Good morning. We’re testing out a new Wednesday newsletter format today. Let us know what you think.

In today’s edition:

• 🗳️ How ballot initiatives aim to fix extreme partisanship
• 🇺🇸🇨🇳 America and China are best frenemies
• 🧠 Youth mental health: on the upswing?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.35-minute read (1,158 words).

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"If you go out looking for friends, you're going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere."

–Zig Ziglar (1926-2012)

Americans across the political spectrum routinely express concern about the state of the country’s democracy – and this fall, voters in a record number of states will have a chance to do something about it.

Eight states are all-but-certain to hold ballot measures in November that would rewrite their local election rules, with the proposals billed as attempts to discourage extreme partisanship and give voters more influence when selecting candidates.

• Since the advent of citizen-backed ballot initiatives in the early 1900s, no other year has seen more than three states hold such election-system initiatives, per Ballotpedia.

Let’s break it down: Six states will consider proposals to abolish closed or semi-closed primary elections – which ban voters registered with outside political parties – and replace them with primaries open to any candidate and all voters.

Additionally, four states will consider proposals to replace their conventional winner-take-all elections with ranked-choice voting, where voters rate their top 4-5 candidates in order of preference. (Colorado and Nevada have ballot measures addressing both issues.)

The ballot initiatives all share a similar goal. Lawmakers and activists behind the proposals say they’re aimed at drawing more participants to primary elections, thereby reducing the potential for voters with extreme views to gain outsized influence.

• Proponents of open primary elections say the process incentivizes candidates to align more closely with the political center, since they must also appeal to independents and members of their opposing party.
• Similarly, advocates of ranked-choice elections argue the process rewards candidates who try to receive a high ranking from voters across the political spectrum.

Yes, but: Not everyone agrees with that logic. Critics of open primaries point to academic research that shows such systems actually don’t attract more moderate candidates compared to closed or semi-closed elections.

• And when it comes to ranked-choice voting, critics argue it overly complicates the process and significantly increases the chances that voters’ ballots will be thrown out and uncounted.

📊 Flash poll: Which of the following best describes your opinion about open primary elections and ranked-choice voting?

• I support both policies
• I only support open primary elections
• I only support ranked-choice voting
• I support neither policy
• Unsure/other

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🇰🇪 Protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament amid outrage over widespread tax hikes. In recent weeks, Kenya has seen nationwide protests against a proposal to raise or introduce taxes on many daily items and services, including internet data, fuel, and bank transfers. Kenya’s government says the changes are necessary to keep functioning, while protesters see the tax hikes as untenable due to the high cost of living. The protests intensified yesterday, when demonstrators rushed into Kenya’s parliament and police allegedly fired live rounds into the crowd, with the situation causing at least five reported deaths.

🇨🇳 A Chinese space probe returned the first-ever samples from the Moon’s dark side. The Chang’e-6 probe returned to Earth yesterday carrying ~4 pounds of Moon dust and rocks, capping off a 53-day lunar mission. Scientists hope the samples will provide more accurate ranges of the Moon's geological age, help reveal how planets are formed, and determine whether future missions can harvest water, oxygen, and hydrogen from the Moon’s dark side.

🇺🇦🇪🇺 Ukraine officially began EU membership talks. The accession negotiations for Ukraine, which first applied to join the EU shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022, were set in motion at an intergovernmental conference yesterday. Before it can enter the EU, Ukraine must first implement corruption and democracy reforms, a process expected to take over a decade. As an EU member, Ukraine would have increased access to trade within the bloc, and its citizens could live, work, and travel freely across the 27 member countries.

“They say they’re in favor of reconnecting our two populations, but they’re taking dramatic steps to make it impossible.”

• Last November, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to boost engagement between ordinary Chinese and Americans as part of an effort to repair fraying ties between the two nations. But according to a new Wall Street Journal interview with Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to Beijing, China has instead worked to actively undermine those ties by interrogating and intimidating citizens who attend US-organized events in China, restricting the US embassy’s social-media posts, and stirring up anti-American sentiment within China. Burns described 61 public events since November involving American diplomats where China’s government pressured its citizens not to go, or attempted to intimidate those who attended. He also voiced concerns about the recent stabbing of four Iowa college instructors in northeastern China, as well as recent regulations making it harder for Chinese students to attend US universities.

