Good Morning. NC State and UNC are both coaching searches. We break down who's next for both programs in the Tobacco Road shakeup
We also cover a 94-year-old billionaire's exit, Artemis II's launch window, and how your walking pace predicts death (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
TOP STORY TODAY
NCAA Coaching Chaos
Two major ACC basketball programs are searching for new head coaches this week. NC State lost Will Wade after just one season, while North Carolina fired Hubert Davis five days after a collapse against VCU. Both openings represent significant reshaping of Tobacco Road basketball (ESPN).
NC State's top target appears to be Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz, who has won 48 games over two seasons with the Billikens. Tennessee assistant Justin Gainey, a former Wolfpack player, is also considered a strong candidate.
North Carolina is expected to pursue bigger names, with Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens among those reportedly on the Tar Heels' radar.
$29B Food Deal
Sysco is acquiring Jetro Restaurant Depot for approximately $29.1 billion including debt. The seller is 94-year-old Nathan Kirsh, who founded the company as Jetro Cash & Carry in Brooklyn in 1976. Restaurant Depot now operates 166 stores across 35 states, generating roughly $16 billion in annual revenue (WSJ).
Kirsh, born in South Africa in 1932, pioneered the cash-and-carry model allowing independent restaurant owners to purchase supplies directly from warehouses, eliminating delivery costs. He first refined the concept in South Africa before identifying a similar gap in the New York market (Kirsh is Forbes #383).
Forbes estimates Kirsh's net worth at $7.3 billion. Beyond food distribution, his portfolio includes London's Tower 42 skyscraper and Australian real-estate firm Abacus Property Group (Forbes list of quiet billionaires).
Moon Mission Countdown
NASA began the official launch countdown Monday for Artemis II, humanity's first crewed lunar mission in 53 years. The 32-story Space Launch System rocket is scheduled to launch Wednesday evening from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts on a nearly 10-day flight (news conference).
The mission will not land on the moon. Instead, the Orion capsule will complete a loop around the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission was previously delayed twice due to hydrogen fuel leaks and a clogged helium pressurization line.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. NASA has a six-day launch window before standing down until late April.
TOGETHER WITH MODE MOBILE
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TODAY’S LIFE ADVICE
5 Clean Comedy Specials
The best clean comics are sharp, weird, and observant, proving "clean" doesn't mean watered-down. Derrick Stroup's new special "Nostalgic" highlights how strong the genre has become.
▶ Worth your time:
Derrick Stroup: "Nostalgic" — Netflix
Anjelah Johnson: "Technically Not Stalking" — YouTube (free)
Mike James: "Southern Comfort" — YouTube (free)
Jeremy Alder: "Purity Pants" — YouTube (free)
Dustin Nickerson: "Runs in the Family" — YouTube (free)
How You Walk Predicts Death Risk
A study of 400,000 UK Biobank participants found walking pace outperforms traditional mortality predictors like blood pressure and cholesterol. University of Leicester researchers identified slow walking as the strongest single predictor of premature death among physical measures tested.
Brisk walkers with otherwise unhealthy lifestyles outlived slow walkers with healthy ones, per a separate Biobank analysis. Results were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Researchers suggest self-reported walking pace could replace standard clinical markers in mortality risk models, potentially improving how insurers and doctors classify patient risk.
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ Hollywood jobs collapse 30% from 2022 peak as studios shift production overseas for tax subsidies
▲ Laura Dern stars in Sony's Epstein limited series based on reporter Julie K. Brown's investigation identifying 80 victims
▲ Air Canada CEO exits after English-only crash response sparked Quebec language backlash following fatal LaGuardia accident
▲ Netflix eyes four-game NFL package expansion adding Thanksgiving Eve and international matchups to current Christmas deal
▲ IRS deploys Palantir's AI audit tool to flag high-value fraud cases after $200M in contracts since 2014
TOGETHER WITH VINTAGE FUNDS
There’s a reason mobile home parks are getting so much institutional love.
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Fun Links
The unusual world of Disney adults [Blog]
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Police dog performs CPR [Video]
Has working in US become joyless? [WSJ]
Polygraph tests have major flaws [Blog]
Krispy Kreme’s Artemis II doughnut [Blog]
Why you should never touch receipts [Video]