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In today’s edition:

• 🔫 The Biden admin is expanding background checks on gun sales
• ⚡ America’s grid needs an upgrade – and scientists may have a solution
• 🛫 New York’s airports pulled a 180

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~5.23-minute read (1,393 words).

P.S. First time reading? Subscribe here for free.

“True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse.”

–Augustine "Og" Mandino (1923-1996)

Yesterday, the Biden administration announced a new regulation aimed at preventing unlicensed dealers from selling firearms. This represents ​​the largest expansion of background checks for gun purchases in over three decades.

Under current rules, licensed firearm dealers must perform background checks and refuse to sell to people who fall under certain criteria, including convicted felons and those with serious mental health issues. But these rules don’t apply to hobbyists and infrequent traders, who typically sell firearms online, at gun shows, or out of their houses.

The Justice Department’s new regulation aims to close that loophole. The law requires all individuals who repeatedly sell weapons to earn a profit to obtain a federal license and run background checks on their buyers.

• It also makes clear there are instances when a federal license to sell firearms is not needed, such as private transfers among family members and the liquidation of a personal gun collection.
• Federal officials believe the rule will impact 20,000+ unlicensed dealers who’ve been selling firearms without performing background checks.

But not everyone agrees with the move. Major gun rights activist groups have framed the Biden admin’s new policy as unconstitutional, and pledged to launch legal challenges to stop the law from taking effect in 30 days. Additionally, Republican lawmakers are pushing back against the Biden admin’s claim that it’s authorized to expand firearm background checks under a 2022 bipartisan congressional law.

📸 Big picture: Between 2017 and 2021, more than 68,000 illegally trafficked firearms in the US came through unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to perform background checks, per an ATF report published last week. The agency also found that guns trafficked through unlicensed dealers were used in ~370 shootings over the same time period.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with the Biden admin’s move to expand background checks for gun purchases?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇫🇲 Three sailors were rescued from a remote Micronesian island after making a “HELP” sign. The trio was on a trip within Micronesia, a nation of 600+ islands in the Western Pacific, when they became stranded on an uninhabited island for over a week due to a malfunctioning boat. The men were discovered on Tuesday, after a US Coast Guard aircraft spotted their sign made from palm tree branches.

🇻🇳 A Vietnamese billionaire was sentenced to death in the country’s largest-ever fraud case. Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan received the sentence yesterday after being convicted of using thousands of ghost companies to embezzle $12.5 billion – or ~3% of Vietnam’s annual GDP – from the country’s largest bank between 2018 and 2022. Lan, who pleaded not guilty and blamed her subordinates for the crimes, said she plans to appeal the sentence. Another 85 accomplices are facing sentences ranging from three years to life imprisonment.

🇮🇱🇮🇷 Israel should expect a major Iran-backed attack in the coming days, per the US. American officials on Wednesday said intelligence reports show that an attack on Israeli assets by Iran or its proxies could be imminent. Tehran has threatened to retaliate against Israel for a strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria last week that killed several top Iranian military officials. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the top US commander in the Middle East, is headed to Israel to discuss the possible Iranian attack.

The US government’s effort to expand clean energy across the country is facing a major obstacle: lack of available power lines, which can take a decade or more to build from scratch.

But there could be a faster – and cheaper – solution that’s already used widely around the globe, according to a report published this week.

The problem: The Energy Department estimates that America’s power grid needs to expand its capacity by two-thirds or more by 2035 to meet the US government’s clean energy goals. However, the US added just 251 miles of high-voltage power lines last year – or 0.1% of overall capacity – due to permitting delays, local lawsuits, and other legal roadblocks.

A new study has identified a way to solve the issue. According to researchers from GridLab and UC Berkeley, America’s energy grid has the potential to double its existing capacity by replacing its power lines with cables made from state-of-the-art materials – a technique that’s reportedly less than half as expensive as building new lines, and takes less than three years to complete.

• This upgrade process has been used in other countries for over a decade, though many US utilities have yet to embrace it due to unfamiliarity with the technology.

💥 The (potential) impact: If US utilities updated their power lines nationwide, American communities could take advantage of thousands of proposed solar and wind energy projects that currently can’t move forward because local grids are too clogged to accommodate them.

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The 88th Masters, one of four men's major golf championships that presents the winner with a gold jacket (green jacket? who gives a…), teed off yesterday in Augusta, Georgia.

The tournament comes as participation in golf is on the backswing upswing, reaching levels not seen since the “Tiger Woods Boom”:

• The number of golf rounds played in the US last year reached a record 531 million, a 10% increase from 2020 and outpacing the 518 million rounds played during 1999-2000 (the heyday of the Tiger Woods Boom), per data reported by the Wall Street Journal.
• An estimated 26.6 million Americans played a round of golf last year, or 1 million more people than in 2022, marking the biggest single-year jump in on-course participants since 2001, according to the National Golf Foundation.
• More new courses were opened last year than any time since 2010, while golf course-closures dropped to their lowest levels since before the Great Recession.

And let’s not forget the Topgolf effect. Last year, 32.9 million people engaged in off-course golf experiences – which include driving ranges, golf simulators, and places like Topgolf, PopStroke, and Drive Shack. That figure marks a 41% increase over 2019.

