Good morning. Get ready for some takeaways from the super scientific and not-at-all informal worker productivity poll we conducted yesterday.

• The work-from-home crowd: Overwhelmingly felt the most productive at their residence, in what they’d consider a home office/dedicated working spot. (Something many on our team agree with, but an answer our managing editor, an avid coffee shop-goer, considers blasphemy.)
• The in-office crowd: Was pretty split between preferring open seating and cubicles to maximize productivity. This also tracks with our team.

The biggest takeaway from all of this? We, The DONUT team, are no closer to resolving our argument and remain a house divided when it comes to productivity opinions – but somehow, we’re still able to compromise and come together to deliver the news.

If only there was a lesson for Congress in here somewhere🤔.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.99 minutes to read.

P.S. Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here for free.

"I've always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up."

–Beverly Sills (1929-2007)

Executives and lawmakers across the US are increasingly moving away from investing based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations – a strategy that essentially puts other priorities, like increasing diversity or reducing carbon emissions, on equal footing with financial returns.

🤔 What’s going on?... The number of S&P 500 companies citing “ESG” on their earnings calls has fallen by more than half since peaking at 156 in Q4 2021, according to a recent Fact Set study.

On the legislative side of things, at least 165 anti-ESG bills have been introduced so far this year in mostly GOP-led states (19 of which have passed). That’s up from a total of 39 such bills introduced last year.

⏩ Driving the moves: Some experts and Republican lawmakers cite statistics indicating it’s virtually impossible to track many companies’ progress on ESG issues. Just over a quarter (27%) of all global firms had any ESG metrics or key performance indicators in place as of August 2022, and only 3% had a full set, per the Harvard Business Review.

What’s more, a recent analysis found over 65% of the 702 companies in the Forbes 2000 with net-zero emissions pledges haven't clarified how they’re going to achieve that goal – aka all bark and no bite.

• Also worth mentioning: institutional money managers typically charge 40% more to manage ESG funds than traditional funds, per HBR… but they often have the same or similar top holdings compared to regular funds.

📝 Zoom out: While many companies have stopped publicly talking about ESG investing, they haven’t necessarily stopped doing it. A recent report from climate finance firm South Pole found one-quarter of the 1,200 large private companies with future climate targets don’t plan to publicize their goals. And public businesses are increasingly swapping out the catch-all term “ESG” for language that clearly defines their specific initiatives, Axios reports.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support investing based on ESG considerations?

Yes

No

Unsure/other

🥱 Tired of waking up tired? Slumber gummies harness the power of CBN and CBD to ensure you get full body relaxation and achieve a deeper REM.

The results? They’re 3rd party sleep data survey demonstrated…

• 82% stayed asleep better
• 80% got back to sleep easier
• 70% found it better than any other sleep aid

And if feeling well-rested wasn’t amazing enough, proper sleep is also scientifically proven to help puffy eyes, wrinkles, skin, breakouts, and self-esteem.🥳

🌜 If you have trouble getting or staying asleep, Slumber is your no-brainer solution. They’re doctor-recommended and help thousands of happy sleeps every night.

Save 30% on Slumber with code DONUT30.

🇷🇺 🚀 Russia launched its first Moon mission since 1976. Moscow’s Luna-25 spacecraft is currently in a race with India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission (which launched on July 14) to be the first probe to make a soft landing on the Moon's south pole. Russian officials say Luna-25, which was launched this morning, will take between 10 and 12 days to reach the Moon’s surface – a timetable that implies it’ll match or narrowly beat India’s attempt. If/when it reaches the lunar surface, Luna-25 will search for signs of frozen water that could determine the location of a future Moon base.

🇪🇨 An Ecuadorian presidential candidate was assassinated two weeks before an upcoming election. Fernando Villavicencio, a journalist-turned-politician who has been vocal about the link between organized crime and government officials, was shot and killed outside a high school in the capital city of Quito on Wednesday. Authorities arrested seven Colombian nationals yesterday in connection with the shooting, all of whom are known members of organized criminal groups, per officials. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso said the killing was clearly an attempt to sabotage the election, but that voting will go ahead as planned on August 20 amidst a national state of emergency. Previous national polling placed the late Villavicencio in the middle of the pack of Ecuador’s eight candidates.

🇨🇳 One woman in Asia has lost more wealth than anyone in the world over the past two years ($28.6 billion), per Bloomberg. Yang Huiyan, chairwoman of property development company Country Garden Holdings Co., has seen her fortune drop by 84% since its peak of $34.1 billion in June 2021, including a drop of 8.2% on Tuesday alone. The 41-year-old executive’s wealth mainly comes from her stake in Country Garden, whose shares have dipped nearly 60% this year amidst falling home sales and rising refinancing costs in China.

