🌊 The Rise of the Giant Rat Cop

New milestone on Instagram: 1.5M followers. THANK YOU!

Although we’ve expanded to an app and YouTube, the Instagram and this newsletter hold a special place in our hearts since they’ve been with us since our August 25, 2020 start. Back then, our only followers and readers were our friends, aunts and uncles, and a few emails we found on Craigslist (kidding — we wish we had them).

Slowly but surely — thanks to you all and the millions of others who support our mission — we’ve managed to grow into a legitimate (can hear the scoffs from here, dad) news outlet. We don’t take these milestones for granted. Thank you.

Link to 20 Questions.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

China’s Lost Billionaires

China has lost a third of its billionaires since 2021, per a newly-released “rich list”

• According to Hurun, a consultancy, the number of Chinese billionaires has shrunk for an “unprecedented” three consecutive years. Since peaking at 1,185 in 2021, the number has declined 36% to 753

• While the “billionaire” figure measures dollar billionaires and can therefore reflect changes in currency valuations, rather than real wealth, the drop has significantly exceeded the decline in value of China’s currency, which has totaled 10% since 2021

• The figures reflect a broader decline in the value of Chinese stocks, real estate, and other assets as China’s economy struggles

Dig Deeper

• This year’s richest Chinese billionaire is Zhang Yiming, head of TikTok-owner ByteDance. With a net worth of $49B, he became China’s richest person for the first time by dethroning a bottled water-billionaire who topped the list for the last three years but was accused of being “pro-Japan”

KEY STORY

Rise of the Rat Cop

Giant African rats are being trained to detect illegal wildlife products

• According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science, African giant pouched rats – which grow to almost one meter in length – have proven successful at sniffing out contraband like rhino horns, elephant tusks, and pangolin scales in ports and warehouses

• The rats – which are up to one meter long – learn to "nose poke" into holes containing target scents, then are taught to ignore common masking odors like coffee beans and washing powder

Dig Deeper

• The rats have proven as effective as dogs at remembering smells months after their last exposure. Each one costs $7,000-$8,000 to train, significantly less than electronic inspection technologies

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KEY STORY

Trump’s Head Hunters

Potential Trump appointees are being vetted by prominent figures including:

• Howard Lutnick, who led a financial company that had 658 employees killed on 9/11;

• The Texas agriculture commissioner, who believes in curbing forever chemicals and that food stamps should not be allowed to pay for ultra-processed foods;

• Elon Musk, who has promised to cut $2T from government spending;

• And venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, who is reportedly under consideration to potentially run the FDA

Dig Deeper

• These figures are both advising Trump on policy and vetting potential appointees, ranging from lower level to top positions

• Other advisers include prominent Wall Street investors John Paulson and Scott Bessent, both of whom are considered potential Trump treasury secretaries, and RFK Jr., who has said that Trump has promised him “control” of key health agencies

KEY STORY

Air Force Overpay

A Defense Department investigation found that the Air Force significantly overpaid for various C-17 Globemaster parts it purchased from Boeing

• The investigation – launched after a whistleblower complaint – found that the Air Force overpaid for at least a quarter of the 46 parts examined

• The investigation uncovered nearly $1M in wasted taxpayer money, including a payment of $150,000 for 26 soap dispensers, or $5,710 per dispenser. The exact version of the dispensers sell for $71 on Amazon

• Boeing rebuked the report and said that standard versions of the parts wouldn’t meet C-17 standards

Dig Deeper

• A Defense Department official said that the Air Force “needs to… [stop] overpaying for spare parts for the remainder of this contract [with Boeing], which continues through 2031”

• A Boeing spokesperson rebuked the investigation: “We are reviewing the report, which appears to be based on an inapt comparison of the prices paid for parts that meet aircraft and contract specifications and designs versus basic commercial items that would not be qualified or approved for use on the C-17”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇰🇵 North Korea launched its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to date, achieving a record flight time of 86 minutes

🇺🇸 A Republican-controlled US House panel is recommending criminal charges against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over his handling of the pandemic. Cuomo denounced the move as a politically motivated "MAGA exercise"

🇺🇸 Biden administration officials have proposed a deal to end Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon before the election

🚗 Ford announced it would idle the Michigan plant that makes its battery-powered truck, the F-150 Lightning. The plant was a focus of the company’s EV push

🖥️ OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT search, an AI-powered search platform that will challenge Google’s search engine dominance

🇬🇪 Young Thug (Jeffrey Williams) accepted a plea deal that let him walk free

COMMUNITY

🧐 Yesterday’s question: Do you think President Biden’s quote — in which he allegedly called Trump supporters “garbage” — will impact the election?

Community
20 Questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

Happy day after Halloween. As you emerge from your sugar coma and walk through a minefield of candy wrappers on the floor like they're booby traps (whoops! just stepped on a candy corn), let's do some 20 Questions. We trust you want as much diversion as possible ahead of the election in four days, so we made this one as random as possible. Have a great weekend!

Here is the link.

Last Week’s Responses

Averages to last week’s Halloween-themed “This or That” edition of 20 Questions.

Monster Mash - 50.9%
Thriller - 49.1%

The Exorcist - 65.5%
Get Out - 34.5%

Grimace - 57.5%
Australian breakdancer - 42.5%

Banana bread - 57.2%
Pumpkin bread - 42.8%

Apple cider - 76%
Pumpkin spice latte - 24%

Haunted house - 36.1%
Pumpkin patch - 63.9%

Candy corn - 52.3%
No candy corn - 47.7%

I’ve put up Halloween decorations - 42.2%
I haven’t put up Halloween decorations - 57.8%

Skittles - 21.5%
M&Ms - 78.5%

What’s scarier?
Legacy news media - 85%
Vampires - 15%

Carving pumpkins - 67.8%
Making gingerbread houses - 32.2%

Buying a costume - 34.6%
Making a costume - 65.4%

Three Musketeers - 29.8%
Milky Way - 70.2%

Eating candy on Halloween - 25.5%
Eating candy the day after - 74.5%

Sour Patch Kids - 51%
Sour gummy worms - 49%

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🇺🇸 Son of the Year Award: An Arizona man was arrested for keeping his deceased father's body in a freezer for four years and moving it around the state, allegedly to maintain access to their family home

🐕 It Pays to be a Dog: A two-year-old Cane Corso mastiff named Mist is earning $1,000+ monthly after becoming a TikTok sensation by impersonating a human

🚑 You Had to Steal That Car?: A woman stole a New Orleans ambulance with two EMTs and a patient inside, driving it 2.6 miles across the city before being stopped and arrested

🇦🇺 I Thought He Was Pretty: An Australian provincial member of parliament was fined over $100,000 for likening a government executive to Jabba the Hutt

🚦 I’m (Legally) Walking Here: New York City has officially legalized jaywalking, allowing pedestrians to cross streets outside of crosswalks and against traffic signals

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

On the Putin fining Google for restricting Russian media on YouTube story, Joaquin from Chicago wrote in this: “Fun fact: if Google were to stack Putin's fine in $100 bills, it would reach 2.325 quadrillion light years high, which is 2,500 times the length of the known universe! (you can fact check me with ChatGPT :) )”

So for all of you who lost sleep last night wondering just how that stack might be, there’s your answer. Have a great weekend!

–Max and Max