Pics du jour

💥 Fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war is escalating once more. The two countries exchanged unprecedented drone strikes over the weekend, with Ukraine launching a record 30 drones at Moscow and Russia firing 145 drones into Ukraine (a single-night record). The attacks come as ~50,000 Russian and North Korean soldiers have amassed in Russia’s Kursk region ahead of an expected counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian-seized territory in Kursk, which could launch within days.

🇨🇳 Four friends in China started a massive night-cycling trend – and were shut down by the cops. According to Chinese media, the trend began in June, when four college friends biked ~40 miles from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng to eat a type of soup dumpling for which the city is famous. Soon, hordes of college students were also making the trip. The situation came to a head on Friday, when ~100,000 people joined the cycling journey. The massive crowd jammed major roads, overwhelmed a small city, and prompted authorities to ban future journeys over safety concerns.

🍽️ For when you want the 2 for $20 deal with a side of pancakes. The first combined Applebee’s-IHOP restaurant in the US will open near San Antonio, Texas, early next year, Dine Global, which owns both brands, recently announced. The idea is to maximize revenue while maintaining the same footprint as a single restaurant, with a combined menu covering breakfast through dinner and staff trained to work with both brands. The approach has already seen success: Dine Global’s 13 international IHOP-Applebee’s locations generate 1.5x-2x the revenue of traditional restaurants.