Happy Friday the 13th👻. In today’s edition:

• 🏥 UnitedHealth CEO shooting has unleashed online anger with health insurers
• 🥽 Google and Samsung’s extended-reality pact
• 🛋️ The perfect sofa shape to navigate tight corners

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.73-minute read (1,257 words).

Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here for free.

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”

–William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

More details are emerging about the suspect charged with murder in last week’s shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as the incident has triggered a wave of online support for bringing awareness to issues within America’s healthcare industry.

Here’s what we know: The suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, comes from a wealthy Baltimore-area family and reportedly graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2020 with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree focused on computer science.

• Authorities say they believe Mangione’s motive was animosity toward what he saw as injustices within the health insurance industry and corporate America, based on a 2.5-page note found in his possession (which officials described as a “manifesto”).
• He also reportedly suffered from severe chronic back pain due to a spinal defect, causing him to undergo spinal fusion surgery in 2023, according to NBC News and Washington Post reviews of what appears to be an archive of his now-deleted Reddit account.

The incident has prompted a wave of anti-insurance frustration across social media. Since the shooting occurred last Wednesday, many online users have expressed sympathy for the shooter and criticized the overall healthcare industry, with posters voicing frustrations over coverage denials and other business practices – particularly those at UnitedHealthcare, America’s largest health insurer.

• UnitedHealthcare holds the highest rate of insurance claim denials out of all major US providers, refusing ~32% of all claims submitted, per data from insurance insight firm ValuePenguin.
• The healthcare giant is also facing a lawsuit accusing it of knowingly using an error-prone algorithm to deny treatment for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.

Overall, America has the most expensive healthcare system in the world – ~$12,318/person annually – while ranking ~60th globally in life expectancy, per the most recent data from 2021.

On the flip side: Some public figures and lawmakers, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, have strongly pushed back against the idea that Thompson’s shooter should be praised, and denounced what they see as growing public support for vigilante justice.

Looking ahead…Mangione will remain in custody in Pennsylvania as he fights extradition to New York to face murder charges, in a process that could last up to several weeks.

📊 Flash poll: Which of the following best describes your personal opinion towards the shooting of Brian Thompson and the suspect’s reported motive?

• I strongly support the suspect and his reported motive
• I somewhat support the suspect and his reported motive
• I’m neutral to the whole situation
• I somewhat oppose the suspect and his reported motive
• I strongly oppose the suspect and his reported motive

Immediately after trying on Thousand Fell sneakers, we were super impressed by the feel, comfort, and quality. With premium materials and immaculate construction, they are clearly built to last.

• Save up to $65 per pair – $20 for recycling old Thousand Fell sneakers and $5 for every article of clothing you send in. They’ve truly created a closed-loop ecosystem by crafting exclusively recyclable materials.
• Better yet? DONUT readers get an exclusive 30% discount for a limited time with code DONUT30.

Featured in Vogue, Thousand Fell Sneakers make the perfect gift for sneaker lovers or anyone wanting to promote a better environment. Make sure to order by Dec. 17 to receive in time for the holidays. They’ve just restocked popular colors and sizes – act quickly before they’re gone.

Limited time only: save 30% on Thousand Fell sneakers with code DONUT30 here.

ServiceTitan was introduced to the public markets yesterday, in a titanic meeting whose outcome could end up servicing other venture-backed tech companies sitting on the IPO sidelines.

Shares of the company, a software provider for tradespeople, rose 42% in their Nasdaq debut.

• ServiceTitan sold shares at $71 apiece, above the expected range of $65–$67, while the stock opened and closed at $101/share. Last week, the company anticipated a sale price of $52–$57/share.
• Based on the closing price, the company was valued at ~$9 billion.

Why now? For ServiceTitan, going public was less about timing the market and more about avoidance (sound like any past relationships?).

In 2022, the company agreed to “compounding ratchet” terms as part of a funding round valuing it at $7.6 billion. In simple terms: ServiceTitan owed some investors penalties, in the form of stock, every quarter an IPO was delayed past May 22, 2024.

