💊 A Tough Pill To Swallow

Image: NY Times

Remember Aduhelm, the first Alzheimer’s drug approved by the FDA since 2003, which we covered a couple weeks back? It’s making news again, and for interesting reasons.

The drug was approved by the FDA under controversial circumstances and will be priced at $56K annually.

• By itself, that figure isn’t especially remarkable – plenty of other drugs cost more.
• The difference is there are millions of potential customers, and the drug is expected to be taken for years.

Spending on Aduhelm for Medicare patients is expected to become a multibillion-dollar annual expense for the federal government, with some analysts projecting it will eclipse the entire NASA budget.

📸 The Big Picture:

• From Axios: “But there is one glaring issue — there is no conclusive evidence the drug effectively treats the crippling neurological disease.”
• Three experts resigned from an FDA committee after the agency approved the drug despite 10 out of 11 committee members voting against the drug’s approval (the 11th member voted ‘unsure’).
• New internal memos released yesterday show other members of the FDA’s staff voiced concerns that clinical trial data fell short of the proof typically required for approval.

U.S. median home prices in May experienced its largest annual increase since 1999, according to data from the National Association of Realtors, reaching $350,300.

• The news comes less than a week after NAR published a report that found construction of new housing in the past 20 years is 5.5M units short of historical levels.

More: Blackstone yesterday agreed to acquire Home Partners of America, a rental/rent-to-own company that owns 17,000 single-family homes, in a deal valuing HPA at $6B.

Even More: You’ve heard what’s happening on June 30th, right?

Beijing issued a warning to “foreign forces” last week after Taiwan reported a record 28 Chinese military planes flew over the self-governing island’s airspace. The previous record of 25 was set in April.

🤿 A deeper dive…
The air force mission marked the latest in a series of ramped-up Chinese military drills near Taiwan, which included a live-fire exercise in April after an unofficial U.S. delegation of former officials visited Taiwan.

• The U.S. government has refused to recognize Taiwan as an independent entity since 1979, though recently Washington appears to have warmed up to the self-governing island.

Former President Trump broke policy and spoke on the phone with Taiwan’s president shortly after winning the 2016 election, while the Biden administration affirmed its commitment to Taiwan is “rock-solid” (and more recently, sent 2.5M vaccine doses their way).

• This month, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) issued a joint communique containing a call for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait – the body of water separating Taiwan from China.

📸 The Big Picture: China is becoming increasingly aggressive in asserting its claim over Taiwan, while the U.S. and allies are working to keep the island independent – but how should they proceed? Just click below. 👇

🛸 Ethically Elevated and ~Beyond~

It’s 2021, the Earth is flat and aliens exist. Forget storming Area 51, we’re making it our summer goal to swim to Earth’s edge and look into the ~beyond~ like a huge infinity pool.*

Though, we probably need a new epic swimsuit to do it – and we found just the place.

Made Trade.

Why? Because the flat Earth needs our help and Made Trade carefully hand selects the best ethically made and sustainably sourced goods for your wardrobe.  Plus, every order is carbon neutral and 1% of every purchase is donated to an environmental nonprofit.

Every. Single. Purchase.

You are quite literally making a positive impact every time you shop.

Level up your wardrobe with Made Trade.

*These are not the views of The DONUT and all references to flat Earth and swimming to the edge are 100% in jest... or are they?

Images: Fox News

Picture this:

• You’ve finally received a much-deserved break from work.
• You’re ready for the road trip of a lifetime.
• Spanning more than 12 states and 70 hours of driving, your trip is all about… picking up trash.

Meet Stefani Shamrowicz, a Colorado resident who spent over 23 days traveling the country picking up litter.

She created a GoFundMe page to help fund her trip, pledging to pick up an entire bag of trash for each $10 donation and then post a picture of the neighborhood they helped clean.

• “This is an opportunity for me to extend [an] impact to a national level and involve others in it as well.”

At the end of her trip, she had picked up a total of 126 bags.

"As much as there’s a ton of trash out there... there’s also a lot of beauty."

Keep reading.

*Correction: In yesterday’s full-length story, we mistakenly referred to IndyCar racing as “indie car” – it’s not independently affiliated.

🤖 The Golden Gears…

Image: TRI

Japan’s population is aging - so much so, that within 20-30 years the number of Japanese citizens over the age of 65 will be roughly equal to the number of citizens under 65.

Enter the Toyota Research Institute (TRI): In response to the aging of Japan, the AI-oriented subsidiary of the Japanese auto manufacturer has focused its efforts on developing robots that can aid the elderly.

Earlier this week, TRI showed off a domestic robot capable of identifying and cleaning wipeable surfaces, such as tabletops, countertops, and floors.

• The robot also demonstrated the ability to recognize and respond to transparent and reflective objects - such as glass cups - that have traditionally confused other robots.

Keep reading.

What vegetable's name in French translates to "earth apple"?

A) Beet
B) Turnip
C) Cabbage
D) Potato

(keep scrolling for the answer)

Access exclusive rewards and even an all-expenses-paid round trip to Austin, TX, just for sharing this newsletter.

Simply:

1. Copy your unique referral link.👇
2. Drop said link in your roommate group chat, send it to a family member or two, rent a billboard truck and drive around, etc.
3. Watch the rewards roll in.

No link found!

D) 

Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew.

In France, potatoes are referred to as pomme de terre – literally meaning “an apple from the Earth.”