Good morning and welcome to Monday. Last week, Morgan Freeman celebrated his 85th birthday. Which raises the question: What do you get the man who narrates everything?🤔

Some things you’ll know after reading today’s email:

• 🛰 How NASA’s plan to decommission the International Space Station is like Avengers: Endgame
• ↪️ 🚗 Which luxury automaker is recalling one million cars
• 🎾😉 What tennis excellence looks like

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.92 minutes to read.

"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."

–Albus Dumbledore (1881-1997)

A human rights group recently published hundreds of thousands of hacked Chinese police files, representing one of the most extensive public accounts of Beijing’s treatment of its mostly Muslim Uyghur population.

🇨🇳 Background: China is accused of operating a network of detention centers in the Xinjiang province, where an estimated 1 to 2 million Uyghurs are being “reeducated” – aka forced to unlearn their culture and religion in favor of a secular, pro-Communist Party outlook.

• China claims the camps are designed to help nationalize its Muslim population following deadly terrorist attacks.
• Previous reporting has uncovered many human rights abuses taking place in the camps, including rape, torture, forced sterilization, and murder.
• In January 2021, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China is committing a genocide against the Uyghurs, just the fifth such declaration by the US since the Cold War.

⏩ Fast forward to late last month… when the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation released the ‘Xinjiang Police Files,’ collected from internal police and government sources in China.

• The files contradict Beijing’s official stance that the Uyghurs voluntarily choose to attend the camps, revealing that China uses a shoot-to-kill policy towards anyone attempting to escape.
• The photos and documents also showed that detainees are cuffed, shackled, and hooded when moved or transferred, and that all of the actions are authorized by the government in Beijing.

🏛️ On Capitol Hill: The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a congressionally-approved bill forcing companies that import goods from Xinjiang to show "clear and convincing evidence" they’re not the product of forced labor, is set to take effect June 21.

NY state lawmakers approved a bill on Friday that would impose a two-year moratorium on certain types of crypto mining, sending it to the desk of Governor Kathy Hochul to either veto or sign into law over the next week.

🗽 More deets... The measure calls for a two-year ban on new permits for reviving old fossil-fuel power plants to convert into crypto mining facilities; conventional crypto mining (i.e., running a rig in your basement) would still be allowed.

• It also calls for a study on the environmental impact that mining facilities are having in the state. 
• Governor Hochul, a Democrat, hasn’t given an indication whether she intends to veto the legislation or sign it into law.

🌏🪙 Zoom out: After China, India, and more than a dozen other countries implemented restrictions on crypto mining in recent years, many operations left for the US. New York, with an abundance of retired fossil fuel plants (and cheap, renewable energy otherwise), quickly became a new crypto mining hub.

• But the resurgence of fossil fuel plants has sparked backlash from some residents and environmental groups, who worry their existence could endanger the state’s commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

🧠 In the know: Including mining and transactions, the world’s cryptocurrencies combine to emit an estimated 77 million tons of CO2 annually, roughly the same amount as countries like Austria or Colombia.

+Dig deeper: What is crypto mining?

Yesterday, three Chinese astronauts arrived at Tiangong, the country's space station, tasked with the mission of completing its construction and in-orbit assembly. The team is expected to spend at least the next six months on-site.

• Tiangong, which means "heavenly palace," is expected to become fully operational by the end of this year; it'll be about 20% the size of the International Space Station when completed.

🚀 The big picture: Over the past two decades, China – which is banned from the ISS – has gone from putting its first astronaut in space (2003), to putting a rover on Mars (2021), to now almost completing its own space station.

🛰🔥🤔 Zoom out: The ISS, a cooperation between Canada, Japan, Russia, the US, and eleven member states of the European Space Agency, became operational in 1998. It was supposed to have a lifespan of 30 years, which – if you’ve got your calculator out – means its time will be up in six years.

To decommission the space station, a NASA safety panel approved a plan in 2019 to have at least two Russian-made rockets drag the 450-ton structure into the Earth’s atmosphere as early as 2028, where it’ll turn into a giant flaming ball of space destruction like in Avengers: Endgame. But the thing is: no one really knows how legit that deadline is…

• The station’s international partnerships and funding are slated to end in 2024, and Russian state media reported in April that the nation's deputy prime minister, Yuri Borisov, said the country might abandon it by 2025.
• Russia also announced a partnership with China last year to build a joint moon base that's ready for crewed visits by 2036.

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Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked female tennis player in the world, won her second French Open women’s singles title on Saturday, defeating 18-year-old American Coco Gauff in straight sets.

• It marked her 35th straight victory, tying Venus Williams for longest winning streak by any World Tennis Association player this century.
• Swiatek took over as world No. 1 in mid-April, and currently has twice as many points as any other player.
• Her French Open triumph came nearly two years after she stunned the field as the lowest-ranked player to win the tournament (at No. 54 in the world).

