Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🤔 Gov’t shutdown ahead?
• ⛷️ Snow-less skiing
• 🎶 The first song played in space

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.79-minute read (1,274 words).

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

“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

–J.M. Barrie (1860-1937)

Fewer American teens in middle and high school are using drugs like alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine than ever before, per the University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future survey funded by the US government. Puff-puff? Pass🙅.

The research, which includes data from 24,000 US students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, found the use of alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine among those populations was lower in 2024 than at any point since at least 2017 (when the survey started).

• 8th graders: 10% used substances recently in 2024, roughly the same as last year, but below the 13% reported in 2017.
• 10th graders: 20% reported using at least one of the substances recently, compared with 23% last year and 31% in 2017.
• 12th graders: This year, 33% reported using at least one of the drugs in the past 30 days, down from 37% in 2023 and 47% from 2017.

Driving the trend: While many researchers expected teen drug use to rebound following a sharp decline during the 2020 pandemic, drug use has instead continued shifting downwards.

According to Richard Miech, team lead of Monitoring the Future, this surprising development signals that pandemic lockdowns had a deeper influence on teens’ drug habits. As lots of teens who experiment with drugs often start in the 9th grade and are influenced by older kids doing it, being on lockdown “stopped the cycle” of new kids coming in and being influenced to use drugs, per Miech.

• Results from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found ~21% of teens who used an illicit drug at least once say they did so due to peer pressure.

But…While drug use is down, other recent research has shown overdose deaths among teens are rising, with many deaths linked to illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

📊 Flash poll: In general terms, how would you classify the issue of drug use among US teens in middle and high school?

• A very serious issue
• A somewhat serious issue
• A somewhat low-stakes issue
• A very low-stakes issue

Still undecided on what to get him this year? Give gifts to keep him fresh and confident in 2025 and beyond with the MANSCAPED® Holiday Gift Guide….

• 🤩 Grooming essentials trusted by over 11M men worldwide
• 🔥 All-in-one gift bundles sure to light your fire
• 🎁 Stocking stuffers to add to his package
• 🎅 Santa’s favorites – from the North Pole to your South Pole
• 🙌 Free shipping and hassle-free returns

Order now to get him the perfect package for his package this Christmas.

Save 20% on MANSCAPED® with code THEDONUT here.

Last night, the House rejected a plan endorsed by President-elect Trump to fund the federal government and suspend the debt ceiling, in a vote that went down ~24 hours before Friday’s midnight deadline for a partial government shutdown.

How we got here: On Wednesday, a bipartisan bill to temporarily fund the government collapsed after President-elect Trump, Elon Musk, and several Republican House members came out against it.

At issue: Trump and Musk – who some lawmakers have floated as a potential House Speaker – said the funding bill contained too many unrelated provisions, like restrictions on investments in China, 9/11 healthcare funds, and new rules on pharmacy-benefit managers.

• Yesterday, House Republicans put forth a new Trump-approved bill more narrowly focused on government funding – which also included a proposal to raise the federal debt ceiling for two years (a non-starter for many Democrats).
• The new funding bill received 174 votes in favor and 235 against in the House last night, far short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval (290 votes).

👀 Looking ahead…House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he’ll keep working to pass a deal ahead of the government shutdown deadline. If a funding bill isn’t approved and signed into law by 12:01 am ET on Saturday, the federal government would partially shut down, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers (though critical services would keep running).

In the coming years, snow-skiing in swim trunks may be less of a viral social media post and more of a reality.

Snowpack season (the number of days with snow on the ground) has decreased by more than 15 days since 1955, according to the EPA. One recent study predicts that by 2050, the demand to produce artificial snow for ski seasons will increase between 55%–97%.

As a result, many mountains are increasingly being forced to open later and close earlier each year.

Enter: Dry skiing, a way to ski year-round that’s grown in popularity in recent years. It involves building a sloped, synthetic surface that mimics hard-packed snow by using concentric conical stems to provide grip.

Artificial skiing has been around since the 1950s, when Canadian-born ski jumper Jacques Brunel patented the first "Artificial Skiing Mat." But it’s been gaining popularity more recently.

• There are currently 1,000+ dry slopes across 50 countries.
• 👆 This includes the one pictured above in Copenhagen, a power plant/recreational building combo featuring a hiking trail, rock-climbing wall – and a ~1,300-ft-long ski hill. It opened in 2019, and attracts ~10,000 visitors/year.

👀 Looking ahead…Analysts say dry slopes might be the answer to future-proofing ski resorts – especially ones in lower altitudes.

Pique Life Radiant Skin Duo is not just a beauty routine – it’s your ultimate skin transformation duo:

• 🍵 Sun Goddess Matcha: A ceremonial-grade matcha rich in EGCG antioxidants that firm, brighten, and clarify the skin while delivering sustained energy and calm focus.
• ✨ BT Fountain: A refreshing beauty electrolyte packed with clinically-proven ceramides to reduce redness, fine lines, and wrinkles, and hydrate your skin at a cellular level.

Together, these two products protect your skin from damage, promote calm, sustained energy, and keep your skin hydrated and radiant.

With Pique, everything is rigorously tested for purity. The Sun Goddess Matcha is quadruple-toxin screened, and the BT Fountain is made with only the best ingredients to nourish your skin.

Save 20% on Pique + get a free starter kit here.

