Good morning. Anyone else’s weekend plans involve sleeping until your alarm goes off on Monday morning? Asking for a friend.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 5.14-minute read.

P.S. A link was broken in yesterday’s Poll Results section about insurance rates across the country. Apologies for the issue; you can find the actual link here.

P.P.S. We’ll be off on Monday for MLK Day.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

–Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

OpenAI’s GPT Store, where users will be able to share and monetize customized versions of ChatGPT, officially launched this week.

Anyone who subscribes to OpenAI's $20-per-month ChatGPT Plus subscription will have access to the GPT Store’s wide variety of apps created by OpenAI business partners and the broader community, who collectively built 3 million GPTs since the technology to do so was launched two months ago.

• The move, which has been compared to the launch of Apple’s App Store in 2008, signals a transition for OpenAI from offering ChatGPT as its core product to becoming a platform service that others build apps on top of.
• But some experts and lawmakers are concerned that OpenAI is moving too quickly, while leaving basic questions about AI safety unanswered.

The arguments: Critics of OpenAI’s swift commercial development contend that the company’s focus on short-term, practical AI applications has led it to overlook the long-term implications of AI research. These include the potential for bad actors to use AI for misinformation or other harmful purposes, or for biased AI models to exacerbate existing social inequalities – especially given the fact that no comprehensive federal legislation exists regarding the use of AI.

• OpenAI and industry proponents argue that fears over potential harms caused by AI are overblown, and that the technology isn’t close to achieving any semblance of human-like intelligence. They also contend that AI-generated misinformation likely won’t affect public discourse in a significant way, since misinformation is already widespread online.

There are also major concerns over AI copyright issues. Last month, the NY Times became the first major US media organization to sue both Microsoft and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement, joining similar lawsuits filed by popular authors and online content creators.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, is AI development moving too fast?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇮🇱🇵🇸🇿🇦 The UN’s top court began hearing a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians. South Africa’s justice minister portrayed Israel’s military operation in Gaza as an escalation of a campaign beginning in 1948, with Israel’s founding, to dispossess the Palestinians. Israeli officials have called South Africa’s claims false and baseless, saying Hamas has exacerbated casualties by embedding its personnel in civilian areas, and by turning protected places like hospitals and religious institutions into legitimate military targets. Israel is scheduled to deliver its defense in testimony later today.

🇪🇺 Microsoft will let EU users store all personal data within the bloc, instead of the US. The tech giant will also offer a paid option for tech support within the EU later this year. The changes apply to Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365. The move comes in response to stricter EU privacy laws in recent years, as well as decade-old leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showing that the US government eavesdrops on online data stored domestically.

🇮🇷 Iran seized an oil tanker that was at the center of a standoff with the US. The Iranian navy yesterday commandeered an oil tanker called St. Nikolas that was en route to Turkey via the Gulf of Oman, and redirected its course to Iran with a court order. Iranian officials say the move was in retaliation for the US previously seizing St. Nikolas in April, as part of its oil export sanctions against the Iranian government.

Yesterday, the Biden administration announced $623 million in new federal grants to help build an EV charging network across the country. The grants will go towards building 47 EV charging stations across 22 states and Puerto Rico, which will include a total of 7,500 individual EV ports.

The funds come from a pool of $7.5 billion that Congress approved in the 2021 infrastructure law to meet the White House’s goal of building 500,000 public chargers by 2030, mostly on high-traffic highways and in densely populated residential areas.

Big picture: Over the past three years, US EV sales have more than quadrupled to reach 1+ million/year, while the number of publicly available EV charging ports has grown by nearly 70% to 168,426.

But, much like toilet paper, not all EV chargers are created equal. The vast majority of US ports aren’t DC fast-chargers, which typically take between 15 and 45 minutes to go from 10% to 80% capacity. Most public EV chargers in the US take at least three hours to achieve the same result.

• It’s currently unclear how many of the new EV charging stations appropriated by Congress in the 2021 infrastructure law will be DC fast-chargers.

💬 Worth mentioning: The two biggest barriers to EV adoption today, according to consumers, are – 1) high prices and 2) range anxiety due to the lack of a public charging infrastructure.

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When it comes to the traffic-safety messages appearing on billboards, dad jokes are like “we’re girls” TikToks – so in.

In Ohio, drivers see roadside messages like: “O-H-I-WHOA! Watch your speed” or “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late.” Massachusetts urges drivers to “Use Ya Blinkah,” while Utah points out that “Driving Basted is for Turkeys.” New Jersey reminds drivers to “Hold on to your butts, help prevent forest fires.”

But federal regulators aren’t in on the joke. In December, the Federal Highway Administration issued new guidance on traffic-safety messages: Signs should avoid language that uses pop-culture references or humor.

• Federal regulators say these humorous signs could be misunderstood or only understood by a certain number of drivers, and could also require more time to comprehend. Instead, they suggest that signs show messages like: “UNBUCKLED SEAT BELTS FINE + POINTS.”
• On the other hand, funny-sign proponents point to studies that show a correlation between humor and higher information retention, the latter of which could be needed at a time when car-crash deaths remain elevated.

👀 Looking ahead… States have two years to comply with the new federal guidance.

💬 Quoted… “The patients are getting younger. It’s likely some environmental change, whether it’s something in our food, our medications or something we have not yet identified.”

