Good morning. Some sad news on the “we’re all getting old” front. This year, the eldest of our elder millennials are turning 43, the average age when people stop feeling young according to a study that has chosen violence.

But ya know what – 43 is the new 22. Also, isn’t the whole stereotype about millennials that we’re delusional and unreliable? Which, we gotta say, does not sound like an old person.

Ipso facto, millennials will stay young forever!!

But also, if anyone has a good rec for a lower back doctor, please reach out. Asking for an older friend.

Something else that never gets old? THE NEWS.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.54 minutes to read.

“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.”

–Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968)

Over the weekend, California’s task force on reparations approved a series of recommendations involving direct payments to all Black folks who can prove their or their family’s residency between a certain period of years, as compensation for generations of harm caused by the state’s discriminatory policies.

📜 Some quick background: While California was technically admitted to the US as a “free state” in 1850, historical records contain evidence that slavery still persisted in California over the next decade-plus without legal authority. And even after slavery was abolished nationwide in 1865, institutional discrimination against the state’s Black residents continued.

• Last summer, CA’s reparations task force published a report detailing how the state has systematically abused its Black residents since 1850 in areas such as voting, housing, education, policing, and incarceration.
• Other research has shown that Black residents in California have the shortest life expectancy of any racial group – 75 years compared to the state average of 81 – and that they collectively earn ~60% as much money compared to white residents.

🤔 So, what are the recommendations?... After consulting with experts, the task force identified three key categories for which there exists sufficient data to determine Black residents’ monetary losses, then calculated a “conservative” estimate of individual reparations:

1. Health harms; $13,619 for each year of residency dating back to 1850
2. Mass incarceration and over-policing; $2,352 for each year of residency between 1971 and 2020
3. Housing discrimination; $3,366 for each year of residency between 1933 and 1977

California officials also identified two other key areas of historical harm to Black residents – unjust seizure of property via eminent domain and devaluation of Black-owned businesses – but said the state currently lacks enough data to determine an estimated figure of repayment.

• While the report didn’t outline the overall cost to the state, economists have previously estimated the total could exceed $800 billion, or 2.5x California’s entire annual budget.

✋ Yes, but… The new recommendations still have a ways to go before becoming law. The authority to spend money on reparations lies with California’s legislature, which is scheduled to debate the issue this summer once the task force submits its formal recommendations. And if reparations are approved by lawmakers, the measure would still require Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature to become law.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with the task force’s recommendations for reparations to Black California residents?

Yes

No

Unsure/other

🇬🇧👑 Charles III and his wife Camilla were officially crowned king and queen of the UK. Around 2,300 high-profile guests – including 100 heads of state from around the world – were in attendance for Saturday’s ceremony, which also drew more than 22 million viewers across the BBC and Sky News TV channels. Several anti-monarchy protests were held across London prior to and during the coronation ceremony, with city police reporting a total of 64 arrests on Saturday.

🦠 The WHO declared an end to its global public health emergency for Covid. The WHO said its decision to end Covid’s emergency status after more than three years doesn’t mean the pandemic is over, but rather that international collaborations and funding efforts are no longer necessary to combat the disease. According to the most recent WHO data, the global Covid death toll has fallen from a peak of 100,000+ people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 in the week ending April 24, 2023.

🇷🇸 Serbia’s president promised "an almost complete disarming" of the country after two mass shootings in as many days. On Friday, President Aleksandar Vučić announced a series of new gun control measures he says will reduce the number of pistols and handguns in circulation by 90%. Vučić’s announcement came after a pair of mass shootings – one involving a 13-year-old shooter – that killed a collective 17 Serbian residents and injured 21 others last week.

🧊💪 Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about how much cold plunges help athletes/wellness enthusiasts with recovery.

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We’ve done the math – if you want to guarantee box office success in 2023, cast Chris Pratt. It’s that simple.

At least that’s what the numbers are telling us, after this weekend’s opening of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 grossed $114 million in domestic ticket sales.

The only movie that’s had a bigger opening weekend in the US this year? Mario Bros. Which, as you probably guessed, also starred Pratt, who voiced the role of Mario.

• In other words, Pratt has helmed ~30% of the year’s total box office – and that’s after just one weekend for GOTG 3.

🎬 The end of an era: No slouch to box office success himself is the film’s writer and director, James Gunn, who’s been instrumental to Marvel’s dominance at the box office since writing the first installment of GOTG in 2014. Though this most-recent Guardians marks the end of Gunn’s chapter with Marvel.

In late 2022, Gunn was named the co-chief of rival DC Studios, where he recently shared Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, his vision for the next ten years of the DC Universe.

• First up for Gunn? Writing and directing 2025’s Superman: Legacy – which, as of earlier this year, no longer has its Clark Kent, after Gunn booted Henry Cavill from the role. Might this mean a Chris Pratt-led Superman in our near future? 
• If Gunn had a time-machine, definitely. According to Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, Gunn is specifically looking for a “young Chris-Pratt type” actor to play Clark Kent.

💬 Quoted… “[More] visual, snackable, personal, and human.”

