☕ Ancient scrolls

The Fyre Festival of airplane parts... [Advertisement] October 13, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Boka]( Good morning. Breaking overnight: Ahead of an expected ground offensive in its war against Hamas, Israel’s military has ordered 1+ million civilians in the northern half of Gaza to [evacuate]( and move south for their protection within the next 24 hours. The UN says it “strongly appealed” the evacuation call, warning it could lead to “a calamitous situation.” —Neal Freyman, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Matty Merritt, Adam Epstein MARKETS Nasdaq 13,574.22 -0.63% S&P 4,349.61 -0.62% Dow 33,631.14 -0.51% 10-Year 4.700% +13.6 bps Bitcoin $26,790.00 -0.23% Walgreens $24.19 +7.04% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 9:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stop us if you’ve heard this before. Stocks dropped yesterday as fresh inflation data [renewed fears]( that the Fed will keep rates higher for longer. The Consumer Price Index in September held steady at 3.7%—still a ways off from the Fed’s 2% target for inflation. News was better for Walgreens, whose shares jumped 7% after the pharmacy giant reported smaller losses and [showed progress]( in its plan to cut costs.  GEOPOLITICS [US, Qatar block Iran from accessing $6b]( [Tehran, Iran skyline]( Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images Last month, the US agreed to free up $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenue in exchange for the release of five Americans who were imprisoned in Iran. But following Hamas’s terror attack in Israel, Iran will [not be able]( to tap into those funds. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats yesterday that the $6 billion “isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” Punchbowl News [reported](. The money is currently sitting in a restricted bank account in Qatar, which agreed with the US to block Iran from accessing it. The Biden administration had come under bipartisan pressure to halt the disbursement of the $6 billion due to Iran’s longstanding backing of Hamas, which the US and EU deem a terrorist group. Iran spends $100 million a year supporting Hamas with weapons, military training, and logistics assistance, according to the US. Whether Iran was directly involved in the massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis last Saturday remains unclear. On Sunday, the WSJ [wrote]( that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack and gave the final sign-off. But few other news organizations corroborated that report, and a more [recent investigation]( by the NYT claims that Iran was just as surprised as anyone else. Looking ahead…the Iranian government will not be pleased with the US for not fulfilling its side of the bargain, regardless of whether the hold is temporary or permanent. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who traveled to Tel Aviv yesterday, did not seem bothered. He said Iran hasn’t accessed any of the funds so far and the US has “the right to freeze them.” Other updates from the Israel-Hamas war - In a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said that Israel has an “obligation” to defend itself, but added, “How Israel does this matters.” He urged Netanyahu “to take every possible precaution” to avoid civilian casualties. - In Gaza, desperate residents [expressed]( [hopelessness]( with nowhere to escape the roughly 6,000 bombs the Israeli Air Force has dropped so far on the territory, killing at least 1,537 Palestinians. The UN’s World Food Program warned that food and water are “quickly running out” amid a siege by Israel, which said its blockade of critical supplies such as electricity and fuel will not be lifted until the hostages are freed.   WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Rep. Steve Scalise]Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Scalise withdraws as Speaker candidate. In a time of geopolitical crisis, the House of Representatives remains unable to function after Republican Rep. Steve Scalise [removed his name]( from contention to become the Speaker of the House. He couldn’t gain enough support from backers of challenger Rep. Jim Jordan, who has been endorsed by hardline Republicans and former President Trump. It’s unclear where the fractured GOP goes from here, with no Speaker candidate seemingly able to capture the 217 votes needed, but they will hold a meeting today to discuss next steps. SAG strike talks broke down. Just when you thought you’d see a new season of Abbott Elementary shoot before Christmas, the AMPTP, which represents the major Hollywood studios, said negotiations with the actors union were [suspended](. Studio execs claim that SAG’s proposed profit split would cost them “more than $800 million per year,” which the actors’ union countered, saying the studios wrongly inflated that price tag by 60% and are using “bully tactics” in negotiations. Another major hangup: the use of AI to replace actors. AMC CEO Adam Aron was blackmailed. A catfish [demanded]( hundreds of thousands of dollars from Aron after he sent sexually explicit images and texts. Instead of paying up, Aron, who’s affectionately known as “The Silverback” among AMC fans and investors, went to the FBI, who tracked down the woman behind the attempted scam. While it’s not against any corporate rules to sext, the ordeal represents another bump in Aron’s recent history of questionable judgment, which has included not wearing pants in a 2021 interview and pivoting to NFTs. PRESENTED BY BOKA [Just what the doctor ordered]( [Boka]( Still using conventional toothpaste? No shame in your dental game—but you should know there’s a better way to brush. Boka is shedding light on the dental industry’s best-kept secret, [nano-hydroxyapatite (n-Ha)](. Stay with us here: n-Ha is a form of calcium found in the top two layers of our teeth. It fortifies enamel, which plays a critical role in reducing sensitivity. And now Boka’s bringing n-Ha straight to you with their [n-Ha toothpaste]( which remineralizes those crucial tooth layers with every use. Boka comes in some seriously cool flavors, too, like Lemon Lavender, Coco Ginger, and limited-edition White Cranberry. (Don’t worry, they’ve got classic mint options for the toothpaste traditionalists.) [Make the switch]( and see what your mouth has been missing. Take 20% off your order with code BOKABREW (limit 1 per customer). TRAVEL [Airplane parts are having their Fyre Fest moment]( [An airplane with cardboard wings]( Francis Scialabba Every major US airline and several others have discovered fraudulent engine components in their planes, and a former part-time DJ may be to blame. AOG Technics—a London-based airplane parts distributor founded by amateur entrepreneur/disc-spinner Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala—has been providing the makers of the world’s most widely-used aircraft engine with [bogus components]( like turbine blades, and falsifying safety documents for years, according to Bloomberg. The parts haven’t caused any flight emergencies, but… - At least 126 affected engines have been identified, while airlines and maintenance shops are still combing through their inventories. - Replacing the fake pieces could cost up to $300,000 per engine, on top of the revenue lost by grounding the faulty planes. How did one distributor fool a whole industry? AOG forged signatures and faked more than 90 safety certificates to sell used components labeled as brand-new, regulators and executives said. An FAA-endorsed quality-assurance firm even accredited the company. But Zamora Yrala now appears to have been operating a house of cards: AOG’s office address is just a rented mail drop, and now-deleted LinkedIn profiles for “AOG executives” were reportedly fabricated using stock images.—ML   TECH [AI finds the word ‘purple’ in ancient unopened scroll]( [Ancient scroll from Herculaneum]( University of Kentucky While you were singing “Pompeii” by Bastille at karaoke, two computer science students discovered a word inside a 2,000-year-old scroll scorched by the eruption of Vesuvius. The discovery marks the biggest breakthrough yet in the [Vesuvius Challenge]( a competition to decipher the scrolls from ancient Herculaneum without damaging them. Yesterday, the competition announced two people used AI to independently uncover the Greek word “porphyras,” meaning “purple”—and papyrologists are simply thrilled. The Vesuvius Challenge offers prizes as high as $700,000 for contestants who can find letters or text in the scrolls. Given that the scrolls are more fragile than a New York Jets fan, you can’t touch them, so the work of [reading the ancient text]( is quite high-tech: - University of Kentucky professor Brent Seales, who started the project, [made 3D scans of the scrolls]( using a particle accelerator. - Contestants take the mapped scrolls and apply machine learning models to study and identify impressions in the papyrus paper. Seales has been studying ancient scrolls for years, but this project didn’t really erupt until Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross funded $1 million in prizes.—CC   TOGETHER WITH NATROL [Natrol]( Rest assured . [Natrol Melatonin Gummies]( help reset your natural sleep cycle so you can fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.