Top 10 New York Dishes of 2021

As restaurants began to emerge from pandemic lockdowns, Pete Wells was often drawn to superlative versions of classic dishes.

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By Pete Wells

States Where the Most People Are Vaccinated

With the threat of the Omicron variant looming, the national COVID-19 vaccination effort is as urgent as it ever has been. So far, an estimated 199,687,439 Americans have been fully vaccinated, or 61.0% of the population.

Some states are proving more effective than others in getting their residents vaccinated. Depending on the state, the share of the population that has been fully vaccinated ranges from as low as 46.3% all the way up to 74.0%.

Due in large part to vaccine hesitancy and resistance, millions of doses are currently sitting idle under the purview of state governments, yet to be administered. As of Dec. 7, only about 81.3% of the 582,057,400 doses of the vaccine that have been distributed to the 50 states and Washington D.C. have been administered. In one state, only 62.8% of delivered doses have gone into the arms of residents.

Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread. In total, there have been 14,912 known infections for every 100,000 people nationwide.

The Best Cookbooks of 2021

A deep dive into the world of grains, a collection of new cookie classics, unforgettable recipes from Shanghai and more, as tested by New York Cooking and the Food desk.

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By The New York Times

Diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing expected to be announced

The Biden administration is expected to announce a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing this week, a senior administration official told NBC News late Sunday.

A diplomatic boycott would mean that no U.S. government officials would attend the games, but U.S. athletes would still be allowed to compete.

A full boycott was not anticipated.

CNN first reported the news of the expected announcement.

More from NBC News

The Biden administration has been under pressure from lawmakers to institute the diplomatic boycott. They've wanted to take a stand against China's human rights abuses.

President Biden told NBC News last month that the administration was considering the move.

China has been criticized for cracking down on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, for its policies toward Tibet and Taiwan, and for detaining and abusing Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

The State Department, along with some European counties, has classified China's actions against Uyghurs as "genocide."

"We have serious concerns about the human rights abuses that we've seen," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last month.

Chinese government officials have warned of a "robust Chinese response" should the United States or other nations launch boycotts.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

UAE to shift weekend to Saturday and Sunday from next year

• The United Arab Emirates will move its weekend to Saturday and Sunday starting next year, state news agency WAM said in a tweet on Tuesday.
• Most countries in the Gulf have Friday to Saturday weekends.
• The UAE will have a 4.5-day working week when the new system comes into place, with the weekend starting on Friday afternoon and lasting until Sunday.

The United Arab Emirates will move its weekend to Saturday and Sunday starting next year, state news agency WAM said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Most countries in the Gulf have Friday and Saturday weekends.

The country will have a four-and-a-half-day working week, with the weekend starting on Friday afternoon and lasting until Sunday.

According to the tweet by WAM, the longer weekend is meant to "boost productivity and improve work-life balance."

The changes will kick in from Jan. 1, 2022, and will apply to federal government entities.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

First Financial To Acquire Summit Funding Group For Undisclosed Terms – Quick Facts

First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Cincinnati-based Summit Funding Group, Inc., the fourth largest independent equipment financing platform in the U.S. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Upon completion of the transaction, Summit will become a subsidiary of First Financial Bank, with current Summit leadership and all associates continuing in their positions, led by Founder and CEO Rick Ross.

As a subsidiary, Summit will continue to operate under the name Summit Funding Group, taking advantage of the company’s exceptional brand recognition within the equipment finance industry, particularly with small-to-medium sized businesses.

The transaction is expected to be mid-single-digit accretive to First Financial’s earnings per share in the first-year post-integration (2023), and low-double-digit accretive on a run-rate basis thereafter.

The acquisition is consistent with First Financial’s exceptional track record of strategically deploying excess capital to acquire and grow additive specialty lines of business in a disciplined manner, contributing to overall growth and delivering strong financial returns to shareholders.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2021.