• ☝️ A complete mastodon jaw fossil was recently discovered by a New York homeowner in their backyard.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Paleovalley

• 📊 US markets closed mostly flat (S&P: -0.1%; Dow: +0.04%; Nasdaq: -0.1%). | 🏠 US existing home sales rose 6.1% in November from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain since June 2021.
• 🥪 A father and son pled guilty to orchestrating a stock manipulation scheme involving a small New Jersey deli that at one point had a market cap of $100 million (with < $40,000/year in revenue).
• 📦 Amazon workers went on strike across seven facilities in New York, Georgia, California, and Illinois. | 👟 Nike posted better-than-expected results in its first quarterly earnings report under new CEO Elliott Hill. | 🚚 FedEx announced plans to spin off its freight trucking division; shares rose in after-hours trading.

*From our partners: 🙌🎁 Healthy, delicious snacks for the holidays… Paleovalley’s 100% Grass-Fed Beef Sticks and Superfood Bars are clean, flavorful, and nutrient-packed. Made with organic, natural ingredients and tasty flavors available – perfect for stuffing stockings. Save 30% on lifetime subscriptions or 20% on single purchases.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏓 Women pro pickleball players are paid an average of $260,000, higher than the highest-paid WNBA player (~$250,000) and ~4x what most NWSL athletes make (~$65,000).
• 🍿 Disney is only studio to top $2 billion at the 2024 domestic box office; the tally includes three of the year’s top-five grossing films (Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Moana 2). | 📺 Beast Games, MrBeast’s competition show, premiered on Amazon Prime Video.
• 🤝 Private equity firms are reportedly looking to buy into college sports. | 💰 What the top 75 college sports programs are worth. | 🏈 The 2024 College Football Playoff kicks off tonight with #7 Notre Dame taking on #10 Indiana.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Nuts.com

• 🚫🐝 Murder hornets are officially gone: The USDA and Washington state officials declared the northern giant hornet eradicated from the country.
• 🦠 The modern form of syphilis likely originated in the Americas within the last 9,000 years, per new research.
• 🧠🌌 Brain cells appear to mature faster in space compared to Earth, per a new study by scientists who utilized the ISS.

*From our partners: 🎁⌛ Time is running out for delicious holiday deals… Celebrate the holidays with flavors crafted and sourced in the USA from Nuts.com. Get the Gourmet Gift Basket or Chocolate Lover Tray for 40% off – plus new customers save 20%. Get last minute gifts here.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🇫🇷 A French court convicted the former husband of Gisèle Pelicot and 50 other men in a mass rape trial that’s transformed the 72-year-old woman into a feminist icon.
• 🚫🚁 The FAA temporarily banned drone flights over 22 “critical infrastructure” areas in New Jersey amid a recent spate of reported drone sightings across the Northeast US. (What we know about the sightings.)
• 🧑‍⚖️ A Georgia appeals court disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Trump and co-defendants in a case she brought over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election; analysts say the decision could spell an end to the case. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🍿 The 30 must-see films for 2025.

🌭 Stat of the Day: Oscar Mayer, channeling Jonah Hill in Accepted, is telling the public to: “Ask me about my wiener…mobile.” The brand who gave bologna a first name is now accepting applications for its next class of Wienermobile drivers, who will be tasked with driving the company’s famous hot-dog-shaped vehicle across the country for one year.

Applying? You may want to set your expectations. The job, though it only pays $35,000/year, is harder to get into than Harvard. The Oscar Mayer Hotdogger program only admits 12 candidates each year – or less than 1% of those who apply.

🤔 Did You Know? There are nearly twice as many kangaroos in Australia (~50 million) as humans (~27 million).

📰 Worth a Read: How the weirdest store at the mall survived the retail apocalypse → (The Hustle)

We bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and occasionally laugh-out-loud headlines from this week.

• US city tells residents to stop sticking googly eyes on its statues → (Sky News)
• Pennsylvania couple who divorced in 1975 to remarry Sunday → (Associated Press)
• Flat-Earthers travel to Antarctica to test theories, but are quickly humbled → (IFL Science)
• Rare Pokémon cards are being used to finance organized crime → (Pocket Lint)
• 'Almost perfectly spherical' egg auctioned for $250 → (UPI)

Our weekly news quiz is live. How well did you pay attention this week? Let’s find out.

👆 Meet 94-year-old Donna Maddox, an adrenaline junkie who recently raced a Ferrari around the Xtreme Xperience track in Brooklyn at 150 MPH.

Donna's joy ride is part of the Life Enrichment Program at her nursing home, which provides residents the opportunity to embark on an experience that's uniquely curated and meaningful to them.

• "My mother used to say I came into this world running,” the nonagenarian said about her need for speed. Her daily mantra: "If you’re alive, then live!"

+Note: This story first appeared in Positive DONUT, a weekly newsletter delivering awe (and awww) inspiring stories you won't hear in the news. Sign up for free here.

📸 Reminisce: All the ups and downs of the year captured in 100 images.

🎶 Jingle all the way to the moon: Did you know Jingle Bells was the first song played in space?

🤔 Explore: The curriculum and thinking behind Elon Musk’s preschool.

🎲 Love the player, tolerate the game: Gen Z and millennials are increasingly joining board-game clubs.

🛠️ Not your average Notion newsletter. Join 2.7k+ innovators in The Notion Zeitgeist – where curated design, news, and profuntivity inspiration collide. Subscribe now.*

🚨 Feeling like a stress tornado? Enter the Mindfulness Emergency Kit – 11 anxiety-busting practices to calm chaos on the spot. Free, easy, life-saving. Grab yours now and zen those messy days.*

*A message from our partners.

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

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Espresso powder
• Salt
• Powdered sugar

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Cooking spray
• Chocolate candy coating
• Chocolate chips
• Shortening
• Red and green M&Ms
• Red and green sprinkles

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Unflavored gelatin
• Water
• Milk
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Rum
• Whipping cream
• Pie shell
• Nutmeg

👆 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: Chocolate crinkle cookies

✌️ Recipe #2: Christmas bark

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Eggnog pie