Good morning. On today’s docket:

• ⚖️ SCOTUS is hearing the Purdue Pharma/Sackler case
• 🏈 College football is having its Last Dance moment
• 🤔 How much does it cost the average household to power holiday lights?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.87-minute read.

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"Life comes at us in waves. We can't predict or control those waves, but we can learn to surf."

– Dan Millman (b. 1946)

Later today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the legality of a multi-billion-dollar settlement involving the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, whose highly addictive pain medication OxyContin played a key role in the US opioid epidemic.

Background: Purdue first introduced OxyContin in 1996, and marketed the drug as having a much lower addiction risk compared to other opioid painkillers – despite possessing (and concealing) knowledge of “significant” abuse of OxyContin in the first years after its introduction.

Additionally, the drug was approved by the FDA even though no long-term assessment of its addictive capabilities had been conducted, with the medical review officer who approved OxyContin resigning from the FDA one year later to take a job at Purdue Pharma with substantially higher salary.

Sales of OxyContin quickly grew from $48 million in 1996 to almost $1.1 billion in 2000, but the high availability of the drug also correlated with increased addiction. By 2004, OxyContin had become a leading drug of abuse in the US, and a series of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma soon followed.

• In 2007, Purdue pleaded guilty to a felony count of misbranding OxyContin by lying about how addictive it was, and paid out one of the largest fines ever levied against a pharma firm ($634.5 million). The company continued to market and sell opioids as late as 2019, when it filed for bankruptcy.

Zoom out: Between 1999 and 2021, more than 634,000 Americans died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids, per the most recent federal data.

That brings us to the topic of today’s SCOTUS trial. In 2020, Purdue reached an ~$8.3 billion settlement with dozens of states, local governments, Native American tribes, and victims over the company’s role in America’s opioid crisis, with the plan approved by 95% of victims.

• The Sackler family agreed to contribute $6 billion toward efforts to fight the opioid crisis, as well as provide compensation to victims (each of whom are eligible to receive $3,500–$48,000).
• In return, the Sacklers received a release shielding them from any and all future civil lawsuits stemming from the opioid crisis – a point which some states, Canadian municipalities, and victims, along with the DOJ, have sued to stop in a case before the Supreme Court today.

The group of plaintiffs suing to stop the plan claims its shield for the Sacklers is illegal, since even victims who voted to refuse the deal can’t pursue claims against the family.

On the flip side, the Sacklers and many victims argue the plan provides typical bankruptcy protections, and represents the only viable mechanism for granting victims financial aid.

👀 Looking ahead… The Supreme Court’s decision is expected before next summer.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with the legal settlement allowing the Sackler family to pay $6 billion for protection from any future civil lawsuits regarding the opioid crisis?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇰🇷🇺🇸 South Korea launched its first-ever military spy satellite from California. Seoul’s reconnaissance satellite, which successfully reached orbit between 245 and 375 miles in the sky, can detect objects as small as 12 inches on Earth. The SpaceX-assisted launch on Friday came a little over one week after North Korea successfully placed its first spy satellite in orbit. Seoul plans to launch four additional spy satellites with SpaceX by the end of 2025 as part of its goal to achieve 24-hour surveillance over the Korean peninsula.

💥 Israel-Hamas war update: Israel’s military resumed combat operations against Hamas on Friday after a week-long truce officially expired at midnight the previous night. Israel recalled its negotiating team from Qatar on Saturday after it said ceasefire talks had reached an impasse, while Hamas officials said their only remaining Israeli hostages are soldiers and “civilians serving in the army,” and that it won’t release more of them until Israel ends its war. Separately, the Pentagon announced a US destroyer and three commercial ships operating in the nearby Red Sea came under drone and ballistic-missile strikes yesterday, in an attack claimed by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.

🇯🇵 Japan is moving to limit unusual baby names. Following a spike in unconventional names over the past four decades, the Japanese government passed a new law forbidding parents from giving their children names with unique pronunciations people couldn’t know by only looking at the characters. Proponents say unorthodox names cause harassment and come with language challenges, while critics say creative names allow people to stand out in social and business settings.

This weekend, the top college football teams competed in games across America to determine conference championships, bragging rights, and which four teams will play in this year’s playoff, capping off a 2023 regular season that marks the end of an era in many ways.

Here’s what’s changing across the college football landscape starting next year:

• The Pac-12 is losing 10 of its 12 members, with four going to the Big Ten, four to the Big-12, and two to the ACC. The two remaining “Pac-2” schools – Oregon St. and Washington St. – will play most of their football games against the Mountain West Conference next season.
• The SEC is doing its best big-game hunter impression and poaching Texas and Oklahoma from the Big-12.
• The College Football Playoff is expanding from four teams to 12, with the top-four receiving a first-round bye and the six highest-ranked conference champions receiving automatic bids.

