The only thing more recycled than your containers from the Thai restaurant closest to your apartment is former President Trump’s most recent campaign promise. The 2024 Republican front-runner posted on Truth Social this weekend that he is “seriously looking at alternatives” for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, should he become president again.

Trump added that failing to repeal Obamacare in his first term was “a low point for the Republican party, but we should never give up!”

Obamacare? Haven’t heard that name in years…

Probably because most members of the Republican party, which vehemently opposed it since it was first enacted in 2010, pretty much gave up on fighting it years ago.

In 2016 and 2017, numerous attempts to “repeal and replace” the landmark healthcare bill were vetoed by former President Barack Obama or blocked by Democrats (and their few Republican allies) in Congress. In 2021, the Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit brought by 18 Republican state attorneys general and the Trump administration that would have gutted the ACA.

This isn’t the first time Trump promised to ditch the ACA and bring a better health plan to the table: It was a big part of his 2016 platform. But said better health plan never materialized.

Why have so many Republicans—other than Trump—given up on axing it? Turns out, most Americans like it.

• Six out of 10 Americans have a favorable opinion of Obamacare, according to a May 2023 KFF poll.
• Obamacare’s protections for people with preexisting conditions are especially popular: In 2020, 79% of Americans and even 66% of Republicans said they didn’t want the Supreme Court to get rid of them.

Elsewhere in the healthcare debate: Senators Elizabeth Warren (Democrat) and Mike Braun (Republican) sent a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services last week, asking it to investigate whether large insurance companies are hiking prescription drug prices at pharmacies they own.—MM

Whether you’re snuggling up after shoveling the driveway or refueling between runs down the ski slopes, winter activities require their very own hydration.

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Charlie Munger died at 99. The investing guru and right hand to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway died in a California hospital on Tuesday, according to a company statement. Independent of being Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, Munger was a rockstar investor who served as CEO of Wesco Capital until 2011, when Berkshire took over control of the company. Together, Buffett and Munger catapulted Berkshire to 20.1% annual gains—twice the rate of the S&P 500—with their innovative investing philosophies. As of this year, Munger’s net worth was $2.5 billion. “Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation,” Buffett said in a statement.

Koch network backs Nikki Haley in GOP primary. Billionaire Charles Koch’s political network, Americans for Prosperity Action, endorsed former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for the 2024 presidential election in an attempt to consolidate resources around a candidate other than Trump. The group’s support includes access to its $70 million fund for political races. The endorsement for Haley is a blow to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who’s been jockeying to be seen as the party’s Trump alternative. Several well-endowed donors, however, have pinned Haley as the strongest contender to go up against President Joe Biden.

Consumer confidence rose for the first time in four months. The Conference Board’s index rose from 99.1 in October to 102 in November thanks to US consumers’ optimism around short-term income, hiring prospects, and the slowdown in inflation. The perceived likelihood of a recession also fell to the lowest level of 2023—though two-thirds of Americans still think one is either “somewhat” or “very likely” to happen in the next year. The improved economic outlook comes after home prices rose to a new record in September, even as mortgage rates remained elevated.

After Sports Illustrated reportedly published articles by seemingly nonexistent writers, the once-admired media darling is struggling to recover what’s left of its image.

On Monday, a report by Futurism revealed that some SI contributors’ profiles used AI-generated headshots, while a number of articles featured writing that sounded more robot than human. Sports Illustrated issued a statement saying the pieces in question came from a third-party partner that assured SI the content was written by humans…but that’s up for debate.

• One of the articles, “written” by “Drew Ortiz,” said, “Volleyball can be a little tricky to get into, especially without a ball to practice with.”
• Anonymous sources told Futurism that the content is “absolutely AI-generated, no matter how much they say that it’s not.”

SI has since added disclaimers to the articles from third parties that it’s published, but the damage to what had arguably been sports media’s most reputable legacy property is done. Current and former (human) journalists at SI have expressed disappointment with the Arena Group, the company that now owns the SI brand and has a history of using AI to generate stories.

The debacle is yet another example of the perils of AI use in media. In August, Gannett reneged on its AI local sports writing effort after a comically bad story went viral—and it came under fire again in October following claims that one of its websites, Reviewed, published reviews written by AI.—CC

Canine longevity startup Loyal got closer to its goal of helping our four-legged friends have more time to cuddle with us and terrorize squirrels. The Food and Drug Administration, which approves and regulates drugs for animals in addition to humans, said that Loyal’s life-extending drug for big dogs could reasonably be expected to work based on early tests, the company announced (and the New York Times confirmed) yesterday.

The regulator’s nod paves the way for a large clinical trial to start and for the drug to appear at a vet’s office near you by 2026 following an expedited approval process for experimental animal meds.

How it works

The injectable prescription, LOY-001, is meant for large-breed canines with shorter lifespans than their lap-dog counterparts. While it’s no elixir of eternal puppyhood…

• According to Loyal, LOY-001 curbs the production of a hormone called IGF-1 (big dogs have more of it). Blocking it in rodents and worms is already known to boost their life expectancy.
• Tests suggest that the drug might slow dog aging, but Loyal has yet to prove that LOY-001 does, in fact, extend their longevity.

Though side effects appear minimal, some large-dog breeders worry about the ethics of giving healthy dogs a new drug that isn’t proven to be effective.

Could it work on humans? IGF-1 levels can affect human lifespan as well, but testing drugs on us two-legged folks is infinitely more complex.—SK

Stat: Maybe Jolene is the one who needs to worry. Just days after dressing as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader during her halftime performance for the NFL team’s Thanksgiving Day game, 77-year-old Dolly Parton hit a major milestone. Her album Rockstar, which debuted earlier this month, opened in the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 chart—making it her highest-charting album ever. Rockstar sold 118,500 copies in the week ending Nov. 23, marking the country legend’s biggest sales week since electronic tracking began in 1991. In typical Dolly fashion, she took no credit, attributing the renaissance to her fans.

Quote: “There is one thing glaringly missing from this... soul.”

That was one X user’s reaction to “Betrayed By This Town,” a song by AI singer-songwriter Anna Indiana that went viral this week. Every aspect of the song—from the melody to the chord structure to the lyrics—was generated with artificial intelligence. The reaction was overwhelmingly negative: The very human singer-songwriter James Blake sarcastically commented that the song brought him to tears. Undeterred, Indiana proceeded to release another song, saying her goal is to create a 24/7 livestream of AI music.

Read: Everybody knows Flo from Progressive. Who is Stephanie Courtney? (New York Times)

Watch: You’ve never seen “Africa” by Toto played on a piano like this.

Thaw: The best socks for people with cold feet.

Gaze: View a live sunset somewhere in the world, at any time of the day, with Eternal Sunset.

Embrace nostalgia: Celebrate the 40th birthday of Now That’s What I Call Music with these 40 wild facts about the fabled compilation album.

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