Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🃏 The World Series of Poker is mired in controversy
• 🔀 The stock market could be undergoing a rotation
• 🔵 Kamala Harris is amassing Democratic support

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.83-minute read (1,286 words).

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"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

–John Wooden (1910-2010)

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is the biggest poker tournament of the year, with 10,000+ individual players gathering in Las Vegas to compete in the two-week, $10,000 buy-in event.

Last week, 38-year-old Jonathan Tamayo took home the 2024 WSOP Main Event title along with its $10 million cash prize.

But his actions during the event’s final days have sparked controversy – causing many in the poker world to take up a chip from the table and put it on their shoulder instead.

The issue? Hand after hand, Tamayo would rush to the crowd to consult with two friends, one of whom had set up a laptop a few feet away from the action and was using a program known as a poker “solver” (based on pictures taken at the event)...which is exactly what it sounds like.

• Poker solvers are software programs that suggest the best line of action for different poker hands in various situations – basically the technological equivalent of analyzing messages to/from a crush alongside an esteemed council of friends.
• They can be also recalibrated for specific scenarios to help determine whether a player made the optimal decision in previous hands (though in this instance, Tamayo was unable to receive advice mid-hand on what play to make).

Is using a solver like this against the rules? Not clear – the poker world is just as divided as America.

• Poker legend Daniel Negreanu and other top players in opposition cite a WSOP rule that was implemented at tournaments earlier this year, which asks players not to use poker solvers “at the table or in the tournament area” or face “a possibility of being disqualified.”
• However, other poker pros argue Tamayo’s actions are technically allowed under WSOP rules, since no regulations exist about players consulting solvers brought by their cheering section.

👀 Looking ahead… WSOP organizers have yet to issue any comment about the solver controversy. But a growing number of influential poker figures are now pushing for an explicit ban on players receiving in-game help from solvers moving forward.

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🇨🇾 Turkey celebrated the 50th anniversary of its occupation in northern Cyprus, while southern Cyprus held a day of mourning. Turkey's invasion of Cyprus five decades ago split the island nation into a Turkish breakaway state in the north (only recognized internationally by Turkey), and a Cypriot republic in the south with close ties to Greece. On Sunday, the north celebrated the 50th anniversary of what Turkey calls a “peace operation” that foiled a coup aimed at annexing Cyprus to Greece. The south held a day of mourning to honor the ~245,000 Cypriots killed or displaced during the month-long invasion.

💥 Israel-Hamas update: The Gaza Health Ministry has discovered six environmental samples of polio in sewage across the Strip. The highly contagious virus mainly affects the spinal cord and brainstem, which can lead to paralysis or brain inflammation. The IDF launched a campaign on Sunday to provide polio vaccines to all Israeli soldiers, and is working with international groups to bring in 1+ million shots for Palestinians – or enough for about half of Gaza's population.

🇫🇷 Paris opened its first-ever cheese museum. The Musée du Fromage showcases the history and process of cheesemaking in France, along with regional cheeses, cheesemakers, and tasting events – and is also bound to see a significant amount of jokes from dads taking pictures (say cheese!). France is the second-largest cheese producer in Europe (behind Italy), and has invented several world-famous cheeses including Camembert, Brie, and Roquefort.

Like a sunbather when the timer dings, the stock market seems to be undergoing a rotation.

Through the first half of this year, tech giants carried the market. Since the midpoint, however, the tables have turned. The small-company-focused Russell 2000 has increased more than 9%, compared to ~2% for the S&P 500 and less than 1% for the Nasdaq 100.

What’s driving the rotation? A combo of the current economic situation, hedge funds covering short positions, and the political landscape, JPMorgan Chase Wealth Management writes.

• Traders are currently pricing in a ~94% chance of a rate cut in September. And since smaller companies tend to skew unprofitable (~40% of the small-cap Solactive 2000 checks this box), making them more dependent on financing from capital markets, this would have an outsized impact on small caps relative to large caps.
• Oddsmakers are also predicting a roughly two-thirds chance that a Republican gets elected in November. Smaller companies would likely benefit from the prospect of lower taxes and less regulation.

Yes, but: History isn’t on the side of the little guys. Small-caps historically decline before and after the first interest rate cut, according to Barclays’ analysts.

🗓 We’ll know more soon. Earnings reports should provide a significant amount of market data over the next two weeks, with Coca-Cola, Alphabet, Chipotle, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon scheduled to report. Russell 2000 companies are expected to see an ~18% rise in Q2 profits, snapping a five-quarter streak of year-over-year declines.

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“My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political.”

• Since President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday afternoon, the vast majority of elected Democratic officials – including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (above) – have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid. According to a running tally from Axios, the list includes all 23 Democratic governors, 180/212 House members, and 41/47 Senators – meaning all of the elected Democrats viewed as potential major challengers to Harris have instead backed her. That’s not all: As of early this morning, an AP survey indicates that Harris has secured the support of 2,668 of the ~4,700 total Democratic delegates – or above the 1,976 needed to clinch the nomination. Separately, Harris’ campaign raised $81+ million in the 24-hour period following Biden’s decision to step down, marking the largest sum reported on a single day by either side in the 2024 presidential campaign.

