Coronavirus cases in the US and Europe are surging as global infections approach 50 million. / The New York Times

Early results from Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trial show the drug is strongly effective and exceeded expectations. / STAT

In response to the vaccine news, the Dow and S&P 500 hit record highs and Zoom and other stay-at-home stocks tumbled. / CNBC, Markets Insider

Related: "An absence of civil unrest following the election may also be hurting sentiment for gun stocks." / Reuters

Lawyers previously said they couldn't find the families of 545 migrant children separated by the Trump administration. Now that number is 666. / NBC News

Breaking with the DoJ's hands-off policy toward election outcomes, Barr tells federal prosecutors they're allowed to investigate "specific allegations"—though not "far-fetched claims"—of voter fraud. / The New York Times

Trump's refusal to concede the election outcome is hindering Biden's access to daily briefings, classified information, and full Secret Service protection. / The New York Times

Trump has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who publicly contradicted the president in June, saying the military should not be used inside the US to quell protests. / BuzzFeed News

America’s next authoritarian president won’t be as politically clumsy as Trump. / The Atlantic

The legal view on whether Trump could face charges after leaving the White House—for one thing, a federal pardon won't be enough. / VICE

However: Trump can still make it hard for the FBI to investigate him next year. / The Washington Post

"You are fucking kidding me." Susan Orlean's election week wellness diary. / Vanity Fair

Four Seasons Total Landscaping has been immortalized in VRChat, where it's described as "a great place for a press conference." / The Verge

"I was pretty much in awe of the funniness of the whole situation." An interview with the owner of the sex shop next to Four Seasons Total Landscaping. / Slate

With subtropical storm Theta, 2020 is the most active hurricane season on record, at 29 storms so far. / CNN

Chart: There are 400 trees for every human on Earth. / Reddit

Album reissues for Mort Garson—of the famous Plantasia—make it a perfect time to explore his electronic pop experiments. / Bandcamp

As new lockdowns approach, Europe again turns to streaming archival opera. / Observer

What are the extremely wealthy doing during lockdown? Buying rare books, apparently. / Literary Hub

Unable to tour, and with streaming paying "squat," David Crosby sells a third of his publishing rights. / American Songwriter

With the closure of Minneapolis’s alt-weekly City Pages, music journalists discuss the paper’s four decades of influence. / The New York Times

Watch: It's now 1994 in the year-in-one-track mashups from the Hood Internet. / The Morning News

"I wanted to share my journey from start to finish to restore a 1983 IBM Model F XT mechanical keyboard to its former glory." / Opsdisk Blog

"My brother's bike for a really cool denim jacket." A survey of '90s schoolyard trades. / The Hustle