Good morning, and a happy first day of Pride Month to all.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.97 minutes to read.

“There is little success where there is little laughter.”

–Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)

A newly-formed NASA committee in charge of investigating reports of unidentified aerial phenomena, commonly known as UFOs, held its first public hearing yesterday.

The 16-member panel includes experts in fields like physics, astrobiology, space exploration, and aviation. They’ve spent the past year studying unclassified UFO sightings and other relevant public data, as part of NASA’s first such investigation in history.

🛸 So, what have they found?... The committee said its main takeaway is *drumroll please…* that America needs to improve its data collection when it comes to UFOs, since the current lack of high-quality sightings makes it impossible to reach a conclusion about what these objects are, or where they come from.

To remedy this, the panel proposed several ideas aimed at improving nationwide UFO data collection. These include:

• Building new NASA facilities specifically dedicated to UFO research
• Using existing satellites and observatories to hunt for UFOs
• Developing a crowdsourced platform that allows US citizens to upload data on UFO sightings for government analysis
• Taking steps to end the negative stigma associated with reporting UFOs

📸 Big picture: The Pentagon, which has formed a separate task force to study UFOs, revealed yesterday that it’s currently analyzing 800 reported sightings over the past three decades, up from 650 in late April.

Officials said around 20 of those sightings display characteristics that “could be described as anomalous” – but, thus far, there’s no credible evidence of any extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics.

👀 Looking ahead… NASA’s inaugural UFO committee is scheduled to publish a full report on its findings in late July.

🇵🇱🎨 A priceless 16th-century painting stolen by Nazi Germany in WWII has been returned to Poland. The “Madonna with Child,” attributed to Italian artist Alessandro Turchi, was handed back to Poland in a ceremony yesterday, after the Japanese individual who owned the painting decided to give it back for free. It represents the latest of ~600 artistic pieces that Poland has successfully repatriated as part of a decades-long effort following WWII – though an estimated 66,000 other pieces of art are still unaccounted for.

🌏 Earth’s health is failing in seven out of eight key areas, per a new study published in Nature. The report, created by scientists at the international Earth Commission group, examined the planet’s 1) climate, 2) air pollution, 3) contamination of water due to fertilizer, 4) groundwater supplies, 5) fresh surface water, 6) unbuilt natural environment, 7) overall natural environment, and 8) human-built environment. Of the eight categories, only air pollution was deemed as currently outside the “danger zone” for the well-being of humans. Though the scientists said the Earth can still recover if people change their use of coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as change the way they treat the land and water.

🇮🇳 India is eliminating all public school lessons on evolution and the periodic table, among other cuts. The new science curriculum, first reported yesterday by Nature, will cover an estimated 134 million students between the ages of 11 and 18 starting next year. In explaining the changes, Indian education officials said they considered whether content overlapped with similar content covered elsewhere, the difficulty of the content, and whether the content was irrelevant.

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If you’ve been waiting for a favorite book to be adapted into a TV show or movie, you miiiiight need to wait a little longer.

That’s per a WSJ report, published yesterday, that states major Hollywood studios including Netflix and Amazon have paused most book-adaptation deals. The decision comes amid the ongoing writer’s strike that has left studios with no screenwriters to adapt books into scripts.

Here’s how book-adaptations generally work:

1. Optioning the rights: A studio will pay for the exclusive right – or “option” – to turn your book into a movie or TV show. Fees vary widely from $1,500 to seven figures.
2. Exercising the option: The studio exercises its option to buy the rights for your book for a fee that’s usually 2-3% of the total budget for the show/movie. So if the movie’s budget is $20 million, you’d get $400,000 at 2%.

Almost none of the books that are optioned by studios end up making it to the screen. But despite this, thousands of authors still make part of their income on their books’ film rights being optioned or bought.

🍿 Coming soon: One book adaptation you won’t need to wait much longer for is Flamin’ Hot, an Eva Longoria-directed biopic about the man who claims to have invented the Flaming Hot Cheetos. The movie hits theaters and Disney+ on June 9, and is based on the memoir A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive by Richard Montañez.

Californian’s may soon be tasting a new, healthier rainbow.

The state’s Assembly has passed a first-of-its-kind bill that would ban the sale of any food products containing certain chemical additives – at least one of which are found in Skittles, Nerds, Hot Tamales, Sour Patch Kids, and Starbursts, as well as other popular candies and baked goods.

The bill’s sponsor, assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D), cites scientific studies that have demonstrated the role of five specific chemical additives – red dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propyl paraben – in increasing the risk of cancer, as well as causing behavioral issues in children, harm to the reproductive system, and damage to the immune system.

• The National Confectioners Association, which represents many chocolate and candy manufacturers, brokers, and suppliers, said in a statement that “there is no evidence to support banning the ingredients listed in the bill.”

🌈❌ So would Skittles actually be banned?... In their current form, yes. But the five additives in question are already banned in the EU, and candy manufacturers simply modify their recipes to remain compliant – something they could also do in the US. Or at least that’s the argument made by Gabriel: “If I thought this would ban Skittles, I would vote against it.”

🍬 Big picture: An FDA spokesperson claims the agency has evaluated all five additives. Though consumer advocates, as well as the California bill, say these chemicals have never been independently evaluated by the FDA or were last reviewed decades ago.

💬 Quoted… “We’re here because a lot of Amazonians feel in their gut that something is not right with the company.”

• Over 1,000 corporate Amazon employees staged a walkout at the tech-giant’s Seattle offices yesterday, citing a general ‘lack of trust’ in the company leadership. The protest focused on two primary issues – making climate impact a priority in the company’s decision making, and allowing for more flexibility around remote work. Note: Amazon disputes the headcount at the event, stating it was about 300 employees.

