Good morning and welcome to Monday. On today’s docket:

• 🙅‍♀️ Turkey could block Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership
• 💰 CEO pay hit a new record high
• 👥🏙 How many people can fit inside Los Angeles?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.48 minutes to read.

"All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination."

–Earl Nightingale (1921-1989)

On Friday, we attempted to report that this weekend’s Blood Moon eclipse would happen on the night of the 15th/morning of the 16th, which for some reason, we thought was Saturday and Sunday (and not last night when it actually occurred – more on that below). Apologies for the confusion.

Johnny Depp’s $50 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard will resume later today after a one-week hiatus, with Heard set to retake the witness stand to face a third day of questioning from her lawyers, followed by cross-examination from Depp’s attorneys.

⚖️ Let's get caught up... Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a 2018 WaPo op-ed in which she claimed she was the victim of sexual and domestic violence, but didn’t mention Depp by name.

• Depp and his lawyers have argued in court that the abuse accusations weren’t true and that they damaged his career and reputation; days after the op-ed was published, Disney removed Depp from his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
• Heard and her lawyers say the op-ed was 100% true, accusing Depp of assaulting her on more than a dozen occasions, many times while high on drugs. They’ve also denied allegations from Depp that Heard was abusive.

🇬🇧 Relevant context: Depp previously lost a 2020 libel case against UK tabloid The Sun, which published an article calling him a “wife beater” over his treatment of Heard. A British judge ruled it was more probable than not that the alleged assaults took place.

• After the trial, Warner Bros. requested that Depp leave his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

📅 Looking ahead... Closing arguments are scheduled for May 27, after which the jury will deliberate before announcing a verdict; Heard has also filed a $100 million defamation countersuit against Depp over a 2018 GQ interview that appears likely to go to court later this year.

About twenty minutes after the first batch of DONUTs were delivered Friday morning, Elon Musk tweeted that his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter was on hold “pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users.”

He followed that up two hours later with another tweet saying he was “still committed to acquisition,” adding more intrigue to a saga with seemingly more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

🤿 A deeper dive… The securities filing for the merger stipulates that if Musk were to end the deal or fail to deliver the acquisition funding as promised, he would have to pay a $1 billion breakup fee. But he can’t exactly just pay it and walk away.

• Musk would have to prove that the stated bot count of 5% is inaccurate and has what’s known as a material adverse effect (MAE) on Twitter’s business.
• An MAE-affirmative ruling has only occurred once in Delaware, where the social media company is incorporated.

👀 Looking ahead… ​​From Twitter’s CEO Parag Agarwal: “While I expect the deal to close, we need to be prepared for all scenarios and always do what’s right for Twitter.”

+In the know: Take a deeper look at Musk’s financing situation surrounding the deal and why he’s reportedly trying to further reduce his personal exposure, notorious short-seller Hindenburg Research’s report about its significant risks, or the legal issues Musk faces pertaining to this situation.

Finland’s government officially confirmed yesterday that it will apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance featuring the US, Canada, and 28 other European nations.

• Hours later, Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats party announced its support for an application to join NATO – a move that’s supported by roughly two-thirds of the population, per a poll conducted this month. 
• Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson said she plans to ask parliament on Monday to officially support the application.

✋ Yes, but: To be admitted into NATO, each applicant must be approved by all member countries. One potential roadblock to the two Nordic nations joining the alliance is Turkey, which has the second-largest military behind the US.

• Last Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We don’t hold positive views” on Finland and Sweden’s potential membership, claiming the two countries are “home to many terrorist organizations.”

🇺🇦 Zoom out: A quick rundown of recent Russia/Ukraine war happenings: 

• Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive in the east to disrupt Russian supply lines, the EU committed more than $500 million to repay members that provide weapons to Ukraine, and four Republican senators led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–KY) traveled to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

🤔 How can certain styles be so different but still look good?

👖 It’s all in the fit… fit transcends style! While it varies slightly depending on what's trending, it needs to be right, especially in key areas.

And that’s why unspun can guarantee you the best pair of jeans you’ve ever worn – because every pair is a one-of-a-kind limited edition made just for you, exactly how you want them.

⚙️ How it works…

• Shop: Design your perfect pair. Custom select your fit, fabric, waist rise, and more.
• Scan: Take a quick 3D body scan through their iPhone app.
• Wear: Your perfect fit. Guaranteed. 🙌

If these are not the best fitting pair of pants you’ve ever owned, unspun will give you a full refund. Tweaks and adjustments are on them, too. 👌

Styles come and go, but fit and comfort are forever.💎👖

➡️ Click here and get 20% off your perfect fit from unspun.

The median overall pay for S&P 500 CEOs in 2021 was $14.7 million, per a new Wall Street Journal analysis, setting an annual record for the sixth-straight year.

🚗📈 Driving the trend… Strong profits and robust markets that boosted pay package performance measures, according to the WSJ (which means that pay could actually end up being higher or lower than reported).