🎾 Speaking of dominance… Four words: Rafa on clay courts. The swingin’ Spaniard defeated Carlos Ruud in straight sets to capture his 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam, both all-time records.

• Fun fact: Since 2005, there have only been four years when Nadal didn’t win the French Open. His record at Roland Garros over that time? 112-3, including 14-0 in the finals... with just six total sets lost.

• ☝️ Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, moved across Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas over the weekend, submerging and stranding vehicles, canceling flights, and killing at least two people in Cuba; most of South Florida recorded roughly 11 inches of rain over a 72-hour period.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🍼 Abbott restarted production over the weekend at its baby formula plant in Michigan; the company is initially prioritizing specialty and metabolic formulas.
• 🚫✈️ American Airlines has parked ~100 of its regional jets due to a pilot shortage, CEO Robert Isom said on Friday.
• 😬 Mercedes-Benz announced a recall on Saturday of almost one million cars due to possible problems with the brake booster; models of the ML, GL (BR 164) and R-Class (BR 251) series produced between 2004 and 2015 are affected.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🍿 Sony got Morb’d: After Spider-Man spinoff Morbius had a disappointing debut in April, Sony re-released it in 1,000+ US theaters over the weekend (likely due to the popular “It’s Morbin’ time” meme); on Friday, the film brought in a grand total of... $85,000.
• 👸🇬🇧 The Platinum Jubilee is now over; Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise appearance yesterday after missing most of the festivities.
• ⚽ UEFA apologized to Liverpool and Real Madrid fans caught-up in events around the Champions League final (where fans clashed with police and ticket takers); French President Emmanuel Macron said he ordered his gov’t to “clarify what happened, to determine the responsibilities, and to explain them in detail” to Britain and Spain.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 💊 Tirzepatide, a drug approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, is extremely effective at reducing obesity, according to a new peer-reviewed study; the group taking the highest of three studied doses lost as much as 21% of their body weight (50-60 pounds in some cases).
• 🚀 Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, flew six tourists into space for a 10-minute ride Saturday, successfully carrying out its fifth crewed mission.
• 🎗💝 Enhertu, an antibody-chemotherapy drug given by IV, was shown in a new study to improve survival in patients with HER2-low breast cancer that had spread or could not be treated with surgery by about six months (from 17.5 months to 23.9 months).

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🇺🇦 A Ukrainian counterattack managed to recapture parts of Severodonetsk, the last remaining major city in the Luhansk region under any form of Ukrainian control, officials said yesterday.
• 🎓🏙️ The top 10 US cities for recent college grads.
• 🗳️ Businessman David McCormick conceded victory in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by former President Trump; Dr. Oz will face off against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. (From the Left | From the Right)

💬 Quoted… “When you look at the combination, the intersection of the pandemic, of the war, of the inflation, it signals paradigm shift, the end of 15 years of financial repression and the next era to come.”

Morgan Stanley co-President Ted Pick said the global economy has officially begun transitioning away from the economic conditions that followed the 2008 financial crisis (i.e., low interest rates and cheap corporate debt).

• Zoom out: His comments are similar to those made last week by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs President John Waldron.

🏘️ Stat of the Day: In 477 US cities, the typical home value at the end of April was below peak levels from the housing boom in the early 2000s, according to an analysis by Zillow for the WSJ.

🌎 Around the World... Turkey's annual inflation rose to 73.5% in May, its highest rate in 24 years; among the most-affected sectors are transportation (108%) and food (92%).

🤯 Did You Know?... Of the 24 astronauts who have traveled to the Moon, 20 of them have been Boy Scouts; more than two-thirds of all current and former astronauts were Boy or Girl Scouts.

📖 Worth a Read: There May Be as Many as Four Evil Civilizations in Our Galaxy → (Futurism)

Monday: Apple to announce iOS16 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference; the 78th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied troops landed in Normandy to begin their liberation of France from Nazi occupation (it's still the largest amphibious assault in history)

Tuesday: Primary elections in CA, IA, MS, MT, NJ, NM, and SD

Wednesday: National Best Friends Day

Thursday: Jan. 6 House committee to begin public hearings

Friday: Consumer Price Index for May; Jurassic World: Dominion hits theaters

Many retirees will pick up some sort of hobby to pass the time in their older age. 

While some opt for more relaxing options, such as knitting or a nice round of golf, 83-year-old Kenichi Horie chose sailing. 

👴🏻⛵️ Born to sail... The Japanese self-proclaimed adventure addict is no newbie to life on the high seas. Kenichi set the world record in 1962 as the first person to sail across the Pacific Ocean on their own, making the trek from Japan to California on a 19-foot plywood boat at only 23-years-old. 

• Now, Kenichi has done it again, setting the record as the world's oldest solo yachtsman to sail non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. 
• He officially made it from California to Japan this past Saturday after two-and-a-half months at sea. 

Guess the definitions of the following Latin and Greek root words.

1. Biblio
2. Chrono
3. Jur
4. Photo
5. Path

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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

1. Book
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5. Feel