Petty Theft: “Some retail analysts and researchers, bolstered by local crime statistics, say stores may be over-stating the extent and impact of theft. Why? It’s a useful deflection, camouflaging weak demand, mismanagement and other issues denting business right now. And it forces lawmakers to respond.” Chains are using theft to mask other issues, report says.

+ Straight But Narrow: “The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington has reimposed a narrow gag order barring him from making public comments targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses.”

+ Losing a Friend: “He was a brilliant talent. It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us … He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.” Friends creators pay tribute to Matthew Perry. And from The Guardian: “The best thing about me is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says ‘Will you help me?’ I will always say ‘Yes, I know how to do that’ … When I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try and help other people.” ‘Matthew Perry took me to AA’ – why saving people mattered more to the star than Friends.

+ Heard the Good News? “During the procedure, doctors used a virus to add replacement DNA to the cells in Yiyi’s inner ear that pick up vibrations, allowing them to transmit sound to her brain.” Some deaf children in China can hear after gene treatment.

+ Racing for a Cure: “For decades, Chip Wilson has been facing a form of muscular dystrophy. Now the notoriously unfiltered billionaire is spending $100 million to cure it.” Bloomberg (Gift Article): Lululemon’s Founder Is Racing to Cure the Rare Disease Destroying His Muscles.

+ Empty Taxi: “Here in California, the whiplash from approval to ban in just two months highlights the fragmented oversight governing the self-driving car industry — a system that allowed Cruise to operate on San Francisco’s roads for more than three weeks following the October collision, despite dragging a human pinned underneath the vehicle.” How a robotaxi crash got Cruise’s self-driving cars pulled from Californian roads. (Ultimately, we’ll have to compare how the safety of self-driving cars compares to the safety of those being driven by humans.)