Google is reportedly planning a major shift in the way it presents Search results, from the current “10 blue links” format to a new design that incorporates conversations with an AI chatbot, as well as more short video and social-media posts.

• That’s according to a new WSJ report based on internal company documents and sources, which said the new features will be formally announced at Google’s annual I/O developer conference later this week.

📊🗳️ Stat of the Day: 7 points = the lead that former President Trump currently has over President Biden in a hypothetical 2024 presidential election matchup (49% to 42%), per a WaPo/ABC News poll published yesterday.

🤯 Did You Know?... Over 40% of all employees located in Mexico are currently working six-day weeks. Overall, Mexico’s citizens work more hours than any other country in the OECD (2,128 hours per year).

📖 Worth a Read: Prison vs. Harvard: The Debate Rematch → (WSJ)

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• ☝️ Israeli startup Steakholder Foods announced what it says is the world’s first edible fish filet created from lab-grown cells; the filets were created in collaboration with Singapore-based Umami Meats.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board on Friday (S&P: +1.9%; Dow: +1.7%; Nasdaq: +2.3%).
• 🏦 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway held its annual meeting, aka the "Woodstock of Capitalism," this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska.
• 📊 The US added a net 253,000 jobs in April, beating Wall Street expectations by about 40%, per new Labor Department data published Friday.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🐎 The 149th Kentucky Derby took place this Saturday with Mage, a 15-1 underdog, winning by a length; five horses were scratched from the lineup (the most since 1936) amid a 10-day stretch where seven horses died at Churchill Downs. | 🏎 Max Verstappen won yesterday’s F1 Miami Grand Prix, earning a fifth straight victory for Team Red Bull.
• ❌🧑‍🔬 Stranger Things Season 5 production has been paused by the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, in solidarity with the WGA writer’s strike.
• ⛳ Tiger Woods stands accused of sexual harassment by Erica Herman, Woods’ ex-girlfriend of six years, per a Friday court filing in Florida. | 🏀 Bronny James, the five-star basketball recruit and son of LeBron James, will play his college ball at USC. | ⚾ The University of Iowa’s baseball team withheld its star hitter, Keaton Anthony, for Friday night’s game; the team published a statement referencing an ongoing NCAA investigation which, according to insiders, involves gambling. (More: Alabama’s recent college baseball betting scandal)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🛰️🌀 NASA's ”Rocket Like a Hurricane” mission last night successfully launched a constellation of new hurricane-tracking satellites into space.
• 🌿🧠 Cannabis addiction was linked to up to 30% of schizophrenia cases in men between the ages of 21 and 30, per a new peer-reviewed study based on almost 7 million Danish health records.
• 🪐🌊 Uranus’ four largest moons may contain oceans of salty water beneath their frozen surfaces, per a new peer-reviewed study examining data from NASA’s Voyager 2.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 💰 The SEC awarded a record $279 million to an unidentified whistleblower, the agency revealed on Friday; whistleblower rewards typically range from 10% to 30% of SEC fines exceeding $1 million.
• 🙏 Eight people were killed and at least seven others were injured after a 33-year-old male gunman opened fire at an outlet mall in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas, on Saturday.
• 🏛️ North Carolina’s GOP-controlled legislature approved a bill that would restrict abortion to within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, down from 20 currently; Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has said he’ll veto the measure, though Republicans hold enough votes to override it. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🗣️ Use this 3-word response when someone is rude to you, says Harvard-trained etiquette expert.

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On Friday, we covered a new New York state law banning natural gas-powered stoves, water heaters, furnaces, and other such appliances in all new homes and apartments.

❓ Our question to you (long-form): Do you agree with New York’s new statewide ban on natural gas-powered appliances in most new buildings?

• 👍 Yes: 27%
• 👎 No: 54%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 19%

Click here to read more of the best responses from Friday’s poll.

+Note on sample size: We received 9,802 votes and 919 longform responses.

Monday: World Red Cross Day

Tuesday: President Biden meets with House Speaker McCarthy to discuss raising the debt ceiling

Wednesday: Consumer Price Index for April

Thursday: Pandemic-era immigration policy Title 42 expires; so does the US’ Covid national health emergency.

Friday: International Nurses Day; Ben Affleck-led Air debuts in theaters

❤️ Paying it forward... More than 40 years ago, Arlene Olvey started volunteering at La Cache, a volunteer-run consignment store that donates its profits to the Children's Hospital of Colorado.

The loving mom started volunteering to honor her son, who was treated at the hospital as a young child. 

• "I made a pact with God that day," she shared of the day her son underwent intestinal surgery. "'If you let this boy live, I'll do something nice for this hospital,' and that's why I started volunteering." 
• Now 100 years old, the centenarian has no plans of stopping any time soon.

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

1. Plas
2. Sagitt
3. Rot (unrelated to decomposition)
4. Sinu
5. Tinct

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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1. Plas = Mould (e.g., plastic)
2. Sagitt = Arrow (Sagittarius)
3. Rot = Wheel (rotational)
4. Sinu = To draw a line (insinuate)
5. Tinct = Moisten (tincture)