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Business

Market Rally Steps Up With ASML, Chip Stocks In Buy Zones; Tesla, Nio, Roku Story Time Over| Investor’s Business Daily

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Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. The bifurcated stock market rally had a wild week, but finished on a strong note.




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It remains a challenging environment, with enough positive action to entice investors but volatile enough to toss them out. However, with the broader stock market rally strengthening late last week, with several quality names breaking out or flashing bullish signals from a variety of sectors.

The chip-equipment group is one of the hottest right now, with ASML (ASML), Lam Research (LRCX), Entegris (ENTG), KLA Corp. (KLAC) and MKS Instruments (MKSI) are actionable right now. The already-strong group got a big boost last week when Intel (INTC) announced it would spend $20 billion on two new chip plants in Arizona. Intel stock spiked to a 20-year high, plunged its 10-week line before rebounding for a modest gain.

The biggest unknown is the stock market rally. If it continues to move higher, then ASML stock and other chip-gear plays stand a good chance of working. But if the stock market resumes choppy action or steady selling, expect more difficult times. This is why it’s so important to be in a healthy, sustained market rally. Stocks looked better late in the week, but is this yet another head fake. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq continues to live below key levels.

One area of the market remains on intensive care: speculative or richly valued growth stocks.

That includes EV stocks such as Tesla (TSLA), Nio (NIO), Xpeng (XPEV) and Li Auto (LI). But it also includes Teladoc Health (TDOC), Roku (ROKU), Baidu (BIDU), Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and many more. From Tesla stock on down, these stocks are well below their 50-day lines. Roku, Baidu and Palantir stock are trading at 2021 lows.

ASML stock and Entegris are on the IBD 50. LRCX stock and KLAC are on the Big Cap 20.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures will open at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live.

Coronavirus News

Coronavirus cases worldwide reached 126.70 million. Covid-19 deaths topped 2.77 million.

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have hit 30.85 million, with deaths above 561,000.

Stock Market Rally Last Week

U.S. Stock Market Today Overview
Index Symbol Price Gain/Loss % Change
Dow Jones (0DJIA) 32818.79 +199.31 +0.61
S&P 500 (0S&P5) 3937.51 +27.99 +0.72
Nasdaq (0NDQC ) 12960.98 -16.70 -0.13
Russell 2000 (IWM) 217.69 +1.03 +0.48
IBD 50 (FFTY) 43.10 +0.05 +0.12
Last Update: 3:06 PM ET 3/26/2021

The stock market rally retreated for much of the week but found its footing during Thursday’s session. A final-hour frenzy on Friday put a positive spin on the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% in last week’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 1.6%. Essentially all of the gains game on Friday. The Nasdaq composite edged down 0.6% after falling sharply to Thursday’s low. The Russell 2000 sank 2.8%, but did manage to end just above its 50-day line.

Among the best ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) tumbled 6.4% last week, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) retreated 4.9%, even with end-of-week gains.  The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) edged up 0.5% thanks to Friday’s 2.1% gain. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rallied 3.4%, thanks to Friday’s 5% surge. Intel stock, KLA, ASML and LRCX are all notable SMH holdings

SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) ticked up 0.15% but recovered from steep losses, capped with a 6.35% Friday surge.

Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) both tumbled 6.9% last week, with fractional losses Friday. Tesla stock is the top holding across  ARK Invest’s ETFs. Teladoc, Baidu and Roku stock also are major holdings by ARK, which also owns PLTR stock and Zoom.

Chip Gear Stocks In Buy Zones

ASML stock surged 7.1% on Friday to 625.67, capping a 14% weekly gain. That’s in range from a 608.81 buy point from a consolidation that was one day short of a cup base. However, ASML is 10.7% above its 10-week line, so by some measures it’s extended. But after Monday’s open, with the start of the new week, the 10-week line will be somewhat higher. So ASML stock will be in buy range, though investors might wait to see if shares pull back some. The relative strength line is at a new high.

LRCX stock leapt 6.6% on Friday to 584.23 rebounding bullishly from its 50-day and 10-week lines. Lam Research stock is actionable now, with 603.70 as the official buy point.

Entegris stock leapt just over 6% to 110.03. That broke a trend line and cleared a 108.92 handle entry. ENTG stock has another entry at 110.47 in what could be seen as a double-bottom base. The official buy point is 114.10.

KLAC stock rose 6.9% on Friday and 9.2% for the week to 319.94, rebounding bullishly from the 50-day line like LRCX stock. The official entry for KLA stock is 342.31.

MKSI stock rallied 7% to 183.11, back above a 117.46 double-bottom buy point, according to MarketSmith analysis.  But it also has a messy handle with a higher entry at 184.79. MKSI stock is just below that, though it finished Friday above the closing high of the handle. The RS line is at short-term highs.

7 IPOs Expecting Up To 488% Growth In 2021

Story Time Over For Tesla Stock, Roku

Tesla stock sank 5.5% to 618.70 last week, the sixth decline in seven weeks. Tesla stock at least tried to get back above its 21-day line last week, which is more than be said for most of these story stocks.

