Good morning, and welcome back. In today’s edition:

• 🍿 The box office’s big weekend
• 📝 Hunter Biden pardon
• 🪙 World’s largest gold deposit discovered

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~5.01-minute read (1,334 words).

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“The sweetest pleasure arises from difficulties overcome.”

–Publius Syrus (85 BC – 43 BC)

On Saturday, President-elect Trump warned China, Russia, and other BRICS member nations that he expects each country to agree to not try to replace the US dollar as the leading international currency, or face major retaliatory US tariffs.

Background: BRICS is a 15-year-old group of emerging economies named after its initial members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Earlier this year, the group officially added Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE – and four other countries are currently in the application process (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia).

• The bloc isn’t a formal multilateral organization, like the UN or OPEC. Instead, it was founded as an informal club to provide a platform for its members to challenge the current world order dominated by the US and its Western allies.

BRICS’ focus has turned to “de-dollarization”

The US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business. It represents ~58% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves, and serves as the currency of choice for transactions involving major commodities like oil and gold.

• However, many BRICS members and other developing nations say they’re fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system and intend to trade those commodities in non-dollar currencies, a process known as de-dollarizing.
• But despite their growing economic influence, experts say replacing the dollar is an uphill climb. In an analysis by the Atlantic Council, the dollar’s status as the top global reserve currency was found to be “secure in the near and medium term.”

Tariffs aim to keep it that way: In a social media post, the president-elect said his incoming administration will “require a commitment from [BRICS] Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs.”

Zoom out: Trump’s latest tariff threat came several days after he pledged 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, in an effort to force the countries to do more to halt the flow of illegal immigration and drugs into the US.

📊 Flash poll: Which of the following best describes your opinion on Trump’s recent tariff proposals?

• I support both tariff plans
• I support tariffs on BRICS nations, but not Canada/Mexico/China
• I support tariffs on Canada/Mexico/China, but not BRICS nations
• I don’t support either tariff plan
• Other

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🇸🇾 Syrian rebels captured most of Aleppo in a surprise offensive. A rebel alliance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a US-designated terrorist group, began seizing control of large portions of the major northern city of Aleppo from Syrian government forces early Saturday, and continued to make territorial gains yesterday amid counterattacks. The surprise rebel invasion comes after years of military stalemate in Syria’s 13-year ongoing civil war, and marks the most significant change in the war’s balance of power in nearly a decade.

🍿 Clams and Hollywood execs are in the same mood (happy). The five-day Thanksgiving weekend turned in its best US box office performance in history, generating an estimated ~$420 million. Only one other Thanksgiving period had ever surpassed $300 million. Moana 2 topped the charts with $221 million, the best ever Thanksgiving opening for a movie and well above analysts’ expectations of $135 million–$145 million. Wicked became the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation of all time at the domestic box office, turning in ~$118 million in estimated ticket sales for the holiday to bring its total domestic haul to ~$262 million. Demand from moviegoers was so high this weekend that AMC at one point was experiencing a 13-minute wait time to purchase tickets online.

📝 Elon Musk files injunction to stop OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit company. Per TechCrunch: Musk is accusing OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft, and some others involved with OpenAI and/or Microsoft of various illicit activities, such as discouraging investors from backing OpenAI rivals like Musk’s own AI company, xAI, and benefitting from “wrongfully obtained competitively sensitive information” via OpenAI’s connections with Microsoft. Musk’s attorneys claim that if their injunction, filed late Friday, isn’t granted, OpenAI, which is reportedly spending ~$5 billion/year, might “lack sufficient funds” to pay damages were the court to eventually rule in Musk’s favor. OpenAI’s response: “Elon’s fourth attempt, which again recycles the same baseless complaints, continues to be utterly without merit.”

An ongoing influencer lawsuit could influence the influencer industry.

Amazon content creator Sydney Nicole Gifford, 24, claims that another Amazon influencer, Alyssa Sheil, 21, copied her vibe and content. Last month, a judge ruled the case can move forward.

• Per the lawsuit: Gifford (~1 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube) claims Sheil (138k followers) copied her “neutral, beige and cream aesthetic,” used the same fonts and camera angles as her, decorated her apartment like her, got a similar haircut, and featured similar Amazon products on her social media pages (scroll through the complaint here for side-by-side comparisons).
• But Sheil says this misrepresents how Amazon influencers operate. Many featured products in content are pushed to influencers by Amazon itself – meaning overlap tends to happen, per Sheil. The e-commerce giant also shares additional information with content creators, including trending products, keywords, and searches.

Vibe check: Gifford is seeking a) up to $150,000 in damages for "mental anguish” and lost income and b) to have Sheil’s content taken down – though it appears Sheil has already deleted her TikTok account.

📸 Big picture: Laws around sponsored content and copyright exist, but creators regularly bend or even ignore rules. If disputes arise, they’re typically handled at the platform/service provider level (Insta, Tiktok, etc.) through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice- and- takedown regime. But if Gifford’s legal argument is successful – a long shot per experts – it could mean any influencer making content in an established genre could become embroiled in costly lawsuits.