👀 Looking ahead…IPOs have started to tick back up following the SPAC boom-and-bust cycle of 2020-2021. And ServiceTitan’s successful debut – in addition to Reddit and cybersecurity software firm Rubrik’s performances since going public earlier this year (a ~5x and ~2x increase in share prices, respectively) – could drive more venture-backed tech companies off the IPO sidelines.

If at first you don’t succeed, find a partner that’s good at making hardware. Google and Samsung yesterday announced a new version of Google’s Android software specifically designed for extended reality (XR), a catch-all term encompassing AR, VR, and mixed-reality technologies.

The companies also jointly unveiled a new Google Glass Samsung-built headset, code-named Project Moohan, that’s designed around Google’s new Android XR.

XR-tra, XR-tra: Google’s new operating system is equipped with several AI-powered core features, including integration with the tech giant’s Gemini AI assistant, allowing for things like real-time language translation and “remembering” objects users previously saw.

The master plan: Google and Samsung say their goal for Android XR is to replicate the same success as the operating system’s original version, which is used by most major smartphones (outside of the iPhone).

• In contrast with Google’s approach, Apple has no plans to offer the Vision Pro’s software – visionOS – to outside device makers.

👀 Looking ahead…The first Android XR product to market will be Samsung’s Project Moohan headset, which is set to debut sometime in 2025.

Yesterday, President Biden issued presidential pardons to 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes and also commuted the sentences of ~1,500 other people, in what the White House described as the most acts of presidential clemency issued in a single day.

• Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Biden had issued 26 pardons and 135 commutations.
• His latest act commutes the sentences of people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during Covid.

Background: Pardons and commutations are different forms of clemency. A pardon fully removes any civil disabilities associated with a conviction, such as restrictions on voting or holding public office, while a commutation reduces a convict’s sentence totally or partially, but doesn’t remove civil disabilities related to the conviction.

🤔 How does Biden’s clemency stack up? During their respective terms in office, President Trump issued 144 pardons and 94 commutations in four years, President Obama issued 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations across eight years, and George W. Bush issued 189 pardons and 11 commutations also across eight years.

Would you rather your phone only charge up to 10%, or always have sand in your bed? These are the unfathomable decisions you’re forced to make in Pick Your Poison.

• 🤦‍♀️ Three or more people compete to create the hardest possible scenario by combining two Poison cards
• 💀 Set includes 300 cards for thousands of wild combinations that spark hilarious discussions
• 🥳 Perfect for gatherings – 3-10 players, 30-60 minute game time

LIGHTNING DEAL: Save 20% on Pick Your Poison today only.

• ☝️ The oldest known inscribed stone tablet of the Ten Commandments is going up for auction at Sotheby’s next week; the auction house says the ~1,500-year-old tablet was unearthed near Israel in 1913.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Tuft & Needle

• 📉 US markets fell across the board (S&P: -0.5%; Dow: -0.5%; Nasdaq: -0.7%). | 🏘️ The average US mortgage rate (30-year) dropped to 6.6% from 6.69%, per Freddie Mac; it marks the third straight week of declines.
• 📺 Warner Bros. Discovery announced a restructuring plan to segment its business into linear (ex: TBS, TNT) and streaming units (ex: HBO); shares rose 15% on the day. | 📷 Adobe shares fell 14%, their largest one-day drop since September 2022, after the company released weaker-than-expected forward guidance.
• 🍷 The FTC sued Southern Glazer's, the largest US distributor of wine and spirits, accusing the company of providing more favorable prices to large chain buyers vs. smaller stores.

*From our partners: 🎁😴 Give the gift of better sleep… Tuft & Needle’s Holiday Sale is live, and lets you save up to 25% on their innovative sleep accessories, bedding, and more. We especially love the Snooz White Noise Machine. Save with T&N’s Holiday Sale here.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ♟️ India’s Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, became the youngest-ever world chess champion after beating China's Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship.
• 📝 Time named President-elect Trump as its 2024 Person of the Year; Trump was also Time's Person of the Year in 2016. | 💍 Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are engaged.
• 🍗 BuzzFeed is selling First We Feast, the studio behind the Hot Ones YouTube show, for $82.5 million.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Kanguro

• 🏥 Healthcare startup Ro says its platform will now offer more affordable doses of weight-loss drug Zepbound via a new Eli Lilly partnership.
• 🤏🤖 Caltech researchers created microscopic robots that successfully delivered drugs to specific locations within the bodies of mice.
• 💉 Gilead is in the early stages of developing a once-yearly HIV prevention shot; the pharma giant’s twice-yearly HIV prevention shot is in Phase 3 clinical trials.

