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Good morning and welcome to Thursday.
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⏰🚀 Ready, Set, Go: Today’s newsletter takes 4.47 minutes to read. (With the 360° view: +3.51 minutes.)
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🍩 Daily Sprinkle
"Each problem has a positive side."
–Og Mandino (1923-1996)
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👇📰 Quick Bits
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🧠 Havana Syndrome Is Back
 Image: Tenor
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🎁 At least five American families near the U.S. Embassy in Colombia have reported experiencing symptoms of Havana Syndrome ahead of a planned visit from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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The WSJ first reported emails sent by the U.S. ambassador to Colombia confirming a number of "unexplained health incidents" – a gov’t term for Havana Syndrome – since mid-September. Colombia’s president later told the NYT that the country is investigating the reports.
📜 Background: Havana Syndrome is the term for a series of unexplained medical symptoms first experienced by U.S. State Department personnel and Canadian diplomats stationed in Cuba starting in late 2016.
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Those affected describe a range of symptoms, including dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, cognitive difficulties, and memory loss. In some cases, they were forced to leave active service due to complications such as chronic insomnia, headaches, and even brain damage.
🤔 What’s causing it ?... Short answer: Nobody really knows. (Long answer: Noooobody realllllly knooooows.)
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Initially, U.S. investigators believed the syndrome resulted from an attack by a sonic or acoustic weapon, until a comprehensive analysis last year identified the most likely culprit as “directed, pulsed radio frequency energy.”
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A declassified State Department report from 2018 obtained last month by Buzzfeed News suggested some of the original cases were caused by sounds made by crickets, but government officials say they're now completely discounting this possibility.
📺 In the news: Three former U.S. diplomats stationed in Cuba who were victims of Havana Syndrome shared their experiences in an interview with NBC News last night.
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“The way the doctor boiled it down for me … he said, ‘Well, it's like you aged, you know, 20, 25 years all at once.’” Watch the full segment.
👁️ Looking ahead… Secretary of State Blinken is traveling to Colombia later this month to meet with Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez.
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🍷 This One’s All About Wine
 Image: Giphy
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🎁 A 1,500-year-old wine factory has been uncovered by archaeologists in the Israeli town of Yavne. It’s thought to be the biggest in the Byzantine Empire, producing and shipping around two million liters every year – the equivalent of 2.67 million bottles of wine.
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The discovery followed a two-year excavation process that was one of the largest in the country, where around 300 staff members worked five days a week.
🏺 #BTS… The site contains five wine presses and kilns for firing the clay jars that stored the wine. There were also four large warehouses where wine was “clay-potted” and aged.
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It was then exported throughout the Mediterranean from ports in Ashkelon and Gaza. The same jars found on site have also been found in many parts throughout the region, including Egypt.
📰 A lesson in branding: The factory likely produced “Gaza and Ashkelon wine”, a famous brand of the ancient world that apparently kept a world-class marketing agency on retainer.
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The “light white wine” was really enjoyed by the aristocracy, enough to be set aside at the king’s table during at least one coronation ceremony.
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But it was also a staple for many non-aristocrats, both adults and children. Water was often contaminated, and while people didn’t exactly know why they’d get sick, they were smart enough to stay away from it…. which meant they’d turn to wine or beer instead.
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Over the factory’s 200-year operation, the brand had a reputation for quality throughout the Mediterranean region – but it wasn’t the first to make wine in the area. The archaeologists also uncovered older wine presses dating back to the Persian period, around 2,300 years ago.
👁️ Looking ahead: The site is open to tour before it’ll be closed off for the rainy season, and then turned into an archaeological park that’ll eventually be open to the public.
+Fun fact: In Israel, all development projects must be accompanied by archaeological excavations. The factory was a semi-chance discovery.
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🍩 DONUT Holes…
 Image: eMarketer
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☝️ Spotify is projected to overtake Apple in podcast listeners for the first time this year.
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🇲🇽 🇨🇦 The U.S. plans to open its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from Mexico and Canada starting in November.
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📦 The White House said Walmart, FedEx, and UPS will move to a 24-hour schedule to address supply chain issues; major ports in Long Beach and LA will also run 24/7.
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💪 ClassPass, last valued at $1 billion, was acquired by Mindbody in an all stock deal; the combined entity secured a $500 million investment led by Sixth Street.
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📈 Social Security benefits will increase 5.9% next year, the largest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years. (From the Left | From the Right)
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🎥 The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) will go on strike on Monday unless an agreement is reached with the group that represents studios and entertainment companies, the union's president said. (What’s going on ?)
+Bonus: Adele's new album is titled "30" and will be released on Nov. 19.
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🔥👚 Sponsored by Sub_Urban Riot 👕🔥
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There are some things we all believe…
Comedy should be smart and edgy, TED talks can be funny, dogs and cats CAN live together, and Arbitrary Day is an awesome thing. The best proverbs are inspirational, which we print on our t-shirts and posters to remind the world how awesome we are.
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Wait, wait, wait: NOT the last one – we got a little carried away. It’s hard to focus when we’re simultaneously shopping
outfits art masquerading as clothing at Sub_Urban Riot.
🤔 What’s Sub_Urban Riot ?... A global clothing brand founded by two college friends at the beginning of one of the largest financial crises ever, so following rules and convention isn’t exactly their thing...
