☕ Extraordinary measures

How the US plans to avert a default...for now January 20, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [The Ascent]( Good morning. It’s a winter Friday, and you know what that means: Work three hours of unpaid overtime, get takeout for dinner and it’s somehow $72, watch four episodes of the glass blowing reality show, and find yourself Googling “ted mosby based on real guy?” at 2am. Only eight more weeks until spring… —Matty Merritt, Max Knoblauch, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 10,852.27 -0.96% S&P 3,898.85 -0.76% Dow 33,044.56 -0.76% 10-Year 3.400% +2.6 bps Bitcoin $21,064.56 +1.74% Oil $80.80 +0.59% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Remember the stock rally to start 2023? Yeah, us neither. The Dow and S&P fell for the [third straight day]( over concerns that—what else?—the Fed will keep hiking interest rates. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard didn’t calm any nerves by saying that central bankers “are determined to stay the course” until inflation is back at their 2% target.  FILM [Alec {NAME} will be charged in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting]( [Alec {NAME}]( Mega/Getty Images Prosecutors announced yesterday that actor Alec {NAME} and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be charged with [involuntary manslaughter]( for the on-set shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza in 2021. The charge, filed in New Mexico, is a fourth-degree felony, which means that {NAME} and Gutierrez-Reed could face up to 18 months behind bars and a $5,000 fine. But prosecutors also tacked on a provision that could result in five years of prison time because a gun was involved. {NAME}’s attorney responded, “This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice…we will fight these charges, and we will win.” {NAME} also sued crew members including Gutierrez-Reed and Rust assistant director David Halls in November, alleging they were negligent in handing him the gun. How we got here During a rehearsal for the movie Rust in October 2021, {NAME}’s gun—which was pointed at Hutchins—fired live ammunition and killed her. {NAME} has repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, saying that he had started to cock the gun and released the hammer. Gun experts have been hesitant to support {NAME}’s claim, arguing that would be essentially impossible. So, how did this happen? Investigators for the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department haven’t released information on how live ammunition ended up on a film set, but a separate investigation by the state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau found that firearm procedures on the set were lax. The agency fined Rust’s production company the maximum amount ($137,000) for not following proper safety precautions. - The report also [uncovered]( emails and texts that producers sent to Gutierrez-Reed urging her to spend less time on her gun-handling and training tasks to make time for her other props duties. - Two firearm misfires five days before the fatal shooting went ignored by Rust management, per the report. Big picture: The tragedy on the Rust set renewed long-standing safety concerns in the film industry over fatal prop gun mishaps on sets, as well as the minimal training required to become a firearms specialist for film and TV.—MM �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH THE ASCENT [Get in line or lose your spot]( [The Ascent]( Even though there are thousands lining up in anticipation, *you* might be able to sign up with just a few clicks. It’s for this [top cash-back card](, which offers up to 5% cash back and a 0% intro APR on purchases + balance transfers until 2024. Want some more perks? Here ya go: [This card]( has no annual fee—which makes it a pretty sweet deal if you ask us. [Line up + sign up for this card here](. WORLD Tour de headlines [Reed Hastings]Picture Alliance/Getty Images Reed Hastings pulls a Bezos and a Gates. After more than 20 years at the helm of Netflix, Hastings is [giving up]( his co-CEO role and becoming executive chairman, the company announced yesterday. An OG, Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and grew the Blockbuster-destroying DVD rental company into an entertainment giant that disrupted Hollywood. How’s that going now, you ask? In its earnings report released yesterday, Netflix revealed it [smashed subscriber targets]( in Q4. SCOTUS leaker remains a mystery. Eight months into its investigation, the Supreme Court said it still [can’t find]( the culprit behind the leak of its draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. That bombshell leak was unprecedented—never in the court’s history had an opinion been made public before it issued its ruling—and rattled confidence in the institution. Investigators are still following a few loose strands, but they don’t sound particularly confident their efforts will turn up anything. France rocked by protests. More than 1 million French people [protested]( President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial plan to raise the country’s minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 yesterday. Many workers also went on strike, resulting in the closing of schools and the cancellation of transit routes and flights. But the battle over the retirement age is just getting started, as major French unions announced a second day of strikes on January 31. Macron says lifting the retirement age is necessary to keep the country’s pension fund from drying up. ECONOMY [Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures]( [Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before the House Finance Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building November 4, 2015. She is wearing a purple blazer and in the act of removing her glasses from her face.]( Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images As the US [crashed]( into the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling yesterday, the Treasury Department began taking what it called “extraordinary measures” to prevent the government from defaulting on its debts and sparking an economic crisis. What does that actually mean? These measures are a series of deep-cut [accounting moves]( that allow the Treasury to continue making its payments. They include: - Suspending reinvestments into government funds for retired federal employees, such as the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. - Selling existing investments in those funds to free up more outstanding debt. And while these measures definitely aren’t ordinary…they probably aren’t so “extra,” either. The Treasury has resorted to them more than 12 times since 1985, including during the last debt-ceiling standoff in 2021. Still, these steps amount to chugging water after eating a ghost pepper—the pain will return. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her extraordinary measures will last through early June, giving lawmakers about five months to work out a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Big picture: The US has never defaulted on its debt, but even the threat of it could be disastrous. The country’s first credit downgrade in history came during a debt-ceiling showdown in 2011.—NF �  �  �  RETAIL [Amazon isn’t smiling anymore]( [Amazon boxes]( Kevin Hagen/Getty Images With the sheepish energy of someone requesting a refund from the Girl Scouts because their Thin Mints box is dented, Amazon on Wednesday announced that it will [shutter]( its charitable donation program, AmazonSmile, by Feb. 20. AmazonSmile was launched in 2013 and donated 0.5% of eligible purchases to a charity of a customer’s choice. As of the end of December, the program had doled out about $449 million to a wide variety of charities over its existence. Still, Amazon claims AmazonSmile hasn’t been as impactful as it originally hoped. The sheer number of charities in the program (1+ million globally) spread its donations too thin, the company wrote in an email to customers. The move is yet another entry in a string of measures the tech giant has taken in recent weeks to cut costs after a pandemic hiring spree doubled its global workforce to over 1.6 million. Those other cost cuts: Amazon announced this month that it would lay off more than 18,000 workers in what likely is the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history. Amazon has also called it quits on riskier business ventures like its telehealth service and a video chat projector for kids.—MK �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH DELL [Dell]( The best of both worlds. Pair the perks of public and private cloud computing with hybrid cloud solutions—protecting your data, controlling costs, and minimizing risk. Learn more about Dell Technologies products and solutions, powered by Intel® at [delltechnologies.com](. For more information, [contact a Dell Technologies Advisor](. GRAB BAG Key performance indicators [A basketball rim attached to the Eiffel Tower]Francis Scialabba Stat: The Chicago Bulls [played]( an NBA game in Paris yesterday for the first time since Michael Jordan came to town in 1997. Since then, the league has seen an explosion in international players. In 1997, there were 29 international players on opening day rosters; this season there are 120 from 41 countries, accounting for about one-third of all players. And they’re among the best in the NBA—two international players (Serbia’s Nikola Jokić and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo) won the last four MVP awards. Quote: “Everything is on the table.” Could FTX be resurrected? [Maybe](, according to its new CEO. John J. Ray III, in his first interview since taking over the company, told the WSJ that he created a task force to explore the possibility of reviving the bankrupt crypto exchange, and if they find that it makes sense, “we’ll do it.” FTX’s maligned token FTT, which was at the center of its epic blow-up, spiked more than 30% after Ray’s comments were published. Read: Fake meat was supposed to save the world. It became just another fad. ([Businessweek]() QUIZ [Quiz me thru the phone]( [Weekly news quiz]( The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to never reading about the debt ceiling again. It’s that satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. NEWS What else is brewing - [David Crosby](, of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and other bands, died at 81. - [Instagram]( is debuting a Quiet Mode that lets you pause notifications. - [LIV Golf](, the Saudi-backed PGA Tour competitor, inked its first broadcast rights deal with CW Network. - [WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon]( reached a settlement with an ex-wrestling referee who accused him of rape in 1986, per the WSJ. - [US mortgage rates]( fell to their lowest level since September. BREW'S BETS Experience leather better: This guy on TikTok [reviews purses]( by destroying them. New Wordle spinoff dropped: It’s a [great game for movie fanatics](. Cinematic locations: Here are the [most filmed locations]( in every state. What the smish? Phishing attacks are now invading our text messages. Here’s how [IT departments can fight back](. This season’s hottest trend: It’s tax season, and it’s all about education. Learn everything you need to know about filing + maxing those refunds on [The Money with Katie Show](, presented by TaxAct. [Listen here](.* *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES The puzzle section Jigsaw: Our virtual jigsaw has all of the puzzling with none of the cleanup. [Play it here](. Friday puzzle What row of numbers comes next? 1 11 21 1211 111221 312211 AROUND THE BREW [2023 Resolution Trackers]( [Resolution Trackers]( Those resolutions aren’t going to keep track of themselves. Our 2023 Resolution Trackers are built to help you organize your life—whether it’s forming new habits or getting a handle on your spending. [Shop now](. On Business Casual, Zillow CEO Rich Barton offers solutions to the housing crisis and gives his POV on the future of real estate. [Listen here](. What do electric vehicles, AI, and semiconductors have in common? They’re all covered in the Emerging Tech Brew newsletter. [Subscribe for free](. McDonald’s branding is iconic, but what’s in the secret sauce? The company’s VP of Marketing shared the recipe at [The Brief](. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER 13112221. This is a pretty diabolical set of integers known as the “[Look-and-say sequence](.” To get the next number in the sequence, you read off the digits of the previous item. For instance, “1” is “one one” so the next item is “11.” From that comes “two ones,” so you write down “21” and so on. So, to get the next term in the sequence above, it would be “one three, one one, two twos, two ones.” � � � � � Written by [Neal Freyman](, [Matty Merritt](, and [Max Knoblauch]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Take The Brew to work - Marketers: [Marketing Brew](  [Future Social]( - Corporate: [CFO Brew](  [HR Brew]( - Tech: [IT Brew](  [Emerging Tech Brew]( - Retailers: [Retail Brew]( - Healthcare: [Healthcare Brew]( Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money Scoop](  [Money With Katie]( Business education without the BS - Programs in [Business Essentials](, [Analytics](, and [Leadership]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2023 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011