Anna's Daybreak News

_{Just facts, you think for yourself}

Wednesday, 5:16 AM

December 18, 2024

Good morning news friend! Follow the events that matter, shaping the ever-changing story of our world. 📰🌟

The Hidden Deals Behind the Opioid Crisis

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) promised to fight opioid abuse. Opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, paid large rebates to PBMs like Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and Optum Rx.

In return, the PBMs ensured there were minimal restrictions on drugs like OxyContin. Doctors could prescribe high quantities with no extra hurdles.

The impact? From 2003 to 2012, Purdue’s annual payments to PBMs doubled to $400 million. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Americans died from opioid overdoses.

Insurers and employers, dependent on rebates to keep drug costs low, often chose not to impose restrictions. Documents showed PBMs even persuaded insurers to lift limits. By 2016, under pressure from regulators, PBMs started imposing restrictions.

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High-Rise Buildings in South Florida Sinking

Recent studies reveal that 35 high-rise buildings along South Florida’s coast are sinking. This survey stretched nearly 12 miles from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach.

The structures have settled between 0.8 and 3.1 inches (2 to 8 cm). Half of these buildings are less than ten years old.

The sinking is due to nearby construction and natural factors. Tidal flows and construction activities within 1,050 feet (320 meters) are influencing the land beneath these buildings.

While some subsidence is common shortly after construction, this surprising trend occurred several years later.

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Retail Sales Surge

In November, US retail sales increased by 0.7%, surpassing a revised 0.5% increase in October. Auto dealerships led the surge with a 2.6% sales jump, driven by demand for vehicles in hurricane-affected regions and attractive discounts.

Year-on-year, retail sales grew by 3.8%. Online retail witnessed a 1.8% increase, as early holiday promotions attracted consumers.

Despite these gains, certain categories showed weakness; restaurant sales fell by 0.4%, while grocery and clothing sales dipped by 0.2% each. Sales at miscellaneous retailers dropped 3.5%.

Core retail sales, excluding autos and other categories, rose 0.4%. The labor market remains resilient, with low layoffs and an average wage growth of 4%, slightly above inflation.

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Bitcoin's Quantum Dilemma

Recent research suggests that Bitcoin might need up to 300 days of downtime to safeguard against the threat of quantum computing.

Bitcoin uses SHA-256, a robust cryptographic algorithm. Breaking it would need 13 million to 317 million qubits, while Google's Willow chip only has 105 qubits.

Although quantum computers could reduce brute-force operations to 2^128, this remains an unachievable task with today's technology.

Bitcoin developers have implemented practices to minimize potential attacks, like using single-use addresses.

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Turkey's Military Buildup on Syria's Border

US officials reported a buildup of Turkish forces along the Syrian border. This includes militia fighters, Turkish commandos, and artillery, particularly near Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city.

This escalation began following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. It resembles Turkey’s 2019 invasion strategy. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are allied with US troops.

Ilham Ahmed, a leader of the Syrian Kurds, warned that a Turkish invasion could displace over 200,000 Kurdish civilians in Kobani, along with various Christian communities.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is seeking assurances from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to prevent military action against the Kurds.

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First Binary Stars Discovered Near Milky Way's Black Hole

Scientists identified two young stars, known as D9, orbiting the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. This black hole is about 4 million times the mass of our sun and is located in the heart of our Milky Way galaxy.

The binary stars are approximately 2.7 million years old. They orbit each other at a precise distance, allowing them to survive the powerful gravity of Sagittarius A*. If they drift too far apart, the black hole’s gravity could tear them apart; if they move too close, they could merge into a single star.

These findings challenges previous beliefs about the environments around black holes. Researchers suggest that regions near supermassive black holes might be stable enough for star and planet formation.

Astronomers observed this phenomenon just in time, as the D9 stars may eventually merge.

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“What dating sites fail to understand is that people are far more interesting in what they don’t say about themselves.”

Baked with love,

Anna Eisenberg ❤️