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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2023

Good Morning! On this date in 1791, Virginia ratified the Bill of Rights, the 10th of 14 states to do so, enough to formally enact them as the first ten amendments to the new U.S. Constitution. (See Image)

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Congress Passes Record Defense Bill

The House and Senate approved a record-high $886 billion defense policy bill, up 3% from last year. It includes a 5.2% pay raise for troops, the biggest pay boost in decades.

The bill passed in the Senate 87-13 and the House 310-118, despite concerns from some GOP members that the bill keeps intact Pentagon “social-engineering” policies, such as abortion access.

Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was “disappointed” the House didn't get all it wanted but that the bill was “a good compromise.”

Wisconsin Trades Diversity for Cash

The Wisconsin Board of Regents reversed itself and approved a state GOP deal for $800 million in university funding in exchange for freezing new hires of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) officers.

Additionally, 43 existing DEI jobs will be reclassified to new positions, and campuses will have to eliminate statements supporting “diversity” on student applications.

The state legislature refused to approve the $800 million budget increase for pay raises and capitol improvements without the DEI deal. The Board of Regents initially turned it down but reversed the decision in a surprise vote Wednesday.

Mickey Mouse Losing Copyright Protection

After 95 years, the original version of Mickey Mouse is finally losing copyright protection and entering the public domain, where anyone can use the character as long as it doesn’t appear to come from Disney.

Mickey’s first appearance was in the primitive 1928 cartoon “Steamboat Willie,” and that’s the only version that’s entering the public domain — the sweet, hapless Mickey from the 1930s on is still protected.

Another character that recently entered the public domain is Winnie the Pooh. He and Piglet were immediately reimagined as bloodthirsty villains in the slasher film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.”

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➤ The Senate canceled its recess next week and will stay in session to try and forge a deal on border control and funding for Ukraine. The House will be in recess. (More)

➤ A top Hamas leader has called for attacks on America and Britain in retaliation for the war in Gaza. The FBI has issued warnings of potential terrorist attacks in the U.S. (More)

➤ Only 25% of Michigan Democrats say they’re enthusiastic about President Biden as their presidential nominee, according to a new AP-NORC poll. For the state GOP, 45% say they’re enthusiastic about Donald Trump as the nominee. (More)

➤ Two men were indicted in Montana for killing 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, for feathers and other parts to sell on the black market, a federal crime. (More)

➤ The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo set a franchise record by scoring 64 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers, but a ruckus broke out afterward over who would get to keep the game ball. (See Video)

➤ The SEC released its 2024 football schedule on Wednesday, offering the first look at how the competition will shape up now that it’s expanded to a 16-team league that includes Oklahoma and Texas. (See Schedule)

➤ The University of Colorado is creating a new elective to study how Deion Sanders handles his celebrity on top of coaching the UC football team. The class is called “Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership.” (More)

Market Report 12/14/23

▲	NASDAQ Natl. Assoc. of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations	14,761.56	+0.19%
▲	SPX S&P 500	4,719.55	+0.26%
▲	DJI Dow Jones Industrial Average	37,248.28	+0.42%
▲	BTC Bitcoin	$43,081.0	+0.37%
▼	APLS Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	$52.18	-17.02%

➤ Big Stock Move: Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock dropped 17% today after the company said European regulators were likely to reject Syfovre, its eye disease treatment. (More)

➤ GM is laying off nearly a quarter of employees working on its self-driving Cruise business after firing nine of the division’s executives. The robo-taxis are under investigation after a vehicle dragged a woman 20 feet. (More)

➤ The top-ranked Google search word for what things cost this year was “eggs” across all 50 states. It’s the first year that the same item has topped price-check searches in each state. (More)

➤ Russian President Vladimir Putin came face to face with an AI-generated “deepfake” version of himself during his annual press conference. Fake Putin asked Real Putin his thoughts on artificial intelligence. (See Video)

➤ New 3D images of the human tongue reveal that every person’s tongue has a unique pattern of taste buds and texture, distinct enough that scientists could identify each person by their tongue. (See Illustration)

➤ Scientists discovered the first known stream of stars stretching between galaxies while searching for dark matter. The gigantic “stellar stream” is ten times longer than the Milky Way. (See Images)

➤ A small-town bar in Northern Ireland has produced a heart-warming Christmas commercial about kindness that’s gone viral worldwide. (See Ad)

➤ An Oklahoma man strung his house with Christmas lights and then saw that the homes of his neighbors, many of them elderly, remained in darkness. So he got their permission to light up every house on the street. (See Video)

➤ A mailman saved a toddler who escaped his daycare center and wandered toward a busy street. The postman scooped him up and called the police. “I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said. (See Video)

➤ First Lady Jill Biden posted a polarizing White House Christmas video that drew cheers and jeers from millions for its elaborately dressed dancers performing their interpretation of “The Nutcracker.” (See Video)

➤ A bull trotting down the tracks of a Newark, New Jersey transit station delayed travel for up to 45 minutes until the “livestock alert” ended with the animal captured in a fenced lot. (See Video)

➤ A photographer who tried for four years to get the perfect shot of a sunrise through the Dorset Door arches finally succeeded in capturing the iconic shot, known as a “sunstar.” (See Photo)

What's the best animated Christmas special?

Thursday's Results:

Should TikTok be banned?

Yes: 89%
No: 11%

Daily Quote

“This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic.”

— Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke University's Center for the Study of Public Domain on Mickey losing full copyright protection.

Today's Trivia

What was the first state to join the U.S. after the original 13 colonies?

Show me the answer

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