Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🏗️ Dockworker strike: Part two?
• 🇨🇦 Trudeau resigns
• 🐟 Big ‘ole bluefin

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.26-minute read (1,133 words).

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"The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away."

–David Viscott (1938-1996)

Similar to Wicked, the US dockworker strike could be getting a Part Two in 2025.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) – a 47,000-member union representing dockworkers at every major Eastern US and Gulf Coast port – and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) – which represents shippers and terminal operators – will sit down today to resume talks with another labor stoppage looming.

Background: Strike: Part One occurred in early October, when dockworkers walked off the job for three days. The sticking points were wages and automation.

The walkout ended after employers under pressure from the Biden administration agreed to a tentative 62% pay increase over six years, the Wall Street Journal reports. But on the topic of automation, the two sides agreed to kick the can down the road a few months.

Now it’s getting close to judgement day. And the dockworkers and shippers still appear oceans apart.

• Dockworkers are seeking an all-out ban on automation, including semi-automated cranes allowed in the current contract (two ports, in Norfolk, VA, and Bayonne, NJ, already use the tech).
• Port employers, on the other hand, want to increase their use of technology, saying automation is the only way for East and Gulf Coast ports to handle more shipping volume. One terminal doubled its capacity after implementing semi-automated equipment, with this increase in productivity leading to an increase in hiring, per the USMX.

👀 Looking ahead…Dockworkers are planning to walk off the job on January 15, when the current contract expires, should a deal not be reached prior. A strike is expected to cost the US economy anywhere from $1 billion–$5 billion per day, and, if prolonged, could result in higher prices for consumers.

President-elect Trump could also step in to halt a strike via the Taft-Hartley Act, or put pressure on the sides to reach a deal (similar to the Biden admin’s approach). Trump has previously expressed support for the ILA’s fight against automation.

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Justin Trudeau has become Justin Tru-done. The Canadian prime minister yesterday announced his resignation after almost a decade in power, citing members of his party who have been calling on him to step aside ahead of an election later this year.

• Trudeau said he’ll remain in office until March 24, when his governing Liberal Party will choose a new leader.
• He also moved to suspend the current session of Canada’s legislature until a new prime minister is in place.

A welcome decision

Trudeau’s resignation comes as public opinion polls indicate his approval rating is hovering around 20%, while his Liberal Party is trailing the opposition Conservative Party by 20+ points for the upcoming national election.

In response to the plummeting poll numbers, Liberal Party members in recent weeks have become more vocal in calling for Trudeau to step aside, including key members of the PM’s cabinet.

• Many Canadian voters blame Trudeau for the rising cost of living and housing shortages nationwide, which they argue is tied to the PM’s looser immigration policies.
• Trudeau is also facing internal backlash over his approach to President-elect Trump's plan to increase import tariffs on Canadian goods by 25%.

🌍👋 Zoom out: Trudeau’s exit continues an ongoing trend of incumbent Western governments losing control in the years following the pandemic, with more conservative and right-wing populist parties typically replacing them in leadership roles.

If you’re a gambler looking to add yet another subscription to your monthly credit card bill, DraftKings wants to have a chat. The gambling company recently launched a $20/month subscription service in New York designed to provide paying customers a boost in odds – but only when it comes to parlays.

• For example, a two-leg parlay receives a 10% boost, a six-leg parlay gets a 50% boost, and an 11-leg parlay receives the maximum 100% boost.
• The maximum bet eligible is $25.

Quick reminder: A parlay is a series of connected bets (legs), where the payout is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. If any of the bets in the parlay lose, the entire parlay loses (aka no payout).

In the know: With the subscription – a first for sportsbooks – DraftKings could be looking to help offset taxes in New York, after reversing course in August on its plan to add taxes to customer payouts. Sports wagering taxes in the Empire State stand at 51%, tied with New Hampshire for the highest rate.

😍 Gambling companies <3 parlays. On both DraftKings’ Q1 and Q2 2024 earnings calls, CEO and chairman Jason Robins revealed the company is explicitly working to increase parlay adoption, as well as the average number of parlay legs. Parlays are a profitable and growing area for sportsbooks, ESPN reports.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📊 US markets closed mixed (S&P: +0.6%; Dow: -0.1%; Nasdaq: +1.2%). | 📉 The US Department of Defense added Tencent to its list of "Chinese military companies"; shares fell 5.4% in Hong Kong.
• 💅 Ulta Beauty raised its outlook; the company also revealed CEO Dave Kimbell is retiring and will be replaced by COO Kecia Steelman. | 👥 Meta added UFC CEO Dana White to its board of directors.
• 🍔 McDonald's is rolling back some of its diversity goals and practices at its head office.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Niphtio

• 🏈 NFL Black Monday has come and gone. See the full list of fired coaches and general managers. | ⛳️ Tech-infused golf league TGL, founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, will make its debut tonight.
• 🏟️🎤 Taylor Swift’s recently concluded Eras Tour officially earned $2.2 billion per Pollstar, nearly doubling the previous highest-earning tour of all time (Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour).
• 💒 Zendaya and Tom Holland are engaged, per multiple reports. | 👑 Auburn University student Abbie Stockard was crowned Miss America 2025.