Nio stock plunged nearly 17%, closing in on its 200-day line. Xpeng stock tumbled 14% and Li Auto 9.8%.

Tesla is likely to report first-quarter global deliveries late next week. Nio is likely to release March figures late next week, but warned Friday that it would suspend output next week and trimmed its Q1 deliveries target.

Roku stock plunged 12%, Teladoc 7.4% and Baidu 19%, all hitting 2021 lows. PLTR stock slid 7.15%, testing recent lows.

All of these were big 2020 winners. The “story” is still there. That can be helpful when a stock is running higher, but don’t let a story override technical signals. From Baidu stock to Tesla, all of these names are seriously damaged. Many of these stocks may bounce back, but could take a significant amount of time. Some former winners never come back.

Wait for these stocks to reclaim their 21-day and 50-day lines before taking them seriously.

IBD Stock Of The Day: This Mining And Metals Play Is In Buy Range

Market Rally Analysis

The stock market rally showed positive overall action, thanks to some late heroics, but it was still a mixed bag.

The Dow Jones tested its 21-day exponential average on Thursday. The S&P 500 closed below the 21-day on Wednesday and briefly undercut the 50-day line the following session. But by the end of the week, the Dow and S&P set record closes, just below the all-time highs.

Friday’s strong Dow and S&P 500 price moves on higher volume than Thursday were strong enough to be follow-through days. But because the market entered Friday as “uptrend under pressure” vs. an outright correction, it’s not a FTD. Still, given the shaky market, big gains on higher volume are very welcome.

The Russell 2000 plunged below its 21-day and 50-day line last week and came close to its March lows before rebounding. The small-cap index closed just above the 50-day line, but still with sizeable weekly losses.

The Nasdaq, despite its big intraday swings, ultimately had the least-consequential week of the four key indexes. It started the last week reclaiming its 21-day but soon hit resistance at its 50-day line and sold off. After rebounding from Thursday’s intraday lows, the Nasdaq ended with a modest loss. The Nasdaq’s strong Friday gain came on lighter volume as well.

Ultimately, the tech-heavy composite remains below its 21-day and 50-day moving averages. As long as that’s the case, there’s going to be a question mark about the entire stock market rally.

As volatile as the broad indexes were, individual stocks and sectors often were even choppier. Even when the overall trend is sideways, the big intraday and weekly moves make it hard to make much headway.

There’s just enough good action to lure investors in. And more than enough to shake them out. That’s the hallmark of a choppy market.

If the market can have more strong moves, or simply slowly advance in taming action, then today’s buyable stocks are likely to prosper. But that’s the big wild card.

What To Do Now

This is a stock market rally, with Friday’s action encouraging. There are a number of quality names in buy zones or setting up. So investors can be invested. But until there’s more proof that this market is on a steadier path, keep your individual positions small and your overall exposure light.

Have an exit strategy for your positions. That’s especially important in choppy markets, when there is a strong possibility that a stock will pullback significantly after breaking out or flashing a buy signal.

Build a broad watchlist. Look for stocks with strong fundamentals or at least rebounding earnings that are moving toward or above pre-pandemic levels. Make sure to have a diverse watchlist. Check . Yes, chip gear and housing-related retailers are looking strong, but stock market rally leadership is in flux. So don’t get locked into one or two groups.

Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

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Health

Is walking 10,000 steps every day really necessary?

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Most of us know by now that 10,000 steps is recommended everywhere as a target to achieve — and yet where did this number actually come from?

The 10,000 steps a day target seems to have come about from a trade name pedometer sold in 1965 by Yamasa Clock in Japan. The device was called “Manpo-kei”, which translates to “10,000 steps meter”. This was a marketing tool for the device and has seemed to have stuck across the world as the daily step target. It’s even included in daily activity targets by popular smartwatches, such as Fitbit.
Research has since investigated the 10,000 steps a day target. The fact that some studies have shown this step target improves heart health, mental health, and even lowers diabetes risk, may, to some extent, explain why we have stuck with this arbitrary number.
In ancient Rome, distances were actually measured by counting steps. In fact, the word “mile” was derived from the Latin phrase mila passum, which means 1,000 paces — about 2,000 steps. It’s suggested the average person walks about 100 steps per minute — which would mean it would take a little under 30 minutes for the average person to walk a mile. So in order for someone to reach the 10,000 step goal, they would need to walk between four and five miles a day (around two hours of activity).
READ MORE: Why you should add classical music to your exercise playlist
But while some research has shown health benefits at 10,000 steps, recent research from Harvard Medical School has shown that, on average, approximately 4,400 steps a day is enough to significantly lower the risk of death in women. This was when compared to only walking around 2,700 steps daily. The more steps people walked, the lower their risk of dying was, before leveling off at around 7,500 steps a day. No additional benefits were seen with more steps. Although it’s uncertain whether similar results would be seen in men, it’s one example of how moving a little bit more daily can improve health and lower risk of death.
While the World Health Organization recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week (or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity), research also shows that even low-intensity exercise can improve your health — though moderate-intensity exercise improves it to a greater extent. This means your steps throughout the day can contribute to your 150 minutes of target activity.
Activity can also help mitigate the harms of sitting down for long periods of time. Research has shown that people who sat for eight or more hours every day had a 59% increased risk of death compared to those sitting less than four hours per day. However, they also found that if people did 60-75 minutes per day of moderate intensity physical activity, this seemed to eliminate this increased risk of death. Therefore, potentially undertaking brisk walking could help mitigate the negative effects of sitting for too long.
READ MORE: 3 ways to move more while working from home
Recent research at the University of Texas has also demonstrated that if you’re walking fewer than 5,000 steps a day, your body is less able to metabolize fat the following day. A buildup of fat in the body can also increase a person’s likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This is further supported by previous research which shows people who walked less than 4,000 steps a day could not reverse this decreased fat metabolism.
Increasing physical activity such as your step count reduces your risk of death by improving your health, including by reducing risk of developing chronic illnesses such as dementia, and certain cancers. In some cases it helps improve health conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Exercise can also help us improve and maintain our immune system. However, based on the current research out there, it appears that getting 10,000 steps a day isn’t essential for health benefits — half that target appears to be beneficial.
READ MORE: If sitting at a desk all day is bad, could I lie down to work instead?

