Good morning. In this edition:

• 🥤 The rise of dirty soda
• 🛒 Amazon Grocery
• 🙏 Living child goddess

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.57-minute read (950 words).

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“A tiny change today brings a dramatically different tomorrow.”

–Richard Bach (b.1936)

There’s a new trend shaking up the world of fizzy drinks: dirty soda.

The practice—which involves adding cream, flavored syrups, or fruit juices to soda to make it “dirty”—is increasingly making its way into the mainstream, with Pepsi, Taco Bell, and McDonald’s all recently launching new products.

• Social media buzz and TV shows like The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives have helped dirty soda spread far beyond its original popularity among Utah residents.
• Overall, the percentage of US eateries offering a carbonated soft drink with cream or milk included has nearly doubled over the past decade, from 1.5% to 2.7%.

Why consumers are ridin’ dirty

Analysts say the rise of dirty soda can be attributed to a variety of factors. It’s a more enjoyable experience for many consumers compared to coffee, while offering less caffeine so people can drink it all day long. And the bright colors of dirty sodas make them more attractive to consumers, who were likely introduced to the trend on TikTok.

Fast-food chains also love the trend. But for a different reason: dirty soda is highly customizable for consumers, without the hassle of having to make a non-fat, dairy-free latte with two espresso shots and caramel drizzle.

• “It’s a custom drink offering that leverages something they already have—their soda machine,” says Erica Holland-Toll, culinary director at The Culinary Edge.

Big picture: The rise of dirty soda across the US, plus the growing popularity of prebiotic sodas, has helped the sector halt its recent downward trajectory. After decades of falling US soda consumption—from 15.3 billion gallons in 2004 to 11.8 billion in 2023—Americans are projected to see the second straight year of consumption growth in 2025.

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Hollywood’s newest leading lady…isn’t a lady. And she doesn’t eat, sleep, or negotiate for a bigger trailer.

Tilly Norwood is a fully AI-generated actress that, in recent weeks, has been making waves with talent agencies and celebrities across Hollywood.

• Tilly, who was created by London-based studio Particle6, debuted on-screen this summer in a short comedy video called AI Commissioner.
• Particle6 founder Van der Velden says talent agencies are currently circling Tilly, and she’s expected to soon announce a signing.

But not everyone’s applauding

Entertainment union SAG-AFTRA harshly criticized the project this week, saying Tilly “has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we've seen, audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience." Stars including Emily Blunt, Natasha Lyonne, and Sean Astin also voiced alarm.

For many, Tilly crosses a red line. Studios have long used digital doubles and CGI to pull computer-assisted stunts like resurrecting Carrie Fisher, de-aging Robert DeNiro, or filling in risky stunts. But many in Hollywood say Tilly is a different situation altogether because she was never alive in the first place.

Looking ahead…Particle6 says it plans to roll out more AI “actors” like Tilly in the near future, complete with customizable looks and personalities.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 Supreme Court allows Fed Gov. Lisa Cook to remain in her role, pending oral arguments before SCOTUS in January over whether President Trump has the legal authority to fire her.
• 🛒 Amazon launches new “price-conscious” private-label grocery brand called Amazon Grocery, with most products priced under $5.
• 💼 US economy lost 32,000 private-sector jobs in September, down from a loss of 3,000 in August, per payroll-processing giant ADP; economists polled by the WSJ had expected an increase of 45,000 jobs.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎶 Taylor Swift's 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, releases at midnight tonight.
• 🏀 WNBA Finals are set: The Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 107-98 (OT) in a deciding Game 5 to advance to the Finals against the Phoenix Mercury; Game 1 tips off tomorrow.
• ⚖️ Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attempt to overturn his conviction in federal sex-crimes case was rejected; Combs will face sentencing on Friday, with prosecutors seeking an 11-year prison sentence. | The death of Hunter S. Thompson will be reviewed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at his widow’s request; it comes 20+ years after the famed journalist and author died from what authorities described as a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🙏 Jane Goodall, the iconic chimpanzee researcher and wildlife conservationist, died at 91.
• 🩸 Walmart to remove synthetic dyes and other artificial ingredients from its store-branded food products.
• 🤖 Meta to start using people’s conversations with its AI chatbot to help sell targeted ads across its platforms. | Google launches line of new smart home devices equipped with its Gemini AI.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Senate fails to approve either of the two competing proposals from Republicans and Democrats to end the ongoing US gov’t shutdown; GOP leaders plan to keep holding votes, with the next set for tomorrow afternoon.
• 🌀 Hurricane Imelda heads towards Bermuda as a Category 1 storm, creating rip current conditions on the US East Coast; it also passed within ~500 miles of Hurricane Humberto on Tuesday—a record for the satellite era.
• 🇶🇦 President Trump signs executive order pledging to treat any armed attack against Qatar as a threat to the United States' own security.

☝️ Nepal has selected a new living child goddess known as the Kumari, who is revered by Hindus and Buddhists. The 2-year-old girl was moved from her Kathmandu home to a local temple palace on Tuesday, during Nepal’s longest and most significant Hindu festival. She replaces the incumbent Kumari, who by tradition becomes a mere mortal upon reaching puberty.

🤔 Did you know? Cremated human remains actually aren’t ashes, even though the term is regularly used to describe them. Instead, they’re leftover bone fragments from the body being burnt, which are ground down in a machine to resemble ashes.

📰 Worth a read: The pop singer who built a million-dollar ant empire

🖱️ Clickbait: How to get a refund from the $1.5 billion Amazon Prime settlement

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Yesterday we covered a new Trump administration effort to lower US prescription drug costs, including a sweeping deal with Pfizer to reduce the prices of many of its products, and the creation of a “TrumpRx” direct-to-consumer website for discounted drugs.

❓ Our question to you: In general, how do you feel about the Trump admin’s new plan to lower drug prices?

• Support: 57%
• Oppose: 19%
• Unsure/other: 24%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 838 votes and 99 longform responses.

Just three countries—known as the “Lithium Triangle”—contain more than half the world’s proven lithium reserves. Can you name the continent they’re located in?

🏔️ Poland's Andrzej Bargiel became the first person to ski down Mount Everest without using an oxygen tank, in what his team called a "groundbreaking milestone in the world of ski mountaineering." Talk about lungs of steel.

+Note: This story previously appeared in Positive DONUT, our weekly newsletter surfacing all the good things you don't hear about in the news.

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