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MARTES 23 DE FEBRERO DE 2021 | Año XLVI | Número 15.926 | EDICIÓN MADRID | Precio: 1,70 euros
Abengoa se declara en concurso al fracasar el rescate P40
ECONOMÍA
La autodeterminación de género en Europa es a los 18 años P27
‘LEY TRANS’
El PP inicia la negociación del Poder Judicial con el veto a dos progresistas Los populares rechazan de partida a los jueces Prada y Rosell CARLOS E. CUÉ, Madrid El Partido Popular anunció ayer públicamente que se está más cerca de alcanzar un acuerdo para
ERC defiende su diálogo con Sánchez frente a las exigencias de Junts FRANCESC VALLS, Barcelona ERC no está dispuesta a asumir que un acuerdo para gobernar con Junts per Catalunya hipoteque su capacidad de dialogar con el Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez. Esquerra rechaza las exigencias de la formación de Puigdemont de acordar una “estrategia compartida” en el Congreso de los Diputados, y quiere proteger su autonomía. Además, ERC trata de diluir el peso de Junts abriendo el nuevo Govern a la CUP y los comunes. PÁGINA 18
España estrechará la vigilancia de los ‘museos ocultos’
Un almacén de arte tan grande como el Louvre JOSEP MASSOT, Barcelona Un tercio de las obras de arte en manos de coleccionistas privados se guardan en puertos francos, almacenes de alta seguridad como el de Ginebra, que ocupa la misma superficie que el Louvre. España prepara una reforma legal para prevenir el blanqueo. PÁGINA 30
renovar el Consejo General del Poder Judicial porque el PSOE ha aceptado excluir a Unidas Podemos de las negociaciones. “El pirómano no puede elegir al bombero”, aseguró el secretario general del PP, Teodoro García Egea. Los socialistas negaron esta circunstancia, que el líder de la oposición pone como condición para desbloquear un órgano que lleva más de dos años con el mandato caducado y que tiene una mayoría de vocales conservadores. El PP ha planteado dos grandes vetos al PSOE para acordar el órgano de gobierno de los jueces, según señalan a EL PAÍS fuentes del partido conservador. Entre los nuevos vocales que proponga el PSOE no pueden estar ni el juez José Ricardo de Prada, al que los populares atribuyen la autoría intelectual de los párrafos más duros contra el PP en la condena de Gürtel, confirmada por el Supremo; ni la jueza María Victoria Rosell, exdiputada de Unidas Podemos y actual delegada del Gobierno contra la violencia de género. El PSOE aseguró ayer que no acepta vetos. PÁGINA 16
El general Alfonso Armada, llevado del brazo por el gobernador civil de Madrid, Mariano Nicolás García, a su salida del Congreso el 24 de febrero de 1981 tras el fracaso del golpe de Estado. / MARISA FLÓREZ
40º ANIVERSARIO DEL 23-F El sumario de la causa militar contra los golpistas permite reconstruir los preparativos y el desarrollo de la intentona
Milans: “Armada me dijo: ‘Esto se hace. No puedo parar a Tejero” NATALIA JUNQUERA, Madrid El sumario de la causa abierta por la justicia militar por la intentona golpista del 23 de febrero de 1981, hace hoy 40 años, arroja luz sobre el asalto al Congreso, las conversaciones de sus protagonistas aquel día y las reuniones que lo precedieron. Los casi 13.000 folios incluyen la afirma-
EDITORIAL
to de Su Majestad”, pero recibió tres llamadas de Juan Carlos I esa noche para que retirara las unidades desplegadas. El teniente coronel Antonio Tejero narró que impidió que Armada negociara con los diputados. Y contó que rechazó un avión para huir el extranjero alegando que se mareaba. PÁGINAS 20 Y 21
OPINIÓN
Celebrar que la democracia ganó
La igualdad de oportunidades necesita lectores Suscríbete a los hechos
ción del teniente general Jaime Milans del Bosch de que, cuando conoció que a Adolfo Suárez lo sustituiría Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, le pareció una “buena solución”, pero que el general Alfonso Armada le dijo: “No he podido parar a Tejero, esto se hace”. Milans sostuvo que creía que la operación se hacía “con conocimien-
P12
El gran secreto Javier Cercas
P13
España tiene escasa capacidad de detectar las variantes de covid ORIOL GÜELL, Barcelona España no alcanzará antes del verano el objetivo recomendado por la Comisión Europea de secuenciar genéticamente al menos
el 5% de casos positivos por coronavirus para detectar variantes más peligrosas del patógeno, como pueden ser las del Reino Unido, Brasil y Sudáfrica. PÁGINA 24
Boris Johnson anuncia una larga y lenta desescalada en el Reino Unido P 25 ÁGINA
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Snowbound Putin bolsters Lukashenko