If you want to increase how many steps you get daily, or simply want to move more, one easy way to do that is to increase your current step count by about 2,000 steps a day. Other easy ways to move more daily include walking to work if possible, or taking part of an online exercise program if you’re working from home. Meeting with friends for a walk — rather than in a cafe or pub — can also be useful. And given that even small amounts of physical activity positively impact your health, taking regular breaks to move around if you’re working at a desk all day will help to easily get more physical activity.

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Sports

Sac Republic FC president steps down after investor pulls out of expansion deal

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Ben Gumpert, the president of Sacramento Republic FC, announced Monday that he is stepping down. The announcement comes after Mayor Darrell Steinberg said Friday that the city’s lead investor for the Major League Soccer expansion has pulled away from his commitment. MLS in a statement said the investor is citing COVID-19 as a reason for withdrawing.”After over four years of life-changing learnings, challenges, tears, laughs, smiles, setbacks, celebrations, and foundational friendships, today I announce that I will be stepping down from my role as President & COO of Sacramento Republic FC,” a statement from Gumpert reads in part. “I do so with a heavy heart, but also one full of immense pride for all that we have accomplished together. I do so knowing that no matter where I go or what new opportunities lie ahead, I will always be a part of Republic FC,” his statement continues. Gumpert said he has agreed to stay on as an adviser and that he is “still confident that a first-class investor will emerge who recognizes the potential of this club and city, and that MLS remains in Sacramento’s future.”Steinberg told KCRA 3 on Monday that Gumpert was a great partner for the city and “our work is now done.” “He has tremendous respect throughout the country, throughout the league and in our community for taking this fledgling, inspired effort and building it,” Steinberg said. “And of course our work is not done. And Ben’s work is not done. I’m not giving away anything here, but all I can say is I’m gonna do all I can to keep Ben Gumpert in this community and engaged — and fully engaged — in our continuing effort to bring Major League Soccer to Sacramento. We are far from done here.”| Video Below| City officials, leaders remain hopeful after main investor pulls from Sacramento MLS expansion

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Ben Gumpert, the president of Sacramento Republic FC, announced Monday that he is stepping down.

The announcement comes after Mayor Darrell Steinberg said Friday that the city’s lead investor for the Major League Soccer expansion has pulled away from his commitment. MLS in a statement said the investor is citing COVID-19 as a reason for withdrawing.

“After over four years of life-changing learnings, challenges, tears, laughs, smiles, setbacks, celebrations, and foundational friendships, today I announce that I will be stepping down from my role as President & COO of Sacramento Republic FC,” a statement from Gumpert reads in part.

“I do so with a heavy heart, but also one full of immense pride for all that we have accomplished together. I do so knowing that no matter where I go or what new opportunities lie ahead, I will always be a part of Republic FC,” his statement continues.

Gumpert said he has agreed to stay on as an adviser and that he is “still confident that a first-class investor will emerge who recognizes the potential of this club and city, and that MLS remains in Sacramento’s future.”

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Steinberg told KCRA 3 on Monday that Gumpert was a great partner for the city and “our work is now done.”

“He has tremendous respect throughout the country, throughout the league and in our community for taking this fledgling, inspired effort and building it,” Steinberg said. “And of course our work is not done. And Ben’s work is not done. I’m not giving away anything here, but all I can say is I’m gonna do all I can to keep Ben Gumpert in this community and engaged — and fully engaged — in our continuing effort to bring Major League Soccer to Sacramento. We are far from done here.”

| Video Below| City officials, leaders remain hopeful after main investor pulls from Sacramento MLS expansion

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Health

Guineans sceptical as gov’t steps up fight against Ebola | Coronavirus pandemic News

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Gouecke, Guinea – Guinean authorities are in a race against time to limit the spread of an Ebola outbreak after several infections of the deadly disease were detected in the country’s far southern region last week.

