• ☝️ You’re looking at a "cotton candy" lobster that was discovered last month by a fisherman off the coast of New Hampshire and later transferred to a local science center; its coloring, which is distinct from a less-rare blue lobster, stems from a genetic rarity that impacts 1 in ~100 million individuals.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Scott Kemper Imagery

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +2.3%; Dow: +1.8%; Nasdaq: +2.9%). | 💼 ​New US jobless claims fell by 17,000 last week to reach 233,000; it’s the biggest weekly drop in ~11 months. | 🏘️ Mortgage refinance applications rose 16% last week, as mortgage interest rates fell to their lowest level since May 2023.
• 📱 A prominent advertising coalition dissolved yesterday following a lawsuit this week from X, which accused the group of violating antitrust laws by organizing an ad boycott.
• 🛒 Amazon announced deals with TikTok and Pinterest that allows users to buy Amazon products without leaving the social media apps. | 📺 Paramount reported its first-ever quarterly profit from its streaming business; it also announced a $6 billion write-down in the value of its cable-TV networks (including Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon).

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🥇 The Olympics: The US men’s basketball team rallied to beat Serbia 95-91, advancing to the gold medal match against France on Saturday. | American Noah Lyles said he tested positive for Covid before running in the men’s 200-meter final, where he won bronze. | American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the women’s 400-meter hurdles world record en route to a gold medal. | The US and China remain neck-and-neck in the gold medal race, with America still comfortably leading in total medals; see the overall medal count.
• 🚨 Rapper Nelly was arrested at a casino near St. Louis early Wednesday on charges of drug possession and failure to obtain car insurance.
• 🍿 Borderlands, a movie starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart that’s based on the popular video game franchise, debuted with a 6% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes (47 reviews); the film hits theaters today.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Paleovalley

• 🤖 AI startup Anthropic is testing a new program to pay well-intentioned hackers who find flaws in its model output review systems, per an Axios report.
• ☄️ The ongoing Perseid meteor shower is projected to peak late Sunday into early Monday.
• 🌳🔥 Certain species of trees shut down their “breathing” systems when exposed to heavy smoke from forest fires, according to a new study.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🌀 Tropical Storm Debby, which has already dumped over a foot of rain on parts of the Southeast, made a second US landfall yesterday in South Carolina; there have been seven deaths related to the storm as of this writing.
• 🏬 Costco will soon require shoppers to scan their membership cards upon entry, in an effort to crack down on card-sharing.
• 🗣️ Former President Trump said he has reached agreements with ABC, NBC, and Fox News to participate in three separate September debates against VP Kamala Harris; in response, Harris reiterated her previous commitment to the September 10 debate on ABC, but didn’t mention the two other dates. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🐴 Coming to America: Competitive Hobbyhorse Riding.