💰 Stat of the Day: The days of everyone making ‘‘millennials waste their money on avocado toast” jokes might be over. According to a recently released Insider report, the average millennial is a parent and homeowner with a net worth of $128,000. That’s up more than 50% from the first quarter of 2020.

🤯 Did You Know?... You can now create your own ad-free “micro-social network” for family and friends. A recent NY Times report profiles a number of new apps, including Kin, CaringBridge, and PhotoCircle, that will let you ditch Facebook or TikTok and create a private club for online convos and sharing photos.

📖 Worth a Read: ‘Things are definitely opening up’: the rise of older female writers → (The Guardian)

💖😸 From Hayley, a thrilled Kitty Kafe customer…

“Chloe vomits, I would say, 90% less now. It's an absolute drastic change and I have cat mom guilt for not finding these sooner. THANK YOU KATIO!”

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• ☝️ You’re looking at the world’s first x-ray of a single atom, detailed in a peer-reviewed study published yesterday in Nature; researchers said their breakthrough will allow material scientists to develop better hardware for tech like smartphones, laptops, and hospital equipment.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board yesterday (S&P: -0.6%; Dow: -0.4%; Nasdaq: -0.6%). | 🏦 The Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates an 11th consecutive time in mid-June, but is prepared to hike rates again later this summer if necessary, Fed officials said yesterday.
• 🏘️ Average US home prices rose 0.6% in March compared to the previous month, per new federal data published Tuesday; home prices were 3.7% higher in March than a year ago, and 40% higher compared to late 2019.
• ⚖️ Amazon agreed to pay the FTC $30.8 million to settle two separate lawsuits accusing it of 1) giving Ring employees and contractors access to every single customer’s doorbell cam footage without restriction before 2017, and 2) illegally keeping voice and location data associated with young users for years, while preventing parents from exercising their law-given right to delete it.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with onewith

• ⚖️ Danny Masterson, former star of That 70’s Show, was convicted yesterday of forcibly raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home in 2003; he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
• 🏙️ Kim Cattrall will reprise her role as Samantha Jones in Season 2 of the Sex and the City sequel series And Just Like That…, per multiple reports.
• ⚽ Ted Lasso’s Season 3 finale – and potentially the series’ final episode – debuted on AppleTV+ yesterday.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with BetterBone

• 🌙 Astronomers recently identified a new “quasi-moon” that orbits the Sun in a similar time frame as Earth, and is partially influenced by our planet’s gravity.
• 🦕 Pterosaurs, a species of dinosaur that was the world’s oldest flying reptile, lived in Australia as far back as 107 million years ago, according to a peer-reviewed study published yesterday.
• 🌌 In a new theoretical model, Israeli scientists proposed that the existence of “impossibly large galaxies” recently discovered by NASA’s James Webb telescope can be explained by special conditions billions of years ago that allowed for highly-efficient rates of star formation.

*From our partners: 💪🐶 Got a tough chewer? “One of the first toys they’ve gotten and not destroyed within the first day.” -Marisa. BetterBone is also available in TOUGH-size, featuring the same sustainable, human-grade ingredients as the original. Save 35% on BetterBone with code DONUT35.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🌿 Minnesota on Tuesday became the 23rd US state to approve the use of recreational marijuana for adults.
• 🚘 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration unveiled a new proposal yesterday that would require all new vehicles sold in the US to include automatic emergency braking.
• 🏛️ Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) announced plans to resign from Congress due to family medical issues; his Utah district will now hold a special election to determine his replacement. | 🗳️ Last night, the House voted 314-117 in favor of a bipartisan bill that would raise the federal debt ceiling through 2025 and apply a range of GOP-supported changes to federal programs. (Background | From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🏞️ Six national parks you don’t know about (but should).

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Yesterday we covered a new report that found the number of US students attending college across all sectors fell for the tenth consecutive year.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, what’s the No. 1 reason behind the recent decline in US college enrollment?

• 🤑 It costs too much: 50%
• 🎓 There are better post-grad education options: 23%
• 💼 More teens are choosing (or are forced) to enter the workforce: 14%
• 💬 Other: 13%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 11,904 votes and 1,113 longform responses.

We bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and occasionally laugh-out-loud headlines from this week.

• Indian official suspended after he drains reservoir to retrieve phone he dropped while taking a selfie → (NBC News)
• Snorkeler survives crocodile attack by pulling his head from its jaws → (CNN)
• US to give away free lighthouses as GPS makes them unnecessary → (The Guardian)
• Pedro Pascal Got an Infection After Years of Letting Game of Thrones Fans Put Their Thumbs in His Eye → (IndieWire)
• Suspect spends 6 hours floating down river to evade police in Colorado → (Denver Gazette)

Lars Gradel was driving down the highway in Vegas with her 7-year-old son Colton, when they watched a piglet fall out of a truck. 

"He tumbled about 10,15 times down the side of the freeway," shared Lars. She was worried the baby pig was injured in the fall so quickly pulled over to check on the animal. Miraculously, he was okay. 

They named him Lucky. 

🍀 Lucky gets a new life... The piglet was on its way to a fattening facility, where he would have lived for around six months before being sent to slaughter.

• Instead, Lars and her son Colton decided to adopt the piggie as their own – and they've already found him a permanent home at a nearby animal sanctuary, where they can visit as often as they please.

Which US state, pictured above, is geographically located furthest to the east?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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Alaska; it's also the westernmost US state