Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 📝 Breaking down Meta’s fact-checking shift
• 🖥️ Quantum computing
• 🍋 Lemon-squeezing robots

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.11-minute read (1,094 words).

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"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin"

–William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

This week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a far-reaching change headlined as "More Speech and Fewer Mistakes." It involves eliminating its third-party fact-checking program and implementing a “Community Notes” model, similar to X.

Behind the move: Zuckerberg said the company’s fact checkers have become too politically biased to maintain user trust, and have created a widespread culture of censorship across Meta’s platforms.

• The new Community Notes model will rely solely on contributing users to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context, drawing from people across a diverse range of perspectives.
• The company also announced the removal of existing restrictions on politically charged subjects like immigration and gender, which Zuckerberg described as “out of touch with mainstream discourse.”
• Meta’s trust and content moderation teams are also moving from California to Texas, where Zuckerberg said, “there’s less concern about the bias of our teams.”

On the flip side: Many researchers and critics have expressed concern over the precedent Meta’s decision could set for the future of social media, one of the biggest sources of news and information on the planet.

• Some argue the Community Notes model isn’t effective on such a large scale, noting that such fact-checking on X often arrives hours or days after the post has already racked up millions of views.
• Others express concern about the potential spread of misinformation and hateful content on Meta’s platforms under its new content moderation policy, pointing to increases in such content on X following a similar moderation move.

Looking ahead…Meta’s new fact-checking guidelines are expected to roll out in the US across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads within the next few months.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you agree with Meta’s new content moderation strategy?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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Quantum computing stocks fell after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, in a Q&A at CES 2025, said he believes “very useful” quantum computers are 15-30 years away.

Down down in an earlier round: On Wednesday, quantum company Rigetti Computing dropped 45%, IonQ fell 39%, and Quantum Computing sank 37%, wiping away ~$4 billion in market cap. (Markets were closed Thursday due to a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter, a Wall Street tradition dating back to 1865.)

What is quantum computing? Applying the principles of quantum mechanics to perform computing tasks far too difficult for traditional computing. To put it simply, where traditional computers use bits, represented as 0s and 1s, quantum computers use qubits, which allows them to work faster and store more data.

There’s also two types of quantum computing: annealing and gate-based. Annealing quantum computers are less-powerful than gate-based quantum computers, which can run increasingly complex algorithms and be used for many more problems.

• Annealing quantum computers are in commercial use today (see: D-Wave), but gate-based quantum computers are constrained by the current state of chip development (a market Nvidia aims to play in), according to quantum physicist Anastasia Marchenkova.

🤔 Speaking of…Google recently unveiled Willow, its latest quantum chip. Though only 105 qubits vs. the tech giant’s ultimate goal of 1 million, it performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years – and also lent credence to the multiverse theory.

Biotech company Variant recently announced a $50 million multi-year research partnership with Novo Nordisk. The Seattle-based research and drug development company develops life-saving therapies for diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and kidney illnesses.

Its approach is as original as its partners. Variant concentrates its research on Indigenous populations, which helps both the scientists and the tribes studied, thanks to their unique model of compensating these communities.

• Studying Indigenous genomes allows researchers to obtain a larger database for study, potentially leading to the discovery of biological traits that may not exist in more regularly studied populations. Essentially: the more diversity in the data, the more life-saving discoveries are possible.
• In exchange for entrusting Variant with their genetic heritage, Indigenous communities get a cut of the profits, along with potentially lowered prices for any drugs developed. Variant has also agreed not to patent any genes, as other companies have previously done.

Other past issues: In 2007, a member of the Karitiana tribe in Brazil told the NY Times that his community had been “duped, lied to and exploited” by scientists who had collected their blood and DNA, which was later sold for $85/sample.

👀 Looking ahead…Valiant will be distributing a portion of the proceeds from the Novo Nordisk deal to the communities it worked with in nine countries or territories, the NY Times reports.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏡 The US average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.93% this week, per Freddie Mac; it’s the highest level since July.
• 💼 Microsoft confirmed it's cutting a small percentage of jobs based on performance.
• 🤝 JCPenney is merging with the parent company of Forever 21 to create a new company called Catalyst Brands. | ✈️ American Airlines is making a push to win back business travelers.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with NoNetz

• 🧑‍⚖️📲 The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case deciding whether the US government’s law forcing TikTok to sell its US operations or be banned on January 19 is unconstitutional.
• 🏈 College Football Playoff: #7 Notre Dame defeated #6 Penn State 27-24 thanks to a last-second field goal; #5 Texas faces #8 Ohio State tonight at 6:30 pm CT.
• 🤼👀 WWE Raw’s Netflix debut drew 2.6 million live + same-day viewers in the US, up from 2024’s average of 1.2 million viewers/episode and higher than any other Raw broadcast in five years. (Dive deeper: WWE enters its Netflix era)

