Good morning, and welcome to Monday. Let’s get you caught up on the weekend📰.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.73-minute read (1,260 words).

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“I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk.”

–Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954)

A newly approved law in Vermont will require companies to pay for the state’s historical costs associated with climate change based on emissions levels, making it the first US state with such a measure on the books.

The bill was officially enacted late Thursday, when Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) allowed it to become law without his signature following a veto-proof majority vote in the Democrat-controlled state legislature.

• Gov. Scott expressed concern about the costs and outcome of Vermont taking on “Big Oil” companies, but also acknowledged that such action is needed to address the recent toll of climate change in the state.

How it works: Under the legislation, Vermont’s treasurer and its Agency of Natural Resources will examine the effects of climate change on local public health, natural resources, agriculture, economic development, housing, and other areas.

• Which companies will be charged, and precisely how much, will be determined based on the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere, which state officials will determine using federal data.
• These companies will only be required to pay if the state determines their products emitted the equivalent of 1+ billion metric tons of CO2 between 1995-2024.

The law’s approval sets up a legal battle between Vermont and “Big Oil.” The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s biggest lobbying group, argues that Vermont’s new climate change measure is “bad public policy and may be unconstitutional,” since it imposes costs and liability on previous activities that were legal at the time.

• The lobbying group, along with some individual companies, lawmakers, and legal experts, also contend that the Vermont law violates equal protection and due process rights by holding firms responsible for the actions of society at large.

Looking ahead… Vermont officials have until January 2027 to create their methodology to charge companies for climate damages, with some estimates placing the combined payout in the hundreds of millions. Similar climate measures are also being considered in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with Vermont’s new law requiring companies to pay for costs associated with climate change based on their emissions levels?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇲🇽 Mexico is getting its first female president. Tens of millions of Mexican voters cast ballots yesterday for 20,000+ local, state, and congressional posts, as well as the presidency. Both leading presidential candidates were women: Claudia Sheinbaum, a former mayor of Mexico City and member of the ruling Morena party, and former Senator Xochitl Gálvez, who’s representing a coalition of opposition parties. As of late last night, preliminary results and exit polls showed Sheinbaum leading the race with an estimated 55%-63% of the vote.

🛢️ Gas prices this summer will likely stay elevated. Members of OPEC+, a collective of oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia, are currently cutting output by 5.86 million barrels/day (or ~5.7% of global demand). The group agreed yesterday to extend those cuts in full through September, then reduce the cuts to 3.7 million barrels/day until the end of 2025.

🇫🇷 France hosted a mass parachute jump to commemorate D-Day’s 80th anniversary. Six dozen parachutists jumped from World War II-era planes over Normandy yesterday to commemorate D-Day (June 6, 1944), when the US and other Allied nations began the largest seaborne invasion in human history. The jump kicked off a week of ceremonies, with dozens of D-Day veterans and 25 heads of state and government expected to attend.

Birmingham-Southern College, a small liberal arts school in Alabama, closed its doors for good on Friday due to financial troubles.

However, its baseball team held out a little longer, putting together a championship run that would make the Mighty Ducks proud – before being eliminated by Wisconsin-Whitewater yesterday in the NCAA DIII Baseball World Series quarterfinals.

A nod to overcoming adversity: While the team’s season ended with a loss, its path was filled with more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan movie – including a lack of funding for expenses (cue: GoFundMe), one-third of the team getting food poisoning before a crucial game (they won anyway), and a come-from-behind victory in an elimination game over the weekend that culminated with Birmingham-Southern winning on a two-run walkoff homer.

Zoom out: Baseball aside, the financial pressures felt at Birmingham-Southern aren’t isolated. At least 57 public or nonprofit colleges have closed, merged, or announced closures or mergers since March 2020 – though warning signs, like declining enrollment and revenues, were present prior to the pandemic.

• ~1,360 colleges and universities have seen declines in first-year fall enrollment since 2009, including ~800 four-year institutions.
• ~30% of all four-year schools brought in less tuition revenue per student in 2017-18 than in 2009-10.

👀 Looking ahead… At least 200 small US colleges (enrollment < 5,000) currently show signs of being under strong financial pressure, according to a Bloomberg analysis of federal data.

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💬 Quoted: “It’s such an underdog story.”

• For decades, Coke and Pepsi have reigned supreme as America’s most popular soft drinks. But now, there’s a third major competitor – the PhD-holding Dr. Pepper. According to new data from Beverage Digest, the regular versions of Pepsi and Dr. Pepper are currently tied for second in overall US market share (~8%) behind Coke (~19%), a spot that Pepsi has held nearly every year since 1985. The data marks yet another popularity milestone for Dr. Pepper, which was tied with Sprite in sixth place as recently as 2004. The company attributes much of its recent success to making alliances on both sides of Coke and Pepsi’s exclusive distribution deals with national US restaurant chains.