Briefing ►Watchdog ñres Big Tech vvarning salvo Competition chief Andrea CoscelL has told tlie FT he plans a num ber of probes into internet giants. induding Google and Amaran, as tlie CMA looks to assert its independence after BrexiL- p a g e j
vladim ii Putin, the Russian president, and Alexander Lulcashenko, liis Belarusian counterpart, ride snowmobiles aftertalks inthe ski resortof Sochi. Both m en have attempted to ride out pro-de moer acy protests in their countries in recent nionths. Lulcashenko last week declarad victory over a "m utiny based on a blitzkr ieg", having put down nionths of protest at. fraud-riddled electio ns that extended his 26-year rule. Putin, meanwhile, faces International and domestic condem nation over the jailingof AlexeiNavaJny, the opposition leader who recovered from an attem pt on his life. The EU yesterday agreed sanctíons against K remlin oíflcials in protestat the Navalrijfaffair. News&analysls page 5
►Trump loses ruling on tax records The USSupreme Coiut has rejected Donald Trump’s efforts to block a prosecutorfrom obtaininghis tax records, in ablow for the fonner president as he grappleswitliseveralcriminalprobes.- pa g e a
►GardaWorld will not sweeten G4S bid GardaWorld will notraiseits ,£3.7bn bid forG4S, inam ove likely to end its hostiletakeover push and pave the way for it to be bought byaCaiifornia-based rival.—REPORT & LOMBARD. PAGE 12
►McKinsey votes on Sneader’s leadership
Sputrik/AJexei Dmzhmin/Krennlinvia Reurers
McKinsey’s 650toppartners havestarted voting on w hether Kevin Sneader should serveasecond term asheadofaconsultancytliathasfacedasuccession of crises smcehisappoiutmentin 2 018.- pag e 8
►Brazal hit by move to oust oil group chief
Johnson insists ‘end in sight’with summer target to end Covid curbs Boris Johnson set out a fonr-step road in a p to end allCovid-19 restrictions by la te-june, as chancelior Rishi Sunak prepared to extend em ergeney economic life-support m easures imtdl the sumiller. Johnson msisted that “the end really is in sight” bu t sunak’s Budget onMarch 3 will include measures to protect jobs and help businesses through weeks or even month s of further disrupt ion. Johnson resisted calis by some Tory MPs to reopen the economy fully by the end of April in favour of a "cautious” approacli. He hoped th at it would be a “one-way road to freedom” but denied that tlie plan was “buccaneering”. In a sign of thepressure weighing on
the prim e minister, th e govenunent's Scientific Advisory Group for Emerge ncies released m odelling studies by team s at Imperial College London and Warwick University with various scenarios for easmg restrictions. Even the more optimistic outeomes showed th a t more th an 32,000 people could die between now and the end of June because vaccines will not provide complete protection and not everyone will have the jabs. The UK death toll ifom Covid stands a t 121,000, which ineludes 106,000 in England. Although noneof the models followed the government’s road map exactly, one scenario from Imperial, which took a similar path, estim ated that a further 150,000 to 280,000 people would be hospitalised and 32,200 to 54,SOO peo
ple would die betweenFebruaryand the end ofJune. Thephased unlocking oí theeconomy starts with the reopeningofschools on M arch 8 and ends —if all goes well — with the lifting of the last social restric tions on June 21. Pubs and restaurants vrill reopen for outdoor Service from April 12 while indoor hospitality and entertainme nt venues, such as cine mas, will open from M ay 17. Non-essential International travel will be subject to review and will not be allo wed to restart beforetliatdate. Sunak will on March 3 atinounce in his Budget th a t he is extending his furlongh job-support scheme - set to conclude on April 30 - until June to help businesses affected by ongoing restrictions. Other measures induding a
Boris Johnson: ‘Tliere is no credible route to a zero Covid Britain or indeed a zero Covid w orld’
busiuess rates holiday are also expected tobe extended. AlthoughsomeConservativeswanted Johnson to move more quickly, his “caution”was welcomed by Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader. Johnson said th a t he wanted the path back to uonn ality to be “irreversible”. The road map contains four stages for ending social distancing curbs. Johnson said the plan would move England “cautiously but irreversibly towards reclaiming our freedoms”. He admitted infections would rise. “There is tlierefore no credible route to a zero Covid Britain or indeedazero Covid world."
