👋 Hello there,
Welcome to another edition of the Stellar Recap, a weekly newsletter where I share interesting content you may have missed over the week. This issue features 95 bullets.
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📊 Business, Economics & Personal Finance
~1 in 3 Super Bowl commercials were food and beverage ads. Because the game went into overtime last Sun., CBS likely made another $60M from ad revenue on top of the ~$635M from standard commercial spots.
~16.1M US workers were expected to take last Mon. off due to an illness, which is common after Super Bowl Sunday.
Sales at US restaurants are projected to rise from ~$997B in 2023 to $1.1T in 2024 or ~$3B/day or $125M/hr. However, just 27% of operators anticipate higher profits this year.
Cocoa prices have increased 65% YoY due to intense rains and black pod disease in West Africa, where 70% of all cocoa is produced. As of Feb. 9, cocoa prices were $5.9K per metric ton.
The spot price for bitcoin topped $50K last Tue. for the first time since Dec. 2021.
There’s a new dating app for people with credit scores of 675+. The app is called Score and it will only run for ~90 days.
13.6% of the Japanese labor force was aged 65+ in 2021, the highest share of all OECD countries.
>4.6K job cuts since May 2023 have been attributed to AI, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
There were ~87.2M head of cattle in the US at the start of 2024, down 1.6M YoY and the fewest cows on record of any Jan. head count going back to 1951. In other words, you can expect higher beef prices at the grocery store.
From Q1 2019 to Q3 2023, weekly wage gains for Black Americans have outpaced those for white people (8% vs. 0%) but wealth inequality has deepened. White wealth jumped to $112.8T from $87.5T during that period; Hispanic wealth rose to $3.1T from $2.6T; Black wealth fell to $4.6T from $4.7T.
~64K romance scams were reported to the FTC in 2023, with total losses totaling $1.14B. The median loss per victim was $2K, which was the same as last year but >2x the amount in 2019 ($959/victim).
130K+ Uber and Lyft drivers and DoorDash delivery workers in 10 US cities went on strike last Wed. from 11am-1pm to protest wages. Uber drivers’ monthly average take-home earnings have fallen 17%, according to gig data provider Gridwise. ~15% of Lyft drivers in the US earned <70% of what riders paid.
Communication is the most in-demand job skill for the 2nd year in a row, according to LinkedIn.
Pork production has risen 25% over the past 20 yrs but consumption has fallen 9%. The average American farmer faced an estimated loss of ~$32 for every hog sold last year.
150M people have either sent or received money through GoFundMe (🔒Chron Philanthropy) since 2010. Crowdfunding campaigns have generated $30B over that period.
Japan fell from the 3rd to the 4th largest economy in the world in 2023. New data showed that Japan’s nominal GDP grew 5.7% to $4.2T based on the average exchange rate in 2023.
Gaming companies led by all-male founders raised $400M in VC funding in Q1-Q3 2023 while those led by women raised $1.6M.
The SEC approved a merger between Donald Trump’s website Truth Social and Trump Media (🔒WP). Trump will hold 78M+ shares in the post-merger company, which at the current price would be worth ~$4B. But Trump was also just fined $354M in a civil business fraud trial in NY last Fri. If the decision holds up on appeal, it’ll cost Trump between 13%-18% of his wealth.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon received a 24% pay bump for 2023 (🔒Bloomberg), bringing his total compensation to $31M which is a bigger increase than any other CEO of a major US bank whose salary has been revealed. Part of the raise probably had to do with Solomon’s pay falling by ~30% the year before amid low profits, but the bank just reported a 24% drop in profit for last year too.
The number of workers who walked off the job surged by 141% last year from 2022. This was mainly due to 4 big strikes: Kaiser Permanente, United Auto Workers, actors and writers, and LA school workers.
New survey data showed that the tooth fairy paid an average of $6.23/tooth in 2023 (🔒WSJ), up from $5.36/tooth in 2022.
