Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🍽️ Schools eliminate ultra-processed foods
• 🔮 The Sphere is coming to D.C.
• 🐦 Birdwatching slows cognitive decline

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.67-minute read (977 words).

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"The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away."

–David Viscott (1938-1996)

The NBA is joining forces with Kalshi and Polymarket, as it becomes the latest sports league to partner with prediction markets.

The league announced the partnerships Monday amid a series of sports betting scandals that have put its reputation on defense.

Here’s the game plan

Kalshi and Polymarket will become the NBA's preferred prediction market platforms, receiving access to official league data along with IP rights to use their logos.

Under the new agreements, the league will have more say over which NBA-related prediction markets (essentially sports bets) are offered, while gaining access to trading data that could help identify suspicious activity.

• Certain bets are off the table, including those involving individual plays—like the opening tip or first basket—and bets on players to underperform when they're expected to play under 12 minutes.
• NBA and team personnel are prohibited from trading NBA event contracts, while Kalshi and Polymarket are required to share info on any suspicious trading and investigations.

Regulators are also mounting a fierce defense. A coalition of attorneys general from 39 states plus Washington, D.C., have thrown their support behind a case brought by New Jersey, which argues sports-related contracts offered by prediction markets are effectively gambling products operating outside state betting laws.

Looking ahead…New Jersey is asking the Supreme Court to allow states to regulate prediction markets under existing gambling laws, while the markets maintain they should abide by guidelines only set by the federal government.

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Ultra-processed foods could soon be taken off the menu at school cafeterias across the US, with a growing number of states moving to restrict the products over concerns about children's health.

Legislatures in California and Arizona have already passed laws targeting certain ultra-processed foods, including those containing industrial ingredients like artificial colors, stabilizers, and flavor enhancers.

More broadly, lawmakers in at least 32 states have introduced legislation to limit or eliminate ultra-processed foods from school meals, according to nonprofit Healthy Eating Research.

An unusual pairing: The push has attracted rare bipartisan support, bringing together conservatives in the Make America Healthy Again movement and progressives who share concerns about food safety and children's health.

But changing the menu won't be a piece of cake

Many schools rely on prepackaged meals—some ~70% of which are ultra-processed—because they're cheaper and easier to prepare. Switching to fresh ingredients could require larger budgets, upgraded kitchens, and additional staff training, costing some districts millions of dollars in extra infrastructure funds.

Looking ahead…California’s law calls for all ultra-processed foods to be banned from public schools in the country’s most populous state by July 2029.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 Federal Reserve votes 10-2 to hold benchmark US interest rates steady in a range between 3.75%–4%, with two dissenters voting for a quarter-point increase. | Earnings corner: Microsoft reports stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, sending its stock up ~5% after-hours; Alphabet reports lower-than-expected revenue and a dip in free cash flow, sending shares down ~7% after-hours.
• 🚢 MV Odyssey, a US cruise ship on a three-year voyage around the world, suspends its trip in Cambodia after two years due to fuel costs.
• ⚖️ Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a law firm once among the most reputable and profitable in the industry, reportedly plans to dissolve following the exodus of high-earning partners and failed merger talks.

SPORTS, MEDIA, & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🔮 The Sphere, a 6,000-seat, orb-shaped immersive entertainment venue, receives final approval to be built at Maryland's National Harbor just outside Washington, D.C.; $1.4+ billion project will be roughly one-third the size of the Las Vegas Sphere.
• 🏀 Ernie Johnson is retiring from Inside the NBA after this season following a 37-year stint as host; fellow co-host Charles Barkley has previously said he would leave the show after this season, though Barkley has changed his mind before.
• 🚨 Russell Brand takes the stand in London courthouse to testify in his own defense; Brand has pleaded not guilty to all six rape and sexual assault charges brought against him.

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SCIENCE, SPACE, & EMERGING TECH

• 🦠 CDC identifies top drug-resistant pathogens in first comprehensive report in seven years, ranking 19 bacteria and fungi by their severity, ability to spread, and available treatments; the pathogens are linked to 9.7 million infections and 50,000+ deaths annually in the US.
• 🦖 Nanotyrannus skeleton nicknamed “Jodi” sells for $47.3 million at auction at Sotheby’s; it’s one of three known specimens, and the second most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold.
• 🧊 Canada's Barnes Ice Cap began growing 2,000 years ago—a possibly early sign of a new ice age—before shrinking in the 1960s as temperatures rose, new research shows.

US, WORLD, & POLITICS

• 🌍 US reportedly warns Gulf Arab countries of possible renewed strikes on Iran after next week's midterm elections; the US is reportedly preparing by restocking weapons and moving troops out of vulnerable bases.
• 🙏 High speed train collision in Spain kills at least 68 people and injures ~70 others; it’s the second deadly crash on the same rail line this year. | Dolores Huerta, civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm workers with Cesar Chavez, dies at 96.
• 🤝 Six-day ceasefire in Russia-occupied Ukranian city of Oleshky holds steady in first day and night, as both countries await next round of US-led peace talks; the truce is aimed at allowing humanitarian aid and evacuations for ~2,000 residents.

☝️ Mike Valladao is a systems engineer at a cybersecurity company with an alter ego that comes out during spooky season. The “Picasso of Pumpkins” has been carving fantastical faces into gourds at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival for 40 years.

🤔 Did you know? Cats can’t taste anything sweet. Felines have a mutated, non-functional sweet-receptor gene that prevents them from tasting sugar.

📰 Worth a read: The brutal Harvard class that suddenly everyone wants to take

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• How birdwatching slows cognitive decline
• Cheerios just fixed the most annoying part of eating cereal
• The great pyramid mysteries: 6 things experts still can’t explain

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Yesterday we covered how the Trump admin has recently increased its scrutiny of election procedures in several states, as well as the latest polling updates as the countdown to Election Day reaches less than one week.

❓ Our question to you: With Election Day less than a week away, which political party’s candidate for Congress do you plan to vote for (or already voted for) in the midterms?

• Republican: 26%
• Democratic: 59%
• Third-party: 5%
• Split decision (House/Senate): 6%
• Unsure/other: 4%

Read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 702 votes and 82 longform responses.

In which US state can you find the longest cave system in the world?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

🦘 A group of Australian fishermen jumped to the rescue after they discovered a kangaroo stranded in the water almost a mile offshore. The crew helped the exhausted animal onto their boat and traveled safely back to shore, where it rested for a few minutes before hopping away. 

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky

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