Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Pro-tip for all you Wordle fans out there: DONUT is 5 letters.😉🍩

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.27 minutes to read.

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts; therefore guard accordingly."

Marcus Aurelius (121 AD – 180 AD)

Yesterday was the busiest day of the midterm election season so far, with primaries in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

🗳️ Some preliminary results: Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate race was too close to call as of early this morning, with celebrity-turned-politician Mehmet Oz – who was backed by former President Trump – in a dead heat with businessman Dave McCormick.

• Trump-endorsed House Freedom Caucus member Ted Budd beat out former governor Pat McCrory in North Carolina's GOP Senate primary, while Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) lost a primary challenge for his House seat to State Sen. Chuck Edwards.
• On the Democratic side, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman cruised to victory in the Senate primary days after suffering a stroke, though he said he’s on his way to “a full recovery” after undergoing a procedure to address the root cause.

📸 Big picture: Democrats are hoping to hold on to slim majorities in the House (221-209) and Senate (50-50 with VP tiebreaker), but momentum isn’t on their side. Presidential approval ratings are usually a good indicator of what will happen in the midterms, and Biden’s is hovering around 42%, more than 11% lower than this same time last year.

The streaming giant is laying off around 150 employees across the company, according to an internal memo sent Tuesday and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

🍿💻 More deets…

• The cuts represent 2% of its total workforce, with most of the layoffs happening in the US.
• The company is also making changes to its animation unit, which will result in the loss of 70 jobs. Contractor roles in social media and publishing channels are also being reduced.
• This new round of cuts comes less than a month after multiple full-time staff and contractors in Netflix’s editorial and marketing division were laid off.

📸 The big picture: Last quarter, Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in a decade – and this quarter is forecasted to be even worse. Its shares are down ~70% this year.

• In response, the streaming giant is launching a cheaper, ad-supported tier, cracking down on password sharing, and “pulling back” its spending to maintain its margins (though one should mention its $17 billion content bill).

📉 Zoom out: Several tech companies have also announced hiring freezes and layoffs recently, including Meta, Amazon, Uber and Robinhood.

+In other streaming news: The new, ad-supported version of Disney+ won’t have alcohol or political advertising, or ads from rival entertainment companies; Disney also said the total ad load will be limited to 4 minutes per hour and that preschool children won’t be served any ads, per the WSJ.

The number of people reported missing in Mexico officially surpassed 100,000 yesterday, according to data from the country's National Registry of Missing Persons, though local civil organizations warn the real number is likely much higher.

🇲🇽 By the numbers:

• Over the past two years, Mexico has recorded over 27,000 disappearances, including 400+ foreign nationals; overall, ~75% of the people who have gone missing were men and one-quarter were under the age of 18, with just 35 recorded disappearances resulting in a conviction of the perpetrator.
• The Mexican government has reported that around 37,000 unidentified bodies are being held in forensic services, and many other corpses have been buried without being identified due to overflowing morgues.
• Mexico has also registered over 340,000 deaths – mostly attributed to organized crime groups – since 2006, when it launched a major anti-drug military offensive.

🤔 What’s going on?... The UN warned last month that Mexico was facing an "alarming upward trend" in cases of missing persons; it largely attributed the spike to organized crime groups “with varying degrees of participation, acquiescence or omission by public servants.”

🧩 Many people with ADHD and unique learners struggle with the following:

• Staying focused
• Staying engaged
• Fine motor skills

📉 And things aren’t getting better for anyone. Recent studies estimate our attention spans are down 25% in the past few years. (Thanks smartphones!)

🦔 It’s a good thing people are working to help the issue, like our friends at Hedgehog Health.

🐭 Reimagining the mouse… They developed the Hoglet, a computer mouse that also serves as a functional fidget which is proven to help certain individuals stay focused, especially those with ADHD.

• And unlike fidget toys, the Hoglet is allowed into computer labs at schools!

The squishy, nubbed texture and bright colors serve as a welcome break from the boring, lifeless tones of computer labs. The Hoglet also provides a physical stimulation many kids with ASD need to stay engaged.

It’s not just for unique learners either; the Hoglet is perfect for anyone who struggles to stay focused on the computer for long hours. 🥱🖥️

➡️ Get a Hoglet today and save $30!

Yesterday, for the first time since 1966, a House Intelligence subcommittee held a public hearing on UFOs.

🛸 Background: The hearing follows a congressionally mandated report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence last year that found most analyzed UFO incidents remain inconclusive.

