• ☝️ This month, a Japanese rail company will begin using a new 40-foot tall humanoid robot for maintenance work on its network; the truck-mounted robot has a human operator who can “see” through the bot’s eyes via cameras and use various attachments for its arms.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with The Motley Fool

• 🛻 Ford sales rose 1% year over year in Q2, led by a 5% gain in trucks. | 💨 GM agreed to pay ~$146 million and forfeit emissions credits to settle allegations that ~6 million of its vehicles release higher pollution than reported.
• 🛍️ Saks Fifth Avenue parent HBC is acquiring Neiman Marcus for $2.65 billion; Amazon and Salesforce will also own a piece of the combined company. | 📺 Paramount Global agreed to a merger with Skydance.
• 👀 Apple reportedly received a board observer seat at OpenAI as part of its partnership with the AI startup.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏀 Caitlin Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double. | ⚾ The MLB announced the elected starters and full rosters for its All-Star Game next Tuesday.
• 🤼 John Cena announced plans to retire from professional wrestling in 2025 after two decades in the ring. | 🏎️ Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton earned his first F1 victory since 2021 at this weekend’s British Grand Prix. | 🚘🔌 NASCAR showed off a new EV prototype stock car at the Chicago Street Race.
• 🙏 Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer best known for his work on Titanic and Avatar, passed away at 63. | 🙏 Khyree Jackson, a 24-year-old rookie cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings, was among three people who died in a car crash early Saturday.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with 120/Life

• ⚛️ The world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor – a ~$27 billion collaboration between 35 countries including the US, EU, Russia, and China – has officially been assembled, but won’t run for another 15 years, project scientists announced.
• 🦠 A human case of bubonic plague, aka the “Black Death” that wiped out 5%-40% of the global population between 1346-1353, has been reported in Colorado; the disease is rare and treatable in the modern era.
• 🥤 The FDA banned the use of brominated vegetable oil – primarily used in citrus-flavored drinks – due to safety concerns.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🌀 Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to make landfall on Texas’ southeastern coast early this morning as a Category 1 hurricane. | 🥵 A long-running heat wave is expected to persist this week for tens of millions of Americans across the country.
• 🚫🤝 A federal judge temporarily paused the Biden administration’s ban on non-compete agreements from taking effect in September, ruling that the FTC overstepped its authority.
• ✈️ Passenger complaints about air travel surged in 2023 compared to previous years, per a new report from the US Transportation Department. | 🔫 American Rounds has opened ammunition vending machines in Oklahoma and Alabama; the machines use AI and facial recognition tech to verify buyers’ ages.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏄🇺🇸 Mark Zuckerberg dons tux in July 4 surfing video while holding beer and US flag.