Good morning. On today’s docket:

• 🥊 The streaming wars are entering a new phase
• ✈️ Delta is changing its SkyMiles program – again
• 🤔 What’s the healthcare-spending disparity between men and women?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.38-minute read.

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"The greatest deception [humans] suffer is from their own opinions."

–Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

Later today, Netflix will send out the last of its iconic red envelopes, as the streaming giant’s DVD-by-mail service officially comes to an end after 25 years.

• Netflix says its mail service, which was once the USPS’ fifth-largest customer, is shutting down due to a continually shrinking market for DVDs compared to streaming services.

The move comes as major streaming platforms are rolling out a series of changes aimed at growing, retaining, and monetizing their subscriber bases so they can finally turn a profit (or in Netflix’s case, increase its profits):

• Every major streaming service has hiked its prices over the past year, with the average ad-free subscription cost increasing by 25%.
• Apple TV+ is now the final major streaming platform without an ad-supported tier, after Amazon Prime Video last week said it’s incorporating ads into its base plan next year.
• Netflix implemented a crackdown on password-sharing in late May, then reported a near-record 5.9 million new signups the following month. Disney is planning to follow suit, and will prevent US accounts from sharing passwords starting in 2024.

Streaming platforms are also increasingly turning to live sports. This year, major streamers will spend over $6 billion on the rights to exclusively broadcast major sporting events, which are far and away the most popular category in US television. That figure is up from ~$1.5 billion spent by streaming services on sports rights last year.

📺 On the consumer side: An estimated 84% of all US households are subscribed to at least one video streaming service, with the average American spending $48/month across four different platforms, per Deloitte’s 2023 Digital Media Trends survey.

But Deloitte also found many US consumers are experiencing subscription fatigue. Half of all Americans say they currently “pay too much” for streaming services, and one-third are planning to reduce their number of subscriptions in the near future.

📊 Flash poll: Out of all the streaming services to which you’re subscribed (if you have multiple), which are you least likely to cancel?

Amazon Prime Video

Netflix

Max

Disney+

Hulu

Paramount+

Apple TV+

Other

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🇨🇦 Canada is debating whether to tap $67 billion worth of rare minerals that are buried under a carbon-capturing peat bog. One of the world’s largest untapped sources of nickel, copper, and cobalt – metals essential for making EV batteries – is located in northern Ontario, under a large ecosystem of peat bogs which absorb more carbon per square foot than the Amazon rainforest (!). Mining companies and automakers are pushing to access Canada’s vast rare mineral deposit amidst a global transition towards EVs, while climate advocates warn that destroying the peat bog could have a “catastrophic” impact on worldwide CO2 levels.

🇰🇵 Travis King, the US soldier who illegally entered North Korea, has returned home. King, 23, was supposed to fly back to the US in July for disciplinary action after serving two months in a South Korean prison for assault – but instead, he joined a tour group to South and North Korea’s demilitarized zone and crossed the border. North Korea deported King to America this week after months of diplomatic talks mediated by Sweden, with US officials saying no concessions were ultimately made to North Korea.

🇪🇬 Egypt plans to double its number of annual tourists by 2028. Egyptian tourism has fallen more than 30% over the past decade due to a combination of reasons, including civil unrest following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak’s government in 2011 and the recent Covid pandemic. Under its newly-announced plan, Egypt hopes to increase domestic hotel-room and flight-seat capacity by over 30% annually through 2028, and will also work with the British Museum and Paris’ Louvre to modernize its tourist sites.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian earlier this week said the airline is rethinking the changes it recently announced to its loyalty program.

And while he didn’t specify what new changes would be made moving forward, he did say for frequent fliers to stay tuned like Van Halen’s guitar – “you'll hear about [them] sometime over the next few weeks."

✈️ Background: In mid-September, Delta announced significant changes to its frequent-flier program. These included basing elite status purely on spending instead of also counting flights, as well as limiting airport lounge access for holders of Delta credit cards.

• For context: Under the new changes, to reach Delta’s Silver Medallion, the lowest Medallion status, the airline’s website suggested annual bookings adding up to ~$40,000 per year, not including taxes and fees.

The backlash to the new program was swift and severe, culminating in Bastian’s comments at an Atlanta Rotary Club panel on Monday: "No question, we probably went too far... Our team wanted to kind of rip the band-aid off."

