Good morning. As the math- and- science- inclined folks reading this know, numbers can help to explain the world around us. They can also tell a story.

Keeping these two things in mind, The DONUT team recently linked hands while in a circular formation and performed this ritualistic chant: “News gods, show us the way.”

And wouldn’t ya know – the news gods answered our prayers, sparking an idea for a new weekly section in this newsletter: By the Numbers. Its goal will be to aggregate the five craziest stats our team encountered during the previous week – things that made us say “whoa” – for your reading pleasure.

The first By the Numbers debuts today. Let us know what you think!

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.67-minute read.

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

“Actions are the seeds of fate. Deeds grow into destiny.”

–Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)

Exxon Mobil is suing two activist investors over a shareholder proposal that pushes for the oil giant to set more aggressive emissions targets, in a highly unusual lawsuit that could impact activist investing across corporate America.

Some quick background: For over a decade, activist investors Arjuna Capital and Follow This have put forward proposals at all five major Western oil-and-gas firms seeking emissions cuts beyond the companies’ current commitments.

Most of these proposals have been rejected, including two recent attempts at Exxon that received 28% shareholder approval in 2022 and 10% approval in 2023 – but the two groups are back at it again this year.

• Typically, companies like Exxon that want to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy statements do so by submitting a request to the SEC for approval.
• But, in an unprecedented move for the company, Exxon instead filed a lawsuit attempting to bypass that process, since the SEC under the Biden admin has been more likely to side with activist investors compared to the Trump admin.

💥 The potential impact: Exxon is seeking a legal precedent that stops investors from pushing agendas that would 1) harm shareholder value, and 2) force the firms to pay extensive legal and administrative costs in opposition. A judgment in the oil giant’s favor would tighten the SEC’s rules around shareholder proposals, likely discouraging activist investors from using similar initiatives to push for corporate change in the future.

👎 Zoom out: Exxon’s lawsuit comes amidst recent corporate backlash against investing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, with investors pulling a combined $13 billion from ESG funds over the past year.

🧐 So, where can you find informative political news minus the clickbait and polarization (besides The DONUT, of course 😉)? Join 90,000+ readers staying up-to-date with Tangle, the free daily newsletter covering one need-to-know debate in American politics each day.

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🇮🇳 India PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple on the site of a former Muslim mosque. The Ram Mandir temple was built to honor Lord Ram, one of Hinduism's most revered deities, at his supposed birthplace in the northern city of Ayodhya. Hindu nationalists in India previously demolished a 16th-century mosque located on the land in 1992 – sparking deadly nationwide riots – and won a legal battle in 2019 to build a $217 million temple spread across 7.4 acres. Critics say the Hindu temple contradicts the idea of a constitutionally secular India, and is being used for campaigning by Modi ahead of elections this spring.

🇨🇲💉 Cameroon kicked off the world’s first mass rollout of a malaria vaccine. Malaria causes ~600,000 deaths per year in Africa, with children under five accounting for 80+% of all fatalities. Cameroon’s new campaign, which began yesterday, aims to treat 500,000 local children over the next two years using a novel malaria vaccine that British pharma giant GSK spent the past three decades developing. While the vaccine is only ~30% effective at preventing malaria, it can raise childrens’ protection above 90% when combined with mosquito nets and malaria tablets.

🌎 Tobacco use is declining globally, per the WHO. In 2020, about 22% of adults used tobacco products, down from 33% in 2000, a new WHO report found. The overall figure is expected to further decline to ~18% by 2030. Scientists attribute the recent dip in tobacco usage to a variety of reasons, including control measures like smoke-free environments, restrictions on advertising, health warnings, and price hikes.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and the #4-ranked cancer hospital in the world – is seeking retractions or corrections to dozens of scientific papers over allegations that four of its senior researchers falsified data, the institute revealed on Sunday.

The initial fraud claims were published earlier this month by research integrity blogger Sholto David, who identified 50+ studies from Dana-Farber’s CEO, COO, and two other top researchers that showed signs of manipulated data or images. All four of the accused Dana-Farber researchers have faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School.

• In response, Dana-Farber and the four researchers requested retractions for six previous studies, as well as corrections for an additional 31 papers cited in David’s blog post.
• A Dana-Farber spokesperson said the institute is currently investigating whether any wrongdoing occurred, and that such errors are “often unintentional and do not rise to the level of misconduct.”

The presence of errors and forgery in academic work has received increased attention in recent months. Since last summer, the presidents of both Stanford and Harvard have been ousted from their roles in part due to alleged research fraud.

• Overall, nearly one-quarter of all medical papers published in 2020 were likely made up or plagiarized, per a recent analysis by neuropsychologist Bernhard Sabel.

👀 Looking ahead… An international organization representing 120 scientific publishers recently launched a campaign aimed at developing new tools that can better detect plagiarized or fraudulent content.

Who isn’t? Just in 2023 alone there were over 55 billion robocalls bugging people in the USA… that’s around 166 robocalls per citizen per year. If you’re ready to put a stop to robocalls, spam, and cybercriminals using your data maliciously, it’s time to get Incogni.

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💬 Quoted… “This is pickle disobedience. They will not stop us from playing.”

