Good morning. To see or not to see? That is the question🦔 (pretend this is a groundhog).

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.64-minute read.

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“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

–J.M. Barrie (1860-1937)

Will Apple’s Vision Pro succeed like the iPhone, or fail like Google Glass? We’ll soon find out. Because starting today, Apple’s new mixed-reality headset is available to US consumers.

How it works: Vision Pro users can navigate the home page – which features a buffet-like smorgasbord of downloaded apps – using only their eyes. Specific hand gestures are used to select and scroll through a particular app, while speech-to-text is used for typing.

• The Vision Pro currently has 600+ apps specifically designed for the headset, including custom apps for streaming, sports, gaming, business management, and more.
• These will all be available alongside the 1+ million already compatible apps across iOS and iPadOS.

It marks Apple’s first foray into a new product category since the Apple Watch in 2015. And, instead of jumping feet-first into the deep end, the company is just dipping its toe into the mixed-reality headset pool. This is for a few reasons:

• The headset is complex to manufacture, and demand – especially at its $3,500 price point – is unproven. (Though Apple has reportedly sold 200,000 units via pre-order already.)
• The Vision Pro’s rollout also isn’t straightforward. New sales strategies and equipment are needed, since the headset features customized components that need to be assembled and boxed up at point of sale.

👀 Looking ahead… The size of the mixed-reality headset market stood at $3.6 billion this year, and is projected to reach $21.7 billion by 2030. Apple is hoping its first Vision Pro leads to a line of successful mixed-reality products – and that it can succeed where others failed.

• In addition to selling to consumers, the company is looking to target corporate customers and schools – markets in which competitors like Magic Leap and Microsoft have struggled to gain traction.

📊 Flash poll: Do you plan on buying the Apple Vision Pro?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇵🇪 Peru reopened Machu Picchu after a week-long protest over a new ticketing system. Earlier this month, the Peruvian government announced plans to shift the sale of tickets to Machu Picchu from a state entity to a private company, after discovering a $1.8 million loss wasn’t reported by state offices. In response, protestors blocked the main train route to Machu Picchu, saying the new system favors big tourism companies and harms small businesses. The two sides signed an agreement on Wednesday for a transition period to the new platform.

🇺🇸🇮🇱 President Biden announced sanctions against Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians. Biden signed an unprecedented executive order yesterday calling for financial sanctions against Israeli settlers – and potentially Israeli politicians or government officials – who carry out violent assaults against Palestinians in the West Bank (which is largely under Israeli military occupation). Per UN data, there have been nearly 500 attacks by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank – resulting in at least eight deaths and 115+ injuries – since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

🇳🇱 The Netherlands and Google signed the tech giant’s largest offshore wind power agreement. The project will add 470 megawatts of clean energy capacity – enough to power ~300,000 homes – from a pair of Dutch offshore wind farms. The energy will flow to Google’s data centers in the Netherlands, which are projected to hit 90% clean energy this year. Google also announced smaller renewable energy deals in Italy, Poland, and Belgium as part of its plan to match electricity consumption with clean energy generation by 2030.

Ferrari, the luxury sports car manufacturer featured on bedroom-wall posters galore, reported earnings yesterday. And to quote Larry David, they were: “pretty, pretty, pretty good.”

• Ferrari’s revenue last year increased 17% to $6.46 billion, including an 11% increase in Q4.
• Net profits grew 34% in 2023, coming in at $1.36 billion, a record for the automaker. Car sales also increased 3.3% to reach 13,663 units.

Driving (lol) the record year… Better sales in the Americas and China, higher-priced cars, and a rise in personalized features (ex: coloured brake calipers or bespoke paint jobs), per the Financial Times. In fact, ~45% of Ferrari’s increased profits are due to these three factors.

The future also looks rosso rosy. For 2024, the same year its first-ever fully electric car is expected to debut, the Italian luxury-house is projecting revenue will increase to $6.96 billion, with its adjusted EBITDA also coming in higher ($2.64 billion in 2024 vs. $2.48 billion in 2023).

• In the know: Even though its products have four wheels (five if you include the steering wheel), Ferrari stock doesn’t trade like a typical automaker. BMW and Mercedes shares trade for ~5x and ~6x estimated 2024 earnings, respectively – while Ferrari trades for ~42x.

🏎️ Capping off the big day: News broke that Lewis Hamilton, the legendary F1 driver, is leaving Mercedes and will drive for Ferrari opposite Charles Leclerc starting in 2025.

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💬 Quoted… “Olympics on steroids.”

• Have you ever wondered how much the Liver King could lift how fast Usain Bolt could run if he took steroids? You’re not alone. Introducing: the Enhanced Games, a new Peter Thiel-backed sports competition in which athletes are encouraged to take performance-enhancing drugs “out in the open and honestly.” The competition will feature five events – combat, gymnastics, track and field, swimming, and weightlifting – held once a year at already-existing venues. Thiel and other high-profile investors say the Enhanced Games are intended to aid research into nutritional supplements and biohacks that push the boundaries of human performance.

