Good morning. It's Friday, Dec. 8, and we're covering fighting in southern Gaza's largest city, a fast food spinoff, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
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Israel Advances in Khan Younis |
Israel officials said its forces had advanced into the center of Khan Younis, the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip. As of yesterday evening, troops had encircled the home of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas within Gaza who helped plan the Oct. 7 attack, which left around 1,200 civilians dead and included multiple instances of sexual violence.
It was unclear whether Sinwar remains in the home or had escaped to Hamas' intricate underground tunnel network. While Sinwar oversees operations on the ground, Hamas is led by two others—military head Mohammed Deif (whereabouts unknown) and political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar.
The war has forced almost 2 million Gazans—close to the strip's entire population—to flee their homes into refugee camps across the roughly 90 square miles of central and southern Gaza. Israel yesterday presented evidence Hamas had fired rockets from areas designated as humanitarian zones, raising additional concern over the safety of fleeing Palestinians.
The death toll in Gaza has reportedly surpassed 17,000 Palestinians (it is unclear whether Hamas fighters are included in the count), while 140 Israeli hostages taken in the initial Hamas attack remain captive.
See updates on the war (with maps) here. |
Biden Drug Patents Proposal |
The Biden administration announced a proposal yesterday that would allow federal agencies to break taxpayer-funded patents of high-cost drugs, citing a broadened interpretation of a 1980 patent law. The initiative prompted a 60-day public comment period.
Before 1980, publicly funded development projects—like those from NASA—were owned by the US government by default. The 1980 Bayh-Dole Act sought to spur the commercialization of thousands of unused patents by allowing federally supported inventors to own their products outright. As part of the law, the government retained certain rights to "march-in" and hand the patent to a third party or itself. Agencies have rejected every petition to do so (see timeline). As recently as March, the National Institutes of Health declined to use the mechanism to slash the price of prostate cancer drug Xtandi.
Officials claimed—for the first time—the law allows its agencies to seize patents of high-cost drugs based on that criterion alone, without specifying which medicines were possible targets of the mechanism. Critics argue the step will deter innovation. |
CosMc's Enters the Universe |
McDonald's will open its first CosMc's restaurant in Bolingbrook, Illinois, this month as part of a limited test of its small-format, drinks-focused spinoff.
The restaurant—inspired by the 1980s and 1990s alien character CosMc, who craved McDonald's food—taps into the nostalgia the company has stirred from recent marketing campaigns, including the Grimace Shake and the return of McNugget Buddies. Alongside familiar classics, like the Egg McMuffin and M&M's McFlurry, CosMc's will feature specialty lemonades, teas, cold coffee blends, and new options like s'mores cold brews, popping pear slushies, and a spicy queso sandwich. See the sample menu here.
McDonald's plans to open 10 CosMc's locations by the end of 2024 in an effort to compete with the likes of Starbucks and Dunkin'. The other nine locations will be based across the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas. The news comes after the fast food giant announced this week plans to open nearly 10,000 new stores globally by 2027. |
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In partnership with SmartAsset |
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Have Money? You May Want a Financial Advisor |
Money can’t buy happiness, but this study finds paying a financial advisor could potentially help.
Herbers & Company’s Consumer Financial Behaviors Study polled 1,000 consumers across the US and found people with a specific amount in household assets report higher levels of happiness when working with a financial advisor compared to those who don’t have an advisor.¹ Just how much money do you need? Find out here.
Ready to kickstart your retirement plans? With thousands of advisor options available, it can seem daunting to choose one. Try SmartAsset's free quiz to get matched with up to 3 vetted financial advisors serving your area, so you can compare and decide which to work with. It's never too late to work toward financial freedom. Get your financial advisor matches today.
Sources: 1. "What’s the value of a financial advisor?", Herbers & Company (Dec. 2021) |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Former world No. 1 Jon Rahm to leave PGA Tour; Spanish golfer will join Saudi-backed LIV Golf in deal reportedly worth $300M (More) | San Diego Padres star Juan Soto traded to New York Yankees in seven-player deal (More) |
> "Squid Game: The Challenge," a spinoff of the breakout Netflix drama "Squid Game," crowns winner of $4.56M prize, thought to be largest in reality TV history (More) |
> Art Basel, thought to be North America's largest art fair, begins today from Miami Beach; see full preview of events and exhibitions (More) |
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> Meta releases AI image generator, Imagine, trained on an estimated 1.1 billion public Facebook and Instagram photos (More) | Use the platform here (More, account required) |
> Study suggests Earth may have had all necessary ingredients for life since it was formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago, contrary to common theory that key elements came from meteorites (More) |
> Certain wasp species can recognize individuals within the same colony, a cognitive adaption that increases social cooperation (More) |
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> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.8%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +1.4%) ahead of today's November jobs report reading (More) |
> Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh to retire April 26; board elects company President Michelle Gass to succeed Bergh beginning Jan. 29 (More) |
> AMD shares rise 9.9% a day after the chipmaker launched new AI chips to compete against Nvidia (More) |
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> Hunter Biden indicted for second time; son of President Joe Biden faces three felony counts of tax evasion and falsifying returns and six misdemeanor charges for failing to pay taxes between 2016-19 (More) |
> UNLV shooting suspect said to be 67-year-old former college professor who had recently been turned down for a job; shooter reportedly had a list of educators he was targeting (More) |
> Donor pulls $100M gift to University of Pennsylvania after President Liz Magill appeared to sidestep questions about extreme anti-Semitic speech on campus during congressional testimony (More) | Judge allows Texas woman to receive abortion for medical reasons despite state's restrictions on the procedure; first such ruling since Roe v. Wade was overturned (More) |
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> The Humanities' Case for AI
Business Insider | Adam Rogers. Ted Underwood is an English professor long interested in the statistical analysis of literature, and he thinks AI is a game-changer in our understanding of texts. (Read)
> Restaurant Review Juries
MIT Reader | Zeyi Yang. A deeper look at a Chinese app's innovative jury game (and content moderation strategy) where users decide the fate of real restaurant reviews. (Read) |
> Wrinkled Radicals
Sidedoor | Lizzie Peabody. (Podcast) When energetic Maggie Kuhn was forced to retire on her 65th birthday, she began a movement to shed light on the faulty assumptions we have about aging. (Listen)
> Third Thumb Prosthetic
One Big Story | Staff. The human hand is already the most versatile tool in the natural world—now see just how much more you could do with an extra thumb. (Watch) |
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In partnership with SmartAsset |
Vanguard vs. Fidelity vs. Schwab |
Who are you partnered with? It’s no secret these could be considered three of the most popular brokerage firms. But they stack up slightly differently when it comes to fees and their specific suite of services. Learn more about who should work with Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab.
It's never too late to work towards a comfortable retirement. That's why SmartAsset developed a no-cost tool to help match you with up to 3 vetted financial advisors serving your area. In many cases you can be connected instantly to compare and decide on which advisor to work with. Get started today. |
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