Good morning. Take a quick look at your pet(s). How cute are they?!

While that question is meant to be rhetorical, if you answered it out loud here’s some good news. Our third-annual Pet Playoffs competition is live, and you can win free stuff literally just for having an adorable furry (or scaly) friend.

Check out this year’s Pet Playoff prizes and enter your pet to compete for free.

One quick note: we’ll only be accepting entries through tomorrow. And as they say, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today😉.

NEWS.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.62 minutes to read.

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"If you go out looking for friends, you're going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere."

–Zig Ziglar (1926-2012)

At the tail-end of last year through the beginning of this year, a supermajority of experts were predicting the US was headed for an upcoming recession, in addition to 97% of corporate executives.

But things haven’t quite turned out that way.

In fact, outside of baseline interest rates – which the Fed raised to a 22-year high yesterday afternoon – many economic indicators have been trending in a positive direction for months:

• The labor market remains surprisingly strong. The US economy added an average of 235,000 jobs each month so far this year, bringing the unemployment rate down from 4.0% in January to 3.6% today. And prior to last month’s jobs report, economists had underestimated the amount of US job growth for 15 straight months.
• Inflation has continued to decline. Annual US inflation stood at 3.0% in June, down from 7.5% in January. Last month marked the lowest reading in over two years, and the 12th straight month inflation has fallen.
• All three major stock indexes are in a bull market. The Dow has been in a bull market – aka at least 20% higher than its most recent low – since last November, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 entered bull markets in May and June, respectively.
• The IMF increased its previous estimate for 2023 US GDP. In a report published Tuesday, the IMF raised its outlook for 2023 US GDP growth by 0.2 percentage-points to 1.8%, citing a strong domestic labor market.
• Consumer confidence is at its highest point in two years. The Conference Board’s monthly consumer sentiment index, published Tuesday, found Americans of all ages and all income brackets have greater confidence in the US economy now as compared to the start of this year.

✋ Yes, but… Like an iPhone that’s been dropped over and over again, the US economy is showing some cracks, too. Core inflation remained relatively high in June (4.8%), meaning consumers are still seeing elevated prices for transportation, medical services, housing, and other essential products.

Plus, it typically takes at least 12 months before the full impact of the Fed’s interest-rate hikes is felt across the US economy, as consumers and companies adapt to higher rates for mortgages, credit cards, government bonds, etc.

🗣️ Zoom out: The US economy’s performance should become even clearer over the next few weeks, as dozens of major companies across the tech, banking, retail, health, energy, automotive, and other industries report quarterly earnings.

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🌍🔥 Thousands of people have been evacuated across the Mediterranean region due to wildfires. At least nine countries reported ongoing blazes on Tuesday. So far, these fires have caused at least 40 reported deaths, including 34 in Algeria alone. Greece has also been hit particularly hard by recent wildfires, which forced authorities to carry out the country’s largest-ever evacuation over the past few days. Experts say the fires can be attributed to a heat wave combined with local droughts.

🇬🇧⚖️ A UK jury found Kevin Spacey not guilty of criminal sexual assault charges yesterday. The two-time Oscar-winning actor was acquitted of all nine sexual offense charges related to incidents reported by four men, which allegedly took place in London between 2001 and 2013. Accusations of sexual misconduct by Spacey first emerged in 2017 – but prosecutors in LA and Massachusetts eventually declined to bring charges against him, and Spacey was found not guilty in a previous $40 million New York lawsuit brought by actor Anthony Rapp. There are no further legal cases against Spacey, who said he now hopes to resume his acting career.

🇪🇺 The EU approved a $47.5 billion bill to boost domestic semiconductor production. The EU Chips Act allocates billions of dollars in tax incentives and funding for chip research, and also allows member countries to subsidize the development of “first-of-its-kind” chips within their borders. The bill aims to boost the EU’s share of global microchip production from 10% currently to 20% by 2030.

More electric vehicle fast-charging stations are coming to the US.

Yesterday, a group of seven major automakers – BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis – announced plans to collectively invest $1 billion in a joint venture that will build 30,000 EV charging stations in North America over the next few years.

🤔 Behind the move: While the number of EVs currently on the road pales in comparison to the number of combustion vehicles – only ~7% of new vehicles sold last quarter were EVs – that won’t be the case forever.

By the mid-2030s, most automakers will exclusively offer electric vehicles. And the EV charging network needs a lot of work between now and then.

• There were 32,000 publicly available DC fast chargers in the US as of this month, per data from the Department of Energy.
• That’s compared to the 182,000 fast chargers that’ll be needed nationwide by 2030, according to calculations from the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

🚗🔌 Zoom out: The two biggest barriers to EV adoption today, according to consumers, are 1) high prices and 2) range anxiety due to the lack of a public charging infrastructure. To address the second problem, the US government has set aside $7.5 billion to create 500,000 public EV chargers by 2030, mostly on high-traffic highways and in densely populated residential areas (though a majority won’t be fast chargers).

