Good morning. Apologies for crushing your hopes this early in the morning, but you are not the lucky Powerball winner. A still-anonymous person in Southern California will be the sole recipient of the $2.04 billion jackpot, which clocks in as the largest-ever lottery prize in the world.

As we covered earlier this week, there are two options to take home the winnings. If the winner opts for the lump sum route, they’ll receive a one-time transfer of $997.6 million. (Imagine that hitting the bank account🤯.)

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In today’s edition:

• 🗳 Midterms results so far
• 💼🍿 Meetings: coming soon to a theater near you
• 🤔 What’s the most-profitable tech company in China?

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.71 minutes to read.

“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

–Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Polls closed across all 50 states late last night, signaling the official end of the 2022 midterms. Results are still trickling in and will continue to do so for several days, as election officials count and certify millions of ballots across America. Here’s what we know so far:

🏛️ Senate: 35 Senate seats are up for election – 14 currently held by Democrats and 21 by Republicans. The GOP only needs to flip one seat to regain a majority in the chamber.

• As of late last night, 18 seats had been called for Republicans and 12 seats had been called for Democrats. (See which ones)

🏠 House: All 435 House seats are up for election, with Republicans needing to flip control of four to retake a majority. So far, 199 races have been called for Republicans, while 172 have been called for Democrats. (See which ones)

📜 Governors: There were 36 gubernatorial seats on the ballot this election: 20 Republican and 16 Democrat. Before the midterms, Republicans were in charge of 28 of the 50 states. So far, 16 races have been called for Republicans (including in Texas, where GOP incumbent Greg Abbott secured a third term) and 15 have been called for Democrats. (See which ones)

🔑 Some key races: These particular elections are seen as bellwethers for the entire midterms. In other words, experts look to these results to predict the voting preferences of America as a whole.

• In Georgia, the race between Republican Herschel Walker and incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is too close to call. Projections suggest control of the Senate may come down to this race.
• In Pennsylvania’s Senate race, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman prevailed over Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz.
• In Ohio, Republican J.D. Vance unseated incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Ryan.
• In Florida's governor race, incumbent GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis beat Democratic challenger Charlie Crist by a nearly 20-point margin.

📊 Flash poll: Did you vote in yesterday’s midterm election?

Yes

No

I’m too young

🇨🇦 Striking education workers in Ontario, Canada, are returning to work after the local gov’t rescinded a controversial law. Some 55,000 education workers went on strike last Friday after failing to reach an agreement with the provincial government on better pay and more staff in schools. The night before, local officials passed a law that made going on strike illegal and imposed a contract on the education workers – but they ended up going on strike anyways. Though now that the law has been rescinded, educators will be returned to school while negotiations over a new contract continue.

🇬🇷 Greece’s government banned the sale of spyware amidst an ongoing wiretapping scandal. The announcement follows reports over the weekend claiming dozens of public individuals’ phones were infected with a spyware program managed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government. And security checks conducted a few months ago revealed opposition leader Nikos Androulakis was also spied on by Greece’s intelligence services last year.

🇺🇦 Ukrainian forces are preparing for a potential battle over the Russian-occupied port city of Kherson. Since launching a counteroffensive in late August, Ukraine’s military has recaptured ~13% of the territory previously held by Russia. Clashes between the two sides over the next three weeks are expected to determine control of the region, per experts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said he was open to “genuine peace talks” if Russia met certain conditions, like fully withdrawing their troops and paying for damages (which almost certainly won’t happen).

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According to a Monday announcement not even the Oracle of Delphi saw coming, Zoom, the company synonymous with online meetings, is partnering with theater chain AMC to bring said online meetings to real life. Or something like that.

🤔 What exactly is going on?... When the partnership launches in 17 major US cities sometime next year, companies will be able to book “Zoom Rooms” at their preferred AMC theater.

These rooms, aka individual theaters, will come equipped with all the tech necessary to host large-scale video calls. Auditorium sizes are expected to range between 75 and 150 seats, and each will offer traditional movie theater food and beverage options. Because there’s nothing quite like munching on some popcorn while getting the South American division’s sales update.

📸 Big picture: State-of-the-art visuals and sound tech notwithstanding, AMC and Zoom are hoping companies with decentralized workforces and customer bases will feel the need to gather employees and prospects in person for meetings and events. The partnership also comes at a time when both companies are looking for a bit of a boost.

Zoom shares are currently trading at $78.31, down from their $588.84 peak in October 2020. And while AMC managed to evade bankruptcy last year (s/o HODL’rs), it’s needing to expand its business in the face of a movie industry that still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, was shown to significantly reduce depression when compared to a placebo, per a new peer-reviewed study published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine.

🍄 More details… The Trinity College Dublin study, which included 233 adult volunteers with depression, is the largest to-date in this area of research. It’s also the first time a psilocybin trial has reached Phase 3, one of the last steps necessary before possible FDA approval.

• Those given a single 25mg dose were more likely to see significant mental health improvements – both immediately and for up to three months – than others randomly assigned 1mg or 10mg doses, the study’s authors said.

