Good morning. In this edition:

• 🌏 Russia-Ukraine peace plan
• 🍗 Average Thanksgiving costs
• 🏥 CDC's new vaccines + autism take

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.98-minute read (1,060 words).

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"It is far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness."

–William L. Watkinson (1828-1925)

A senior Pentagon official met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv yesterday to outline the framework of a new peace agreement that would end the yearslong Russia-Ukraine war.

Zelensky’s office said the US side believes the plan can “help reinvigorate diplomacy,” and that Ukraine has “agreed to work on the plan’s provisions in a way that would bring about a just end to the war.”

Catch up quick: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have been quietly working on the peace plan for a month, receiving input from both Ukrainians and Russians, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed yesterday.

She declined to provide any details of the proposal, but said President Trump has been briefed on it and supports it.

What’s in the plan?

According to multiple reports citing US gov’t sources (Fox News | Axios | WSJ | APNews), the Trump admin’s 28-point peace plan contains several elements that Ukraine and its European allies have long opposed:

• It calls for Russia to gain de facto control of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk (together called the Donbas), despite Kyiv still controlling ~12% of that territory.
• It would place a cap on the size of Ukraine’s military, and reduce the type of long-range weapons Kyiv receives from allies.
• Kyiv wouldn’t be permitted to have an international peacekeeping force inside the country, and would have to abandon talks of joining NATO for at least several years.

In return, Russia would reportedly promise not to further attack Ukraine or other countries in Europe, and codify that promise in legislation.

It comes at a challenging time for Ukraine

In addition to constant drone attacks targeting Ukrainian cities, Russian forces appear poised to overrun the strategic town of Pokrovsk, which could open up the rest of Ukraine’s Donbas region to Russia’s military advances.

• Opposition to Ukraine’s current leadership is also growing quickly inside the country, following the recent exposure of a $100 million corruption scandal implicating one of Zelensky’s close business associates, senior government officials, and Ukraine’s state-run energy company.

Looking ahead…Zelensky is expected to talk to Trump via phone in the coming days about working towards ending the war.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the reported details of the Trump admin’s new peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

Note: Just click one of the options, and your vote will be recorded. Feel free to leave a written response.

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

🍗 The average "classic holiday feast for 10" will cost $55.18 this Thanksgiving, down ~5% from last year largely due to falling turkey prices (-16% YoY).

💒 The share of US 12th-grade girls who are interested in getting married someday fell from 83% to 61% between 1993-2023, while the share of boys who say the same held relatively steady (from 76% to 74%).

🤖 Global investment in data centers will reach $580 billion this year, surpassing the ~$540 billion invested in new oil supply, per the International Energy Agency.

💼 Each job opening in the US currently receives 26% more applications, on average, compared to this time last year, according to job site Handshake.

🏀 There are currently 82 players on NBA rosters who were born after LeBron James made his NBA debut (Oct. 29, 2003); James returned from injury this week to play in his NBA-record 23rd season.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💼 US economy added 119,000 jobs in September, according to delayed federal jobs report; overall unemployment rate also rose slightly to 4.4%, the highest level in four years.
• 📉 US markets closed down sharply across the board, despite a significant stock rally in the morning following strong Nvidia earnings. (S&P: -1.6% | Dow: -0.8% | Nasdaq: -2.2%)
• 🛒 Walmart beats analysts’ expectations for earnings and revenue in Q3; retail giant also hiked its full-year forecast for the second straight quarter.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎾 Roger Federer elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility; he’s the first man to win 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
• 🏆🎶 CMA Awards 2025: Show host Lainey Wilson, Riley Green, and Ella Langley led the way with three awards apiece.
• 🍿 Wicked: For Good projected to earn $120+ million this weekend in domestic debut at the box office ($200+ million globally). | The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping dropped its first trailer; prequel film is set for release in November 2026.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌱🛰️ Moss stuck outside the ISS managed to survive nine months in space and still reproduce back on Earth, new study reveals; researchers say findings could prove valuable for space exploration.
• 🧴 Scientists develop topical ointment that can deliver insulin through skin; findings, published in Nature, could eliminate the need for injections to treat diabetes.
• 🏥 CDC publicly reverses its stance that vaccines do not cause autism, saying it hasn’t been ruled out in infant vaccines; decision under Health Secretary RFK Jr. runs counter to scientific consensus over the past three decades.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🗣️ President Trump accuses several Democratic lawmakers of “seditious behavior” over a video in which they tell military and intelligence officers to "refuse illegal orders"; Trump also calls for the lawmakers to “be arrested and put on trial” for behavior “punishable by death.”
• 🏛️ House unanimously votes to repeal a Senate measure allowing senators to sue the federal gov’t for up to $500,000 if investigators obtain their records without their knowledge. | Federal judge orders Trump admin to end its National Guard deployment in Washington, DC, which began in mid-August; order is on hold for 21 days to allow for an appeal.
• 📝 Trump signs bill giving the DOJ 30 days to release all of its case files related to Jeffrey Epstein. | Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) charged by DOJ for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to support her congressional campaign.

☝️ NASA’s Perseverance rover recently spotted a rock that didn’t match its surroundings—prompting scientists to wonder if it even came from Mars at all. Turns out it didn’t: the oddball, now named Phippsaksla, is actually a meteorite fragment that crashed onto the red planet sometime in the past.

🤔 Did you know? Africa is the only continent that spans all four hemispheres, a geographic flex made possible due to the ~12-million-square-mile landmass crossing both the Equator and the Prime Meridian.

📰 Worth a read: The first character balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade—and what happened to it.

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• How America’s hottest chicken chain keeps its secret sauce a secret
• City raccoons are evolving to look more like pets
• Are there benefits to taking a cold shower?

🎄🫗 Test your water before the holidays… Family visiting? Make sure your water is safe. KELP by KETOS tests for PFAS, lead, arsenic, and 33+ contaminants. Five-minute sample, prepaid shipping, lab results fast. Order your kit here.

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

🏈 SportsTok Sports talk: Press Sports is a free 3x/week newsletter covering the top stories around the NFL, NBA, CFB, MLB, and more in a quick, easy-to-digest format—3 minutes or less.

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🧙 Watch: One of the most…magical performances on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, brought to you by Spanish magic legend Dani DaOrtiz.

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1. A laptop originally costs $240. It goes on sale for 15% off, and then a 5% sales tax is applied to the discounted price. What’s the final price?
2. You have 5/6 of a yard of ribbon. You cut off 2/3 of that amount to wrap a gift. How much ribbon did you cut off?
3. A rectangle has a length of 12 in and a width of 7 in. What is its perimeter?

🇫🇷 The sixth annual Sausage Walk—featuring daschunds galore—was held in Paris last weekend. The event saw hundreds of "saucisses sur pattes" (sausages on legs) march along the river Seine with their owners to raise money for a local dachshund rescue org.

1. $214.20
2. 5/9 of a yard
3. 38 in

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