🎉 The Freakin’ Weekend

💉 EMA OK’s AstraZeneca Vaccine

More than a dozen European nations will resume use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after the European Medicines Agency (the EU’s version of the FDA) ruled it safe and effective on Thursday.

• The countries halted the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine amid reports of blood clots among 37 recipients. More than 17M people received the shot in the EU and Britain.

The EMA said it still could not rule out a definitive link between cases of blood clots and the vaccine, but the benefits “outweigh the possible risks.”

More: Though not yet approved in the U.S., the White House confirmed plans to send millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to Mexico (2.5M) and Canada (1.5M) out of the U.S.’ 7M “releasable” doses.

🦠🔬 COVID Science

• Officials in Palm Beach County, FL, reported the first known U.S. case of a baby born with COVID-19 antibodies. The mother received her first vaccine dose three weeks before giving birth.
• Sniffer dogs trained to detect COVID-19 in sweat had a nearly 95% accuracy rate in Thailand during training, the head of the six-month pilot project told Reuters.
• A peer-reviewed research study found most people who have had COVID-19 are protected from catching it again for at least six months, though elderly patients are more prone to reinfection. (Full study.)

🗄️ Cabinet Confirmation

The Senate confirmed California AG Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services by a 50-49 vote yesterday, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joining all present Democrats in voting to confirm.

• Becerra, who served 12 terms in Congress before transitioning to his role as California’s AG, is the first Latino to lead HHS.

More: Twenty of Biden’s 23 Cabinet-level appointees requiring Senate approval have been confirmed thus far. (The full breakdown.)

⏰ Catch Up Quick:

🏛️ The House passed two bills that would establish a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers. They face an uncertain future in the Senate. (From the Left | From the Right)

📹 The FBI released new footage of the January 6 attack at the Capitol, asking the public for help identifying rioters who assailed law enforcement officers. (From the Left | From the Right)

🇪🇸 Lawmakers in Spain voted in favor of allowing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia for patients with incurable diseases and/or unbearable conditions. Spain becomes the sixth country in the world - and the fourth in Europe - to do so. (From the Left | From the Right)

☝️ 1 Last Thing... 

More than 150 people in Taiwan have changed their names to "salmon" to take advantage of a restaurant promotion.

• The two-day promotion offered any customer whose ID card contained “gui yu” - the Chinese characters for salmon - an all-you-can eat meal along with five friends.

📝 Jobs Report Card

The number of initial U.S. unemployment claims rose last week to 770k, according to data from the Department of Labor, an increase from 725k during the previous period.

• The number is well above the 700k weekly total estimated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

More: The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell last week to 746k from 762k.

🏈 Through the Uprights

The NFL finalized a new 11-year media rights deal that could be worth more than $100B.

• The league renewed TV rights with all of its existing partners, and agreed to make Amazon Prime Video an exclusive partner for Thursday Night Football.

The new deal features two Super Bowls returning to ABC (in 2026 and 2030).

🏀 Sports Sports Sports… the NCAA First Four took place yesterday (full recap). The First Round - back-to-back days featuring 16 games apiece - starts today at noon ET.

💰🎤👟 Gold Digger

A Bloomberg report ($) published yesterday found Kanye West’s Yeezy sneaker and apparel business is valued at $3.2B to $4.7B by UBS Group AG, giving the rapper-turned-entrepreneur an estimated net worth as high as $6.6B.

• That number would land West close to Robert F. Smith, the private-equity investor who is the richest Black person in America, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (with a net worth north of $7B).

More: Per Forbes, West first became a billionaire last April, reaching a net worth of $1.3B.

⏰ Catch-Up Quick:

🏢 Google will spend $7B this year to expand its physical offices and data centers in the U.S. (though the figure is lower than last year's $10B).

• The expansion is projected to create at least 10k new full-time jobs in the U.S. – and when complete, the tech giant will have offices in 19 states.

☝️ 1 Last Thing…

Image: Facebook

Facebook unveiled a wrist device designed to pair with its AR glasses yesterday.

• The wrist device reads neurological signals sent from a users’ brain to their hands to replicate the action in a virtual or augmented reality environment.

🦍💰Furry Friends Friday: GameStop & Gorillas

The r/WallStreetBets Reddit Community made headlines earlier this year when its members caused a frenzy in the stock market, pouring money into GameStop and increasing the stock price by over 300%.

• Some group members made thousands from the GameStop win, and now they’re putting their money to good use.

Since Saturday, the community has donated more than $380K to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

Image: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

After jokingly calling each other “apes” within the online community - a nod to “apes together strong” from Planet of the Apes - r/WallStreetBets members chose to adopt over 3,500 gorillas as a nod to their simian lingo.

• The Gorilla Fund said the influx of funds would be put to good use, with plans to spend it on field programs that track, monitor, and study the gorillas in the wild.

“It’s safe to say that the #investor community on @reddit is not traditionally who we think of as our supporter base,” the Fossey Fund tweeted Monday. “But they definitely surprised and overwhelmed us over the weekend.”

Image: Twitter

To make your own donation to The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, visit their website.