Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🧑‍💻 America’s era of solitude
• 🏟️ Super Bowl LIX: By the numbers
• 🛑 No red octagons in Paris

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.19-minute read (1,116 words).

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“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

They say not all who wander are lost, but those who never leave the house always know where a bathroom is – a stance a growing number of Americans share. The US is spending more time at home than ever before, per new data from across the country.

A few examples:

• Americans’ time spent socializing in person decreased by 20% from 2003 to 2023, including a 35% drop among adults under 25, according to the most recent American Time Use Survey.
• Over the same period, the share of US adults having drinks or dinner with a friend declined by 30%. And the National Restaurant Association found 74% of 2023 restaurant traffic came from takeout and delivery.
• When it comes to children, the average American under 18 spends ~30% of their waking hours looking at screens (4.6 hours on weekdays and 6.5 hours on weekends), per the Digital Parenthood Initiative.
• Overall, Americans' time at home increased by 1.65 hours/day from 2003 to 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found.

Driving the trend…Experts attribute a large share of the increase to more Americans working from home, a trend present before the pandemic but further exacerbated by Covid. But data also shows other activities like shopping, eating/drinking, and religion have gradually shifted into the home over the past 20 years, as technological advancements and rising prices have made going out a less attractive option.

Zoom out: While loneliness isn’t necessarily the same as being alone, Americans’ time spent at home has been rising in parallel with social isolation and loneliness. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared a national loneliness epidemic in May 2023, citing data that shows ~50% of Americans have experienced loneliness in recent years.

📊 Flash poll (long-form): In your opinion, what’s the main reason why Americans are spending more time alone today than ever before? The most thoughtful answers will be featured in Monday’s newsletter.

• Click here to leave a response.

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The numbers on the scoreboard on Sunday will decide who wins the Lombardi Trophy. But until then, numbers surrounding the big game, arguably the world’s largest annual sporting event, will have to do.

Some tidbits to drop at the Super Bowl party

Gambling is up. Americans are expected to bet a record $1.39 billion legally on this year’s Super Bowl, a record amount. This year’s prop bets include whether Travis Kelce will propose to Taylor Swift on-field after the game, the color of Gatorade poured on the winning coach, which song Kendrick Lamar will play first during the halftime show (and whether Drake will release a track of his own on Super Bowl Sunday), and more.

It’s a bad day to be a chicken wing. 1.47 billion chicken wings are expected to be eaten on Sunday (enough to circle the Earth three times), along with 107 million lbs of snack food. Overall, Super Bowl Sunday is the second-highest food consumption day in the US, after Thanksgiving.

Super Bowl ads cost $8 million/pop. That’s up from last year’s record $7 million per 30-second commercial. On the screen – expect to see OpenAI for the first time, as well as more advertisers using celebrities and humor in spots in continuation of an ongoing trend. (Click here for a sneak peek of some commercials ahead of the game.)

🏈 As for the on-field action…Here are some key matchups to watch + expert predictions.

P.S. A version of this article first appeared in Press Sports, a sports-focused newsletter we own. Sign up free to receive The DONUT, but for sports, in your inbox 2x/week.

Disney’s latest earnings report has its executives grinning like the Cheshire Cat; the company beat analysts' expectations for earnings ($1.76/share vs. $1.45/share expected) and revenue ($24.7 billion vs. $24.6 billion expected) last quarter.

• One particular standout was Disney’s entertainment unit – including film, TV, and streaming – where revenue rose 95% compared to the year-earlier period to reach $1.7 billion.
• This increase is largely tied to the strong performance of Moana 2, which last month became the fourth Disney film in history to top $1 billion at the box office.

But it’s not all happily ever after for Disney…The entertainment giant reported a 1% decline in Disney+ subscribers, to 124.6 million, which analysts attribute to price increases that took effect in mid-October. Executives are projecting another “modest decline” in subscribers this quarter for similar reasons – though the price hikes did boost Disney’s average monthly revenue per subscriber by 4%, to $7.99.

📺🥊 The streaming war continues: Disney+’s recent subscriber decline stands in sharp contrast to Netflix, which reported a record-high 18.9 million new subs in Q4. Netflix also leads among all streaming giants in terms of subscriber churn rate, at ~1.8%/month, followed by Disney+ (4.1%), Apple TV (6.1%), and Paramount+ (6.1%).

