🇬🇧 Britain Bans Binance. Big Bummer?

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, “is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK,” according to a ruling published yesterday by Britain’s financial regulator.

• Trading cryptocurrencies is not directly regulated in the UK, meaning there will be no impact on residents who use Binance to purchase and sell crypto.
• However, the ruling means Binance is now restricted from offering other related activities to UK residents, such as selling derivatives.

More: Binance has until Wednesday to stop any form of advertising within the UK, and to display a notice on its website that says: "Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK."

🎁 DONUT Headline: The NCAA will decide on Wednesday whether to update its rules to allow all college athletes to monetize their name-image-likeness. This comes ahead of Thursday, when NIL laws in seven states are set to take effect. (Procrastination at its finest.)

🎁 DONUT Headline: A federal judge dismissed two antitrust lawsuits from the FTC & 48 attorneys general seeking to unwind Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp; the social giant’s market cap rose above $1T for the first time.

Consumer sentiment is rising among Democrats and falling among Republicans, according to monthly survey data published by the University of Michigan.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a Virginia school board’s appeal to reinstate its transgender bathroom ban over two dissenting votes – Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

• The court’s decision leaves in place a 2-1 Fourth Circuit Court ruling finding the school district’s policy - which requires students to use restrooms corresponding with their biological sex - was unconstitutional.

🤿 A deeper dive…
At the heart of the case was Gavin Grimm, a then-15-year-old transgender student at Gloucester High School who first sued his school district in 2015 for access to the boy’s bathroom.

• The Fourth Circuit Court found the school board’s policy violated both the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title IX, an education law prohibiting sex discrimination.
• In his dissent, Judge Paul Niemeyer argued the school did not violate Title IX since it provided unisex restrooms and made them available to all students, and thus also did not deliberately discriminate against Grimm in violation of the 14th Amendment.

📸 The Big Picture
From Politico: “The Supreme Court's decision to leave the lower court's ruling in place is seen as a major victory for transgender student rights, especially as a number of conservative states pass laws to challenge them.”

👟 Walk & See

Image: Honda

An estimated 1.6 million people currently living in Japan are visually impaired, and that number is expected to grow to 2 million by the end of the decade.

To tackle the issue, a new startup called Ashirase is developing an in-shoe navigation device to aid visually impaired pedestrians.

• Worn around each foot, the Ashirase device includes a motion sensor attached to the outside of the shoe that pairs with a corresponding smartphone app.
• The device vibrates the left or right side of a wearer’s foot to indicate left and right turns along a predetermined route.

Ashirase, which is backed by Honda, hopes to market the mobility device commercially by March 2023.

Keep reading.

Correction: *Yesterday, we insinuated Michelin the tire company was separate from Michelin the “master of restaurant stars,” when, in fact, they are one and the same. Thanks to Mark A. from Syracuse for being the first to point out the mistake!

Image: Instagram (@toughmudder)

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

This question is asked at every Tough Mudder race as contestants line up to tackle the difficult obstacles ahead of them.

• Completing a Tough Mudder is a feat for any athlete. WIth challenging teamwork-inspired obstacles, miles of running, and (of course) lots of slippery mud, the race is designed to be one of the grittiest fitness challenges around.

When Mildred Wilson of Missouri signed up for her first Tough Mudder 5K in 2019, she knew she needed adequate training to accomplish the full course.

• After getting the A-OK from her doctor and training for months ahead of time, she completed the 5K with her son by her side.

Fast forward to this year, and the 81-year-old did it again.

Keep reading.

What was the name of the unofficial fourth Rice Krispies mascot? (In addition to Snap, Crackle, & Pop.)

A) Pow
B) Bang
C) Boom
D) Splat

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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A) Pow

The famous Rice Krispies mascots briefly had a fourth companion named Pow in the early 1950s. Pow was created to represent "the power of whole grain rice," but appeared in just two TV commercials before he got the axe.

• The storyboards for the commercials reveal that, while Snap, Crackle, and Pop are brothers, Pow was simply a friend of the family.

Keep reading.