The 737 Max returns, China’s new clusters, wooden satellites

Plus: ‘Tis the season for sentencing Chinese dissidents. [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know Boeing’s 737 Max returned to the air. The [American Airlines flight from Miami to New York]( was the aircraft’s first since being grounded in 2019, after its second deadly crash. US Senate Republicans blocked $2,000 stimulus checks. Majority leader Mitch McConnell thwarted Democrats’ attempt to push through the increased direct relief payments, then [tied the issue]( with unrelated White House demands. Argentina legalized abortion. The historic decision makes it the largest Latin American country—and only the third country in South America—[to allow elective abortions](. The UK approved a second vaccine… The addition of easy-to-store [the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine]( comes [amid surging case numbers]( as a result of the new, more transmissible virus variant, which has now [made its way to the US](. …as its parliament votes on the post-Brexit EU trade deal. Prime minister Boris Johnson will urge lawmakers to [back the agreement]( in order to “open a new chapter” in the nation’s history. China is dealing with new Covid-19 clusters. [One year to the day]( since doctor [Li Wenliang]( warned people of mysterious SARS-type lung infections, authorities are scrambling to control [new hot spots]( ahead of the Lunar New Year in February. Meanwhile, Chinese state-owned Sinopharm says its Covid-19 vaccine is nearly 80% effective, but has [offered few other details](. Sponsor content by Evernorth Quality employee healthcare and company savings aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, quite the opposite. Investing in your team's well-being can improve both their lives and your company’s bottom line. [These six charts break it down](. What to watch for It’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, which means that in China, it’s time for the flurry of [annual sentences of dissidents](. On Monday, a court in Shanghai issued its first sentence of a [citizen journalist who reported from Wuhan]( in the early days of the pandemic. And another in Shenzhen today [handed down jail sentences]( of up to three years to 10 Hong Kong activists who tried to flee the city for Taiwan by boat in August, only to be intercepted by Chinese authorities and taken to the mainland to [face a closed trial](. It was the prospect of being prosecuted in China under a proposed extradition law that sparked last year’s protests in Hong Kong. But despite that public opposition, as Mary Hui writes, the national security law imposed on the city this year [managed to breach the firewall]( between the mainland’s opaque legal system and Hong Kong’s common law judiciary, now the last bastion of autonomy in a city where the executive and legislature are firmly with Beijing. The pressure on Hong Kong’s courts is mounting, with the first prosecutions under the new law set to unfold next year. Charting the cost of natural disasters According to an [analysis]( by the reinsurance giant Swiss Re, global economic losses from natural disasters amounted to $175 billion in 2020. Of that, $76 billion were insured, the [fifth-highest total since 1970](. [A chart showing the most expensive disasters of 2020 (insured losses only), including the Atlantic hurricane season, which cost $40 billion, China floods that cost $32 billion, and the US West Coast wildfires, which cost $20 billion.] While the geophysical impacts of climate change are widely distributed among rich and poor countries, the economic toll is felt most acutely in the latter, where disaster insurance is still a rarity. According to Munich Re, almost three-quarters of the $5.2 trillion in global natural disaster damages since 1980 were uninsured. Ticket to ride We’re in a new era of the haves and the have-nots: Those who’ve gotten a complete Covid-19 vaccine, and those who are still waiting. [Digital vaccine passports]( could make it easier to keep track of who’s got antibody protection—but would they work for everyone? Quartz’s Tim McDonnell and Katherine Ellen Foley break down common questions about potential vaccine passports: how they’ll work, who’s making them, and—perhaps most importantly—who they’ll exclude. ✦ No one is excluded from Quartz’s year-end membership sale. [Use code BYE2020 for 50% off](. Quartz announcement 2020 was a doozy. 4,600 stories, 750 emails, 7,040 tweets, 51 field guides, and 17 workshops—we experienced a lot together this year. We’d like to say thank you for choosing us to keep you informed throughout this important year by offering you [50% off Quartz membership with code BYE2020](. Membership is the absolute best way to support Quartz throughout 2021 and beyond. Surprising discoveries [A flightradar24.com handout photo received on December 27, 2020 shows the flight track for a D-ENIG plane that traced a syringe on the maps in Germany to celebrate the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine. The flight between Friedrichshafen and Ulm took place on December 23, 2020.] Flightradar24.com/via Reuters/File Photo A German pilot took a syringe-shaped flight. He [made the 200-km (125-mile) journey]( to celebrate the rollout of Europe’s Covid-19 vaccine campaign. Chinese millennials are slacking off at work as a subtle form of protest. [Tactics include]( getting up every 50 minutes to get a glass of water. Japan is hoping to leave no trace in space. Researchers are working on wooden satellites to [cut down on the debris]( orbiting Earth. Not the plot of the next Marvel movie (or is it?). Dark matter could come from [primordial black holes]( formed by collapsing “baby universes” in the early multiverse. We know it feels like Brexit negotiations dragged on for decades… but [references to 1990s technology]( like Netscape Communicator are probably just a bad copy-paste job. SHARE THE DAILY BRIEF ‘Tis the season for sharing. Share the Quartz Daily Brief with friends, family, and co-workers and you’ll give them the gift of a better inbox. Plus, you’ll earn yourself premium bounty like a tote bag, coffee cup, and even a year of Quartz membership. [Start spreading the Daily Brief cheer!]( Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, creative flight paths, and retro tech to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our iOS app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Mary Hui, Tripti Lahiri, Jordan Lebeau, and Liz Webber. [facebook]( [twitter]( [external-link]( Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. If you’re looking to unsubscribe, [click here](. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10010 | United States Copyright © 2020 Quartz, All rights reserved.