Good morning. This is your final chance of the year to bask in lunar splendor. Tonight is the last supermoon—aka when the moon is full and its orbit is at its closest to Earth—until October 2025. This one is called “Beaver Moon,” because right around now is when beavers fortify their dams for the winter.
If you miss the slightly larger-than-normal moon this weekend, fear not. It will return to us just as soon as it completes a few of its New Year’s revolutions.
—Molly Liebergall, Dave Lozo, Matty Merritt, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman
Markets: The post-election rally continued to sputter yesterday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he’s in no hurry to cut interest rates again. Meanwhile, Tesla shares slid when Reuters reported that President-elect Trump wants to kill Biden’s EV tax credit—a move that Tesla CEO and Trump advisor Elon Musk apparently supports.
Mark Zuckerberg’s style team is probably assembling a binder full of earth-toned loose-fit suit options right now. A federal case against Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp is greenlit for trial, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Here’s what’s happening:
The Federal Trade Commission claims that Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to remove competitors from the social-networking market instead of investing in its own products, Facebook Camera and Messenger.
Meta has said the FTC isn’t considering competition it faces from TikTok, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and that the acquisitions—Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014—gave users better app experiences.
Meta could be forced to sell off IG and WhatsApp if the FTC wins the trial, which is being scheduled later this month. The lawsuit was initially filed in 2020 under former President Donald Trump and then refiled by current FTC chair Lina Khan in 2021.
The case “represents a bipartisan effort to curtail Meta’s monopoly power,” an FTC spokesperson said.
Antitrust under Trump 2.0
As a Joe Biden appointee, Khan is expected to be shown the door—but the new administration might carry on some of her efforts. Vice President-elect JD Vance is in support of breaking up another whale, Google, and he’s praised Khan’s crackdowns on Big Tech.
So has Trump’s new pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz. He resigned as House representative this week after being chosen for the Cabinet position, days before Congress planned to potentially release a report on alleged sexual misconduct and professional wrongdoings. His nomination surprised officials across the political aisle.
Looking ahead…Trump probably won’t interfere with antitrust cases already underway, expert George Hay told Business Insider. While dealmaking is expected to rise after Inauguration Day, Trump is reportedly considering two Khan replacements who might keep the FTC sicced on Big Tech.—ML
Black Friday might be around the corner, but there’s another big sale you can get in on right now.
Cuts is having their 30% off sitewide sale as we speak. That means 30% off their best-selling tops, bottoms, collections, and accessories for the ladies and gents in your life.
From joggers and sweatshirts to dresses and T-shirts, get a head start on gifting with high-quality wear built for work and leisure.
Whether you need stocking stuffers or secret Santa scores, Cuts has great finds at great prices—but they won’t last. Grab ’em before they’re gone.
Disney had lots of good news for investors. It’s been a rough few years for the Mouse House, but it delivered a series of wins in its fiscal Q4 earnings report yesterday. Disney+ added a much higher-than-expected 4.4 million subscribers, propelling the company’s streaming division to a $321 million profit. Disney’s movie business also had a solid quarter, thanks to Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. But most optimistic of all: Disney took the rare step of issuing a three-year financial outlook, predicting a significant jump in profits as its streaming products mature—even as its traditional TV business deteriorates.
Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of muzzling its Gaza views. The iconic ice cream brand sued its parent company, the consumer goods giant Unilever, alleging that Unilever tried to silence its support of Palestinian refugees by threatening to dismantle its board and sue its members. Unilever denied the claims in a statement to Reuters. The lawsuit is the latest escalation in a longstanding dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company: In 2021, the brand said it would stop selling products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and then sued Unilever when it offloaded the ice cream maker’s Israel business to a licensee. Unilever plans to spin off Ben & Jerry’s by the end of 2025.
Craig Melvin will replace Hoda Kotb as Today co-anchor next year. Melvin, already a news anchor on Today and a co-host of the morning show’s third hour, will bump up to lead the main event alongside Savannah Guthrie starting Jan. 13. Kotb announced she was stepping down in September after 17 years at the NBC show, saying it was time to try something new. Today remains one of the vanishingly few profit centers for NBC in an era where TV consumption is shifting rapidly to the internet.—AE
Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Ed Mulholland, Aliaksandr Litviniuk/Getty Images.
Netflix’s push into live events continues tonight with a boxing match between a 58-year-old grandfather and a 27-year-old influencer that’s expected to draw an audience in the millions.
Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and former Bizaardvark star Jake Paul will test each other’s pugilistic acumen along with the live-streaming capabilities of Netflix, which had to delay a live Love Is Blind reunion show in April due to the strain caused by millions tuning in at once. The taped Love Is Blind episode that was released the following day garnered ~6.5 million viewers.
It’s a big moment for Netflix. Tyson-Paul is expected to have a much bigger audience—the proprietor of men’s body care products is predicting 25 million—and Netflix would like it to go well ahead of its plan to stream two live NFL games on Christmas Day. If the streaming service buckles under the demand of gimmick boxing, it won’t bode well for the NFL on Jesus’s birthday: When Peacock streamed an NFL playoff game in January, it had an audience of 23 million.
Of Netflix’s nearly 283 million subscribers, 70 million are on the ad-supported tier. Huge captive audiences that watch live events means the company can charge higher rates for commercials. If that sounds like the business model of cable TV, that’s because it is.—DL
Together With The Points Guy
What states say about swiping . Do you know about the proposed legislation that could impact credit cards, security, and convenience? This bill in Illinois could even turn paying for a meal out into a multistep process.
Wanna protect your payments? Learn more and let us know which credit card benefit is your fave:
The far-right conspiracy theory site that inspired the most popular remix about gay frogs will have a new owner: The Onion. The Chicago-based satirical newspaper announced yesterday it won the bankruptcy auction for Alex Jones’s media empire Infowars—not just to clown on Jones, but also to strip him of his dangerous platform.
The Onion didn’t disclose how much it paid for Infowars and its assets, which include 400+ domain names, social accounts, newsletter subscriber lists, trademarks, a mountain of supplements, and Infowars’ production studio in Austin.
How we got here: After repeatedly spreading lies that the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting was a hoax, Alex Jones was ordered to pay $1.4 billion in a defamation lawsuit filed by the victims’ families. In September, a judge ruled that Jones’s assets could be auctioned off to pay his debts.
But…the Sandy Hook families were more focused on getting Jones off the air, which is why they agreed to a smaller payout to help The Onion buy Infowars. The comedy site said it plans to relaunch Infowars in January as a satirized version of itself and will have an exclusive advertising partnership with the gun violence prevention group Everytown. It’s by far the splashiest move for The Onion since it was purchased in April by new owners with plans to return it to its heyday.—MM
If there’s an MLB team that can get away with playing in a stadium that’s smaller than many college ballparks, it’s the Tampa Bay Rays. The team will reportedly play their 2025 home games at the 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field—the Yankees’ spring training home—while their usual venue, Tropicana Field, is repaired from damage from Hurricane Milton.
The Rays routinely finish at the bottom of the league in attendance, averaging 16,500 per home game last season. Tropicana Field used to seat 45,000, but it mothballed its upper decks in 2019 to make the empty gamedays a little less embarrassing, reducing capacity to about 25,000. Playing in your division rival’s spring training stadium isn’t ideal, but at least the Rays will finally have some sellout crowds.—AE
Getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to hearing the announcement that the cabin doors are closed and there’s still no one in the seat next to you.
Advance Auto Parts is closing more than 700 of its 5,000 locations as part of a plan to “improve business performance.”
Burberry revealed a sweeping brand overhaul to refocus on heritage designs and statement pieces over niche products, CNBC reported.
Alan Filion, the teen responsible for nearly 400 “swatting” attacks on schools, politicians, and places of worship, pleaded guilty and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Ford was slapped with a $165 million civil fine—the second largest ever issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—for failing to recall defective vehicles in a timely manner.
Donald Trump picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—a peddler of debunked anti-vaccine conspiracy theories—to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
RECS
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Fry: The best breakfast items to throw in your air fryer, according to pro chefs.
Listen: Mark Zuckerberg and T-Pain’s acoustic cover of “Get Low” by Lil Jon is on Spotify.
Rate cuts: What does the Fed’s recent lowering of interest rates mean for homeowners and buyers alike? We teamed up with Mortgage Matchup to get the deets. Read the article.*
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Today’s Word of the Day is: mothballed, meaning “to stop using equipment or a facility while keeping it available to be used in the future.” Thanks to Perry from Pittsburgh, PA, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.
Disney had lots of good news for investors. It’s been a rough few years for the Mouse House, but it delivered a 
Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of muzzling its Gaza views. The iconic ice cream brand 
Craig Melvin will replace Hoda Kotb as Today co-anchor next year. Melvin, already a news anchor on Today and a co-host of the morning show’s third hour, will bump up to lead the main event 
. Do you know about the proposed legislation that could impact credit cards, security, and convenience? 
travel rewards
cash back
financial security
Pet owners: Your dog deserves an 
