Good morning. In today’s edition:

• ♻️ Intel is embroiled in a love triangle
• 📉 Violent crime is down, per a new report
• 🛒 Floating carts

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~5.07-minute read (1,349 words).

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“Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.”

–Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

First, we had Bella, Edward, and Jacob. Now the world has Intel, Apollo, and Qualcomm.

And just like in the Twilight franchise, the latter two are fawning over the former. In recent days, Qualcomm has reportedly made an informal takeover offer for Intel, while private equity giant Apollo Global has offered to invest up to $5 billion into the embattled chipmaker.

• Intel, once the world’s most valuable chip company, recently announced it was cutting 15% of its workforce (~15,000 employees) and suspending the dividend it had paid out since 1992 as part of a plan to save $10 billion in costs next year – moves CEO Pat Gelsinger called “some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history.”
• The chipmaker has seen its stock price dive ~57% so far this year, while its market cap has fallen from ~$257 billion at the start of 2020 to ~$96 billion as of yesterday.

What happened to Intel?

From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, Intel was like Shohei Ohtani on a baseball field – straight dominating – in large part due a deal to provide the computing backbone for Microsoft PCs (known as the “Wintel” partnership).

But, as The Great Gatsby taught us, the good times never last forever. Intel was so focused on making chips for computers that it missed the smartphone boom. And it also got surpassed in transistor production by the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and South Korea’s Samsung.

But another big mistake – perhaps the company’s biggest – occurred over the past few years: missing the AI boom, which paved the way for Nvidia to become the clear winner. For context: Nvidia sells ~$20 billion worth of AI chips each quarter, while Intel will sell ~$500 million over the entire year.

👀 Looking ahead… The deals currently on the table for Intel are:

• Take up to $5 billion in investment from Apollo in exchange for an equity stake.
• Explore a takeover offer from Qualcomm, which could potentially turn into the world’s largest tech deal (Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard is currently #1) – if it’s able to survive regulatory scrutiny, that is.

Also at play: Intel is slated to receive up to $8.5 billion from the CHIPS Act (more than any other company) to help it build factories across the US, and also has its eye on its own potential transactions.

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🇺🇳 The 79th UN General Assembly kicks off today in NYC amid rising global tensions. The annual event will feature speeches from 130+ world leaders and other high-level diplomats, with topics of discussion expected to mostly center around the ongoing wars in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Middle East. The UN assembly comes as Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange airstrikes, with Lebanese health officials reporting at least 492 deaths and 1,645 injuries yesterday (Lebanon’s highest daily death toll since 1990). It also occurs as the US is weighing whether to allow Ukraine to strike military targets within Russia using US-supplied weapons, with Russia warning such a move would effectively mean war against NATO.

🇦🇺 Australia’s two biggest supermarket chains are being sued over fake discounts. Australia's consumer watchdog is accusing Coles and Woolworths of temporarily raising prices ahead of a planned “sale,” then lowering them back to the original cost – or in many instances, even higher. The lawsuit follows an investigation that found the grocery chains misled customers about 240+ “discounted” products apiece over a period of 15-20 months.

🇦🇪 Chip-making giants TSMC and Samsung are reportedly considering huge new factories in the UAE. According to a new Wall Street Journal report, senior leaders at both companies have recently visited the UAE to discuss separate plans for constructing major new chip-making operations in the country worth a combined $100+ billion. The WSJ also noted the discussions are still in the early phases, and may not pan out.

Overall crime in the US declined in 2023 compared to a year earlier, with significant decreases for murder and rape in particular, according to the FBI’s annual Summary of Crime in the Nation report published yesterday. (See? All news isn’t bad.)

By the numbers: Last year, violent crime dropped by 3% across the country, with the largest decreases seen in two categories: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter (-11.6%), and rape (-9.4%).

• Property crime as a whole also fell nationwide (-2.4%) – though some individual categories under that umbrella saw significant annual increases, including burglary (+7.6%) and motor vehicle theft (+12.6%).

The 2023 report is more comprehensive than other recent editions. The FBI relies on data submitted by law enforcement agencies around the country, a process that can sometimes be unreliable.

