• ☝️ Researchers developed a lickable, lollipop-like device aimed at enabling a more realistic VR experience where users can "taste" in virtual environments.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Tuft & Needle

• 🏦 The Federal Reserve opted to cut interest rates by 0.25%; it also indicated a slower pace of rate cuts ahead.
• 📉 US markets fell across the board (S&P: -2.9%; Dow: -2.6%; Nasdaq: -3.6%); the Dow’s ten-day losing streak is its longest since 1974.
• 💊 The DOJ filed a lawsuit against CVS Health, alleging the world’s largest pharmacy chain contributed to the opioid crisis by knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for more than a decade.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏀🏆 The Milwaukee Bucks won the 2024 NBA Cup over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• ⚖️ Megan Thee Stallion filed for a restraining order against Tory Lanez, whom she accused of harassing her from prison by proxy as he serves a 10-year sentence for shooting her in the feet.
• 🏈 Michael Vick agreed to become the next football head coach at Norfolk State. | 🎓 The Ivy League will begin competing in the FCS football playoffs in 2025, instead of ending each year after the regular season.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Pique Life

• 🦠 The popular 2020 paper suggesting malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could treat COVID-19 was retracted more than four years after publishing; it’s the second most-cited paper ever to be withdrawn. | 🐿️ California ground squirrels commonly hunt, kill, and eat voles, marking predatory behavior never before seen in the species, per new research.
• 🧑‍🚀🛰️ The two NASA astronauts who’ve been stranded in space since June due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner have had their return delayed once again, from February to late March.
• 🤖📲 OpenAI is giving users a new way to talk to its flagship chatbot: 1-800-CHATGPT, available via phone call or WhatsApp.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🧑‍⚖️📲 The Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok's challenge to a federal law that could ban the app from the US; oral arguments are set for January 10 – nine days before the ban is set to take effect.
• ⚖️🗽 Luigi Mangione, the suspected shooter in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will waive extradition to New York later today, per his attorney; his charges in New York were upgraded this week to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
• 🏛️ The House Ethics Committee voted to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) by the end of this year, after initially blocking its release. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🧔 It Pays to Have Long Hair and a Beard in Utah – Jesus Models Are in Demand.