• Total comp rose by at least 12% for most of the executives, while most companies recorded annual shareholder returns of nearly 30%.
• Excluding equity (stock) awards, median compensation was $4.1 million. In 2020, the median overall pay package was $13.4 million for the same cohort, with median cash compensation of $3.1 million.
• Nine CEOs got pay packages worth at least $50 million last year, up from seven in 2020 and one in 2016.

☝️ One interesting thing: Apple CEO Tim Cook and the aforementioned Elon Musk came in at opposite ends of the spectrum: ~$99 million vs. $0, respectively.

See the full list.

• ☝️Thousands of abortion rights protesters gathered in DC, NYC, and other cities across the US on Saturday, three days after the Senate failed to pass a bill that would have codified Roe v. Wade into law. (From the Left | From the Right | See the 360° view)

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈📉 US stocks rose across the board on Friday (Dow: +1.5%; S&P: +2.4%; Nasdaq: +3.8%), but all three major indexes still finished the week down at least 2%.
• 💰 Saudi Aramco posted a record quarterly profit of $39.5 billion last quarter after its net income rose more than 80%.
• ⛽ The average price for a gallon of gas in the US hit a new all-time high of $4.47 yesterday (not adjusted for inflation).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ The Pittsburgh Pirates became just the sixth MLB team since 1901 to win despite not getting any hits yesterday; their opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, technically didn’t throw a no-hitter since they only pitched eight innings.
• 🏀🏒 Playoff updates: The NBA Conference Finals are set: the Celtics will face the Heat in the East and the Warriors will play the Mavericks in the West; the NHL officially wrapped up its first round of the playoffs yesterday.
• 🎶 Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won this year’s Eurovision contest.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚦 Researchers have developed an AI system that reads live camera footage and adapts traffic lights to keep traffic flowing and reduce congestion.
• 🚀🛰️ SpaceX delivered over 100 Starlink satellites into orbit over the weekend across two separate launches in California and Florida; the constellation’s overall size is now close to 2,500 satellites.
• 🩸🌕 Check out some of the best pictures from last night’s Blood Moon eclipse. (A collective sigh for those of us who had cloud cover.😞)

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🚨 Authorities in Buffalo, NY, apprehended an 18-year-old white male who fatally shot 10 people at a predominantly Black supermarket on Saturday (while livestreaming it on Twitch); Buffalo’s mayor said the suspect traveled ~200 miles from his hometown, and that the incident is being investigated as a racially-motivated hate crime.
• 🇬🇪 The Georgian region of South Ossetia will hold a referendum on July 17 to determine whether or not to break away from Georgia to join Russia.
• ⚖️ A federal judge blocked part of an Alabama state law that would ban gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth. (From the Left | From the Right)
• 🖼️ Research shows looking at art can improve mental health. Get 10% off originals at Julie Pelaez Studios with code BEWELL!*

*Sponsored

💬 Quoted… “Horrible, Horrible, Horrible!”

• The celebrity Botox doctor whose Bel Air mansion sold for $45.8 million at auction last week is pretty upset – he’d initially listed the mansion for $87.8 million in hopes of paying down tens of millions in debt to creditors.

🎽 Stat of the Day: It took 18-year-old LSU sprinter Erriyon Knighton just 19.49 seconds to run a 200-meter race late last month, making him the fourth-fastest person over that distance in recorded human history. 

• For comparison, Knighton’s time is a full 0.5 seconds faster than Usain Bolt’s best performance at the same age.

🤯 Did You Know?... Famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking’s birth and death aligned with two of the most famous scientists in history: Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo’s passing, and died on the same day Albert Einstein was born.

📖 Worth a Read: Jetpacks and the Enigma of Solo Flight → (The Guardian)

Monday: National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day

Tuesday: Midterm election primaries in ID, KY, NY, OR, and PA; start of Cannes Film Festival (ends May 28); Monthly retail sales data

Wednesday: Congress aims to pass $40 billion aid package for Ukraine

Thursday: Golf’s PGA Championship begins (ends Sunday)

Friday: Downton Abbey: A New Era hits theaters; National Pizza Party Day

🏎 Vroom vroom... Hot Wheels is expanding its range of remote-control toys to include its first-ever wheelchair, modeled after five-time Wheelchair Motocross World Champion and Paralympic athlete Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham. 

• Born with spina bifida, Aaron was only eight years old when he started tricking in his chair, practicing at the local skatepark until eventually joining the Paralympics. 

💬 What he's saying: "Growing up, I didn't have anything like this," Aaron shared with CNN. "[The toy] really gives you that freedom of imagination."

❓ Trivia: What's the only mammal that can’t jump?

⚖️👥 True or False?... The entire population of the world could fit inside the city of Los Angeles.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What’s always coming but never arrives?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone you think would like the DONUT.

❓ Trivia: Elephant 🐘

⚖️👥 T/F: True, if everyone stands shoulder-to-shoulder

🤔 Riddle: The future