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Your Daily BriefNovember 10th, 2022 |
Good morning, and happy Thursday! Did you know that archaeologists have just discovered what could be the earliest written sentence in human history? Engraved on a comb found in Israel, researchers deciphered the Canaanite phrase from around 1700 BC as: May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard. To be honest, we were hoping the first written sentence would be a bit more profound than a lice-fighting mantra…but the discovery is still pretty cool!
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In Today’s Brief
- Brittney Griner: Transferred to penal colony
- Midterms: Control unclear
- Snoop Dogg: Biopic in the works
- Binance: Backs out of FTX bailout
- Hubble: Captures a supernova
- Top Tips: Russia withdraws from Kherson, Meta lays off 13% of workforce, new VR headset explodes in real life
Russia orders withdrawal of its troops from Kherson
Russia yesterday announced that it is withdrawing its troops from Kherson, the only Ukrainian regional capital it has seized since the conflict between the two countries began in February of this year.
During televised remarks on state-owned media, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian troops across Kherson will retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro River after a proposal by the commander of Russian operations in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin. Following the announcement, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak in a tweet said, “We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight... [Ukraine] is liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements.”
The announcement comes less than two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of Kherson, along with the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia. Once the withdrawal is complete, Russia will have surrendered several thousand square kilometers of that territory.
Meta to cut more than 11,000 jobs
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees yesterday that the company is laying off more than 11,000 employees–or about 13% of its total workforce.
In the letter he sent, Zuckerberg said that he “decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go,” and added that Meta is “taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1” of 2023. Zuckerberg attributed the layoffs to the company’s growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, when a surge in online commerce led to an increase in revenue that has since tapered off.
According to an SEC filing, Meta had a headcount of more than 87,000 employees in September. Yesterday’s announcement marks the most job cuts in the company’s history.
Oculus founder builds VR headset he claims is capable of killing users in real life
Palmer Luckey, a defense contractor and founder of Oculus VR, has created a virtual reality headset that he claims will kill a user if their avatar dies in a video game.
In a blog post, Luckey explained that he attached three explosive charges to the headset that will fire when the user’s “Game Over” screen flashes at a specific frequency. “The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me,” he wrote, adding that “graphics might make a game look more real, but only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game.”
Luckey–who sold Oculus to Facebook (now Meta) for $2B in 2014–ended his post with the following statement: “At this point, it is just a piece of office art, a thought-provoking reminder of unexplored avenues in game design. It is also, as far as I know, the first non-fiction example of a VR device that can actually kill the user. It won’t be the last.”
Around the Globe
- Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed local administration in Kherson, was confirmed to have passed away in a car crash yesterday; Putin posthumously granted Stremousov the Order of Courage, according to a statement from the Kremlin
- A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV) confirmed that women would be restricted from accessing public parks under Taliban rule, including amusement parks in the capital city of Kabul
- WNBA player Brittney Griner is being moved from a Russian prison to a penal colony, according to her legal team, who said that they had not been told where she currently is or where she is being sent
On the Homefront
- Hurricane Nicole made landfall in Florida early this morning and is expected to move toward Georgia and the Carolinas later today and tomorrow
- Majority control of the Senate and House of Representatives after Tuesday’s midterm elections was too close to call as of last night - follow along with the results here
- Voters cast ballots in all 50 states for propositions on marijuana use, voting regulations, gun legislation, abortion, and more - see what measures passed in each state here
Glitz & Games
- Brazilian singer Gal Costa, who was a figure in the country’s Tropicália movement of the late 1960s, died at age 77 yesterday, according to a statement from the singer’s team - see the Facebook post here
- Dusty Baker, 73, signed a one-year contract with the Houston Astros to return as the team’s manager for the 2023 season; Baker’s contract execution comes less than one week after the Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series
- Universal is reportedly developing a biopic on rapper Snoop Dogg, with Allen Hughes set to direct and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-writer Joe Robert Cole penning the screenplay
Business & Markets
- Stocks closed lower amid falling crypto markets, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses (Dow -1.95%, Nasdaq -2.48%, S&P 500 -2.08%)
- Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is backing out of its plans to acquire FTX, according to a statement from the company; the reversal comes one day after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that his company had reached a non-binding deal to buy FTX’s non-U.S. businesses for an undisclosed amount amid a liquidity crunch
- The price of Bitcoin fell to a two-year low after Binance announced it backed out of the FTX deal, dropping below $16,000 yesterday for the first time since November 2020
The Age-Defying Dream Cream
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Tip & Tricks
- Bump This: Up-and-coming pop-rock quartet CALI JEWLS channels a Tears for Fears-style shuffle in their new song “Way Out” - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
- Flip Through: As avid Harry Potter fans, we’re currently engrossed in the memoir Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton, known for his role as the very brash–and very blond–Draco Malfoy
- Cash Grab: Want to live in pro baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter’s former castle? The New York lakefront property is slated to hit the auction block on December 15th with a minimum bid of $6.5M (not bad, considering that it was originally listed at $14.75M in 2018)
- Nerd Out: Check out a series of images that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured of the early stages of a supernova, providing the first-ever detailed look at a supernova so early in the universe’s history
- Say What: “I hate social media. I’m not good at it… It’s torture for me. The reason I went on Instagram was to launch [LolaVie]. Then the pandemic hit and we didn’t launch. So I was just stuck with being on Instagram. It doesn’t come naturally,” Jennifer Aniston said during a December cover interview with Allure
- Hot Goss: DJ Abby De La Rosa confirmed she is pregnant with Nick Cannon’s 12th child, less than one week after model Alyssa Scott confirmed she is pregnant with Cannon’s 11th (this is normally where we would insert a sarcastic comment, but…we’re too shocked at this point)
- Life Hack: Like any relationship, a healthy relationship with food takes work, respect, appreciation, and trust - learn about the four eating archetypes and how knowing yours can help you find your ideal weight
Looking Back…
On November 10th: The United States Marine Corps is founded as the Continental Marines during the American Revolution (1775); China’s membership in the World Trade Organization is approved after 15 years of negotiations (2001); comedy film Home Alone, written by John Hughes and starring Macaulay Culkin, has its world premiere (1990); British writer Neil Gaiman is born (1960).
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