Good morning. It's Friday, Dec. 20, and we're covering the government shutdown deadline today, the conclusion of France's mass rape trial, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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Government Shutdown Deadline |
The House of Representatives last night voted down a stopgap funding bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump, pushing negotiations into the final 24 hours before tonight’s midnight deadline. The vote came after Trump opposed a bipartisan continuing resolution featuring add-on bills.
Thirty-eight Republicans joined Democrats to vote 235 to 174 against the president-elect’s new plan. The proposed resolution tied three months of stopgap funding to a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling and included aid to farmers as well as $100B in disaster aid. The plan's announcement followed Trump’s calls earlier in the day for the permanent repeal of the debt ceiling, a century-old rule capping how much the Treasury can borrow. The US debt has risen to roughly $36T after the ceiling was suspended from June 2023; that suspension expires January 1, 2025.
A federal government shutdown would furlough millions of workers, though essential services like the military and air traffic control would stay open (see 101). |
Dominique Pelicot was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday for the drugging and rape of his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot. The judgment caps a nearly four-month public trial likened to France's #MeToo moment.
Dominique and Gisèle, both of whom are 72 years old, had been married for 50 years when police revealed Dominique had drugged and sexually assaulted Gisèle from 2011 to 2020. Dominique had also invited at least 50 other men to participate and admitted to placing anti-anxiety medication in Gisèle's food to facilitate the assaults. The men, between the ages of 26 and 74, were each convicted of at least one charge yesterday, with sentences ranging from three to 15 years in prison.
Gisèle opted for a public trial to shed light on the issue of sexual consent in France. The decision to waive anonymity propelled Gisèle into the spotlight, with many heralding her as a hero. Watch her post-trial reception here. |
A machine learning program was able to meet or outperform professional tasters in identifying whiskey notes, according to a new study. The demonstration marks a milestone in sensory perception using artificial intelligence.
Data analysts tested their program on 16 whiskey samples (seven American, nine Scotch) previously categorized by 11 human experts. The program—using statistical models and neural networks—identified molecules in each whiskey and used them to predict the sample's top five flavor notes. Researchers compared these findings against the top five flavor notes aggregated from human experts’ descriptions.
This type of analysis has historically been challenging; while some chemical mixtures—like vanillin—are directly associated with a specific aroma, others—like whiskey—can rely on over 40 compounds. Notably, the program found molecules like menthol and citronellol unique to the American whiskeys and associated with “caramel-like” notes. Methyl decanoate and heptanoic acid, unique to Scotch whiskeys, were more likely to be associated with apple-like or solvent-like notes. Read the full study here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> 2024 College Football Playoff begins tonight with No. 7 Notre Dame taking on No. 10 Indiana (8 pm ET, ABC/ESPN); see first-round schedule and predictions (More) |
> Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto to depart after 28 years; Cavuto was with the cable news network since its inception in 1996 (More) |
> Slim Dunlap, singer-songwriter and The Replacements guitarist, dies at 73 (More) | Megan Thee Stallion files petition for a restraining order against rapper Tory Lanez, alleging harassment by Lanez from prison; Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan in 2020 (More) |
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> Google releases test version of its reasoning AI model; company says it displays high-level comprehension of complex problems in math, physics, coding, and more (More) |
> James Webb Space Telescope detects supermassive black hole dating to 800 million years after the start of the universe; object is 400 million times the size of the Sun but has become nearly dormant (More) |
> Bioengineers develop bacteria that eat carbon dioxide, can convert the carbon from common chimney smoke into precursors for new chemical products (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow +0.0%, Nasdaq -0.1%); Dow narrowly ends longest losing streak in 50 years (More) | Chipmaker Micron shares close down 16% on weaker-than-expected guidance in steepest drop since March 2020 (More) |
> US economy grew at 3.1% annualized pace in Q3, stronger than previously estimated (More) | US existing home sales rose 6.1% year-over-year in November, the biggest annual gain since 2021; median home price is $406K, up 4.7% from a year ago (More) |
> Amazon workers strike across seven US delivery facilities over labor contract; locations include four in California and one each in New York, Georgia, and Illinois (More) |
💥 Startups, crypto, and where dollars come from: We have a full slate of fascinating topics coming up in the new year—sign up for 1440 Business & Finance to get each deep dive in your inbox, every week. Click here to join! |
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In partnership with FinanceBuzz |
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> Georgia appeals court removes District Attorney Fani Willis from state's stalled 2020 election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump; court cites "appearance of impropriety" given Willis' romantic relationship with the special prosecutor (More) | See timeline of the case (More) |
> Federal Aviation Administration temporarily bans use of low-flying drones in 21 New Jersey towns, including near power substations, military installations, and airports; order authorizes use of government force to shoot down drones and is in effect until Jan. 17 (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
> Food and Drug Administration updates 30-year definition of "healthy" packaged foods; rule sets limit on the amount of sugar that can be included, requires one or more of the following: fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy, or protein (More) |
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> Depression in Fatherhood
MIT Press Reader | James Rilling. Roughly 10% of fathers of newborns experience depression, twice the baseline among US men. What prompts such a steep increase? (Read)
> Purchase Guilt
Life Kit | Marielle Segarra. Should you buy that thing? Experts weigh in with practical advice to consider during shopping season. (Listen) |
> Millionaire Plumbers
The Hustle | Staff. Many family-run plumbing businesses provide a reliable income for decades, with some transforming into sprawling empires. What catalyzed the massive shift? (Watch)
> Metamorphic Rocks, Emissaries from Alien Realms
Aeon | Marcia Bjornerud. An examination of metamorphic rocks, which travel upward from the hidden bowels of the Earth. (Read) |
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