Good morning. In this edition:

• 🚗 Global EV pullback
• 💼 Long-awaited jobs report
• 📅 December, the 10th month

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.55-minute read (944 words).

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"Respect and acceptance stem from simple acts such as remembering a person’s name and using it whenever appropriate.”

–Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)

Across the globe, gas-powered vehicles are proving to have more staying power than many policymakers and executives had anticipated.

The latest example came yesterday, when the EU announced plans to back away from its landmark pledge to ban the sale of all new gasoline and diesel-fueled cars starting in 2035.

• Under the bloc's revised proposal, automakers must reduce their emissions fleetwide by 90% compared to 2021 levels, instead of 100%.
• That means most new vehicles sold will be fully electric beginning in 2035. But it also leaves room for plug-in hybrids and conventional gas-powered vehicles.

The EU’s new change comes in response to heavy pressure from the bloc’s automotive industry, which has lobbied policymakers to improve competitiveness and cut some of the rules that companies say are holding them back.

European automakers have had to price their EVs aggressively to hit regulatory targets this year, resulting in a surge in sales but weaker profits.

• Volkswagen, the region’s largest carmaker, reported a loss for the third quarter amid struggles with high production costs and softening demand.
• The company said it sold more lower-margin EVs, while its Porsche brand was hit by major write-downs related to underperforming EV investments.

Across the pond, the story is similar

Earlier this week, Ford Motor announced a $19.5 billion hit mainly tied to its EV business, representing one of the largest impairments in corporate history.

Ford, which has lost $13 billion on its EV business since 2023, said the impairment comes as part of a new strategic shift away from producing EVs and toward gas and hybrid vehicles, where the automaker said it sees “higher-return opportunities.”

As part of the new plan, Ford is canceling a planned electric F-Series truck, repurposing an EV battery plant, and converting its signature electric F-150 Lightning pickup into a hybrid.

Big picture: 50% of global car buyers intend to purchase an internal-combustion engine vehicle in the next 24 months, an increase of 13 points from 2024, according to new research from EY. At the same time, the percentage of car buyers who prefer EVs fell from 24% last year to 14% this year, while hybrid preference declined five percentage points to 16%.

📊 Flash poll: How likely are you to consider an EV or a hybrid for your next vehicle purchase?

• Very likely
• Somewhat likely
• Not at all likely
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💼 US unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November, its highest in over four years, per delayed federal jobs data; it shows ​​64,000 jobs were gained in November, while 105,000 jobs were lost in October (entirely due to the federal government's DOGE buyouts).
• 🎥 Warner Bros. Discovery’s board plans to tell company shareholders to reject Paramount’s latest takeover offer as early as today, and recommend supporting the company’s existing deal with Netflix signed earlier this month, per multiple reports.
• ♻️ Whole Foods is reportedly deploying novel AI-powered recycling technology that can reduce food waste volumes up to 80% by turning fruit and vegetable scraps into chicken feed for the company’s egg-laying hens.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏒 Nick Saban, current ESPN analyst and arguably the greatest college football coach in history, agrees to buy minority stake in the NHL's Nashville Predators.
• ⚽ FIFA slashes prices for handful of World Cup tickets each game to $60; they’ll be distributed by national federations to “loyal fans” of teams playing; cheapest ticket prices range from $120-$265 for group-stage games, all the way up to $4,100+ for the final.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Nick Reiner, 32, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of his parents, Hollywood actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. Here’s what we know.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌊 Seismologists discover never-before-seen plume of rock that makes Bermuda appear to float in the middle of the ocean, according to new study.
• 🌌 Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope may have discovered the earliest known supernova, dating back to when the universe was ~730 million years old.
• 🤖 OpenAI’s GPT-5 model demonstrated that it can do "wet lab" work that involves improving how scientists handle liquids, chemicals, and biological samples, per Axios report.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Enhanced ACA tax credits likely to expire at the end of this year after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said there won’t be a vote on extending them before the chamber’s holiday recess.
• 🌎 Trump admin expands existing travel ban to cover five additional countries—Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria—and also adds partial bans on 15 countries; move is aimed at formalizing Trump’s promised crackdown on “third-world countries.”
• 🗣️ President Trump files $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over a documentary episode published in 2024; the BBC previously apologized to Trump for splicing together two clips of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech and omitting his statement calling for peaceful protest. | Trump posts on social media that he's giving an “address to the nation” live from the White House at 8 pm CT tonight.

☝️You’re looking at some of Nature Magazine’s top science images of the year, from vast galaxies to tiny microscopic organisms. See all their picks here.

🤔 Did you know? The root word of December is decem, Latin for ten, because it used to be the 10th month in the ancient Roman calendar. When January and February were later added to the front, December got bumped to #12, but its name remained the same.

📰 Worth a read: Need laundry folded? Don’t ask a robot

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The National Zoo’s most adorable panda photos of the year
• What is Taylor Swift’s favorite Taylor Swift song?
• Would Walter White still cook meth in 2025?

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How it works: We provide an incorrect stat. Your challenge is to guess whether the actual number is over or under the given value.

1. 🦷 50%: The proportion of people who are afraid of the dentist
2. 🔥 1,000°F: The heat of a candle flame
3. 📧 250 billion: How many emails are sent and received each day

📫❄️ King Charles III gifted a classic Royal Mail postbox to a remote Antarctic research station, bringing a bright, traditional touch to life on the ice. Now, scientists can receive real handwritten letters from home at the bottom of the world. 

1. 🦷 Under; about 36%-48%
2. 🔥 Over; ~1,400°F
3. 📧 Over; 376 billion

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