Good morning and welcome to National French Fry Day. Let’s get straight to business: Below you’ll find the four steps to stuffing your face with fries all day.

1. Download the McDonald’s app and join the loyalty program (downloading the app also gets you a free 10 pc McNuggets…. nice).
2. Go to Wendy’s any day this week and purchase the food item of the day that comes with free fries.
3. Download the Burger King App for a free order of chicken fries.
4. Get free medium fries with any in-app purchase at Sonic.

Use these steps as freely as you dare. And just know this is a judgment free zone.🙅‍♀️

Some other things you’ll know after reading this email:

• 🤔🚜 The only mammal other than humans that actively farms for food
• ⚾️ Why the MLB All-Star Game could get postponed
• 👀 How height and life expectancy are correlated

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.76 minutes to read.

“It's easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.”

–Wayne Dyer (1940-2015)

Last week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a new measure into law banning the general public from recording law enforcement activity if they’re within eight feet of police officers and have received a verbal warning.

🚫🎥 A deeper dive… The GOP-backed bill, which was approved along party lines, defines law enforcement activity as officers questioning suspicious people, conducting an arrest, or generally enforcing the law.

• The measure creates carve-outs for a person who is the subject of police contact, and for when police activity is occurring indoors on private property. But these exceptions are overridden if the person filming is being arrested or searched, or if officers determine they’re interfering with “lawful police actions.”
• In an op-ed published earlier this year, state Rep. John Kavanagh (the bill’s sponsor) said the 8-foot buffer is meant to prevent clashes between police and hostile bystanders during tense situations.
• Critics have said they plan to challenge the law in court for several reasons, chief among them being that its wording is too vague and ​​creates potential for abuse. They also point to the fact that Arizona already has laws banning people from interfering with law enforcement arrests or detentions.

👀 Looking ahead… The new measure will take effect on September 24 barring any court orders.

+Flash poll: What do you think of Arizona’s new law?

I support it

I oppose it

Unsure/other

Pocket gophers are the only known mammal apart from humans that actively farms plants for food, according to new research published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology.

⛳️ Bill Murray must be having a fit rn… Previously, pocket gophers were thought to feed themselves almost exclusively via roots they encounter while constructing new tunnel systems (which are located several feet below the ground and can stretch 200+ yards).

• But digging is a very energy-intensive activity – 360 to 3,400 times more tiring than walking. And according to the new research, the animals aren’t able to find and eat enough roots as they go along to offset that high cost.

🚜 How they work: In the study, scientists observed the behavior of pocket gophers in their natural habitat in northern Florida. They discovered the creatures’ tunnels had grown new edible roots that emerged like stalactites and stalagmites, accounting for up to 62% of their daily caloric needs.

• The researchers ultimately concluded the animals were actively farming the roots by maintaining their massive tunnel systems, creating the perfect humid environment for roots to thrive.

✋ Yes, but… Some experts pushed back against classifying pocket gopher activity as ‘farming,’ arguing they’re instead simply harvesting the roots in a way that promotes growth (a “subtle difference”).

+One interesting thing: Unlike other gopher species – which tend to have designated waste areas – pocket gophers scatter their urine and feces throughout their tunnels, which fertilizes the soil and roots.

US jails lost a quarter of their population from 2019 to 2020, per a new report from USAFacts using data from the FBI and Bureau of Justice Statistics.

📝 First things first: Jail and prison are two different things. Generally, jail is used for people who are awaiting trial (~70% of its population), those being held by federal law enforcement agencies (~20%), or people who’ve been convicted and given a sentence of less than a year (~10%).

• Otherwise, convicts serve their sentences in prison.

📉 Driving the drop… The Covid pandemic. From March through June of 2020, about 28% of the jail population across America received expedited release as part of a program to reduce the spread of Covid in jails, per BJS data.

• In addition, overall arrests in the US fell by 25% in 2020 as many states implemented lockdowns due to the pandemic, per the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report.
• Misdemeanor charges – which often see defendants end up in jail, rather than prison – experienced the largest year-on-year decrease in 2020, falling 45%.

📸 Big picture: Nearly two million adults were incarcerated across the US at the time of the 2020 Census, a 13% drop compared with the 2010 Census (nearly 300,000 fewer people).

⌛ FINAL HOURS… The 3rd-annual MatchaPrime™ Day is up and running at Matcha.com for only a few more hours!

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A vast majority of concession workers at Dodger Stadium threatened to strike on Monday, one week before the venue hosts its first MLB All-Star Game since 1980.

🏟️ More deets… 99% of the ~1,500 food and beverage workers at Chez Ravine voted to approve the authorization, per labor union Unite Here Local 11, which said the strike could be called “at any moment.”

• Unite Here hasn’t specified what the stadium workers’ exact demands are, but a spokeswoman told the LA Times on Monday that workers face disparities in housing and health care, and are seeking a “fair new union contract.”
• The MLB Players Association (i.e., union) published a statement saying it "stands in solidarity" with the concession workers, but didn’t indicate whether it would cross picket lines – aka move forward with playing the game despite an ongoing strike by another union.

👀 Looking ahead… The All-Star Game festivities begin on Saturday with the MLB Futures Game. The Home Run Derby takes place Monday, and the All-Star Game is set for Tuesday.

+In the know: A big MLB midseason winner this year is the New York Yankees, who are heading into the break on a blistering 116-win pace. They’ve scored the most runs in baseball while also giving up the fewest – a rare combination – and outfielder Aaron Judge (30 HR) could potentially challenge the all-time AL record for home runs (61 HR).

