Good morning, and a warm welcome to the thousands of new people joining us for the first time. We think it’s only fitting that you know our origin story.

Once upon a time (aka about five years ago), a frustrated scientist decided to create their own Frankenstein-like monster, combining the DNA of Walter Cronkite, Mr. Rogers, and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel into a test tube – and then adding a bit of dazzle (a proprietary blend of Taylor Swift + Beyoncé + Selena Gomez + a few others).

What the experiment spit out stands before you today, dressed in the many-colored costume of a pastry. And what you can expect from us harkens back to our roots: fair, smart, nonpartisan, and anti-sensationalized news with a bit of humor and dazzle.

Now – without further ado, let’s Black Eyed Peas this thing and get it started📰.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 5.01-minute read.

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"Take interest and even delight in doing the small things well."

–Jim Rohn (1930-2009)

Sometimes you have to travel a long way to find out what is near – a concept with which NASA is certainly familiar.

This morning, the space agency is scheduled to launch a six-year, 2.2 billion-mile expedition to a resource-rich asteroid named Psyche in a bid to learn more about the core of our own planet. And scientists are pretty – forgive us – Psyche’d about it.

🤔 Why so Psyche’d?... Psyche is a potato-like asteroid measuring roughly 173 miles long and 144 miles across, located in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its exact composition is unclear, but scientists theorize between 30%–60% of Psyche is made up of iron and nickel, similar to the Earth’s core – which would be highly unusual, since asteroids typically contain mostly ice and rock.

• This theory leads researchers to believe Psyche represents the shattered remnants of an early planet that never got a chance to form, making it an ideal target for learning more about the Earth’s core and how our planet first formed.

🤯 Fun fact: If scientists’ hypothesis about Psyche’s composition holds true, it would mean the asteroid holds several quintillion dollars worth of iron and nickel (here’s what one quintillion looks like: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000) – or more metal than an album containing all of Metallica, Korn, Black Sabbath, and Slipknot‘s greatest hits. Though, since that figure is at least 10,000x larger than the entire world economy, the metals wouldn’t actually sell for that price if they reached the open market.

☄️📰 In other groundbreaking, asteroid-related news… NASA revealed yesterday that rock and soil samples collected from the asteroid Bennu are carbon-rich and contain water-bearing clay minerals dating back to the birth of our Solar System – which together could indicate that asteroids like Bennu first delivered the building blocks of life to Earth.

🌎 Popular tourist destinations around the world are cracking down on overtourism. More than a dozen major cities and landmarks have taken steps to reduce the number of outside visitors in recent months, with officials citing a variety of reasons including environmental damage, increased local prices, and overcrowding. Machu Picchu, the Acropolis in Athens, and Borobudur in Indonesia are among the handful of areas that placed a cap on daily visitors, while others – including Amsterdam, Venice, Thailand, and Iceland – have imposed new daily taxes on tourists.

🇮🇱 Israel agreed to form a unity government amid its ongoing war with Hamas. The move essentially means that Israeli PM Netanyahu’s ruling party will work to include members of the opposing National Unity Party in key government positions, including a newly-created "war management cabinet.” Israeli officials say the unity government won’t pass any laws or make any decisions outside of the war. The official death toll from the ongoing conflict rose to at least 1,200 Israelis, 1,100 Palestinians, and 22 Americans as of yesterday evening.

🇵🇾 Inmates temporarily took over the largest prison in Paraguay. The country’s Tacumbu prison houses around 3,000 inmates – or 6x its intended capacity – and is largely controlled by gangs, according to local security experts. On Tuesday, prisoners started a riot in which nearly two dozen guards were taken hostage for 15 hours until authorities secured their release. The riot came one week after Paraguay’s justice minister announced a plan "to regain power in the penitentiary centers.”

🧐🐶 Did you know? Dogs have 3-5 times thinner skin than we do, meaning they’re more susceptible to irritation caused by the harsh chemicals found in typical dog shampoos. With Floof’s line of pet care products formulated by veterinary dermatologists, you can safeguard your dog’s skin and make sure they’re getting the care they deserve.

