☕ From rejection to Nobel

Why there may be a new law named for Katy Perry... [Advertisement] October 03, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [LiquidPiston]( Good morning. For anyone asking, it’s October 3. —Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Sam Klebanov, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 13,307.77 +0.67% S&P 4,288.39 +0.01% Dow 33,433.35 -0.22% 10-Year 4.691% +0.4 bps Bitcoin $27,511.98 -0.11% Sphere Ent. $41.29 +11.11% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( Markets: October got off to a spooky start for investors—even a last-minute deal over the weekend to keep the government open couldn’t stop stocks from [trending downward](. But it was a beautiful day for the company behind the Sphere, the new Las Vegas venue inaugurated by U2 over the weekend. It shot up yesterday as everyone watched clips of how cool the massive dome looks inside.  CRYPTO [SBF’s fraud trial starts today—here’s what to know]( [Sam Bankman-Fried leaves court]( Pacific Press/Getty Images The criminal trial of the crypto industry’s poster-boy-turned-pariah begins in New York City today, and its outcome could help shape the future of digital currency. Here’s what you can expect: Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to [seven counts]( of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded. But… - Federal prosecutors accuse him of using the now-bankrupt FTX to steal billions of dollars from customers and investors. - They say he used that money partly for real estate purchases and to plug losses at his risky crypto trading firm, Alameda Research…all while touting FTX as safe and buying endorsements from familiar faces like Tom Brady and Larry David. Prosecutors [plan to introduce]( 1,300 pieces of evidence, including financial records, text messages, and an audio recording from an internal meeting where Alameda CEO (and SBF’s ex-girlfriend) Caroline Ellison allegedly says Bankman-Fried signed off on pumping Alameda with FTX customer funds. Ellison and two FTX co-founders already pleaded guilty to fraud and will testify against their former leader. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried’s defense attorneys are expected to argue that he was just following the advice of FTX’s lawyers and didn’t have criminal intent. They’ll also likely try to pin blame on Ellison. Bankman-Fried has probably been advised not to testify, though he was [very talkative]( after FTX collapsed. If convicted on all counts, SBF could get 110 years in prison. He’s been in jail since August after the trial judge revoked his $250 million bail for alleged witness tampering: leaking Ellison’s diary entries to the New York Times. Before that, he was staying at the Palo Alto home of his parents (who are [being sued]( by FTX), where they got him a dog and planned to install a pickleball court. Looking ahead…the collapse of FTX intensified the government’s ongoing crackdown on crypto, [bringing heat]( to other exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. For now, if you can’t get enough of SBF’s meteoric rise and fall, Michael Lewis’s biography of SBF came out today with details like the crypto king considering a plan to offer Donald Trump $5 billion not to run for president.—ML For further reading, you can check out our deeper dive into the cast of characters involved in the trial [here](.   PRESENTED BY LIQUIDPISTON [Meet the minds engineering the future]( [LiquidPiston]( Your favorite father–son duo made what could be the engine innovation of the century. Now you have until Oct. 24 to [join their journey as a LiquidPiston shareholder](. Did you know: The company reached the key profitability milestone after their revenue soared 156% in 2022 and 62% in the first half of 2023. [LiquidPiston]( is now taking even bolder steps toward dominating the $400b combustion engine market. What’s next: They’re building on $30m in US government contracts. And they’ll continue to commercialize their 10x-more-powerful, hydrogen-capable engine right as several of the world’s largest car manufacturers shift to clean hydrogen power. Now or never: [Join 15k+ others as a LiquidPiston shareholder by the Oct. 24 deadline](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Donald Trump at his civil fraud trial in NYC]SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Trump trial kicks off. SBF won’t be the only one with a famous hairstyle standing accused of fraud in a New York courtroom this week. The trial in the New York attorney general’s [civil case]( against the former president began yesterday. The judge already found Trump liable for fraud for allegedly inflating the value of his real estate assets, but the trial will decide the remaining claims and any penalty (the AG is seeking $250 million). The