💬 Quoted… ​​“I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access.”

Three retired military veterans testified yesterday at a House Oversight Committee hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, aka UFOs.

• During the hearing, former intelligence official and whistleblower David Grusch repeated previous claims that agencies within the federal government have withheld information about recovered “non-human” vehicles since the 1930s. (Background)

🦠📈 Stat of the Day: Much like SpaceX, cases of syphilis have been skyrocketing – and US health officials are on the verge of declaring a national health emergency because of it, Bloomberg reports. In 2021, the latest year for which government data is available, rates of syphilis were the highest since 1990. At least 176,000 cases were reported, a 32% increase over the previous year.

🤔 Did You Know?... Roughly two-thirds of Americans wear some form of corrective eyewear (aka glasses, contacts, or monocles🧐)

📰 Worth a Read: Public libraries are awesome and here are things you might not know about them → (How About This)

One resounding thing e-bike enthusiasts will tell you – they’re a lot of fun!🥳 

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• ☝️ A red streak of light appeared in the night sky above Arizona last week after a SpaceX rocket launch temporarily punched a hole in the Earth’s ionosphere; experts say this phenomenon will become more common as rocket launches increase in frequency.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with The Wine Connection

• 💰 US markets closed mixed yesterday as the Fed leaves the door open for another rate hike (S&P: -0.02%; Dow:+0.2%; Nasdaq: -0.1%); the Dow increased its winning streak to 13 days, its longest since 1987. | 📈 Meta reported earnings and revenue for Q2 that topped analysts’ estimates.
• 📝🖥️ The SEC approved new rules giving companies a four-day deadline to publicly disclose significant cyberattacks.
• 🗺️ A group formed by Meta, Microsoft, AWS, and TomTom is releasing data that could enable developers to build their own maps without needing Google or Apple.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚽️ Women's World Cup: The US tied the Netherlands 1-1 yesterday.
• 🙏 Irish singer and activist Sinéad O'Connor died at the age of 56.
• 🏈 NY Jets QB Aaron Rodgers signed a new two-year, $75 million contract extension; it represents a ~$35 million pay cut from his old contract.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Slumber

• 📸 A team of US researchers invented HADAR, a new camera imaging system based on AI interpretations of heat signatures that enables day-like visibility at night.
• ☄️ Astronomers discovered what they believe is the first known meteor that originally launched from Earth, then later fell back to the planet’s surface after spending time traveling through space.
• 🧠 Stanford University researchers developed a probe that can record a patient’s deep brain activity without requiring surgery.

*From our partners: 💤 Slumber CBD and CBD gummies aid in deeper REM cycles and support full-body relaxation, without the hangover. Made from 100% plant-based Colorado-grown hemp extract and guaranteed to help you sleep better. Save 30% on full-size Slumber products with code DONUT30.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🪙 Federal prosecutors yesterday asked a judge to revoke FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail and send him to jail prior to his trial; the DOJ cited what they allege were SBF’s attempts to discredit former associate (and ex-girlfriend) Caroline Ellison.
• 🏛️ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suddenly froze in the middle of a press conference yesterday afternoon before he was escorted off-stage; McConnell later joked about the incident with reporters and said “I’m fine.” (The video | From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)
• ⚖️ Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to tax fraud charges yesterday after a federal judge raised concerns about a pending plea deal between Biden and the DOJ. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🏫 2023’s states with the best and worst school systems.

*Sponsored post

Yesterday, we covered Elon Musk’s decision to rebrand Twitter as an all-in-one app called X, which aims to offer nearly every service an online user could want in their daily life (similar to WeChat in China).

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, will X succeed as an “everything app” in the US?

• 👍 Yes: 16%
• 👎 No: 69%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 15%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 11,929 votes and 1,113 longform responses.

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

• Chinese puzzle master solves three Rubik's cubes while juggling → (UPI)
• The Big Peanut once again reigns at the roadside in Georgia, after hurricane felled earlier goober → (APNews)
• Man beats world record with 50 hours of drumming → (Cheddar News)
• Gorilla believed to be a boy gives birth at Ohio zoo → (NY Post)
• Facing job scarcity in China, some find work as ‘full-time children’ → (NBC News)

Twenty-six years ago, teacher Peggy Bennett and her middle school class buried a time capsule under a willow tree. Inside it, they put notes, records, sentimental cards, and other trinkets.

🌳 Under the tree... When the now-retired Peggy heard the tree was scheduled to be removed due to a culvert replacement project, she raced down to unearth the buried treasure. 

The old milk jug had taken in some water in the nearly three decades underground, but for the most part it was still intact.

• "That willow tree was 26 years old, and now the kids are like 39 or 40. In fact, most of the kids are from the graduating class of Fitch from 2003," Peggy told a local news station.

Canada is divided into ten provinces and three additional territories (including the one pictured above). Can you name those three territories?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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1. Yukon (pictured)
2. Northwest Territories
3. Nunavut