Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🤔 How much alcohol can you drink and still be healthy?
• 💊 Weight loss pills are coming
• 💰 How money correlates with happiness

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.93-minute read (1,312 words).

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“Don't spend major time on minor things.”

–Jim Rohn (1930-2009)

For nearly three decades, America’s federal dietary guidelines have said it’s safe for men to have up to two drinks/day (14/week), and for women to have one (7/week). But recent research suggests the guidelines should be far more conservative than that.

Let’s break it down: Last year, an influential group of Canadian researchers assessed a wide range of studies that examined how different drinking frequencies affect people’s health.

• Their analysis concluded that “no amount or kind of alcohol is good for your health,” and recommended limiting consumption to two drinks or less per week. The researchers said consuming any more alcohol than that leads to moderate or higher risks of developing heart disease, liver disease, and/or a half-dozen different cancers.
• Based on this research, a half-dozen countries have published new guidelines recommending lower levels of alcohol consumption. This includes Canada, which cut its guidelines from 15 drinks/week for men and 10 for women to two drinks/week, regardless of gender.

Yes, but: Some lawmakers, government officials, and alcohol-industry lobbyists have questioned the research methods of scientists asking for lower alcohol consumption recommendations. A previous attempt to lower drinking limits by a federal advisory panel was struck down in 2020, with US health officials determining there wasn’t enough evidence to support the change.

👀 Looking ahead… Next year, the US government will update its recommendations on alcohol for the first time since 2020 – and a fight is brewing in DC, as government agencies and the alcohol industry clash over whether, or how much, to change existing guidelines.

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🇫🇷 Paris’ mayor took a dip in the River Seine to show its cleanliness for the Olympics, which kick off July 26. Mayor Anne Hidalgo and her staff dunked their heads in the murky river as they swam yesterday, in a bid to prove the city’s once-filthy river is finally swimmable following a $1+ billion cleanup effort. Olympics organizers are currently planning to hold the triathlon and long-distance swimming events in the Seine, despite recent testing showing E. coli bacteria levels have been above acceptable levels on a majority of days between June 3 and July 2.

🇬🇭 Ghana’s cocoa production is 55% below average so far this year. Ghana’s cocoa production hit a 14-year low this harvesting season, due to a combination of adverse weather conditions, disease, and fertilizer shortages. Poor harvests in Ghana and the Ivory Coast – which together account for 60% of global production – have driven up global cocoa and chocolate prices.

🇮🇹 Italy launched worker exploitation probes into Armani and Dior. The two companies are facing allegations they illegally outsourced production to several Chinese-owned Italian suppliers, where underpaid workers – often illegal immigrants – work long hours under inadequate health and safety conditions. Armani and Dior, which deny the claims, could be fined up to ~$11 million apiece if found guilty.

Carmot Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company purchased by pharma giant Roche for $2.7 billion earlier this year, is one step closer to making the saying “A pill a day keeps the weight away” a reality.

The company’s once-daily oral GLP-1 pill for weight loss generated statistically significant results in a phase 1 human trial, according to newly publicized data.

• After taking the pill for four weeks, trial participants lost a placebo-adjusted 6.1% of their body weight on average.

This win puts Roche in the race. Pharma giants Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk are all working on GLP-1 pills for weight loss, which are seen as key to the drug class reaching its full market potential.

Existing GLP-1 obesity drugs on the market like Ozempic cost upwards of $10,000/year, and most aren’t covered by insurance if used for weight loss. These drugs are also delivered via injection – a more costly (and anxiety-inducing) process than just taking a pill.

👀 Looking ahead… It’ll likely be years before any GLP-1 pill designed to induce weight loss secures FDA approval.

But when one does, demand is expected to be higher than Cheech and Chong at a backyard barbeque. Analysts estimate the weight loss drug market will be worth ~$150 billion by the early 2030s, which would make it one of the biggest drug classes of all time.

“The most valuable women’s sports team in the world.”

• Women’s sports are starting to see mo money (mo problems? Not yet). Willow Bay, a broadcast journalist and dean of USC’s journalism school, is teaming up with her husband, Disney CEO Bob Iger, to purchase a controlling stake in Angel City FC of the National Women’s Soccer League. The deal, which values the Los Angeles-based team at a record $250 million, will see Bay lead Angel City FC’s board. It also includes an additional $50 million investment from Bay and Iger for the future growth of Angel City FC, which generated the highest revenue of any women’s team in the world last year ($33 million). The sale comes as women’s sports – and the NWSL in particular – have seen explosive growth in viewership, attendance, and investment interest over the past several years.

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• ☝️ This is your brain on shrooms: In a new study, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis gave psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, to volunteers, then sent them through an MRI scanner.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with ”Catch 21” by Game Show Network

• 💰 US markets closed mixed yesterday (S&P: -1.4%; Dow: +0.6%; Nasdaq: -2.8%); it marked the Nasdaq’s worst trading day since December 2022.
• 🕶️👕 EssilorLuxottica, which owns Ray-Ban, agreed to buy direct-to-consumer streetwear brand Supreme for $1.5 billion; it's the eyewear-maker's first foray into a market where the product doesn't have two stems and eyeholes filled with glass. 
• 📦 Amazon Prime Day: This year’s two-day event is expected to bring in nearly $14 billion, per estimates; the first day brought in $7.2 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.