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Starting this week, users logging in to personal Google accounts will be prompted to create and use passkeys instead of passwords. Meaning a future with less sticky notes by the computer is in sight.

🤔 What are passkeys?... Similar to that one song by that one artist whose name you can’t quite remember, the definition sounds familiar once you hear it. A passkey lets you sign into accounts using the same method that unlocks your device, such as Face ID, a fingerprint sensor, etc.

The main advantage to passkeys (besides not having to remember 30 different passwords) is that they’re phishing-resistant, because a hacker needs your actual device, not just your password, to break in.

If the device storing your passkeys gets broken or lost? No problemo.

• Passkeys work across multiple devices, so a backup may be available.
• Many services that support passkeys will also reauthenticate to your phone number or email address or to a hardware security key if you have one, per The Verge.

👀 Looking ahead… In a blog post announcing the passkey news, Google stated its intention to work towards making passwords “a rarity, and eventually obsolete.” And, like a nepotism hire, the tech giant may not have that much work to do. Many apps and companies already allow users to log-in to accounts using passkeys, including YouTube, Search, Maps, Uber, and eBay.

AI is becoming more power-hungry than a competitive Dungeon Master who wants to win at all costs. At least according to a recent analysis published by researcher Alex de Vries, who, after crunching some data, estimates that by 2027 the artificial intelligence industry could consume as much energy as a country the size of the Netherlands.

The logic leap looks something like this: while hard data provided by companies in this area is scarce, it’s a fact that generative AI like ChatGPT requires powerful servers and lots of computing power. And, as AI’s usage increases over time, so will the costs associated with cooling and running servers at various data centers.

• Microsoft – which is investing heavily in AI development – revealed in its latest sustainability report that its water consumption jumped 34% between 2021 and 2022.
• In 2021 – prior to the current AI arms race and before most of the world had heard of ChatGPT – artificial intelligence already accounted for 10%–15% of Google’s electricity consumption. Just adding generative AI to Search could increase the app’s energy use more than tenfold, per the analysis.

Let’s not forget about crypto and the blockchain. Both also being great examples of power-hungry emerging technologies. As of August 2022, the total global electricity usage for crypto-assets was equivalent to 0.4%–0.9% of annual global electricity usage – an amount exceeding the total annual electricity usage of many individual countries, including Argentina and Australia.

Did you know some credit cards could actually help you get out of debt faster? Yes, it sounds crazy. But it’s true. If you have outstanding credit card debt and large monthly payments, getting a new 0% intro APR credit card could help ease the pressure while you pay down your balances. The secret recipe?

• Find a card with a “0% intro APR" period for balance transfers
• Transfer your debt balance
• Pay it down as much as possible during the intro period!

No interest means you could pay off the debt faster. Check out the full list of applicable cards here.

💬 Quoted… "Green bubbles and blue bubbles want to be together.”

• In a new ad posted to YouTube this week, Samsung joined Google’s side of the green vs. blue bubble battle with Apple in a tie-up reminiscent of bitter rivals in an action movie teaming up to fight an outside existential threat. Both companies are calling on Apple to support RCS, a next-gen text messaging standard that would allow for several new features when an iPhone user texts an Android user, including higher-resolution photos, encrypted messaging, the ability to send texts over Wi-Fi, and the ability to display read receipts. One problem though – Apple isn’t exactly incentivized to cooperate. In fact, it’s the direct opposite.

🔴🔵❓ Stat of the Day: 63% of American voters currently believe the US political system would benefit from a third major party, the highest figure since Gallup first asked that question two decades ago.

🤔 Did You Know?... In the year 1900, roughly 78% of the global population was illiterate. One century later, that figure stood at 18%.

📰 Worth a Read: How to say no → (Psyche Magazine)

• ☝️ The Las Vegas Sphere, a $2.3-billion art installation/billboard/concert hall that opened for business last month in Sin City, can now add “golf critic” to its resume after it started reacting to golfers’ shots at the nearby Wynn Las Vegas course.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Sabavi Home

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +0.4%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +0.7%). | 🩴 Birkenstock dropped ~12% on its first day of trading; the company had a market value of ~$7.6 billion at close.
• 📝 Microsoft was notified by the IRS that the company owes an additional $29 billion in back taxes; the Washington state-based tech giant says it disagrees with the claims and will contest them in court if necessary.
• 🌯📈 Chipotle is raising prices.

*From our partners: ✨ Sabavi Home is devoted to finding better things for your home from all over the world. Better quality, better features, and better design at the lowest possible prices. Spend $49+ at Sabavi Home & receive $20 off a future purchase PLUS free shipping.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏰 Disney is raising prices at its US theme parks across a variety of services, including tickets, parking, and its Magic Key annual pass.
• 🎮 Sony will release a new slimmer PlayStation 5 model in November with a starting price of $450.
• ⚾ MLB Playoffs: the Rangers and Astros will face off in the AL Championship Series after defeating the Orioles and Twins, respectively; in the NL, the Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers in three games to advance, while the Phillies lead the Braves 2-1. | 🏀 WNBA Finals (best of five): The Las Vegas Aces routed the NY Liberty 104-76 last night to take a 2-0 series lead.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Tugboat

• 🧬👂 An international team of scientists is recruiting patients for the first-ever human trial of a gene therapy to cure a form of deafness.
• 🐒🐖 US biotech company eGenesis has kept a monkey alive for two years with a pig kidney, marking the longest an animal has survived with an organ from a different animal.
• 🧑‍🚀 Axiom Space is partnering with Prada to design the spacesuits for NASA’s upcoming Artemis III mission to the Moon in 2025.

*From our partners: 🛥️ Cruise your way to a bigger settlement… Tugboat users see their home insurance claims increased by $15,000 on average. They even guarantee a full refund if you aren’t satisfied! Save 15% on Tugboat’s Claim Support Tools with code DONUT.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🏫📝 The high school class of 2023 recorded an average ACT score of 19.5 – down from 19.8 last year, and the lowest figure since at least 1991.
• ⚖️📱 Utah filed a lawsuit against TikTok alleging the company is “baiting” children into addictive and unhealthy social media habits; Arkansas and Indiana have also sued TikTok over its potential risk to children.
• 🏛️ House Republicans selected Rep. Steven Scalise of Louisiana as their nominee for speaker, though it’s unclear if he has enough support to pass a confirmation vote in the full chamber. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 💰 How much money you need to retire comfortably in every US state.

Yesterday, we covered a new bill in Texas that would create “education savings accounts” of $8,000 for students who choose to leave the state’s public school system and pursue a private education.

❓ Our question to you: Do you support Texas’ proposed law?

• 👍 Yes: 28%
• 👎 No: 59%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 13%

Click here to read some of the best responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 9,364 votes and 921 longform responses.

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

• Missouri man breaks Guinness World Record for longest journey by pumpkin boat → (USA Today)
• Bay Area restaurants institute penalty for brunch vomiters → (SFGate)
• US Customs officials seize giraffe feces from woman at Minnesota airport → (Associated Press)
• Internet star sets bizarre world record for ‘gurning’ → (NY Post)
• Humane Society's annual 'Pug Crawl' draws Taylor Swift inspired costumes → (KATU News)

Bitty and Beau's coffee shop is a favorite among the locals of Melrose, Massachusetts.

The coffee shop, which just celebrated its two-year anniversary, employs people with intellectual disabilities behind the counter. 

❤️☕️ More than a cup of joe... For many of the workers, Bitty and Beau's is their very first job. Such is the case for 19-year-old Joe Sullivan, who couldn't help but jump for joy when his first paycheck came through. 

• "I say it every time I leave here; I leave with a full heart," said Joe's mother Tonya. "A lot of times I say you might not be able to change the whole world, but we can change our world right? That's what [Joe is] doing. One coffee at a time."

Mount Lee in California, pictured above, is home to which famous landmark?

The Hollywood Sign