⛳ Back to the Masters: Bryson DeChambeau (-7), Scottie Scheffler (-6), and Nicolai Højgaard (-5) are leading the field after yesterday’s opening round, which was paused for darkness (players will finish up today). Fun fact: each of the last 18 Masters champions were tied for 11th or better after Round 1.

💬 Quoted… “No one could have predicted [this] situation.”

• After ranking among the worst in America as recently as 2016, New York’s airports have accomplished a ‘90s-era-”nerd”-to-princess-movie glow-up. Last month, LaGuardia Airport – which travel-industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said in 2015 "deserves its own circle of hell" – earned the 2023 title for “Best airport in North America” within its weight class (airports serving 25 million–40 million passengers/year), an award based on passenger feedback. And, also last month, both LaGuardia’s new Terminal B and Newark’s new Terminal A received a maximum five-stars from aviation ratings firm Skytrax – the only North American airports to appear on the list. How did this turnaround occur? 🎶It’s not all about the money, money, money🎶. In 2022, LaGuardia finished an $8 billion renovation, while Newark completed its $2.7 billion renovation of Terminal A. By 2026, $30+ billion in investment aims to make the New York metro area home to three state-of-the-art airports.

🏅 Stat of the Day: World Athletics, the governing body that oversees track and field competitions worldwide, announced this week that it will award $50,000 in prize money to gold medal winners at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. While many countries pay their athletes for earning medals (a breakdown), this marks the first time an international federation is offering prize money directly to Olympic medal-winning athletes.

🤔 Did You Know?... In the mid-1970s, the CIA and US Department of Defense launched a covert research program aimed at developing psychic abilities in agents and military personnel. Brb, going to rewatch The Men Who Stare at Goats.

📰 Worth a Read: Watch two tiny, AI-powered robots play soccer → (Popular Science)

• ☝️ A ranch with a view of all four ski resorts in Aspen, Colorado, has closed for $77 million in the most expensive home sale in state history; though it may not hold the title for long, as a property nearby is reportedly under contract for $110 million.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Spoak

• 💰 US markets closed mixed yesterday (S&P: +0.7%; Dow: -0.01%; Nasdaq: +1.7%). | 🍎 Apple turned in its best day since last May (+4.3%).
• 📝 Amazon CEO Andy Jassy published his annual shareholder letter, where he pledged to keep costs in check even as the company doubles down on investing in new growth areas like AI.
• 🔍 DuckDuckGo launched a $9.99/month Privacy Pro subscription service that bundles a VPN service, personal information removal, and identity theft restoration. | 🦬 Buffalo Wild Wings opened its 100th “Go” location, which only offers delivery and takeout orders; off-premise orders now account for one-third of BWW’s sales.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🧤 O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star and broadcaster also known for his acquittal in the 1994 murder of his ex-wife and her friend, died from cancer at the age of 76.
• 🏈 The Eagles and Packers will kick off the 2024 NFL season with the league's first-ever game in Brazil. | 🏒 The NHL is reportedly considering moving the Phoenix Coyotes to Utah if the franchise’s plan to build a new arena in Phoenix falls through.
• ⚾💰 Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, allegedly stole more than $16 million over two years from the Dodgers superstar to pay off gambling debts, per a federal affidavit. (Background)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with The Cold Life

• 🏆 Mathematician Avi Wigderson won the 2024 Turing Award – often referred to as the Nobel Prize of computer science – for his work on randomness in computation.
• 🌐 Internet service providers must now display “nutrition labels” that tell consumers their plans, fees, upload/download speeds, and if advertised rates are introductory or discounted.
• 🤖 The Humane AI pin, a $699 device that aims to replace many smartphone functionalities, became available to the public yesterday. | 💬 Read what reviewers are saying.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🎓 Harvard will reinstate ACT or SAT scores as a requirement of admission starting next fall, joining a growing number of elite schools including Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, and Georgetown.
• 📲 Apple sent iPhone security alerts to people across 92 countries on Wednesday, warning that their phones had been remotely targeted in a mercenary spyware attack.
• ⚖️ A lawsuit in Georgia is seeking the return of one of the biggest donations to the legal defense fund for Rudy Giuliani.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏙️😊 The cities where Americans are happiest in 2024.

This week marked the start of Nationwide's annual Wacky Pet Name contest, which features some of the most bizarre, random, and silliest pet names registered for insurance in their database.

• The finalists are split into three categories: dogs, cats, and exotic animals. 

🐾 What's in a name... This year's top contenders include Lord Waddles, Boots With The Fur, Minerva Meowgonagall, Mr. Pizza Puff, and a ferret named Boo Boo Bean, to name a few. 

See the full list and vote for your favorites here.

Our weekly news quiz is live. How well did you pay attention this week? Let’s find out.

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

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Salt & pepper
• Cayenne
• Parsley
• Yellow baby potatoes
• Parmesan

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Olive oil
• Scallions
• Parsley
• Eggs
• Heavy cream
• Black pepper
• All-butter puff pastry
• Cream cheese
• Smoked salmon
• Dill

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Lukewarm milk
• Sugar
• Active dry yeast
• Flour
• Salt
• Yogurt
• Olive oil

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☝️ Recipe #1: Crispy parmesan Potatoes

✌️ Recipe #2: Mini salmon quiches

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Naan