Additíonalreportíng by Demiel tilomas, Ajina Grossand Alie?Hancock News&analvsispage3 FTVIew page 22
Ex Cosmo editor and ice hockey owner tap Spacs craze for $4.7bn Apex deal PHILIP STAFFORD — LONDON
Prospects rlsefor reviva! of nuclear accord with Irán Tehran's deal with the UN over Inspectlons of its nuclear sites has left the door ajar for a renewal of the accord abandoned by Donald Trump, former US president. Irán eased its stance over lis fhreaf to completely block snap checks. The compromiso even leaves room for face-to-face talks with Washington. Bul big obstacles remaín to any US return to the deal, with hardliners on all sldes and Iranian elections addlng further compllcafíorts.
Analysls.
page
t
A former editor of Cosmopolitan magazinc and the co-owner o fth e New York Islanders ice hockey franchise have teanied up to Launch an obscure securities cleariu g firm on th e New York Stock Exchauge, using a blank-cheque com panytosnap itu p ina$4.7bn deáf. Northern Star Investment Corp n, a special purpose acquisition com pany iaunched 11 days ago to target opportunities aroimd the consumption habits of M iliennials and “G eneration Z”, has agreed to merge w ith Apex Clearing, owned by private equity group Peak6 Investments, it said yesterday. The d eal for Apex - p a r t o f th e plumbing behind dígita 1-wealth busi nesses such as Goldman Sachs’ Marcus and broker WeBuIl —is the latest sign of the craze for Spacs, which rank among
the h o tte st in v e stm en ts in finalice. Instítutional funds had $82,4b n in the vehicles at tile end of the fourth quarter, compared with $22.7bn a year earlier, according to Spac Research. The move aiso taps into the demand for companies that facilítate the fastgrowing amateur investingindustiy. Apex has ridden the boom in oídme trading, as yoimginvestors have ílocked totedi-related options on stocks includingTesla, andpiled into “meme stocks”, such as consoles retailer GameStop. It has handled thousands of such trades every day, as well as fractional share trading and cryptocurrencies, Apex serves about 200 ñnandal institutions, coutrolling more than 13m custom er accounts, 3.2m of which have opened this year w ith m ore than lm beingcrypto accounts. Northern Star is ra n by Joanna Coles,
For the latest news go to www.ft.com © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2021 NO; 40,639 ★
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Jean-Sébastien Jacques, RioTinto’s ex-chief, received apayriselast year, despite tliede-smiction oftwo 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sites thatsparkedan outcry and forced liim to resigo,- pag e io¡l e x , p a c e 24
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a former magazine chief, and Jonat han Ledecky, who has co-owned the New York Islanders since 2014. The deal, which includes debt, will give Apex an enterprise valué of about $4.7bn. Apex is expected to hitthem arket in the next three to four months, subject to regulatory approval. “Apex is the independent, invisible architecture that has helped launch many of tlie most notable fintech disrupters of our time,” said Co les. Apex handled clearing for Robinhood Financial until the broker took on the responskbility for managiug its own customers’deais in 201S. Coles, who also edited Marie claire and worked for The Tim es and The Guardian newspapers in New York, will join the Apex board. She also sits on the board of Snapcliat's parent,Snap.
