Good morning, and welcome to August. In today’s edition:

• 🎟️ StubHub has drip – and not the good kind, a lawsuit alleges
• 🍊 Why orange juice is getting more expensive
• 🏅 How much Olympic athletes earn for winning medals

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.95-minute read (1,319 words).

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“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

–Seneca (4 B.C. – 65 A.D.)

Washington DC’s attorney general sued StubHub yesterday for allegedly violating consumer protection laws via a practice known as drip pricing. Or to put it in common parlance – StubHub’s checkout process is potentially catfishing consumers.

How the company’s drip-pricing model works, per the complaint:

• Once a consumer begins the multi-page checkout process, a 10-minute countdown timer appears on the screen, creating a “false sense of urgency,” according to DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
• After the potential ticket purchaser navigates through multiple pages during checkout, the fees are presented. And like the trash-bag brand, they can be hefty. In one example detailed in the lawsuit, StubHub advertised two tickets for $356, but mandatory (unexplained) fees increased the price nearly ~40% to $497. This variation + the fake countdown makes it “nearly impossible” for buyers to know the true cost of a ticket and compare to find the best price, per Schwalb.

Things didn’t always go down this way. From 2014 to 2015, StubHub used “all-in pricing,” where the advertised ticket price actually did include mandatory fees.

But after running a test where it randomly assigned consumers to either this model or the drip pricing model, the company found that if it hid fees until the end of the checkout, consumers were more likely to buy tickets and purchase them at the higher prices, according to the lawsuit.

• Since 2015, when it implemented the drip pricing model, StubHub has allegedly pocketed ~$118 million in fees just from DC consumers (whose per-capita spending on live entertainment surpasses many other major US cities).

🎟️ Zoom out: The Taylor Swift Effect isn’t just economic – it seemingly applies to government, too. Since the Ticketmaster Eras Tour fiasco in 2022, the US has been cracking down on hidden and “junk” fees. The FTC proposed a rule last year that would ban ticketing services and other businesses from charging such fees, and is expected to issue a decision on the proposal later this year. The House also passed a bill in May that would force ticket sellers to show overall prices upfront.

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🇯🇵 Japan is pumping the brakes on rideable electric suitcases. Two major Japanese airports have banned two-in-one scooter suitcases in recent weeks, following a surge in incidents from foreign visitors using them illegally on the roads. The battery-powered suitcases, which are classified as motorized vehicles that require a driver’s license, can reach up to 8 mph.

🇪🇺 Wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU for the first time. The EU drew a record-high 30% of its electricity from wind and solar sources in 2023, with fossil fuels making up an all-time low of 20%, per a new report. Analysts largely attribute the increase to last year’s installation of a record 16.2 gigawatts of new wind power capacity in the EU – enough to power ~12 million homes – as part of its goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

🇨🇳 China is planning to establish a national internet ID system. Under current Chinese law – which blocks access to many Western sites like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Instagram – websites allowed in the country are required to verify their users’ identities via phone numbers. However, Beijing recently proposed a new system that would see the government take over user verification from websites, giving Chinese citizens a single ID to use across the internet. Critics of the proposal say Beijing could misuse the system to exert greater control over the internet.

Orange juice is increasingly putting the squeeze on Americans’ wallets. Prices in the US have risen by 30% since the start of this year, with that growth coming on the heels of a 62% price jump in 2023, according to data from Trading Economics.

And the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Orange juice prices are projected to further increase in the near future, as the industry continues dealing with two major threats:

• Orange farms in Brazil, the world’s top producing region, are set to have their worst harvests in 30+ years due to severe droughts, hurricanes, and other extreme weather.
• In Florida, the world’s second largest orange producer, orchards are experiencing an outbreak of citrus greening – an incurable plant disease regulators say has reduced Florida citrus production by 75% over the past two decades.

Along with causing prices to skyrocket, these factors have also forced some orange juice producers to explore replacing oranges with other fruits like mandarins, or changing their blends to reduce orange use.

🌍 Other dietary staples are also under the weather. Global coffee prices have surged in recent months due to long-term droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s top producers. The cost of olive oil recently hit a record high following a series of droughts and wildfires in the Mediterranean region. And already elevated chocolate prices are projected to spike in the near future due to extreme weather and plant disease affecting cocoa harvests.

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“The chances that what we’re seeing are actually signs of life are probably between 10%-20% at this point."

• In 2020, a team of scientists revealed an unexpected discovery in the clouds of Venus: traces of phosphine, a “biosignature” gas that on Earth signifies the presence of life. But the team’s research proved controversial among the scientific community, with many experts disputing the findings after subsequent observations failed to match the original results. Now, the same team behind the initial discovery has come back with more data, which they say contains even stronger proof that phosphine is present in the clouds of Venus alongside ammonia, another “biosignature” gas. The researchers say none of the normal chemical processes on Venus they’re aware of could produce the amounts of phosphine and ammonia observed, but further study is needed to rule out that possibility.

