Good morning. On today’s docket:

• ⌚ Apple is pulling its latest smartwatch models from the US market
• 🌬️ The winds of energy change are facing a ship-sized obstacle
• 💰 Behind a thrift shop find that would make Macklemore proud

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 5.06-minute read.

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

“They who are not contented with what they have, would not be contented with what they would like to have.”

–Socrates (470 B.C. – 399 B.C.)

Dozens of pro pickleball players have formed a collective to preserve their own interests in contract negotiations with the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP), according to a recent letter obtained by CNBC.

And it comes at a time when the sport of pickleball is channeling a wild Pokémon with a strong work ethic and attempting to level itself up – professionally, at least.

Background: Over the summer, two of the main pro pickleball leagues – the PPA, which is owned by Tom Durdon, a billionaire who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, and the MLP, which was co-founded by billionaire Steve Kuhn – were competing to sign talent to exclusive contracts after a merger between the two fell through.

However, this 2023 hot-weather bidding war ultimately brought about another merger announcement – presumably after a Mafia-style billionaire sitdown – this past September.

But a league/player disconnect then started to take shape. Following the announcement, the MLP asked its athletes to take a 40% pay cut in return for a reduction in work obligations, as the leagues worked to return their budgets to lower levels.

• Many of the amendments in these contracts appear intentionally vague, causing players to question their position and push for collective bargaining power, Pickleball Union reports.
• It’s estimated that 80+% of the 103 contracted MLP players haven’t yet agreed to terms with the MLP’s pay cut proposal and are still determining the right course of action.

👀 Looking ahead… The PPA and MLP are still working to complete their merger, as pro pickleball nears an inflection point.

On one hand – dozens upon dozens of US pro sports leagues have gone belly-up. On the other – the NBA signed a three-year, $1.5 million TV deal in 1979 following its merger with the ABA, and is now seeking a reported $75 billion for its media rights.

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🇨🇱 Chilean voters rejected a ballot proposal for a new constitution. Over 55% of the South American country's population voted against the proposal from conservative politicians, which would’ve reduced immigration, limited abortion, and deepened free-market principles. The process to replace Chile’s current constitution – which was enacted in 1980 during a military dictatorship – began in 2019 following mass protests against inequality and high costs of living. Sunday’s vote came a year after the country rejected a separate constitution proposed by liberal politicians, which would’ve expanded abortion rights and sovereignty for Indigenous groups. Chilean President Gabriel Boric said he won’t try to change the constitution again moving forward.

🇪🇬 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi was re-elected for a third term with little opposition. Sisi, a former general who led a coup in 2013 ousting Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected president, cruised to victory with a reported 89.6% of the vote in a three-day national election last week. Sisi’s victory came months after his most prominent political challenger was banned from the presidential race, in a move the opposition claimed was illegal persecution.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Jimmy Lai is facing a new trial. Lai, who founded the now-defunct anti-CCP newspaper Apple Daily, is being charged with three counts of colluding with foreign forces along with a separate sedition charge, all of which he denies. Lai has been imprisoned for three years on charges linked to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, and faces up to life in prison on top of his current five-year sentence if found guilty.

Apple will stop selling the latest versions of its Apple Watch this week in response to an import ban stemming from an ongoing patent dispute. Or to put it another way – when the US government gets involved, it can literally stop time from moving.

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 – the company’s two latest flagship models released in September – will be pulled from Apple.com on Thursday, and will no longer be sold in US retail stores starting December 24. Previously sold watches are like MC Hammer and won’t be affected by the ban (can’t touch this), nor will the Apple Watch SE, an older model.

Driving the move: Apple’s decision to remove one of its most popular products ahead of the holiday season stems from a legal dispute with medical device maker Masimo, which claims its US patent for a light-based pulse oximeter was violated by Apple.

• In late October, the US International Trade Commission ruled in favor of Masimo and issued an import ban on Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2, in a decision that was sent to President Biden for a 60-day review period.

👀 Looking ahead… The Apple Watch import ban will take effect on Christmas Day if President Biden doesn’t overturn it before then (not likely). Analysts say Apple could deal with the upcoming ban in several ways, including negotiating a settlement with Masimo, or pushing a software update so that Apple Watches avoid using the contested technology.

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In recent years, energy companies have gone with the wind, investing tens of billions of dollars towards creating hundreds of wind turbines the size of skyscrapers and then plopping them in the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Virginia.

But many of these projects are running behind schedule and over budget, as companies are finding it more difficult than expected to place their turbines in the ocean.

The main culprit is a lack of custom installation ships, which are the only way to erect the 600-foot turbines. There are just 34 such vessels in operation outside of China, allowing shipowners to charge up to $350,000/day.

Danish wind giant Ørsted set out to solve the shortage in 2021 by launching construction on a brand-new US turbine installation ship. But supply-chain issues later forced a year-long delay, leaving two major wind projects in New York scrambling for limited backup options.