►¡Vlicrosoft aligns with EU’s news sector
►Ex-Rlo chief rewarded despite outcry
» Four steps out of lockdown* Budget to extend support * Fears of 30,000 more deaths SEBASTIAN PAYNE, GEORGE PARKER, JIM PICKARD AND CLIVE COOKSON
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil moved to replace the chiefofstate-run oilgroup Petiobras withan army chief, after a dispute over fue! pnces, sending equities and tire currency fafling.- pag e a
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VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,978
$3.00
NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021
© 2021 The New York Times Company
JUSTICES DENY BID BY TRUMP TO HIDE HIS TAX RECORDS One Piece of Puzzle Win for Prosecutors in Criminal Inquiry After 18 Months By MIKE McINTIRE
DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Remembering Victims of the Virus President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses on Monday honored 500,000 lives lost in the country. Page A7.
Legislators Go After Governors Garland Calls U.S. Terror a Peril In a Covid-Era Battle for Power And Capitol Inquiry a Priority By TRIP GABRIEL
Partisan warfare over pandemic lockdowns and mask-wearing is on the wane in Washington: A bitter presidential election has been decided, coronavirus cases are plummeting nationally, and vaccines are rolling out slowly but steadily. Yet in state capitols, the politicized fights are boiling over. State lawmakers across the country, most of them Republicans, are moving aggressively to strip the powers of governors, often Democrats, who have taken on extraordinary authority to limit the spread of the virus for nearly a year. In a kind of rear-guard action, legislatures in more than 30 states are trying to restrict the power of governors to act unilaterally under extended emergencies that have traditionally been declared
By KATIE BENNER and CHARLIE SAVAGE
in brief bursts after floods, tornadoes or similar disasters. Republicans are seeking to harness the widespread fatigue of many Americans toward closed schools, limits on gatherings and mask mandates as a political cudgel to wield against Democrats. Lawmakers frame the issue as one of checks and balances, arguing that governors gained too much authority over too many aspects of people’s lives. These legislators are demanding a say in how long an emergency can last, and insisting that they be consulted on far-reaching orders like closing schools and businesses. But governors respond that a pandemic cannot be fought by committee. They say that the same Republicans who politicized Continued on Page A15
WASHINGTON — Judge Merrick B. Garland, President Biden’s nominee for attorney general, said on Monday that the threat from domestic extremism was greater today than at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and he pledged that if confirmed he would make the federal investigation into the Capitol riot his first priority. Judge Garland, who led the Justice Department’s prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of his confirmation hearings that the early stages of the current inquiry into the “white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol” seemed to be aggressive and “perfectly appropriate.” He received a largely positive
reception from members of both parties on the panel, five years after Senate Republicans blocked his nomination to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Judge Garland, 68, who was confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1997, pledged to restore the independence of a Justice Department that had suffered deep politicization under the Trump administration. “I do not plan to be interfered with by anyone,” Judge Garland said. Should he be confirmed, he said, he would uphold the principle that “the attorney general represents the public interest.” Continued on Page A19
Texans Feeling ‘Cursed’ as Disaster and Hardship Pummel State By JACK HEALY
