Good morning. In this edition:

• 🇺🇸 Affordability takes center stage
• 🤷 In-N-Out removes “67”
• 🏹 Hunger Games reunion

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.78-minute read (1,006 words).

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“Freedom from desire leads to inner peace.”

–Lao Tzu (571 B.C. – 501 B.C.)

If you ask most Americans what they think about the economy, the consensus would be that it stinks.

Basically every recent poll and consumer sentiment survey points to that theme, with Americans feeling like their hard-earned dollars just aren’t stretching as far as they used to.

There’s just one problem, per recent economic data: those feelings may not actually be true.

A majority of Americans are receiving raises that outpace the overall US inflation rate—a trend that’s stayed true for every month since June 2023—meaning their wealth continues to grow even as prices climb higher.

So, what’s behind the disconnect?

Analysts and economists say there are several key factors at play:

• Paycheck gains are shrinking as inflation heats back up. Raises for the average working American have shrunk across the board in recent months, from 4.6% in April to 3.8% in September—while inflation rose from 2.3% to 3.0% over the same period.
• Prices for essential expenses are growing faster than overall inflation. Food, electricity, child care, home prices, and rent have all outpaced Americans’ wage gains so far this decade.
• Wealthier Americans are skewing the data towards prosperity. Paychecks for higher-income Americans ($130K+/yr) grew by ~4% year-over-year in October, well above 3% inflation. Meanwhile, paychecks for middle-income residents ($70K-$130K) gained 2%, and wages for lower-income Americans (under $70K) were up just 1%.

Corporate earnings tell a similar story

Frugality among consumers, especially the middle-class, has been a recurring theme in corporate earnings reports over the past few months.

• Fast-food restaurant Wingstop last month said middle-income diners have now joined lower-income ones in dialing back purchases.
• Target reported slumping sales and said customers are spending cautiously on discretionary items, like home decor and apparel.
• On the flip side, Walmart posted strong sales as consumers from all income groups flocked to the retailer’s value.

On Capitol Hill: In a wide-ranging speech to supporters this week—part of a White House push to update its messaging on the economy—President Trump touted the performance of the economy under his administration, and said his predecessor Biden was to blame for rising prices.

📊 Flash poll: Which of the following best describes the current financial situation in your area?

• The cost of living here is the worst I can ever remember it being
• The cost of living here is bad, but I can remember worse times
• The cost of living here isn’t bad

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

🍔 In-N-Out confirmed plans to remove the number 67 from its ordering system after the viral "6-7" meme reportedly caused mobs of teenagers to cheer at restaurants.

🍿 Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 had the biggest US opening for a PG-13 movie in 2025 last weekend, earning $63 million despite widely negative reviews (15% RT critics score).

😱 Half of all US parents say that two 10-year-olds playing in a park unsupervised are very likely (21%) or somewhat likely (29%) to be abducted, per The Harris Poll.

👶 The number of US babies born through assisted reproductive technologies, most of them via in-vitro fertilization (IVF), rose by 45% from 2013-2022.

🛒 Over a third of all US adults (36%) say they’ve been the victim of an online shopping scam where an item they bought was counterfeit or never arrived—and wasn’t refunded.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈📉 S&P 500 and Dow both close at new all-time highs for the first time in at least a month; Nasdaq closes slightly lower amid potential AI bubble fears.
• 🐭🤖 Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and licensing its characters to the company for use in AI-generated short videos and images.
• 🏘️ Home prices have fallen 1.4% in the past three months, and are now marginally lower compared to the same time last year, new data shows.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🍿 Hunger Games reunion: Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will reprise their roles as Katniss and Peeta in Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping; the movie is set to release in November 2026.
• 🏎️ NASCAR settles federal antitrust case filed by two of its teams, including 23XI Racing co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan.
• 👗 Met Gala announces 2026 co-chairs: Beyoncé, Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman, and Anna Wintour; the annual star-packed fundraiser is held in May.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 💊 Eli Lilly says its next-gen weight-loss drug retatrutide helped people lose up to 28.7% of their body weight after a year-plus of treatment; that percentage is significantly higher than Zepbound (21%) or Wegovy (15%).
• 🌿 Ancient cycad plants, which existed before the first flowers, attract pollinating beetles using heat, new study reveals; cycads can heat themselves up to ~27°F above ambient temperature.
• 💉 Kids vaccinated against Covid last season had a “substantially lower risk” of emergency department and urgent care visits related to the virus, per new CDC report.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🤖 “Architects of AI” named as TIME magazine’s 2025 Person of the Year; cover includes tech leaders like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla/xAI CEO Elon Musk.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Federal judge orders ICE to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man the Trump administration wrongly deported to El Salvador earlier this year.
• 🏛️ Senate votes down Democratic bill to extend enhanced ACA subsidies for three years ahead of their expiration in January; Senate also votes down Republicans’ alternative bill offering federal funds for some households’ out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the standout shots from the 2025 National Wildlife Photo Contest. More than 30,000 entries competed for the crown, with Kathleen Borshanian’s Arctic fox portrait (top right) taking home the grand prize. See more finalists here.

🤔 Did you know? People in the early 1900s made their own mascara by mixing coal dust with petroleum jelly and painting it on their eyelashes with a tiny, toothbrush-like brush. The modern mascara wand in a tube wasn’t invented until the 1960s.

📰 Worth a read: How to stop your life playing on repeat

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Can chatting with an AI bot shift our political beliefs?
• The 20 best places to travel in 2026
• Why is TikTok so obsessed with a 50-year-old shipwreck?

🌊 When your emotions feel heavy… Mindful provides simple, science-informed practices to help regulate stress, calm your mind, and support better sleep. Accessible practices for any schedule. Sign up today and get one year free of Mindful Foundation.

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

📲 Important life skill: How do I spot AI in my social media feeds? Here are the 3 main things you should keep in mind.

💰 Read: About Ben Franklin’s 200-year trust experiment that generated millions.

🧑‍🍳 Slow your roll: Into baking and want your parchment paper to stop rolling up? Here’s how to make it happen. (Warning: Method probably won’t work on Snoop Dogg.)

🏢 The Hustle covers the weird, wild side of business that traditional media ignores. From gas station pizza empires to billionaire mountain takeovers, pickle-ball millionaires and everything in between. Join 1.5M readers discovering massive opportunities and weirdly profitable businesses hiding in plain sight by getting The Hustle in your inbox.*

1. A baker is making muffins. Each batch requires 1 ¼ cups of flour and ⅔ cup of sugar. She wants to make 3 batches, and then she spills ½ cup of the flour, which must be replaced. How many total cups of ingredients (flour + sugar) does she need?
2. The perimeter of a rectangle is 54 in. If the length is 16 in, what is the width?
3. A sequence is defined as follows: The first term is 4. Each new term is found by tripling the previous term and then subtracting 5. What is the fourth term in the sequence?

🚛 Marine Corps veteran Stacy Batiste received a custom red semi-truck and $50,000 after being named Pilot’s 2025 Road Warrior. The Louisiana driver has logged 5 million accident-free miles, and also mentors young truckers.

1. 6 ¼ cups
2. 11 in
3. 43

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