The West African country declared an Ebola epidemic on February 14, two weeks after the sick attended the funeral of a nurse in the city of Gouecke and later showed symptoms of the disease including a fever, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Among the confirmed and suspected cases – the nurse, five of her family members and a traditional healer she had consulted – five have died and two are currently being treated in isolation.

Despite a ban on gatherings of more than five people, including weddings and weekly markets, people in Gouecke appeared sceptical of government directives and the resurgence of a disease, which killed some 2,500 Guineans during an earlier epidemic that ripped through West Africa between 2014 and 2016.

“We are not afraid and we are not worried,” said Paul Lamah, who was among the residents who defied the ban and turned out at Gouecke’s weekly market on Saturday.

“We know that God is with us. If authorities want to lie to get their partners’ money [aid organisations], they shouldn’t say that. But as far as we’re concerned, there is no Ebola.”

Echoing his sentiments, Fatoumata Diabate, a red oil seller from N’Zerekore, said containment measures announced by the government posed a threat to people already struggling to survive.

“Our husbands finished their studies but have not found any jobs. We are responsible for our families, which is why we came to sell our produce, to find something to eat,” Diabate said at the market.

“We have to stop tiring ourselves with this Ebola outbreak story. Besides, we do not believe in this disease. These are just rumours because we have never seen a patient or a person who died of this disease.”

Community engagement ‘vital’

Against this background, Guinean authorities in partnership with international experts are trying to establish the full scale of the outbreak.

The efforts include tracking down people who potentially came in contact with Ebola patients in order to monitor their health and stop the chain of transmission. Security forces have also set up checkpoints to take temperatures and isolate those who appear ill.

Neighbouring countries are also on high alert to avoid a repeat of the previous outbreak that killed more than 11,300 people across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Authorities in Sierra Leone deployed workers to entry points across its border with Guinea to assist border patrols and health workers while Liberia raised its threat level and “increased surveillance and preventive activities”.

A resurgence of Ebola could cripple the already strained healthcare systems of the countries in the region at a time when they are also battling the coronavirus pandemic.

Health experts stress that passing good and clear health education information is key at the start of an Ebola response, but in Gouecke some residents argued that the apparent confusing messaging has played a role in people’s reluctance to heed the authorities’ directives.

“Why do they want to stop the market when kids are still in school, three or four sitting on the same bench all week long,” said Foromo, a resident of Gouecke.

An official at the prefecture speaking on the condition of anonymity told Al Jazeera that authorities weighed sending in security forces to enforce the ban, but in the end, they decided against the move.

The source said a major factor in the decision was the fear of an escalation in tensions and potential clashes between security forces and marketgoers, something that had happened in 2014.

This was corroborated by a commander in the gendarmerie who said security forces did not receive any order to enforce the ban.

“Community engagement is particularly vital,” said Anja Wolz, the Ebola Emergency Coordinator overseeing the response of Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). “You need to invest time and energy in talking – and listening – to the communities in affected areas. You need to adapt the response according to what they say, and you need them to adapt to the risks of Ebola. It has to be a two-way conversation.”

Listening to and engaging with locals is also key in the success of rolling out a successful vaccination drive to help combat the epidemic of the haemorrhagic fever, experts say, citing the current existence of Ebola vaccines as one of the main differences from the last outbreak.

The expected arrival in the country of some 11,000 doses of the vaccine developed by Merck was delayed due to bad weather on Sunday, with vaccinations now set to begin on Tuesday, instead of Monday.

But even then, authorities fear the local population might not sign up for the inoculation programme.

“People don’t want to believe [in Ebola] and associate the disease with something else. Nobody intends on taking the vaccines,” an official at the prefecture was quoted as saying by local media.

“The citizens don’t want to hear anything from us and this worries us for the vaccination.”

Health Minister Remy Lamah, who is a native of Gouecke, arrived in his hometown on Saturday to convince people of the merits of taking the vaccine, the source said.

“It all comes back again to community engagement,” said the MSF’s Wolz. “We have seen this many times in the past. If a community feels involved, heard and empowered, then an Ebola response will likely go well, with or without vaccines. But if a community feels side-lined, unheard and becomes nervous or distrustful, then an Ebola response will likely face multiple difficulties, with or without vaccines.

Facely Konate reported from Gouecke and Ramy Allahoum from Doha



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Entertainment

Host of ‘Reply All’ Podcast Steps Down After Accusations of Toxic Culture

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P.J. Vogt, a host of the popular podcast “Reply All,” took a leave of absence on Wednesday after complaints from former colleagues that he and a senior reporter contributed to a toxic work environment and rallied against union efforts to diversify staff.

Mr. Vogt and the senior reporter, Sruthi Pinnamaneni, each apologized on Wednesday in statements on Twitter. Ms. Pinnamaneni also stepped back from her work on the podcast, according to an email late Wednesday to the staff of Gimlet Media, which produces “Reply All,” from the company’s managing director.

The accusations came after the podcast released its second episode in a series about accounts of discrimination at the food magazine Bon Appétit’s popular video series. Since George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police officers last year, newsrooms and media organizations around the United States, including The New York Times, have faced renewed criticism about addressing inequalities within their ranks.