🗳️ Stat of the Day: Donald Trump became the first former president convicted of a crime late Thursday evening. And, while the verdict doesn’t legally affect his 2024 presidential campaign, it’s already having a major impact on the race for the White House. The Trump campaign said it raised a record $52.8 million in the 24-hour period after his conviction, with more than a third of that total coming from new donors. A new Reuters/Ipsos survey also found 35% of GOP voters are now more likely to vote for Trump following his conviction, while 56% say it won’t affect their vote, and 10% are less likely to vote for him.

🤔 Did You Know? There has never been a US president who was an only child. On average, presidents have had just over five siblings each.

📰 Worth a Read: Spots, stripes and more: Working out the logic of animal patterns → (Knowable Magazine)

• ☝️ The winners of the 12th annual National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition were announced late last week.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with 120/Life

• 💰 US markets closed mixed on Friday; all three indexes were positive in May (S&P: +4.8%; Dow: +2.4%; Nasdaq: +6.9%). | 🛢️ Saudi Aramco began selling shares representing a 0.64% company stake, in a deal that could raise up to $13.1 billion.
• 💻 Nvidia unveiled its next generation of AI chips to succeed its previous model, which first launched in March.
• 🥤 Poppi, a widely advertised soda alternative, is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely advertising the health benefits of its prebiotic ingredient.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🥊 The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match has been postponed from its original July 20 date, after Tyson experienced a reported ulcer flare-up during a recent flight.
• 🎶 Eminem released a new single “Houdini” from his upcoming album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), which will be out this summer.
• ⚽🏆 Real Madrid won its 15th Champions League title with a 2–0 victory over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday; one day later, the club reportedly signed superstar French striker Kylian Mbappé. | 🏒 The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are set to face off in the NHL Stanley Cup Final; Game 1 is on Saturday night. (Read more)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Dooeys

• 🚀 The first crewed launch of Boeing’s already-delayed Starliner spacecraft was postponed less than five minutes before its planned launch on Saturday.
• 🍽️ The Mediterranean diet is associated with a 23% lower risk of all-cause mortality, per a new study that examined 25,000+ women over 25 years.
• 🌑 China’s Chang'e-6 lunar probe successfully landed on the dark side of the Moon, state media reported yesterday; it marks the first time samples will be collected from that location.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🚰🚫 Atlanta declared a state of emergency after two water main breaks late Friday caused an outage for thousands of homes and businesses; water pressure began to return Sunday evening, though a boil-water notice remains in effect.
• ⚖️ Hunter Biden will go on trial later today on three felony gun charges over allegations that he lied about his drug use to purchase a firearm; he’s the first child of a sitting president to be a criminal defendant. (Read more)
• 🏛️ Retiring Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has switched his registration to independent. (Read more)

CLICKBAIT

• 🫢🎾 The Multimillion-Dollar Scandal Rocking Pickleball.

Monday: “Planetary parade” will see six planets line up in the morning sky

Tuesday: Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, and New Mexico hold presidential primaries; India announces election results; Star Wars’ The Acolyte hits Disney+

Wednesday: World Environment Day

Thursday: 80th anniversary of D-Day

Friday: National Donut Day (🥳); Bad Boys: Ride or Die hits theaters

On Friday, we covered new data that shows fewer Americans are planning to buy a home this summer compared to previous years, as higher mortgage rates apply negative pressure to home sales.

❓ Our question to you: How would you rate your personal satisfaction with the current US housing market?

• A+/A/A-: 11%
• B+/B/B-: 12%
• C+/C/C-: 23%
• D+/D/D-: 26%
• F+/F/F-: 28%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,460 votes and 383 longform responses.

Boston 911 dispatchers were puzzled when they received a call from a 25-year-old man asking for someone to come sing "Happy Birthday" to him. 

• Two police officers were sent out to perform a wellness check on the caller, Chris, and were surprised to find the man really just wanted someone to sing to him. 
• Officers Israel Bracho and Franklin Ortiz showed up with a muffin, candles, and the Happy Birthday song ready to go, making sure Chris was safe and felt supported on his birthday. 

💬 What they're saying: "We decided you can't show up to someone's house empty-handed,” Officer Bracho explained. “My mother raised me right.”

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Cyt
2. Etym
3. Greg
4. Larv
5. Mut

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1. Cyt = Cell (e.g., cytoplasm)
2. Etym = True (etymology)
3. Greg = Flock (gregarious)
4. Larv = Ghost (larva)
5. Mut = Change (mutation)