🏈 Playoffs?? You kidding me?!... Yesterday afternoon, the CFP Committee revealed its four playoff teams for the 2024 edition: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

No. 5 Florida State, who went undefeated and won the ACC title but was left out of the playoffs after star QB Jordan Travis suffered a broken leg late in the season, is matched up with No. 6 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

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💬 Quoted… "Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place."

• Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was expelled from Congress on Friday following a 311-114 House vote. The 35-year-old first-term congressman, who’s now the sixth House member in history to be kicked out of Congress (the third since the Civil War), faces criminal campaign-finance charges and has admitted to fabricating much of his biography. Santos’ removal lowers the number of House Republicans to 221 (with 213 Democrats), making it more difficult for the House to pass legislation without Democratic support. And if you think this is the last time we’ll hear the last of the trustworthy George Santos, think again – a movie about him is in the works at HBO Films.

🎄⚡ Stat of the Day: The average household spent an estimated $16.48 powering holiday lights in 2022, nearly $2 more than in 2021, according to an analysis by the Today’s Homeowner website. You know what they say – winning the title of best holiday lights in the neighborhood comes at a cost.

🤔 Did You Know?... Blackberry held 56% of the American smartphone market in 2009. Now? They’re only found in a forgotten drawer at your parents’ house.

📰 Worth a Read: Behind the Tragic, Instagram-Perfect Life of an Ex-Disney Executive → (WSJ)

• 👆 Florida-based IHMC Robotics teamed up with Boardwalk Robotics to create a humanoid robot controlled by a different human wearing VR goggles – essentially, a scaled-down version of the giant robotic avatars from Spy Kids 3.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with moomoo

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board on Friday to secure a fifth consecutive week of gains (S&P: +0.6%; Dow: +0.8%; Nasdaq: +0.6%). | 🪙 Bitcoin recently hit $39,000 for the first time since mid-2022.
• 🥪 Panera Bread filed for IPO; owner JAB Holding took the company private in 2017 for $7.5 billion. | ✈️ Alaska Airlines is acquiring Hawaiian Airlines for ~$1.9 billion.
• 🥚 Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg, and Nestlé were awarded $17.7 million in damages by a federal jury following the conclusion of a price-fixing conspiracy case against US egg producers and industry trade groups; the damages could be tripled under federal law. (More)

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 NFL scoreboard: See a full Week 13 recap.
• 📺🤝 Apple and Paramount are reportedly discussing a streaming bundle.
• 🍿 Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé topped the domestic box office this weekend, grossing between $21 million–$22 million. | 🏆 Emma Stone got inducted into Saturday Night Live’s Five-Timers Club. | 🏳️‍🌈 Billie Eilish confirmed she recently came out as LGBTQ+.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Nutrafol

• 💊 Pfizer is discontinuing clinical trials for its twice-daily weight loss pill due to widespread side effects; the company will still be experimenting with a 1x/daily dosage, however.
• 🐬 Adult bottlenose dolphins can sense electric fields produced by lifeforms underwater, per researchers; the ability to sense these electric fields helps the dolphins detect prey hidden in the sand.
• 🛰️ Amazon purchased three rocket launches from SpaceX to help deploy its network of Kuiper Internet satellites; Amazon needs to launch at least half of its 3,236-satellite network by July 2026 in order to maintain FCC approval.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🙏 Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, passed away at 93 years old.
• ⛈️ Storms targeted both the Northeast and Pacific Northwest on Sunday; parts of the Northwest and Rocky Mountain ranges could also see an additional 6 to 12 inches of snow through midweek.
• 🚨 Los Angeles authorities arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the killings of three homeless men in the area this week; the suspect is also tied to a fourth homicide nearby.

CLICKBAIT

• 🍷 Why some people get red wine headaches.

Monday: COP28 climate summit continues (ends December 12)

Tuesday: World Trick Shot Day

Wednesday: The fourth debate of the GOP primary election cycle (which again won’t feature Trump)

Thursday: Hanukkah begins at sundown

Friday: November jobs report

On Friday, we covered a Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of the SEC’s in-house judicial system, which uses administrative judges appointed by agency officials.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should the SEC be allowed to use its in-house court system to hear cases?

• 👍 Yes: 35%
• 👎 No: 43%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 22%

Click here to read more of the best responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 7,206 votes and 418 longform responses.

Travis Carpenter was only thirteen when he had to make the life-altering decision to amputate his left leg.

The Utah teen was born with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition causing countless tumors to grow in his leg. He broke it three times before finally deciding to have it surgically removed.

🐾 ❤️ Who rescued whom?... During the process of deciding about his leg, Travis adopted Lady, a playful pup with one unique trait: she's missing one of her legs, too. 

• "When I saw her get around it really well, I'm like, maybe I should do that so I can get around better than I am right now," Travis said. "I think it’s really cool to have a dog that’s just like me.”

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Anem
2. Ceram
3. Digit
4. Frater
5. Ign

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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1. Anem = Wind (e.g., anemometer)
2. Ceram = Clay (ceramic)
3. Digit = Finger (digital)
4. Frater = Brother (fraternity)
5. Ign = Fire (ignition)

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