Good morning. On today’s docket:

• 🦸 Wednesday was a busy day for crime fighters
• 🍷 Global wine production is on track to reach a 62-year low
• 🚓 A new installment of Grand Theft Auto is on the way

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.29-minute read.

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"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone."

–Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Sixteen people were arrested yesterday in New York and Italy on charges related to Mafia activities, as part of a coordinated, two-year operation between US and Italian authorities (and Batman, probably) that targeted members of New York’s notorious Gambino crime family and some of its Sicilian associates.

Background: The Gambinos, one of the Five Families that have dominated the Mafia in the New York area for decades, had a stranglehold on construction in the city at the height of their power, in the 1980s and 1990s, through their control of unions and the concrete business, Bloomberg reports.

And it appears their methods are still alive and kicking. The defendants – with nicknames right out of The Sopranos like Joe Brooklyn, Vinny Slick, Uncle Ciccio, and Fifi – allegedly “committed violent extortions, assaults, arson, witness retaliation, and other crimes in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries,” per officials.

Some examples:

• Two of the suspects allegedly coordinated a “violent hammer assault” on an demolition company employee with whom they had a financial dispute, then circulated pictures of the attack to others in the industry.
• The defendants also allegedly schemed to embezzle from unions and employee benefit plans, in addition to conspiring to rig bids for demolition projects in New York City.

🦸 In other crime-fighting news: Yesterday, US prosecutors charged three people with running a high-end brothel network in Boston and eastern Virginia. Their customers allegedly included elected officials, military officers, and government contractors with security clearances.

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🇫🇷 A French man regained the ability to walk thanks to the first spinal implant to treat Parkinson’s disease. In a study published this week in Nature Medicine, European researchers surgically implanted a device that stimulated the spinal nerves of a 63-year-old Parkinson’s patient to prevent the shuffling and sudden freezing of motor functions often associated with the disease. The patient, who was previously homebound and fell several times each day, is now walking nearly four miles/day after receiving the new implant.

🍷🍇 Global wine production is on track to reach a 62-year low. Wine production this year is projected to reach 244 million hectoliters (or 32.4 billion standard bottles of wine), which would mark the lowest level since 1961, per new data from the International Organization of Vine and Wine. The organization attributes the decline to recent harsh weather including frost, heavy rainfall, and droughts. Wine production fell across almost every country in the EU – which makes over 60% of the world's wine – while the Southern Hemisphere saw production fall as much as 25%.

🇪🇺🇺🇦 The EU Commission recommended starting membership talks with Ukraine. The country launched its bid to join the European bloc shortly after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and was named a candidate in June of the same year. The recommendation comes with the condition of Kyiv completing seven reform benchmarks – including tackling corruption and curbing oligarch power – which the EU says are over 90% satisfied to date. Separately, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will continue its ongoing military counteroffensive against Russia well into 2024.

Gamers everywhere will soon be able to pull off elaborate heists, drag race in exotic cars, and start criminal organizations with their friends in a brand-new environment. Yesterday, Rockstar Games confirmed the upcoming release of what’s likely the most anticipated video game on the planet: the sixth installment of Grand Theft Auto.

What’s the big deal?... Much like Shaq after a growth spurt, the new GTA has some massive shoes to fill. Its predecessor, GTA V, has sold more than 185 million copies and earned ~$8 billion in revenue since being released in 2013, making it the highest-grossing single entertainment product of all time (excluding mobile games).

GTA V also holds more than a half-dozen other world records, including:

• The largest budget for a video game ($276 million)
• The best-selling video game in 24 hours (11.21 million units)
• The most revenue ever generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours ($815.7 million)

👀 Looking ahead… Rockstar said the first trailer for its next GTA installment will be released early next month. According to Bloomberg, the new game is set in a fictionalized version of Miami, and will feature the series’ first female protagonist.

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💬 Quoted… “In a unanimous vote this afternoon, The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, bringing an end to the 118 day strike.”

• Yesterday afternoon, Screen Actors Guild leaders approved a tentative contract agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, officially ending a nearly four-month-long actors strike that cost the US economy an estimated ~$6 billion. The new contract, which has yet to be made public, now heads to the full actors union for a vote.

🇨🇳🇺🇸 Stat of the Day: In April 2022, more than 80% of Chinese residents said they viewed the US as an enemy. By last month, that number had fallen to less than 50%, per a new survey by Morning Consult.

🤔 Did You Know?... The first athlete to sign an endorsement deal worth at least $1 million was a professional bowler named Don Carter in 1964.

📰 Worth a Read: The city that learned to be proud that it SUX → (WSJ)

• ☝️ The European Space Agency this week published the first images from its new Euclid space telescope, which aims to create the largest-ever 3D map of the cosmos over the next decade.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Rasa

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: +0.1%; Dow: -0.1%; Nasdaq: +0.1%); the S&P and Nasdaq eked out small gains to keep their winning streaks alive.
• 🩺 Amazon is now offering Prime members a discounted annual membership to One Medical, a primary-healthcare provider Amazon purchased for $3.9 billion earlier this year.
• 🐭 Disney earnings topped expectations, thanks in part to profit at ESPN and continued growth at theme parks; the company also announced plans to cut costs by an additional $2 billion. | 📉 Warner Bros. Discovery shares fell 19% after the company reported a decline in advertising revenue, a wider-than-expected loss, and lackluster streaming subscriber numbers.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🍿🎮 Nintendo and Sony are teaming up to make a live-action movie based on the Legend of Zelda video game franchise.
• 🎭 Patrick Dempsey was named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2023.
• ⚾ The Los Angeles Angels hired Ron Washington as their new manager.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Scott Kemper Imagery

• 🪐⚛️ Oxygen was detected in the daylight atmosphere on Venus for the first time, per a new peer-reviewed study published in Nature Communications.
• 🦀🤖 An international team of researchers used fossil evidence to create a robotic replica of pleurocystitid, a marine organism that existed nearly 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first echinoderms capable of movement using a muscular stem.
• 💊 The FDA approved expanding the use of Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro to include the treatment of obesity; Lilly is branding the drug as Zepbound for its use in weight loss.

*From our partners: 🏞️🙌 Save big on stunning prints that transform your living space with Scott Kemper Imagery’s largest sale of the year. DONUT readers can save 23% + get his 2024 calendar free with code BFRIDAY23.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🏙️ Houston dethroned Miami as the best US city for international business, according to the second annual Financial Times/Nikkei "Investing in America" ranking.
• 🏛️ House Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden and James Biden – President Biden's son and brother, respectively – as part of their ongoing impeachment inquiry. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)
• 🗣️🗳️ The third GOP presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle took place in Miami last night; five leading Republican candidates were in attendance, though former President Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, was absent. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🙈🪐 Why Saturn's rings will disappear from view briefly in 2025.

Yesterday, we covered a Supreme Court case challenging a federal law banning Americans from possessing guns if they are the subject of a domestic violence restraining order.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should Americans who have a domestic violence restraining order against them be banned from possessing guns?

• 👍 Yes: 75%
• 👎 No: 14%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 11%

Click here to read more of the best responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 7,396 votes and 451 longform responses.

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

• When will frozen iguanas start falling from trees in Florida? → (The Hill)
• Student caught speeding after driving instructor wanted to show it saves little time → (NL Times)
• Brian Cox Says He Joined ‘007: Road to a Million’ Thinking It Was the Next James Bond Film → (Hollywood Reporter)
• Translation app prompts terror alert in Lisbon → (Portugal Resident)
• Bear steals Taco Bell delivery from Florida family's front porch → (UPI)

In Fredericton, Canada, nearly 100 tiny homes have popped up over the last two years.

🔑 Welcome home... The constructions are part of 12 Neighbours Community, a non-profit with a mission to provide permanent housing and personal development support for the homeless community. 

• Each tiny home is built in under a week. The neighborhood also provides community events and workshops to help the residents ease back into the workforce and greater society.

Which capital city in Asia, pictured above, was once known as Peking?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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