Good morning. It's Wednesday, Oct. 22, and we're covering the first female prime minister in Japan, the White House's demolition for a $250M ballroom, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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Japan elected conservative Sanae Takaichi as its first female prime minister yesterday after a coalition deal between her Liberal Democratic Party and the right-leaning Japan Innovation Party. Takaichi, 64, succeeds Shigeru Ishiba, who resigned last month after election losses left the LDP without an outright majority in parliament for the first time in 15 years.
An ally of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi supports conservative fiscal and defense policies and has pledged to strengthen national security, expand semiconductor production, and increase energy self-sufficiency. She called for US cooperation on regional defense and trade and is expected to meet President Donald Trump next week.
Some critics expressed concern that her policies could slow progress toward gender equality. Women hold less than 16% of lower house seats and about 10% of cabinet posts. Japan ranked 118 out of 148 countries in the 2025 World Gender Gap Report, the lowest among G7 countries (the US ranked 42). |
Warner Bros. Discovery said yesterday it is weighing a full or partial sale after receiving unsolicited interest. The news comes roughly four months after the conglomerate announced plans to split its struggling cable networks from its more profitable studio and streaming arms, creating two publicly traded companies.
The HBO and CNN parent company did not disclose potential buyers, but Skydance Media founder David Ellison has reportedly expressed interest. Ellison, the son of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, acquired CBS owner Paramount for roughly $8B in August, forming Paramount Skydance. He also bought conservative news startup The Free Press for about $150M this month. Streaming company Netflix and NBC owner Comcast are reportedly interested parties as well. Explore how the media industry has consolidated over the last quarter-century here.
Warner Bros. Discovery said it will continue working toward splitting the company by mid-2026 as it evaluates offers. Separately, the company yesterday raised prices for HBO Max streaming plans. Shares closed up 11%. |
Ballroom Bulldozing Begins |
The White House began demolition this week to prepare for its $250M, 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Parts of the East Wing's outer walls have been bulldozed, with staffers instructed not to take photographs at President Donald Trump’s request.
Trump announced plans for the White House Ballroom in July and aims to complete the project by the end of his term. The space is expected to seat up to 900 people—over four times the capacity of the East Room, the White House’s largest event space. Trump said he is privately funding the project alongside other donors. That reportedly includes corporate contributions from Apple, Amazon, Google, Palantir, and Coinbase, among others. The space will include gilded Corinthian columns, gold and crystal chandeliers, and a checkered marble floor. See renderings here.
As president, Trump has broad authority to make updates to the White House complex; construction is typically also overseen by federal agencies. See a history of White House renovation projects here. |
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In partnership with Miso Robotics |
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Elon Musk: 'Robots Will … Do Everything Better' |
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And it’s already happening.
Just look at fast food. Miso Robotics is already delivering an AI-powered fry-cooking robot named Flippy that can cook perfectly 24/7. With the restaurant industry dealing with 144% employee turnover rates and rising minimum wages, it’s no surprise that major brands like White Castle are turning to Miso. Now, after selling out the initial run of its first fully commercial robot in one week, Miso is scaling production to 100,000+ US fast food locations in need. That’s accelerated by a brand-new manufacturing partnership that joins established partners like NVIDIA, Amazon, and Uber AI.
And you can become an early-stage investor today. Just don’t wait. Invest in Miso before tomorrow, the final day to invest this year.* |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Hermès appoints Grace Wales Bonner as menswear division creative director, making her the first Black woman to lead design at major fashion house (More) | All US women's gymnasts advance to World Gymnastics Championships finals (More) |
> California earmarks $342M in tax credits to boost big-budget film production, with record $43.9M for "Jumanji" franchise (More) | Netflix secures rights to "Catan" board game universe, developing film and TV adaptations (More) |
> Chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, a former child prodigy credited with helping to popularize the game, dies at age 29; cause of death undisclosed as of this writing (More) |
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> OpenAI launches Atlas web browser built around its generative AI chatbot ChatGPT; product puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google Chrome and Perplexity AI's Comet browser (More) |
> Dust samples from the moon’s far side reveal debris from rare, water-rich meteorites, offering new clues into how the moon and Earth were first seeded with water (More) |
> Study of ultramarathon runners suggests biological limit to how many calories humans can burn over an extended period of time (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.0%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq -0.2%); Dow rises to new record (More) | Gold prices fall in biggest daily drop in more than a decade (More) |
> Netflix shares fall in after-hours trading after missing revenue and earnings estimates, partly due to Brazilian tax dispute; company still records best-ever quarter for ad sales (More) |
> Beyond Meat shares soar 146% after plant-based meat producer is added to meme exchange-traded fund, announces plans to expand distribution into Walmart stores (More) |
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> President Donald Trump shelves planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary following phone call between US and Russian diplomats (More) | Trump nominee to lead federal watchdog agency withdraws from consideration after offensive text messages are leaked, Republican senators pull support (More) |
> North Carolina's state Senate advances a new congressional map expected to provide Republicans with one additional House seat in the 2026 midterms; Republican-led state House is expected to approve the map this week (More) |
> Louvre heist loot is valued at $102M, per French public prosecutor; four unnamed suspects are under investigation (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
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In partnership with Miso Robotics |
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'One of the Largest Industries Ever' |
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That’s what NVIDIA’s CEO said about robotics. And he’s not alone. Ark Invest valued the industry at $24 trillion.
So it’s big that both NVIDIA and Amazon helped Miso Robotics perfect its new fully commercial kitchen AI robot. Initial units sold out in one week. Now, with 200K+ hours logged in live kitchens for brands like White Castle, Miso’s using a new manufacturing partnership to scale production across a $4B/year revenue opportunity. Invest before tomorrow, the final day to invest this year.* |
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> Explore the life and career of one of America's most famous investors, Warren Buffett, or learn about the amazing technology behind lasers. |
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Clickbait: UK woman plays clarinet during her brain surgery.
Historybook: Original Metropolitan Opera House opens in New York City (1883); Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine born (1917); Actress Annette Funicello born (1942); President John F. Kennedy alerts Americans to Cuban Missile Crisis (1962); Reggae artist Shaggy born (1968).
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"Our goal is not the victory of might but the vindication of right ... not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom here in this hemisphere, and we hope, around the world." |
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