowds this week. “Now we will do everything online.” It is shaping up to be a holiday season unlike any other,
with retailers, health officials and consumers trying to navigate the pandemic. Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. reported last week strong sales, and executives said shoppers have been busy buying gifts along with household essentials. This week, investors are scheduled to get updates from Best Buy and apparel shops such as Gap Inc. Many chains are closing on Thanksgiving and posting their Black Friday deals online. The National Retail Federation doesn’t expect the coronavirus pandemic to dent holiday sales. The trade group forecasts an increase of 3.6% to 5.2% from a year ago. Last year, U.S. holiday sales rose 4% to $729.1 billion. The figures, which exclude automobiles, gasoline and restaurants, are for November and December. Please turn to page A6 Heard on the Street: What consumers will stick to..... B10
ance, Mr. Biden singled out DuPont as a “conscientious corporation” for paying a higher rate. He celebrated his long-shot 1972 victory in the Gold Ballroom of the Hotel du Pont. More than four decades later Mr. Biden, by then Barack Obama’s vice president, watched with concern as DuPont, struggling to boost profits, was targeted by an activist shareholder, sold the hotel, eased out its chief executive, merged with another company, split into three pieces and cut its Delaware workforce by one-fourth. Please turn to page A12