Good morning. On today’s docket:

• ⚖️ The Supreme Court is revisiting the right to bear arms
• 🐳 Orcas attacked another boat in the Mediterranean
• 🏢📉 How WeWork’s demise could affect banks and major cities

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.98-minute read.

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"The one who boasts does so only out of a feeling of inferiority."

–Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging a federal law banning Americans from possessing guns if they are the subject of a domestic violence restraining order.

☝️ First things first: This represents the Supreme Court’s first gun-related case since the Justices voted 6-3 last year to set a new precedent changing the way US courts are supposed to evaluate firearm restrictions, in a case called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

• The majority opinion from Bruen, authored and supported by the Court’s conservative wing, declared judges should only weigh whether “the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” rather than consider whether a law enhances public safety.
• Essentially, the ruling means modern gun control laws are only constitutional if the government can show there were similar laws enacted during America’s past.

The Bruen decision has resulted in lower court rulings striking down more than a dozen gun laws across the US, including age restrictions above 18, and laws banning gun ownership for those convicted of nonviolent felonies or illegal drug use.

Bruen also played a major role in yesterday’s lawsuit. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court after the 5th Circuit used the precedent set in Bruen to strike down a 1994 federal law banning Americans from possessing guns if they have a domestic violence restraining order against them.

• In oral arguments yesterday, SCOTUS Justices sounded partial to the Biden administration’s reasoning that the 1994 ban is in line with the longstanding practice of disarming dangerous Americans.
• Lawyers for Zackey Rahimi, a Texas man recently convicted under the 1994 law, argued the ban deprives him and others of their Second Amendment rights, since the current federal system lacks enough safeguards to ensure only those who are genuine threats are disarmed.

👀 Looking ahead… The Supreme Court’s final decision is expected by early summer.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, should Americans who have a domestic violence restraining order against them be banned from possessing guns?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🌍 🐳 Orcas attacked and sank a boat in the southwest Mediterranean for the fourth time in two years. A pod of orcas attacked a mid-size yacht sailing off the coast of Morocco on Halloween, with all passengers safely evacuated before the ship sank one hour into the attack. Since 2020, orcas have been harassing boats in the Strait of Gibraltar – which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea – and the surrounding Iberian peninsula waters. Researchers say orcas are likely learning to attack boats from each other, though it’s unclear why the behavior initially arose.

💥 Israel-Hamas war update: Senior Israeli officials, including PM Benjamin Netanyahu, revealed late Monday that Israel’s goal is to assert and keep military control over Gaza for an indefinite period, and that Israel aims to turn over responsibility for governing the territory either to an international coalition – including the US, EU, and Muslim majority countries – or to local political leaders in Gaza. The announcement prompted US officials to stress their opposition to Israel reoccupying the Gaza Strip, though Israeli officials were careful not to describe the country’s future role in Gaza as a military occupation.

🇨🇳 China has become the world’s biggest debt collector. China lent more than $1.3 trillion to developing countries between 2000 and 2021, with a majority of loans issued under its Belt and Road Initiative, per a new report from the AidData research lab at William & Mary. The study also found more than half of China’s international loans have now entered repayment, making it the largest debt collector in the world – but it may be difficult for China to collect payments moving forward, since a large portion of its lending portfolio belongs to countries currently in financial distress.

WeWork, the office coworking company once valued at $47 billion, filed for bankruptcy this week. And, much like tossing a rock covered with zebra mussels into a lake, this move could have a negative ripple effect on the commercial real estate and banking industries, as well as municipal revenues.

The problem: More than 20% of offices across the US remain vacant, according to commercial real estate giant JLL.

WeWork’s woes will only add to that number; the company, once New York City’s largest corporate tenant, is seeking court approval to reject 69 commercial real-estate leases it says are underperforming. It also owes ~$100 million in unpaid rent and lease termination fees, and is in active negotiations with 400+ landlords to amend existing leases.

The commercial real estate industry was already struggling. Rising vacancies and interest rates are causing commercial mortgage delinquencies to increase. ~$270 billion in commercial real estate loans held by banks are slated to come due this year, per Trepp, a commercial real estate data provider.

And here’s where the banking industry comes into play: Goldman Sachs estimates 55% of US office loans sit on bank balance sheets, and any defaults/delinquencies could negatively impact banks holding this debt (smaller and mid-sized ones especially).

🤔 What about municipalities?... Many city governments rely on commercial property taxes to provide services – for example, office properties comprise 21% of New York City’s tax revenue – and less money coming in from that sector may lead to budget cuts (or higher taxes).

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Yesterday, Stellantis unveiled a new electric-propelled Ram truck that’s equipped with a generator and gas engine.

The idea being: the combo of gas and electric can extend range for long trips without frequent charging stops. And the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger grabs that idea by the horns, delivering a massive targeted range of up to 690 miles on a full tank and charge.

