Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Today's newsletter is jam-packed, so let's dive right in.

Some things you’ll know after reading this email:

• 📉 Which country’s economy just collapsed
• 🧠 The storage capacity of the human brain
• 🚘🌕 What it’s like to take a spin on the "moon"

... and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today's news takes 4.40 minutes to read.

"You can easily judge the character of a person by how they treat those who can do nothing for them."

–Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990)

In a surprise move, the FDA will order Juul to cease production of its e-cigarettes and take them off the US market, as first reported by the WSJ.

🚭 Driving the move… It’s currently unclear why Juul’s products are being banned, though the WSJ reported that a federal criminal investigation into the company’s marketing practices towards teens is pending.

📅 Background: In early 2020, the FDA banned the sale of fruity and sweet vape flavors following criticism that they were targeted at minors; all US vape manufacturers were also required to submit their products for FDA review to stay on the market.

• For the past two years, regulators have been reviewing thousands of applications for other vaping products, including tobacco- and menthol-flavored Juul pods.
• The FDA had previously cleared the way for two of Juul’s biggest rivals, Reynolds and NJOY, to keep tobacco-flavored vapes on the market, and most industry insiders had expected the same for Juul.

📸 The big picture: Juul is still the most popular vaping brand in the US, with ~37% market share as of a few months ago. Vuse, which is owned by Reynolds, had roughly 34% market share, and NJOY was third with just over 3%.

👀 Looking ahead... Nearly all of Juul’s $1.3 billion in sales come from the US market… so just like Ron Burgundy, this would be kind of a big deal. Juul could pursue an appeal through the FDA, challenge the decision in court, or file a revised application for its products.

Sri Lanka’s economy has “completely collapsed” after months of shortages of food, fuel, and electricity, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told lawmakers yesterday.

🇱🇰 What’s going on?... The South Asian island nation of 22 million people, which sits in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, is struggling with large amounts of debt, lost tourism revenue, other effects of the pandemic, and (surprise!) surging inflation.

• Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka’s state-run oil company is $700 million in debt, and “as a result, no country or organization in the world is willing to provide fuel to us.”
• The country has already suspended repayment of $7 billion in foreign debt due this year, and must pay $5 billion on average annually until 2026.
• Many middle class families – who, until recently, enjoyed relatively comfortable lifestyles – are now struggling to source three meals a day, as the inflation rate for food climbed to 57% last month.

🌍 Zoom out: Sri Lanka isn’t the only world economy going through a rough patch. Pakistan’s finance minister said last month that the government is in “dire need” of ~$37 billion in foreign financing over the next year to avoid financial collapse, while Afghanistan’s economy is still in shambles nearly a full year after the Taliban assumed power.

A team of researchers from University College London has created a method to levitate objects via sound, even when the path of the acoustic waves is obstructed, per a new peer-reviewed study.

🔊 How it works: Sound waves are composed of air particles moving together. Manipulated in the right way, they can literally pick up and move objects – and what’s even crazier, this type of ‘sonar levitation’ has been around for decades.

• However, under previous methods, if the sound waves run into an obstacle that reflects or scatters them, the levitating object comes tumbling down.

🤖 But for this new study… scientists developed an AI-assisted algorithm that’s able to — in conjunction with 256 speakers — quickly readjust sound waves to keep the object in the air despite interruptions.

• In one experiment, the team was able to levitate a water droplet over a moving glass of water, an object that would've otherwise proven to be a massive source of interference due to its reflective surface.

👀 Looking ahead… The findings could eventually lead to more advanced interactive entertainment at theme parks, arcades, and museums; it could also improve 3D printing by allowing manufacturers to build more sophisticated designs than the layer-by-layer approach currently used.

🦔 There’s a lot to like about hedgehogs. They’re prickly, cute, and come in bright wacky colors…

Wait, what?! 🤯

The Hoglet by Hedgehog Health is what you get when you combine a hedgehog, a fidget, and a computer mouse. 🦔⚙️🐭

🤯 Did you know?… between 30 and 40% of the population is thought to be neurodiverse? This includes ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, which can make staying engaged and learning more challenging.

• Fidgets are proven to help kids with ADHD focus, unfortunately, many computer labs don’t allow them. And most school computer labs are often lifeless, drab, and lack the sensory feedback many unique learners need to stay engaged.😕
• That’s where the Hoglet comes in. Its squishy, nubby textures and bright hues help with keeping focus and provide a calming effect.👌

Check out the Hoglet today (and get $30 off).

A growing number of businesses in California are opening cannabis cafes, where customers can buy and light up – or eat – marijuana products on the premises.

🌿 A deeper dive... The trend represents the latest attempt by the state’s weed industry to compete with an illegal market that’s still thriving more than four years after legalization, per the NY Times.

• While California voters legalized marijuana in 2016, a provision in the measure gave local governments the ability to ban cannabis businesses – and the majority of them did.
• Today, 62% of local cities and counties still don’t allow any kind of marijuana retail, though some have said they’re considering allowing cannabis lounges to attract tourists and increase tax revenue.

✋ Yes, but… There are several regulatory complications that California’s cannabis cafes need to navigate, such as a statewide ban on indoor smoking, as well as laws meant to protect employees from working in smoke-filled environments.

