Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 💪 Peloton wants to help you get stronger
• 🚘 Why Gen Z isn’t very interested in driving
• 🏀 The tallest basketball player in history

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.91-minute read (1,308 words).

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"You'll have bad times, but they will always wake you up to the stuff you weren't paying attention to."

–Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting (1997)

After completing a billion-plus dollar debt refinancing earlier this year, Peloton is no longer facing a liquidity crunch. But the fitness company, which last turned a profit in December 2020, is still in the midst of nine consecutive quarters of sales declines and in need of a new strategy to turn its situation around.

One area it sees opportunity? Placing more of an emphasis on strength training vs. cardio.

And the company may be on to something – a growing amount of data indicates strength training these days isn’t just for Chads and muscle mommies.

• According to Life Time’s annual survey of 3,000 respondents, building muscle was the No. 1 goal for 2024, ahead of weight loss and general movement.
• Strength training with free weights ranked as the second-most popular fitness trend in 2023 after wearable fitness technology, per an annual survey in the American College of Sports Medicine’s journal.

Peloton is also experiencing…strong demand. According to the company, its strength training content is the most popular type of class for digital members (not its cycling or running classes), as well as #2 among those who have Peloton hardware.

Between the lines: The goal for many isn’t necessarily to look like The Mountain or Ahr-nald in his prime – strength training has tangible health benefits. An analysis of 16 studies suggests regular strength training is associated with a 10%–17% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung cancer, and death overall. And another study of 400,000+ people published in 2022 found those who regularly practiced strength training along with aerobic exercise (cardio) had a lower risk of death than those who did just aerobic training.

👀 Looking ahead… Peloton is launching three beta programs in the coming weeks, one of which is a brand new app called Peloton Strength+ – which, as the name suggests, focuses exclusively on strength training. But it’s not the only company leaning into the trend. Planet Fitness has also shifted focus after finding its members were seeking more strength and less cardio equipment, especially Gen Z, who make up 25% of the company’s base.

+In the know: Peloton reports quarterly earnings this morning before the bell.

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🇺🇦🇷🇺 Ukraine launched its largest drone strike on Moscow since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Russian officials say they foiled yesterday’s attack by destroying a total of 45 drones, including 11 over the Moscow region, marking one of the largest drone strikes ever attempted on Moscow. Russia didn't report any damage or casualties, though its claims couldn’t be independently verified. Ukraine didn’t publicly comment on the attack.

🇷🇴 Romanian police raided influencer Andrew Tate's home in a new human trafficking probe. Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist who styles himself as a men’s self-help guru, is already facing charges stemming from a 2023 indictment in Romania accusing him and his brother Tristan of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women (which both of them deny). Following yesterday’s raid, Tate could face additional charges of underage trafficking, money laundering, and attempting to influence witnesses.

🇰🇪 An accused Kenyan serial killer escaped from prison. On Tuesday, 33-year-old Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, who is suspected of killing 42 women in the capital city of Nairobi over the past two years, escaped from police custody along with 12 other inmates. Kenyan law enforcement arrested eight on-duty officers on suspicion of aiding the jailbreak, and launched a manhunt to search for the escaped prisoners. Khalusha’s lawyer denies the accusations of murder, saying his client was tortured into confessing.

Driving a car has long stood as a key symbol of independence for younger Americans – but to many members of Gen Z, the idea is now more hassle than it’s worth. Or in other words: the Zoomers don’t really want to zoom.

• The percentage of 19-year-old Americans with a driver’s license has fallen steadily from 87% in 1983 to 69% in 2022, according to the latest data from the Federal Highway Administration.
• More recently, the number of Americans aged 16-25 who said they plan to or typically take road trips dropped 24% between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, per consumer-research firm GWI.

Driving (*groans*) the trend: Analysts point to a wide range of reasons why fewer Gen Z Americans are getting behind the wheel:

• Teens are opting to take public transit, use ride-sharing applications, ride bikes, or walk, to avoid driving anxiety or polluting the environment.
• Prices for cars, car parts, maintenance, gas, and insurance have all risen significantly over the past several years.
• Teens are consistently chatting on social messaging platforms like Discord, and don’t feel driving is necessary to socialize face-to-face.

🚘 As younger folks shy away from driving, older seniors are picking up the pace. The proportion of Americans aged 80-84 who have a driver’s license has risen from 68% to 86% over the past 25 years, per the most recent federal data. Among those aged 85+, the proportion of drivers has risen from 43% to 66% over the same period.

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“On the surface it sounds completely insane, but I was surprised how good a case he could make for it.”

An experimental US government agency recently hired a leading scientist with a seemingly outlandish plan to help humanity cheat death and live forever.

Dr. Jean Hébert, who was tapped to lead a major new initiative at the US Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), is a proponent of the idea that humans may be able to cheat death by slowly replacing every part of our anatomy, including brain cells, with freshly cloned body tissue – essentially, a human version of the Ship of Theseus.

• According to Hébert, who most definitely watched Altered Carbon, if the replacement process is carried out in slow enough steps, the human brain will likely be able to adapt to the new body tissue, and eventually relocate its memories and self-identity – though other scientists aren’t convinced his plan could actually work.

🧬 Big picture: Hébert’s experimental project is reportedly slated to receive at least $110 million in funding from ARPA-H, which was established in 2022 under the Department of Health and Human Services to pursue “bold, urgent innovation” with transformative potential.

• ☝️ A record-high 4,094 girls played on 11-player high school tackle football teams last year, or roughly 1 per every 3.33 teams in the US, per new data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with First To Worst

• 💰 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +0.4%; Dow: +0.1%; Nasdaq: +0.6%); the released minutes of the most recent Fed meeting strongly indicate a September rate cut. | 💼 Nonfarm payroll growth from April 2023-March 2024 was revised downward by 818,000 jobs (28%), per new preliminary gov’t figures; it’s the largest downward revision since 2009.
• 🚢 Officials have found the bodies of five of the six people missing after a yacht carrying UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and others capsized off the Italian coast on Monday. | 🚗 Stephen Chamberlain, Lynch’s co-defendent in the fraud trial regarding Autonomy’s sale to HP, died on Saturday after being hit by a car.
• ☕✈️ Starbucks’ incoming CEO Brian Niccol will be supercommuting between his home in Newport Beach, California, and the company’s Seattle headquarters.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎾 Jannik Sinner, the #1-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, recently avoided a ban for using performance-enhancing drugs after successfully arguing his two failed anti-doping tests in March were a result of contamination from his physiotherapist; his acquittal has drawn criticism from some players and analysts, including John McEnroe and Nick Kyrgios.
• 🍿🎟️ Rotten Tomatoes and parent company Fandango rolled out a new rating system called “Verified Hot,” given to theatrical movies that have reached a 90+% rating among verified users (aka people who bought a ticket through Fandango or other partners).
• 🎭 Actress Anya Taylor-Joy will star in an upcoming Netflix TV series adaptation of Bella Mackie’s novel How to Kill Your Family. | 📽️😬 Lionsgate pulled the second trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis hours after yesterday’s release; the move followed reports that the trailer included fabricated movie critic quotes referencing Coppola’s past films (including The Godfather).

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with JadeYoga

• 🌕🔥 India’s pioneering lunar lander discovered evidence the Moon’s surface was once entirely covered by a magma ocean.
• 🪐🍭 Astronomers recently discovered one of the least-dense planets ever recorded, located ~1,200 light-years from Earth; the planet is 50% larger than Jupiter, but 20x less dense; Jupiter’s density is similar to water, meaning the discovered planet is as dense as cotton candy.
• 💉 Health-care marketplace Sesame announced a new clinical weight loss program where eligible consumers can access compounded versions of Wegovy for $249/month; the drug typically costs ~$1,000/month before insurance.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🎓 MIT’s admissions department released its first-year class profile yesterday (the first since SCOTUS struck down affirmative action); 5% of the incoming class is Black and 11% is Latino, down from respective averages of 13% and 15% in recent years, while the proportion of Asian-American students rose from 41% to 47%.
• 💰 It takes a net worth of at least $2.5 million to be considered wealthy in America, marking a 14% increase compared to last year, per Charles Schwab’s annual Modern Wealth Survey.
• 🗳️ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to end his independent presidential campaign and endorse former President Trump, per multiple reports; RFK Jr. didn’t confirm the reports, but said he’ll give a campaign speech tomorrow addressing “his path forward.” | 🔵 The Democratic National Convention concluded its third day of events and speeches; see updates from Day 3. | 🙏 Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) passed away yesterday at the age of 87; Pascrell had been campaigning for his 15th term in Congress.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏆🎭 Who's the Greatest Actor in Movie History? A Statistical Analysis.

🏀 Stat of the Day: Opposing players tasked with guarding Olivier Rioux, an 18-year-old freshman center for the Florida men’s basketball team, this upcoming season will face a…tall order. Rioux’s official height is listed at 7 feet 9 inches – or two inches taller than any other player in US basketball history, college or NBA. Rioux, who’s six inches shy of becoming the world’s tallest person, is among the estimated 2,000-3,000 people in the world who stand 7 feet or taller.

🤔 Did You Know? A May 2024 study found that over the course of a pregnancy, creating and carrying a human baby takes an average of 49,753 additional dietary calories – or the equivalent of 199 full-size Snickers bars.

📰 Worth a Read: Can Plastic Waste Be Transformed Into Food for Humans? → (Undark Magazine)

Yesterday, we covered how voters in Wyoming’s capital of Cheyenne on Tuesday were faced with a first-of-its-kind decision: should they elect a mayor who wants to use an AI chatbot to run the government?

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should political candidates who vow to let AI do their jobs be allowed to run for office?

• 👍 Yes: 19%
• 👎 No: 65%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 16%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,858 votes and 392 longform responses.

Breyana Elwell of Texas has an interesting new hobby: owner and general manager of a Squirrel Spa. 

🥵 It all started when Breyana noticed an overheated squirrel finding solace near a fan on her back porch. As more and more squirrels took advatage of the fan, she began working on an outdoor sanctuary to help them beat the heat. 

• Now, squirrels can bask in the breeze of multiple fans inside small treehouses while munching on nuts, corn, and frozen fruit.
• “As much as it is for them, it’s for me as well,” Breyana told the Washington Post. “It’s very therapeutic....it brings joy to me and others, so it’s just worth it."

🏆 Win: Fantasy football season is here. And this tool could be the edge you need.

🪱 Earworm: John Thomas, our resident top-of-funnel sales expert, has this vibey af playlist on repeat. Pop it on and get ready to feel some things.

📧 Subscribe: ICYMI, this week we acquired a leading sports media platform. Subscribe free to the Press Sports newsletter, and get smarter about the sports world in just five minutes each week.

🍎 Excel: School (for the most part) is back in session, and that means… tests. We know you’ve got your systems, but this AI tutor app could be a game changer for both students and teachers👀.

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😰 Overwhelmed. Burned out. They say that's just modern life – but it doesn't have to be. Do5ive is a free weekly newsletter with suggestions on how to live a slower, more deliberate and embodied life.*

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

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