Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. We regret to inform you that in a shocking, devastating, and unfathomable turn of events, Klondike has discontinued the Choco Taco for good, ending a 40-year run.💔

We know times like these are tough, but there’s one glimmer of hope. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian told Unilever, Klondike’s corporate parent, he’d “like to buy the rights to your Choco Taco and keep it from melting away from future generations’ childhoods.”🤞

In today’s edition:

• 👎 Why the IMF just downgraded its world economic forecast – again
• ✌️🛰 Russia bids adieu to the International Space Station
• 🕵️‍♀️ A look at some US and China espionage

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.65 minutes to read.

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”

–Robert Frost (1874-1963)

The US has launched a federal investigation into Chinese telecom giant Huawei over concerns that some of its equipment installed in American cell towers has the ability to intercept top-secret military communications and transmit them to Beijing, per a new report from Reuters.

The previously unreported probe was opened by the Commerce Department shortly after President Biden took office last year. It builds off a May 2019 executive order from former President Trump banning the purchase or use of technology that poses a national security risk.

🤔🕵️‍♀️ Eye (allegedly) spy… In addition to the Commerce Department, the FBI has been investigating alleged instances of Chinese spying on US soil since at least 2017, per a new CNN report citing multiple internal sources.

• During that time, the agency reportedly probed Chinese land purchases near critical infrastructure, shut down a regional consulate believed to be a hotbed of Chinese spies, and stonewalled what the agency says were clear efforts to plant listening devices near military and government facilities.
• The FBI also determined Huawei equipment installed atop cell towers near military bases in the rural Midwest was capable of capturing and disrupting highly-encrypted Defense Department comms, including those pertaining to nuclear weapons, per CNN.

🏛️ Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill: An investigation by Senate Republicans published yesterday outlined evidence of China trying to build a network of informants inside the US Federal Reserve system, including threatening to imprison a Fed economist during a trip to Shanghai.

+Flash poll: Do you think the US should ban Chinese companies from accessing American infrastructure, similar to recent restrictions in other Western nations?

Yes

No

Unsure/other

The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2022 global economic forecast for the third time this year in a new quarterly report published yesterday, saying “the outlook has darkened significantly since April.”

🤔📉 What’re they talking about?.. A familiar tale of woe: high levels of global inflation, causing central banks around the world to hike interest rates and slow their respective countries’ rates of economic growth. Plus, China’s lingering “zero-Covid” policy is still impacting global supply chains – as is the ongoing war in Ukraine.

• All of this👆 means the IMF now expects the world economy to grow by 3.2% this year, down from 6.1% in 2021.
• Next year is thought to be even worse: 2.9%, only slightly above the 2.5% growth level the IMF typically considers to be a global recession.

👀 Looking ahead… The US Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to report Q2 GDP numbers tomorrow morning. If they’re negative, it would mean the American economy has officially entered into a recession, aka two consecutive quarters of GDP decline.

+Speaking of rate hikes: The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 0.75% following the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting later today.

Last year was the North American comic book industry’s biggest sales year of all time, even when adjusted for inflation, per a recently released report from ​​Comichron and ICv2. To deliver some actual numbers, we’re talking $2.075 billion in total – a 62% increase from 2020.

🦸‍♀️📖 Driving the trend… A surge in popularity across all comic genres, but particularly Japanese manga and graphic novels. Those two categories accounted for $1.47 billion in total sales last year, up from $835 million in 2020.

Per industry insiders, most of this growth👆 can be attributed to new streaming content released over the past year, like the final season of Attack on Titan or shows and movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How the two are connected is pretty simple, at least in theory: people get hooked on a show and want to explore additional content related to it. And this is driving biiiiiiig numbers.

• Japanese webcomics platform Piccoma was the second highest grossing non-gaming app in the world behind TikTok in 2021, earning nearly $100 million per month.
• Webtoons, a digital comic format originating in South Korea that’s geared towards scrolling, also posted record sales last year, mostly in Asia. Marvel and DC and Archie Comics have struck deals to produce original stories featuring some of the style’s biggest characters.

+One interesting thing: Demand for webtoons is being driven by an audience not typically interested in comics: young, female readers. Naver Webtoon, the world’s largest digital comic platform, reports that more than half of its 82 million monthly users are women.

