Did you know that...?

I. Did you know that the legal question in West Virginia v. EPA had little to do with the climate change debate. The debate surrounded the authority of regulatory agencies. None of this is to say the policy the agency seeks to pursue is unwise or should not be pursued. It is only to say that the agency seeks to resolve for itself the sort of question normally reserved for Congress.

II. Did you know that, after her resignation last October, Liz Truss has become the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the United Kingdom’s history? She was on the job for around 45 days, having been appointed by HM Elizabeth II just two days before the former monarch’s death. Unfortunately, she resigned amid the political and financial crisis driven by her economic agenda. She was succeeded by Rishi Sunak; the fifth British PM to be in office over the last 6 years (David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak) 

III. Did you know that the United States Department of Justice is conducting an antitrust investigation involving the PGA Tour, the United States Golf Association, the PGA of America, and Augusta National Golf Club? The suit filed by the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit alleges that these golf bodies have engaged in anti-competitive activities by discouraging professional golfers from joining the new tour and punishing those who defected. 

IV. Did you know that Porsche went public with a debuting IPO of €75.2B? There were an initial 911 million shares, in a nod to the manufacturer’s most iconic model, the Porsche 911. After roughly two months on the market, Porsche has overtaken Volkswagen, Porsche’s parent company, as Europe’s most valuable car manufacturer. 

V. Did you know that Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has fallen under investigation for gun purchase crimes, tax violations, foreign lobbying violations, and various other crimes? After the laptop of the President’s son was left with a computer repairman, John Paul Mac Issac, in New Jersey, there were many calls to investigate Biden. After months of investigation, it has been revealed that Hunter Biden is suspected to have lied while applying for a gun permit. This, along with the many incriminating photos, videos, emails, and text messages left on the laptop have proven to be invaluable to building a case against the President’s son. There is a great deal of evidence on the laptop that points towards Hunter benefiting from his father’s position as Vice President, and possibly sharing that profit with Joe Biden, a clear violation of the Emoluments Clause.

VI. Did you know it costs 6x as much to start a business in India as it does in the U.S.?

VII. Did you know that a female employee working for McDonald’s came up with the name of the famous burger, the “Big Mac”? Esther Glickstein Rose, who was 21 at the time, worked as a secretary for the company’s advertising department in 1967. The executives did not take the name seriously initially, but the public took to it quickly. McDonald’s did not officially recognize that Rose came up with the name until 1985.

VIII. Did you know only 18 out of 1 million Lego pieces are defective? The molds at the manufacturing plant at Lego are so precise and effective that just 18 out of 1 million are found to be defective. That's out of the 20 billion pieces that are manufactured every year!

IX. Did you know that as P&G executes their expansion on diversity and inclusion, they have implemented the “Men Have Skin Too” movement in their Old Spice products. These multiple lines of skin care include science-backed formulas that target skin types of multiple cultures. P&G is using premium ingredients that work to moisturize skin. Since Old Spice is a trusted brand by many people, these diversity efforts have been a big hit among their consumers. The products are currently growing between 30% and 50%. The advertising of this campaign uses humor to bring light to the topic and their media coverage has had 250 million views and over 250,000 likes and comments.

X. Did you know that the OECD estimates that the Russian Invasion of Ukraine will cost the global economy around $2.8 trillion by the end of 2023? The hefty price comes mainly from military spending, defense, all kinds of damages, energy rationing, shortages, and the impact on the supply chain.

XI. Did you know that Morocco is the first African and Arab national soccer team to reach the semi-finals of the Soccer World Cup in 2022? They were able to defeat Canada and Belgium during the Group phase, then eliminate Spain in the Round of 16 and Portugal in the Quarterfinals. They lost to France in the semi-finals round. 

XII. Did you know that small businesses have generated over 65% of the net new jobs since 1995.

XIII. Did you know that following the emergence of advanced artificial intelligence software ChatGPT, the “publisher of Sports Illustrated and other outlets is using artificial intelligence to help produce articles and pitch journalists’ potential topics to follow” (WSJ). Arena Group Holdings operates publications such as Men’s Journal and TheStreet in addition to SI and is beginning to implement AI to generate articles and scour the internet in order to find trending topics that its readers will want to see. The company clarified that it is not trying to replace journalists but rather to support them by streamlining research and content creating efforts. Still, this powerful new technology raises concerns about the scope of automation in the modern world.

XIV. Did you know that the price of eggs rose 138% in 2022 to a staggering $4.25 per dozen. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited the outbreak of avian flu as the driver of high prices, but some farm groups are calling for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate certain firms in the industry for price gouging. For example, the largest producer of eggs in the U.S. is Cal-Maine Foods, and that company has experienced a 110% increase in sales and a greater than 600% in gross profits in 2022. The company contends that the avian flu greatly reduced the supply of eggs in the market, but Cal-Maine was not affected since it has suffered no positive avian flu tests. Some, such as the American Egg Board, believe this explanation, but still many others are not convinced and urge the FTC to take action.

XV. Did you know that if Bill Gates were a country, he'd be the 37th richest on earth.

XVI. Did you know that Ford will re-enter Formula 1 in 2026 after more than twenty-two years out of the sport? Ford announced on February 3rd that it will team up with Red Bull Racing, which has just won both the Constructor’s and Driver’s Championships in the past year. The partnership will see Ford Performance creating its first Formula 1 engines in more than two decades. Over the past five years, Formula 1 has experienced an explosion of popularity in the United States, mainly due to the success of the Netflix docuseries, Drive to Survive. With Ford’s entrance into the sport, American support will seemingly rise even more, driving sales for both Ford and Formula 1.

XVII. Did you know that former Governor of South Carolina and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced her run for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election? After hinting at the run for more than a year, Haley has now announced her intent for her shot at the presidency. Although her official announcement is planned for February 15th, her plans to run were slipped into the media in late January. Haley has repeatedly reaffirmed her approval of former President Trump’s policy achievements; however, she has said that now is the time for,” a new generation to lead.” This enters another name into the Republican ring of contestants. President Trump has already announced his third campaign, Nikki Haley is poised to announce in the coming weeks, Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State, is speculated to run. However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is proving to be the primary challenger to President Trump, however, he has yet to announce his intentions for the nomination. What is certain is that, as there is still more than a year until the Republican National Convention, this will be a crowded and passionate fight for the nomination. 

XVIII. Did you know that for the first time since the practice of nuclear fusion has been in study, well over 60 years, scientists have been able to produce more energy than they put into the reaction. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have produced energy in a way similar to that of our sun. Using 192 giant lasers, the scientists blasted a small metal cylinder roughly the size of a pencil eraser. This reaction is the first recorded instance of a human-induced fusion reaction. Although it was a minor increase in energy, this is a major breakthrough in clean energy. 

XIX. Did you know that Japan and the Netherlands are expected to side with the US sanctions on tech exports. This is a big win for the Chip War. This limits China’s access to US chipmaking technology and cuts China off from certain semiconductor chips. President Biden is trying to limit these chips to slow China’s efforts to develop the high-end semiconductors required for artificial intelligence and supercomputing. He is preventing American technology from being used by China. This has negatively affected US chip companies. NVIDIA estimated that its quarterly revenue could dip by $400m if Chinese buyers were excluded, which caused its stock price to drop. The new regulations will be phased in before full implementation in September 2023.”

XX. Did you know that the Biden Administration has granted over 6,500 oil and gas drill permits during his first two years in office? This has generated all kind of reactions given the fact that this number is slightly higher than the permits approved by the Trump Administration  (6,300) over the same timeframe (2 years)