🧘 Health, Healthcare & Safety
A new study suggests that the Ebola vaccine is associated with a lower risk of death even when a person received the vaccine when they were already infected with the virus.
South Asians are at greater risk of developing heart disease than white people and they tend to get complications at younger ages. A new study suggests it’s because South Asians have lower levels of certain stem cells that are critical in regenerating blood vessels.
New survey data shows that 53% of US Veterans store guns unsafely which is defined as loaded and not secured; loaded and secured; or unloaded but with ammunition available and not secured.
From 2008-2016, ~$12M in federal research awards were granted to study pediatric firearm mortality each year or ~$600/death compared with ~$26K/death for motor vehicle crashes and ~$195.5K/death for pediatric cancer.
A new study suggests that climate change is increasing the prevalence of 2 air pollutants most harmful to human health (PM2.5 and tropospheric ozone). The population exposed to "dangerous" days on the air quality index is likely to grow by ~13% to 11.2M between 2024 and 2054.
High levels of air pollution can alter brain chemistry and new findings from China suggest that bringing down the level of particulate matter prevented tens of thousands of suicides there.
An analysis of ~1.5K proteins in blood samples from 50K+ adults found that high levels of 4 proteins are associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. For some people who developed dementia, blood levels of these proteins were outside normal ranges 10+ yrs before the onset of symptoms.
~1 in 12 US adults have unpaid medical bills of at least $250, with people in the South and rural areas reporting the greatest burden of medical debt. Collectively, people in the US owe ~$220B in medical debt. South Dakota had the highest average share of adults with medical debt from 2019-2021 (17.7%) while Hawaii had the lowest (2.3%).
The CDC is reportedly considering dropping its 5-day Covid isolation recommendation (🔒WP) and will instead advise that people who test positive for Covid use clinical symptoms to determine when to end isolation. Specifically, people would no longer need to stay home if they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hrs without the aid of medication and their symptoms are mild and improving.
New CDC data showed that Lyme disease cases in the US rose by 69% in 2022 compared with average cases in 2017-2019. The sharp increase is likely due to a new surveillance method for the disease and not a change in risk.
All about cholesterol: The latest science on how blood levels of HDL, LDL, and more relate to cardiovascular health.
A North Carolina board decided that its health plan for ~750K state employees would no longer cover GLP-1s for weight loss. Spending on the drugs would have topped $170M this year.
Of the 16% of US adults who lived alone in 2021, 6.4% self-reported symptoms of depression, compared to 4.1% of those who lived with others, according to 2021 NHIS data. The largest disparity by age group was among those 45-64, of which 9% of those who lived alone reported depressive feelings compared to 3.9% of those who lived with others.
Colorado state lawmakers introduced a bill that removes residency requirements and shortens the waiting period from 15 days to 48 hrs for patients who are seeking prescriptions for life-ending drugs.
During testimony, a VA official said that ~250K Veterans are at risk of being prescribed medicine they’re allergic to or that would interact poorly with their existing medications because of issues with the VA’s new electronic health records system.
A new survey showed that 47% of US healthcare workers witnessed patient discrimination in their facilities. At hospitals with a majority of Black patients, 70% of workers said they witnessed discrimination against patients based on their race or ethnicity. For hospitals with mostly Latino patients, that figure was 61%.
US drug prices saw a median increase of 4.7% in Jan. The hike was spread across ~900 medications.
~288.8K patients submitted disputes to the federal system to handle surprise bills between providers and insurers. That was 13x greater than what was expected for a full calendar year.
🎓 Lifelong Learning
How to find that song that’s stuck in your head, according to Popular Science.
Overcoming toxic positivity with Susan David (36 min. podcast) - “Urging people to be positive doesn’t boost their resilience. It denies their reality.”
A new look at our linguistic roots (the Proto-Indo European language). The primary theory is that the 1st speakers were nomadic herders in the steppes of Ukraine ~6K yrs ago. This theory is attractive because Indo-European languages have several common words that would be important to people who moved around a lot (e.g., axle; wheel). Another theory suggests that this language can be traced back 8K-9K yrs and emerged in Anatolia (modern Turkiye).
5 things you may not know about Black American Sign Language.
The most common key for women who sang “The Star Spangled Banner” before a US sporting event was F sharp, with 20 performances. The most common key for men was B flat, with 12 performances.
New findings suggest that the earliest account of kissing was etched into the Barton Cylinder, a clay tablet that dates to ~2400 BC (🔒NYT). The object was unearthed in the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur in 1899. In the earliest passages, kissing was described in relation to erotic acts and smooching outside of marriage was discouraged.
Should ‘for richer or poorer’ apply to our friendships? (11 min. podcast)
🌴 Lifestyle & Travel
The best time to book cheap airfare for every vacation season (🔒), according to WP.
🗳️ Politics, Security & International Affairs
Egypt threatened to suspend its 45 year peace treaty with Israel (🔒Bloomberg) if Israeli troops push into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1M+ Palestinians are sheltering.
Singapore’s Islamic council ruled that lab-cultivated meat can be considered halal under specific conditions including safety and alignment with the religious principle of avoiding harm and promoting public welfare.
In 2023, 186 drivers were caught going 10+ mph over the speed limit more than 100 times (🔒Bloomberg), compared with 4 such drivers in 2020. Those 186 drivers owed ~$11.1K each in unpaid parking tickets.
71% of US voters said that, on the issues that matter to them, their side in politics has been losing more often than winning, up 15 pts since early 2020. Democrats are more positive than Republicans about their political standing.
Israel will need to borrow ~$58B (~28K/household) this year to fund its war in Gaza (🔒Bloomberg). That's 3x+ the size of its budget deficit in 2022.
House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last Tue. for his alleged mishandling of the southern border. Mayorkas is the 1st sitting cabinet member in US history to be impeached. Bipartisan legal scholars say his actions do not constitute “high crimes and misdemeanors” required for a conviction and many observers argue the impeachment attempt itself is unconstitutional. The charges are likely to be rejected in the Senate.
Indonesians elected Prabowo Subianto (🔒NYT), whose campaign used photos of a younger-looking AI version of himself and deepfake videos of long-deceased dictator Suharto "endorsing" him.
A new Monmouth poll showed that 1 in 5 Americans believe Taylor Swift is part of a covert effort to help President Joe Biden win the 2024 election.
As of Feb. 7, 407 AI bills have been introduced in 43 states, with 211 introduced in the past month.
Greece became the 1st Orthodox Christian nation and the 35th country in the world to legalize same sex marriage.
US spy agencies are deeply concerned that Russia is planning to put a nuclear weapon into space (🔒NYT) that would lurk as a time bomb in low orbit. This would enable Russia to destroy thousands of satellites that keep the world connected. It could destroy economies without targeting humans on Earth.
⏩ Pop Culture, Art, Sports & Entertainment
The man who shattered the world marathon record in Chicago last year, Kelvin Kiptum, died in a car accident in Kenya last Sun. along with his coach. He was 24 yrs old.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22. The Chiefs are the 1st team in ~20 yrs to win back-to-back Super Bowls and this is their 3rd Super Bowl victory in the last 5 yrs. The East and West were almost neatly split in search interests for Chiefs vs 49ers hours before kickoff. An average of ~123.4M viewers watched the game across all platforms, making it the most-watched broadcast in TV history.
23 teams have won the Super Bowl at least once. The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are on top with 6 championships each. 12 teams have never won.
The music industry made an estimated $150K-$1M+ each time that a song was played during a Super Bowl commercial. Most commercials feature older hits over more recent music.
In 1998, the year before The Matrix premiered, 557 babies were named Trinity. By 2004, this number had increased to 5,729.
Country music streaming grew 24% YoY through Q3 2023 and songs by Morgan Wallen accounted for ~33% of the growth.
Beyoncé’s new country song “Texas Hold ‘Em” racked up 4.5M+ streams on Spotify within the first day or two of its release.
🏡 Real Estate
A recent investigation revealed that Google co-founder Larry Page owns at least 5 private islands, including Cayo Norte near Puerto Rico (which cost $32M), 1 Fiji island, 2 US Virgin Islands, and 1 British Virgin Island.
The typical value of US homes with Black owners ($291K) is 18% less than those with white owners ($354K), according to data from Zillow.
There were >250 home sales that were $1M+ in Pensacola, FL in 2023 (🔒WSJ), up 220% from 2019.
Pine Key, aka Beer Can Island, will be auctioned to the highest bidder next month. The listing price is $14.2M.
Property investors snapped up 26.1% of low-priced homes that were for sale in Q4 2023, according to Redfin. Single-family homes accounted for >66% of investors' purchases. Investors' overall home buying dropped 10.5% to ~46.4K.
🌎 Society
Massachusetts is the most educated state in the country while West Virginia is the least educated, according to WalletHub.
How 14 land-grant colleges took 8.2M acres from 123 Indigenous nations.
The average amount of time that American men spent socializing face to face has fallen by 30% from 2003-2022 (🔒The Atlantic). Among teens that’s fallen >45%.
How occupations skew heavily toward one gender or race (🔒WSJ).
A new report by SHRM and BGI found that jobs in finance, legal, and tech fields are among those most exposed to the effects of a new wave of generative AI technologies.
A report by GLAAD found that 17% of gamers identify as LGBTQ (🔒NYT) but <2% of console games have LGBTQ characters.
A WP poll showed widespread agreement among Americans on what it means to be middle class (🔒) but only 35% of US adults have the financial security to meet the top 6 markers.
A Canadian woman aged 35 would’ve had ~20 living cousins in 1950, while a woman the same age would’ve had ~10 living cousins in 2020. By 2095, a Canadian woman aged 35 is projected to have just 5 living cousins.
🧪 Science, Climate, Environment & Technology
A UN analysis of ~1.2K migratory species found that >20% are threatened with extinction and 44% are showing population declines. "The situation is far worse in aquatic ecosystems," with 97% of Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)-listed migratory fish at risk of extinction.
New data showed that single-use plastic is the most prevalent material polluting US national parks and federal lands for the 2nd year in a row.
New satellite-based research showed that the East Coast is sinking (🔒NYT) and a major culprit is the overpumping of groundwater.
According to a Nature analysis of English-language journals, 17K+ retraction notices for papers published by co-authors in China have been issued since 2021. The Chinese government is now requiring all universities to declare all their retractions and launch investigations into misconduct cases.
The nonprofit AI research lab at Cohere released an open-source large language model that can accept prompts and generate text in 100+ languages.
A new study found that the ice-free period has increased by 3 weeks between 1979 and 2015 in Western Manitoba, which is causing polar bears to starve. Even if they come across food, bears can be too exhausted to eat.
Preliminary results from a survey of 5 Florida Keys coral reefs showed that <22% of the ~1.5K staghorn coral are still alive. Only the 2 most northern reefs examined, Carysfort Reef and Horseshoe Reef, had any living staghorn coral.
Researchers created a calcium-oxygen battery that works at room temperature and is rechargeable for 700 cycles.
OpenAI unveiled sample videos generated by a new AI tool called Sora, which can "generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background." Sora isn’t publicly available yet due to safety issues like misinformation, hateful content, and bias.
A new study suggests that 10%-47% of the Amazon rainforest could reach a tipping point by 2050 (🔒Reuters). "Once we cross this tipping point, maybe we cannot do anything anymore."
Ice cover on the Great Lakes is at a record low for mid-Feb. Lakes Erie and Ontario are tied with historic lows, while Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron are at record-low levels of ice.
Several US employers are using an AI-powered app called Aware to analyze and monitor messages across Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other platforms.
A survey of >71K individuals in 67 countries found that, on average, people rated their trust in scientists 3.62 out of 5.
Wishing you a good week
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