Eric Eddings, a former Gimlet employee who co-hosted the podcast “The Nod,” tweeted on Tuesday that “Reply All,” and specifically Mr. Vogt and Ms. Pinnamaneni, had contributed “to a near identical toxic dynamic at Gimlet” as the one they described in their series about Bon Appétit.

“To me, it felt disingenuous to frame this story in that way, as if they had not participated in something similar,” Mr. Eddings said in an interview on Thursday.

Mr. Vogt, 35, said on Twitter that he had “deeply failed as an ally” when employees unionized and that he apologized to everyone whom he had disappointed. “I should have reflected on what it meant to not be on the same side of a movement largely led by young producers of color at my company,” he said. “I was a baby and a jerk about it in myriad ways.”

He said he had asked permission to step away from the show and was taking time “to think and to listen.”

In her apology, Ms. Pinnamaneni said her conduct around diversity and union organization efforts was “ill-informed, ignorant and hurtful.” She said on Twitter, “I did not pay enough attention to the people of color at Gimlet and I should have used my power to support and elevate them further.”

Mr. Vogt and another host, Alex Goldman, started the podcast in 2014, adapting it from their earlier WNYC radio show, “TLDR” (too long; didn’t read). In recent years, “Reply All” episodes have taken listeners inside phone scam rings in India, to a maximum-security prison in Illinois, and on a journey to track down a guitar song that a director listened to on the radio as a teenager.

A spokesman for Spotify, which acquired Gimlet Media in February 2019, said “Reply All” would continue to release episodes. Gimlet Media, Mr. Vogt and Ms. Pinnamaneni did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During the employees’ campaign to unionize in late 2018 and early 2019, Mr. Eddings said, Mr. Vogt and Ms. Pinnamaneni worked “aggressively” against efforts to diversify Gimlet’s staff. He said that when Mr. Vogt learned about the efforts to unionize — which many people of color at the company saw as a way to create an environment where they could succeed — Mr. Vogt and Ms. Pinnamaneni tried to rally support against them.

Mr. Vogt sent disparaging text messages to a member on the organizing committee, “ripping them to shreds,” Mr. Eddings said, to the point that the person was crying.

At one point, Mr. Eddings said he met with Mr. Vogt and asked him to stop denigrating him and others. Mr. Vogt was not receptive to complaints that employees of color felt they did not have opportunities to advance, Mr. Eddings said.

In another instance, he said, when he tried to bring up concerns about inequality about Gimlet, a member of the senior management team told Mr. Eddings that he was reluctant to discuss the issues with him because he always seemed “so angry.”

Mr. Eddings remembers thinking, “I’m upset because this place could be better.”

Several former colleagues spoke out on Twitter in support of Mr. Eddings, employees of color and other minority groups at the company.

Brittany Luse, a former Gimlet employee who co-hosted “The Nod” with Mr. Eddings, said she understood others’ questions about the union, and what it would mean for them, but that Mr. Vogt and Ms. Pinnamaneni’s staunch opposition was shocking and painful.

“There were so many days where I just woke up crying,” said Ms. Luse, who left Gimlet early last year. “I was just seeing what so many of my colleagues were going through in attempting to communicate something that I felt was so simple — to people who outwardly like to seem in favor of a more equitable workplace, but privately were just behaving in a completely different way. It was hard.”

The situation became increasingly toxic as negotiations continued and Mr. Vogt and Ms. Pinnamaneni pressured employees not to join, said Ms. Luse, who was the first Black employee of Gimlet when she joined the company in 2015. She said it felt as though they wanted to preserve the company’s status quo — which employees of color had been saying, for years, had lacked diversity and fair pay. The union was recognized by management in April 2019.

Lydia Polgreen, the managing director of Gimlet, told staff in an email on Wednesday that Mr. Vogt would be stepping down.

“From the moment I arrived at Gimlet, it was clear that our culture needed work, and that there were big things that needed to change to make this a better, more equitable place,” Ms. Polgreen said, adding that the collective bargaining process had been “by its nature confrontational.”

“At Gimlet, we make creative work in collaborative teams,” she said. “That work is really rewarding and also hard. It involves honest and sometimes difficult conversations. But those conversations must happen with respect.”

Reggie Ugwu contributed reporting.



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Entertainment

Bachelor host Chris Harrison steps aside for now: The backlash explained

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The Bachelor host Chris Harrison (right) with current series lead Matt James. 


ABC

Everything isn’t coming up roses for Chris Harrison. The longtime host of ABC’s Bachelor franchise on Saturday said he’ll step aside from hosting the The Bachelor “for a period of time” as backlash mounts over his comments about photos showing a current contestant attending an antebellum-plantation-themed party. 

The controversial pictures evoke a painful period in American history before the Civil War ended slavery and have sparked serious, soul-searching discussion among Bachelor fans and former contestants about race, representation and accountability. A Change.org petition calling for the removal of Harrison as host of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and spinoff shows has gotten more than 39,000 signatures as of Saturday evening. And Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette star, says she’s done with the franchise. 

“I have spent the last few days listening to the pain my words have caused, and I am deeply remorseful,” Harrison said in a public apology, the second this week. “My ignorance did damage to my friends, colleagues and strangers alike … Now, just as I have taught my children to stand up, and to own their actions, I will do the same.” 