KILLEEN, Texas — After her pipes burst and flooded her house, after she spent one night on a church couch and another fleeing a four-alarm fire in the hotel where she and her husband sought refuge, Janet Culver, 88, finally made it home a week after Texas’ epic winter nightmare began. But oh, what she found. The sunken living room where Ms. Culver and her 91-year-old husband, Jim, had sequestered themselves from the coronavirus was now a frigid pond. The floorboards in the dining room were warped by water. Their tightknit Episcopal church, which has lost three members to the virus over the past awful year, had also flooded. “I’m at the end of my rope,” Ms. Culver said. Who wasn’t by now? Even with power back on across most of the state and warmer weather in the forecast for much of this week, millions of Texans whose health and finances were already battered by a year of Covid-19 now face a grinding recovery from a storm estimated to cost upward of $20 billion, the costliest in state history, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. Across the state, many basics
When New York prosecutors finally get to examine the federal tax returns of former President Donald J. Trump, they will discover a veritable how-to guide for getting rich while losing millions of dollars and paying little to no income taxes. Whether they find evidence of crimes, however, will also depend on other information not found in the actual returns. The New York Times last year provided more or less a preview of what awaits Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, when it obtained and analyzed decades of income tax data for Mr. Trump and his companies. The tax records provide an unprecedented and highly detailed look at the byzantine world of Mr. Trump’s finances, which for years he has simultaneously bragged about and sought to keep secret. The Times’s examination showed that the former president reported hundreds of millions of dollars in business losses, went years without paying federal income taxes and faces an Internal Revenue Service audit of a $72.9 million tax refund he claimed a decade ago. Among other things, the records revealed that Mr. Trump had paid just $750 in federal income taxes in his first year as president and no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years. They also showed he had written off $26 million in “consulting fees” as a business expense between 2010 and 2018, some of which appear to have been paid to his older daughter, Ivanka Trump, while she was a salaried employee of the Trump Organization. The legitimacy of the fees, which reduced Mr. Trump’s taxable income, has since become a subject of Mr. Vance’s investigation, as well as a separate civil inquiry by Letitia James, the New York attorney general. Ms. James and Mr. Vance are Democrats, and Mr. Trump has sought to portray the multiple inquiries as politically motivated, while denying any wrongdoing. Mr. Vance’s office has issued subpoenas and conducted interviews in recent months as it scrutinizes a variety of financial matters, including whether the Trump Organization misrepresented the value of assets when obtaining loans or paying property taxes, as well as the payment of $130,000 in Continued on Page A16
This article is by Adam Liptak, William K. Rashbaum, Ben Protess and Benjamin Weiser.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a last-ditch attempt by former President Donald J. Trump to shield his financial records, issuing a brief, unsigned order that ended Mr. Trump’s bitter 18month battle to stop prosecutors in Manhattan from poring over his tax returns as they investigate possible financial crimes. The court’s order was a decisive defeat for Mr. Trump, who had gone to extraordinary lengths to keep his tax returns and related documents secret, taking his case to the Supreme Court twice. There were no dissents noted. From the start, Mr. Trump’s battle to keep his returns under wraps had tested the scope and limits of presidential power. Last summer, the justices rejected Mr. Trump’s argument that state prosecutors cannot investigate a sitting president, ruling that no citizen was above “the common duty to produce evidence.” This time, the court denied Mr. Trump’s emergency request to block a subpoena for his records, effectively ending the case. The ruling is also a big victory for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat. He will now have access to eight years’ worth of Mr. Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns, as well as other financial records that Mr. Vance’s investigators view as vital to their inquiry into whether the former president and his company manipulated property values to obtain bank loans and tax benefits. “The work continues,” Mr. Vance said in a statement. In his own lengthy statement, Mr. Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court’s decision and the investigation. He characterized the inquiry as a politically motivated attack by New York Democrats, calling it “a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country.” He also falsely asserted, again, that he had won the 2020 election. “The Supreme Court never should have let this ‘fishing expedition’ happen, but they did,” Mr. Trump said. He added, “For more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction I’ve ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest Continued on Page A16
