Good morning. On today’s docket:

• 🗳️ Recapping Election Day 2023
• ⚽ The NWSL signed the largest broadcast deal in women's sports
• 🤔 Can startup Humane’s new AI pin compete with smartphones?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.36-minute read.

P.S. First time reading? Subscribe here for free.

“Knowledge is different from all other resources. It makes itself constantly obsolete, so that today’s advanced knowledge is tomorrow’s ignorance."

–Peter Drucker (1909-2005)

On Tuesday, millions of Americans voted in elections to determine new governors, lawmakers, and state Supreme Court justices across the country, as well as on ballot measures related to abortion and marijuana.

Here’s how the results shook out:

🏥🌿 Ohio: Residents voted 57%-43% to amend the state Constitution and enshrine the right to ​​“make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” on matters including abortion and contraception. In a separate ballot measure, Ohioans also voted 57%-43% in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana statewide.

🏛️🔵 Virginia: Voters flipped the state House from Republican to Democratic control, and preserved a Democratic majority in the state Senate. The results came after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) promised to pass conservative policies in areas including abortion, taxes, and education if the GOP won control of both chambers.

🗳️ Governorships: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was narrowly re-elected to a second term over GOP challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s first Black attorney general. In Mississippi, incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves (R) narrowly secured a second term over Democratic challenger Brandon Presley, a public service commissioner and distant cousin of Elvis.

🇺🇸 Elsewhere: In Pennsylvania, Dan McCaffery (D) won an open seat on the state Supreme Court after campaigning to uphold abortion rights, while Philadelphia elected Cherelle Parker (D) as the city’s first female mayor.

• In Rhode Island, Gabe Amo (D) became the state’s first Black member of Congress after winning a special election.
• St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, saw 27-year-old Nadia Mohamed become the first Somali American elected as mayor of a US city.
• In New York, Yusef Salaam (D), one of the exonerated members of the "Central Park Five," won a city council seat in Harlem.

📊 Flash poll (long-form): What are your thoughts on the 2023 election results across the country? We’ll share the most thought-provoking and insightful responses on Monday.

• Click here to leave a response.

Next time you travel, book your cat a staycation with Meowtel, the #1 cat-sitting app in the U.S. Their exceptional standard of care has earned them 40,000+ 5-star reviews; “Ruth was amazing, she stayed in consistent contact with us while we were gone and sent pictures every day. She cared for our 4 cats like they were her own.” - Tim, a happy Meowtel user.

• ✅ All sitters are thoroughly vetted and background-checked
• 🤝 Meet & greets are available prior to your cat’s reservation
• 📲 You’ll get regular updates + photos
• 🛎️ 24/7 on-call support from a real human

Take the stress out of travel by providing your furry friend with the care they deserve. All Meowtel reservations are fully insured with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

The first 10 readers can save $50 when booking with Meowtel by using DONUT0910!

🇯🇵🇮🇸 Japan gained a new island after a recent underwater volcano eruption. The new island, which measures 328 feet in diameter and counting, formed less than a mile from the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where some of the fiercest fighting of World War II occurred. In other volcano news: the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa – one of Iceland’s largest tourist attractions – has temporarily closed in response to 20,000 minor earthquakes since late October, which have raised fears of a possible volcanic eruption.

💥 Israel-Hamas war update: A US military spokesperson said Israel has agreed to take daily four-hour pauses from bombing Gaza, and to inform local residents of the pauses at least three hours in advance. Israel also agreed to open a second evacuation corridor for civilians to flee from northern Gaza, which is the current focus of Israel’s ground operation against Hamas. Separately, CIA director William Burns met with Qatar's prime minister and the head of Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, to discuss a possible deal to release some of the ~240 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

🇻🇦 The Vatican is allowing some LGBTQ+ Catholics to get baptized. The document, signed by Pope Francis, was published in response to questions from a bishop in Brazil. It states that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents, and witness weddings in the Roman Catholic Church if there is no risk of causing “scandal or disorientation” to other Catholics. Children of same-sex couples can also get baptized if there is a "well-founded hope" that they will be raised Catholic. The Vatican’s new decree states that homosexuality is still a sin, so baptism must come with repentance.

Yesterday, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced a new TV rights deal worth a combined $240 million over the next four seasons, representing the largest media investment in women’s sports history.

The agreement is split across four television and streaming partners: CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon’s Prime Video, and Scripps Sports (which owns the Ion TV network). It covers ~60% of all NWSL regular-season games, with the league saving the remaining matches for a direct-to-consumer package on its own streaming platform.

The new deal carries an average annual value 40x higher than the NWSL’s current agreement, marking another sign of rapid expansion for a league that was struggling for survival as recently as the mid-2010s – but grew to eclipse the male-only Major League Soccer in both viewership and attendance last year.

• This rapid growth has also been reflected in NWSL team valuations and startup franchise fees, which rose from a few million dollars apiece in 2020 to ~$50 million currently.

📺 Zoom out: The NWSL’s new TV annual payout puts it on par with the WNBA, which is projected to earn $60 million from next season’s broadcasting rights. The women’s basketball league saw a similar jump in fan interest this year, recording its most-watched regular season in over two decades and highest attendance since 2018.

