Remember, It's November

New Zealand Referendums

New Zealand voted to legalize euthanasia for the terminally ill and voted against legalizing recreational marijuana in a set of referendums held on October 17th. With 83% of the votes already counted, ~65% of New Zealanders voted in favor of legalizing euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide, while ~53% of New Zealanders voted against legalizing recreational marijuana.

Special Forces Rescue

U.S. special forces on Saturday rescued an American citizen kidnapped from his farm in Niger. Philipe Walton, who was abducted last Tuesday by a group of armed men seeking a ransom, was rescued by SEAL Team 6 and other special forces from an undisclosed location in northern Nigeria.

Natural Disasters Around The World

🇵🇭 Typhoon Goni hit the eastern Philippines at dawn on Sunday, with the Category 5 storm bringing gusts of wind that reached 174 mph and caused at least ten deaths.

🇬🇷 🇹🇷 A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Turkey on Friday, with at least 64 deaths reported as of Sunday.

🇺🇸 Roughly 246k people remain without power across LA, MS, AL, GA, & NC in the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta. | Tropical Storm Eta (the 28th named storm in the Atlantic this season) is expected to strengthen into the 12th Atlantic hurricane of 2020 this morning.

Also…

🎭 Oscar-winning actor Sir Sean Connery - best known for his portrayal of James Bond - died peacefully in his sleep at 90 years old, his family said on Saturday.

A Slam Dunk(in’)

Inspire Brands agreed to acquire Dunkin’ Brands (owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins) in an all-cash deal worth $11.3B including debt, both companies announced on Friday. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year, will make Inspire Brands - which also owns Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Sonic, and Buffalo Wild Wings - the second-largest restaurant chain in the U.S. by domestic sales (trailing only McDonald’s).

Walmart Pulls The Trigger

Walmart on Friday reversed its previous decision to remove guns and ammunition from its sales floors in anticipation of civil unrest surrounding the election. The decision was reportedly made after the company determined the incidents that had caused the initial removal of firearms were isolated.

Data Dump

U.S. household spending on goods and services rose 1.4% in September, according to data released by the Commerce Department. The data also showed that personal income (which counts money received from wages and salaries, government aid, and investments) rose by 0.9% in September after a 2.5% decline in August.

🍟 McDonald’s McRib will be available nationwide in early December for the first time since 2012 (though there have been limited releases since then).

Cards FOR Humanity

Reese Osterberg of Fresno, CA, is a baseball fanatic, both on and off the field. Not only does the athletic 9-year-old wield an all-star swing at the plate, but she also possesses a prized collection of 100 baseball cards. However, when Reese and her family were forced to evacuate their home to escape the Creek Fire last month, her beloved baseball cards were destroyed by the flames.

As a result, the Fresno County Fire Department initiated a “Step Up to the Plate” Baseball Card Drive for the bummed ballplayer, catching the attention of baseball card collector Kevin Ashford. Kevin, who amassed ~25k cards over the last 25 years, was initially going to sell his impressive collection on eBay but decided to donate all of his cards to the young girl instead.

Save The Date

On August 15th, Samantha Whiting was enjoying a day at the beach in Monterey, CA, with her family when her 10-year-old daughter, Haylee, found herself being pulled out to sea by a riptide. Samantha attempted to swim out to her daughter, but the current was too strong, putting the distraught mom at risk of drowning as well. Back on the shore, Kevin Cozzi and his fiancé heard screams for help.

Kevin – who has been swimming competitively since the age of three – dove into the surf and swam out to reach Haylee, bringing her closer to shore until a lifeguard arrived to assist. In the chaotic aftermath of the rescue, Samantha only managed to catch Kevin’s first name. Thus, she spent the following months searching for him on Facebook until the grateful mom finally reconnected with Kevin, thanking him for his selflessness by starting a GoFundMe campaign to pay for his wedding.

Wanted: Purr McCartney & George Hairrison

A group of students in Liverpool, England, discovered a four-week-old ginger tabby cat on “John Lennon Drive” on October 8th – the day that would have been the singer’s 80th birthday. After wrapping the frightened feline up in a blanket, the young rescuers delivered the animal to the local Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter, where the kitten was aptly named Lennon.

Meanwhile, at the same animal shelter, veterinary workers caring for a newborn black and white kitten rejected by his mother decided to introduce the slightly older Lennon to the younger kitten. The two cats hit it off immediately (photos), with the felines quickly becoming inseparable as Lennon stepped into the role of big brother. As a result of the cats’ compatibility, the staff named the younger kitten Ringo.