Pandemic Despair Fuels Rates Of Suicide for Japanese Women By MOTOKO RICH and HIKARI HIDA
TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
At the Killeen, Texas, home of Jim Culver, left, his children tried to remedy a soaked living room. remained scarce on Monday. Gas stations were without fuel, grocery store shelves were empty and long lines formed in the earlymorning darkness at food distribution sites. About 8.6 million people were still being told to boil
their drinking water, and about 120,000 others had no water at all as plumbers and water utilities battled an epidemic of leaky, broken pipes. For many lower-income families whose ceilings collapsed and
kitchens flooded after frozen pipes burst, the disaster did not melt with the snow. As a new week began, they were still doubled up with relatives. They were trying to figure Continued on Page A14
INTERNATIONAL A9-12
TOKYO — Not long after Japan ramped up its fight against the coronavirus last spring, Nazuna Hashimoto started having panic attacks. The gym in Osaka where she worked as a personal trainer suspended operations, and her friends were staying home at the recommendation of the government. Afraid to be alone, she would call her boyfriend of just a few months and ask him to come over. Even then, she was sometimes unable to stop crying. Her depression, which had been diagnosed earlier in the year, spiraled. “The world I was living in was already small,” she said. “But I felt it become smaller.” By July, Ms. Hashimoto could see no way out, and she tried to kill
HIROKO MASUIKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Nazuna Hashimoto survived a suicide attempt last summer. herself. Her boyfriend found her, called an ambulance and saved her life. She is speaking out publicly about her experience now because she wants to remove the stigma associated with talking
Continued on Page A10
BUSINESS B1-5
Italian Envoy Killed in Congo
Corporate Climate Promises
Gunmen attacked a World Food Program convoy headed to a school. The ambassador, an Italian Embassy official and a driver died in the siege. PAGE A9
What’s really behind big businesses’ commitments on global warming? Many have no targets for reducing emissions, and others have weak goals. PAGE B1
NATIONAL A13-20
TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-8
SPORTSTUESDAY B6-9
SCIENCE TIMES D1-8
ARTS C1-8
Glimpsing Touchdown on Mars
A Fast Path for Vaccines
Ali as a Graphic Novel
Healers for Hire
Moving Louvre’s Unseen Gems
NASA released video from the Perseverance spacecraft’s drop through the Martian atmosphere. PAGE A20
New guidance will speed development of drugs that protect against contagious variants of the coronavirus. PAGE A7
A mix of comic book art and rarely seen photographs depicts the legendary 1974 fight against George Foreman. PAGE B6
A conservation center in northern France is a haven for flood-threatened items from a museum basement. Above, a sculpture under wrap. PAGE C2
Drug Kingpin’s Wife Charged
Obstacles in New York
Baring Baseball’s Dirty Secrets
Medical school class sizes have expanded, but residency programs have not kept pace. That’s left young doctors “chronically unmatched.” PAGE D1
U.S. authorities say that Emma Coronel Aispuro played a role in running El Chapo’s criminal empire. PAGE A16
Logistical hurdles, fear and misinformation threaten to leave some immigrant communities behind. PAGE A8
A speech by the Mariners’ ex-president showed why players mistrust management, Tyler Kepner writes. PAGE B9
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23
Wayne A.I. Frederick
PAGE A23
U(D54G1D)y+"!}!$!$!=
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021 ~ VOL. CCLXXVII NO. 43
