Good morning. On today’s docket:

• ⛳ Golf has a real estate problem
• 😬 US traffic deaths are trending in the wrong direction
• 🤔 Did Vikings actually wear helmets with horns?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.91-minute read.

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

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.”

–Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)

On Friday, the FDA gave its first approval to a treatment that uses the novel CRISPR gene-editing system, whose creators were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The new therapy, called Casgevy, is aimed at treating sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder affecting ~100,000 Americans of mostly African descent. Casgevy involves harvesting cells from a patient's bone marrow, editing the cells in a lab using CRISPR, then inserting the modified cells back into the patient's body.

• The one-time treatment, which lasts for years or possibly decades, is designed to reduce the amount and intensity of frequent pain attacks that are a hallmark of sickle cell disease.
• Casgevy is also aimed at extending the lifespan of sickle-cell patients, who have an average life expectancy 20+ years shorter than the general public.

Yes, but… The FDA predicts just 1 in 5 US patients with sickle cell disease will end up receiving Casgevy due to its elevated price tag – $2.2 million per patient – and the fact that it requires a large amount of hospital resources to perform.

📸 Big picture: CRISPR technology allows scientists to rewrite the genetic code of almost any organism in a simpler, cheaper, and more precise fashion compared to any previous invention.

Since it uses the patients’ own cells, CRISPR has the potential to treat or cure a wide range of genetic diseases – especially those where the patient would otherwise need a specific donor. It’s also the technology behind the recent pig-to-human heart transplants and the first-ever genetically modified human babies.

• Outside of medicine, other real-word applications of CRISPR include creating drought-resistant crops and high-energy biofuel that’s 100% renewable, as well as eliminating disease-carrying mosquitoes.

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🇦🇷 Argentinian President Javier Milei pledged to deliver an economic “shock treatment” in his first address after being sworn in. Milei said he would enact deep spending cuts designed to reduce Argentina’s large outstanding public debts and drive down annual inflation, which climbed from 40% in early 2021 to more than 140% this past October. Shortly after taking office on Sunday, Milei signed a decree to cut the number of Argentina government ministries in half to a total of nine, following through on one of his campaign pledges.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong held its first council elections since the height of anti-China protests in 2019. Voter turnout for Sunday’s election was 28%, well below the 71% of voters who cast a ballot in 2019. The drop comes after China introduced new electoral rules in Hong Kong that banned pro-democracy candidates from running, reduced the proportion of directly elected seats from 90% to 20%, and required candidates to secure endorsements from government-appointed committees mostly filled with Chinese loyalists.

🇷🇺 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has reportedly been missing for nearly a week. The lawyer and politician is best known for his anti-Putin video investigations, and for surviving an alleged Kremlin poisoning attempt. Navalny has been imprisoned in Russia since 2021 on charges including fraud, embezzlement, and creating an extremist environment, which he and his allies frame as politically motivated. Prior to his disappearance, Navalny's aides were preparing for his expected transfer to a special regime colony – the harshest grade in Russia’s prison system – after he was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison this August (upping his overall sentence to 30.5 years).

Last week, golf’s governing bodies announced the current balls being used by pro and amateur golfers will be phased out and replaced by a ball that doesn’t travel as far.

The reason for the change is simple – improvements in club and ball tech have resulted in longer and longer drive distances, and courses are struggling to keep up. As Tiger Woods put it: “We just don’t have enough property anymore.”

• In 1980, the first year driving distance stats were kept on the PGA Tour, the average driving distance was 256.89 yards. This year, it’s 299.9 yards.
• The ball change is expected to push driving distances down by 9-15 yards moving forward.

What about for amateur golfers?... According to the golf governing bodies’ research, the everyday amateur with a mid-90s clubhead speed can expect to see a distance loss of 5 yards or less with a driver. And more good news: once golfers get to the 5-iron, distances should be almost exactly the same with the new ball as they are now (so maybe start working on that short game).

👀 Looking ahead… The pros have until 2028 to come to terms with the ball change, while amateurs have until 2030 to wrap their heads around seeing drives travel even shorter distances.

US traffic deaths have been rising since around 2010, reversing a decades-long downward trend, according to a new analysis published yesterday by the NY Times. And, like many things these days, it appears to be a uniquely American problem.

Researchers point to three main causes for the recent rise in US traffic deaths:

1. The dawn of smartphones, and their increasing use among drivers. The traffic-death trend’s reversal roughly correlates to the introduction and widespread adoption of smartphones (the iPhone debuted in 2007).
2. Drug/alcohol impairment. In one recent federal study, half of the drivers involved in serious accidents tested positive for at least one active drug.
3. Poor transit/pedestrian infrastructure mixed with growing populations. For example: The number of pedestrian fatalities in Florida has increased ~75% since 2009, while the population has increased ~17%.

📸 Big picture: The US has a vehicle death rate ~3x higher than Canada, Australia, or France, ~4x higher than Germany or Japan, and ~5x higher than Scandinavia, Switzerland, or Britain, the NY Times reports.

