Good morning. It’s been a long, strange year, but if there’s one thing that’s brought us all together, one perfect thing we all searched on Google more than any other (according to the just released Google Year in Search 2022), it was….

WORDLE!

More specifically though, it was probably “today’s wordle answer” cuz, come on, you’re not gonna lose your 52-game win streak just because you couldn’t find the word “found.”

And speaking of winning streaks, no one has a bigger one than Josh Wardle, who created the game FOR HIS GIRLFRIEND! Like, it was never even meant to be shared, then it went viral and took over the world. Also he reportedly sold it for over $1 million. Win, win, win, win.

That, my friends, has to be the definition of ‘having game.’

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.13 minutes to read.

“Reflect upon your present blessings of which everyone has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all people have some.”

–Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Speaking Tuesday at the UBS Global TMT Conference in New York City, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer, made it clear that live sports won’t be coming to the streaming platform… probably ever.

This strategy marks a major departure from other big players in the industry, like Amazon, Apple, Disney, etc. Many of whom see live sports as a way to drive ad revenue and new subscriptions, while keeping existing subscribers engaged at the same time.

And then there’s Netflix, who believes bidding for sports rights just isn’t good business. Here’s a direct quote from Sarandos: “Netflix isn’t anti-sports, it’s just pro-profit.” He also believes the company has a higher ceiling without showing sports.

But why? Put simply, the streamer wouldn’t own the content it’d be shelling out big money for – it’d just be renting it. And when its hypothetical licensing agreement ends, Netflix would be forced to either fork over more cash to keep the rights, or let the programming go and take a big hit to its bottom line. Plus, this scenario also involves securing the rights in the first place, which isn’t exactly cheap. Amazon is currently paying around $1 billion/year just to broadcast the NFL's Thursday Night Football.

The obvious counter to this scenario would be to actually own all or part of the sports league being broadcasted – though that also has its obstacles. Amazon was reportedly interested in buying into NFL Media last year, though a deal never materialized. And per the WSJ, Netflix was in talks to purchase the World Surf League late last year, but the two parties couldn’t agree on a price.

🚫🔑 Zoom out: As Netflix, whose stock has dropped ~50% so far this year, puts more of an emphasis on profitability over growth, sharing apparently isn’t caring. A password crackdown is coming sometime next year, per Sarandos, so you can probably expect to hear from at least one ex in 2023.

• According to a 2019 study, Netflix loses upwards of $135 million/month – or $1.62 billion annually – due to customers sharing accounts outside of their households.

🇩🇪 German authorities said they dismantled a suspected domestic terrorist cell partly inspired by QAnon. More than 3,000 police officers conducted raids at 150 properties across Germany, Italy, and Austria early yesterday morning in one of the largest such operations in recent history, according to officials. 25 people were arrested, 22 of whom are suspected of conspiring to overthrow the German government and replace the PM with Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss, a 71-year-old descendant of a noble family. Their plans also allegedly included storming the federal parliament building while armed.

🇨🇳 Yesterday, China announced the most sweeping changes to its ‘Zero-Covid’ policy since the pandemic began. The new measures include allowing citizens to quarantine at home with mild or asymptomatic cases (instead of a gov’t-designated location) for the first time ever, and dropping strict testing requirements for domestic travel. Chinese health officials said they’ll still be closely watching Covid hospitalization and death totals, and won’t hesitate to reimpose tougher measures in some areas if the need arises.

🇫🇷 France is banning short domestic flights with an alternate train route in a bid to lower emissions. The new rule, approved this week by the European Commission, applies to all domestic air travel that can also be accomplished by train in less than 2.5 hours. It’ll initially only affect three routes to and from Paris Orly Airport. The ban will be in place for at least three years, with a mandatory government review starting after two.

❄️🍵 Matcha eggnog is simply delicious, and perfect for this time of year. Here's what you’ll need:

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1-1.5 tbsp of premium matcha green tea powder
• 1.5 cups of milk
• 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream

😋 Matcha doesn’t just make for tons of delicious recipes… it detoxifies the body, boosts mood and concentration, and is jampacked with antioxidants. It even boosts your metabolism to help battle those extra holiday calories!💪

🐦🍩 You can still use our Black Friday code EARLYDONUT to save 30% site-wide at MATCHA.COM (but not for long!⌛).