*From our partners: 🐶❤️ Comprehensive pet insurance you can count on… Protect your furry family with Kanguro! Quick reimbursements, 24/7 bilingual vet-chat access, and customizable plans for cats, dogs, and renters. Peace of mind is just clicks away – learn more about Kanguro.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🇮🇷 Iranian authorities are prosecuting a female singer for live streaming her own performance while defying religious dress codes; women are banned from singing solo in public in Iran.
• ⚖️ Tal and Oren Alexander, two wealthy real-estate agents, were arrested alongside a third brother over charges in New York accusing them of running a sex-trafficking scheme to drug and rape dozens of women.
• 🏛️ The House voted 281-140 to approve a $895 billion defense spending bill for the 2025 fiscal year; the Senate is expected to sign off on the bill next week before President Biden signs it into law. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 📈🔍 The top trending Google searches of 2024.

🎥♿️ Stat of the Day: Disability representation in Hollywood is becoming more popular than Regina George at the peak of her Mean Girls reign. According to a Nielsen study, disability representation in film and TV increased 175% from 2011–2021.

From the study, which analyzed 3,000 titles with significant disability themes or content: 64% of depictions of disabled characters were in feature films, while 16% appeared in regular series (with room for other media forms like short films, limited series, or specials). The study also found a marked increase in the number of productions with disability themes in general, from 41 in 2000 to 150 in 2020.

But, while disabled characters are making their way to the forefront, casting is far behind. 95% of disabled roles are still performed by able-bodied actors, per the study, despite over 1 in 8 American adults living with a physical disability.

🤔 Did You Know? Behind every hobby is a group of people taking things a little too far. Cue: Some trading card collectors are using CT scanners – like those found in hospitals – to peek inside unsealed packs of cards and find out their contents. Critics fear this practice could lead to people buying packs in bulk, scanning for valuable cards, then reselling the sealed packs that didn’t have anything special.

📰 Worth a Read: How to get better at remembering → (Psyche)

Our weekly news quiz just dropped. See how your news superpowers stack up against our team.

🌄 Lace ‘em up: Check out these 25 incredible hiking trails worldwide. Then get the calendar out and plan a trip.

🛋️ PIVOT! Discover the perfect sofa shape to navigate tight corners, thanks to a breakthrough proof by Jineon Baek.

🐻 Yes, chef: Jeremy Allen White of The Bear will soon be found in a galaxy far, far away.

👂Listen: A Harry Potter lofi playlist to get you through finals.

😰 Feeling overwhelmed? Modern life doesn’t have to be a blur. Subscribe to Do5ive, the free weekly newsletter that inspires a slower, more intentional way of living.*

👍 Life untethered: The PrideNomad Letter offers weekly business strategies and travel tips tailored for LGBTQ+ digital nomads and aspiring globetrotters. Subscribe for free.*

*A message from our partners.

A decade ago, Bruce and Shawn Carpenter of Brown County, Indiana, planted 5,000 tiny pines and firs to grow into Christmas trees. 

🎄 Now the couple is finally ready to open their Christmas tree farm and carry out their main goal: funding their grandkids' college education.

• “It was an investment to help our grandkids for college,” Shawn Carpenter told the Herald Times. “One that’s taken awhile.”

Below are three lists of ingredients. Your job is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Cream cheese
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Flour
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Butter
• Light brown sugar
• Egg
• Zucchini
• Turbinado sugar

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Bell pepper
• Garlic cloves
• Paprika
• Salt
• Cumin
• Ground beef
• Crushed tomatoes
• Beef broth
• White rice
• White cheddar
• Parsley

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Mashed potatoes
• Powdered sugar
• Shredded coconut
• Vanilla
• Semisweet chocolate
• Sprinkles

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

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.👇

☝️ Recipe #1: Cream cheese zucchini muffins

✌️ Recipe #2: Stuffed pepper soup

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Potato candy