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Good morning and Happy Friday. The media market is heating up.
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Forbes in talks to go public via SPAC, per Reuters.
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Verizon is in talks to sell media assets, including Yahoo & AOL, per the WSJ.
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An SPAC proposal to create the Trump Media Group has made its way to Mar-a-Lago (but is reportedly dead in the water).
+Heard through the grapevine: The DONUT is in talks to sell its newsletter for $2B. (If you’re interested, you know where to find us. 😉)
⏰🚀 Ready, Set, Go: Today’s newsletter takes 3.87 minutes to read.
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🍩 Daily Sprinkle
“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all.”
–Thomas J. Watson
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🗣👂 Dose of Discussion
🚬🚫 FDA Moves to Ban Menthol Cigarettes & Flavored Cigars
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The FDA announced it will work towards issuing two tobacco product standards within the next year:
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Banning menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes (the only flavor exempt from a 2009 ban).
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Banning all characterizing flavors in cigars, menthol included. (What is a characterizing flavor?)
🤿 A deeper dive…
The FDA said the decision was “based on clear science and evidence establishing the addictiveness and harm of these products” and “strong evidence that a menthol ban will help people quit.”
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Thursday’s announcement is the result of a lawsuit filed by anti-smoking and medical groups last summer to force the FDA to respond to a 2013 petition seeking to ban menthol-flavored tobacco products.
The agency’s action would also ban menthol and fruity flavors from low-cost, small cigars, which it said are increasingly popular among children and teens.
⏭️ What’s Next?
Any menthol ban will likely take years to implement, as the FDA will have to review thousands of comments submitted by manufacturers, consumers, health experts and others before publishing a final rule.
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Any legislation is also likely to face legal challenges from tobacco companies, which would delay the ban even further.
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📰 Quick Bits
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⚡️🇺🇸 Possible Directed Energy Attacks on U.S. Soil
Congressional lawmakers on Thursday confirmed federal agencies are investigating at least two incidents on U.S. soil with hallmarks of so-called “Havana Syndrome,” i.e, invisible attacks formerly reported by American and Canadian officials based in Cuba.
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According to CNN, one of the recent attacks took place near the Ellipse, the large oval lawn on the south side of the White House, sickening one National Security Official.
Explainer: In 2016, Havana-stationed U.S. diplomats and support staff began reporting strange sounds, steady pulses of pressure in their heads, and a number of other neurological symptoms ranging from vertigo to insomnia.
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In some cases, officials noticed a sharp deterioration in their hearing and vision. Physicians enlisted by the State Department said brain scans of 40 affected personnel showed structural changes to the brain that had not been identified or linked to any known disorder.
The U.S. gradually evacuated all of its diplomatic staff from Havana by 2018.
More: A December 2020 report from the National Academy of Sciences concluded focused microwave energy was the most likely culprit.
Even More: In a letter obtained by NBC News, a group of Canadian diplomats accused their government of withholding information about what they say are three new cases of brain injury resulting from Havana Syndrome in the past two years.
From the Right: NY Post
From the Left: CNBC
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👮 Police Standoff in North Carolina
Four people – a married couple and two North Carolina sheriff’s deputies – were shot and killed during a welfare check Wednesday morning that turned into a 13-hour standoff.
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Authorities said the suspected gunman, who was later identified as the couple’s 32-year-old son/stepson, was also found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Per the AP: “There was familial concern that he might try to do something and he had evidently a fairly large cache of weapons… I’m convinced that the attitude of the suspect was such that he was planning this, not particularly at the officers, but possibly the public in general.” –Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman
From the Left: ABC News
From the Right: WSJ
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🇨🇳 China Launches First Space Station Module
Image: YouTube
China successfully launched the first module for a new permanent space station early Thursday. (Video)
🚀 Blast from the Past: China has been barred from participating in missions to the ISS since 2011. (The U.S. passed a law that year preventing American contact with the Chinese space program, citing national security concerns.)
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Since then, China has launched two versions of its own space station - Tiangong-1 & Tiangong-2 - which lasted a combined seven years before deorbiting.
When complete, the new, T-shaped Chinese Space Station will be 1/4 the size of the ISS and have the ability to support three taikonauts (astronauts) for stays lasting up to six months.
More: Beijing hopes to have the station operational by 2022.
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DONUT Holes...
🏈 The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft last night. Rounds 2 and 3 are tonight; 4-7 on Saturday afternoon. (Full first round results.)
📦 Amazon posted record quarterly profit for Q1, with sales up 44% compared to a year ago. Dig deeper.
⛈️ Hailstorms across Okalahoma & Texas on Wednesday caused an estimated $1 billion in damages – though some estimate higher. (Fun Fact: Wind & hail make up the highest number of insurance claims each year and can exceed $10 billion in losses annually, according to Aon.)
📈 The U.S. economy grew at a 6.4% annualized rate in the first quarter of 2021, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis – up from 4.3% in Q4 2020.
🇵🇸 Palestine is delaying its first election in fifteen years. (From the Left | From the Right)
💸 Ether hit a record high of $2,800 yesterday morning.
🇮🇱 At least 44 people were crushed to death and 150+ injured in a stampede at Israel's Lag B'Omer religious festival late last night.
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📸 Pics of the Day (we couldn’t choose just one)…
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Image: Twitter |
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🤗 Daily Dose of Positive
🐶🐬 Furry Friends Friday: Fluffy & Flipper (say that five times fast)
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Images: TikTok
Last December, parents Steve and Danielle set out on the adventure of a lifetime – they sold their house and bought a boat to travel the world with their young son Colton and the family dog, Lily.
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Living out their days sailing through the beautiful Caribbean islands, the family often encounters marine life right outside their “house.”
Earlier this month, a friendly dolphin took a liking to Lily, circling their boat for so long that they decided to jump in with the friendly flipper – and ended up playing for over half an hour.
“The most AMAZING experience! …. It was beautiful to watch.”
Watch land dolphin and sea dog meet.
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🛸🌄📲 Calling from the Future…
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🍪 Confection Connection…
Image: Wing
Wing, a drone delivery subsidiary of Alphabet, has been testing its technology in Christiansburg, VA, since 2019 – primarily transporting small consumer goods from drugstores.
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The company heard a local Girl Scout troop had difficulty selling their cookies during the pandemic, and decided to lend a helping hand… er, drone.
Now, Thin Mints, Samoas, and other iconic Girl Scout cookies, are delivered directly to the customer’s front porch or yard. (No word yet on whether a commercial drone piloting badge is in the works, but it 100% should be.)
Watch it in action.
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💡 Dose of Knowledge
🍻 Raising the Bar
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Which U.S. president was also a licensed bartender?
A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Harry Truman
C) Theodore Roosevelt
D) Gerald Ford
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(keep scrolling for the answer) |
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🤑🍩 Refer friends & family to the DONUT, earn rewards
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Buttery-soft (and actually stylish) merch is only a couple clicks away. Simply:
1. Copy your unique referral link below.
2. Post said link on social media, drop it in a group chat, send it to a random group of strangers named Josh, etc.
3. Watch the rewards roll in.
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Ambassador Rewards and Progress → |
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💡 Dose of Knowledge Answer
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A) Abraham Lincoln
While George Washington established the nation’s largest whiskey distillery and Thomas Jefferson brewed his own beer, Abraham Lincoln is the only president who was also a licensed bartender.
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