Enjoy delicious matcha and all its benefits this holiday season!

While the 2022 election may not be officially done yet, the fat lady who is beautiful regardless of how she looks just began her last chorus. As of this morning, there’s only one seat left to be determined – a House race in Colorado currently under mandatory recount – that won’t sway the chamber’s partisan makeup in a significant way.

So with nearly all of the results known, here are three main takeaways:

• 🤑 This was the most expensive election in US history. Per nonprofit watchdog group OpenSecrets, more than $16.7 billion was spent in total this election season across all federal and state races, eclipsing the previous record of $14.4 billion set in 2020. The aforementioned Georgia Senate race outpaced all others in spending ($402 million), followed by Pennsylvania’s Senate race ($374 million).
• 🏛️ It was the first midterm since 1934 where the party in power successfully defended every incumbent Senate seat. A total of 13 sitting Democratic senators were running for re-election, and all of them ended up winning. In the House, Republicans gained at least eight seats and flipped the majority (currently 221R – 213D), but still turned in the worst performance by an out-of-power party since 2002.
• 🗳️ Voter turnout came close to the all-time midterm high set in 2018, driven by strong youth participation. An estimated 47% of eligible voters took part in this year’s midterms, per the US Elections Project, down slightly from a record 49% set four years ago. Likewise, the turnout rate among voters aged 18 to 29 (27%) was the second-highest for a midterm in at least 30 years, behind only 2018 (31%).

In a pair of new studies published this week in Nature Communications, scientists laid out evidence suggesting that certain types of bacteria in the human gut are correlated with depression. Said the gut to the brain: It’s like you’re my mirror (oh-oh), my mirror staring back at me.

🦠 Background: The human gut microbiome, aka the trillions of microorganisms living in the intestinal tract, is vital to overall health. Sometimes referred to as the ‘second brain,’ it’s home to the Enteric Nervous System – a network of millions of neurons wrapped in and around our gut that are in constant communication with the brain.

There are several familiar examples of this gut-brain connection, like how feelings of nervousness or excitement can cause “butterflies” in your stomach. But it’s not just a one-way road – the link works the other way, too.

Enter: this week’s studies… where researchers, after studying over 2,500 volunteers across Europe, identified 13 groups of gut bacteria related to depression symptoms. Some of these bacteria help synthesize certain chemicals, including serotonin, butyrate, glutamate, and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), that affect the brain.

🍽🧠 The bottom line: “Ten years ago if you’d said there was something linking depression and the microbiome, you’d be carried out with a straitjacket... Now absolutely, it’s very clear there’s a link," said Jos Bosch, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Amsterdam who co-wrote both studies.

💬 Quoted…​​ “Volodymyr Zelensky galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades.”

• The Ukrainian president, a former comedian who’s led his country from the front lines ever since Russia invaded in late February, was named the TIME Person of the Year yesterday alongside “the spirit of Ukraine.”

🏠 Stat of the Day: 1 in 4 US millennials (ages 26-41) moved back in with their parents this year, equivalent to 18 million people, per a new Pollfish survey.

🤯 Did You Know?... Music streams just crossed the 1 trillion milestone in the US for the first time in a single year, per market analyst Luminate.

📖 Worth a Read: The quiet disappearance of the safe deposit box → (The Hustle)

