| |
| Here are our top stories today: - Israel formed a wartime government as it prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza
- California became the fourth U.S. state to pass an electronics right-to-repair law this year
- Polls indicate that Australians will reject a proposal to give indigenous peoples greater political representation
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Your faithful IDB writer, Daniel
p/Dan-Smith | |
| 1 | | Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed an emergency government with opposition parties as the country's armed forces prepare for a ground invasion of Gaza. Israel said that the death toll in Saturday's Hamas attack has topped 1,200 and that the Islamist militant group is still holding roughly 150 people hostage in Gaza. More: - The unity government includes Netanyahu's top rival, Benny Gantz, as part of a wartime cabinet.
- Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Gaza for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday.
- Palestinian authorities said the airstrikes have killed at least 1,100 people and that over 5,500 have been wounded.
- Hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed and the strip's only power station has run out of fuel due to Israel's blockade, forcing residents to rely on generators for electricity.
Zoom Out: - Israeli soldiers have been fighting Palestinian militants along the Israel-Lebanon border for four days.
- Israel bombed several Lebanese towns on Wednesday in response to a rocket attack from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamist group that is committed to the destruction of Israel.
|     | |
| 2 | | ExxonMobil stock dropped 4% after the oil and gas giant said it plans to buy shale oil developer Pioneer Natural Resources for $60B. 
What the numbers say: The deal, which will be the largest energy industry acquisition in 20 years, values Pioneer at a 7% premium to its closing market value of $55.4B on Tuesday. Exxon's last major deal was its $75B merger with Mobil in the late 1990s. Exxon generated a record annual profit of $55.7B in 2022. Relevance: The deal shows that Exxon is committed to U.S. oil production despite federal efforts to decarbonize the country's economy. JPMorgan said that ~45% of Exxon's oil barrels will be sourced from the U.S. following the acquisition. What's next: Exxon and Pioneer said they expect the deal to close in the first half of 2024. Anti-trust regulators could block the acquisition, however, with the Biden administration taking a more aggressive stance against major mergers than previous governments. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Cord. |  | | Deprioritized: Your users. Again. Features like in-app commenting, notifications, and live chat don’t belong in your backlog. These are the things that make good products great. The features that drive acquisition, retention, and expansion. Just look at Figma. And Notion. And Airtable. But, alas. Every quarter, they’re deprioritized. Why? Over-crowded roadmap? Lack of in-house know-how? Companies like monday.com, BILL, and ThoughtSpot found a shortcut: Cord’s SDK. Yep, a stellar UX - the one you (and your customers…) have been dreaming of - in just a few lines of code. Get started now, and get $2,500 in credits. Get started | |
|
| 3 | | Republican lawmakers in North Carolina passed laws weakening the governor's ability to oversee elections on Tuesday. The GOP supermajorities in the North Carolina House and Senate overturned five vetoes by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, two of which pertained to election legislation. More: - One law will scrap the governor's authority to appoint the State Board of Elections to the state legislature.
- Another will end the three-day grace period for absentee ballots that are postmarked by election day.
- Under an omnibus law that was also passed on Tuesday, absentee ballots must be received by county election offices by 7:30 p.m. on election day in order to be counted.
- The legislation allows for partisan poll observers and will make it more difficult for voters to register and cast a ballot within the 17-day early in-person voting period in North Carolina.
Zoom Out: - Critics say that the laws are part of a GOP effort to take control of the political machinery governing elections in the state.
- The Democratic National Committee and state Democratic Party have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new election laws.
| | | |
| 4 | | GOOD NEWS: California Governor Gavin Newsom enacted an electronics right-to-repair law this week, making California the fourth U.S. state to introduce such legislation this year. Under the law, electronics manufacturers must produce repair tools, parts, software, and documentation for at least seven years after manufacturing a device that costs more than $100. More: - Devices that are cheaper than $100 must have repair materials available for three years.
- Right-to-repair advocates say the new law will help consumers save money while protecting the environment by making technological devices last longer.
- The law applies to electronics produced and sold after July 1, 2021.
- There are some exceptions for video game consoles and home alarm systems.
- More than 30 states are considering right to repair legislation this year.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Bigly Sales. |  | | Unlock the Power of Data and AI with BiglySales.com! BiglySales.com is your online solution for finding your perfect customers. Our data solutions provide email and cellphone data of your ideal customer profile, allowing you to segment by industry, title, company size, location/ZIP code, sentiment, home size, and income. Take your outreach to the next level with our AI Emailer. It sends thousands of individually customized messages, explaining why your service is the ideal choice for your target and their company. Plus, our AI technology offers message optimization, autoresponders, appointment scheduling, bulk texting, power dialing, and AI landing pages. Don't miss out on connecting with your ideal customers—visit BiglySales.com today! Join Today | |
|
| 5 | | Finland said that damage done to a subsea gas pipeline and telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea could have been caused deliberately. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO members are sharing information and that the military alliance will take action if it is proven that the damage was the result of an attack. More: - The pipeline and cable connect Finland to Estonia.
- Finland joined NATO in April of this year, whereas Estonia has been a member since 2004.
- Finnish authorities said that only people with "special knowledge" would have been able to orchestrate such an attack.
- A Norwegian seismology institute said there was a "probable explosion" near the pipeline on Sunday but clarified that it did not have enough data to confirm that a blast actually occurred.
- The Finnish government said the damage could cause higher fuel costs in Finland this winter since the repairs could take months.
Zoom Out: - Over a year ago, an attack on the Nord Stream pipeline, also in the Baltic Sea, was widely seen as an act of deliberate sabotage.
| | | |
| 6 | | Polls show that Australians will likely vote against plans to increase Indigenous political representation in a referendum that concludes on Saturday. If approved, the proposal will amend Australia's constitution to create an Indigenous Voice in the country's parliament. More: - Proponents argue that the Voice ― an advisory body that would be selected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples ― will give marginalized Indigenous groups more of a say on health, housing, and education policies.
- Polls found that a majority of Australians supported the creation of the Voice when it was first proposed after the Labour Party won a majority in parliament last year.
- Support for the Voice did not surpass 35% in two recent polls, however, with more than 50% of respondents rejecting the proposal.
Zoom Out: - Indigenous Australians make up 3.8% of the country's population.
- The Australian government has historically neglected Indigenous peoples, many of whom live in poverty.
| | | |
| 7 | | QUICK HITS - Unlock your perfect customers using BiglySales.com's data solutions and AI emailer.*
- House GOP members have nominated Rep. Steve Scalise as the Republican nominee to replace Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. Scalise will need the support of at least 217 representatives to become speaker ― the GOP has 221 seats, versus 212 for the Democrats.
- Former FTX executive Caroline Ellison testified in the trial against Sam Bankman-Fried this week. Ellison, who was a close lieutenant to Bankman-Fried, claimed that he directed her to commit crimes.
- Google is looking to move on from passwords by encouraging users to use passkeys ― which can be a fingerprint or facial scan ― to log into their accounts.
- Federal prosecutors charged Rep. George Santos with defrauding campaign donors and lying to the Federal Election Committee.
- monday.com and BILL drove acquisition, engagement, and retention by adding Cord's SDK to their product. You can, too.*
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
| |
INSIDE DAILY BRIEF LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
Term of the Day Accredited investor: Individuals who are eligible to invest in early-stage startups are known as accredited investors. Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? Join the conversation Today's Knowledge Hub Is Brought To You By Symon.AI - The All-in-One Data Tool for Startups. Start your free trial here.* |
| Upcoming Events | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | | OCT
30 | | Discover the latest digital experience innovations, updates, and breakthroughs at Opticon Online.* | | | | | | | NOV
17 | | Join the Docker AI/ML Hackathon to help shape the exciting new frontier of AI and have a chance to win cool prizes!* | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
 | Writer | | Dr. Daniel Smith is an Inside writer with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow him on Twitter @DJS12321 or email him at Daniel@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
| |
 | Cord powers comments & notifications in products like monday.com and ThoughtSpot. Get $2500 off now. | |
|
| |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment