Good morning. Father’s Day, a day dedicated to our favorite purveyors of groan-inducing jokes, is on Sunday.

In celebration, here are a few eye-rollers:

• In 2017, I didn’t do a marathon. I didn’t do one in 2018, 2019, or 2020, either. This is a running joke.
• Which days are the strongest? Saturday and Sunday. The rest are weekdays.
• And the classic: Kid: “Can you make me a sandwich?” Dad: “Poof! You’re a sandwich.”

P.S. Need a last-minute gift for dad? Here are 25 ideas.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~5.11-minute read (1,359 words).

"Thinking will not overcome fear but action will."

–W. Clement Stone (1902-2002)

Yesterday, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an effort seeking to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, marking the Court’s first decision on abortion since it overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.

Background: Mifepristone, alongside the drug misoprostol, is typically taken during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy to induce an abortion or manage an early miscarriage. The two-drug combination has grown in popularity since receiving FDA approval in 2000, and is now used for the vast majority of medication abortions (which account for ~63% of all US abortion procedures).

SCOTUS’s decision ensures mifepristone will remain widely available. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the plaintiffs – a group of doctors who oppose abortion but don't take or prescribe mifepristone – couldn't show they were directly injured by the drug’s legality, and thus lacked the standing to sue.

• The Court didn’t rule on the merits of the plaintiffs’ case, which argued the FDA improperly approved mifepristone and failed to properly study its safety.
• The unsuccessful legal challenge sought to restrict access to mifepristone nationwide, even in the 36 states where abortion is legal.

Zoom out: Abortion is increasingly becoming a pivotal issue heading into the November elections. Nearly a third of all US voters say they would only vote for political candidates in major offices if they share their views on abortion, according to a Gallup poll published yesterday.

• This voting bloc – split between 23% “pro-choice” and 8% “pro-life” – is the largest since Gallup first began asking that question in 1992.

📊 Flash poll: Which of the following best describes your personal stance on abortion?

• It should be legal under any circumstances
• It should be legal under most circumstances
• It should be legal under only a few circumstances
• It should be illegal under all circumstances
• Unsure/other

And the end of that race could affect you far more than you might imagine.

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla – “The Magnificent Seven,” as they’re now referred to – averaged an amazing 115% returns in 2023 alone, and now make up a stunning 30% of the S&P 500.

• The problem? When stocks get THIS BIG in relation to the rest of the market, you simply reach diminishing returns. For Apple alone to replicate past success, its market cap would grow to larger than the entire US GDP!
• But The Motley Fool team knows many investors are still after life-changing returns, so they’re recommending one company that's making big inroads in both cybersecurity and AI… and was recently mentioned in one of their presentations as a possible member of the NEXT Magnificent Seven.

The Fool has put this company's name, ticker symbol, and details why they’re excited about its potential into a new special report. Also included is a complete breakdown of the AI industry, plus five more stocks that could be great for playing the AI boom.

Read more at The Motley Fool.

🇷🇺 WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich will soon stand trial in Russia. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 over allegations of stealing state secrets for the US government, which he, US officials, and the WSJ have repeatedly denied. Yesterday, Russian authorities said they finalized Gershkovich’s indictment and filed his case in court, though they didn’t specify when his trial would begin. Gershkovich is the first US journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.

🌀 El Niño is officially over, with La Niña likely on the horizon. Yesterday’s declaration by the NOAA marks the end of what had been a potent El Niño, aka the cyclical weather phenomenon which boosts global temperatures. Federal forecasters now predict a 65% chance of a La Niña weather event beginning over the summer months, which would bring cooler global ocean temperatures and increase the risk of an especially active Atlantic hurricane season through November.

🛢️ Global demand for oil will peak in 2029, per new IEA forecasts. In its latest oil market outlook, the International Energy Agency warned that falling demand for oil will soon cause production capacity to outstrip demand, leading to significantly lower global oil prices. However, some analysts disagree with the IEA’s outlook, saying peak oil demand will likely occur much further into the future due to growing energy needs in developing countries, uncertainties around EV growth, and questions about government climate policies.

United Airlines’ passengers will soon get served another thing in addition to snacks and drinks: personalized ads.

Last week, the airline unveiled Kinective Media, an in-house media network that draws on customer data to deliver relevant advertising to its mobile app (which sees ~100 million sessions/month) as well as seatback screens.

• “There is the potential for 3.5 hours of attention per traveler, based on average flight time,” according to United. The carrier has ~100,000 seatback screens across its fleet.
• Kinective Media is already working with Norwegian Cruise Line, Macy’s, IHG Hotels & Resorts, TelevisaUnivision, and JPMorgan Chase.

The carrier says it will only use info from passengers 18 and older, and that all customers have the option to opt-out of targeted ads at any time.

Big picture: United is billing its ads biz as the airline industry’s first media network.

But other airlines chasing profit and revenue growth could also follow suit. They already have eyeballs and undivided attention – and advertising is a high-margin business, meaning the lion’s share of revenue would go straight to boosting the company’s bottom line.

Data-backed advertising is eating the world. Companies whose main business isn’t ads are increasingly leaning into data-focused ad networks, including Amazon, Target, Costco, PayPal, Walmart, Kroger, and Best Buy. US marketers are expected to spend ~$55 billion this year on retail-media ads (ads sold based on a retailer’s data).

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According to many, we’re living through the “Zyndemic” or “The Great Zynpression.” America’s favorite nicotine pouch, Zyn, is experiencing a shortage, with no relief in sight for months.

What is Zyn? Zyn cans (or “tins” if you live in the Midwest) contain 15 flavored pouches, constructed from a material similar to a teabag and filled with cellulose, wood, nicotine, and flavoring. Users tuck them into their cheek. The company bills the pouches as an alternative to cigarettes; they’re comparable in risk to pharmaceutical products such as nicotine gums or patches, per public-health experts.

Demand is far outpacing supply. Zyn has been around since 2014. But like a TikTok star, sales unexpectedly took off over the past year and a half. Shipments to the US rose ~80% YOY during Q1 2024, reaching ~132 million cans.

And supply, much like anyone racing Dom Toretto, just couldn’t keep up. Zyn’s manufacturer, tobacco giant Philip Morris, only operates one US factory in Owensboro, Kentucky, and is currently working to add more on-site capacity – though it doesn’t expect supply to return back to normal until Q4.

The tobacco industry is betting on smokeless. Phillip Morris CEO Jacek Olczak has said cigarettes “belong in a museum,” and that he wants 50+% of the company’s revenue to be generated from other products by 2025 or 2026, before rising to 66+% by 2030. Altria Group and British American Tobacco have also pledged to sell fewer cigarettes.

+Dive deeper: The Facts About Zyn – the Nicotine Pouches Taking Over Your Social Media Feed

“Smartest company in the world.”

• Which blue-chip corporation has the best pawn-pushers in the world? That question will be answered this weekend, when teams from Goldman Sachs, Google, Deutsche Bank, BlackRock, and eight other prominent companies gather in New York to compete for the World Corporate Chess Championship, with the winner recognized by chess’s world governing body as the smartest company on the planet. Each company’s five-member team is only allowed a single player rated above 2400, the level of international master, along with a single nonemployee – the most notable of whom is former US national chess champion Sam Shankland, playing for high-speed trading firm Susquehanna.

🤖🧑‍🏫 Stat of the Day: ChatGPT is quickly becoming a staple in classrooms across America, joining pencil sharpeners and “hang in there!” posters. Around 40% of US teachers and K-12 students say they’re using the OpenAI chatbot at least a few times per week, according to a new poll conducted last month by Impact Research for the Walton Family Foundation. The findings show a sharp uptick in usage since October-November, when polling from Common Sense Media, Hopelab, and Harvard found 4% of Americans aged 14-22 said they use AI tools daily or almost daily.