Driving Stellantis’ strategy… Kuniskis said the Ramcharger is meant as a bridge between traditional trucks with internal combustion engines and all-electric ones, which currently face significant hurdles regarding charging infrastructure and range anxiety, especially when the vehicles are towing – a major reason people purchase a truck, CNBC reports.

• For example: Ford is the only legacy automaker offering a work-oriented electric pickup truck. It has a drivable range of ~278 miles, but that drops down to 210 miles – a ~25% reduction – when carrying a full load in the back.

📸 Big picture: Though consumer demand for EVs is rising – US sales of battery electric vehicles were up ~50% in the first three quarters of this year – high prices and a lack of significant charging infrastructure have led these vehicles to only comprise a small sliver of overall car sales (projected to be 8%-9% in 2023). Ford, GM, and Tesla have all recently announced plans to pare back their respective EV investments.

💬 Quoted… “This is purely a snapshot of what young people perceive their lives to be like compared to their parents.”

• In a new poll of millennial and Gen Z Americans, CNBC and Generation Lab found roughly half of young adults believe it’s “much harder” to purchase a home, find a job, or receive a promotion compared to their parents’ generation. But, on the plus side, 40% of those surveyed say it’s easier for them to find economic opportunities outside of traditional employment, and 68% believe they have less than $20,000 in outstanding debt.

📈🏥 Stat of the Day: Over 3,700 cases of congenital syphilis (aka when a mother passes the disease to her child) occurred in the US last year, roughly 11x more than a decade ago.

🤔 Did You Know?... Actor Al Pacino is the 17th oldest father in recorded history, at 83 years of age.

📰 Worth a Read: A prehistoric pyramid may have just rewritten human history → (VICE)

• ☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 16th annual Landscape Photographer of the Year contest, which awarded its ~$12,300 first prize to Mik Dogherty (top-left).

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with INVRS

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +0.3%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +0.9%); the S&P and Nasdaq are both enjoying their longest winning streak since 2021.
• 💳 Credit card balances rose by $48 billion in Q3 to reach a record high of $1.08 trillion, per data released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; the 90-day delinquency rate was 5.78%, up from 3.69% a year earlier.
• 🚗📲 Uber reported record ridership and a second straight quarterly profit in Q3; though it missed expectations on top and bottom lines.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾🎰 New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is partnering with Hard Rock International on a bid to build an $8 billion casino and entertainment complex next to Citi Field.
• 🎭🚫 The Screen Actors Guild rejected the “last, best and final” contract offered by Hollywood studios this week; studios have reportedly agreed to adjust language on artificial intelligence. 
• 🏈 The College Football Playoff committee ranked Ohio State No. 1 overall for the second straight week, with the rest of the top-8 teams also remaining unchanged.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Ground News

• 🙅📝 The journal Nature retracted a paper claiming to have discovered the world’s first room-temperature superconductor.
• 🚫🗳️🤖 Meta banned political campaigns and advertisers from using its new generative AI ad tools.
• 🧠 Elon Musk’s Neuralink is seeking a fully-paralyzed volunteer to become the first person to receive the company’s brain implant as part of human clinical trials recently approved by the FDA.

*From our partners: 📰🌎 Compare headlines across the political spectrum with Ground News… See stories being underreported on the political left or right. Access over 50,000 news sources with an unparalleled user experience. Burst your bias bubble with Ground News.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🚆 The Biden administration announced $16 billion in new funding for more than two dozen projects across Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
• 🏛️ David Weiss, the special counsel appointed to oversee the ongoing federal investigation into President Biden’s son Hunter, told Congress in closed-door testimony yesterday that "political considerations played no part" in his decision-making or authority. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)
• 🗳️ 2023 Election Results: Ohioans voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana and enshrining abortion rights into the state's constitution, while Democrat Andy Beshear was elected Kentucky's governor. See more results from Election Day 2023 (and stay tuned; we’ll be doing an in-depth recap for Friday’s Dose of Discussion).

CLICKBAIT

• 🤑🏘️ America's most expensive ZIP codes.

Daisy, Irene, and Phyllis are best friends. The three women, all of them over 100, are residents at the same senior care home in the UK. 

🗣️ Life advice... When asked the secret to making it to a century, the women all agree that some of the most important things are staying active, spending time with family and friends, and getting out in nature. 

• Daisy, however, shared another piece of useful advice, bragging that she “has a toy boy in another local care home who is 96" to keep her young.

Can you decode these Disney movies written with emojis?

1. 🔎🐟
2. 🐒🧞 
3. 🥶
4. 🤥 
5. 🎈🎈🏠👴 

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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1. Finding Nemo (2003)
2. Aladdin (1992)
3. Frozen (2013)
4. Pinocchio (1940)
5. Up (2009)