🤯 Did you know?… until recently, only wealthy, accredited investors could get in on early-stage startups?

This was a huge advantage because the biggest percentage gains are usually made early.

• It’s difficult for mature companies to appreciate 100%, but there are countless stories of investors getting in super early and making 10x, even 100x, on an investment.📈🤯

But when average joe can invest (IPO), the share price is often MUCH higher than early phases.

📊 But now, with equity crowdfunding, everyone can get the same deals as the ultra-rich. And you don’t have to be accredited to invest in certain early-stage startups!

🤖🍕 Early-stage ventures like Piestro, who developed robotic pizza kiosks that triple profit margins for pizza restaurants by eliminating labor/real estate costs!🤑

• They’ve already secured $580M in preorders, including 3,600 units for notable pizza chain 800 Degrees!🔥

⌛ You, too, can still invest in Piestro – but only for 2 more days!!! Learn more here.

In a meeting with Vladimir Putin yesterday, Yuri Borisov, the recently appointed head of Roscosmos (Russia’s NASA), announced the country will leave the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbital station instead.

✌️🛰 A deeper dive… The ISS is a joint project involving five space agencies, and has been used to conduct thousands of scientific experiments since construction began in 1998. It’s only approved to operate for two more years, but NASA has said it wants to extend the station’s lifetime through 2030 with the agreement of all partners.

• Russian officials have discussed leaving the ISS since at least 2021, citing aging equipment and growing safety risks. Talks accelerated with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
• If Moscow does end up leaving, it would pose a significant problem to the US and its other ISS partners – Europe, Japan, and Canada – who would need to come up with a replacement for Russia’s propulsion system.

✋ Yes, but: Some experts think Russia is merely posturing to win relief from Ukraine-related sanctions, and has no intention of actually pulling out of the ISS.

• “They don't have the money to build their own station and it would take several years to do it. They've got nothing else if they go this route," former ISS commander and retired US astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao told BBC News.

🏗🌌 Zoom out: China – which isn’t a part of the ISS – is currently constructing its own three-module space station, called Tiangong. It’s slated to be finished sometime later this year.

• ☝️ Torrential rainfall caused widespread flash flooding in the St. Louis area yesterday morning, resulting in the death of at least one person; more than 8 inches of rain fell between midnight to 7 am local time, surpassing the city's previous all-time record of 6.85 inches.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🪙 Coinbase is facing an SEC probe into whether the company improperly let Americans trade crypto assets that should have been registered as securities, per Bloomberg.
• 🛍️ Shopify announced plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, or 1,000 employees, attributing the move to a miscalculated “bet” that e-commerce would continue to grow beyond the Covid pandemic.
• 📝 Earnings reports: A handful of major US companies reported Q2 earnings yesterday, including GM, Alphabet, and Microsoft.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🍿 Netflix is turning The Gray Man into a cinematic universe.
• 📱 Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri posted a video yesterday responding to criticism over the social media platform’s shift in focus from photos to videos.
• ⚖️ WNBA star Brittney Griner will testify later today as part of her drug trial in Russia, her lawyers said yesterday. (Background)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ⛏️ The fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature believed to be the world’s first animal predator has been named Auroralumina attenboroughii after British naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
• ☀️🌊 German energy firm RWE announced plans to develop floating solar panels that glide over waves “like a carpet.”

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🎓💰 Federal student loan servicing contractors have been instructed to hold off on sending billing statements to borrowers, indicating the August 31 deadline for ending the pandemic freeze on loan payments could be extended again.
• 🇪🇺🛢 The EU formally agreed to a plan calling on member countries to cut their natural gas consumption by 15% starting next month; the measure is voluntary for now, but could become mandatory if need be.
• 🏛️ The CHIPS Act is one step closer to passing the Senate after clearing another procedural vote yesterday morning. (Background | From the Left | From the Right)
• 🤖🍕⌛ Time is ticking!... Tomorrow is the absolute last day you can invest in Piestro, the company using robot pizza kiosks to triple profit margins for pizzerias. They’ve already got $580M in preorders, including 3,600 units for pizza chain 800 Degrees! INVEST TODAY.*

*Sponsored post

💬 Quoted… ​​“This is possibly the dumbest space thing I've ever seen, and that's saying something."

