The daily business briefing: January 14, 2021

Airbnb cancels D.C.-area reservations in inauguration week, J&J trials show one-shot vaccine is safe and effective, and more

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1. Airbnb cancels reservations in D.C. during inauguration week

Airbnb announced Wednesday that it would cancel all reservations in the Washington, D.C., area during the week of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. The home-rental company said it made the decision after detecting Airbnb accounts for people "either associated with known hate groups or otherwise involved in the criminal activity at the Capitol Building." Airbnb justified the move by citing reports about "armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration." The company said it would refund guests who had already made payments, and reimburse hosts the money for the bookings being scrapped. Airbnb said it also was banning users who participated in the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol, or have been linked to hate groups.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.