Welcome to Tuesday Twosday, the day so nice you want to live it twice.

In today’s edition:

• 🧠 How video games affect the brain
• 🤔 Does BeReal have staying power?
• 💰📈 The “marriage boost”

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.64 minutes to read.

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

–Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968)

Children who play video games for 3+ hours/day have better memory and more control over their motor skills than kids who don't play video games at all, per a new study published yesterday in the peer-reviewed journal ​​JAMA Network Open. But before you go running to mom with the good news, make sure to read on – one thing isn't necessarily indicative of the other.

🧠 A deeper dive… Researchers from the University of Vermont used data from the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which is tracking brain development across thousands of US children via regular brain imaging, mental health screenings, physical health exams, and more.

• The ABCD study had previously asked 2,200+ children aged nine or ten how many hours of video games they play each week.
• The Vermont scientists used that data to divide the kids into frequent gamers (21+ hours per week) and non-gamers (0 hours per week), then compared the two categories.

🎮 The results… indicated children in the ‘frequent gamer’ category were faster and more accurate than non-gamers on cognitive tests measuring impulse control and working memory.

• The Vermont study also discovered a difference in brain activity between the two categories. Frequent gamers’ brains showed more activity in regions associated with cognitively demanding tasks, and less activity in regions related to vision.

✋ Yes, but: The study didn’t result in the establishment of a causal link. Its authors ultimately said they couldn’t tell whether video games caused superior brain performance; it could just be that kids who are already good at cognitive tasks naturally tend to play lots of video games (or any other possible explanation).

+Worth mentioning: The Vermont study found no differences on measures of mental health between frequent gamers and non-gamers.

🇬🇧 Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak will become the UK’s next prime minister today. The development comes after Sunak’s two biggest opponents, former PM Boris Johnson and former Defense Minister Penny Mordaunt, both dropped out of the race to replace outgoing PM Liz Truss as head of the Conservative Party. Sunak, 42, is Britain’s youngest PM in 200 years, as well as the country’s first non-white PM in history.

🇨🇳 The DOJ charged two Chinese intelligence officers with trying to bribe a US double-agent. The defendants were described as a pair of Chinese spies conducting foreign intelligence operations against the US on behalf of Beijing, with the goal of benefitting an unnamed Chinese telecom company. The spies were reportedly seeking info on the ongoing US criminal case against Huawei, per the WSJ. The DOJ also announced charges yesterday against 11 other Chinese nationals, in two separate cases related to unlawfully exerting influence in the US to further the CCP’s interests (ex: bribery, obstruction, attempting to recruit spies).

🇨🇦 Canada’s preemptive ban on the sale, purchase, or transfer of handguns took effect on Friday. The executive action from PM Justin Trudeau was first announced in May alongside proposed legislation that would have the same effect, which is still under debate in Canada’s Parliament. Trudeau said Friday’s move will help "keep Canadians safe" while the legislation is being considered.

+Bonus: Top US execs and international officials are flocking to Saudi Arabia’s ‘Davos in the Desert,’ a three-day economic conference in Riyadh starting today.

The Covid pandemic contributed to historic learning setbacks for US children in reading and math, per the 2022 Nation's Report Card published yesterday by the Education Department.

🏫 Background… This year's report is the first since 2019. But every two years since the 1980s, the federal government has tested thousands of fourth- and eighth-graders from all 50 states on their reading and math skills, with results generally ticking upwards over time – especially in math.

📝 This year’s results: Every major US region (Northeast, Midwest, etc.) saw test scores fall, and every state experienced declines in one or both subjects. The lone bright spot was Los Angeles, where eighth-grade reading scores increased by 9 points – the only “significant uptick” in any major US school district across all categories, per the AP.

• Average math scores in 2022 fell by their largest margin ever, dropping eight points out of a possible 500. Nearly 40% of eighth graders failed to grasp basic math concepts, the Education Department found.
• In reading, scores fell by three points to reach a level last seen in 1991. For context, researchers typically think of a 10-point gain or drop as roughly equal to a year of learning, per the AP.

🎓📉 Zoom out: Falling test scores aren’t just isolated to fourth- and eighth-graders. The average ACT score for high school seniors fell for the fifth straight year to its lowest level in over three decades, per new data published this month by ACT Inc., which administers the test.

🤯 Did you know... women benefit more from collaborating than competing, and are more successful in business when they support other women's business ventures? This is one of the reasons behind the founding of The WMarketplace – a platform where every purchase supports women entrepreneurs and gets them closer to their dreams.

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Remember a couple of weeks ago, when we said – based on the Android user data available at the time – that BeReal was potentially dealing with a user retention issue? Well, the iPhone user data is out… and just like a delicious-but-filling burrito, you can toss that concern right out the window.

