Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🗳️ CA billionaire tax is voted down
• ⛽ Gas falls below $4/gal average
• ⚽ USMNT loses head coach to Man U

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.42-minute read (1,177 words).

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“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

–Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

California's proposed billionaire tax has officially struck out with voters. The AP called the race earlier this week, with Proposition 40 trailing by a 52.5%-47.4% margin following a heated campaign that divided some of the state's wealthiest residents and political leaders.

A look inside the ballot: Prop 40 called for a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires' wealth, including stocks, business holdings, and other assets, while generally excluding real estate and certain retirement accounts.

Supporters estimated the tax could generate ~$100 billion over five years, with 90% going toward healthcare services facing federal funding cuts and the remaining 10% supporting education and food-assistance programs.

Why the vote was so close

The proposal sparked a debate over whether taxing California's wealthiest residents would help address the state's healthcare funding challenges, or instead create new economic problems.

• Those in favor of the tax—including California's Democratic Party—noted that billionaires are able to grow their fortunes through stocks and other investments without paying taxes on those gains until the assets are sold, and argued that taxing this accumulated wealth would make the tax system fairer.
• They also argued that the billionaire tax would help offset recent federal healthcare cuts, which they framed as being used to help pay for recent tax cuts.

On the flip side: Opponents of Prop 40, who raised ~10x as much money as supporters, voiced concerns about the complexity and potential economic consequences of taxing billionaires' accumulated wealth.

• Critics warned the tax could drive some of California's richest residents elsewhere, potentially costing the state billions of dollars in future tax revenue, investments, and business activity.
• The opposition included Gov. Gavin Newsom, who argued that a state-level wealth tax would put California at an economic disadvantage.
• Planned Parenthood and the California Medical Association also raised concerns about how the state revenue would be allocated, and how it would impact the state's budget.

The age effect: While California voters rejected the billionaire tax overall, younger voters were more receptive to the idea. According to the AP Voter Poll, a majority of voters under 30 supported Prop 40, while ~70% of voters aged 65+ opposed it.

Looking ahead…The healthcare workers' union behind Prop 40 has pledged to pursue another billionaire tax in 2028 if California lawmakers fail to address the state's healthcare funding shortfall. However, those plans could face a hurdle from Prop 42, a separate 2026 ballot measure that would restrict future taxes on financial assets, which is narrowly leading as of the latest reported results.

📊 Flash poll: Would you support or oppose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' wealth in your state?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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

🗳️ Preliminary estimates of last week’s Election Day turnout show the second-highest participation rate for a midterm (49.4% of eligible voters) in more than a century, beaten only by the 2018 midterms (50.0% participation).

🪖 US veteran homelessness has declined by more than 50% between 2011–2025, per a new Axios analysis of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data, though some states continue to struggle.

⛽ Average gas prices across the US fell below $4/gallon this week for the first time since July 19, sitting at $3.90/gallon as of yesterday on AAA’s online tracker.

⚖️ Fewer than half of Americans (49%) support the death penalty for convicted murderers for the first time since 1971, according to new Gallup polling.

🪨 The Grand Canyon is missing ~1.2 billion years worth of rocks from its walls—a geological gap known as the Great Unconformity—and scientists may finally know why. A new study found slow currents of hot rock in Earth’s mantle pushed continents upward for hundreds of millions of years, letting glaciers grind them down before the land sank back beneath rising seas.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🌐 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang officially resigns following the revelation of two extramarital affairs, one with a suspected Chinese spy and another with a subordinate; CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO pending a permanent replacement; Nvidia shares recovered somewhat to close down 4.3%, after falling as much as 14%.
• 🏘️📉 US existing home sales fell 5.5% month-over-month in October (-8.8% annually) to reach their lowest level since 2010, as average 30-year mortgage rates continue to rise above 7%.
• 🚀 SpaceX announces plans to invest $74+ billion to build new data center campuses in Arizona and Texas.

SPORTS, MEDIA, & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ MLB MVPs: Chicago Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong (NL) and Houston Astros DH/OF Yordan Alvarez (AL) earn unanimous MVP honors in their respective leagues. | ⚽ Manchester United parts ways with head coach Michael Carrick and reportedly signs USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino; Team USA is expected to make legendary manager Pep Guardiola a top replacement target.
• 🎭 Steve Carell and John C. Reilly to star opposite each other in Broadway’s upcoming The Odd Couple revival. | 🏟️ Morgan Wallen announces upcoming Last Time I Checked stadium tour, stopping in 7 US cities for 14 dates in 2027.
• 🙏 Anthony Clark, stand-up comedian and star of CBS’ Yes, Dear, died at 62 from pneumonia complications.

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SCIENCE, SPACE, & EMERGING TECH

• 🎗️ American Cancer Society issues new guidelines recommending most men get tested regularly for prostate cancer starting at age 50; it’s a major shift from prior guidance that avoided directly encouraging tests due in part to risk of overtreatment.
• ☄️ ESA’s Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of an asteroid which NASA rammed a craft into four years ago as part of its planetary defense test.
• 🌌 First major data release from mission to create the largest-ever 3D map of the universe reveals 900+ million galaxies, along with ~15,000 potential cases of gravitational lensing—a phenomenon that could help explain the “dark universe.”

US, WORLD, & POLITICS

• 🇺🇸🇮🇷 President Trump says on social media that the US doesn’t need a deal with Iran, and that he would prefer VP JD Vance—the current lead negotiator—to instead “focus his complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States throughout the U.S.”
• 🙏 Three-story building collapses onto adjacent construction site in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood, killing at least eight people and injuring 18 others.
• 🇺🇦 Ukrainian ​President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country’s military has recorded significant disruptions to Starlink's Starshield satellite ‌communications service for several days, though SpaceX denies the claims; a similar disruption occurred in mid-October, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk acknowledging the slowdown.

☝️ Zoo Atlanta welcomed crowds of visitors last week for the public debut of its two new giant pandas, Fu Shuang and Ping Ping. Their arrival follows years of panda diplomacy between the US and China, who pulled its pandas from American zoos amid strained relations in 2023-24. Judging by their debut, the pair seems to be taking their new celebrity status in stride.

🤔 Did you know? George Washington's portrait on the front of the quarter switched from facing left to facing right back in 2022, with the American Women Quarters Program. The new design was initially created by sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser in 1931, but had been passed over for the familiar left-facing portrait that appeared on quarters for the next 90 years.

📰 Worth a read: Dabbling is good for you: Why you should try new things just for fun.

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• This winter, it’s polar vortex versus El Niño. Round one starts now
• The newest balloons joining Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• How can I improve my memory?

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

1. A basketball player makes 9 out of 12 free throws. What is their free-throw percentage?
2. A parking lot contains 40 vehicles, all cars and motorcycles. If there are 136 wheels in total, how many motorcycles are in the parking lot?
3. A clock gains 5 minutes every 2 hours. If it is set correctly at 8:00 AM, what time will it display when the actual time is 8:00 PM?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

🎉 Gretchen Sollo finally had her first birthday party after 100 years, courtesy of the staff at her local Lowe’s. The Illinois woman has walked ~1,500 miles around the store since suffering a stroke five years ago, becoming a beloved fixture among staff who call her their “store mom.”

1. 75%
2. 12 motorcycles
3. 8:30 PM

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