• For example: in 2021, the FBI received data from law-enforcement agencies covering ~65% of the US population, and was forced to fill in the gaps with estimates.
• But for this year’s report, the FBI says it received data from agencies covering 94% of Americans, including every US city with a population of 1+ million.

📉 Zoom out: Apart from the federal government, other sources also suggest a recent decline in violent crime across the US. The Major Cities Chiefs Association, which regularly surveys 70 major metropolitan police departments, found a 17% annual drop in murders over the first half of 2024, as well as declines for rapes (-10%), robberies (-6%), and aggravated assaults (-5%).

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“It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of US citizens.”

Yesterday, the Commerce Department proposed banning Chinese- and- Russian-made parts inside connected vehicles on US roads.

Driving (🙄) the move: National security concerns, per the Commerce Department. As outlined in Politico:

• The proposed rule focuses on hardware and software integrated into a car’s Vehicle Connectivity System and the software integrated into its Automated Driving System. Both allow for external communication.
• The Biden administration is concerned about malicious access to these systems, which officials say could allow adversaries to access and collect sensitive data about Americans as well as remotely manipulate cars.

The impact: Manufacturers in countries like Germany, South Korea, and Japan will need to find new suppliers if they A) currently use Chinese or Russian parts that run afoul of the proposed ban and B) want to continue selling cars in the US. American car-related imports from China last year totaled slightly over $17 billion, including ~$14.4 billion worth of parts. Russia is not a significant supplier to the US.

👀 Looking ahead… The Commerce Department is holding another comment period on the final proposed rule, with it likely being approved before President Biden leaves office on January 20, according to administration officials.

• ☝️ The Palletrone is a floating cart designed for cargo transport that was recently developed by South Korean researchers; the cart responds only to human touch, and is equipped with technology to keep its surface flat and stable during movement.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Cornbread Hemp

• 💰 US markets closed higher (S&P: +0.3%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +0.1%). | 📉 Trump Media shares fell 10%, following the expiration of an early investor/shareholder lockup period.
• 🏬 K-Mart is closing its last full-size store in the US. | 🏦 Bank of America becomes the latest bank to bet on new branches; it aims to open 165 new locations by the end of 2026.
• ✈️ Boeing offered striking machinists a 30% raise, the company’s “best and final” offer; Bank of America estimates the strike, which just entered its second week, is costing Boeing $50 million/day.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚖️ Reggie Bush is suing the NCAA, Pac-12, and USC seeking compensation over how the three entities used his name, image, and likeness during his college football career in the early 2000s.
• 📺 Netflix revealed a new documentary called The Menendez Brothers – featuring interviews with the incarcerated brothers – will hit the streamer on October 7; it comes as true-crime drama series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently the #1 show on Netflix US.
• ⚾ The Chicago White Sox officially tied the modern MLB record for most losses in a season with 120; there are six games left in the regular season. | ⚽ Everton F.C. of the English Premier League was sold to an investment group run by US billionaire Dan Friedkin.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Commons

• 🐙🐟 Octopuses and fish routinely work together in hunting groups on the ocean floor, with octopuses leading the groups and sometimes doling out discipline via punches, per a new study.
• 🧱🥂 MIT engineers developed 3D-printed glass bricks that feature similar strength to concrete, and can be repurposed at the end of a building’s life.
• 🚀 A space capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station landed safely on Earth yesterday, ending a record-breaking 374-day stay for the Russian duo.

*From our partners: 👏 Commons users reduce carbon emissions by 19%... They also get rewarded for sustainable purchases like public transit, EV chargers, and farmers' markets, and receive tips for living sustainably. Get the Commons app FREE here.

MISCELLANEOUS

• ⚖️🛢️ California filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against ExxonMobil accusing the company of misleading the public about the efficacy of plastic recycling for decades.
• 🗳️ A Nebraska GOP state senator said he opposes changing state law to award Nebraska’s five presidential electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, instead of one vote per congressional district; his position means state Republicans lack enough votes to enact the potential change. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)
• 🚨 Federal prosecutors will seek an attempted assassination charge against the 58-year-old man arrested this month for camping out at former President Trump’s golf course with a scoped rifle; officials said the man left behind a note detailing his plans to kill Trump. | ⚖️ The 25-year-old man charged with a mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 was found guilty of 10 counts of murder.

CLICKBAIT

• 🤔 Why do we forget things we were just thinking about?

✈️ Stat of the Day: Mike Myers and Mel Brooks aren’t the only spoofers in town. In recent months, a growing number of commercial aircraft have reported in-flight issues due to GPS spoofing – a term used in aviation to describe fake signals and alerts militaries use to ward off drones and missiles (ex: a false warning to “pull up!” to avoid ground impact while flying 30,000+ feet in the air). According to Swiss researchers, the number of daily global flights affected by spoofing has risen from a few dozen in February to 1,100+ last month, with affected routes including US airlines’ international flights. Aviation-safety officials from around the world say spoofing has caused some disruptions, but hasn’t posed major safety risks to date.

🤔 Did You Know? The business-friendly state of Delaware has twice as many registered corporations (~2 million) as people (~1 million).

📰 Worth a Read: Electricity That Costs Nothing – or Even Less? It’s Happening More and More → (Wall Street Journal)

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

• 🤖📲 46% of Gen Z Americans say they’d be more interested in a brand that worked with an AI-generated influencer. (Read more)
• 🌿📆 Around 40% of US marijuana users consume the drug on a daily basis, per a recent study. (Read more)
• 📝 The portion of US high school seniors who earned a perfect score on the ACT has increased by 1,700% since 2002. (From ACT via Harper’s)
• 🚫📚 There were 10,000+ instances of book bans by US public schools during the 2023-24 school year, up from ~3,400 the previous term, per PEN America. (Read more)
• 🏈 Travis Hunter, a wide receiver/cornerback for the University of Colorado, has recorded 100+ receiving yards and a turnover on defense in each of his past two games. (Read more)

Yesterday, we covered a new report that found the US ranks dead last compared to peer countries on overall healthcare performance, despite spending significantly more money on such services in terms of GDP.

❓ Our question to you (long-form): What steps, if any, should the US government take to address the disconnect between relatively high healthcare spending and relatively poor health outcomes for Americans?

• “Take medical care and prescription use out of the hands of Big Pharma and the government. Allow doctors to make medical decisions for care and take away incentives for using medications from pharmaceutical companies. The other countries don’t use funds from pharmaceuticals as incentives for the doctors or the politicians.”
• “Healthcare is big business - approaching a monopoly. Small providers are being swallowed up. We need to stop this because it hinders competition on prices and quality of service. Second, we need to stop government funding. When you throw money at something, it acts like a sponge and soaks it up. Make money scarce and we will see the problems correct themselves. But you have to do both.”
• “We need to reform the Affordable Care Act. While it vastly expanded people's ability to access insurance-covered healthcare, it did nothing to bring down costs. I bet a huge portion of our healthcare spending is on insurance premiums - which only open the door for coverage, but don't actually provide any medical care.”

Click here to read more of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 208 longform responses.

When Jake McAlpin's daughter Charlotte asked him where her beloved stuffed animal "Cupcake" was earlier this year, his heart sank when he realized he had accidentally threw the stuffy away.

Dumpster diving, ftw... Charlotte's stepmother Meredith quickly put out a message on Facebook asking if anyone might be able to open the dump in their small New England town.

• The next day, town leaders Brian Monahan and Dan Conway met at the dump and began digging through trash for the beloved dog. Jake joined them in the hunt. 
• As hours went by and all hope seemed lost, they finally spotted one of Cupcake's big floppy ears. 

🧁 Bottom line: "It made us feel pretty good. No one wants to be without their stuffy, and the smile on her face said it all," Dan shared after the men returned Cupcake to a grateful Charlotte.

+Editors Note: This story first appeared in the Daily DONUT in March 2024.

❓ Trivia: How many gigabytes of storage did the first iPod have?

🎓 True or False?... Black is the most prevelant human eye color in the US.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What’s useless until broken?

Saving up referral points? Check your balance and upcoming milestone prizes here. (And if you haven’t claimed, just reply to this email and we’ll get you sorted👍🍩.)

❓ Trivia: 5 GB

🎓 T/F: False, it's brown (black technically isn't a human eye color)

🤔 Riddle: An egg