• ☝️ You’re looking at a private island in Palm Beach, FL, that just hit the market with an asking price of $218 million; the man-made island features a 21,406-sq. ft. mansion with 11 bedrooms and 15 full bathrooms.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📰🚗 More than 1,000 NY Times union employees are expected to walk out today. | Carvana’s biggest creditors, who hold $4 billion in unsecured debt, agreed to act together in negotiations with the company yesterday; Carvana shares closed down ~43% (currently trading at $3.83); its stock has fallen over 98% this year after reaching an all-time high of $376 in August 2021.
• 👨🏽‍🔬 Theranos former COO Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison yesterday; founder Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison in November.
• 🇺🇸 The Pentagon said Wednesday that Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle all received a cloud-computing contract that could reach a combined total of up to $9 billion total through 2028.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ Aaron Judge agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal with the New York Yankees, per multiple sources; it represents the largest free agent deal in MLB history.
• 🔒 Apple will soon allow users to encrypt iCloud backups, photos, and notes, the company announced yesterday; encrypted files will not be accessible by Apple nor by law enforcement.
• 🎮 Microsoft will bring Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch as part of a 10-year deal announced on Tuesday; the game’s creator, Activision Blizzard, was purchased by Microsoft this January for $69 billion, though the deal is still under antitrust scrutiny.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧬 DNA from 2 million years ago recovered from sediments in Greenland is the oldest preserved DNA ever found by ~1 million years; scientists were able to reconstruct Greenland’s ecosystem from that time period and discovered the climate was warmer, and the land covered in forests.
• 👃 People are more susceptible to illness in colder weather because low temperatures damage the immune response occurring in the nose, per a new peer-reviewed study; researchers recommended wearing masks to keep the nasal cavities warm.
• 🐈 The first-known domestication of cats occurred ~10,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, per a new University of Missouri study that suggests humanity’s switch to agriculture drove bonds with rodent-killing felines.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• ⚡ Power has been restored to tens of thousands of North Carolina residents; two power stations were damaged in a “deliberate” attack on Saturday, per authorities.
• ⚖️ A lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the 2018 killing of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dismissed by a US federal judge on Tuesday.
• 📄 A team hired by former President Trump discovered at least two items marked classified in a West Palm Beach, FL, storage unit outside of his Mar-a-Lago residence, per reports published yesterday by the NYT and WaPo. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 💡 This year's 100 greatest innovations.

Yesterday, we covered arguments in a Supreme Court case that could fundamentally change how federal elections are conducted in America..

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should federal election laws and policies passed by state legislatures be subject to review by state courts?

• 👍 Yes: 58%
• 👎 No: 25%
• 🤷‍♀️ Other/unsure: 17%

See the full 360° view.

+Note on sample size: We received 7,013 votes, and 156 longform responses.

We bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and occasionally laugh-out-loud headlines from this week.

• Thousands of viewers watch World Cup 2022 in Qatar on illegal streams, but in reality it is pixelated FIFA 23 games → (Diario AS)
• EU Hosts $400,000 Metaverse Party, Barely Anyone Shows up → (Business Insider)
• Bats use the same techniques as death metal singers to vocalize, study finds → (CNN)
• Posing like American farmers is the latest trend among Chinese influencers → (The China Project)
• The Tetris Movie Has Been Rated R → (MovieWeb)

CROWDSOURCED

Have you ever encountered a glitch in the matrix, quirky animal behavior, or even just a hilarious first grader? Tell us about it here for a chance to be featured in next Thursday’s newsletter.

👨 Who: Jeff W. from Santa Monica, CA

💬 The experience: This is referred to by my wife and I as the "pizza box mystery":

We had ordered pizza. After eating it, we put the empty box in the trash can (turned 90˚) and went to bed.

I wake up in the middle of the night to a flash of light that had lit up the whole house. (kinda like lightning w/o thunder)

Try to go back to bed. Hear a strange either walking or knocking type sound. I get up and go into the kitchen. The pizza box is in the middle of the kitchen floor about 10 feet away from the trash can.

I stood there for 3 minutes - never had a logical explanation.

P.S. Don’t forget to share your odd or hilarious experience with us here.

Geoff Banks and Celesta Byrne only met one time (pictured above), back in 2002. But the pair have been in each other's lives for over eight decades; they were first introduced as penpals for a school project in 1938.

• A friendship quickly blossomed, and as years turned into decades, Geoff and Celesta's letters turned into emails – and more recently, Zoom calls. 

🧓🏻💌👴🏻 Turn of the century... Each of the penpals recently turned 100 years-old, and plan on writing to the other as long as they possibly can. 

• Geoff shared that it's been a "source of great satisfaction to write to her for over all these years."

The summit of which volcano is the closest to space on Earth?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador