Good morning.

It’s Tuesday, December 16, calendars are full, brains are empty, and every email starts with “Circling back” and ends with absolutely nothing.

New York got snow over the weekend, which officially turned all functioning adults into feral children. It was kind of perfect. And now we’re back in that weird corporate limbo where it’s too late to start anything new and too early to fully disappear. 

Today’s issue was approved by no one, delayed by everyone, and absolutely not urgent. Which makes it perfect for this week. Enjoy.

Today’s stories:

• Prada apologizes—luxury-priced, limited edition

• Costco thrives as America bulk-buys comfort

• Game of Thrones universe keeps expanding

• Disney licenses characters to generative AI

• Roomba pioneer taps out, files bankruptcy

• JetBlue enters lounges, keeps sneakers on

• Meta quietly kills Messenger desktop app

• Italian cuisine gets global cultural status

• Trump floats cannabis reset, stops short

• AI officially becomes the main character

• Seahorses get national park protection

• Killington eyes luxury, locals eye exits

  and more…

U.S. stocks slipped Monday as investors hit pause ahead of Tuesday’s November jobs report and a flood of data that could shape 2026 rate-cut bets.

The S&P 500 and Dow dipped about 0.1%, while the Nasdaq slid 0.6%, dragged down by another round of tech selling. AI-heavy names stayed under pressure as investors rotated out of overheated tech and into value — hurting the Nasdaq and S&P but sparing the Dow, which has less tech exposure.

Strategists aren’t panicking. Many see the move as healthy market rotation, not a tech meltdown — and a sign that gains could spread beyond a handful of AI darlings.

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JetBlue Finally Gets a Lounge

JetBlue is opening its first-ever airport lounge, and it’s doing it very on brand. The new lounge, called BlueHouse, opens December 18 at JFK’s Terminal 5. JetBlue says it’s premium, but chill. Fancy, but not weird about it. A lounge for people who like nice things but still wear sneakers to the airport. The 9,000-square-foot space spans two floors and is designed to feel like a New York apartment. Think Art Deco touches, brass accents, local art, and subtle reminders that you’re still very much in NYC. There’s even a mural inspired by Grand Central’s famous ceiling, mapping JetBlue destinations like star constellations. The goal is less private-club snobbery and more approachable luxury.

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America stress-spends $67 billion at Costco. Costco crushed earnings again, because bulk buying remains America’s most trusted coping mechanism. The warehouse giant posted $67.31 billion in quarterly revenue, beating expectations, and $4.50 in profit per share, comfortably above forecasts. Shoppers showed up ahead of the holidays to load carts with affordable essentials, unnecessary snacks, and items that only make sense in a Costco-sized box. Same-store sales jumped 6.4%, beating estimates, proving that both budget-stressed shoppers and higher-income households are flocking to the same place for “value.” Kirkland Signature did most of the heavy lifting, as usual, quietly running the economy from aisle nine.

Trump considers rescheduling weed. Trump is considering a major shift in U.S. marijuana policy. The plan would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, officially recognizing it as having medical use under federal law for the first time. That alone would be a historic change. The idea was discussed in a call with House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this month and follows recommendations the Justice Department made last year. If it happens, it could lower taxes for cannabis companies, improve access to banking, and ease some federal penalties. But it’s not full legalization. Some in the industry warn the change could actually create new legal risks by pulling cannabis deeper into federal oversight without fully protecting businesses.

iRobot ran out of juice. Roomba has officially run out of battery. iRobot filed for bankruptcy and is getting scooped up by its own manufacturer. After years of cheaper rivals, price cuts, and “innovation,” the robot vacuum pioneer finally hit the wall. Revenue looked fine on paper, but profits vanished. Chinese competitors sold similar bots for less, and U.S. tariffs on Vietnam-made vacuums slapped iRobot with an extra $23 million in costs. Timing was not on its side. Add $190 million in debt and a very public Amazon deal that went nowhere, and here we are. The stock dropped 68%. The robot that cleaned everyone’s floors now needs someone to clean up after it.

Prada prices the apology at $930. Prada got dragged and decided to monetize the apology. After backlash over copying traditional Indian Kolhapuri chappals, Prada announced a “Made in India” sandal made with local artisans. Price: about $930. Accountability, but luxury. Only 2,000 pairs will be made, blending Indian craftsmanship with Italian branding. Sales start February 2026, worldwide. Earlier this year, Prada showed nearly identical sandals in Milan, went viral for the wrong reasons, then admitted the inspiration. Now it’s a collaboration, complete with training programs and a multi-million-euro budget. India gets credit. Prada gets good PR. The sandals get a designer price tag. Balance restored.

The World’s First Seahorse National Park Is Here

The world’s first seahorse national park is officially open, and it’s quietly one of the coolest things on Earth. Sweetings Pond in the Bahamas just became Seahorse National Park, protecting the highest concentration of lined seahorses ever recorded. By day, the pond looks calm and unassuming. By night, it turns into an underwater fever dream. After dark, seahorses come out everywhere. Tiny bodies cling to branches, sway in the water, and glow under flashlights like they’re posing on purpose. Octopuses wander around, crabs panic, and the water lights up with bioluminescence every time someone moves. Grown adults instantly revert to delighted children. Scientists were stunned to find how dense this seahorse population is — up to ten times the global average. Isolated for thousands of years, these seahorses are even starting to evolve slightly differently, showing early signs of becoming something new. Evolution, but make it scenic. The park was officially designated in 2023, and guided snorkeling and night dives will open to the public in 2026. Conservation, science, and pure magic finally aligned. No luxury resort needed.

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Disney hands its characters to AI. Disney just cut a $1 billion deal with OpenAI, and the creative world is not thrilled. The agreement lets ChatGPT and Sora use more than 200 Disney characters — think Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar — to generate images and videos. Unions say everyone in entertainment is nervous. Not because they hate fun, but because this feels like human creativity slowly being handed over to machines. Disney says no real actors’ voices, faces, or likenesses are included. Technically safe. Emotionally? Still alarming. Fans will be able to start making AI Disney content in early 2026. Meanwhile, Hollywood is watching closely, lawyers are circling, and creatives are once again being told this is an “important moment for the industry.” Which usually means: buckle up.

Italian food is now UNESCO-protected. Italian food just got official global respect. UNESCO has added Italian cuisine to its list of “intangible cultural heritage,” making it the first entire national food tradition to earn the title. Not a dish. Not a technique. The whole vibe. Italy says this isn’t just about recipes. It’s about rituals, ingredients, family tables, and the very serious belief that food is culture. The designation also helps Italy fight fake Italian products, like suspicious carbonara sauces and olive oil that has never seen an Italian olive. After a three-year campaign, pizza, pasta, and tiramisu now come with international protection. Somewhere in Italy, someone is nodding silently and pouring prosecco.

Facebook Messenger desktop is dead. Facebook Messenger’s desktop app is officially dead. As of December 15, Meta shut down the native Messenger app for Mac and Windows. Users are now being gently shoved back into Facebook’s website or Messenger.com to keep chatting. The app launched during Covid and never really grew up. Video calls were limited, screen sharing was missing, and competitors like Zoom ran laps around it. Over time, Meta quietly downgraded the app’s tech, turning it into a web-style experience that felt increasingly pointless. By 2023, Messenger was already being folded back into Facebook, a clear sign the standalone app was living on borrowed time. The shutdown was announced in October and now it’s done. Messenger lives on in the browser. The desktop app joins the long list of Meta experiments that quietly disappeared.

Time names AI Person of the Year. Time’s Person of the Year is not a person this time. It’s AI. For 2025, Time handed its biggest cover to artificial intelligence and the people building it. Not a politician. Not a celebrity. A technology that now lives in everyone’s phone, office, classroom, and group chat. Time says this was the year AI stopped being optional. It sped up research, boosted productivity, broke homework systems, and forced every CEO to say “AI” at least five times per interview. Teachers noticed. Parents noticed. Students definitely noticed. The list of humans attached to the moment includes names like Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, Lisa Su, and Fei-Fei Li — the people running, funding, or academically defining the AI boom. The message is simple. AI is no longer a tool in the background. It’s the main character now.

Vermont’s Biggest Ski Makeover Yet

A developer plans to spend $3 billion turning the no-frills Vermont ski resort into the “Aspen of the East.” The plan includes luxury homes, spas, high-end shops, a “ski beach,” and a glossy base village that feels more billionaire retreat than ski bum energy. This would be a massive shift for Killington, which built its reputation on serious skiing, not fancy amenities. The project would roll out over 25 years and completely reshape the mountain’s base area. Vermont, however, has a long history of blocking large developments through strict land-use laws. Those rules were recently loosened, which is why this project is even possible. Locals remain skeptical. The scale is huge, the price tag is wild, and developers already scrapped their original glass palace lodge after realizing it might have gone too far. For now, Killington is caught between luxury ambition and Vermont reality.

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HBO is not done with Westeros. If you thought you were done with Westeros, think again. George R. R. Martin just confirmed that HBO is working on Game of Thrones sequels, not just prequels. This is the first time he’s openly said that stories set after the original series are officially on the table. HBO currently has five or six spinoffs in development. Most still live in the past, but some will move the timeline forward. The previously rumored Jon Snow project may be dead, but the idea of post-Thrones content clearly is not. Westeros remains HBO’s favorite place to print money, and the story is far from over.

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TikTok of the day: watch here

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