Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🤔 Should cellphones be banned in schools?
• ⭐ The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show returns
• 🚗 Car colors are changing

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.73-minute read (1,259 words).

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"The wise warrior avoids the battle.”

–Sun Tzu (544 B.C. – 496 B.C.)

A growing number of school districts across the US are cracking down on the use of cellphones among students – though some efforts have received significant pushback from parents.

• In recent years, eight states have passed policies banning or restricting cellphones in K-12 classrooms due to concerns over student distractions and cyberbullying, while similar legislation has also been introduced in 14 other states.
• Lawmakers pushing for cellphone bans in schools cite data indicating 70+% of high-school teachers across the country say cellphone distraction is a major problem in the classroom, while 9 in 10 schools report cases of cyberbullying among students.

On the flip side: Some lawmakers, parents, and school officials have pushed back against banning cellphones in classrooms, with many stressing the importance of allowing students to stay connected in the event of an emergency.

• Earlier this month, New York City Schools – the largest public school district in America with 1.1 million students – reversed course on its plan to ban cellphones in schools starting next year, citing concerns from parents who struggled to reach their children during a recent school lockdown.
• Overall, 78% of parents want their children to have cellphone access during the school day in case of an emergency, per a National Parents Union survey published last month.

What does the science say? Short answer: it’s complicated. The primary concern amongst policymakers is addressing students’ academic performance and mental health – and there’s mixed evidence that school cellphone bans have much direct impact. Some studies show a clear improvement in student performance and mental health, while others not so much.

On Capitol Hill: House lawmakers recently introduced a bipartisan bill – the Focus on Learning Act – aimed at studying the impact of cellphone use on students’ academic and mental health, along with other potential methods to address the issue outside of a blanket cellphone ban in schools.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, should students be banned from having cellphones in K-12 schools?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

Inspired by fortune telling, tarot cards, and Ouija boards, Mind Reader is the psychic party game that’s fun for the whole family and perfect for Halloween…

• 🤔 Start by picking your partner or topic, but not both!
• 🔮 Then 3 questions are read aloud – players must match their answers to their partner’s without communicating (non-telepathically)
• 🏆 1 match is 1 point, 2 matches are 3 points, 3 matches equals 6 points!

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🔋 Arkansas may be sitting on one of the world’s largest lithium deposits. This week, researchers at the US Geological Survey and the Arkansas government announced the discovery of a massive trove of lithium, a critical raw material for most rechargeable batteries (used in EVs, cellphones, laptops, etc.). Officials say testing at the location in southwestern Arkansas showed the presence of 5 million-19 million tons of lithium, or enough to meet all of global demand for decades.

⚖️ Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, was arrested for sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors charged Jeffries, who served as CEO of the clothing company from 1992–2014, and two others with running an international sex-trafficking ring and prostitution business. Prosecutors accuse Jeffries of using the status of his job to coerce dozens of aspiring models into having sex with him and his romantic partner.

✈️ A New Zealand airport instituted a time limit for hugs. Travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin’s airport have a three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs, under a new policy instituted last month. Local officials, channeling pick-me girls, say the move is meant as a “quirky” alternative to signs at other airports warning of wheel clamping or fines for drivers who park in drop-off areas, for example.

Lingerie, angel wings, and Tyra Banks can only mean one thing: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back and better than ever – but is it?

A bit of history: For 25 years, the annual VS Fashion Show was one of the biggest pop culture events of the year. At its peak, the show attracted 13+ million viewers worldwide.

Victoria’s Secret’s reign came crashing down in the 2010s, however, when the company began receiving backlash for its lack of diversity in size, race, and age in its models. In 2018, an anti-LGBTQ statement from CMO Ed Razek kept the backlash coming – along with former CEO Les Wexner’s reported ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

• Viewership plummeted from 9.7 million in 2013 to 3.3 million in 2018, while the brand’s market share dropped from 32% to 24% over the same period.

And thus, in 2018, the fashion show was put on hiatus – until last week’s event.

The Angels are back: In an effort to rebrand, this year's show featured diverse models and slightly more conservative and comfortable lingerie. The event had an all-female artist lineup and began with the announcement: “The women hold the reins… on the runway, it’s all about the women.”

🤔 But is it enough? While the show was seen as a step forward for the company by many, critics are questioning whether it was enough to compensate for the damage caused in years past – especially since the era of retail monoculture in the early 2000s is over.

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“Swicy.”

The Brangelina-style portmanteau of the restaurant industry meant to describe the combo of sweet and spicy (👆) is increasingly taking over restaurant marketing, as brands work to appeal more to Gen Z. The Food Institute even dubbed this past summer the "Summer of Swicy.”

• Data indicates ~10% of restaurant menus have “sweet and spicy” items, up 1.8% over the last 12 months. And over the next four years, its menu penetration is expected to rise 9.6%.