The Supreme Court has blocked a $6 billion bankruptcy settlement involving Purdue Pharma, its Sackler family owners, and thousands of plaintiffs, putting the disbursement of funds on pause pending further review by the Court.

At the crux of the issue is a stipulation in the settlement that the Sackler family, who is named alongside Purdue Pharma in many of the lawsuits brought by US states and thousands of local governments, be shielded from all future and current civil lawsuits related to their role in fueling the opioid epidemic.

Basically – the Sacklers haven’t filed for bankruptcy, but as part of the now-paused settlement a bankruptcy court would be absolving them from any current and future legal liability. And there are conflicting rulings on whether a bankruptcy court has the power to do this.

• “[Allowing the settlement] to stand would leave in place a road map for wealthy corporations and individuals to misuse the bankruptcy system to avoid mass tort liability,” the solicitor general, Elizabeth B. Prelogar, wrote in a brief for the government.

⚖️ Next steps: The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case in December. A ruling is expected by July 2024.

💊 Zoom out: Between 1999 and 2021, more than 634,000 Americans died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids (that’s per the most recent federal data available).

Hip-hop – the musical genre that spawned from young people living amidst poverty and crime and has grown to shape culture not only in the US but across the world – is celebrating its 50th birthday today.

🤔 Why today?... Though it may feel weirder than a Drake/Bobbi Althoff podcast interview to pin a specific date on the birth of an entire musical genre, many historians agree that August 11, 1973, was the official birthday of hip-hop.

This stems from a house party in the Bronx, thrown on that date by a then 15-year-old Cindy Campbell. As she recounts it, she was looking to keep costs low and hired her 18-year-old brother, who was known for his sound system, to be the DJ.

Her brother’s name was Clive, better known as DJ Kool Herc. And at that party, he did something historians consider the invention of hip-hop. He played the break beats – the funkiest snippets of songs – in a continuous loop on two turntables, so the music, and therefore the dancing, never stopped, WaPo reports.

📈 Hip-hop has since grown into an economic force. R&B/hip-hop currently commands the largest overall market share of any genre in the ~$16 billion record industry, at ~28%. And many hip-hop artists and producers have been able to build upon their musical success to create personal empires – including Jay Z (net worth $2.5 billion), Sean “Diddy” Combs (~$1 billion), Dr. Dre (~$500 million), and Snoop Dogg (~$160 million).

🧗‍♀️ Climbing fuels well-being in the Ohio Valley, yet Kiedaisch remains closed. The beloved climbing wall lets residents connect with themselves, the community, and Mother Nature. In February, climbing was prohibited at Kiedaisch despite a long history of safe, recreational climbing.

Our pals at Top Tree Herbs are no strangers to fighting to protect long, beloved traditions. So they’ve teamed up with the Ohio Climbers’ Coalition and are donating proceeds towards the cause and have featured it in their recent documentary, “Steep: The Story of Kiedaisch Wall.”

And did you know kratom helps climbers, too?

• 😤 Supports focus and motivation
• ⚡ Clean energy - no jitters or sweaty palms
• 😊 Helps relaxation and recovery postclimb

Top Tree Herbs are the trusted source for premium, lab-tested, AKA-certified kratom. Through their efforts, they’re helping decrease risk, prevent damage to land, and preserve the happy place for climbers of Kiedaisch.

Watch “Steep: The Story of Kiedaisch Wall” here to learn more.

💬 Quoted… “In all, he wagered a total of more than $1 billion.”

Golf superstar Phil Mickelson has bet a combined $1+ billion on sports over the past three decades, losing $100 million total, his former friend and pro gambler Billy Walters is claiming in a new book. Phil’s betting habit reportedly included placing ~2,000 bets worth $110,000 or more over a five-year period ending in 2014, adding up to a collective $311 million wagered (for context: five years = 1,825 days).

• According to Walters – who, admittedly, says he blames Mickelson for his recent five-year prison sentence over insider trading charges – the golfer also tried to have Walters place a $400,000 bet on himself (Mickelson) and his fellow US teammates in the 2012 Ryder Cup, though Walters refused to do so.

📺📈 Stat of the Day: Peak streaming era is like that one hit T.I. song – dead and gone. Disney is raising the prices of its ad-free versions of Disney+ ($10.99 → $13.99) and Hulu ($14.99 → $17.99) by more than 20% apiece. The company also announced this week that it’s exploring a password crackdown, à la Netflix.