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🎙️🤖 Google is testing an experimental AI feature called Daily Listen that creates a personalized podcast using a user’s Search and Discover feed history.
• 🧊 An international scientific team says they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores ever (1.2+ million years old).
• 📲 The Consumer Electronics Show ends this weekend. See the major announcements thus far.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Tuft & Needle

• 🔥 Wildfires in Los Angeles raged for the third straight day, with at least four ongoing blazes; the death toll stood at 10 as of last night, though that figure is expected to rise; economic losses from the blazes, which have destroyed 2,000+ structures, are estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.
• 🏛️🙏 Former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral was held in Washington, D.C., alongside a national day of mourning; all five living US Presidents were in attendance. | 🇱🇧 Lebanon’s Parliament elected General Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese armed forces, as the country's first president in two-plus years.
• ⚖️ The Supreme Court denied a request by President-elect Trump to block sentencing in his New York hush-money trial, in a 5-4 decision. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right) | 🏫 A federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s Title IX rules that expanded discrimination protections for transgendered students in schools. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

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Chick-fil-A’s new philosophy: When life gives you lemons, have robots peel them before making lemonade.

In recent years, squeezing ~2,000 lemons/day has grown cumbersome and dangerous for the fast-food chain’s staff, who often suffered injured fingers in the process. To combat this, Chick-fil-A has outsourced its lemon squeezing to a factory of robots, in a move that frees up ~10,000 hours of work per day.

• In addition to improving safety and freeing up workers’ time, the switch to robots has also increased Chick-fil-A’s efficiency. Virtually all of the lemon gets used at the new automated plant, up from ~40% when employees did the squeezing.

☝️ Walter White’s iconic home from Breaking Bad was listed for $4 million – almost 10x the median sale price in its Albuquerque zip code, per Zillow; analysts say the price reflects its pop culture significance and potential value if converted into an Airbnb or a museum.

🤔 Did You Know? There are zero cases in recorded history of a person who was born blind later being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

📰 Worth a Read: Why America has so many big houses → (The Hustle)

🖱Clickbait: Physicist claims to have solved the 'grandfather paradox,' making time travel (theoretically) possible.

On Christmas Eve, while bartending at her hometown Houston bar, single mom Renee Brown, had no idea she had two of country music's biggest stars at one of her tables.

Even as other patrons filled her in, Renee still treated the stars with the "nonchalant attitude the bar is known for." Renee went about her shift, only thinking of her daughter, who was home alone. 

She was understandably moved to tears when the men checked out, and Post Malone left a $20,000 tip on their less-than-$5 bill. 

• “I immediately broke down crying," she shared of his generosity. “Things have been extremely difficult, and this was truly a blessing that I can’t fully put into words." 

☕ AM>PM: A first-of-its-kind study found having a morning coffee has more benefits than drinking it throughout the day.

🏈 Read: The Super Bowl dark horse that’s powered by a bunch of college football rejects.

🎮 Survival mode: The Last of Us has an interactive exhibit at CES.

🤓 Newsletter nerds, unite: The bcc by Letterlist does the scrolling so you don’t have to. Scoop up gems + peek at chats with legends like Dave Pell & Ann Handley.*

🦞 Wicked good read: Boston sports diehard Danny Healey serves up sizzling hot takes, locker room gossip, and laugh-out-loud life stories in Danny’s Diary. It’s like a diary, but with a Dunkin’ twist.*

*A message from our partners.

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

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

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Olive oil
• Chicken breasts
• Bell peppers
• Red onion
• Fajita seasoning
• Chicken broth
• Crushed tomatoes
• Rotini pasta
• Heavy cream
• Salt & pepper
• Pepper Jack cheese

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Garlic
• Salt
• Dried oregano
• Black peppercorns
• Lime juice
• Roasting chicken
• Vegetable oil
• Dark brown sugar
• Chicken stock
• Yellow onion
• Bay leaves
• Sazón con achiote y culantro
• Adobo con pimienta
• Russet potatoes
• Carrots
• Recaito
• Tomato sauce
• Manzanilla olives
• Capers
• Parsley
• White rice

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Powdered sugar
• Butter
• Condensed milk
• Vanilla extract
• Coconut flakes
• Chopped pecans
• Chocolate-flavored melting wafers

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☝️ Recipe #1: Chicken fajita pasta

✌️ Recipe #2: Pollo guisado

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Martha Washington candy