Good morning. It's Tuesday, Jan. 5, and Georgia hosts two of the most hotly anticipated runoff elections in recent memory today. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

All Eyes on Georgia

Georgia voters head to the polls today, casting ballots in a pair of runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate and have significant ramifications for incoming President Joe Biden's agenda. 

In the first race, incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R) faces challenger Jon Ossoff (D). Perdue tallied roughly 88,000 more votes than Ossoff in the Nov. 3 election, but his 49.7% vote share fell just short of the 50%-plus-one-vote threshold needed to avoid a runoff under state law. Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel won 2.3% of the vote in the first race; Perdue and Ossoff are the only candidates in the runoff. 

In the second race, incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) faces challenger Raphael Warnock (D). Loeffler, appointed in 2019 to replace the retiring Johnny Isakson, won 26% in the Nov. 3 election, compared to Warnock's 33%. However, among the 20-candidate field was former Rep. Doug Collins (R, GA-9), who accounted for almost 20% of the vote.

More than 3 million people, or 40% of the state's registered voters, have cast early ballots. Of the relatively few polls conducted, both Democrats show a small lead, though well within the margin of error. President-elect Joe Biden won the state by a 12,000-vote margin, but Republicans have only lost one statewide runoff in Georgia since 1988.

The pivotal elections come one day ahead of a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College votes, formalizing Biden as the next president. A number of GOP lawmakers have said they will object to certification (see process), though the outcome is unlikely to change—majorities in both chambers, including the Democrat-controlled House, would have to uphold the objection.

Assange Extradition Denied

A British judge denied the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US yesterday, citing mental health problems and a risk of suicide if transferred. The decision, for now, prevents the prosecution of Assange on 18 felony charges brought under the Espionage Act in May 2019. 

While Assange's WikiLeaks has a long history of publishing private, sometimes classified, information typically obtained via hacks by third parties, the allegations relate specifically to a 2010-11 document dump of classified intel painting a bleak picture of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The vast majority of the documents were provided by former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was allegedly assisted by Assange in hacking a military computer. While Manning was court-martialed in 2013, Assange claimed asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years before being forced out in 2019. 

The case has become a flashpoint for international press freedom groups, though the judge rejected Assange's claim that his actions were protected by the First Amendment. 

20% Enrichment 

Iran has resumed production of 20% enriched uranium at its underground Fordo complex, officials acknowledged yesterday. The news comes a day after the one-year anniversary that Qasem Soleimani, the country's highest-ranking military officer, was killed in a US-led drone strike.

Most commercial nuclear power reactors rely on natural uranium enriched with 3%-5% of the fissile uranium-235 isotope (see 101). Reactors with 20% enrichment are typically used for research, though the enriched material itself is the basis for weapons-grade uranium, which must be enriched to around 90%. Experts say the leap from low- to weapons-grade uranium can be reached fairly quickly, and estimates of Iran's breakout time—how quickly it can produce a nuclear weapon—are around one year.

See an overview of the Fordo complex here (w/video).

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Brought to you by Magic Spoon

> Entire 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament to be held in Indianapolis, eliminating typical regional sites due to COVID-19; women’s tournament previously announced to be held entirely in San Antonio (More) | Matchup between Boston University and Holy Cross tonight is first men's college basketball game where both teams will wear masks (More)

> Tanya Roberts, actress best known for role as a Bond girl in “A View to Kill,” still alive despite prior reports of her death (More) | Alexi Laiho, front man and guitarist for death metal band Children of Bodom, dies at 41 (More)

> New York Jets’ Adam Gase, Los Angeles Chargers’ Anthony Lynn among group of NFL head coaches fired yesterday (More)

Healthy, but make it delicious. Magic Spoon's tasty, fun, and shockingly nutritious cereals will take you right back to your childhood. Be healthy this year and enjoy it while you're at it. Try Magic Spoon in the next 48 hours, and take an exclusive $5 off your order. #Ad

Science & Technology

> India approves locally developed COVID-19 vaccine despite lack of published Phase 3 data (More) | How the Indian vaccine works (More)

> Detecting coral metabolites—chemicals involved in the metabolic process—can identify heat-stressed coral reefs earlier than waiting for visible bleaching (More) | What is coral bleaching? (More)

> New measurements confirm the estimated age of the universe at roughly 13.8 billion years; study rebuts data on galaxy expansion that called the standard cosmological model into question (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets slide (S&P 500 -1.5%, Dow -1.3%, Nasdaq -1.5%) on coronavirus fears to kick off year (More)

> More than 200 Alphabet (Google) employees announce the formation of a union, to set aside 1% of wages for union dues; company has more than 130,000 employees (More)

> Group of nearly 200 business leaders urges Congress to drop objection plans for Electoral College certification (More) | Haven—healthcare joint venture founded by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan—to disband after three years (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> The United Kingdom becomes the first country to administer the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine (More) | ... and announces a new national lockdown through mid-February to counter the spread of new coronavirus strain (More) | US reports 20.8 million total cases, with 353,621 deaths; see rolling averages (cases, deaths)

> Saudi Arabia to end travel, trade, and diplomatic embargo on Qatar after breakthrough in US-mediated talks; Saudi Arabia and three others cut ties with their Gulf neighbor in 2017, alleging it sponsored terrorism (More)

> Dominion Voting Systems to sue lawyer Sidney Powell, who has pushed conspiracy theories accusing the company of fraudulent election results (More) | Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio, arrested one day ahead of planned Washington, DC, rally for alleged vandalism that occurred during previous protest (More)

IN-DEPTH

Making the Grade

The Happiness Lab | Dr. Laurie Santos. (Podcast) Is a growing obsession with tracking and ranking personal achievements—from grades to fitness—coming at the expense of personal happiness? (Listen)

The Cruise Ship Suicides

Bloomberg Businessweek | Austin Carr. With a global pandemic bringing the cruise industry to a screeching halt, thousands of crew members have been isolated at sea, stuck in tiny cabins for months on end. One tragic result has been a startling number of suicides. (Read)

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ETCETERA

It's not just the pandemic—parents spend more time with their kids.

Mediterranean, flexitarian top the best diets for 2021.

Messaging platform Slack starts 2021 with a massive outage.

The biggest space missions of 2021. ($$, MIT Tech Review)

Drone captures once-in-a-lifetime photo of bobcats on a log.

Hawaii's spectacular beaches are disappearing.

The world's oldest woman turns 118 years old.

After 50 years, Indiana county welcomes back hippies. 

Clickbait: Why you should never eat another icicle.

Historybook: Actress Jane Wyman born (1917); Dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey born (1931); Construction of Golden Gate Bridge begins (1933); RIP scientist and inventor George Washington Carver (1943); Singer and congressman Sonny Bono dies in skiing accident (1998).

"The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off—it's with you all the time."

- Alvin Ailey

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