case, which Trump has labeled a “witch hunt,” could shed light on how much money the ex-prez really has. The trial is expected to last through December and may involve hundreds of witnesses, starting with Trump’s accountant yesterday and potentially including Trump’s adult children. There’s no jury because, as the judge pointed out, neither side asked for one. Matt Gaetz tries to oust McCarthy as speaker. The government may still be open, but things among members of Congress remain as tense as between two teens who showed up to prom in the same dress. As he had previously promised, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, unhappy with fellow Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to work with Democrats to keep the government running, made a [motion to vacate](. The procedural move triggers a vote on whether McCarthy should remain the leader of the House within days. The vote would require a majority to boot McCarthy, and there are ways it could be averted. But if it does take place, McCarthy might need support from Democrats again to keep the top job. Microsoft’s CEO says Google has an unfair advantage. Testifying yesterday in the government’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella [said]( the search giant’s deals making it the default on Apple devices have helped lead to a ubiquity that makes it hard to create a true rival—even with AI. “Despite my enthusiasm that there is a new angle with AI, I worry a lot that this vicious cycle that I’m trapped in could get even more vicious,” Nadella said. The case against Google is the biggest tech anti-monopoly case since, well, the government tried to break up Microsoft 25 years ago. SCIENCE [Scientists win Nobel for mRNA work no one believed in]( [Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman]( Mark Makela/Getty Images Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman [received the Nobel Prize]( in physiology or medicine yesterday. You may not know their names, but you know their work: Their study of mRNA led to the development of the Covid-19 vaccine. For Karikó, the path to the Nobel was an uphill climb. Originally from Hungary, she joined the University of Pennsylvania as a research assistant professor in 1989 to study mRNA. Her grant proposals were [constantly rejected]( while the rest of the scientific community was slow to catch on to her groundbreaking research. She was never paid more than $60,000 a year. And it was only through a chance encounter at the photocopier that she began to work with Weissman, currently the director of the [Penn Institute for RNA Innovation](. The two collaborated for years before they made the discovery of a lifetime in 2005—that mRNA can be manipulated and injected into the body to activate an immune response. But it was to no applause: The major academic journals Science and Nature rejected their paper, which received little fanfare even after being published in a less prestigious journal. So, in 2013, Karikó left Penn for a job at BioNTech (of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine), where she still works today. And, of course, their breakthrough came in handy during the global pandemic. The genetic code that keeps on giving. Thanks largely to Karikó and Weissman, mRNA vaccine technology, has more potential than a first-round draft prospect. Moderna and BioNTech are working on mRNA vaccines for RSV, HIV, Zika, malaria, shingles, flu, and cancer.—CC   TOGETHER WITH BOSE [Bose]( Turn it UP . There’s nothing like the feeling when your favorite song comes on. Turn your listening experience up to 11 with [Bose]( QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. With premium noise cancellation, immersive audio, and a comfortable design, your music will feel more real than ever. Say less—and start listening. [Learn more](. REAL ESTATE [Why there’s a proposed law named after Katy Perry]( [Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom]( Karwai Tang/WireImage Taylor Swift may have turbocharged the US economy with her tour, but Katy Perry inadvertently inspired a campaign to amend the nation’s real estate laws. The Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years (PERRY) Act, soon to be introduced in several states, would give home-sellers aged 75+ up to 72 hours to [change their mind]( about parting ways with a personal residence, Semafor reports. - It stems from a lawsuit that went to trial last week against the Queen of Camp and her fiancé, Orlando Bloom. - The suit was filed by Carl Westcott, the octogenarian who founded 1-800-FLOWERS decades ago and father-in-law of Real Housewife Kameron Westcott. Golden Coast drama Westcott, who suffers from a rare neurodegenerative disease, agreed to sell his Santa Barbara mansion to the celebrity couple for $14.2 million in 2020 but then [tried to renege]( on the sale a few days later. He claims that when he signed the paperwork, his judgment was clouded by post-surgery painkillers he was taking. Strangely, this isn’t the first real estate lawsuit involving Katy Perry and senior citizens: A few years ago, the singer [won a case]( against elderly nuns over her attempt to purchase a former convent. Zoom out: Wescott’s family now wants the PERRY Act passed, and they say [37 elected officials]( nationwide are on board.