Here’s the whole brouhaha, broken down. 

What did Chris Harrison say (or not say)?   

During an Extra interview this week with former Bachelorette star and current TV host Rachel Lindsay, Lindsay broached photos that had surfaced of Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant on season 25 of The Bachelor, airing now. The images show her at an antebellum-plantation-themed college fraternity party in 2018. 

The photos sparked strong reaction on social media, as they evoke the racist history of the South before the Civil War. Matt James, star of the current season, is the show’s first Black lead, and Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old graphic designer from Cumming, Georgia, is rumored to be the one he picks to marry/date/appear on the cover of People magazine with after winnowing down his field of love interests. Kirkconnell has also been accused of liking racist social media posts, including some that show Confederate flags. 

Rachael Kirkconnell, shown on a date with Matt James on The Bachelor, is rumored to be his frontrunner.  


ABC

“We all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion,” the 49-year-old Harrison said during the interview with Lindsay. “Because I have seen some stuff online — this judge, jury, executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart and diving into, like, her parents, her parents’ voting record. It’s unbelievably alarming to watch this. I haven’t heard Rachael speak on this yet. Until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this? I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that’s it.”

Harrison, host of The Bachelor since 2002, said that while he’s not defending the gathering, people would not have examined an Old South party “under the same lens” in 2018 as they would in 2021, given the heightened consciousness of racial inequality amid the Black Lives Matter movement. Lindsay, an outspoken advocate for diversity in the franchise, disagreed. 

“It’s not a good look ever,” Lindsay said, emphasizing the photos’ implicit connection to slavery and degradation. “She’s celebrating the old South. If I went to that party, what would I represent?” Lindsay — who hosts a Bachelor Nation podcast and sometimes makes cameos on the show — has since said she won’t renew her contract with the franchise when it runs out. “I’m exhausted. I have truly had enough,” Lindsay said on Friday’s episode of her Spotify Original Podcast Higher Learning.  

How did the public react to Rachel Lindsay’s interview? 

Harrison has loyal supporters who are standing behind him and decrying the “woke police” and “cancel culture”: “So sorry you had to apologize,” wrote one Twitter follower. “I can’t believe everyone has become so sensitive.” Read an Instagram response to his announcement of taking time off: “I can’t wait until you’re back and continuing with something millions of us love to see you do!” Still, criticism has continued to mount, including on Twitter and The Bachelor subreddit, where discussion of the controversy has overshadowed all other Bachelor buzz for days.  

A number of high-profile contestants, including Mike Johnson, Taylor Nolan and former Bachelorette stars Tayshia Adams, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jillian Harris, have expressed disappointment in Harrison and his choice of words and have called on series producers to vet contestants more carefully. Matt James, the star of this season’s show, on Friday expressed his gratitude to Lindsay for continuing to shine a spotlight on representation and responsibility in the franchise, which fans have criticized for its lack of diversity.  

“I am beyond grateful to have Rachel as a mentor during this season,” James wrote on Instagram. “Your advocacy of BIPOC people in the franchise is invaluable, I stand with you and the rest of the women advocating for change and accountability.”

The day before, almost every contestant of The Bachelor Season 25, including Kirkconnell, posted the same message on social media denouncing any “defense of racism.” 

“Any defense of racist behavior denies the lived and continued experiences of BIPOC individuals,” the statement reads. “These experiences are not to be exploited or tokenized.” 

“Rachel Lindsay continues to advocate with ‘grace’ for individuals who identify as BIPOC within this franchise,” the statement concludes. “Just because she is speaking the loudest, doesn’t mean she is alone. We stand with her, we hear her, and we advocate for change alongside her.”

The men of season 16 of The Bachelorette — which preceded Matt James’ season of The Bachelor and featured two back-to-back leads, including Adams, who is Black — also released a statement “denouncing racist behavior and any defense thereof.” 

“We had the opportunity to be a part of one of the most diverse casts in the history of the franchise,” the statement reads. “The addition of more people who identify as BIPOC has opened up the conversation on race, community and who we are as people. A conversation that has been long overdue.”

What about Chris Harrison’s first apology? 

On Wednesday, prior to Saturday’s announcement that he’d be taking time off from hosting duties, Harrison issued the following statement:  

“To my Bachelor Nation family — I will always own a mistake when I make one, so I am here to extend a sincere apology,” it read. “I have this incredible platform to speak about love, and yesterday I took a stance on topics about which I should have been better informed.”

“While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf,” he continued. “What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and for that I am so deeply sorry. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a topic she has a firsthand understanding of, and humbly thank the members of Bachelor Nation who have reached out to me to hold me accountable. I promise to do better.”

Bachelor Nation, for those who don’t follow the reality TV franchise, refers to fans and former participants of the long-running romance show. You don’t need a visa to visit Bachelor Nation, just a TV or computer. Bachelor Nation is known dedicated fans with a vocal presence on social media, where weekly episodes spark an amusing run of memes and jokes that can get thousands of likes and comments. Reactions to the show’s drama and fast-tracked relationships are often funny and snarky, and that tone has seeped into the public treatment of Harrison this week. Most of the discussion has a somber tone, however. 