• ☝️ 🌌🔭 NASA released the rest of the first images taken by its James Webb Space Telescope. (Background | Putting the JWST’s first picture into perspective)

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• ☕ Starbucks closed 16 stores across the country this week after workers reported incidents related to drug use or other disruptions in cafes; six of the locations will remain permanently closed.
• 🚘🔌📈 Shares of EV startup Canoo rose more than 50% yesterday after Walmart announced plans to buy between 4,500 and 10,000 of its upcoming electric delivery vans.
• 🛟 Phoenix, AZ, is offering a $2,500 incentive bonus to the next 500 lifeguards they hire; a nationwide shortage has forced pools across the country to limit hours, reduce programs, or close entirely.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📱 Spotify acquired Heardle, a daily name-that-tune Wordle clone, in a deal with undisclosed terms; the company said the game will remain free for all players.
• 🧪 The city of Albuquerque, NM – where Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are set – announced plans to erect bronze statues of Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).
• 🇮🇳 Indian police arrested a group of con men who staged a fake Indian Premier League cricket match on a farm and tricked a group of Russian gamblers into betting on it.
• 🏆 Succession earned 25 Emmy nominations yesterday morning (including Best Drama), the most of any TV series; Ted Lasso and The White Lotus tied for second with 20 noms apiece. See the full list of nominees.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🫀 A pair of pig-heart transplants were recently performed on two brain-dead humans in an effort to better test for viruses in pig transplant patients; the man who received the first-ever pig heart transplant died in January.
• ❤️ People tend to underestimate how much another person appreciates it when a friend reaches out to them unexpectedly, per a new peer-reviewed study.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• ⚖️ The highest-ranking judge in New York announced her resignation this week amidst an investigation into claims that she improperly influenced a disciplinary hearing.
• 🇫🇷 The lone survivor of an Islamist militant squad that killed 130 people in a 2015 series of attacks in Paris declined to appeal his guilty verdict or life sentence.
• 🏛️ The House Jan. 6 committee held its seventh public hearing yesterday. (From the Left | From the Right | The 360° View)
• 😋 Uniquely delicious foods with a purpose. Find your new favorite snack with monthly boxes from Good Food Brands... and use the code DONUT to save 20%!*

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💬 Quoted… ​​“The truth is I’m not who you think I am.”

• Sir Mo Farah, the first-ever British track athlete to win four Olympic golds, revealed in a BBC documentary that he was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child. “The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin.”

👸 Stat of the Day: ​​There are fewer than 100,000 British citizens older than 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, the only monarch 85%+ of the UK’s population has ever known.

🤯 Did You Know?... Height is inversely correlated with life expectancy; studies have found men who are 5’9’’ or shorter live roughly five years longer than men who are taller than 5’9’’.

• Many scientists attribute this fact to the entropy theory of aging, which posits that more body mass usually means more risk of a disorder that could kill you.

📖 Worth a Read: More Companies are Trying Out the 4-Day Workweek. But it Might Not Be for Everyone → (NPR)

🤯 Did you know?... profit margins in the pizza biz are thinner than ever before? (5-10%)📉🍕

Between the rising costs of labor and real estate, it’s making a competitive industry even harder!

Until now…

🤖 AUTOBOTS ROLL OUT!... Piestro’s robotic kiosks can make fresh pies at a fraction of the cost of a traditional restaurant.

What does this mean for pizzerias? TRIPLED PROFIT MARGINS!!!🥳🧑‍🍳

Piestro has its eyes feasted on the $155B pizza industry with a two-pronged attack: Not only will they sell the kiosk to existing chains, but they’ll operate their own units as well!🍕🤑

📊 Want a piece of the pie?... Piestro currently has $580M in preorders, and has secured partnerships with well-known pizza franchises like 800 Degrees.

Learn more about investing in the future of pizza. (But only until July 28th.⌛)

Raise your hand if you like traveling to or learning about cool places.✋

Yeah… we have five fingers to the sky, too. And this passion of ours sparked an idea for a new weekly section (that’ll be coming to you live every Wednesday from here-on-out).

What if we asked our readers to write in and share their most epic trips, so that we could all share in the thrill and joy of a brand-new experience? Put another way, we want to crowdsource the 411 on dope travel spots from around the world and deliver it to y'all.

🦵💡 But this idea has a kicker… What if these trips were already budgeted and (kinda) planned out, too?

• Let us explain: When you share your most epic trips (the whole process should take around five minutes), we’re gonna ask for a brief recap, must dos and must don’ts, as well as an estimated budget of the trip and how it was booked — aka the whole playbook for the experience, which we’ll publish in the section each week.

🎆🙏 Have an epic trip you’d like to share?… Just fill out this form.

Meet Timon and Pumba, an unlikely (and frankly adorable) duo recently rescued near Cave Creek, Arizona. 

The animals were saved from an abusive household, and, while dogs and pigs are not usually recommended to live together, these brothers quickly made it clear they are a special exception. 

Timon and Pumba are inseparable, spending their days as close together as possible – much of the time with little Timon hitching a ride on Pumba's back.

🐗🐕 Bottom line: The duo has been officially rescued by Better Piggies Rescue as permanent residents... which means no worries, for the rest of their dayyyssss.😉🎶 

Disclosure: This story first appeared in last week’s Positive DONUT, a weekly newsletter delivering awe (and awww) inspiring stories you won't hear in the news. Sign up for free here.

And name these poorly explained movie plots:

1. A boiler technician teaches high school students to believe in their dreams
2. Old man pretends to teach karate to trick boy into doing chores
3. Talking frog convinces young man to kill his father

(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. A Nightmare On Elm Street
2. The Karate Kid
3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi