Congress Resumes, Schools Close, and Elizabeth Holmes Clones

Good morning, it's Tuesday, Nov. 10. Congress is back in session after last week's midterm elections. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: the College Football Playoff gets a makeover (Sports, Ent., and Cult.), fallout from the Nvidia CEO’s romantic ties to an alleged Chinese spy (Bus. & Mkts.), France blames Iran for supermarket refrigerator attacks (Pol. & World Affairs), a cruise ship pianist is rescued from the sea (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

Congress Clocks In

The 119th Congress resumed yesterday for the first time since last week’s wave of Democratic victories (see latest). Republicans have five scheduled legislative weeks left before losing control of both houses in January. 

Chief among Republican priorities is to pass a funding bill ahead of a Dec. 11 government shutdown deadline. Garnering support for the Pentagon’s annual policy bill amid an unpopular Iran war is also a priority. It also comes as outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R, KY-4) reintroduced a resolution yesterday to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on eight counts, including over his handling of the Iran war; a House vote could come as soon as this week. Massie separately predicts he will amass the 218 signatures necessary to force floor action on the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. 

Separately, the Senate voted 73-25 yesterday to advance a measure to speed up approval of data center development. Americans voted overwhelmingly last week to restrict data center construction through dozens of ballot initiatives (see the one place that didn't).

COP31 Begins

The United Nations’ annual climate summit, known as the Conference of the Parties or COP, kicked off its 31st gathering yesterday in Antalya, Turkey. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries will participate in the event; the US did not send an official federal delegation for the second consecutive year. 

COP31 commenced days after a European climate monitoring service reported that last month was the warmest October ever recorded. It also marked the third straight month to exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold. Over the next two weeks, delegates will push countries to honor their previous emissions-reduction pledges and work to provide developing nations with funds to adapt to a warming climate. They will also try to resolve deadlocks over how to transition away from fossil fuels. 

Those efforts come as a recent UN report found the US drove one-third of the rise in global emissions last year, outpacing every other major economy. See an interactive visualization of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide here.  

School Closures Surge

A total of 1,156 US public schools closed during the last academic year, the highest number since the pandemic. The figure, from a new analysis published this week, largely reflects declining birth rates and funding cuts. 

Student enrollment is falling faster than public schools are closing, with enrollment down by roughly 1.4 million students from 2019 to 2024. Analysts say the decline is primarily due to a multidecade drop in birth rates; the under-18 population fell by roughly 2.1 million children from 2010 to 2025. The federal immigration crackdown and postpandemic expansion of private school vouchers and homeschool options have also contributed. Projections indicate that tumbling enrollment could cost public schools roughly $11.5B in state funding annually by 2030-31, compared with revenue received in 2025-26, potentially spurring further closures. 

Research shows closures may not deliver the savings school districts expect, since busing, severance, and vacant-building security add costs. Displaced students also often experience long-term declines in reading and math scores. Compare state test scores here. And dive into the history of America's public education system here.

 In The Know 

Science & Technology

> Eli Lilly's GLP-1 pill Foundayo helps alleviate sleep apnea in people with obesity, according to late-stage trial (More) | FDA orders new warning on GLP-1s about rare eye condition causing sudden and permanent blindness (More)

> mRNA treatment improves blood flow per heartbeat by approximately 10% in mice following a heart attack, offering a promising approach to repairing heart damage in humans (More) | What happens during a heart attack? (More, w/video)

> Federal government opens recall query into 2,895 Waymo self-driving taxis after the vehicles continue to illegally pass school buses despite software fix (More) | Click dropdowns to see Waymo service areas (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +2.4%, Dow +2.2%, Nasdaq +2.7%) as oil prices fall and technology shares recover from last week's AI-driven sell-off (More) 

> Nvidia shares close down 4.3% on news of internal probe into CEO Jensen Huang's romantic relationship with an alleged Chinese spy (More) | Who is Alice Huang, the woman at the center of the scandal? (More)

> Boeing to cut 5% of commercial plane workforce amid slow 737 MAX output (More) | Honda to invest $3B in Ohio plant to boost hybrid vehicle production (More) | Tesla to refund some Cybertruck deposits after winding down model (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Utah judge sets June 2028 trial date for Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk (More) | Massachusetts judge denies Lindsay Clancy's motion to dismiss her case, potentially clearing a path for retrial (More) 

> Ohio State University suspends Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, launches investigation after video appears to show two young men on fire (More) | See the alleged video (More via Facebook, warning—sensitive)

> French prosecutors blame Iran for Oct. 11 cyberattack that raised refrigerator temperatures at roughly 700 grocery stores, leading to widespread food spoilage and triggering about 20 fires (More) | How to secure your smart devices (More)

In-Depth

> The Quad God Returns

The Athletic | Marcus Thompson II. Nine months after a devastating free skate at the Milan Olympics cost him gold, American phenom Ilia Malinin is back with a new approach to the sport, and his sights are set on the 2030 Games. (Read) 

> What Are You Laughing At?

Unexplainable | Vox. Take a deeper look at what makes something funny to you, with insights from researchers at the University of Colorado's Humor Research Lab and stand-up comedians like Atsuko Okatsuka. (Listen) 

Can you name England's founding father? Neither can the Brits.

Girls' flag football participation is up 85% over three years. Why?

Signs on Instagram that predict how lonely you are.

Cruise ship pianist rescued after treading water for nine hours.

Pit mobs of creatures against one another with a battle simulator.

What do Las Vegas' Sphere and German train stations have in common?

The boy names increasingly being used for girls. (w/charts)

Oscar the Grouch was originally supposed to be magenta. (w/rendering)

See Zoo Atlanta's two new pandas.

Clickbait: Will the real Elizabeth Holmes please stand up?

Historybook: Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther born (1483); US Marine Corps is founded (1775); Singer and actress Jane Froman born (1907); "Sesame Street" debuts (1969); Bill Gates announces Windows 1.0 to public (1983).