• ☝️ Arc’teryx unveiled its new MO/GO exoskeleton-powered pants, which feature a lightweight electric motor at the knee that boosts leg strength; Arc’teryx says the MO/GO pants can make wearers feel up to 30 pounds lighter.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Practice of Life

• 💰 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +1.6%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +2.6%). | 🏦 The Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at a 23-year high, where they’ve been since July 2023; officials indicated the Fed will likely start cutting rates in September.
• ✈️ Boeing hired aerospace veteran Robert “Kelly” Ortberg as its next CEO; the company also reported a net loss of $1.44 billion last quarter. | ✈️ Delta said it took a $500 million hit from last month’s CrowdStrike technology outage; the airline also notified CrowdStrike and Microsoft to prepare for litigation over its losses.
• 💔 Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, and other dating apps, is discontinuing livestream services in its apps, resulting in a 6% cut to its global workforce. | 📅📲 Flo Health, a fertility-focused period-tracking app, raised $200 million at a $1+ billion post-money valuation.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🥇 The Olympics: Katie Ledecky claimed her record-tying 12th Olympic medal in women's swimming with a gold in the 1,500m freestyle. | Triathlon athletes swam in the River Seine yesterday, after officials determined the water to be safe. | The US women’s rugby team pulled off a last-second win against Australia to claim their first-ever medal (bronze). | NBCUniversal averaged 34 million prime-time viewers over the first five days, up 79% from Tokyo in 2021; the network also said it generated its highest-ever ad revenue associated with the event, surpassing Tokyo’s $1.25 billion.
• ❓ Colin Jost was tapped to host Pop Culture Jeopardy!, the show’s first spinoff airing exclusively on a streamer (Prime Video). | 🐉 Several scenes from House of the Dragon’s Season 2 finale were leaked on TikTok this week ahead of its Sunday release date, HBO confirmed.
• 🏰 Disneyland workers voted to ratify a new contract that includes wage hikes, avoiding a potential strike. | 🥊 A federal judge rejected a $335 million settlement between the UFC and 1,200+ fighters suing for wage suppression.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with 120/Life

• 🤖🌮 Taco Bell is rolling out AI ordering in drive-thru lanes at hundreds more US locations by the end of this year.
• 🧠 Nearly a third of US adolescents aged 12-17 received treatment for their mental health last year (32%), per a new federal report. | 🍫 Dozens of dark chocolate products sold at Amazon, GNC, Whole Foods, and other stores are contaminated with two highly toxic metals (lead and cadmium), per a new study.
• 🚗⛓️ California’s DMV is creating blockchain tokens for the state’s 42 million registered vehicles; owners will be able to access title info from Ava Labs’s Avalanche blockchain starting next year.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🇺🇸 America is currently unprepared for a potential future war with Russia and/or China, per a new report from a bipartisan congressional commission. | 📱 The FBI said it discovered a social media account it believes is associated with the 20-year-old gunman who tried to assassinate former President Trump; the account features antisemitic and anti-immigration comments between 2019-2020. | 🗳️ VP Kamala Harris said she'll hold the first rally with her 2024 running mate in Philadelphia next Tuesday.
• 💰 Nicolas Puech, the 81-year-old Hermès heir who made headlines last year with a plan to leave his money to his gardener, said he no longer owns any of his $13 billion fortune.
• 📲 Meta is currently running Facebook and Instagram ads that steer users to online marketplaces for illegal drugs, per a new WSJ report; it follows previous reporting in March that found federal authorities were investigating Meta for its role in the illicit sale of drugs.

CLICKBAIT

• 🚘🔌 I’ve Been Driving an EV for a Year. I Have Only One Regret.

🥇 Stat of the Day: Unlike the Hunger Games, winning an Olympic medal doesn’t necessarily set an athlete up for life – as there isn’t any official prize money involved. However, some countries award separate cash bonuses to their decorated athletes, with at least seven nations offering six-figure payouts for winning a gold, per data collected by CNBC. Hong Kong and Singapore lead the pack in terms of highest payouts, at ~$750,000 per gold medal, while the US ranks 10th out of 14 countries at $38,000 per gold, $23,000 per silver, and $15,000 per bronze.

🤔 Did You Know? Due to their size and weight, squirrels can theoretically survive a fall from any height on Earth, since their maximum achievable velocity is slow enough that they won’t fatally injure themselves.

📰 Worth a Read: The Companies Realizing Theranos’s Failed Dream → (WSJ)

Yesterday, we covered new Treasury data showing the US national debt eclipsed $35T for the first time, with America’s red ink accumulating more quickly than previous projections.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, how should the US government deal with its rising national debt and associated interest payments?

• Raise taxes: 10%
• Cut spending: 39%
• Print more bonds/money to cover interest: 4%
• Some combination of the above: 35%
• Nothing needs to be done: 6%
• Unsure/other: 6%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,834 votes and 391 longform responses.

A listing on Zillow went viral this week – but it wasn't for an open floor plan or a nice walk-in closet. The entire home has been transformed into a real-life Barbie Dream House. 

💖 Hi, Barbie!... The three-bedroom New Jersey bungalow includes a movie room, large walk-in closet, craft room, and a handbag wall, all decorated in bright pinks and calming lavenders.

• The home, listed for $500,000, was designed by artist Kate Gabrielle.

To create this newsletter, our team scours hundreds of sources and explores all corners of the internet. Below you’ll find some resources, fun tidbits, and life hacks we’ve stumbled across that are worth checking out, but don’t exactly fit elsewhere in the newsletter.

👀 Watch: Flavor Flav doesn’t just have drip – he has skills, too.

😍 Admire: Artist Fabian Lavater’s work perfectly captures beach vibes and the awe-inspiring nature of the sea. It even made our CEO, who may or may not actually feel things (jury’s still out), smile and shed a tear.

📈 Improve: The Assist is always showcasing actionable ways to improve at work, and does it in a very DONUT-y way.*

🎻 Learn: This Simon Sinek interview with cellist Anastasia Kobekina puts classical music in a whole new light. Great background listening while you’re doing other work.

🧠 Ponder: Danny Healey is a Boston sports fanatic (we won’t hold that against him) fascinated with all things sports media, and a wholesome guy who shares thoughtful happenings in his life and the world around us.*

*A message from our partners (who we had actually discovered prior to any professional relationship).

The Black Forest is located in which European country?

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