October 13, 2026
Good Morning. Nearly 1 in 7 home deals fell apart last month, the most on record outside 2020. Buyers have the upper hand. Plus, AI's mind-reading cap, clocks fall back, and most reliable car brands (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists ).
Yesterday’s most clicked link : The best position for sleep, science-backed
TOP STORY TODAY
Buyers Walk Away
Pending home sales just hit their lowest level since 2014, outside the 2020 pandemic freeze. Mortgage rates topped 7% in September, and contracts fell in all 50 of the biggest U.S. metros for the first time in three years.
Buyers are walking away, too. 14.5% of September deals fell through, the highest on record outside early 2020. In Jacksonville, nearly 1 in 5 contracts was canceled. Seattle’s pending sales dropped 24% from a year ago.
It’s the strongest buyer’s market on record, and sellers are bending . Three in five homes now sell below asking. Buyers can push for help with closing costs, repairs or even a mortgage-rate buydown. If you’re buying, negotiate more than the price. Closing costs and rate buydowns are on the table. See what sellers are giving up .
▲ Buying a home vs. renting and investing (clip)
Thinking Cap
A Palo Alto startup just raised $50 million to build a “mind-reading” cap ( Forbes ). Sabi says the cap turns the words you think into text prompts for AI assistants. No typing, clicking or talking.
From the outside, it looks like a normal hat. Inside are up to 100,000 tiny brain sensors, each a few millimeters wide. An AI model trained on 100,000 hours of brain data translates the signals.
It only picks up words you deliberately think, not stray thoughts , the company says. The goal is about 30 words a minute. The startup is now valued at $600 million, though the tech is largely unproven.
Calendar Phishing
Scammers have found a way around your spam filter: your calendar. Calendar-invite phishing rose about 33,000% between May and September, one security firm says. The fake meetings show up even when the email gets blocked .
How it works: It looks like any other meeting: a client call, a recruiter chat, a vendor check-in. The link inside asks for your password, installs malware or drops you into a call with a fake client.
The fix takes a minute . In Google Calendar’s settings, tell it to add invites only from people you know. If an AI assistant manages your calendar, check that it isn’t accepting invites for you. How to set this up .
TOGETHER WITH SEED
It’s not just the probiotic, it’s the delivery
You've already tried the usual advice: more fiber, more water, maybe even another probiotic. The catch? A probiotic can't help much if it never makes it where it's supposed to go, AKA your stomach acid destroys it before it can take effect.
Seed engineered DS-01®, the #1 Digestive Health Probiotic*. ViaCap®, capsule-in-capsule, technology helps protect live probiotics through digestion so they reach the colon where they actually support your gut microbiome.
In a clinical trial nearly 80% of participants reported minimal discomfort from constipation, alongside significant improvements in bloating and gas**.
Take the quiz to see what probiotic is right for you.
Source: SPINS, Combined Amazon + Target Sales data, Last 24 weeks ending in January 2026. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
GET 1% BETTER
Perfect Goblet Squat
The 20-Minute Kettlebell Workout
That kettlebell collecting dust in the garage is a full gym. Set a timer for 20 minutes and do as many rounds as you can:
- 10 swings. Hinge at the hips and snap them forward. The power comes from your glutes, not your arms.
- 10 goblet squats . Hold the bell at your chest and sit down between your heels.
- 10 rows per arm. Brace one hand on a bench and pull the bell to your hip.
- 5 presses per arm. Press it overhead, then lower it slowly.
- A 30-second carry. Walk with it at your side. Switch hands each round.
Write down how many rounds you finish. Next week, beat it by one.
Try a coach’s 20-minute kettlebell workout
Fall Back Without Losing Sleep
Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. The extra hour sounds great until the kids are up at 5 a.m. Here’s how to get ahead of it:
- Start the week before. Push bedtime 15 minutes later every couple of days, starting around Oct. 25. Four steps gets you there.
- Move everything else too. Shift meals and workouts later along with bedtime. They tell your body what time it is.
- Don’t keep the old bedtime. That’s how you end up with a 5 a.m. wake-up.
- Change the clocks that won’t change themselves. Your phone updates itself. The oven and microwave won’t.
Do it right and Nov. 1 is just a normal Sunday with an extra hour.
More tips for the time change .
But wait… The House voted in July to make daylight saving time permanent. The Senate hasn’t voted , so the clocks still fall back this year.
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ Google’s Fitbit Edge , out October 27, has a replaceable battery and a built-in AI coach | Full spec sheet
▲ Sean “Diddy” Combs went from prison to a hospital with a head injury; release now March 2028 | The smuggled phone and booze that added 41 days
▲ Starbucks explored buying $40 billion Chipotle in what would be the biggest restaurant deal ever | How Wall Street reacted
▲ Homeland Security agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. home in an immigration probe; Omar denies wrongdoing | What DHS officials said about the probe
▲ Anthropic says a weapons cell in Houthi-held Yemen used Claude to code missile guidance | Inside the test rocket that failed
TOGETHER WITH HUMECARE+
Weight Loss for People With No Time
Between work, kids and everything else, your health is usually the first thing to go.
HumeCare+ is a clinician-led weight-loss protocol that fits around a packed schedule:
- 1-minute start . Take a free online assessment. No waiting room.
- Delivered next day. If a clinician prescribes GLP-1 medication, it ships free to your door.
- A clinician in your pocket. Unlimited 24/7 access, plus an app for tracking meds, meals and progress.
- Real progress tracking. Body scans show fat and muscle, not just weight.
Members lose 21.5% of their body weight on average in 10 months.* Lose 10% in six months or get your money back.**
See if you qualify in 1 minute
Internal analysis of 6,846 members. Individual results may vary. *Terms apply. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. Not available in Louisiana or Mississippi.
Fun Links
Most popular Halloween candy, by state [ Map ]
First look: Michael B. Jordan’s Miami Vice [ Photos ]
How long you should hold a plank, by age [ Chart ]
60-second wall sit that reveals your fitness age [ Test ]
Johnny Cash’s 30-minute, one-pot chili [ Recipe ]
Cheapest day to fly for Thanksgiving [ Article ]
The 10 most reliable car brands, ranked [ List ]
Grow your audience and revenue : Join brands like AG1, Hims, BetterHelp. Reach +500K ambitious professionals who open 1% Better every morning. Apply here .