The trend is widespread: Shake Shack (Korean-inspired items), Burger King (Fiery Strawberry & Sprite), and Starbucks (Spicy Lemonade Refreshers) have all added swicy items to their menus. As reported by CNBC: common sweet-and-spicy menu items have paired fruity flavors and chili powder, or use sauces like hot honey and gochujang, a red chili paste that’s a popular Korean condiment.

🍭🌶️ All in on swicy: Over half of Gen Z consumers identify as heat-seeking missiles “hot sauce connoisseurs,” according to a survey conducted by NCSolutions.

• ☝️ The Sandcastle, a ~13,000-square-foot home in La Jolla, California inspired by the Palace of Versailles, is now on the market with a list price of $108 million, or ~2.5x more than the current San Diego County record; the 0.8-acre compound has 10 bedrooms across two houses, and a private beach with the same sand found at Augusta National Golf Club (home to The Masters).

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Armoire

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: -0.1%; Dow: -0.02%; Nasdaq: +0.2%). | 📊 The IMF lowered its global growth forecast for next year, warns of increasing risks.
• 🚲 Peloton is partnering with Costco to sell its Bike+ for a limited time, as the fitness company looks to reach young, wealthy customers. | 🪙 Stripe is acquiring stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion.
• 🚗 GM reported Q3 earnings outpacing analysts' expectations; it also raised its guidance for the year; shares rose 9.8%, their best single-day performance since 2020. | ☕ Starbucks reported preliminary Q4 results indicating slowing sales in the US and China; shares fell 3% in after-market trading.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎙️ Joe Rogan reportedly plans to tape an interview with former President Trump on Friday; Rogan’s podcast has the largest audience of any in the US. | 🚫✈️ Meta banned dozens of Instagram and Threads accounts dedicated to tracking the private jet activity of celebrities, citing the risk of "physical harm."
• ⚽ The Messi Effect: Major League Soccer set a new attendance record this past regular season, drawing a collective ~11.5 million fans (23,234/match); league- and club-level sponsorship revenue also both reached record highs.
• 🏀 The NBA regular season officially tipped off last night. Some storylines to watch.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Manscaped

• 🥚🦖 The smallest fossilized dinosaur egg in recorded history was recently unearthed in China, per a new study; the 1.8in x 1.6in x 1.35in egg belongs to an undiscovered type of dinosaur.
• 📲 ByteDance confirmed the firing of an intern who attempted to sabotage one or more of the TikTok parent’s AI models by inserting malicious code.
• ⛰️ Women living on the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau have evolved over the past 10,000 years to have physiological traits that enhance their ability to reproduce in the oxygen-scarce environment, per a new study.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🧾 The IRS unveiled new federal income and capital gains tax brackets for 2025.
• 🍔🦠 McDonald’s Quarter Pounders have been linked to a multistate E. coli outbreak that’s killed at least one person, per a CDC food safety alert issued yesterday.
• 🗳️ 15+ million Americans have voted early in-person or cast mail-in ballots thus far, per the University of Florida’s Election Lab; in the states where voters register by party, 47% of the early in-person votes are from Democrats while 33% are from Republicans; Democrats also account for 49% of returned mail-in ballots compared with 31% for GOP voters.

CLICKBAIT

• 🌎☄️ S2 meteorite: What happened when a rock as big as London hit Earth?

🚗 Stat of the Day: Dorrough would be upset – ice cream paint jobs are going out of style. In 2005, more than 50% of all automobiles on American roads were painted a color other than black, white, silver, or gray (including 30+% that were red alone). Today, that figure stands at less than 20%, according to a new Business Insider report based on 1.7 million US car listings.

🤔 Did You Know? It typically takes around two months to climb Mount Everest from start to finish, including time for altitude acclimatization, rest days, and the actual ascent to the summit. And that’s if Mother Nature, the fickle beast she is, actually plays along.

📰 Worth a Read: The BBC Show Supposedly So Terrifying That It Was Destroyed → (Atlas Obscura)

Stephen Knight knows first-hand how difficult it is to beat addiction. Now 14 years sober from a meth addiction, Stephen has dedicated his life to helping others in similar situations by caring for their four-legged friends. 

🐶 A person's best friend... Stephen founded his nonprofit Dogs Matter in 2015. The organization offers foster homes free-of-charge to addicts' dogs and cats while their owners are in treatment centers. The org also keeps in touch with the pet owners for 12 months post-release to make sure they're on track in their recovery.

• “I’d flip through those pictures every day,” said one of Stephen's clients, who received daily photos of his dog from Dogs Matter while in rehab. “Knowing that he’s happy and being taken care of, it would remind me that I’m doing the right thing.”

The value of the largest known prime number was just discovered: Two multiplied by itself 136,279,841 times, minus one. It was announced this week by the unfortunately named Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS).

In celebration of the discovery: How many prime numbers exist from 1-100?

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25 prime numbers exist between 1–100: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97.

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