• Ørsted also canceled two other offshore wind projects in New Jersey last month – taking a combined $5.6 billion impairment – largely because the company couldn’t find an installation ship.

🌬️💡 Zoom out: Eastern US states have awarded contracts to build two dozen offshore wind farms that can produce a combined 21 gigawatts of electric capacity by 2030 – on paper, at least. In reality, energy developers have canceled or asked to renegotiate rates for nearly half that capacity, causing analysts to downgrade expectations to 15 gigawatts by decade’s end (or enough to power 4+ million homes).

💬 Quoted… “This was a gift from the thrifting gods.”

• In a thrift store-find that would make Macklemore especially proud, a Virginia woman purchased a vase for $3.99 from Goodwill earlier this year… and just sold it at auction for $107,000 (!). The vase turned out to be an ultra-rare piece from renowned Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, originally created in the 1940s as part of the artist’s “Pennellate” series. And while Jessica Vincent, the woman who found and sold the vase, presumably had $20 in her pocket and was hunting around the shop for a come-up, she didn’t know just how much of a come-up it would be. "In my mind, I thought maybe it's like a $1,000–$2,000 piece. I knew it was good but I didn't know it was like the master work that it is at the moment," she told USA Today. Just another reminder that one person’s trash can be another person’s treasure.

🏈 Stat of the Day: San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, who was dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, is currently the odds-on favorite for this year’s MVP award at -200 (aka bet $200 to win an extra $100).

🤔 Did You Know?... Americans who live on the far western side of their time zone – aka the “wrong side” – sleep an average of 115 hours less per year than Americans who live on the far eastern side of their time zone, per a 2019 study.

📰 Worth a Read: The brain undergoes a great "rewiring" after age 40 → (Big Think)

• 👆 NASA published new images from its James Webb telescope that show Uranus, its surrounding rings, and 27 orbiting moons in greater detail than ever before.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with The HOTH

• 💰 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +0.5%; Dow: +0.002%; Nasdaq: +0.6%).
• 🏗️ US Steel, once the world’s largest corporation, is being acquired by Nippon Steel for $14.1 billion. | 😬 Adobe's $20 billion acquisition of Figma, a cloud-based design tool, fell apart due to antitrust concerns from regulators; Adobe will pay a $1 billion breakup fee.
• ⚖️ Nikola founder Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding investors. | ✈️ Southwest Airlines reached a record $140 million settlement with the Department of Transportation over last year's winter meltdown that left ~17,000 holiday flights canceled and 2+ million passengers stranded.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎭⚖️ Jonathan Majors, who played villain Kang the Conqueror in the MCU, was fired yesterday by Marvel Studios after Majors was found guilty of reckless assault and harassment.
• 📺 Amazon is reportedly negotiating with Sinclair’s Diamond Sports over a potential deal in which the tech giant acquires multi-year streaming rights to MLB, NBA, and NHL games.
• 🏀 Stephen Curry’s NBA-record streak for most consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer has officially ended at 268; the streak began on December 1, 2018.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Coop

• 🗣️🐋 A group of scientists recently held the first known conversation with a whale in its native language, per a new study.
• 🦠 Nearly half of all Africans who contracted Covid over the past three years are currently living with long Covid, per a first-of-its-kind meta-analysis.
• 🌋 A volcano in southwestern Iceland began erupting yesterday following weeks of local earthquakes, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 💥🚗 A male driver crashed into a parked SUV guarding President Biden’s motorcade in Delaware on Sunday night; the president and First Lady were unharmed, while the driver was arrested on drunk driving charges.
• ⛪ Pope Francis formally approved a new policy that allows priests to bless same-sex couples, but still maintains the Catholic Church’s ban on gay marriage.
• ✍️🇲🇽 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a new law authorizing state officials to arrest and seek the deportation of migrants suspected of crossing the border with Mexico illegally. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🏆 The 10 oddest Guinness World Records of the year.

Yesterday, we covered how the US economy has showed positive signs in recent months, and that the economic boom may not be extending to all Americans.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you consider yourself better off, worse off, or about the same compared to before the pandemic?

• 👍 Better off: 25%
• 👎 Worse off: 41%
• 🤷 About the same: 34%

Click here to read more of the best responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 6,181 votes and 425 longform responses.

Between her sold-out world tour, new documentary film, and being named Time's Person of the Year, Taylor Swift has been all over the news lately. 

The superstar recently paid some of her successes forward, donating $1 million to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund following the devastating tornadoes that swept through the state last week. 

• Her contribution will help provide immediate relief, short-term recovery, and long-term recovery for those affected by the disaster.  

Dose of action: Those also interested in donating can visit www.cfmt.org.

❓ Trivia: How many liters are in a US gallon?

🌊 True or False?... Lake Michigan is the largest body of freshwater in the world.

🤔 Riddle Me This: Where does today come before yesterday?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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❓ Trivia: 3.785 liters/gallon

🌊 T/F: False, it’s Lake Superior

🤔 Riddle: In the dictionary