🤔 Did You Know?... MIT awards a Certificate of Piracy to any undergraduate students who complete archery, fencing, pistol, and sailing courses as part of their PE requirement.

📰 Worth a Read: Paper exams, chatbot bans: Colleges seek to ‘ChatGPT-proof’ assignments → (Associated Press)

• ☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 2023 World Sports Photography awards, which featured more than 700 participants from 70 countries.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Upway

• 💰 US markets closed slightly up (S&P: +0.03%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +0.1%).
• 📝 The latest CPI report is out: Inflation rose 3.2% for the 12-month period ending in July (vs. 3.0% in June); core inflation came in at 4.7%.
• 🛍️ Tapestry, a fashion conglomerate, will acquire competitor Capri Holdings for $8.5 billion; the deal brings Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman, Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors under one house.

*From our partners: 🙌🚲 Unmatched prices on certified e-bikes… save up to 60% on pre-owned e-bikes with Upway. Guaranteed for 1 year. Returnable up to 14 days. Fast delivery. Save $100 with code DONUT and experience the e-bike craze for yourself.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with DeLo

• 🏆 The 2023 Emmy Awards are officially delayed until January 2024 due to the ongoing writers and actors strike.
• 🗣️ Twitch streamer Kai Cenat said he’s “beyond disappointed” at the large group of fans who caused mayhem in NYC’s Union Park last Friday; it marked Cenat’s first public comments since he was charged with a felony and two misdemeanors for inciting a riot.
• 🎤🎶 Taylor Swift confirmed her next re-recorded album will be 1989 (Taylor’s Version). | 🥳 Update: Lil Tay is, in fact, alive.

*From our partners: 🤤💀 DeLo is to die for…. Featuring the world’s finest single-origin chocolate, DeLo-xx’s at-home chocolate fondue kits are the main attraction of any gathering. Save on their Gold Kit with code DONUT.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ⚛️ Scientists at Fermilab near Chicago may have discovered evidence of a fifth fundamental force of nature, per new findings that have yet to be verified; the four known forces are gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.
• 🦷 A drug for regrowing human teeth could be available within the next decade, if a recently-announced clinical trial proves successful.
• ☄️ The Perseid meteor shower peaks on Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday morning, bringing an estimated 40-50 visible meteors per hour. | 🚀👍 Virgin Galactic successfully completed its first spaceflight with a paying civilian passenger. (Background)

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🔥🌺 The Maui fires death toll rose to 55; the fires are now mostly contained, officials say.
• 🇭🇹 A US nurse and her daughter were freed on Wednesday after being kidnapped in Haiti last month while on ministry duty.
• 📑 Former President Donald Trump and his longtime aide, Walt Nauta, pleaded not guilty yesterday to additional charges in the federal case accusing Trump of mishandling classified government documents after leaving office. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🫣 Thirty-six hidden messages in popular company logos.

You're looking at Bunny, a happy-go-lucky pup who just got a custom pair of wheels from Mercedes-Benz. 

⏮ Let's rewind... Bunny wasn't always the happy dog she is now. Earlier this year, she was found in Mexico by the team at The Animal Pad with maggots and fleas covering her body, a swollen face due to bite marks, and a broken spine causing her to lose all function of her back legs. 

• Bunny was rushed to an animal hospital in America, where she underwent amputation surgery for her back legs and was nursed back to health.
• Thankfully the strong pup made a full recovery, but she would need a wheelchair to get around on her own. And that's where Mercedes Benz comes in 🚘.

🚗 Now watch me whip: After hearing about Bunny's incredible story online, the team at Mercedes designed a custom set of wheels for Bunny, who started zooming around on them in no time.  

Where the questions are sometimes hard, and things can get gritty (yeah, yeah, yeah stick to news; we know).

Take our weekly news quiz and see how your news superpowers stack up against our team.

Below are three lists of ingredients. All you have to do is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Cherries
• Sugar
• Cornstarch
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Flour
• Cornmeal
• Light brown sugar
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Nutmeg
• Egg yolk
• Butter
• Vanilla extract

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Serrano chile pepper
• Lime juice
• Salt & pepper
• Water
• Sugar
• Shrimp
• Red onion
• Cucumber
• Jalapeno

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Frozen mango chunks
• Rum
• Lime juice
• Agave syrup

(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 who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize. (Pro tip: there's no need to ration points, you're entitled to a prize at each tier.)

Start referring.👇

☝️ Recipe #1: Cherry cornmeal crumb bars

✌️ Recipe #2: Garlic shrimp aguachile

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Mango daiquiri