💬 Quoted… “No one could have predicted [this] situation.”

• After ranking among the worst in America as recently as 2016, New York’s airports have accomplished a ‘90s-era-”nerd”-to-princess-movie glow-up. Last month, LaGuardia Airport – which travel-industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said in 2015 "deserves its own circle of hell" – earned the 2023 title for “Best airport in North America” within its weight class (airports serving 25 million–40 million passengers/year), an award based on passenger feedback. And, also last month, both LaGuardia’s new Terminal B and Newark’s new Terminal A received a maximum five-stars from aviation ratings firm Skytrax – the only North American airports to appear on the list. How did this turnaround occur? 🎶It’s not all about the money, money, money🎶. In 2022, LaGuardia finished an $8 billion renovation, while Newark completed its $2.7 billion renovation of Terminal A. By 2026, $30+ billion in investment aims to make the New York metro area home to three state-of-the-art airports.

🏅 Stat of the Day: World Athletics, the governing body that oversees track and field competitions worldwide, announced this week that it will award $50,000 in prize money to gold medal winners at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. While many countries pay their athletes for earning medals (a breakdown), this marks the first time an international federation is offering prize money directly to Olympic medal-winning athletes.

🤔 Did You Know?... In the mid-1970s, the CIA and US Department of Defense launched a covert research program aimed at developing psychic abilities in agents and military personnel. Brb, going to rewatch The Men Who Stare at Goats.

📰 Worth a Read: Watch two tiny, AI-powered robots play soccer → (Popular Science)