• An ongoing health phenomenon is confusing doctors: more and more young people are being diagnosed with cancer. According to federal data, the cancer diagnosis rate in 2019 for Americans under 50 was 107.8 cases per 100,000 people, up 12.8% from 95.6 in 2000 – while a study published in BMJ Oncology last year reported a sharp global rise in cancers in people under 50, with the highest rates in North America, Australia, and Western Europe. Another not-so-fun fact: the risk of developing some cancers at a young age has increased for each generation born since the 1950s, the WSJ reports. But there is a bright spot when it comes to us treating cancer as a society: the US cancer death rate has dropped by one-third since 1991, thanks to a plunge in smoking and better treatment.

🍸 Stat of the Day: Quick! What’s the best-selling alcohol brand in America by volume? (Hint: it’s not a tequila, whisky, or vodka.) If you said High Noon hard seltzers, you’d be right, per a new report. The pre-made vodka + juice cocktail sold 21.4 million cases in 2023, which equates to $1.5 billion in sales. But while High Noon wins the volume award, Tito’s Vodka deserves the prize for highest sales. The Austin,Texas-based vodka brand sold 12 million cases last year, good for ~$2.5 billion in retail dollars, tops in the industry. (So the next time someone asks to buy you a Titos + soda but can’t hold a conversation, at least you have a couple facts to throw out there.)

🤔 Did You Know?... There were ads in the back of ‘60s and ‘70s comic books that allowed US kids to order a live monkey through the mail🐒.

📰 Worth a Read: Humans can 'smell' each other's emotions — but we don't know how → (Live Science)

• ☝️ A panel of self-described dystopia experts at CES 2024 in Las Vegas revealed the innovations they judged as “Worst in Show”; this year’s honorees include BMW’s augmented-reality glasses for driving, as well as a robotic vacuum cleaner with enhanced surveillance and detection tools.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with The HOTH

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: -0.1%; Dow: +0.1%; Nasdaq: +.004%). | 🪙 Bitcoin ETFs began trading on US exchanges.
• 📈 The US Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 3.4% in December, up from 3.1% the previous month, while core inflation fell slightly, per new federal data. | 💰 America’s federal deficit rose by $510 billion over the past three months, per the Treasury Department.
• 🚗 Hertz is selling 20,000 EVs, or one-third of its electric fleet, and replacing them with gas-powered vehicles, citing low customer demand.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 Bill Belichick is out as head coach of the New England Patriots; his six Super Bowl wins are the most of any head coach in NFL history. | 🏆 The NFL playoffs kick off this weekend, with six Wild Card games across Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
• 🍿 Warner Bros. Discovery announced a partnership with Tom Cruise to develop and produce original and franchise theatrical films starting this year.
• 🏥 The Good Doctor’s upcoming seventh season will be its last, producers Sony and ABC announced yesterday.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Sabavi Home

• 🦖 A new species of T. Rex was recently discovered by scientists reassessing a partial skull first unearthed in southeastern New Mexico four decades ago.
• 🌿 Cannabis-induced health disorders were diagnosed over 50% more often at the end of November than in 2019, per healthcare-analytics company Truveta.
• 🦎 The world’s oldest known fossilized skin, belonging to a species of reptile that lived 300 million years ago, was uncovered by scientists from the University of Toronto Mississauga.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 💥🌍 The US and UK militaries hit more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen yesterday; the move came in response to repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
• 🗳️ Iowa’s first-in-the-nation GOP caucus, which officially kicks off the 2024 US presidential election season, is scheduled for Monday. | 🇹🇼 Taiwan is holding presidential and legislative elections on Saturday.
• ⚖️ Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty yesterday to federal tax charges filed after the collapse of a previous plea deal.

CLICKBAIT

• 👽 1st 'interstellar tourism campaign' urges aliens to visit Lexington, Kentucky.

You're looking at Dwan Jacobsen Young, a 92-year-old great-great-great-grandmother who just claimed the title of World's Oldest Female Water Skier. 

Dwan started water skiing at 29, and has hit Bear Lake in Idaho nearly every summer for the last 60 decades. She especially enjoys slalom skiing, aka only using one ski to balance at a time. 

• Now, Dwan shares the hobby with her children, grandchildren, great, AND great great grandchildren. 
• Her family recently surprised her on Christmas with the official Guinness World Records certificate. 

See her in action here.

Our weekly news quiz is live. How well did you pay attention this week? Let’s find out.

Below are three lists of ingredients. All you have to do is give us the completed dish they make. Easy peasy! (The rules, at least.)

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Spinach
• Ricotta cheese
• Salt & pepper
• Mozzarella
• Olive oil
• Italian sausage
• Garlic
• Marinara sauce
• Slices of toasted garlic bread

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Ground beef
• Salt & pepper
• Safflower oil
• Green bell pepper
• White onion
• Tomato paste
• Chili powder
• Oregano
• Cumin
• Diced tomatoes
• Pinto beans
• Yellow corn tortilla chips
• Monterey jack cheese
• Cheddar cheese
• Sliced radish
• Sliced jalapenos
• Sliced black olives
• Sour cream
• Cilantro leaves

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Dry yeast
• Warm water
• Molasses
• Caraway seeds
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Cocoa powder
• Rye flour
• Bread flour

(keep scrolling for the answers)

☝️ Recipe #1: Lasagna dip

✌️ Recipe #2: Taco casserole

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Rye bread