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Good morning.
It’s Friday, so some feedback, in which I’ve been deluged this turbulent week. One respondent simply said “go to hell,” another accused me of being a child trafficker, a third sent a selfie of his middle finger.
I’ll share a few of the more articulate ones. Several CEO Daily readers remain convinced that the November election was distorted by fraud.
“The evidence is all over the place if you want to look for it…voting laws being change by officials when that is the purview of only state legislatures…reversal of hundreds of thousands of votes in the wee hours of the morning…hundreds of sworn affidavits of from people who witnessed many violations and ballot stuffing.”
—RN
“It is a shame when you won’t recognize voter fraud when the evidence has been clearly presented. Nothing to see here folks, move along. Pathetic.”
—RT
TD suggested that the view the election was riddled with fraud has become so widely shared that it needs to be dealt with. His suggestion:
“What if Biden created a huge commission, headed by the most conservative figures imaginable, to thoroughly evaluate this?”
Perhaps that would help. But if people haven’t been convinced by Trump’s Attorney General, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, the election officials of all fifty states and the judges in more than 60 courts, why would they be convinced by a commission?
A couple of respondents also questioned why the attack on the Capitol created such media outrage, when the violence that accompanied this summer’s racial protests did not.
“After spending months glossing over, downplaying, and denying significantly more violent, more destructive, and more widespread violence, all of a sudden, we’re supposed to be upset when extremists on the right take a page out of the same playbook?”
—WC
Then there was this comment on my note that many business leaders were hoping for divided government, to temper the proclivities of the Democrats’ progressive wing.
“Some of your readers like me are Democrats who are relieved that the Senate is in the hands of the Democrats. I’m so tired of the ‘progressive’ fear mongering. Joe Biden is a moderate.
—LW
And finally this, in response to my rhetorical question about how democracy can survive in a world where facts are up for grabs:
“It survives by leaders starting to tell the truth about issues and events. It starts by leaders realizing they have been elected to serve the people and the nation not themselves. It starts by holding those responsible for this s–t show accountable. It starts by people like you that have a platform and the respect of many many folks compelling leaders forward away from their self serving attitudes and behavior.”
—LF
I’ll end with that. Glad the week is almost over. More news below. And be sure to read David Z. Morris’ instructive analysis of what happened Wednesday here.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Boeing fine
Boeing will pay $2.5 billion to settle criminal charges that it fraudulently concealed information about the 737 Max, two of which crashed, killing hundreds. Investigations of the disasters showed that Boeing altered a flight control system, but did not fully explain the changes to official inspectors. Fortune
Cop death
Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick has died of injuries sustained in Wednesday's insurrection. The Justice Department has now reportedly opened a federal murder case. Sicknick's passing yesterday brought the attempted coup's death toll to five: rioter Ashli Bobbitt was shot, and three others died of unspecified causes. Fortune
Cabinet resignations
Trump cabinet members Elaine Chao (transportation) and Betsy DeVos (education) have quit, less than two weeks before their replacement by Biden picks, over President Trump's role in Wednesday's revolt. So have Northern Ireland Special Envoy Mick Mulvaney, acting Council of Economic Advisers Chair Tyler Goodspeed, and Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger. Trump himself has now condemned the "heinous attack" in a scripted video, but Democrats are seeking his early ouster. Facebook has suspended his account indefinitely, and certainly until Biden's inauguration is over. Wall Street Journal
Hawley cancelled
Senator Josh Hawley's imminent book on the "tyranny of Big Tech" has been dumped by publisher Simon & Schuster, due to his role in trying to overturn the results of the presidential election. The company said: "As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: At the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat." New York Times
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Brexit chaos
The new U.K.-EU trade deal may have avoided the imposition of post-Brexit tariffs, but it's already leading to chaos at British borders. Logistics giant DPD has had to freeze shipments from the U.K. to Europe, because a fifth of them didn't have the correct paperwork. It hopes to resume them on Wednesday. TheJournal.ie
Apple car?
Hyundai's share price jumped 19% this morning. That's because the Korean car giant said it was in early talks with Apple about collaborating on an electric car. Local media said the tie-up was Apple's idea, though Hyundai stressed that Apple is "in discussion with a variety of global automakers." But then Hyundai walked back its statement. It now says multiple unnamed companies have approached it for collaboration. And, at the time of publication, its share price hasn't fallen. Bloomberg
Chinese vaccine
Brazilian authorities have cleared Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine for emergency use on the basis that it is 78% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections. However, neither they nor the Chinese's vaccine-maker have published the data to back up this efficacy claim. Chinese authorities have also approved CoronaVac for emergency use, but that was six months ago and they still haven't cleared it for distribution to the general public. Fortune
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Research shows that Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine is likely to provide protection against the new, more-transmissible COVID-19 variants from the U.K. and South Africa that are freaking everyone out. The research specifically looked at responses to these mutant viruses from those who have been vaccinated with the companies' mRNA jab. Moderna, which uses similar technology in its vaccine, is also confident of its continued efficacy in the face of the mutants. Fortune
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.