*From our partners: ♠️♥️ When Vegas meets trivia you get “Catch 21”… Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Witney Carson, “Catch 21” sees contestants play blackjack hands by answering trivia questions. ”Catch 21” airs on Game Show Network weekdays at 8 am ET – or watch FREE on YouTube.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏆 FX dominated the Emmy nominations: Shogun led the pack with 25 nods, while The Bear set a new all-time record for a comedy series with 23 nominations. | 🦸 The Russo brothers are reportedly in talks to direct next two Avengers movies for Marvel Studios. | 🎙️ Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly went toe-to-toe on The Daily Show for first time in a decade.
• 💕📲 Tinder launched a new AI feature that picks users’ most attractive photos for them.
• 🚫 Jack Black’s Tenacious D canceled their current tour after Kyle Gass, the other member of the comedy rock duo, made a comment suggesting he wished the shooter hadn’t missed former President Trump. | 🎶🏴‍☠️ A trio of major record labels – Universal, Sony, and Warner – are suing Verizon for allegedly continuing to serve customers accused of pirating music. | 🎮 Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has been turned into a fan-made video game.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Coral Isles Sunscreen

• 🦕 A near-complete stegosaurus skeleton, nicknamed Apex, was purchased by billionaire Ken Griffin at a Sotheby’s auction yesterday for $44.6 million; it’s the most expensive fossil ever sold by a margin of ~$13 million. | 🪓 The National Museum of Ireland recently received a pair of rare early Bronze Age axeheads, believed to be over 4,000 years old, from an anonymous sender.
• 💩 The ideal poop schedule for your long-term health involves bowel movements 1x or 2x per day, according to a new study.
• 🐶 Dogs might have evolved to read your emotions.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🏚️ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s $27 million San Francisco home is plagued with a leaky infinity pool and faulty piping that dumped sewage, per a new lawsuit. | 🌧️ Speaking of flooded mansions: Drake’s 50,000-square-foot compound experienced significant flooding on Tuesday, as intense rainfall near Toronto left 167,000 residents without power.
• 🗳️ 65% of Democrats believe President Biden should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and let the party pick a different nominee, per a new AP-NORC poll. | 🦠🇺🇸 President Biden tested positive for Covid yesterday and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House announced. | 🐘🗣️ Senator JD Vance (R-OH) made his debut as former President Trump’s 2024 running mate in a headline speech at the RNC.
• ☄️ A meteor created loud booms heard across parts of New York City and New Jersey Tuesday morning, per NASA; it also sparked a “rare daylight fireball.”

CLICKBAIT

• 🐋 World's Rarest Whale, Never Seen Alive, Washes Up on Beach.

😊💰 Stat of the Day: The saying “money can’t buy happiness” is due for a modern-day upgrade, according to Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at UPenn Wharton. Last year, Killingsworth was part of a research team who published a study challenging a famous 2010 paper that said happiness tends to rise alongside income until about $60,000-$90,000 per year, at which point it flattens. The findings from this 2023 study, which reanalyzed the older work, ran counter to the original, with the correlation between money and happiness extending to people who earn up to $500,000/year. Now, Killingsworth is back with more research – which this time argues both millionaires and billionaires are significantly happier than people earning $500,000/year.

🤔 Did You Know? Roughly 75% of the world’s tornadoes occur in America. And a majority of those tornadoes occur in a central part of the US called Tornado Alley.

📰 Worth a Read: As the Rubik’s Cube Turns 50, a Revolution Looms → (WSJ)

We bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and occasionally laugh-out-loud headlines from this week.

• ​​Don’t name your kids ‘Bodoh’, ‘Skibidi’ or ‘Evil’, Malaysian agency tells parents → (Straits Times)
• England fan gets Euro 2024 winners tattoo BEFORE the final → (Swindon Advertiser)
• Germany: Tesla factory missing 65,000 coffee mugs → (DW)
• 41% of People Believe Every Text “Needs” to Include an Emoji → (DRGNews)
• Some Boston subway trains are now sporting googly eyes → (Associated Press)

Yesterday, we covered how campaign financing in America operates, with an emphasis on the presence of super PACs that are allowed to raise and spend unlimited sums of money on political campaigns.

❓ Our question to you: Which of the following best describes your viewpoint regarding campaign financing for US federal elections?

• There should be limits on how much people and orgs can independently spend: 72%
• People and orgs should be able to independently spend as much as they want: 17%
• Unsure/other: 11%

❓ Follow-up question for people in favor of limits: What limits do you think should be imposed?

• “We need fair financial limits that keep the individual voices of different economic classes equal. By legally treating middle class and billionaires the same, you essentially silence the middle class while giving the rich a megaphone.”
• “I believe that there should be a cap on the total amount, regardless of where it comes from, that each candidate receives. The election process would be fair across the board. Let’s make it an even playing field and focus on issues, not who raised the most money.”
• “Elections should be publicly financed through our tax dollars, rather than politicians catering to the wishes of the highest bidder. This would lower the ballooning cost of elections, and level the playing field for candidates. Candidates need to compete over ideas, not spending budgets.”

Click here to read more of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,219 votes and 306 longform responses.

A group of small frogs are learning how to fight off a deadly bacterial infection with the help of teeny-tiny saunas. 

According to a new study, green and golden bell frogs infected with chytrid, a fungal disease often deadly to the frogs, can be placed in small, sun-warmed shelters to help fight off the pathogen.

• The shelters are relatively inexpensive and easy to build, meanining frog fans could eventually put them in their own gardens.

Which famous US lake is also known as “America’s Dead Sea”?

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The Great Salt Lake in Utah