†They’re also made with clean ingredients and are 100% drug-free. Ready to wake up refreshed? [Shop now at Natrol.com](. GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [A Costco storefront]VIEW Press/Getty Images Stat: As if $4 T-shirts or $5 for an entire rotisserie chicken weren’t enough to convince you Costco is a magical place, a new book on the secrets of the membership-only retailer reveals all sorts of [astonishing facts]( about its effect on global shopping. According to The Joy of Costco by David and Susan Schwartz, the company sells half of the world’s cashews. It also sells 700% more hot dogs annually than all Major League Baseball stadiums combined. The Schwartzes, who are married and lifelong Costco obsessives, said company executives initially didn’t want them to write the book, but then had a [change of heart]( and gave the couple VIP access, including a secret about the club’s pumpkin pie that they vow to take to the grave. Quote: “We’re going to let them break most of our policies to celebrate as much as possible.” You can’t stop the Swifties, you can only hope to contain them. That’s movie theaters’ strategy for this weekend’s debut of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which has already generated more than $100 million in advance ticket sales. Alamo Drafthouse is [suspending]( its strict no-talking policy to allow theatergoers to sing along, Chaya Rosenthal, the chain’s vice president of marketing, said. Alamo’s not the only one: Marcus Theatres wants Swifties to pretend they’re [at a concert]( (as long as they don’t stand on the seats). “We hope it won’t get out of hand,” president Gregory Marcus said. Read: Operation Warp Speed: the untold story of the Covid-19 vaccine. ([Vanity Fair]( QUIZ [No news quiz today](#) We have decided not to run a news quiz today given the awful events of this week. It’ll return in more peaceful times. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Microsoft’s]( $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was given the green light by Britain’s competition watchdog, paving the way for the deal to close. - [Delta]( profits rose 60% in the third quarter after a summer of high travel demand, which the airline expects to continue this fall. - [NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission]( is scheduled to launch today on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. It will take the spacecraft nearly six years to reach the asteroid before it can study its metallic properties. - [The FDA]( banned sales of Vuse’s menthol e-cigarettes, arguing the company failed to prove that the product’s benefit to adult smokers outweighed its risks to kids. - [Antisemitic incidents]( in the UK have quadrupled since Hamas’s attack on Israel, according to the British charity Community Security Trust. RECS [Friday to-do list] Listen: The CIA has an [official podcast]( so now you can pretend to be an international spy while commuting to your nine-to-five desk job. Feast: Tomato soup from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, mint juleps from The Great Gatsby, and more [recipes inspired by famous books](. Watch, if you dare: With the miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher hitting Netflix this week, here are the 10 best [Edgar Allan Poe adaptations](. Learn: Don't miss our free “How to Build Your Own App (no coding skills required)” class next week with founder and Bossy co-host Tara Reed. Learn to build an app with simplified technology and create a plan for success. [Register today](.  Good vibes only: Rock both your worlds with [Tenuto 2]( the only doctor-recommended FDA Class II vibrator clinically proven to combat ED—and designed for powerful, 2-person pleasure. Save 25% during their [Early Black Friday sale]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Picdoku: Whether you’re a chewer or a licker, you’ll enjoy today’s ice cream-themed Picdoku. [Play it here](. Friday puzzle Below are two columns containing the numbers 1–9. The left hand column adds to 21, and the right one adds to 24. Move a single card so that the two columns add to the same total. [Image of the quiz with numbers and squares] 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 One solution is to turn 9 upside down to make 6. Other answers include: putting the 1 on top of the 5, putting the 3 on the 9, or the 5 on the 7. [Source](. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: omnishambles, meaning “a situation that is bad in many different ways.” Thanks to Chloe from Vancouver and many others for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✳︎ A Note From Natrol This product is helpful for occasional sleeplessness†. ^Nielsen, xAOC, 52 weeks ending 7/29/23, Sleep Aid Supplements. †These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Adam Epstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Matty Merritt]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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