💰 Amazon has made significant acquisitions in the SmartHome space – they bought Ring for $1.2B, and iRobot for $1.7B. And Google paid a staggering $3.2B for Nest. Anyone who invested early in these companies enjoyed massive returns, so why are these giants piling in?

📈 Because the SmartHome industry is booming. The sector has a blistering 55% annual growth rate with no signs of slowing down.

And next up is RYSE, the company making SmartShades affordable for the masses with retrofitting tech. They just launched in 100+ BestBuys and were awarded $4m in environmental grants as they save up to 24% in cooling and 74% in lighting energy costs. And it’s not too late to be an early investor… yet.

Only a few weeks left! Earn bonus shares now for investing in RYSE.

💬 Quoted… “You’re getting a phone number; you’re getting unlimited talk, text and data; you’re getting as many AI queries as you want, in addition to all of our AI services.”

• Humane, an AI startup founded by a pair of former Apple designers, unveiled a new $699 product called AI Pin that’s designed as a hybrid between a smartphone and personal assistant. The device can access a wide range of different AI models (including ChatGPT) to make calls, send texts, play music, and look up information online via voice and hand controls. Humane said the AI Pin, which also requires a $24/month subscription to T-Mobile, will be available for preorder starting next Thursday.

📈📉 Stat of the Day: Under the most likely scenario, America’s population will peak at ~370 million by 2080 and shrink to ~366 million by the end of this century, per newly-published Census Bureau projections (the first issued since 2018).

🤔 Did You Know?... Prior to 1974, the United Kingdom defined the term “billion” as 1 million million (aka 1 trillion), instead of 1 thousand million like the rest of the world.

📰 Worth a Read: Listening in on horror: why many women love true crime podcasts → (Psyche Magazine)

• ☝️Jared Leto became the first person to legally climb the Empire State Building yesterday as part of an announcement for his band 30 Seconds to Mars’ upcoming Seasons world tour.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Spoak

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board following a disappointing auction of 30-year bonds and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell (S&P: -0.8%; Dow: -0.7%; Nasdaq: -0.9%).
• 🤝 McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme are in talks to expand their partnership to more restaurants beyond Kentucky.
• 🏡 The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 7.5%, per a survey of lenders released Thursday by mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac; that’s the lowest level since early October. | 📝 The IRS announced higher federal tax brackets and standard deductions for 2024 to adjust for inflation.

*From our partners: 😍👌 Design your dream living space with ease… Spoak’s platform has easy-to-use tools that make interior design faster, easier, and more fun. Find inspiration with an engaged community, and level up with free courses. Save 45% on your first month with code DONUT.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🤔🤝 What we know so far about the new tentative contract agreement between Hollywood actors and studios.
• 🎮 The Overwatch League, an Activision Blizzard-backed esports league based around the video game of the same name, is officially ending after six seasons.
• 🏈 Thursday Night Football: The Bears (3-7) defeated the Panthers (1-8) by a score of 16-13.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Rasa

• 👁️🏥 Surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed the world’s first whole-eye transplant in a human, doctors announced yesterday.
• 😴 Sleeping six hours every night on a consistent schedule is associated with a lower risk of early death than sleeping eight hours with very irregular habits, per a new study published in the journal Sleep.
• 🤖🗣️ Samsung launched a new generative AI model called Gauss, which serves as a chatbot, a tool to help developers write code, and an image generator/editor.

*From our partners: 🤤 Irresistible peppermint cocoa with a healthy twist… Rasa’s limited edition Peppermint Cacao is a sugar-free blend with powerful adaptogens and herbs. Great for the mind, body, spirit, and the taste buds! Save 20% with code DONUT20.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🏞️ All 100+ US national parks will offer free admission tomorrow in honor of Veterans Day.
• 🍎 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak flew home from Mexico yesterday after being briefly hospitalized with a minor stroke, he told ABC News.
• 🏛️ Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he won’t run for re-election in 2024. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right) | 🗳️ Jill Stein is running for president again in 2024 on the Green Party ticket.

CLICKBAIT

• 🚄🌎 A brand-new round-the-world luxury train route is launching next year.

👆You're looking at THE Kevin Bacon. No, not the legendary film actor, but the escaped pig who captured the hearts of internet users everywhere following multiple weeks on the run.

🔎 Community effort... When Kevin Bacon escaped his pen on October 14th, his owner did everything she could to lure the pig back home. 

• The pig was spotted around town for weeks as the community tried to capture him; his owner eventually came up with the idea to place a Benadryl-laced sticky bun close by, hoping to get him sleepy so he could be easily carted back to his pen.
• Kevin ended up walking home on his own in the end, seemingly tired of life on the run. 

🌟 A star is born: The pig even captured the attention of the real Kevin Bacon, who shared his story with the caption "Bring Kevin Bacon Home!"

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:

• Chickpeas
• Tahini
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Salt
• Olive oil

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Cocoa powder
• Baking powder & soda
• Salt
• Mlik
• Oil
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Olive oil
• Soy sauce
• Red wine vinegar
• Honey
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Black pepper
• Sirloin steak
• Bell pepper
• Red onions
• Button mushrooms

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize. (Pro tip: there's no need to ration points, you're entitled to a prize at each tier.)

Start referring.👇

☝️ Recipe #1: Hummus

✌️ Recipe #2: Chocolate cake

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Beef kebab