But the airline, like others, is caught between a rock and a hard place. The industry’s multi-billion-dollar question: how to continue to reward loyal customers without giving benefits to so many customers that the perks become diluted?

• For Delta, the number of travelers with top-tier Diamond status has nearly doubled since the pandemic began. And, as a result, many customers have complained about crowded lounges and harder-to-snag upgrades.

💬 Quoted… “A couple walked in like, ‘We’re here for the steak.’”

In early 2022, residents of a NYC “hacker house” changed the name of their address on Google Maps to Mehran’s Steak House, in honor of a roommate who frequently cooked top sirloin for their family-style dinners. But soon after the Google Maps name change – which came alongside some fake raving reviews as an inside joke – New Yorkers started appearing on their doorstep looking for the “steak house.”

• On Saturday, Mehran’s Steak House finally opened its doors to the public – but for one night only.

🏥 Stat of the Day: Women in the US workforce spend a combined $15.4 billion more than men on out-of-pocket health care costs each year, per a new Deloitte analysis of employer-sponsored health plans.

🤔 Did You Know?... Adding sugar to the gas tank of a car doesn’t actually damage its engine. How sweet! (But pls don’t get any ideas.)

📰 Worth a Read: The assassination of JFK: One of the US's biggest mysteries → (BBC Culture)

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• ☝️ You’re looking at what scientists believe is the world’s first dog-fox hybrid, called a “dogxim,” which was discovered in Brazil two years ago; the animal’s identity was recently confirmed in a peer-reviewed study published in Animals.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Rasa

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +0.6%; Dow: +0.4%; Nasdaq: +0.8%). | 📈 The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.1% in Q2 of this year, per new GDP figures published yesterday.
• 🎮 GameStop named Chairman Ryan Cohen as President and CEO effective immediately; the billionaire Chewy co-founder is GameStop’s largest individual shareholder.
• 👟 Nike missed revenue expectations but beat analysts’ expectations on earnings; the company’s stock rose more than 9% in after-hours trading.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a single season.
• 🙏 Sir Michael Gambon, the actor known for playing Dumbledore in most of the Harry Potter films, passed away at 82.
• 🏈 Thursday Night Football: The Lions defeated the Packers 34-20 behind 3 TDs from running back David Montgomery.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Paleovalley

• 🏫☠️ The university town of Oxford was the murder capital of late medieval England due to a high occurrence of 14- to 21-year-old male students killing one another, per newly-translated documents.
• 🛋️ Older adults who spend a lot of time sitting have an increased risk of dementia, even with regular exercise, per a peer-reviewed study published in JAMA.
• 🌕 The last supermoon of 2023 will be visible in the sky through Saturday morning, according to NASA.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 💰 The winner of last month’s $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot has officially claimed their prize in Florida.
• 🌊 President Biden declared a national emergency for a saltwater intrusion threatening New Orleans’ water infrastructure. (Background)
• 🏛️ The House held the first hearing of its ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Biden and his family’s business dealings. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🎶 25 of the best one-hit wonders.

👆 Giles the cat just received the Hambone Award from Nationwide, which recognizes the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year.

🏆 Yes, that's really a thing... The Hambone Award was started 15 years ago to bring awareness to the many reasons pet owners may need insurance for their four-legged friends. 

🛋 So, what let Giles to the trophy? The cat was lounging underneath an extended pull-out couch, when his grandma unknowingly decided to push the couch back into place. Thankfully the vet was nearby, and Giles made a full recovery after the, well – smushy – accident. 

• His owners recieved the coveted Hambone Award trophy, a gift card, and a donation to be made in Giles' honor to an approved pet charity of the family's choice.

Where the questions are sometimes hard, and things can get gritty.

Take our weekly news quiz and see how your news superpowers stack up against our team.

Below are three lists of ingredients. All you have to do is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Milk
• Pumpkin puree
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Coffee
• Whipped cream

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Butter
• Mayo
• Celery
• Lobster meat
• Chives
• Zest
• Hot dog buns
• Salt & pepper
• Butter

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Oranges
• Cinnamon sticks
• Cloves
• Nutmeg or ginger
• Water
• Brown Sugar
• Apples

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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☝️ Recipe #1: Pumpkin spice latte

✌️ Recipe #2: Lobster rolls

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Apple cider

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