• ☝️ It was a good weekend to be a Notre Dame fan. On Friday, the world received its first glimpse inside the restored Notre Dame cathedral one week ahead of its official reopening; on Saturday, the #5-ranked Fighting Irish beat USC to close out an 11-1 season and clinch a CFP playoff berth.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Switzerland Tourism

• 📈 US markets rose last week (S&P: +1.1%; Dow: +1.4%; Nasdaq: +1.1%).
• 📦 Amazon workers in 20+ countries went on strike for Black Friday, demanding more pay and better working conditions; the strike is slated to last through today.
• 💰 Black Friday set online shopping records: Americans spent a record $10.8 billion this year, per Adobe Analytics; that's up more than 10% from last year; brick-and-mortar sales stayed mostly flat or declined, depending on the data provider.

*From our partners: 🌍✨ Win a trip to Switzerland, where breathtaking nature meets tranquil relaxation… Enter for a chance to win two Edelweiss flights in Economy and first-class Swiss Travel Passes for two. Subscribe free to Switzerland Tourism’s newsletter to enter – exclusive for DONUT readers (must double opt-in for entry).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚽ MLS Playoffs: The New York Red Bulls will face off against the LA Galaxy next weekend for the title.
• 🏈 CFB Rivalry Week lived up to its name: Michigan beat #2 Ohio State 13-10 (a fight ensued after the game); North Carolina State beat North Carolina 35-30 (a fight also ensued after the game); Florida beat Florida State 31-11 (anotha one fight ensued after the game); and Arizona State beat Arizona 49-7 (yet another scuffle after the game).
• ⚖️ Major Canadian news outlets are suing OpenAI for copyright infringement.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Thousand Fell

• 💡 UK researchers created the first-ever image of a photon using a groundbreaking new technique.
• ⛰️🦁 Mountain lions who live near recreational areas used by humans are more nocturnal than their counterparts in other areas, signaling a proactive adaptation from the species.
• ☀️🛰️ The European Space Agency is nearing the launch of a landmark mission that aims to use satellites flying in close formation to create artificial solar eclipses for each other above Earth.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• ❄️ Several million Americans were under winter storm alerts across the Great Lakes region yesterday, with many areas receiving 2-4 feet of snow; the weather is expected to continue through Tuesday. | ✈️ A record-high 232,000 flights traveled across the US during Thanksgiving week, per FAA figures; the TSA screened 12.1 million people over the same period, up 3% from last year.
• 💥 An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip killed five people on Saturday, including three employees of World Central Kitchen, per Gazan officials; Israel says the strike was targeting a WCK employee who participated in Hamas’ October 7 attack.
• 🏛️ President-elect Trump nominated Kash Patel as his new FBI Director; Patel served in intelligence and defense roles in Trump's first term. | 📝 The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, sent him an email in 2018 saying he had routinely mistreated women for years, per a NY Times report; Hegseth’s mother defended her son and disavowed the email in a recent interview. | 📝 President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, last night, weeks before the younger Biden was due to be sentenced for federal gun and tax evasion charges; President Biden had previously said he wouldn't interfere on his son's behalf.

CLICKBAIT

• 🤔 Who is David Mayer, and why won't ChatGPT talk about him?

🥇 Stat of the Day: Leprechauns beware: Prospectors have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Hunan claim to have discovered the world’s largest known gold deposit, containing an estimated 1,100 tons of the precious metal valued at ~$83 billion. China is already the world’s biggest gold producer, with its ~410 tons dug up last year accounting for ~10% of global output. But China still uses 3x more gold than it produces, meaning the country is heavily reliant on imports from countries like Australia and South Africa.

• Gold fun fact: If you were to melt down all the gold mined throughout human history (~234,000 tons) and put it into a single cube, it would only measure 72 feet across – slightly shorter than the length of a blue whale.

🤔 Did You Know? Of the 49 World Chess Championship matches held since 1886 – where the reigning champ plays a single challenger across a series of 10+ games – there has only been a single case of checkmate. This is due to a chess tradition where it’s considered unsportsmanlike to keep playing in an overwhelmingly losing position.

📰 Worth a Read: Even in death, college football fans want to be at their favorite stadiums → (ESPN)

Monday: Cyber Monday; Star Wars: Skeleton Crew debuts on Disney+

Tuesday: Giving Tuesday; the McRib returns to McDonald’s

Wednesday: The annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony

Thursday: House GOP hosts new DOGE leaders Musk and Ramaswamy

Friday: November jobs report

On Wednesday, we covered how a federal judge rejected a request to prevent an allegedly transgender player on the San Jose State women’s volleyball team from playing, following several in-season forfeits.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should transgender athletes be allowed to compete in women’s sports?

• 👍 Yes: 21%
• 👎 No: 64%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 15%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 3,085 votes and 322 longform responses.

You're looking at the world's largest chicken-shaped building, which can be found in the remote highlands of the Phillippines.

The six-story hotel is over 114 feet tall and has 15 rooms – all windowless, so as not to disturb the chicken's feather pattern. 

• Former politician Ricardo Cano Gwapo Tan, who designed the hotel, told CNN he always wanted to leave a “big legacy in this mortal world.”
• Has he succeeded? You be the judge.

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words.

1. Avi
2. Carn
3. Cred
4. Dict
5. Ign

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What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize.

Start referring.👇

1. Avi = Bird (e.g., aviation)
2. Carn = Flesh (carnivore)
3. Cred = Trust (credentials)
4. Dict = Speak (dictionary)
5. Ign = Fire (ignite)