🤔 Did You Know? The northern giant seadevil, or Krøyer's deep-sea anglerfish, has the largest size discrepancy between sexes of any living animal. Females can grow up to four feet long and weigh ~500,000x more than males, who average less than an inch in length (#shortkings).

📰 Worth a Read: Why Pop Music Is So ‘Meh’ Right Now → (WSJ)

• ☝️ The reported birth of a rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that predicts better times are ahead, according to members of the Native American tribes, who also say the calf represents a warning that more must be done to protect the environment.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with 120/Life

• 💰 US markets closed mixed yesterday (S&P: +0.2%; Dow: -0.2%; Nasdaq: +0.3%); the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record closing highs for the fourth straight day.
• ✅ Elon Musk's Tesla compensation plan was approved by shareholders, in a vote that could pave the way for Musk to receive ~$45 billion in stock he was ordered to forfeit by a judge. | ⚖️ A group of Tesla shareholders sued Musk and the board over Musk’s decision to start xAI, which they describe as an AI competitor of Tesla.
• 🍎🤖 Apple isn’t paying OpenAI as part of its new partnership, which isn’t expected to generate meaningful revenue for either party at its outset, per Bloomberg; Apple is also reportedly planning future revenue-sharing agreements with its AI partners.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🐉 HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a third season; the move comes ahead of the GoT spinoff’s Season 2 premiere this Sunday. | 🚲 Kendall Toole, a popular Peloton instructor, is leaving the home workout company.
• 🏊 Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas lost her challenge to overturn the rules of World Aquatics that prevent transgender women from competing in women’s divisions.
• 🏟️ Taylor Swift’s three nights of sold-out concerts in Edinburgh, Scotland, last weekend triggered earthquake readings up to ~4 miles from the venue, per the British Geological Survey. | 🎮 Valve Corporation, which owns PC gaming platform Steam, is facing an ~$837 million lawsuit accusing it of overcharging 14 million UK residents.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with NoNetz

• 🔍 Israeli and Caltech scientists discovered a method to create self-assembling and self-healing glass, per a new study published in Nature Communications.
• 🦕 A new species of pterosaur – a flying reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs ~100 million years ago – was recently discovered by an avocado farmer/museum curator, featuring a wingspan of 15+ feet.
• 🌌💥 NASA confirmed a “once-in-a-lifetime” explosion in space called a nova event – which will appear to viewers on Earth as if a new star formed – is expected to occur sometime this summer. | 🙏 Ed Stone, who led NASA’s Voyager project from 1972-2022, passed away at the age of 88.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🌧️ Flooding across South Florida worsened yesterday, with many areas receiving 4-8 inches of rain in addition to roughly a foot of rain on Wednesday.
• 🌿 Michigan has overtaken California as America’s top-selling cannabis market by volume, per new data from market intelligence firm BDSA.
• 🇺🇦 President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement at an ongoing international summit; G7 leaders also agreed to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan backed by frozen Russian assets.

CLICKBAIT

• 💰 What you need to earn to live comfortably in every state.

👆 More than half a century ago, Daniel Kozmetsky's grandparents founded a cattle ranch on 1,500 rolling acres near Hamilton Pool, Texas. 

When developers started to take notice of the land, they offered Daniel millions to buy it and develop new property builds.

• But, after considering their offer, the Texan looked at the rolling green hills overlooking his family's home and graciously declined. 
• Instead, he decided to turn it into a massive public park. 

If Yellowstone's John Dutton was for the people... Travis County officials are using funds from the Proposition B Parks Bond Measure to purchase the 1,507-acre parcel where a subdivision was once planned. Hikers will be able to enjoy gorgeous trails, explore natural creeks, and more, keeping nature, well, natural, and free of the new developments. 

🏞👀 Looking ahead: RGK Ranch is on target to open to the public in 2025 or 2026. 

+Note: This story first appeared in Positive DONUT, a weekly newsletter delivering awe (and awww) inspiring stories you won't hear in the news. Sign up for free here.

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☝️ Recipe #1: Butter swim biscuits

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