📱Travelers will love iPhone 15

Welcome to the Thursday Newsletter, where we supercharge your news, saving you hours of scrolling to give you more time to lead your team.

Good morning. I’d like to congratulate everyone who held strong. Those special, stubborn, individuals who refused to change because “The Man” told them to. I’m talking about the ESPN vs. Charter dispute of course, which was settled just hours before Monday Night Football. 15 million cable television customers considered signing up for YouTube TV’s $72.99 subscription to watch the Jets play the Bills, two New York based teams, on the anniversary of the September 11^th attacks.

The deal relieves Disney of $2.2 billion in fees from Charter stemming from pulling their popular channels ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, National Geographic, and FX. Even thought the deal is settled, questions remain around the viability of TV bundles on whether the resolution of this dispute is kicking the can down the street before cable kicks the bucket, or a possible transition to a digital streaming model.

_{-Bailey Hepler, Mikael Hall}

WORLD

2,000+ Dead in Catastrophic Libya Flood

Libya, a North African country made of over 90% Sahara Desert, was slammed with heavy rainfall this week causing two dams to collapse, surging water to the already flooded area. Over 5,000 people are left dead and 10,000 still missing as whole neighborhoods were swallowed by massive amounts of water and carried to sea.

The eastern city of Derna, saw the worst of the damage. Osama Aly, an Emergency and Ambulance service spokesperson, told CNN that hospitals in Derna are no longer operable. Volunteers are focused on collecting dead bodies off the street but since the morgues are full, they’re having to pile bodies on the sidewalks.

🌧️Cause for Rainfall

The flood in Libya will surely fuel the debate on climate change. Advocates for Climate change believe the heavy rainfall is a continuation of the devastating weather patterns this year. Global ocean temperatures reached their highest measurements ever, and climate scientist Karsten Haustein, says the warmer waters in the Mediterranean (which borders Libya) supercharged the rainfall making it more “ferocious”.

Others who climate change has occurred for millions of years and an essential part of the maturity of Mother Earth say otherwise. For insight on the severity of flood damage, below are the 10 deadliest floods in world history:

TECH

Ranking Apple iPhone 15 Features

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck, right? Social media users have been discussing the striking similarities between the iPhone 14 & iPhone 15 models since the new phone’s release on Tuesday, but if you listen closely, you’ll see just how different they are. Aside from the usual upgrades like a new A16 Bionic chip, new color options, thinner bezels, and tougher screen/exterior, we ranked the top 6 new iPhone features to help you decide if it’s worth the upgrade:

1. 🎥Spatial Video (iPhone 15 Pro Models): this is the most revolutionary feature in the series. By using he ultra-wide and normal camera, you can create a 3D Video viewable on the Apple Vision Pro. “You can then relive these memories in a magical way on Apple Vision Pro,” said Greg Joswiak, SVP of worldwide marketing for Apple, during the announcement video.

2. 🎬Action Button & USB-C (iPhone 15 Models):

   • The most visible of the upgrades for the iPhone 15 series is the new Action Button that replaces the Mute Switch on your current iPhone. The fully customizable button can be programmed to open specific apps and shortcuts like the quick access to the camera, flashlight, calculator, voice recording; the possibilities are seemingly endless.

   • Say bye-bye to your lightning cable, because the new 15 models now use a USB-C charging port to continue the transition to a universal charger. And get this, Apple is famously selling a USB-C to Lighting Adapter for the low price of $29 (lol).

3. 🏝Dynamic island (iPhone 14 Pro & 15 Models): introduced in the previous iPhone Pro model, all iPhone 15 models will include the “dynamic island”, a widget at the top of the screen that expands with alerts and activities depending on the apps you’re actively using. Users can use this feature for quick info. For example, you can control music, get directions, and get live sports updates. If you’re traveling, use this feature to identify flight/seat number, time until boarding, departure/landing times, gate, terminal, and delays.

4. 🔋All Day Battery Life (iPhone 15 Models):

   • 15 Pro Max: 29 hours video playback, 95 hours audio playback

   • 15 Pro: 23 hours video playback, 75 hours audio playback

   • 15 Plus: 26 hours video playback, 100 hours audio playback

   • 15: 20 hours video playback, 80 hours audio playback

5. 🛰GPS to Satellite (iPhone 14 & 15 Models): if you every find yourself needing to share exact locations with a friend, or in an emergency situation, you can use the Find My app to share your location via satellite when you're outside cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Apple also partners with AAA to provide roadside assistance for when you’re stuck in a dead zone.

6. 💲iPhone 15 Price: although many analysts believed Apple would hike the iPhone 15 Pro Max Model by $100 or $200 due to Apple’s revenue increase strategy. Instead, they eliminated the 156 GB option and kept pricing the same for all iPhone Models.

   • 15 Pro Max: $1,199

   • 15 Pro: $999

   • 15 Plus: starting $899

   • 15: starting $799

   Fun Fact - The famous Razr flip phone was release at $500 in 2004. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $809 today.

EXTRA-TERRESTRAIL

“Alien Corpses” presented to Mexican Congress

Who had “Alien Corpses Presented to Government” on their 2023 bingo card? Anybody? Journalist and ufologist, Jaime Maussan, presented two small alien-like corpses to Mexico City Congress on Wednesday. The bodies were retrieved from Cusco, Peru, in a collapsed mine. Maussan testified under oath that the mummified specimens “are not part of our terrestrial evolution… these aren’t beings that were found after a UFO wreckage. They were found in diatom (algae) mines, and were later fossilized.”

Maussan brought the bodies to Mexico City to tell U.S. Officials and members of the Mexican government that scientists at Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM) studied the two bodies and determined that 30% of the DNA was “unknown.”

X-Rays were done as part of the study, and experts testified under oath that one of the corpses had “eggs” inside, and both had implants of very rare metals, like osmium.

⚠️Disclaimer.

Maussan has been debunked on “alien” claims in the past. One claim included 5 mummies, also found in Peru, turned out to be human children. It is worth noting, the “alien” corpses presented by Maussan this week are about action-figure sized with three fingers on each hand, with eggs and rare metals found inside, which seems to rule out the possibility of human relatives.

SPORTS

Sponsorships, Stadium Financing, & Fútbol vs. NFL Revenue

⚽🤑Fútbol Sponsorship Mayhem: Professional Soccer has been ahead of other team sports when it comes to brand sponsorships, with the partnerships extended all the way to the jerseys' on the field in conjunction with stadium naming rights and media partnerships. This past week, Manchester United signed a new sponsorship deal with Qualcomm that will place the logo in front and center of one of the most popular and highest-valued soccer clubs in the world. The exact terms of the contract were not released but it is believed to be the largest deal in soccer eclipsing the current deal Real Madrid has with Emirates. To better understand how these partnerships contribute to the greater good of the performance of the team, commercial revenue accounted for 44% of Manchester United's total revenue and is a critical component of the soccer clubs’ financial model to invest in players and comply with financial fair rules.

🏈🏟️NFL Stadium Financing: As noted in our newsletter last week, the NFL season has returned and each team (sorry, Jets fans) officially has a game in the books. With games underway, Americans will flock to the closest NFL stadiums to tailgate and watch their favorite teams and players battle it out on the gridiron. While inflation remains front of mind for many Americans, NFL stadium financing is thriving despite rising inflation and borrowing costs. Current NFL owners have the immense privilege of being able to finance state-of-the-art facilities for their teams and fans, and due to the strength of the NFL’s ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and overall popularity in its respective region, lenders can project long-term revenue streams to back stadium construction costs to fund facilities with relative ease. Each NFL team benefits mightily from the league's financial disciplinary rules, parameters, and debt policies behind the financing of stadiums that have been very consistent for a very long time. The parameters include a 600-million-dollar cap on debt against each team and higher average credit ratings per team.

⚽Fútbol vs. 🏈NFL Bottom Line: As many of us sport watchers know, soccer or fútbol is far and away the most popular sport in the world… but is it the most profitable? Manchester City has dominated the English Premier League in recent memory, with on-field results generating the highest revenue in global soccer for the past two seasons. However, when comparing the bottom-line team by team, NFL teams outpace their soccer counterparts. In the 2021-2022 season EPL season, Man City had the EPL’s highest profit after player trading at $59 million, This amount would put them below the NFL’s Buffalo Bills coming in at $65 million, the lowest in the NFL. When comparing the two professional sports leagues it is important to understand the Big Six EPL teams averaged 684 million in revenue versus 586 million for the typical NFL team, the issue lies on the expenses that brings down the rest of the EPL, which is a known problem throughout European soccer.

_{-Written by Mikael Hall}

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

ChatGPT (M.D.) Diagnoses Boy After 17 Doctors Fail

You’ve probably used ChatGPT to solve a variety of everyday problems. Creating workout plans, writing emails & resignation/cover letters, and getting dinner recipes has never been easier, but apparently neither has diagnosing chronic pain.

After what seemed like a fun day of playing on a bouncy house, Alex began experiencing pain all over his body. His mother, Courtney, said the only thing that relieved his pain was taking Motrin regularly. But when the medicine wore off, Alex chewed on things excessively so his mother took him to the dentist which kicked of a 3 year long search for a diagnosis.

Courtney told USA Today she spoke with 17 doctors over the past 3 years before turning to ChatGPT for answers. Courtney explained to ChatGPT all of Alex’s symptoms and MRI results as he experienced pain, grinding teeth, and dragging of the leg. ChatGPT ultimately suggested a diagnosis of tethered spinal cord syndrome, which is a neurologic disorder caused by tissue attachments that limit the movement of the spinal cord within the spinal column.

After receiving the diagnosis, Alex underwent surgery to fix his tethered cord syndrome. Doctors detached the cord from where it was stuck at the bottom of the tailbone which released the tension. As Alex continues to recover from the procedure, Courtney says she can finally see the joy in his face for the first time in a long time.

🎯ChatGPT accuracy concerns.

Courtney was able to use ChatGPT to identify the cause of her son’s chronic pain when professionals were stumped, but some researches warn users of the machine learning model’s accuracy concerns. A study conducted by Stanford researchers warn about the accuracy of ChatGPT. The research showed that ChatGPT was capable of identifying prime numbers with a 97.6% accuracy rate. Pretty good, but the same test in June showed that accuracy plummeted to just 2.4%.

One explanation for this disappointing performance is that ChatGPT learns from interacting with its users. In fact, all conversations in standard (free) ChatGPT modes are used for training future models of the program, although not in ways that are traceable to users. Since users give a variety of accurate and inaccurate answers to the machine learning model, it is learning the wrong way solve problems. The student becoming the teacher might not be the best way to develop machine learning models.

THURSDAY SHORTS

• 📷Photo of the Week: the LA Chargers had some unfamiliar fans sitting front row of their home opener. The team is leaning into its Hollywood hometown to promote movies as AI Robots sat front row to promote the new movie “The Creator” hitting theaters September 29^th.

• 🦥You’re working too hard. A study shows that 85% productivity is the sweet spot.

• ⚖Mitt Romney won’t seek senate reelection, opting to retire instead.

• 🌈Check out this beautiful rainbow that wrapped itself around New York city on 9/11 that seemingly symbolized hope for the city.