—SK   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Wheat growing from dirt with worms in it]Francis Scialabba Stat: We always assumed that worms’ greatest contribution to our diets was being the perfect shape for gummy candy, but a [new study]( published in Nature Communications found that earthworms help produce 140 million metric tons of food per year by making soil more fertile. That’s more than the 120 million metric tons Russia expects to produce this year and would make the creepy crawlers the [fourth largest global producer]( if they were a country, according to The Guardian. The slimy guys contribute to 6.5% of the world’s grain harvests and 2.3% of legumes, the study said. Quote: “Hi, I’m Jay Powell, I’m the chair of the Federal Reserve.” Hoping to, erm, raise interest in a whole new way, the Fed has joined the [Gram](. The central bank posted its first Reel yesterday featuring the chair. In an effort to educate the public, the Fed will also make content for the two or three folks still checking [Threads](. The two [new accounts]( bring the total number of social media platforms where you can follow the Fed up to seven, including Facebook, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. It’s not on TikTok yet, but we’re looking forward to seeing JPow’s POV any day now. Read: Why your $7 latte is $7. ([Vox]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [MrBeast]( will advertise his Feastables chocolate bars in a patch on the Charlotte Hornets’ jerseys in the NBA’s first tie-up with an influencer. - [The WHO]( approved a second malaria vaccine for children. It was developed by the University of Oxford and can be made cheaply and quickly—a big advance for combating the deadly disease. - [Birkenstock]( is targeting a $9.2 billion valuation in its upcoming IPO. Not bad for a sandal so grounded it brought Barbie to the real world. - [Paris Hilton]( has made a revenue-sharing deal to create content for X as the platform tries to push video and live shopping content. The news has X CEO Linda Yaccarino using #sliving, the catchphrase Hilton has been trying to make happen for years. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Watch: How [commercials]( got so absurd. Find your light: Get luminous vibes from this [map of lighthouses](. Listen: AI helps you imagine a world where the original singers cover [Weird Al parodies](. Rewrite the rules: This [video]( offers an original take on the game Guess Who? Read: “You don’t need to be smarter than others to outperform them if you can [out-position them]( James Clear’s new book, Clear Thinking, is available today—[get your copy now]( Save up to $50k on travel: For 12 hours only, get[Dollar Flight Club’s lifetime membership]( for a one-time payment of $129 (normally $1,690). Fly round-trip to Paris or London from $228. [Seriously]( *A message from our sponsor. +This content is from an editorial partner. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Do you know the gem that’s sometimes given the “tooth test” for authenticity? If so, you’ll be well on your way to solving today’s Mini. [Play it here](. Mean Girls trivia On Oct. 3, we do Mean Girls trivia ([this scene]( is what our newsletter intro referred to, for anyone confused). We’ll give you an incomplete quote from one of the most quotable movies of all time, and you have to fill in the blank. - “On Wednesdays, we wear ____.” - “We should totally just stab ____.” - “Is butter a ___?” - “Irregardless, ex-boyfriends are off-limits to friends. That’s just, like, the rules of ______.” - “Don’t have sex. Because you will get pregnant and ___.” - “____ ____, I love your work!” 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=4904f90a]( ANSWER - Pink - Caesar - Carb - Feminism - Die - Danny DeVito Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: luminous, meaning “shining or glowing with light.” Thanks to Marianne from Maine for brightening our day with the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From LiquidPiston This is a paid advertisement for LiquidPiston’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.liquidpiston.com](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and Sam Klebanov Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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