Good morning. Y’all ready for this?! *Cue musical break.*

On today’s docket:

• 📝 House Republicans are launching an impeachment inquiry into President Biden
• 🏃 An escaped murderer is still on the loose in Pennsylvania
• 📱 Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 (and a bunch of other stuff, too)

Let’s get to it.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.48-minute read.

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“Short cuts make long delays.”

–J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

Yesterday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations of corruption, representing an escalation of ongoing House investigations into the business dealings of Biden's son Hunter.

🤔 What are the allegations?... Republicans have been looking into whether Joe Biden played a role in, or benefited from, Hunter Biden’s overseas business affairs.

In testimony before the House in July, an IRS whistleblower alleged the ongoing DOJ investigation into Hunter found members of the Biden family (not including Joe Biden) received a combined ~$17 million from foreign business dealings in Ukraine, Romania, and China from 2014 to 2019.

• House Republicans claim these payments were part of an illegal influence-peddling scheme involving then-VP Joe Biden (but haven’t yet produced conclusive evidence showing he was involved).
• GOP leaders also say an impeachment inquiry will allow them to fully investigate any potential wrongdoing by President Biden due to added subpoena powers.

🔀 On the flip side: The White House maintains that President Biden wasn’t involved in his son’s business affairs and hasn't done anything wrong, saying House Republicans have failed to turn up any evidence connecting Biden to foreign payments despite nine months of investigations.

• Congressional Democrats have also painted the GOP-led probe as unfounded and a clear sign of political payback for former President Trump’s multiple impeachments.

👀 Looking ahead… McCarthy’s announcement is the first move in a political process that could eventually see articles of impeachment filed against President Biden and taken to the House for a full vote – though impeachment inquiries can also end without bringing any formal charges.

It's unclear whether Republicans would have the 218 House votes needed to impeach Biden. But if they do, the process would then head to the evenly-divided Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required to convict Biden and remove him from office.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with House Speaker McCarthy’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Biden?

Yes

No

Unsure/other

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🇵🇹 A small Portugal town was flooded with red wine after a mishap at a local distillery. Two tanks holding nearly 600,000 gallons of wine in São Lourenço do Bairro suddenly ruptured on Sunday, sending a torrent of alcohol sweeping through the streets. The wine was being stored as part of a national program that pays distillers not to sell their wine in order to remove excess product from the market. Portugal has the world's highest wine consumption rate per capita, but that figure has fallen 34% this year due to inflation and other pressures.

❄️🇨🇴 Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine manufacturer, set a new production record in 2022. A UN report published late Monday found the amount of cocaine manufactured in Colombia rose 24% last year to reach 1,738 tons, with most of the product being shipped to consumers in the US and Europe. Colombia produces an estimated 60% of the world’s cocaine, which is extracted from coca plants native to South America.

🇮🇱 Israel’s Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging a new judicial reform law. Israel’s government approved a bill in July aimed at restricting the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government or executive decisions using a legal standard of “reasonableness.” The new law has been the subject of mass protests by Israeli citizens since it was first introduced in January. And in a sign of the case’s importance, the Supreme Court met yesterday with all 15 justices present for the first time ever. If the Court ends up striking down the law, experts say it would set up a constitutional crisis over which government branch (legislative or judicial) has final authority.

Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted murderer who killed his ex-girlfriend in a 2021 stabbing in front of her two young children, is still on the loose following a prison escape about two weeks ago. And he’s been quite busy.

After crab-walking his way out of a Pennsylvania state prison on August 31, Cavalcante has:

• Changed his appearance and slipped through a police perimeter
• Stolen and ditched a van
• Tried to contact a few former coworkers
• Broke into a house and stole a .22 Ruger rifle with a scope; the homeowner fired shots at Cavalcante during the incident (which took place on Monday night)

Cavalcante was last spotted yesterday in South Coventry Township, a city within Chester County, Pennsylvania, ~25 miles away from the prison where he escaped. State police and the US Marshals Service blamed the vast wooded areas in Chester County for the fugitive’s previous success in breaking past the search area, but noted they have an advantage since he’s now believed to be hiding in a more urban area.

Schools located in/around the search area are closed, and residents have been warned to lock their doors and remain inside. Stay tuned.

💬 Quoted… “Today, we’re pushing what users love about iPhones even further.”

Apple unveiled the newest iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods models at its virtual “Wonderlust” event yesterday. The main highlights include:

• An iPhone 15 lineup featuring a USB-C charging port, a better camera, improved battery life, new software features, and the same pricing as last year’s iPhone 14 models.
• Next-gen Apple Watches with a new feature called "Double Tap," where users can tap their thumb and finger together twice – without touching the watch – to perform tasks like answering a call.
• A new version of the AirPods Pro with a carrying case that charges via USB-C, along with updated classic wire EarPods that connect using USB-C.

🧓📱 Stat of the Day: More than a quarter of all Americans over the age of 65 have used a dating app (26%), according to a new study by Comfort Keepers.

🤔 Did You Know?... Both hard cheeses and aged cheeses – two categories that include cheddar, colby, Swiss, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, and provolone – are virtually lactose-free, containing less than 1 mg per 100 grams.

📰 Worth a Read: ‘Friends’ and ‘Seinfeld’ knew the cure for loneliness → (Insider)

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• ☝️ You’re looking at some of the contestants from the 18th annual Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon in Del Mar, California; this year’s event featured more than 50 “surfurs.”

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Life Atlas

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board yesterday (S&P: -0.6%; Dow: -0.1%; Nasdaq: -1.0%).
• 🏢 Walmart announced a new 350-acre state-of-the-art global headquarters in northwest Arkansas that includes a child care center, a fitness center, a hotel, restaurants, and other stores.
• 🩴 Birkenstock filed for an IPO on the NY Stock Exchange yesterday; the German footwear giant didn’t mention an anticipated price range but is reportedly seeking a valuation between $6 billion–$8 billion.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 NY Jets QB Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon on Monday night which requires season-ending surgery; the four-time NFL MVP, who is 39, was traded to the Jets this past offseason.
• 🎸🎤 Aerosmith postponed a half-dozen dates on its ongoing farewell tour after lead singer Steven Tyler suffered a vocal cord injury.
• 🏀 The WNBA postseason tips off tonight; the #1-seeded Las Vegas Aces are heavily favored to win the title. | ⚖️ Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested and charged with felony assault in NYC yesterday.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with The Wine Connection

• 🧑‍🚀 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio unintentionally set a new US record for longest spaceflight, after technical issues extended his time onboard the ISS past the previous 355-day record.
• 🤧 The leading decongestants used by millions of Americans – including Sudafed, Dayquil, and others – are no more effective than a placebo, per US government experts who reviewed the latest research on phenylephrine (the active drug in those products).
• 🪐🔭 The James Webb Space Telescope recently discovered evidence of a possible ocean world 121 light-years from Earth that may have the potential to support life, NASA announced yesterday.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🥤 McDonald’s is eliminating all self-serve soda machines at its US restaurants by 2032.
• 🌀 Hurricane Lee is currently projected to make landfall in Canada later this week, with strong winds and flooding also expected to hit Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
• ⚖️🗳️ Former President Trump is facing a second major lawsuit seeking to disqualify him from the 2024 presidential ballot due to the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause; the new Minnesota lawsuit follows a similar suit filed last week in Colorado. (Background | From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🗣️ Ivy League linguistics expert shares the No. 1 common phrase to never use.

When a carpet python got trapped in a zoo vending machine in Australia, employees knew just who to call: Robert Irwin, son of the late Steve Irwin, aka the Crocodile Hunter. 

❤️ Like father, like son... 19-year-old Robert loves animals, just like his father. When he heard of the trapped snake, he devised a plan and implemented it within minutes. 

• Robert ended up successfully rescuing the non-venomous snake from the vending machine, a "career first" for the young zoologist. 
• “And that," he shared on TikTok through some laughter, "is how you get a carpet python out of a vending machine."

❓ Trivia: What’s the most common atom in the universe?

🦜 True or False?... Toucans have the largest beak-to-body ratio of any bird.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What’s at the beginning of every end, and the end of every place?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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❓ Trivia: Hydrogen

🦜 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: The letter "e"

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