*From our partners: 📈 Want to be more productive in 2025? Get Niphtio, the free tool that helps you quickly save, organize, and find bookmarks to keep a clutter-free browser. Accessible on any browser, any device. Get Niphtio free here.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🪐⛄ Pluto may have gotten its largest moon, Charon, in a 10-hour “kiss-and-capture” event where Charon – roughly half Pluto’s size – crashed into the dwarf planet and briefly rotated together as a sort of cosmic snowman.
• 🤖 Microsoft announced plans to invest $80 billion to expand its AI infrastructure this fiscal year, with half of the spending expected to be in the US. | 👩‍💻 The 2025 Consumer Electronics Show begins today in Las Vegas. 
• 🏛️ The Roman Empire’s activities introduced high atmospheric levels of toxic lead between 100 BCE and 200 CE, causing the average IQ of Europe’s entire population to decrease 2.5-3 points, per a new study.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with NoNetz

• 🐦 America’s first human death from bird flu was reported in Louisiana; the patient was over 65 and had underlying medical conditions, per officials; there have been 66 total human cases of bird flu reported in the US since the start of last year.
• 🇺🇦🇷🇺 Ukraine launched a new surprise military offensive in Russia’s Kursk region amidst ongoing fighting with Russian and North Korean troops in the area.
• 🏛️🗳️ Congress officially certified President-elect Trump’s victory in the 2024 election. | 🧑‍⚖️ A New York judge denied Trump’s request to delay his hush-money sentencing set for January 10. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

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😳🐟 Stat of the Day: A 608-lb Pacific bluefin tuna – as big as a cow, grizzly bear, or motorcycle, depending on who you ask – sold for $1.3 million at a Tokyo auction on Sunday, marking the second most-expensive fish sale on record (behind a $3.1 million tuna sale in 2019). The massive specimen was purchased by Onodera Group, which said it plans to serve the tuna at over a dozen of its Michelin-starred sushi restaurants in Japan and across the world.

Fun fact: Pacific bluefin tuna are one of the largest and fastest fish in the relatively cold Pacific ocean, migrating a Finding Nemo-dwarfing 5,000+ miles back and forth from the shores of Japan to California at speeds of up to ~18 MPH.

🤔 Did You Know? Airplane passengers are more likely to fart than normal due to altered pressure levels within the plane’s cabin.

📰 Worth a Read: How to stop living on auto-pilot → (Psyche)

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

• 📲 26% of social media users aged 18-30 describe themselves as “influencers” – though half of that group have never been paid for this work.
• 🧳 Google searches for solo travel have risen 223% over the last 10 years, with 50% of Americans planning to travel solo this year.
• 🍿 US box-office revenue for comedy films has fallen 31% since 2012, while revenue for horror movies has risen 70% over the same period.
• 🪙 44% of all corporate spending on the 2024 election came from the crypto industry, compared to the ~7% of Americans who currently own crypto (figures via Harper’s).
• 🧒 Over 1.6 million unemployed US workers have been job hunting for at least six months, a figure that’s up 50+% since the end of 2022.

☝️ You’re looking at how the $115 trillion global economy breaks down between each individual country’s GDP, according to Visual Capitalist.

+Clickbait: Welcome Gen Beta: A new generation of humanity starts in 2025.

Yesterday, we covered how the majority of NYC drivers now have to pay $9 to enter the busiest part of Manhattan during peak hours, under a controversial first-in-the-nation congestion pricing law.

❓ Our question to you: Do you support New York City’s new congestion pricing plan?

• 👍 Yes: 36%
• 👎 No: 43%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 21%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,207 votes and 215 longform responses.

Herbert Stern is 106. His advice for living such a long life? He "did everything [he] shouldn’t do.”

The former US Army colonel is the oldest living graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, and fought in WWII before retiring and starting a family. The senior still drives, shops, and cooks himself two meals a day; he turned 106 on Christmas Eve.

• “[My military class was] very close because we were the last class to graduate before the war,” Herbert told the Washington Post. “I’m the last one left now, but I still hear from children of my military friends. It’s very gratifying.”

🐧 Trivia: What's the world’s fastest bird (and animal overall)?

🚀 True or False? A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus. 

🤔 Riddle Me This: What runs all around a backyard without moving?

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🦅 Trivia: Peregrine falcon (which can fly up to 186 MPH)

🚀 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: A fence