Good morning, it's Wednesday, Oct. 21. Google had a no good, very bad day yesterday (but its stock price still went up). Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Google Antitrust Suit

The Justice Department yesterday unveiled a federal antitrust lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of anticompetitive practices that established dominance in online search and search advertising. Eleven states joined the suit, the biggest case against a US tech company in two decades. 

Officials say Google has used billions in revenue made from online searches to pay phone manufacturers and software companies to set Google as the default search engine on devices (see press release). The case also focuses on the company's practice of requiring phones using Google's Android operating system to preload Google Chrome, which often can't be deleted. Officials say the result is a self-reinforcing monopoly that has locked up 80% of the search query channels, and 84% of the company's $161B revenue in 2019 came from search and advertising.

The case has parallels to Microsoft's 2001 antitrust suit: As the maker of the popular Windows operating system, the company allegedly leaned on computer manufacturers to preload Internet Explorer. Both Google and Microsoft were hit with antitrust suits 22 years after their launch.

Voluntary Infections

A study in the United Kingdom will become the first to deliberately infect participants with the coronavirus, officials revealed yesterday, in an attempt to better understand the disease. During the trials, volunteers aged 18 to 30—at lower risk of serious complications (see fatality rate by age)—will be exposed to controlled doses of the virus in an effort to determine the smallest possible exposure likely to cause an infection. 

Separately, AstraZeneca's Phase 3 vaccine trial, paused after a participant experienced spinal inflammation, looks set to resume this week. 

Cases continue to rise in the US, mostly concentrated in the Midwest. The rolling seven-day average for daily new cases neared 59,000 (see data), a 40% rise since the beginning of the month and approaching the July peak. New daily deaths remain around 700 (see data), with the US total at 221,076 as of this morning. 

Nuclear Freeze

The US and Russia appear on the verge of extending the treaty governing each country's nuclear weapon stockpiles by at least a year, according to reports yesterday. The agreement would essentially freeze the existing deal known as the New START—or Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty—signed by then-President Obama and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The deal brought down the number of deployed (ready to be launched) nuclear warheads on each side to 1,550, offered bilateral inspections, and reduced the number of deployed ballistic missiles and bombers to 700. Operationally inactive stockpiles weren't capped.

While each country still oversees substantial arms, the pact is generally viewed as an example of bilateral strategic deterrence, with both sides acknowledging the destructive power of nuclear weapons. Continued agreement also holds symbolic power—the US and Russia account for 90% of the world's nuclear stockpile, with China, France, the UK, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea accounting for the remainder. 

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TV THAT MAKES YOU SMARTER?

There are few things better than the feeling of instant relief that surges through your body when you close your laptop for the day, recline on your couch, and power up the TV. It's time to relax. But we can't help but feel ourselves lose a couple of brain cells every time we watch something a little too mindless (looking at you, "Tiger King").

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 to take game one of the World Series; game two tonight (8pm ET, Fox) (More)

> Rush Limbaugh reveals his lung cancer has reached terminal stage 4 (More) | Actor Jeff Bridges announces lymphoma diagnosis (More)

> Spencer Davis, leader of '60s UK band Spencer Davis Group, dies at 81 (More) | The Outfield bassist and singer Tony Lewis dies at 62 (More)

Science & Technology

> NASA's OSIRIS-Rex descends to the surface of Bennu in the first US mission to return asteroid samples to Earth; success won't be known until next week (More)

> Security experts discover deepfake bots generating explicit photos of women from publicly available photos on request; estimate more than 100,000 such photos have been posted without consent (More) | New Facebook program directly translates 100 languages, without intermediate English translation (More)

> Scientists construct a basic computer chip component using magnons, or coherent waves of the magnetic properties of atoms, in place of electrons (More)

Business & Markets

Brought to you by The Ascent

> Julie Sweet (Accenture), Mary Barra (GM), Abigail Johnson (Fidelity) top Fortune’s annual list of Most Powerful Women in Business (More)

> Goldman Sachs to pay $2.8B fine and admit wrongdoing to end bribery probe into Malaysian government fund; Goldman will avoid any criminal charges (More)

> Snap shares surge more than 20% after beating expectations; daily active users increase 4% to 249 million (More) | Netflix shares fall in after-hours trading after reporting weakest growth in four years, delivering 2.2 million new subscribers globally versus 3.4 million expected (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> Full Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett formally set for Monday; Senate Judiciary Committee to hold final vote tomorrow (More)

> Ireland becomes first European country to reimpose national lockdown to blunt coronavirus spread; restrictions begin tonight and last six weeks (More)

> Reports say police in Nigerian city of Lagos fatally shot protestors during police brutality demonstrations; comes one day after nearly 2,000 inmates escape prison during protests (More) | Fiancée of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi sues Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his murder (More)

OUR FAVORITE KNIGHT

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ETCETERA

Atlanta police use a drone to assist in an arrest. (w/video)

The secret life of farmers who grow giant vegetable plants. 

Study finds socialization is key to seniors' brain health.

California gun sales surge.

Dramatic photos capture birds' mid-flight acrobatics.

A new tool in the fight against dingoes. 

Actual music television is back, brought to you by Apple. 

Take a virtual tour of a cheetah photography exhibit.

Clickbait: Finally, a positive political ad.

Historybook: USS Constitution first launched (1797); Actress Carrie Fisher born (1956); Guggenheim Museum opens to the public (1959); RIP poet and novelist Jack Kerouac (1969); HBD Kim Kardashian West (1980).

"You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow."

- Carrie Fisher

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