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📊 US markets closed mixed (S&P: +0.4%; Dow: -0.3%; Nasdaq: +0.5%).
• 📦 Amazon reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and earnings; gave weak guidance for Q1 due to foreign exchange headwinds.
• 🏡 The US average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 6.89% this week (from 6.95% last week), per Freddie Mac; it marks the third straight weekly decline.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Kanguro

• 🏀🤝 The NBA trade deadline has come and gone; check out grades for all the major deals, including Jimmy Butler to the Warriors. | 📝 The NCAA updated its student-athlete policy to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports; the move follows an executive order from President Trump that also banned trans women from women’s sports.
• 🎟️ Super Bowl ticket prices are down (but still cost a pretty penny); the average resale ticket price at SeatGeek is $9,257 – 18% lower compared to this time last year; prices have also fallen over the last week at multiple resale sites. | ⚖️ Ippei Mizuhara, the ex-interpreter for LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to repay Ohtani the ~$17 million he stole to fund illicit sports gambling.
• 🍏 Apple unveiled Partiful Invites, a new app that allows users to create and share invitations on their iPhone, RSVP to events, contribute to Shared Albums, and curate event soundtracks.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🏥🐷 The FDA approved clinical trials to study transplants of genetically modified pig kidneys into humans.
• 🏙️🌊 The Palos Verdes Peninsula, a coastal community in Southern California, is shifting closer to the Pacific Ocean at a rate of ~5 inches/month as part of a slow-moving landslide, according to NASA.
• 🌌🔭 Astronomers recently discovered the largest black hole-launched jet ever seen in the early universe, which measures twice as long as the Milky Way (200,000+ light-years).

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Thousand Fell

• 🏛️⏲️ The deadline for federal workers to accept the Trump administration’s buyout offer was delayed by a federal judge before it took effect yesterday; the delay extends at least through Monday, when another legal hearing is scheduled.
• 🏛️ A 25-year-old DOGE staff member who gained access to the Treasury Department’s central-payments system resigned yesterday after being linked to a deleted social-media account that advocated racism and eugenics in recent months.
• 🏛️✍️ President Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of improperly targeting the US and Israel.

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In 1984, fast-food chain Wendy’s asked: “Where’s the beef?”

We finally found its location – the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line. The team’s five starting linemen, on average, stand 6-foot-6 and weigh 338 lbs, making them the tallest and heaviest offensive line in Super Bowl history.

These beefcakes include:

• Tackle Jordan Mailata, a former Australian rugby league player the Eagles drafted in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, who stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 365 lbs.
• Guard Mekhi Becton – a specimen large enough to support three different nicknames, per the Wall Street Journal: Big Ticket, Highway 77, and Mount Becton – who clocks in at 6-foot-7 and 363 lbs.
• Together, the two weigh more than a Harley-Davidson.

No wonder Eagles RB Saquon Barkley led the league in rushing this year.

More context: The Eagles o-line is more than an inch taller and 26 lbs heavier than their Chiefs counterparts – and nearly 100 lbs heavier than an average offensive lineman playing in the first-ever Super Bowl (252 lbs; not one cracked 275).

☝️ The Hubble Space Telescope spotted a “bulls-eye” galaxy with a record-high nine surrounding rings of stars, smashing the previous record of three rings.

🤔 Did You Know? The city of Paris doesn’t have a single stop sign. Cars don’t come to a full stop at any intersection without a traffic light, but rather use a protocol where cars on the right have the right of way.

📰 Worth a Read: Embrace your dark side: A new perspective on negative emotions

🖱 Clickbait: Mewing, beta maxing, gigachad, baddie: Parents are drowning in new lingo

🏈🐾 Everyone knows the big event coming this Sunday: The Puppy Bowl XXI. Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and his girlfriend, Nani Hinton, have taken to training one of the athletes before the big game – a 4-month-old puppy named Parsnip.

🙏 Last weekend’s Grammys and the FireAid benefit concerts raised $125+ million for relief efforts in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. The funds will go to nonprofit organizations and other areas of need throughout California.

🎭 Composer Edmond Dédé is the first known Black American to compose a full opera, called Morgiane. Though his compositions were thought to be lost for decades, the show is finally coming to stages around the country this weekend, 138 years after it was written.

🖱️ A runner, a track star: Ever wonder how far your cursor is traveling?

🗺️ Fascinating: Explore how the boundaries of countries across the world have changed over time.

🤝 Let’s make a deal: The Kansas City Chiefs have come to an agreement with Pat Riley to use the term “Three-Peat,” should they capture this year’s Lombardi Trophy. Why the NBA legend owns it in the first place.

🥤 Score: You can get a free slurpee today – and every Friday in February – from 7-Eleven.

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• Red onion
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• Cumin
• Salt
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• Cotija cheese
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Cilantro

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Cooking spray
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• Cocoa powder
• Chia seeds
• Espresso powder
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• Salt
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• Peanut butter
• Maple syrup
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• Bacon
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• Sour cream
• Mayonnaise
• Cheddar cheese
• Pickled jalapeños
• Salt
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Panko bread crumbs
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☝️ Recipe #1: Enfrijoladas

✌️ Recipe #2: Brownie baked oatmeal

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Jalapeño popper dip