Earlier this month, a Romanian rocket startup called ARCA Space unveiled its new design for a steam-powered rocket that’s wider than it is tall. What’s more, the company says its venture will be funded by selling crypto tokens that can later be exchanged for ore it'll obtain via future asteroid mining.

• As you can probably imagine, their plan wasn’t very well-received by the overall space community. But ARCA Space founder Dumitru Popescu says he isn’t fazed by the negative feedback.

🎰 Stat of the Day: 1 in 301 million = your chances of winning last night’s drawing for the $810 million Mega Millions jackpot, its third largest prize in history.

🌎 Around the World: Yesterday’s debate between the final two Conservative candidates to replace UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended about halfway through after its moderator fainted on live TV.

🤯 Did You Know?... The “inner voice” for most people who have been completely deaf for their entire life is seeing – or feeling – themselves acting out sign language.

📖 Worth a Read: Are insects the superfood of the future? → (BBC)

We've been working with The Scribes for nearly a year now, and their passion for entrepreneurship and giving back is infectious. Mike, Pooja, Alden, and Portia operate an eCommerce business that isn't like the rest.👌

Sure, The Scribes wants you to purchase their products. But what they really want is to make sure their products are being used for good.🦸

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A journal from The Scribes means far more than sleek leather and empty pages - it’s a purchase that keeps on giving.👍

What do we mean by buying in bulk? Use code "DONUTBULK" for 30% off your order of $150+

Quick recap: In this section, we’re aiming to crowdsource details about epic trips – then provide the whole playbook for the experience to y’all.

• Have you ever gone on an epic, once-in-a-lifetime trip? Tell us about it here.

From Collingswood, NJ, to Oregon, Bali, Lopez Island, and Seattle

🚶‍♂️ Who: Sarah W. from Collingswood, New Jersey

☀️ Length of trip: 25 days

💬 Quick recap: I flew to the west coast to explore Oregon, and specifically to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on the way to my primary destination, Bali (via Bangkok). There I spent six days and nights falling in love with Balinese food, dance, and culture! Then I flew back to the US for one night on the San Juan Islands, then spent several nights in Seattle (more than I planned for because I got Covid in spite of taking all precautions!).

🤔 Anything you wish you would’ve known?... I wish I'd planned for a little more time to explore the rest of Bali because I spent most of my time in a single city and there's lots I didn't get to see. I also wish I'd extended my layovers in other parts of Asia (Tokyo and Bangkok specifically) so I could have explored more places. Then again, I ended up with Covid on the last leg of my trip, and I'm glad that didn't happen until I was back in my home country!

😍 MUST dos: In Oregon, visit Ashland and go to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival! In Bali, do the sunrise hike up Mt. Batur (and bring a jacket!), take a local cooking class, get a Balinese massage (or three!), take a surfing lesson, and plan on eating really well because all of the food is fabulous!

🙅‍♀️ Must don’ts: Don't get Covid!!!😝 But also, don't drink tap water in Bali and don't worry about lodging--there are a ton of lovely options available. And also don't worry about money too much--everything is quite affordable, and you should enjoy it without stress!

Want to learn more? Dive deeper into Sarah’s budget breakdown and booking playbook here.

P.S. Have your own epic trip you’d like to share? Tell us about it here for a chance to be featured in next Wednesday’s newsletter.

Recent high school graduate Adrian Rodriquez was walking through a supermarket parking lot in California, when he noticed an abandoned purse in a shopping cart. Rather than bring it inside, he decided to take matters into his own hands and deliver it to the address found on the license inside. 

• While owner Melina Marquez wasn't home at the time, she was able to see Adrian's act of kindness on her doorbell cam. Blown away by his thoughtfulness, she wanted to somehow pay him back. 

💸 Good karma... After finding Adrian through the town's Facebook group, Melina set up a GoFundMe for the graduate, raising a casual $18,000 in just over a month. 

• “It feels good. I appreciate it. I really do, everything everybody’s doing,” shared a grateful Adrian. “My mom always told me since I was little to always do the right thing when nobody’s around.”

❓ Trivia: Who wrote the book The Shining is based on?

🧙‍♀️ True or False?… A witch's broom is called a besom.

🤔 Riddle Me This: Slayer of regrets, old and new, sought by many, found by few. What am I?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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

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1. Stephen King
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