🏀🔥 Stat of the Day: Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark moved up to 2nd place on the all-time NCAA D1 women’s basketball scoring leaderboard after dropping 35 points on Wednesday night. Clark is currently 103 points shy of the all-time record held by Kelsey Plum, with eight games left in No. 3-ranked Iowa’s regular season.

🤔 Did You Know?... A total of ~6,800 Americans were killed in action over the course of the eight-year Revolutionary War against Britain.

📰 Worth a Read: The man behind the puzzle that 99% can't solve → (BBC Culture)

• ☝️ 🌧️ California was hit by a powerful storm known as an atmospheric river yesterday, causing flooding across the state; another atmospheric river is also projected to hit California this weekend.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with The HOTH

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board (S&P: +1.3%; Dow: +1.0%; Nasdaq: +1.3%).
• 👟 Lululemon is launching a men’s footwear line, a first for the brand.
• 🚲 Peloton reported mixed quarterly results and said it's still months away from growing sales or turning a profit; the fitness company's stock closed down 24%. | 📦 Amazon reported Q4 earnings that outpaced analysts’ expectations for earnings and revenue. |📱 Meta beat expectations on earnings and revenue in Q4; the social giant also announced its first-ever dividend payment.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🙅‍♀️ Hulu became the latest streamer to start cracking down on password sharing.
• ⚾ Former Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon received a 15-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA for providing inside information about his team to a bettor. (Read more)
• 🚫🎶 TikTok has removed all music from Universal Music Group artists amid a contract dispute. (What’s the beef about?)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Stat Significant

• 🛒🤖 Amazon is adding a new AI-powered shopping assistant named Rufus to its mobile app.
• 🌍 Early humans lived alongside Neanderthals in northern Europe as early as 47,500 years ago, per a new Nature study; the discovery upends previous scientific belief that Neanderthals went extinct shortly after making contact with humans ~40,000 years ago.
• 🐕 Small dogs with long noses – such as whippets and miniature dachshunds – live for several years longer than large, flat-faced breeds like the English bulldog, per a new study.

*From our partners: 📊🤔 Are Best Picture winners getting worse?... How has music changed since the 1950s? Is TV's golden age coming to an end? Stat Significant is a weekly newsletter featuring data-centric essays about movies, music, TV, and more. Subscribe FREE here.

MISCELLANEOUS

• ⚖️📄 A former CIA software engineer convicted of leaking classified US government information to Wikileaks was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
• 🇪🇺🇺🇦 The EU approved a $54 billion financial aid package for Ukraine after Hungary reversed course and supported the deal.
• 🏛️ The House voted 357-70 in favor of a $78 billion bipartisan bill that enhances tax breaks for businesses and also widens eligibility for the child tax credit; the measure now heads to the Senate.

CLICKBAIT

• 🗣️💔 ​​Love languages are fake, scientists say.

Coming at you hotter than noon on the Fourth of July, it’s the DONUT’s weekly news quiz.

Find out how your news superpowers stack up against our team.

In September 2023, Alabama resident Emmali Osterhoudt went viral after finding her dream wedding dress for $25 at Goodwill. The gown was designed by Galia Lahav, and normally retails for over $6,000.

• "I really don’t know how I got so lucky," shared Emmali. "I would like to say thank you to the girl who donated it to Goodwill because it made my whole entire year."

💍 It's like a scavenger hunt, but better... Emmali's viral video in the dress eventually made it to Galia Lahav herself, who was touched by the future bride's reaction to the gown.

Inspired to help more brides feel beautiful on their wedding days, Galia and her team are donating 5–10 other Galia Lahav dresses to Goodwills around the country in response to the video. 

💬 What they're saying: “We thought it would be an exciting idea to play fairy godmother and donate a few dresses ourselves to Goodwill for more Cinderella moments," wrote a brand spokesperson. "It's a reminder that sometimes, life's surprises can be as beautiful as the dress itself."

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

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Long grain rice
• Onions
• Green bell peppers
• Garlic
• Green onions
• Smoke sausage
• Ham
• Tomatoes
• Chicken stock
• Chicken
• Dried thyme
• Bay leaves
• Paprika
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Small shrimp
• Cayenne
• Fresh parsley

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Palm sugar
• Rice wine vinegar
• Fish sauce
• Chili sauce
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Chicken thighs, cut
• Vegetable oil
• Cilantro leaves
• Scallions

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Flour
• Baking soda
• Kosher salt
• Baking powder
• Butter
• Light brown sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs
• Chocolate chips
• Ridged potato chips
• Pretzels
• Roasted peanuts
• Toffee bits

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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☝️ Recipe #1: Jambalaya

✌️ Recipe #2: Vietnamese-style chicken skewers

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Kitchen sink cookies

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