Good morning. On today’s docket:

• 🌎 The Earth set another heat record in November
• 🛰️ The ISS just turned 25
• 🎨 Pantone unveiled its color of the year

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.25-minute read.

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

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

–Mark Twain (1835-1910)

The Earth continued its record pace of warming last month, per a new assessment from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, registering both the hottest November since data collection began in 1940 and the sixth monthly heat record in a row.

By the numbers: The assessment found global air temperatures averaged 57.6°F last month, which is 0.6°F warmer compared to the previous November and 3.2°F warmer compared to pre-industrial times (tied with this past October for the highest on record).

Scientists say there are two driving forces behind the six straight record hottest months: human-caused climate change from the burning of fossil fuels, and the naturally occurring El Niño global warming event that takes place every 2-7 years.

• Overall, Copernicus scientists calculated this year has been 2.6°F warmer than pre-industrial times, or ~0.3°F higher than the previous warmest year in 2016.
• That figure is also just shy of the 2.7°F limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement as the threshold for which countries should aim to limit global warming to avoid severe consequences, such as the runaway melting of ice sheets or the Amazon rainforest drying out.

📸 Big picture: A separate UN report published last month found Earth is currently on track to reach a peak of between 4.9°F and 5.2°F above pre-industrial levels by 2100, based on emissions commitments from countries around the world and the actions they’ve taken thus far.

• China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas-emitter, is responsible for 27+% of global emissions, while the US sits at 11%, India makes up 7%, and all 27 EU nations combined account for 6%.

📊 Flash poll: Do you think the US government is doing too much, too little, or about the right amount when it comes to climate change?

• Too much
• Too little
• About the right amount

Not ready to invest yet? Why not earn interest on your uninvested cash with moomoo’s new Cash Sweep Program**:

• No minimum deposit required for new users
• No cap on interest earnings
• $0 fees charged to you (free to join and no minimum account size)
• Withdraw or invest your cash at anytime

Moomoo also gives users free access to educational resources and a paper trading tool, so you can learn the investing basics before starting to invest!

Learn the investing basics with moomoo and earn 5.1% APY on your uninvested cash.*

🇩🇰 Denmark passed a law prohibiting the desecration of religious texts. Lawbreakers will be subject to a fine or up to two years in prison for damaging holy texts publicly, or in videos intended to be disseminated widely. The legislation, commonly known as the “Quran Law,” stems from a series of anti-Islam protests this year where activists burned copies of the Quran, triggering demands that the Danish government ban the practice to deescalate the increased threat of terrorism within the country and in Danish embassies in Muslim nations.

🇺🇸🇬🇧🇷🇺 The US and UK accused Russia of a yearslong hacking campaign targeting British elections. In a DOJ indictment unsealed yesterday, federal prosecutors accused two Russian nationals of carrying out cyberattacks and online influence operations targeting UK lawmakers, journalists, and civil organizations in an effort to interfere in local elections over the past eight years. US and UK intelligence officials say the campaign was orchestrated by a unit within the FSB, Russia’s successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

🇷🇺 G7 countries will ban diamond imports from Russia starting next year. The embargo on the world’s largest diamond producer is part of a series of sanctions to curb Russia’s ability to wage war with Ukraine, and will expand to include Russian diamonds processed in other countries beginning in March. To enforce the move, the development of a traceability-based verification system for rough diamonds is underway and set to be completed by September. Diamond producers say the timeline is too short and would damage supply chains when demand is under pressure.

This week, NASA celebrated the International Space Station’s 25th birthday – even as the space agency is preparing to give it the Old Yeller treatment.

Some quick background: The ISS is a joint project involving five space agencies, who collectively have spent $150+ billion to construct and operate the football field-sized station. It’s been continuously occupied for more than 23 years by astronauts from nearly two dozen countries, and has hosted 3,300+ scientific experiments.

But the status quo won’t last for much longer. The ISS is currently set to retire in 2030 and be deorbited into the ocean the following year in a fiery ball of flames. NASA has signed agreements with four private space companies to replace the ISS with commercial stations, though the projects are in early stages of development. Officials say NASA will continue to use the ISS if no other options are available by the end of the decade.

📸 Big picture: China – which was banned from the ISS in 2011 – completed its Tiangong space station late last year, Russia is aiming to launch the first module of its own space station by 2027, and India says it will do the same by 2028.

You don’t have to be a Kardashian to sleep in luxury – with The Original from Coop, you’ll wake up feeling like a million bucks. No more neck pain, no more tossing and turning; just quality, restorative sleep backed by 15,000+ five-star reviews.

The Original from Coop is…

• 🏆 Ranked the #1 pillow on Consumer Reports
• ↕️ Adjustable to suit your body
• ☁️ Made with a cloud-like blend of memory foam and microfiber
• ✅ Hypoallergenic and non-toxic

With top marks for side support, back support, and resilience, it’s no wonder reviews are calling The Original the “best pillow ever!”.