Harrison’s second second apology was even more forceful. 

“To the Black community, to the BIPOC community: I am so sorry,” it reads. “My words were harmful. I am listening, and I truly apologize for my ignorance and any pain it caused you. I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the people from these communities who I’ve had enlightening conversations with over the past few days, and I am so grateful to those who have reached out to help me on my path to anti-racism.”

ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Kirkconnell, for her part, issued her own apology following Harrison’s interview, saying that “I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist. I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended. I am ashamed about my lack of education, but it is no one’s responsibility to educate me.”

“I deserve to be held accountable for my actions,” she concluded. “I will never grow unless I recognize what I have done is wrong. I don’t think one apology means that I deserve your forgiveness, but rather I hope I can earn your forgiveness through my future actions.”



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World

Navalny protests: EU to consider ‘next steps’ after Russia carries out mass arrests | World news

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European Union foreign ministers will consider potential “next steps” against Russia after western nations condemned the Kremlin’s harsh treatment of demonstrators calling for the release of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

The United States, Britain and EU countries criticised Vladimir Putin’s government on Sunday, with the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, describing the mass arrest of thousands of protesters in several Russia cities as “an intolerable affront” and a “slide towards authoritarianism”.

Clashes broke out in Moscow, St Petersburg, Vladivostok and other cities on Saturday and some protesters clashed with riot police in body armour and helmets. Dozens of people were injured.

Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, has called for the EU to step up sanctions against Russia over the treatment of Navalny, who was arrested on 17 January as he returned to Russia from Germany for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent.

“The only way to [avoid conflict] is to force international law to be observed. The only way to do this without rifles, cannons and bombs is via sanctions,” Duda told the Financial Times.

The Polish leader also said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell should reconsider plans to visit Russia next month unless Navalny is released.

EU foreign ministers were expected to discuss their response to Navalny’s detention on Monday, with Borrell saying the “next steps” will be discussed.

Manfred Weber, a senior German conservative and head of the centre-right EPP grouping in the EU parliament, told Germany’s RND newspaper group that the arrest of protesters should not be tolerated and that Russia should face financial sanctions.

“It’s unacceptable that the Russian leadership is trying to make short work of the burgeoning protests by arresting thousands of demonstrators.

“The EU foreign ministers are not allowed to dodge this once again and stop at general appeals,” Weber said. “The EU has to hit where it really hurts the Putin system – and that’s the money,” Weber said, adding that the bloc should cut financial transactions from Putin’s inner circle.

In addition, a threat to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is meant to double natural gas deliveries from Russia to Germany, must remain on the table, Weber added.

A German government spokeswoman declined to comment when asked whether Berlin was willing to support new sanctions against Russia following Navalny’s arrest.

EU lawmakers passed a resolution on Thursday calling for the bloc to stop the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as a response to Navalny’s arrest.

Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, who has continued to back the project despite criticism elsewhere in the EU, said on Thursday her view of the project had not changed despite the Navalny case.

During the protests, a spokeswoman for the US embassy in Moscow, Rebecca Ros, said on Twitter that “the US supports the right of all people to peaceful protest, freedom of expression. Steps being taken by Russian authorities are suppressing those rights”. The embassy also tweeted a state department statement calling for Navalny’s release.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said comments by the US were “inappropriate,”, and accused Washington of “interference in our internal affairs”.

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World

Canada’s governor general steps down after employees accuse her of creating a ‘toxic’ workplace

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In a detailed statement, Payette said that she took the allegations seriously — although she did not formally apologize or admit to any misconduct in the workplace.

“While no formal complaints or official grievances were made during my tenure, which would have immediately triggered a detailed investigation as prescribed by law and the collective agreements in place, I still take these allegations very seriously,” Payette said in the statement.

As first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) last year, current and former government employees accused Payette of creating a toxic workplace, harassing and bullying employees and reducing some employees to tears.

In response, the Trudeau government hired an independent consulting company to investigate the allegations. The report was completed and submitted to the government earlier this week and that prompted Payette’s resignation.

“I am a strong believer in the principles of natural justice, due process and the rule of law, and that these principles apply to all equally,” Payette wrote. “Notwithstanding, in respect for the integrity of my vice-regal Office and for the good of our country and of our democratic institutions, I have come to the conclusion that a new Governor General should be appointed. Canadians deserve stability in these uncertain times.”

Canada’s prime minister released his own statement Thursday, saying he had received Payette’s resignation. Trudeau did not confirm any of the allegations leveled at Payette. However, in the brief statement, he did not thank her for her service.

“Every employee in the Government of Canada has the right to work in a safe and healthy environment, and we will always take this very seriously,” Trudeau said in a statement. “Today’s announcement provides an opportunity for new leadership at Rideau Hall to address the workplace concerns raised by employees during the review.”

Trudeau said Canada’s chief justice will fulfill the duties of governor on an interim basis until he makes a recommendation on a replacement to Queen Elizabeth.

