đ Space for Europe
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Europe set a timeline for its next big rocket launch. The much-delayed Ariane-6 project is expected to lift off in mid-2024 and will put the continentâs space program back on the map.
Meta deleted a network of 4,800 accounts it said were created to sow political division in the US. The fake profiles were linked to someone in China, Meta said.
The United Nationsâ atomic chief backed nuclear power at COP28. Rafael Mariano Grossi said a major nuclear agreement was likely to come out of the meeting in Dubai.
General Motors said that EV profitability is around the bend. The US carmaker predicts that by 2025, the vehicles will be profitable; Right now, every sale is a loss.
The US drugmaker AbbVie is betting $10 billion on new cancer treatments. A deal to acquire drug developer ImmunoGen would expand its portfolio as profits from its autoimmune disease treatment Humira are waning.
What will be the fate of crypto celebs?
Believe it or not, thereâs something Cristiano Ronaldo, Gisele BĂźndchen, and Larry David all have in common.
The celebrities are all facing lawsuits for endorsing cryptocurrency. While BĂźndchen and David were caught in FTXâs crosshairs, Ronaldo was just hit with a lawsuit seeking at least $1 billion for his partnership with Binance, which has turned out to be far from the easy win he had hoped. The Al-Nassr captainâs influence was likely significantâthe lawsuit alleges a 500% increase in searches for the cryptocurrency exchange because of Ronaldoâs promotion.
But will he really have to cough up the money? If the past is precedent, then the answer is pretty clear.
The đâs and đâs of Kissingerâs foreign moves
Despite his dismissal of the anti-war movement and disdain for women, scholar-turned-diplomat-turned-advisor Henry Kissinger lived most of his life as a celebrated figure among the rich and powerful in the US. For the rest of the world, not so much.
đ Kissinger masterminded a âsecret war,â illegally carpet bombing both Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War.
đ He facilitated Richard Nixonâs February 1972 visit to China and meeting with Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong, ending nearly 25 years of diplomatic isolation between the US and China.
đ In December 1975, Kissinger and Ford agreed to turn a blind eye to president Suharto of Indonesiaâs invasion of East Timor. More than 100,000 East Timorese died during the Indonesian occupation through October 1999.
Read the rest of the ups and downs of Kissingerâs foreign policy as identified by Quartzâs Ananya Bhattacharya.
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Surprising discoveries
Professional sailing just saw its biggest deal ever. Investors poured more than $40 million into the US team of the international competition SailGP.
Mortadella is having a renaissance in the US. Exports of the Italian specialty grew to 1,200 tons in 2022, up from 786 in 2019.
McDonaldâs has spent the last seven years overhauling its burger. The signature item is about to get juicierâand the Hamburglar is coming back.
A library in California lets you check out taxidermy animals. A huge feathered turkey for your living room? No problem.
A rare rat the size of a newborn baby has finally been caught on camera. The vika usually only comes out at night, which, now, is when we will decidedly not be coming out.
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, mortadella sandwiches, and Hamburglar iconography to [email protected]. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.