🌎 Zoom out: Cannabis consumption lounges have also popped up in other legal states and countries, like Oregon, Nevada, Michigan, and Canada.

• ☝️ This seat design for a double-decker airplane first started as a college project for a 21-year-old student, but after a nomination for one of the top prizes in the aviation industry, he put his master’s degree on hold to pursue it full time.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• ✈️ American Airlines will stop flying to and from airports in four small US cities – Islip, NY, Ithaca, NY, Toledo, OH, and Dubuque, IA – citing an ongoing pilot shortage.
• 📺 NBCUniversal and Google have emerged as the top contenders to help Netflix create an ad-supported tier of its service, per the WSJ.
• 🗣️ Amazon unveiled a new feature enabling its Alexa voice assistant to emulate any voice, including deceased relatives.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚖️ The Ohio State University won trademark rights to the word "The."
• 🏀 The 2022 NBA Draft takes place tonight at the Barclays Center in NYC, with the first pick belonging to the Orlando Magic.
• 🏈 Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder tried to discredit former employees who accused the team of sexual harassment with a "shadow investigation," per the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which said it plans to subpoena Snyder for testimony.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 NASA’s recent Moon rocket test met ~90% of its objectives, but there’s still no firm date for its first uncrewed flight later this summer; as of now, the plan is for astronauts to set foot on the Moon by 2026.
• ⚛️ Australian scientists created the world's first-ever quantum computer circuit.
• 🐷🫀 Doctors still can’t fully explain the death of the first recipient of a genetically modified pig heart, but offered several theories in a new peer-reviewed study, which ultimately concluded that clinical trials of pig-to-human organ transplantation should begin despite this fact. (Background from the DONUT)

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🇷🇺🌾 Russian forces targeted at least two large North American-owned grain terminals with airstrikes yesterday, as part of what Kyiv and Western governments say is a concerted effort to cripple Ukraine’s ability to export food.
• 🏫 The Uvalde school district placed Police Chief Pedro Arredondo on administrative leave yesterday, hours after the city’s mayor said the elementary school where last month’s shooting took place will be demolished.
• ⛽ President Biden officially endorsed a three month federal gas tax holiday, though pundits say it's unlikely to get through Congress. (From the Left | From the Right | Background from the DONUT)

💬 Quoted… "Driving on the moon is like driving on ice."

General Motors has created a lunar driving simulator – adapted from its NASCAR racing activities – to test the lunar rover for NASA’s Artemis mission, which GM is developing alongside Lockheed Martin.

📊 Stat of the Day: The burnout is real. 70% of C-level executives say they’re seriously considering resigning for a job that better supports their well-being, per a new Deloitte survey; among all employees, that number was 57%.

🌎 Around the World: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan yesterday, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring at least 1,500 more.

🤯 Did You Know?... The average human brain has a capacity of ~2.5 petabytes (aka 2.5 million gigabytes), according to a 2010 analysis of the number of synapses and neurons.

📖 Worth a Read: In a Parallel Universe, Another You → (NY Times)

🙅‍♀️ I’ll never touch it (56%): “While the initial idea was interesting I feel it quickly became a pyramid scheme. The blockchain projects that hold any interest to me are NFTs that act as a token or key for a larger purpose, but those don’t inherently require cryptocurrency.”

🤔 A few projects look interesting, but I’m still mostly wary (22%): “Despite its interesting and useful applications, like added security to global transactions, crypto in its current state lacks restrictions and has too large of a negative ecological impact to be sustainable.”

👍 There are some drawbacks, but on the whole it’s great (6%): “It’s a volatile investment, but it truly is the future. Conservative investment strategies like dollar cost averaging work well.”

🤩 I’m all in, baby (4%): “All new technologies experience growing pains before widespread adoption and crypto is no different. Individual companies or coins may come and go, but crypto is here to stay.”

🤷‍♀️ I haven’t formed an opinion yet/other (12%): “I can't figure out how it all works or what crypto even is. I've tried researching it but no matter how much I read about it, I have no understanding at all.”

+Note on sample size: We received 9,722 responses.👏🥳 Some may have been lightly edited for grammar or clarity.

There's nothing quite like that excited buzz you feel on your way to a concert. The anticipation of the cheers and bright lights, seeing your favorite artist in the flesh... the excitement is tangible. 

Katie and Zack Watson felt that buzz in an Uber on their way to see Garth Brooks. 

• Their Uber driver, Vicki, was almost as thrilled as the couple – though she was jusg looking forward to driving close enough to the stadium to see all the excitement. 
• A huge fan, she had gone out of her way just to work near the event that night.

🎸 That's when the couple had an idea: As Vicki raved on and on about her love of Garth Brooks, Katie and Zack invited her to join them at the concert, as they just so happened to have a spare ticket.

🚘➡️🏟️ From car to concert... The trio ended up dancing the night away. By its end, Vicki said she was reminded there really is good in the world.

• “Zack and Katie were so kind. I still can’t believe I was inside the stadium!" 

Can you name the numbered countries shown above?

(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. Mongolia
2. China
3. India
4. Nepal
5. Bangladesh