• ☝️ NASA’s Curiosity rover found pure elemental sulfur on Mars, an “unexpected” discovery that could rewrite the red planet’s geological history.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Beam

• 💰 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +1.1%; Dow: +0.3%; Nasdaq: +1.6%); Big Tech shares regained some ground after falling last week. | 📉 CrowdStrike shares fell 13% as the fallout from its globally felt outage continues. (More: CrowdStrike’s outage reveals the fragility of our tech ecosystem)
• ✈️ Speaking of… Delta Air Lines canceled 800+ flights yesterday; CrowdStrike’s outage has thrown a system into haywire that enables the airline to track its personnel and assign them to flights. | ✈️ Boeing received orders for up to 70 airplanes at the Farnborough International Airshow.
• 🍔 McDonald's is extending its $5 value meal into August in most US markets; execs said 93% of the company's restaurants voted to continue the promotion.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🚴 Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia won his third Tour de France title.
• 🎤 Singer/rapper Sean Kingston and his mother were indicted on six federal charges related to a $1 million wire fraud scheme; they both face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. | 🎶 Eminem‘s latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, dethroning Taylor Swift’s 12-week reign at the top.
• 📲 Reddit is partnering with the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour, and NASCAR to bring more video content to the site. | 🏀📺 Warner Bros. Discovery has reportedly exercised its right to match Amazon’s new NBA media rights deal; Amazon previously agreed to pay the NBA $1.9 billion/year from 2025-2036.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Surfshark

• ⚛️🌊 Scientists recently discovered “dark” oxygen being produced 13,000+ feet below the Pacific Ocean by small mineral deposits called polymetallic nodules; the finding could challenge current theories about how life first emerged on Earth.
• 🦧 Wild chimpanzees engage in snappy, turn-taking conversations similar to humans, where they wait a fraction of a second for their turn to “speak,” per a new study.
• 🌾🛢️ Energy and agriculture firms are boosting spending on canola oil – a popular shelf-stable cooking fat – due to its growing role in the nascent renewable fuel market.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🏛️ Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee yesterday; lawmakers from both parties grilled Cheatle, who was many times evasive, over the Secret Service’s security failures ahead of the assassination attempt against former President Trump.
• ✈️ An unidentified US Navy pilot became the first American woman to "engage and kill an air-to-air contact," the service announced.
• 🇮🇱 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyau arrived in Washington yesterday for his first visit to the US capital in four years; Netanyahu will visit the White House today, and address Congress tomorrow.

CLICKBAIT

• 🤔🎓 Has your alma mater gotten harder to get into?

⛹️‍♀️👀 Stat of the Day: We’re at the halfway-point of the WNBA regular season, and the Caitlin Clark Effect is becoming clear. To summarize: An annual rise in WNBA viewership has been seen across every demographic category, with the largest gains among three groups: young viewers, male viewers, and white viewers (Black viewers comprise between 32%–45% of the league’s audience).

• Dive deeper.

🤔 Did You Know? A 2020 Tufts University study found 50% of meals at full-service US restaurants – and 70% of those at fast-food restaurants – were of poor nutritional quality (according to American Heart Association guidelines).

📰 Worth a Read: Schadenfreude: why do we find joy in the pain felt by others? → (Psyche Magazine)

Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

• 💼 36% of Americans currently earn extra money beyond their main income via a side hustle, including 48% of Gen Z and 44% of millennials. (Read more)
• 💰📈 BlackRock hit a record-high $10.65 trillion in assets managed last quarter; for context, that figure would rank 10th among all countries in total household wealth. (Read more)
• 🚘🔌 The average US buyer is currently paying ~$1,500 more for non-luxury EVs than gas-powered vehicles, down from a gap of ~$8,400 just over a year ago. (Read more)
• 🎓 35% of US college students have considered dropping out within the past six months. (Read more)
• 🏡 In 1970, 81% of Americans between the ages of 25-34 lived with their spouse; last year, that figure reached 39%. (Read more)

Yesterday, we covered President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and nominate VP Kamala Harris in his stead, potentially sparking a competition among other Democratic presidential hopefuls.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, who should replace Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024?

• VP Kamala Harris: 31%
• Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA): 8%
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (MI): 6%
• Gov. Andy Beshear (KY): 4%
• Gov. Josh Shapiro (PA): 6%
• Gov. JB Pritzker (IL): 4%
• Rep. Dean Phillips (MN): 5%
• Marianne Williamson: 3%
• Michelle Obama: 15%
• Other: 6%
• Unsure: 12%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 4,825 votes and 453 longform responses.

Seventy-five years ago, Rosemary Fowler was studying at the University of Bristol when she dropped out of postgraduate school to raise her family.

• The physicist discovered the kaon particle just before dropping out of school; her research "paved the way for critical discoveries that continue to shape the work of today's physicists, and our understanding of the universe."

Fast forward to today, and Rosemary was just granted an honorary Doctorate of Science from her alma matter in a small backyard ceremony. 

• "I'm really pleased for my mother," said her daughter, Mary Fowler. "As a child I wanted to be a physicist [like my parents] because it seemed to be so exciting."

❓ Trivia: In which country was Mozart born?

🎓 True or False?... The pancreas is the largest gland in the human body.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What has 13 hearts, but no lungs or stomach?

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❓ Trivia: Austria

🎓 T/F: False, it’s the liver

🤔 Riddle: A deck of cards