Had Payette not agreed to resign in light of the workplace investigation, dismissing her could have triggered a constitutional crisis in Canada, and would have mandated more formal involvement by the Queen.

Government officials told CNN that the report provided by the independent investigators found the allegations were consistent among employees and the evidence of a toxic workplace was “robust.”

It is not clear whether the results of the workplace investigation will be made public.

Payette said in her statement of resignation that, “Everyone has a right to a healthy and safe work environment, at all times and under all circumstances. It appears this was not always the case at the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. Tensions have arisen at Rideau Hall over the past few months and for that, I am sorry.”

However, later in the statement she added, “We all experience things differently, but we should always strive to do better, and be attentive to one another’s perceptions.”

That appeared to echo similar language used by Trudeau. In 2018, CNN reported that in response to allegations that he had inappropriately groped a woman in 2000, Trudeau said during a press briefing that, “I do not feel that I acted inappropriately in any way but I respect the fact that someone else might have experienced that differently.”

Canada’s prime minister is tasked with recommending a candidate for governor general for appointment by Queen Elizabeth. In 2017 when he recommended Payette, Trudeau said she was “unquestionably qualified for this high office.”

But Canada’s opposition leader, Erin O’Toole, accused the prime minister’s office of not vetting Payette thoroughly for the job. He said all political parties should now have a say in who replaces Payette.

“The Governor General is the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces and has an important constitutional role,” O’Toole said in a statement to CNN. “Considering the problems with his last appointment and the minority Parliament, the Prime Minister should consult opposition parties and re-establish the Vice-Regal Appointments Committee.”

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Science

Solar system formation in two steps

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The inner terrestrial protoplanets accrete early, inherit a substantial amount of radioactive 26Al, and hence melt, form iron cores, and degas their primordial volatile abundances rapidly. The outer Solar System planets start to accrete later and further out with less radiogenic heating, and hence retain the majority of their initially accreted volatiles. Credit: Mark A Garlick/markgarlick.com

An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford, LMU Munich, ETH Zurich, BGI Bayreuth, and the University of Zurich discovered that a two-step formation process of the early Solar System can explain the chronology and split in volatile and isotope content of the inner and outer Solar System.

Their findings will be published in Science.

The paper presents a new theoretical framework for the formation and structure of the Solar System that can explain several key features of the terrestrial planets (like Earth, Venus, and Mars), outer Solar System (like Jupiter), and composition of asteroids and meteorite families. The team’s work draws on and connects recent advances in astronomy (namely observations of other solar systems during their formation) and meteoritics—laboratory experiments and analyses on the isotope, iron, and water content in meteorites.

The suggested combination of astrophysical and geophysical phenomena during the earliest formation phase of the Sun and the Solar System itself can explain why the inner Solar System planets are small and dry with little water by mass, while the outer Solar System planets are larger and wet with lots of water. It explains the meteorite record by forming planets in two distinct steps. The inner terrestrial protoplanets accreted early and were internally heated by strong radioactive decay; this dried them out and split the inner, dry from the outer, wet planetary population. This has several implications for the distribution and necessary formation conditions of planets like Earth in extrasolar planetary systems.







https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/video/2021/600973531b3e6.mp4
Video introduction of main concepts of the research. Credit: Tim Lichtenberg

The numerical experiments performed by the interdisciplinary team showed that the relative chronologies of early onset and protracted finish of accretion in the inner Solar System, and a later onset and more rapid accretion of the outer Solar System planets can be explained by two distinct formation epochs of planetesimals, the building blocks of the planets. Recent observations of planet-forming disks showed that disk midplanes, where planets form, may have relatively low levels of turbulence. Under such conditions the interactions between the dust grains embedded in the disk gas and water around the orbital location where it transitions from gas to ice phase (the snow line) can trigger an early formation burst of planetesimals in the inner Solar System and another one later and further out.

The two distinct formation episodes of the planetesimal populations, which further accrete material from the surrounding disk and via mutual collisions, result in different geophysical modes of internal evolution for the forming protoplanets. Dr. Tim Lichtenberg from the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics at the University of Oxford and lead-author of the study notes: “The different formation time intervals of these planetesimal populations mean that their internal heat engine from radioactive decay differed substantially. Inner Solar System planetesimals became very hot, developed internal magma oceans, quickly formed iron cores, and degassed their initial volatile content, which eventually resulted in dry planet compositions. In comparison, outer Solar System planetesimals formed later and therefore experienced substantially less internal heating and therefore limited iron core formation, and volatile release.

“The early-formed and dry inner Solar System and the later-formed and wet outer Solar System were therefore set on two different evolutionary paths very early on in their history. This opens new avenues to understand the origins of the earliest atmospheres of Earth-like planets and the place of the Solar System within the context of the exoplanetary census across the galaxy.”

This research was supported by funding from the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life, the Swiss National Science Foundation, and the European Research Council.

The full study, “Bifurcation of planetary building blocks during Solar System formation,” will be published on 22 January 2021 in Science, 371, 6527.

Reconstructing the solar system’s original architecture

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“Bifurcation of planetary building blocks during Solar System formation” Science (2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.abb3091
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