...but making bada** clothing with the perfect combo of positivity and humor most definitely is.
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You’ve seen their Kale sweatshirt on Queen 🐝 herself, tees on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the Favorite Daughter design.
💎🌳 Luxury, but make it affordable & sustainable: You’ll never see $85 shirts from Sub_Urban Riot just because they can… but you’ll never see $9 shirts either.
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Either option comes at a huge cost – whether to you, those making the garment, or to the environment. And just like Gator from The Other Guys, Sub_Urban Riot don’t play like that.
Use code DONUT and receive 30% off your order – even sales items.
Shop Sub_Urban Riot today.
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🔥 The Hot Corner
💬 Heard Through the Grapevine… “This experience; it was something unbelievable… I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don't want to lose it. It's so much larger than me and life." –William Shatner, 90, moments after becoming the oldest person to fly to space.
🔢 Stat of the Day: A recent YouGov poll found 25 percent of Americans say they’d be interested in living in a Mars colony for the rest of their lives.
📖 Worth Your Time… The big face-off between Halo, Call of Duty and Battlefield
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🗣👂 Dose of Discussion
🇺🇸 Vape Nation
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 Image: Brian Ach/AP
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🎁 The FDA authorized three tobacco-flavored electronic cigarette products marketed by R.J. Reynolds under the brand name Vuse Solo, citing benefits to adult smokers who are trying to quit tobacco.
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The decision marks the first time the FDA has greenlit an e-cig to be sold in the U.S. and comes with “strict marketing restrictions” to “greatly reduce the potential for youth exposure” to tobacco advertising.
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The agency also denied applications for 10 flavored Vuse Solo products, saying they’re more likely to be used by children and teens. R.J. Reynolds said it’s still awaiting a decision on its more popular Vuse Alto vaping device.
📜 Background… The FDA declared underage vaping an “epidemic” in 2018 and has since enacted a series of regulatory measures, including limiting flavors to tobacco and menthol. (Note: E-cigs with synthetic nicotine like Puff Bars are not subject to the same flavor restrictions.)
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Last month, the agency banned the sale of nearly 950,000 e-cigs and related products but delayed its decision on top-seller Juul and other major brands, which still remain in limbo.
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Separately, Congress raised the purchase age to 21 for all tobacco and vaping products in January of last year.
📉 Zoom out: Rates of youth vaping have declined considerably since 2019 when the annual National Youth Tobacco Survey found a little over a quarter of high school students were vaping.
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This year, 11.3 percent of high school students said they currently vape, down from 19.6 percent in 2020.
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Students who completed this year’s online survey while attending school reported higher rates of vaping (16 percent) compared to students learning at home (8 percent).
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📣🗣💬 This Week's Poll Responses
Yes – “Comedy is often meant to challenge people, but the LGBTQ+ community – and specifically, the trans community – faces enough challenges already. Punching down is easy.”
No – “If Netflix started discriminating then that’s one thing. But to “cancel” someone who may have different views just limits that person’s self-expression. We can coexist with different opinions/perspectives/values and make our own choices. I don’t need everyone else to think the exact same way I do.”
Unsure – “I think at the bare minimum, there should be a "content warning" at the top of the special and a message that Netflix does not align with his views.”
+Note on Sample Size: We received 2,508 responses. 👏🥳 Some may have been lightly edited for grammar or clarity.
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🛸🌄📲 Calling from the Future…
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🌊🔋 Turning The Tide
 The Oscilla Power team atop its Triton-C wave energy device; Image: Oscilla Power
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🎁 Two Pacific Northwest companies are conducting tests of energy systems that can harness power from the waves of the ocean.
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Seattle’s Oscilla Power and Oregon State University spinout C-Power are testing out their respective technologies for the very first time this month at the U.S. Navy Wave Energy Test Site in Hawaii.
⚙️ How it works… Oscilla Power is deploying its Triton-C energy system designed to provide up to 100 kilowatts of power to isolated coastal communities or small facilities.
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The device floats on the ocean’s surface and harnesses power by moving front to back, side to side, and up and down, efficiently capturing energy from all directions.
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C-Power is testing a range of similar devices that generate smaller amounts of energy and could be used to recharge offshore vessels, underwater vehicles, and equipment.
👁️ Looking ahead: Oscilla Power is currently raising funds to test its larger model called the Triton, a 1-megawatt system meant to be installed in large arrays to provide utility-scale power to the electrical grid.
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🔥😌 Find Your Happy Place 🧘🔥
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How the world can make you feel...
How Positive DONUT makes you feel...
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🤗 Daily Dose of Positive
🏠 Prime Time Player
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 Image: Amazon
Amazon delivery driver Wakie Medina was on his usual route when he noticed the back porch of a house on fire.
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Without hesitating, he jumped out of his van and ran towards the flames, spotting a teenage boy who told Wakie his grandmother and sister were still stuck upstairs.
🔥 Trial by fire… Wakie ran into the house and escorted the boy’s two relatives out to safety before the fire department arrived. The heroic act earned him Amazon’s “Driver of the Month” award and recognition from the company’s leadership.
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💡 Dose of Knowledge
🧠 State of Mind
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Question: What is the only U.S. state with one syllable in its name?
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(keep scrolling for the answer) |
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💡 Dose of Knowledge Answer
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