🏛️ Some highlights…

• The US military has a database of roughly 400 reported UFO encounters.
• There have been 11 near misses between unknown objects and US military assets…
• … but service members have recorded no collisions or direct communications with any unidentified aerial phenomena, according to Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray, who testified yesterday.

📸 Big picture: UAP sightings "are frequent and are continuing,” per the hearing. The Pentagon attributes this to the increased presence of commercial drones near military sites and better sensor equipment detecting debris in military airspace. Service members are also actively encouraged to report anything abnormal they encounter.

📝 The bottom line: While most UFO sightings still can’t be explained, there’s officially no aliens or spaceship wreckage to speak of… yet.😉

• ☝️ The DOJ announced the discovery of a 600-yard smuggling tunnel running from Tijuana, Mexico, to a warehouse in San Diego, CA, that features reinforced walls, a rail system, electricity and ventilation.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US stocks posted strong gains across the board yesterday. (Dow: +1.3% | S&P: +2.0% | Nasdaq: +2.8%)
• 📱💻⌚ Apple announced a new wave of accessibility features that will roll out later this year as software updates for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
• 💼 Microsoft announced plans to “nearly double” its salary budget and boost stock compensation by up to 25%; Goldman Sachs is giving senior staff unlimited vacation days and requiring all employees to take at least three weeks off a year beginning in 2023.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎤 NFL QB Tom Brady will be the first subject of a planned series of new Netflix comedy specials called “Greatest Roasts of All Time” (“GROAT”), as first reported by Variety.
• 🎮 A new peer-reviewed study by a team of European researchers found that playing video games may boost a child's intelligence compared to other forms of screen time.
• 🏀 The NBA Draft Lottery took place last night; the top 3 picks belong to Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Houston.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🦠🫁 For the first time ever, scientists successfully used bacteriophages – a type of virus – to treat an antibiotic-resistant bacterial lung infection; their process helped a young patient receive a life-saving lung transplant, per Denver hospital National Jewish Health.
• 🪨 ​​Scientists at West Virginia University examined an 830-million-year-old piece of halite, or rock salt, and discovered microorganisms that may still be alive, according to new peer-reviewed research.
• ☄️ The Hypatia stone, found in Egypt, could be the first geological evidence of a supernova explosion, per researchers from the University of Johannesburg.
• 🚘🤖 Uber Eats launched two autonomous delivery trials in LA on Monday.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🌮🍕 Taco Bell is bringing back the Mexican Pizza starting tomorrow after it was nixed in the early days of the pandemic.
• 🚘💥🚗 US traffic deaths rose 10.5% last year to reach 42,915, their highest level since 2005, per data released yesterday by the Department of Transportation.
• 💉🦠 Pfizer’s Covid booster shot was cleared by the FDA for 5-12 year olds yesterday (From the Left | From the Right); separately, the White House announced all US households can order an additional eight free home tests starting immediately at Covid.gov/tests.

💬 Quoted… ​​“There could be some pain involved.”

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank will raise interest rates by 0.5% for the second and third time in a row following its next two policy meetings in June and July in a WSJ interview published yesterday.

💰 Stat of the Day: 93% of shoppers in the US own or are open to buying secondhand products, per a new report from resale platform ThredUP; that’s up from 52% when the same survey was conducted in 2017.

🌎 Around the World: The number of American citizens living in Portugal increased by 45% last year.

🤯 Did You Know?... Humans don’t have a specific sense for wetness – only temperature, pressure and texture.

📖 Worth a Read: Product Placement is Going to Take Over Your Favorite Show → (Morning Brew)

Today we have a two-fer:

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Biden is doing his job?

Approve

Disapprove

Unsure/Other

2. How do you feel about the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial?

I'm on Depp’s side

I’m on Heard’s side

There are no winners here

Who cares?

+Note: A written response isn't required, all you need to do is click one of the links above and your vote is recorded. Poll results and the best comments for each response will be featured in tomorrow's newsletter.

Coldplay is currently on their "Music of the Spheres" world tour, and the band has made it their mission to help the environment in every way possible, pledging to cut their CO2 emissions by 50% compared to their previous world tour five years ago.

🕺🤘🌳 Dance for the environment... The most unique part of the initiative may be the fans' part in the plan; Coldplay has kinetic dance floors and power-generating stationary bikes installed around every stadium – so by dancing at the concert, fans can literally power the show.

💬 What they're saying: "[It's a] kind of opportunity to do something fun and it's a benefit to the environment and to the whole concert experience,” bassist Guy Berryman told the AP.

Name the capital cities of these Southwestern states👇

(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.

1. Carson City
2. Salt Lake City
3. Denver
4. Phoenix
5. Santa Fe