The Daily Valet. - 9/28/21, Tuesday

✔️ A Surprising Twist

September 28, 2021

Tuesday, September 28th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

We’re talking about fast food below. So let me just say this: I love Panda Express.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Marijuana Use Doesn’t Climb After Legalization

Study finds that pot abuse hasn’t increased in states with legal recreational weed

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have now legalized pot for recreational use. In this year alone, four states made it legal. And as an industry, it’s booming—legal weed is officially one of the nation’s fastest-growing sectors.

But despite that ease of access, marijuana use hasn’t ignited, a study released Monday found. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found there was no increase in cannabis use among the general population or among previous users after their states legalized marijuana.

Researchers surveyed about 830,000 Americans over age 12 on their reported cannabis use, both before and after recreational marijuana was passed in their state.

Just under 2% of people living in states in which recreational marijuana use has been legalized reported having been diagnosed with marijuana use disorder, the data showed. In comparison, slightly more than 1% of residents in non-legalization states indicated they had been given a marijuana use disorder diagnosis.

There is, however, one area where use is up: college students. Apparently, they're drinking less but using marijuana more.

According to a new report, more than 44% of college students reported using marijuana in 2020, an increase from 38% in 2015. There was also an uptick in “daily or near daily” marijuana usage, which rose from 5% to 8% in five years.

↦ Greener Pastures: Marijuana jobs are becoming a refuge for retail and restaurant workers—an estimated 321,000 Americans now work in the legal cannabis industry.

R. Kelly Found Guilty on All Counts

He faces life in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking

After more than 25 years of accusations and a federal court trial in New York that lasted seven weeks, R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty on Monday of charges including sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, racketeering and sex trafficking involving five victims.

To make their case, prosecutors called 45 witnesses. Eleven of them were Kelly's accusers; nine were female, two male. Kelly was charged in relation to six women: Jerhonda Pace, Jane, Stephanie, Sonja, Faith and Aaliyah.

According to NPR, Kelly sat absolutely still as the foreperson gave the jury's verdict to the judge. He's set to be sentenced on May 4 by the same federal judge who oversaw his racketeering and sex trafficking trial in Brooklyn. Kelly, 54, faces 10 years to life in prison.

The intervening months won't be easy. Kelly—who has been behind bars since his arrest in July 2019—will no doubt appeal, and faces charges in at least two other states.

↦ FYI: Widespread public condemnation didn't come until a widely watched docuseries Surviving R. Kelly helped make his case a signifier of the #MeToo era.

Murders Spiked in 2020

The year-to-year increase was the largest since the U.S. began tracking it

The number of murders in the United States jumped by nearly 30% in 2020 compared with the previous year in the largest single-year increase ever recorded in the country, according to official FBI statistics released Monday.

The data shows 21,570 homicides in the U.S. in 2020, which is a staggering 4,901 more than in 2019. The tally makes clear—in concrete terms—just how violent last year was. The higher murder rate has continued into 2021, but the New York Times reports that the pace has slowed as the year has progressed.

And it's worth noting that the national homicide rate (6.5 per 100,000 people) is still well below the record set during the violence of the early 1990s.

Property crimes appeared to be a bright spot, with the number of reports having dropped for 18 straight years, the FBI said. “Overall, it's a mixed bag of results,” a criminology professor told NBC News. “Homicides are way up, but property crime is down, robberies are down and violent crime is up slightly.”

The World’s Most Hated Fast Food

Can you guess which brand is most loathed in the United States?

The court of public opinion that is Twitter can make or break just about anybody—fast-food giants included. Whether they're being praised for their latest product launches or criticized over the latest ad campaign, fast-food chains provoke some serious reactions on social media.

The team at RAVE Reviews, a product review platform, decided to use Tweets about the most popular fast-food chains around the world to find out how they stack up against each other in terms of their online reputation.

For instance, Russia hates Starbucks (58.33% negative tweets), Mexico hates Taco Bell (30% negative tweets), and South Africa hates Wendy's (46.74% haters on Twitter). As for the U.S., Domino's holds the top spot. The pizza chain came in at 39.16% negative tweets. Does that surprise you as much as it does me? I don't love their pizza, but it's gotta be more reliable than the stuff being served at Burger King or Subway (sorry, not sorry.)

Of course, none of them hold a candle to KFC, which was the most hated brand in as many as 14 countries, and took the cake as the #1 most hated fast-food brand in the world.

↦ Meanwhile: Does the Heinz ketchup packet roller actually make life any easier? The Takeout investigates.

In Other News

↦ Congress Braces for High-Stakes Week Over Shutdown, Default and Infrastructure

↦ The Pandemic Has Torpedoed Life Expectancy Across the Globe, Study Finds

↦ How a Team of Meme Detectives Stop NFT Fraud From Happening

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The ‘Licorice Pizza’ trailer

This cool flip clock

Jony Ive

3 Ways to Wear a Cardigan

The sartorial classic is cooler than ever

A chill in the air means it's time for knit season; for many of us, the most wonderful time of the year. There's an extra special place in our hearts for the most stylish type of sweater—the same you might find hanging off the shoulders of cool guys like Harrison Ford and Evan Mock.

Categorized by their jacket-like buttons and intentionally slouchy look, cardigans offer a warm layer when you need it, and can dress up any old polo or tee for a classic, lived-in feel. The days of the jumper being tethered to academia are long gone.

Although it's certainly appropriate to take cues from the old guard of prep (we're talking cardis and loafers), the consensus is that a cardigan looks good with damn near anything. Open or closed, oversized or snug, it's up to you—just be confident, and make your grandfather proud.

Our own Paolo Sandoval put together three different ways to wear a cardigan in 2021.

↦ Read: The best ways to layer up with your cardigan.

Pull on Some Sweats

Sportswear Club fleece sweatpants, $55 by Nike

Now's the time to re-up your sweats rotation, as the weather gets cool and crisp and nothing feels quite as cozy as wrapping your legs in twin tubes of fuzzy jersey fleece or French terry material. The perfect pair is different for everyone, but what you're looking for these days is a pair that's super soft, yet still has some structure to them. They should be slightly tapered and tailored in a way that complements the length of your legs instead of drowning them in fabric. Pockets are a personal choice, but we think they come in handy. We did the legwork to find the best sweats to cover all of your needs. Pick up a pair and then take it easy.