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U.S. deaths from Covid-19 passed the 500,000 mark 500,159 As of 6 p.m. EST Monday on Monday, nearly a year after a world-wide pandemic was declared. The high death toll comes after a fall surge that reached every corner of the country and strained healthcare systems as patients flooded hospitals. The U.S. reported 1,249 new Covid-19 deaths Sunday. A6
Business & Finance
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eWork co-founder and ex-CEO Neumann is in advanced talks to settle a highprofile legal fight with SoftBank by agreeing to a nearly $500 million cut in his payout from the shared-office-space company’s new owner. A1 U.S. air-safety regulators were considering whether to mandate increased inspections of certain Pratt & Whitney engines before one powering a United flight broke apart on Saturday. A1
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The Nasdaq slid 2.5% as rising bond yields and investor bets on a further economic rebound weighed on tech giants’ shares. The S&P 500 lost 0.8%, while the Dow rose 0.1%. B1 Small-company shares are outpacing their larger counterparts by the widest margin in more than 20 years. B1
Lucid Motors has struck a deal to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company. B1 Goodyear agreed to buy Cooper, a deal that seeks to combine the two biggest U.S.-based tire makers. B3 Dominion Voting Systems sued MyPillow CEO Lindell and his company, alleging defamation over the businessman’s election claims. A3 Spotify Technology unveiled plans to vastly expand its global presence. B4
World-Wide The U.K.’s rapid vaccine rollout contributed to a substantial drop in infections, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19, according to data that add to a growing body of evidence that the shots provide significant protection against the disease. A1 The number of confirmed U.S. deaths from Covid-19 surpassed 500,000, less than a year after a world-wide pandemic was declared. A6 The Supreme Court denied Trump’s last-ditch effort to keep New York prosecutors from seeing his tax returns and other financial records. A3 Biden’s pick of Tanden as OMB chief was in deeper peril after two swing Republican senators said they would vote against her. A4 The House Budget panel approved the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, setting up a vote in the full House later this week. A2 Garland told a Senate panel that a probe into the Capitol riot would be his first priority if he is confirmed as attorney general. A4 The wife of imprisoned drug lord “El Chapo” Guzmán was arrested in the U.S. for allegedly helping her husband run his drug empire. A7 The EU will impose fresh sanctions on Russian officials over Navalny’s jailing and move ahead with measures to challenge Beijing over its crackdown in Hong Kong. A16 Hundreds of thousands took to the streets across Myanmar after calls by activists for a general strike. A7 Opinion.............. A13-15 Personal Journal A9-10 Sports........................ A12 Technology............... B4 U.S. News............. A2-6 Weather................... A11 World News...... A7,16
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WeWork Founder, SoftBank Close In On Deal BY MAUREEN FARRELL AND ELIOT BROWN
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FROM TOP: BOB MILLER FOR WSJ, WILLIAM DESHAZER FOR WSJ, KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR WSJ
Australia’s Macquarie reaped a windfall from the jolt in energy markets spurred by the freeze in Texas. B1
EURO $1.2159
Neumann would agree to cut payout by nearly $500 million as new owner seeks listing
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Facebook said an agreement had been reached with the Australian government to restore news pages to the company’s platform. B1
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10-YR. TREAS. g 8/32 , yield 1.370%
Covid’s Bruising Toll: 51 Weeks, Half a Million Dead
What’s News
CONTENTS Arts in Review.... A11 Business News.. B3,5 Capital Journal...... A4 Crossword............... A11 Heard on Street.. B11 Markets................... B10
STOXX 600 413.06 g 0.4%
HHHH $4.00
WSJ.com
Feb. 22
Source: Johns Hopkins CSSE
INCALCULABLE LOSSES: In Alabaster, Ala., Annie KynardHackworth holds a photo with her late husband, Herman Hackworth; in Louisville, Ky., Lacy Taylor and her mother, Debbie Taylor, hold a photo of their grandmother and mother, Keiko Neutz; and in New Bedford, Mass., Joyce Babineau holds a photo of her late husband, Paul Babineau.