🇺🇸 Zoom out: Most psychedelics are classified as Schedule I controlled substances by the federal government. This label restricts academic research and blocks scientists’ access to the drugs. And though the scheduling process is distinct from FDA approval, the DEA typically waits for a drug to be FDA-approved before it can be rescheduled.

• Psilocybin received a “breakthrough therapy” designation from the FDA in 2019 for its potential to treat severe depression, meaning the agency is currently helping to speed up its years-long research and approval process.

💬 Quoted…​​ “Please refrain from licking.”

• The National Park Service is warning visitors not to lick Colorado River toads, which have prominent glands that contain a special toxin. When it’s smoked, the toxin produces effects similar to some psychedelics – but when it’s licked, it can prove lethal to humans.

💼 Stat of the Day: 4.5 million Americans are currently working part-time jobs in addition to their full-time roles, according to new data from the Labor Department.

🤯 Did You Know?... Apple is the most profitable tech company in China, outearning native tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, per a new analysis.

📖 Worth a Read: Millennials Are Changing What It Takes to Succeed in Sales → (WSJ)

A little over ten years ago the Razr flip phone was one of the most popular phones in America. Today, the average American teenager spends ~1.5 hours watching TikTok, per day.

📈 It's clear the trends shaping the investment landscape are moving faster than ever before. The Daily Upside helps break down the news and frame it in a way that matters for investors and respects their time. Sent to your inbox every morning before the markets open, it’s the perfect five-minute read.

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• ☝️The last total lunar eclipse until 2025 could be seen around the world yesterday morning.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• ⚖️ Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was denied a bid for a new trial yesterday; the federal judge who oversaw her initial trial ruling said it’s unlikely she would be acquitted.
• 🪙 Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, agreed to buy the non-US assets of FTX, the world’s fourth-largest exchange, in a deal with undisclosed terms; the move comes amidst a “liquidity crunch” for the Sam Bankman-Fried-founded FTX.
• 📉 Salesforce laid off several hundred employees yesterday, sources told CNBC, becoming the latest US tech company to cut their workforce in recent weeks. (Background)

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🐦 What's happening with Elon Musk at Twitter?
• 🏆 Actor Chris Evans was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2022.
• 🏈💰 Sports reports: The second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released yesterday afternoon. | Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale’s record-breaking $75 million payout on a bet that the Houston Astros would win the World Series is expected to heavily affect Caesars' and Penn’s digital businesses’ this quarter, CNBC reports. (Background)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🦪 A small clam previously thought to be extinct and known only from fossils was recently found living near UC Santa Barbara.
• 💥🚙 Swedish engineers created the first crash test dummy modeled on the average woman; current tests for womens’ safety just use a smaller version of a male dummy.
• 🗽 Two dozen 2,000-plus-year-old bronze statues were recently uncovered in a thermal spring in Italy, a discovery that could "rewrite [the] history" of humanity’s transition from ancient Etruscan civilization to the Roman republic, researchers said.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🌀 Tropical Storm Nicole is currently on track to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall on Florida’s eastern coast late tonight or early tomorrow.
• 🛞 Achieve Zen with this slow driving simulator (best on desktop).
• 😰 Overwhelmed. Burned out. Schedule booked solid. They say that's just modern life – but it doesn't have to be. Do5ive is a FREE weekly newsletter with 5 suggestions on how to live a slower, more deliberate, and embodied life. Subscribe here.*

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Quick recap: In this section, we’re aiming to crowdsource details about epic trips – then provide the whole playbook for the experience to y’all.

• Have you ever gone on an epic, once-in-a-lifetime trip? Tell us about it here.

🚶‍♂️ Who: Jullea P. from Silicon Valley, CA

☀️ Length of trip: 8 days

💬 Quick recap: Since I am a junior in high school, this trip was dedicated to college tours. We first flew to Burlington and explored that area as well as Montréal. Then we headed to Salem. My friend showed me around, and we shopped, bought overpriced souvenirs, and she taught me about the history of Salem. After, I went to Boston for a tour of Harvard University & Boston University. We then departed for my Brown University tour, and then saw Yale University – probably the prettiest college in the world. Lastly, we saw Princeton University, which looks like a castle (which makes sense cuz princes live in castles).

🎓 Want to learn more? Dive deeper into Jullea's must-dos, must-don'ts, and trip expenses here.

P.S. Have your own epic trip you’d like to share? Tell us about it here for a chance to be featured in next Wednesday’s newsletter.

A lottery winner in China showed up to collect his winnings dressed as a giant yellow worm. 

🎰 Background: The winner, anonymously going by Li, bought 40 lottery tickets with his so-called lucky numbers: 02-15-19-26-27-29-02.

• Each ticket ended up winning $765,000, for a grand total of $30.6 million. 

🐛So, why the worm?... Li shared that he hadn't told his wife or family about his winnings and wanted to keep it a secret for the time being. 

• He donated some of the winnings to a charity in China helping vulnerable communities, and is still deciding what to do with the rest.

📚📚📚⌛😭

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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“So many books, so little time.” –Frank Zappa (1940-1993)