One possible explanation: drivers in other countries are less distracted. Survey data shows Americans use phones while driving more than people in other countries – about 3x more than drivers in Britain – plus ~75% of cars on the road in Europe have manual transmissions (compared to 1% in the US).

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💬 Quoted… “Statistically significant disparities.”

• Federal regulators have accused Wells Fargo of discriminating against female and Black borrowers by granting them fewer mortgage loan discounts than other customers last year, per a new CNBC report. Wells Fargo, which was the biggest player in US mortgages until recently, has repeatedly drawn the ire of regulators over missteps involving home loans, paying a combined $4.1 billion in fines stemming from three such incidents since 2012.

🏀 Stat of the Day: LeBron James, who was the youngest NBA player when he debuted in 2003, is now the oldest player in the league at 38 – or three years younger than Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy. But James appears to have Benjamin Button syndrome, because you wouldn’t know it from his recent accolades. On Saturday, he became the oldest player to win an MVP award of any kind following the Lakers’ In-Season Tournament victory.

🤔 Did You Know?... There’s no historical evidence that Vikings used to wear horns on their helmets (sorry Minnesota).

📰 Worth a Read: The actors who are the best (and worst) at their job → (The Hustle)

• 👆 Astrophotographer Stephen Pemberton recently captured this shot showing three rare phenomena in a single frame: the Milky Way, the Northern Lights, and STEVE (the big red streak).

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with RYSE

• 💰 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +0.4%; Dow: +0.4%; Nasdaq: +0.2%). | 📈 Macy’s stock rose 19% following reports that an investor group is launching a bid to take the retailer private for $5.8 billion. | 🛢️ Occidental Petroleum agreed to buy CrownRock, a privately held energy producer that operates in the Permian Basin, for $12 billion.
• 📝 The UAW filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Honda, Hyundai, and Volkswagen; the move comes roughly two weeks after the UAW said it was launching a campaign to organize 13 nonunion automakers in the US.
• 🧸 Hasbro is laying off 1,100 employees, or ~17% of its workforce as of earlier this year, amid slow toy sales.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎭🏆 The 2024 Golden Globe nominees were revealed yesterday morning; Barbie and Succession lead the pack with nine nods apiece, while Oppenheimer received eight.
• ⚾🤑 Shohei Ohtani will reportedly defer almost all of his new contract until after its 10-year timeframe is completed; the move means the Dodgers will pay Ohtani $68 million/year from 2034 to 2043; the two-way star signed a 10 year, $700 million deal over the weekend.
• 📺 Tucker Carlson launched his own streaming service priced at $9/month; the move comes after Fox News parted ways with the top-rated news host in April.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Coop

• 💻🧠 A team of US engineers have developed a functional computer that integrates human brain tissue with electronics.
• 🤿🦖 A largely intact skull of a plesiosaur – an ancient reptile described as “sort of like an underwater T-Rex" – was recently discovered by a fossil enthusiast while strolling on a UK beach.
• 🥱 An estimated 3.3 million Americans have chronic fatigue syndrome, per a new CDC study.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 📝 The Air National Guard disciplined 15 members following its investigation into the leak of top-secret information via Discord by 21-year-old Airman Jack Teixeira.
• 🏥 A pregnant woman who sued Texas over its abortion ban left the state to receive an emergency abortion; her fetus was diagnosed with a near-100% fatal condition, and the woman is also at risk of gestational hypertension, diabetes, and infertility.
• ⚖️ Former President Trump reversed course late Sunday and declined to testify again in his New York civil fraud trial; he was previously scheduled to take the witness stand yesterday. | ⚖️ Special counsel Jack Smith asked the US Supreme Court to rule on former President Trump’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 📱👀 TikTok year in review: A look at 2023's top trends.

Yesterday, we covered new poll data and campaign updates surrounding the 2024 presidential election, which officially kicks off with Iowa’s first-in-the-nation GOP caucus on January 15.

❓ Our question to you: If next year’s presidential election were held today, who would you vote for?

• 🔴 The Republican candidate: 27%
• 🔵 The Democratic candidate: 37%
• 3️⃣ A third-party candidate: 15%
• 🔞 I’m too young/I don’t vote: 10%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 11%

Click here to read the best explanations/longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 7,402 votes and 557 longform responses.

High school junior Elle Gianelli was in seventh grade when she first started her business, Socks for Seniors. 

The self-proclaimed "Grandma's Girl" has a heart for the elderly community, donating silly socks to nursing homes across the country to help brighten the recipients' days and keep their feet warm. 

🧦 No cold feet here.... "I know they have Toys for Tots and things for kids" shared Elle, "[but] you always seem to forget about seniors." 

• She's ran the business for four years now, and expanded her goal this holiday season. Elle plans on gifting her socks to nursing homes in all 50 states in 2023, hopefully making some new friends and pen pals along the way. 

❓ Trivia: Who was the messenger of the Roman gods?

🦋 True or False?... A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters?

(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.👇

❓ Trivia: Mercury 

🦋 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: Queue