WeWork co-founder and former Chief Executive Adam Neumann is in advanced talks to settle a high-profile legal fight with SoftBank Group Corp. by agreeing to a nearly $500 million cut in his payout from the shared-office-space company’s new owner, a move that would help clear the way for WeWork’s second attempt at a public listing. According to terms being discussed, SoftBank would spend about $1.5 billion to buy the shares of early WeWork investors and employees, including nearly $500 million to purchase shares from Mr. Neumann—in both cases about half what it originally agreed to, according to people familiar with the talks. SoftBank took a majority stake in WeWork after its attempted IPO collapsed in 2019 when public investors balked at buying the unprofitable company’s shares and at Mr. Neumann’s conflicts of interest and erratic behavior. Mr. Neumann stepped down under pressure as CEO in the wake of the IPO debacle. The negotiations have been rocky at times and there is no guarantee they will produce an agreement, but if there is one, it could be completed in the coming days, the people said. Should there be a settlePlease turn to page A4
Consumers Open Wallets, U.K. Vaccine Data And Factories Can’t Keep Up Offer Upbeat Signs Snarled supply chains and a labor shortage thwart manufacturers BY BOB TITA AND AUSTEN HUFFORD U.S. manufacturers aced the shutdown of their factories and warehouses last spring in response to Covid-19. They’re botching the recovery. After carrying out an orderly retreat from assembly lines as the pandemic arrived in the U.S., many manufacturers pulled out the playbook they followed in past recessions, cutting costs and preserving cash. That left them unprepared for the sharp rebound in consumer demand that began just weeks later and never let up. Without restaurants to visit and trips to take, Americans bought out stocks of cars,
Covid Turns Cars Into Ski Lodges i
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Restrictions spark improvisation; parking lot cooking BY JOHN CLARKE Before the snow started to fly, Bevin Wallace was so excited to ski again she bought an Epic Pass, which gave her access to 34 mountain resorts. This year, because of the pandemic, she couldn’t just show up with her pass at a mountain and board a lift. Reservations are required. So Ms. Wallace, who lives in Denver, picked her days, went online and clicked on her favorite mountain, Vail Ski Resort. The Epic Pass system sent her to a “waiting room,” where a surprise awaited. There were 84,293 people ahead of her looking to make reservations. Please turn to page A8
appliances, furniture and power tools. Manufacturers have been trying to catch up ever since. Nearly a year since initial coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S., barbells, kitchen mixers, mattresses and webcams are still hard to find. A global shortage of semiconductors has forced many car makers to cut production in recent weeks. “Everyone was caught flat-footed,” said Jack Springer, chief executive officer of Malibu Boats Inc. The boating industry was preparing for a downturn but instead sales jumped, he said. Please turn to page A8 House panel approves virus-relief package..... A2
BY JASON DOUGLAS AND MAX COLCHESTER LONDON—The U.K.’s rapid vaccine rollout contributed to a substantial drop in infections, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19, according to data that add to a growing body of evidence that the shots provide significant protection against the disease. The new information from the U.K., published on Monday—the day the U.S. surpassed 500,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19—is preliminary and hasn’t been reviewed by other scientists, but provides reasons for optimism that vaccines of-
fer a route out of a pandemic that has claimed at least 2.5 million lives world-wide and sickened tens of millions. The data suggest vaccines are most successful in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, a top concern of health authorities. While vaccines also suppress new infections, the effect isn’t as pronounced. The information appears to vindicate the U.K.’s policy of stretching limited vaccine supPlease turn to page A6 FDA looks to quickly authorize booster shots...... A6 New York City to allow movie theaters to reopen................. A6
Jet-Engine Type Faced Scrutiny Before Scare U.S. air-safety regulators were considering whether to mandate increased inspections of certain Pratt & Whitney engines before one powering a United Airlines Holdings Inc. flight broke apart last weekend over a town near Denver, the Federal Aviation Administration said. By Andrew Tangel, Alison Sider and Doug Cameron The disclosure came as U.S. safety investigators said they found evidence of “damage consistent with metal fatigue” on one of the engine’s fan blades, causing it to be largely ripped off. That loose blade apparently then sheared off part of a second blade that was also fractured, said Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, in a press conference Monday. Mr. Sumwalt said investigators are looking into why an
outer covering known as a cowling detached, as well as why the damaged engine remained on fire even after the fuel had been shut off by the flight crew. Last weekend’s incident was the third in a string of failures involving the same engine and aircraft types in recent years. U.S. regulators had previously ordered stepped-up inspections of fan blades after an earlier engine failure on another United flight on a Boeing 777 in 2018. Then in December, an engine failed during a Japan Airlines Co. Ltd. flight to Tokyo, prompting the FAA’s fresh scrutiny. There were similarities between the incident in Japan and the one in Colorado. Japan’s Transport Safety Board said a fan blade that broke off from that engine showed signs of metal fatigue. Another blade Please turn to page A2 Heard on the Street: Boeing’s 777 problem is no MAX..... B11
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