• Pickleballers are beefing with homeowners in Presidio Heights, California – an area one real estate listing cited by the WSJ describes as: “a rarefied community where Silicon Valley’s elite mingle with affluent families” – marking one of the most recent examples of a battle that’s increasingly taking place across the nation. The sport has drawn ire from nearby homeowners for the loud thwacking noises that accompany it – which can reach ~70 decibels from ~100 feet away, about the same as a washing machine – while pickleballers are like Cyndi Lauper’s idea of girls (they just wanna have fun). In Presidio Heights’ case, for example, where some pickleball courts are being removed by the city due to noise complaints, players have expressed openness to alternate solutions such as installing sound-absorbing curtains around the courts.

🏌️🏆 Stat of the Day: On Sunday, Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap became the first amateur golfer to win a PGA tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991 – though his amateur status means Dunlap isn’t eligible to receive the $1.5 million first prize.

🤔 Did You Know?... Single women own 2.7 million more homes than their male counterparts, with roughly 13% of those women holding the titles to their homes compared to 10% of men, according to a recent study by LendingTree.

📰 Worth a Read: Powder and profits: the economics of ski resorts → (The Hustle)

• ☝️ Sierra Space recently exploded its experimental inflatable space habitat, in a stress test aimed at determining how much pressure it can handle before blowing up.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Sabavi Home

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +0.2%; Dow: +0.4%; Nasdaq: +0.3%); the S&P ended trading at a record high for the second straight day; the Dow closed above 38,000 for the first time in history.
• 🥛🤝🍨 Oatly and Carvel announced a partnership that will bring oat milk-based items to the chain’s ice cream stores nationwide.
• 🏘️ Of the 50 largest real estate markets in the US, Austin, Texas, was the only city to post a decline in home prices for the 12 months ending in November, according to a recent Redfin report.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ✌️ Netflix‘s film chief, Scott Stuber, is leaving the streamer to start a new production company.
• 🏀 Tara VanDerveer, the Stanford women's basketball head coach, passed retired Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski with her 1,203rd career D1 victory on Sunday.
• 🏈 The Texans-Ravens playoff matchup on Saturday night drew 31.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched NFL game in ESPN history.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Hers

• 🚁 NASA recovered contact with Ingenuity, its mini Mars helicopter that's been flying off-and-on around the red planet for about three years.
• 🔴🙎‍♀️ Researchers have succeeded in modifying an acne-causing bacteria’s genes to produce and secrete a molecule that, in cell experiments, reduced the build-up of sebum, the oily substance that can cause acne by blocking pores.
• 🐻 There's a strong correlation between bigfoot sightings and the area’s local black bear population – for every 1,000 bears, the frequency of bigfoot sightings goes up ~4% – per a new analysis.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🗳️ The New Hampshire primaries take place today. | 📞 A fake robocall impersonating President Biden is reportedly encouraging Democrats not to vote in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire.
• 📝 The Biden administration announced steps to expand access to abortion medication and contraception; the announcement coincided with the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
• 🏫 The California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches, began a five-day strike that will affect ~460,000 students attending California State University schools (the nation’s largest public university system).

CLICKBAIT

• 🤔🍳 What’s the healthiest oil to cook with?

Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

• 🏘️🪙 A town in northern Croatia is selling houses for $0.13 apiece in an effort to get more people to settle in the 2,000-person area. (Read more)
• 🏈 Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has made the AFC Championship Game in all six of his seasons as a starter, with this coming Sunday marking his first-ever road playoff game. (Read more)
• 🏢📈 Colorado saw a 115% annual increase in new business applications after the state temporarily lowered the cost of filing from $50 to $1. (Read more)
• 🧠 Two-thirds of Americans (65%) believe they’re smarter than the average person. (Read more)
• 🏀 LeBron James has played against 35% of all players in NBA history over his 21-season career. (Read more)

Yesterday, we covered how sales of existing US homes in 2023 fell to the lowest level in nearly 30 years due to elevated interest rates and rising prices, though there are signs that home-buying activity is picking back up.

❓ Our question to you: Do you plan to buy or sell a home in the next year?

• 👍 Yes: 21%
• 👎 No: 61%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 18%

Click here to read some of the best longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 6,791 votes and 439 longform responses.

Danielle Bonham is a major Jason Kelce fan. The Havertown, Pennsylvania-resident has worked at the local McDonald's for years, and the first time Jason came through she was completely star-struck.

Now, Jason knows her by name, and Danielle has served him his staple sausage egg and cheese on multiple occasions. 

Anything for the fans... During his most recent visit, the (reportedly) retiring NFL center made sure to bring a pen to sign Danielle's favorite jersey and thank her for all the years of service. 

• "He’s got his footprint all over this town. The flower shop over here, the Wawa, the Kettle down on the boulevard, I mean he’s all over St. Dennis fair with his kids," local business owner Carl Henderson told FOX29 Philly. "I’ve seen a lot of athletes come and go, but Jason’s a special dude."

❓ Trivia: What’s the hottest planet in our solar system?

😅 True or false?... Florida has the highest relative humidity of any US state.

🤔 Riddle me this… I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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❓ Trivia: Venus

😅 T/F: False, it’s Alaska

🤔 Riddle: An echo

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