• ☝️ Klein Vision last week unveiled the world’s first mass-produced flying automobile prototype; the AirCar is expected to become publicly available in Q1 of next year for an easily affordable price of $800,000-$1 million.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🪙 Coinbase is joining the S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial, which is being acquired.
• 📝 McDonald's announced plans to hire up to 375,000 workers this summer. | Ticketmaster instituted up-front ticket pricing in response to the FTC’s "junk fee" ban taking effect.
• 🤖 Perplexity is in talks to raise ~$500 million at a ~$14 billion valuation; the AI startup was valued at $9 billion in a November funding round.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Autio

• 🏀 The Dallas Mavericks won last night’s NBA Draft Lottery, securing the 2025 #1 overall pick; the franchise had a 1.8% chance to capture the Flagg.
• 👨‍⚖️ Day one of Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial wrapped up in New York.
• 🎤A Madonna biopic miniseries is reportedly in early development at Netflix; the creative team includes Madonna herself and Stranger Things director Shawn Levy.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌌 Our universe is expected to decay in 10^78 years, according to new research—or much sooner than the 10^1100 years scientists previously thought.
• 🥁 Chimpanzees drum with rhythm when banging on tree trunks, with the drumming sharing some properties with human music, per a new study.
• 🪐 Mars may contain a hidden reservoir of water deep beneath its surface, per a new analysis of “marsquakes,” or seismic waves rippling through the red planet’s crust.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with Upside

• 🏛️ House Republicans unveiled a plan to cut Medicaid spending as part of Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill; the GOP plan would add work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks to Medicaid.
• 🌍 Hamas released the last remaining American hostage alive in Gaza as part of a deal with the US that didn’t involve Israel.
• 🇿🇦 Dozens of South Africans belonging to the white minority Afrikaner ethnic group arrived in the US after receiving refugee status from the Trump admin.

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CLICKBAIT

• 👶 Liam and Olivia top the list of 2024 US baby names