Hi! Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the US, an occasion to honor the civil rights activist that was first approved as a federal holiday in 1986 — in part thanks to Stevie Wonder wanting to celebrate MLK’s birthday. Today we’re exploring:

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Despite the government’s best efforts, China’s birth rate just hit a new low

China’s birth rate last year hit the lowest point on record since the formation of the People’s Republic in 1949, dropping to a concerning 5.63 births per 1,000 people, according to new figures from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. For context, that’s less than half the rate recorded as recently as 9 years ago. 

Kids slide

In 2025, China recorded just 7.9 million new births, per the new data released today, as the country’s overall population shrunk for the fourth year in a row. This builds on a worrying development that arrived sooner than experts had been expecting. In tandem with the record low number of newborns, deaths in the nation also hit a 21st-century high, intensifying concerns around the global powerhouse’s future, as China’s population pyramid only becomes more inverted as the trend continues.

Officials in Beijing have, understandably, rolled back previously strict policies to stop the drop for years now: the government officially dropped its notorious one-child cap at the start of 2016 and then scrapped the two-child policy that replaced it in the summer of 2021, while also abolishing fines for parents who exceeded the new three-child limit, too.

As the numbers coming out of the statistics office have become more extreme in both directions, so too have the measures that the state has been taking to reverse the falling birth rate. Last July, for example, the Chinese national government announced that it would give families 3,600 yuan (roughly $500 at the time) each year for every child they had that was three and under. This year, things have picked up again, with a new 13% VAT rate on condoms, birth control pills, and other contraceptive items.

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Washington D.C. looks set to get America’s second Sphere

Following the huge orb-like arena’s successful start in the entertainment capital of America, the country’s political capital is the next city pondering a Sphere. 

The operator of Las Vegas’ Sphere announced on Sunday that it will be developing its second US location at National Harbor in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, aiming to build its first smaller-scale, 6,000-seat venue. The D.C. arena would add to Sphere Entertainment’s “global network of Spheres,” after the company signed a franchise agreement with the governing body of Abu Dhabi last July to build a Sphere venue in the Middle East.

Though Sphere Entertainment only currently has one namesake location in operation, the company has a lot of seasoned executives in the live entertainment world, having previously managed Madison Square Garden before it got spun off.

Just like the iconic New York venue, the inside of the Sphere functions as a sport and entertainment space that can accommodate up to 20,000 people. Hosting acts including the Backstreet Boys and U2 helped the company rake in some $156 million in the third quarter, up 37% year-on-year.

Rounding up

Tasked with growing its glowing ball business, the company now has an additional revenue stream: the arena’s LED-lined exterior, known as the Exosphere, used for advertising and signage. That, combined with sponsorship and suite license revenue, brought in an additional $11 million last quarter... along with a flurry of light pollution worries.

But even with that boost, the entertainment arena is far from profitable, with operating costs for the company's Sphere division coming in nearly 50% higher than its revenue last quarter.

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Why people are flirting on LinkedIn — and job hunting on Tinder

The internet has solved a lot of information problems, with a simple online search offering advice on everything from doing laundry or changing a tire, to filing taxes and using credit cards. But there are still two major problems the online world can't easily teach, only match: finding work and finding love.

LinkedIn has grown into an agora for over a billion career-hungry professionals around the world, while dating apps are still raking in cash despite signs of stalled growth. What’s interesting, however, is that the job site and dating platforms no longer seem to be staying neatly in their respective lanes.

Over the past year, Google search interest for “linkedin for dating” has surged more than 8x, alongside rising search activity around using major dating apps like Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder “for work.”

Swipe right for jobs

Part of that shift may stem from dating app fatigue. Per Forbes Health, 78% of dating app users have at least sometimes felt burnout, with the biggest reasons being the inability to find a genuine connection, followed by disappointment from being ghosted or lied to. The most common lies, the study found, involved age, income, and employment.

LinkedIn, apparently, seems to be one way to fill that gap, while jaded dating app users are finding a new reason to swipe right. A November survey by Resume Builder found more than a third (34%) of dating app users had used the platforms to expand their network or find job opportunities — perhaps a “creative” workaround in an increasingly tough job market.

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