Good morning. In this edition:

• 🎓 Is college the best move?
• 🏛️ Pelosi retirement
• 🕝 Which Americans can’t tell time

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.07-minute read (1,083 words).

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“Words are the clothing of our thoughts.”

–Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

A college education was once widely seen by Americans as the golden ticket to success. But now, it’s starting to look more like a scratch-off with bad odds.

Palantir recently launched a new “Meritocracy Fellowship,” under the idea that existing US universities are no longer needed to train high-quality employees in the workforce.

The defense company’s new program, which is set to graduate its first class later this month, offers high-schoolers a fast-track alternative to a college degree.

• The four-month fellowship saw enrollees first take a four-week seminar on Western civilization and US history, followed by embedded work on live company projects.
• Over 500 hopefuls applied for the program—which required Ivy League-level test scores to qualify—with just 22 “Palanteens” making the cut.
• The company says those who perform well in its fellowship will be offered full-time roles.

Palantir is one example of a broader shift

Rising tuition, declining enrollment, and disappointing employment outcomes have led many high schoolers—and Americans more broadly—to question whether college still delivers on its promise.

• 70% of Americans currently say the US higher-education system is heading in the wrong direction, per Gallup polling published last month, the highest such figure on record.
• The same survey found 55% of Americans say colleges and universities do a fair or poor job when it comes to prepping students for well-paying jobs in today’s economy.

As of this past July, 58% of Americans who graduated college in the past year had yet to find stable work, up sharply from the ~25% of millennials and Gen Xers who faced the same issue, according to a Kickresume report.

On the flip side

A wide body of research indicates most college degrees still pay off, at least on average and in the long run.

• The median income for a US household led by someone with at least a bachelor's degree in college stood at $132,700 last year—more than double the median income of a household led by a high-school grad ($58,410), per recent Census Bureau data.
• That gap has only widened over the past two decades, with earnings for college-led households rising by 6.3% compared to 3.2% for households of high school graduates.

Bottom line: More Americans are coming to the conclusion that not all college degrees lead to a good salary, especially as new grads face one of the toughest job markets in decades.

📊 Flash poll: If you were a high-school senior currently, which of the following would you most likely choose?

• Attend a four-year college/university
• Attend community college
• Attend a non-college jobs program (trade school, Palantir fellowship, etc.)
• Try to find employment immediately
• Other

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

💪 ~72% of all US male athletes between the ages of 17-18 say they use creatine, one of the most popular sports supplements in the world.

💰 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway currently holds ~$382 billion in cash and short-term investments, which is more than the market cap of all but two dozen S&P 500 companies.

🌐 Automated internet traffic has surpassed human web activity for the first time in a decade, accounting for 51% of all web traffic, per cybersecurity firm Imperva.

🕝 43% of US adults under 30 say they can instantly tell the time by looking at an analog clock, compared to 95% of US adults over the age of 65.

🤖 The Magnificent 7 big tech stocks are projected to spend ~94% of their operating cash on AI projects by 2026 (after dividends and buybacks), up from 76% in 2024.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💉 Trump admin reaches deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to cut prices for blockbuster GLP-1 drugs Wegovy and Zepbound; the deal also expands Medicare coverage of the drugs.
• 💰 Tesla shareholders approve CEO Elon Musk’s new pay package that could be worth up to $1 trillion if milestones are met over the next decade.
• 🛻 Ford is reportedly considering scrapping its electric F-150 pickup model due to low demand and a lack of gov’t EV support; Ford has amassed ~$13 billion in EV losses since 2023.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎰 ESPN and casino operator Penn Entertainment are ending their 10-year, $2 billion partnership behind ESPN Bet after two years; the companies cited the app’s failure to gain traction in the sports gambling market.
• 👀 First teaser for Michael, the biopic starring Jaafar Jackson as his uncle Michael, dropped yesterday.
• 🙏 Marshawn Kneeland, a 24-year-old DE for the Dallas Cowboys, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot following a police chase, officials say; Kneeland was a 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Western Michigan, and scored his first career NFL TD earlier this week.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧠 Scientists develop new technique that can translate brain activity into written text, and even predict which video a person is watching.
• 🏛️ Ancient Roman Empire’s road network was ~50% larger than previously thought, or 60,000+ additional miles long, according to a new study.
• 🍺 Heavy alcohol drinkers—defined as 3+ drinks/day—had a stroke on average 11 years earlier than people who had less alcohol, new research shows.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says she won’t seek re-election in 2026; Pelosi was the first woman to be elected Speaker of the House in 2007, and served two stints in the role before stepping down from Democratic Party leadership in 2023.
• ✈️ Here’s what we know about the FAA’s recent 10% reduction in flight capacity, and which airports will be affected.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Supreme Court allows Trump admin to enforce new rules requiring US passports to display travelers' biological sex at birth; decision is 6-3, with all liberal justices dissenting. | Federal judge orders Trump admin to fund SNAP benefits (aka food stamps) in full for the month of November; DOJ says it plans to appeal, leaving the program in limbo. | Former teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student wins $10 million jury verdict; case could set a precedent for assigning blame in school shootings.

☝️ An ancient statue of the Greek goddess Hygieia finally has her head on her shoulders thanks to a dedicated team of archaeologists, who recently uncovered the 2,100-year-old head buried in the ruins of an amphitheater in Turkey.

🤔 Did you know? The iconic Queen/David Bowie song “Under Pressure” wasn’t planned. It just happened to come together when Bowie unexpectedly dropped by Queen’s studio in Switzerland, and an impromptu jam session turned into one of the most iconic duets in rock history.

📰 Worth a read: He lost nearly $100k to a con artist. He turned it into a business

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• A surprisingly unexpected reason to eat more fruits and veggies
• How do you avoid getting sick on a plane? Team USA’s doctor has answers
• New Doritos holiday flavor has fans split right down the middle

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How well did you pay attention this week? Find out here.

1. A store discounts a $60 jacket by 25%, then adds 8% sales tax to the discounted price. What is the final price?
2. What number is represented by “C” in Roman numerals?
3. The time is 3:15 PM. What will the time be 150 minutes later?

💸 Barbara Munford is a living example of persistence paying off. The North Carolina resident just won a $150,000+ lottery jackpot after using the same five numbers consistently for six years. 

1. $48.60; Discounted price is 60 − (60 × 0.25) = 45; then 45 × 1.08
2. 100
3. 5:45 PM

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