Facebook’s Cold War | The Sackler Spotlight | Costco’s Super Fans

Plus: What Every Crypto Buyer Should Know About OpenSea, The King Of The NFT Market

Good morning.

Meta’s cold war against the spyware industry, a shadowy but sprawling market supporting foreign intelligence, law enforcement agencies and hackers for hire, got a little warmer yesterday as it deleted hundreds of Facebook and Instagram pages that had been used to target up to 50,000 victims. The billionaire Sackler family are back in the headlines again just days after the Met Museum stripped their name from one of its wings as a New York judge rejected Purdue Pharma’s opioid epidemic bankruptcy settlement. We also look at why it’s not just $1.99 pizza that keeps Costco’s 113 million members hooked on the big-box retailer. And finally, meet the kingmakers of the nascent NFT market OpenSea.

In The News Today

A New York federal court on Thursday overturned a near $4.5 billion settlement which would have shielded members of the Sackler family who own Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma from any future legal action relating to the opioid epidemic, in a decision that may upend the drugmaker’s bankruptcy reorganization plans.

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant on Thursday for Alec Baldwin’s phone, in order to gather additional evidence as part of its ongoing investigation into the Rust movie shooting that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Top Take-Aways

Meta has warned of “indiscriminate” targeting of “everyday people” as it launched a crackdown on the spyware industry removing hundreds of Instagram and Facebook accounts it claims were used to track, or target, around 50,000 people by hackers for hire and other cyber mercenaries.

In a hint of just how sprawling the spyware business has become - Egyptian opposition politician Ayman Nour’s phone was hijacked not just once, but twice by rival hacking tools from Israel’s NSO Group and a mysterious North Macedonian outfit Cytrox, likely on behalf of two different governments. 

In October, online mental health startup Cerebral named Olympic gymnast Simone Biles as its chief impact officer. “I believe everyone should have access to mental health resources,” says a quote attributed to Biles on the company website. However the SoftBank-backed startup has made health insurance contingent on quotas for many of its own therapists. 

Costco’s ability to keep stuff in stock and offer it at rock-bottom prices, amid retail’s supply meltdown is a big part of what has kept its 113 million members happy during the pandemic, fueling record sales and profits.

TuSimple, the first autonomous-driving tech company to list shares in the U.S., is working with DHL to plug its robotic semitrucks into the global shipping giant’s operations, with initial plans to supply it with 100 high-tech big rigs.

What if you could draw blood at home rather than having it done at the doctor’s office? That’s the premise of Tasso, a Seattle-based startup that’s riding the wave of virtual healthcare and just raised a $100 million round.

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In Case You Missed It

Despite years of litigation, the Sackler family behind OxyContin is still worth billions. Their Purdue Pharma, under fire for its role in the opioid crisis, might be bankrupt —but the 40 members of the Sackler family aren’t.

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Growth isn’t always a linear journey. All businesses experience times of peaks, valleys and plateaus—if you feel like your business is in a rut, consider these five ways to get unstuck.

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