Invest in better quality sleep tonight with Coop.

💬 Quoted… “A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.”

• Yesterday, Pantone… um, eloquently unveiled its color of the year for 2024: Peach Fuzz, a shade the company of color experts says “echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection.” Each Pantone color of the year, chosen by a group of color psychology and color trend researchers, aims to show how color can be used as a mechanism to express whatever is happening culturally in the world at a given time.

🏥⏳ Stat of the Day: More than half of all US psychologists (56%) have no openings for new patients, and those with waitlists have an average wait time of 3+ months, per an annual survey by the American Psychological Association released this week. The survey also found 36% of psychologists report feeling burned out, down from a peak of 41% in 2021.

🤔 Did You Know?... Crypto is apparently even thirstier than a lot of the bros mining it. Last year, global bitcoin mining operations consumed an estimated 47% more water than all of New York City combined (591 billion gallons vs. 403 billion).

📰 Worth a Read: The final frontier? How humans could live underwater in 'ocean stations' → (BBC Future)

• 👆 A large winter storm is projected to bring heavy rain, severe thunderstorms, strong winds, and snow to the eastern half of the US over the weekend, with the most severe effects beginning tonight.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Nutrafol

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +0.8%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +1.4%); Alphabet and AMD boosted the Nasdaq following new AI-related announcements. | 🏘️ 2023 was the least affordable year for homebuying in at least 11 years, according to a new Redfin report. | 😬 The National Retail Federation walked back its claim that organized retail crime accounted for nearly half of all shrink losses in 2021; the org cited incorrect analysis based on flawed data.
• 🚀 SpaceX is exploring a share sale that values the company at $175 billion.
• 🛒 Amazon is testing a grocery delivery subscription for Prime members.

*From our partners: 🏆🌱 The award-winning hair growth supplement brand used by over 1 million people… Nutrafol is built on a whole-body approach to hair health. Their supplements are clinically tested and physician-formulated. See results in as little as 3-6 months with Nutrafol.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ The New York Yankees completed a trade with the San Diego Padres to bring three-time All-Star Juan Soto to the Bronx.
• 🏌️ Jon Rahm, the reigning Masters champion, will leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
• 📲 Meta announced that all Facebook and Messenger chats will be encrypted automatically.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with FinanceBuzz

• 🧬 The FDA is expected to approve exa-cel gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease; it would be the first approved medicine in the US to use CRISPR gene-editing tech.
• 🍅 Mystery solved: ISS astronauts found a tomato that had been lost in space for eight months; NASA astronaut Frank Rubio was suspected of eating it but is now exonerated.
• 🤖 AI academic Helen Toner, a former OpenAI board member who was involved in Sam Altman's recent firing, gave an interview to the WSJ sharing her side of the story. Read it here.

*From our partners: 💵 5 weird (but legit) ways to make extra cash… If your goal is to make some extra cash, save money or even build your wealth, here is the ultimate list of easy, money-making ideas you can do in your spare time. Start making legitimate cash today.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 💊 The Biden administration yesterday opened the door to seizing the patents of certain costly medications from drugmakers; the move is intended to drive down the prices of meds.
• 🗳️ The House voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman for pulling a fire alarm ahead of a vote on a measure to avert a government shutdown in September.
• 🎓 College stat: The average US student at a public university borrows $32,637 to obtain a bachelor's degree. | ☝️ Anotha one: Almost 80% of undergraduate grades given at Yale last year were A’s or A-minuses, an economics professor found.

CLICKBAIT

• 💪 Technology is secretly stealing your time. Here's how to reclaim it.

👑 What a queen!... For the first time in thirty-five years, a solid white leucistic alligator has been born. 

The baby girl is "beyond rare," according to a post by Gatorland Orlando, where the hatchling was born. "[Her birth] is absolutely extraordinary and the first one in the world."

• Only seven other live leucistic alligators are on record, all found in the late 1980's in Louisiana. The unique coloring of leucistic gators is different from albinos due to the bright blue color of their eyes. 

👀 Looking ahead: The baby will be on display at Gatorland in early 2024. 

It’s time to find out – our weekly news quiz is live.

• Test your mettle against the team.

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

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Butter
• Sugar
• Almond paste
• Almond extract
• Flour
• Cornstarch
• Salt

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Salt
• Whole milk
• Eggs
• Butter
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Water
• Sea salt
• Bucatini
• Butter
• Black pepper
• Pecorino Romano cheese

(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: Marzipan shortbread cookies

✌️ Recipe #2: Cinnamon babka

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Brown butter cacio e pepe

*Terms & Conditions apply. See: https://bit.ly/40J0G0T.

**Cash Sweep 5.1% APY Eligibility: All new user brokerage accounts. Existing user brokerage accounts must refer a friend to deposit $100+ OR deposit $500 themselves to access the higher rate (if conditions are not met, rate is 0.03%). Rate subject to change. Neither Moomoo Financial Inc. or its affiliates are banks.