📈 Stat of the Day: After youth mental health took a beating during the pandemic, the kids are slowly becoming alright, according to new CDC data collected by Axios. Of the nine states that have published youth mental health figures for 2023, seven of them recorded lower rates of sadness and hopelessness compared to 2021 – a sign that efforts to dedicate more resources to student well-being during the pandemic are starting to pay off, CDC officials say.

🤔 Did You Know? No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993, despite the country containing ~20% of all NHL franchises.

📰 Worth a Read: How amputation transformed the human body during the Renaissance → (The Conversation)

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• ☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 2024 Audubon Photography Awards, an annual contest celebrating the beauty of birds; the competition received 8,500+ submissions this year.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with 120/Life

• 💰 US markets closed mixed yesterday (S&P: +0.4%; Dow: -0.8%; Nasdaq: +1.3%). | 📦 FedEx reported quarterly revenue and earnings outpacing analysts’ expectations, alongside a drop in capital spending; FedEx shares rose 15+% in after-hours trading.
• 🚘 Volkswagen agreed to invest $5 billion in EV startup Rivian, in a deal that also creates a joint venture allowing VW to use Rivian's technology for its own EVs; shares of Rivian rose ~40% in after-hours trading.
• 🛒 Amazon Prime Day 2024 will take place on July 16-17.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🍿 Warner Bros. Discovery is moving most of its upcoming big-budget, tentpole projects – including its Harry Potter TV show and It prequel series – from the MAX brand to the HBO brand.
• 📰 The Associated Press is launching an independent nonprofit that aims to raise at least $100 million to expand state and local news.
• 🙏 Seth Binzer, aka Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of Crazy Town, passed away at the age of 49.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with AutoGive

• 🤖🚗 ChatGPT has been integrated into the voice assistants of some Volkswagen models; the update is initially available only in Europe, with North America coming soon.
• 🦋 A group of painted lady butterflies crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the first transoceanic journey ever recorded by an insect, per a new peer-reviewed study.
• 🌎🛰️ The NOAA’s GOES-U weather satellite was successfully launched into space yesterday onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. (Dive deeper: A next-gen US satellite is poised to revolutionize weather forecasts)

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🌊 President Biden declared a major disaster in northwest Iowa following major flooding this past weekend that destroyed hundreds of homes. | 📝 The US surgeon general issued an advisory declaring gun violence a public health crisis; US gun-linked deaths surpassed 48,000 people in 2022, over half by suicide.
• 🛻 Ford is recalling 550,000+ F-150 pickups from the 2014 model year due to an issue where their transmissions can suddenly downshift to first gear. | 🚛 Tesla recalled ~11,000 Cybertrucks due to issues with the windshield wipers and loose trim.
• 🎓💰 Two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily blocked large portions of President Biden’s new student loan repayment plan, called SAVE; the Biden admin can no longer forgive debt or reduce payments under SAVE until the cases are decided. (Read more) | 🏫 Oklahoma’s Supreme Court blocked what would have been America’s first publicly funded religious charter school. (Read more)

CLICKBAIT

• 🗣️🗳️ Presidential Debates in History That Moved the Needle.

Eighty-three years ago, Virginia “Ginger” Hislop started her master's degree in education at Stanford University. 

This month, she finally received her diploma. 

📚 Virginia was forced to pause her studies in 1940, when her then-boyfriend was drafted in WWII, prompting the pair to get married and Virginia to leave campus before graduating. Eight decades later, the 105-year-old student returned to school to finish what she started.

• “My goodness,” said Virginia. “I’ve waited a long time for this.”

How it works: We provide an incorrect stat. Then you guess whether the actual number is over or under the given value.

1. 👔 6%: How much wearing a necktie can restrict blood flow to your brain.
2. 🐙 7: Number of tentacles an octopus has.
3. 🦠 50%: Percentage of a human that is bacteria.

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize.

Start referring.👇

1. 👔 Over, 7.5%
2. 🐙 Under – barring a few exceptions, they have 0 tentacles and 8 arms
3. 🦠 Over, 56%