October 13, 2025

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Some federal workers are being recalled to prepare inflation data, your weekend social life could be messing with your sleep apnea, no more veggie burgers in the EU, and Journey’s line-up will be changing next year 🤘

Let’s get into it!

Workers for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics are being called back to the office despite the government shutdown in order to prepare the inflation report that was supposed to be published Oct. 15 but will now come out Oct. 24.

On top of the Federal Reserve needing this data in order to inform its Oct. 29 interest rate decision, the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) for next year also depends on it.

The Social Security Administration usually releases its COLA for the following year after seeing the BLS’ report on inflation from the third quarter of the previous year, which includes data from September.

“This release allows the Social Security Administration to meet statutory deadlines to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits,” the BLS said in a statement on its website Friday. The statement also highlighted the significance of the inflation report, noting no other data is planned for release until the government reopens.

Until the highly unconventional announcement that employees would return in order to compile the Sept. CPI report, just one employee had been assigned to continue staffing the Labor Department when the government ran out of funding and shut down on Oct. 1.

The European Union is cracking down on food suppliers who use words like “burger” or “sausage” to describe foods that don’t actually contain meat.

The legislation will ban the term “veggie-burger” and “vegan-sausage,” for example, and will limit the use of the aforementioned words to only be used when referring to actual meat-based products.

The law is intended to protect farmers and insulate them from food manufacturers attempting to leverage them into accepting “unfavourable conditions” in supply chain negotiations.

Similar legislation was voted down in 2020, but the European Parliament voted in favour of amending current regulations to give farmers better standing when negotiating with major players in the food manufacturing space.

The banning of certain terms passed in a vote of 355 to 247, and the legislation will officially be adopted after negotiations between Parliament, EU governments, and the European Commission.

Researchers at Flinders University conducted a study in which monitors were placed under participants’ mattresses to track levels of sleep apnea throughout the week.

Sleep apnea is a disorder that interrupts breathing while sleeping. Millions suffer from it and aren’t who aren’t even aware it’s happening. Scientists say it’s likely the most under-diagnosed health concern in the world, and the Flinders University FHMRI Sleep Health team found study participants’ weekend habits may have caused the 18% spike observed between Wednesday nights and Saturday nights.

They suggested socializing on weekends, going out and going to bed later may be contributors, prompting them to call it “social” apnea on weekends.

“Sleep apnea is already a major public health issue, but our findings suggest its true impact may be underestimated,” said lead author Dr. Lucia Pinilla, a research fellow at FHMRI Sleep Health. “Most clinical diagnostic testing is done on a single night, typically a weeknight, missing the weekend effect we’re now calling social apnea.”

In fact, the researchers found sleeping just 45 minutes longer on weekends raised the risk of apnea by an astonishing 47%. A separate study also found seasonal increases tend to occur in summer and winter compared to autumn and spring.

“This seasonal spike is partly explained by higher temperatures, which disrupt sleep and lead to lighter sleep stages,” said study lead Dr. Bastien Lechat. “In winter, longer sleep and later wake-up times increase time spent in REM sleep, which is also linked to more frequent apnea events.”

Jonathan Cain will leave Journey after the band’s upcoming 2026/27 tour, marking an end to over 25 years in the band that began with 1981’s diamond-certified Escape.

Neal Schon announced his co-guitarist’s plans on social media, saying “Jonathan Cain announced his farewell to Journey tonight. I’m nowhere near done!”

Asked if the exit will be immediate, Schon clarified, replying, “Jon is playing. He's saying at the end of 26-27, he will move on," Schon said in a midday reply. "We will have a great couple of years."

Cain hasn’t actually made public remarks about the departure, but his management team later issued a statement on his behalf.

"Jonathan Cain remains an active member of Journey, and any reports suggesting otherwise are inaccurate," it said. "He is fully dedicated to touring with the band over the next couple of years and has only expressed plans to retire at a later time."

Cain and Schon have been entangled in public feuding on and off for years, both verbally and legally. Though they appear to be able to operate within the band amicably, long-time Journey fans can probably agree it’s something of a miracle that the two were able to co-exist as long as they did prior to Cain’s planned exit.

Hello…anybody there?

Skipper and Gilligan used a couple of coconuts and a string. When you were a kid, maybe it was tin cans. But when you were a teen, that’s when the phone changed the game…at least in your social life 🤣

So in between hours-long calls and your mom yelling at you to get off the phone, you probably had time to pay attention to some classic phone scenes and songs—and that’s the theme of today’s trivia!

Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified on Tuesday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and your spam folder!*