According to a new report from TechCrunch citing insider sources, the app currently has ~20 million daily active users. And with over 50 million total downloads, that means BeReal’s daily user retention rate sits somewhere around 40%. Which puts it squarely in the ballpark of competitors like Instagram (39%), TikTok (29%), Facebook (27%), Snapchat (26%), YouTube (20%), and Twitter (18%).

📸 Big picture: BeReal was founded in late 2019, but has exploded in popularity this year, going from 2.3 million total downloads to more than 50 million total downloads over the first nine months of 2022. And from a funding perspective, the app is flush. It secured $60M earlier this year at a ~$600M pre-money valuation, per multiple sources. 

But one big business question remains: how will BeReal make money in the future?

• Subscriptions, possibly, according to the Financial Times (paywalled). Though only time will tell for sure.

+In the know: It’s difficult to find solid user numbers from the early days of popular social apps, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. But with that caveat in mind – and knowing it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison – the following stat should still provide some context on BeReal’s rise: about three years after Facebook was launched, the site boasted 20 million monthly active users.

💬 Quoted…​​ “By removing it we can provide more business-class seats, which is what our customers most want or most willing to pay for.”

American Airlines officially eliminated all first-class seating on international flights "for the simple reason that our customers aren't buying it," per Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja.

• The airline will replace first-class with the more popular business class, a move Delta and United made in 1998 and 2016, respectively.

💰 Stat of the Day: The net worth of married couples ages 25 to 34 is 9x higher than that of single households in the same age bracket, per the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (via Harper’s).

🤯 Did You Know?... Dragonflies are the most successful predator in the entire animal kingdom based on hunt-success rate, coming in at ~95%.

📖 Worth a Read: Why We Enjoy Fear: The Science of a Good Scare → (The Guardian)

• ☝️ Researchers at Harvard University created a soft tentacle gripper robot, modeled after an octopus, that can pick up and move fragile objects – something robots typically struggle with.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US stocks rose across the board yesterday, with the Dow closing at its highest level in six weeks. (Dow: +1.3% | S&P: +1.2% | Nasdaq: +0.9%) | About two-thirds of companies in the S&P 500 reporting earnings over the past two weeks had representatives that mentioned inflation, per FactSet.
• 🩲 Walmart is relaunching and renaming its intimates and sleepwear line under a new brand called Joyspun.
• 🌱🥩 Beyond Meat’s steak substitute became available in Kroger, Walmart, and other US grocery stores yesterday. (Background: What’s happening to plant-based meat?)

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎭 Comedian and Emmy-winning actor Leslie Jordan, 67, died in a car crash yesterday; he’s best known for roles in Will and Grace and American Horror Story.
• 📈 Apple raised prices for its TV+ and Music streaming services yesterday, citing the expansion of its streaming content library and increased music licensing costs.
• ⚽ The 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand announced its draws over the weekend; Team USA’s group stage includes Vietnam, the Netherlands, and the winner of a play-in tournament.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌐 Researchers from Denmark and Sweden set a new record for data transmission rates by sending 1.8 petabytes per second – roughly twice the amount of overall Internet traffic – from an optical source to a single chip via laser.
• 🛸 NASA tasked a team of 16 scientists and experts with studying UFOs over the next nine months.
• 🇬🇧 Britain was home to at least two genetically distinct groups of humans at the end of the last ice age, per a new peer-reviewed study analyzing the oldest human DNA ever found in the UK.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🍔 The McRib will debut this year around Halloween, McDonald’s announced yesterday.
• 🖼️ German police arrested two climate protesters who threw mashed potatoes at a $110+ million Monet painting, which has a protective covering and didn’t sustain any damage.
• ⚖️ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocked a Georgia grand jury’s subpoena to have Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) testify about possible criminal interference in the 2020 presidential election. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

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Yesterday, we asked whether y’all thought America will have a physical war with China within the next three decades.

• 42% said yes, 33% said no, and 25% were unsure or had a more nuanced opinion.

See the full 360° view.

Kayley Stead woke up at 6:30 am on the morning of her wedding excited for the day ahead. By 11 am, however, her world had crumbled. Her fiancé was nowhere to be found... and she realized she'd been stood up.

💒 The show must go on: Kayley was understandably confused and devastated – but decided to carry on with her nuptials anyway. "I was like, I'm going to do it," she said. "I'd spent all this money, I'd been looking forward to the food, a dance with my dad, spending time with my family, so why not?”

• Kayley and her wedding guests danced the night away, turning the wedding into a celebration of family and friendship.
• "There were so many special moments, like my wedding entrance, the sparkler walk, the first dance and punching the wedding cake," she shared. "So there was still happiness in the day." 

❓ Trivia: What book starts with the line: “Call me Ishmael”?

🐊 True or False?... Crocodiles can’t stick out their tongue.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 2/4 goat?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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❓ Trivia: Moby Dick

🐊 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: Chicago (chicken, cat, goat)