Good morning. In this edition:

• 🍿 From China → America
• 💰 The first $4 trillion company
• ⌛ The world’s largest time capsule

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.41-minute read (1,172 words).

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"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

–Oprah Winfrey (b.1954)

A growing number of businesses in the hospitality sector are singing the blues over rising costs associated with playing music at their establishments.

These groups—including the National Restaurant Association, American Hotel & Lodging Association, and MIC Coalition (covering small businesses)—have made their gripes known in public comments submitted as part of an ongoing federal review of music licensing companies, according to a new Bloomberg report ($).

In need of a bar rescue

Setting up music for a restaurant, hotel bar, or yoga studio isn’t as simple as breaking out the aux cord and putting on a Spotify playlist. Every song played at a venue must be licensed and have royalties paid to the songwriter(s), or risk being sued.

The licensing industry remained largely unchanged for decades leading up to the mid-2010s, with three main organizations representing singers and songwriters. But the rise of streaming has led to a surge in revenue, and spawned a handful of new companies looking to cash in.

• There are currently a half-dozen major music licensing firms in the US, up from three such groups a decade ago.
• Each org demands that bars, restaurants, hotels, and other venues pay them fees—typically a blanket licensing agreement covering all their content—or risk legal fines of up to $150,000/song.

These costs can add up…The National Restaurant Association says its members pay an average of $4,500/year to license music, or 0.5% of the average US small restaurant’s total annual sales—a significant amount for an industry that runs on an average pre-tax margin of 3%-5%.

…and they’re only getting higher: The American Hotel & Lodging Association cited a “major global hotel chain” who saw its music fees rise by ~200% from 2021-2025.

Looking ahead: The US Copyright Office will submit a report to Congress in the coming months outlining its recommendations for what changes, if any, should be made to the music licensing industry.

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Simply add two grass-fed, flavorless, easily dissolvable scoops to coffee or your favorite drink for 18g of protein to promote bone health, digestion, and more.

Indie studio A24 is joining forces with China's state-backed distributor CMC Pictures to bring hit animated film Ne Zha 2 to the North American box office in English for the first time, both companies announced yesterday.

Or in other words: two unlikely heroes are teaming up against all odds to save the world make loads of dough.

Ni hao, Ne Zha

The fantasy epic, based on a 16th-century Chinese novel, is the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, with a reported global haul of $2.2 billion since Ne Zha 2 released in mid-February 2025. But unlike the other films on that list, over 99% of its revenue has come from mainland China, with other markets virtually untapped until now.

• The English-language cast will include Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, though no other voice actors have been revealed.
• The film is set to open in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand on August 22 across Imax, 3D, and other premium large formats.

Animated content is having a moment: Anime viewership on Netflix has tripled over the past five years, with 50% of its global users—or 150 million households—now watching the category, the streaming giant revealed at Anime Expo 2025 over the weekend.

A bipartisan push led by House reps from Texas and Nevada is emerging to reverse a provision in the megabill recently signed into law by President Trump that could kill sports gambling in America. Bets on it changing, anyone?

What’s at issue: A provision in the bill that limits the amount of deductible losses a person can have from gambling.

• Before the bill was passed, a person could deduct 100% of their gambling losses up to the amount of their winnings.
• Now, a person can only deduct 90% of their losses.

A real-life example: A casual bettor who tosses money on Knicks games breaks even over the course of the year, winning $1,000 and losing $1,000.

This bettor would now only be able to deduct $900 of their losses, instead of the full amount, resulting in a tax on $100 currently sitting in a sportsbook’s hands. Or in other words: the White House always wins.

Gamblers are sounding the alarm. “Certain kinds of gambling are going to probably be untenable under this law because they’re high-volume, low margin,” Russell Fox, a tax professional who specializes in gambling taxes, told CNN. “Sports betting is going to be hit. The professionals making a living in that are going to have issues.”

And if the high rollers pull back and more bets move offshore…It could become a huge problem for a sports betting industry that raked in $13.7 billion in revenue last year.

+Want more stories like this? Sign up for Press Sports, our sister newsletter delivering smart, witty sports news to inboxes 2x/week. It’s free.

This patriotic pack of cookies will vanish faster than fireworks.

From Fat & Weird Cookie, the limited-edition Freedom Pack is stuffed with four mind-blowing, exclusive flavors that'll make your taste buds declare independence from boring cookies.

Fat & Weird doesn't do basic. They're unapologetically rebellious, obsessed with world-renowned flavors so over-the-top, they've been featured on ABC, NBC, and Forbes.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📝 President Trump sends another round of tariff letters to countries including the Philippines, Iraq, Libya, and Brazil. | Nvidia briefly becomes world's first $4 trillion company; the chipmaker is worth as much as the 216 smallest companies in the S&P 500 combined.
• ✌️ Linda Yaccarino steps down as CEO of X after two years in the role.
• 📦 Retailers log $7.9 billion in online sales in first 24 hours of Amazon's four-day Prime Day event, up 9.9% YoY. | Shop some of the best deals.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with TaxQuotes

• 🏎 Red Bull Racing fired team principal and CEO Christian Horner; Horner has led the decorated Formula 1 team since its 2005 debut.
• 💰 Eli Manning reportedly no longer interested in purchasing a piece of the New York Giants due to its high cost; the Giants were valued at $7.85 billion by CNBC in Sept., ranking fourth among the league’s 32 teams. | Chelsea’s run to the Club World Cup championship match has notched the club $100M+; they’ll be facing off against PSG on Sunday for the title.
• 📺 Queer Eye, Netflix’s longest-running unscripted series, is reportedly coming to an end after 10 seasons.

*From our partners: 😓 Behind on taxes? Don’t let inaction make a problem worse. The pros at TaxQuotes have helped thousands of people with tax issues save money by negotiating with the government for the best possible outcome. Transparently, efficiently, and honestly. Schedule a free appointment with a TaxQuotes tax advisor here.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 OpenAI reportedly plans to launch web browser to compete with Google Chrome.
• 🚀 2,100+ senior employees are leaving NASA under an agency-wide push to reduce staff, Politico reports.
• 💊 Malaria treatment for newborns approved by Swiss medical regulator, marking world’s first such drug specifically for infants. | 🐛 Just 2,000 waxworms—a species of caterpillar—can eat and break down an entire plastic bag in 24 hours by turning it into fat, per new research.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with Autio

• 🤖 State Department warns US diplomats of impostor using AI to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio in calls to high-level officials, including foreign ministers.
• 🏥 Former President Biden's White House doctor refuses to answer questions from House Oversight Committee, citing Fifth Amendment and doctor-patient confidentiality.
• 🏛️ Senior US, Israeli, and Qatari officials reportedly hold secret talks at White House focused on ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

*From our partners: ☀️🚙 Summer vibes meet epic stories…Windows down, stories up. Autio transforms every summer road trip into an unforgettable journey of discovery. With 23,000+ location-triggered tales and captivating narrators, discover hidden histories from coast to coast as you chase sunsets. Download Autio today and start listening.

☝️ Spain hosted the start of its annual Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona this week.

🤔 Did You Know? A 2023 study found that chinstrap penguins take 10,000+ micro-naps/day, each lasting 4 seconds—for a combined ~11 hours/day worth of sleep.

📰 Worth a Read: How an AI hoax duped the media and propelled a 'band' to streaming success

🖱️ Clickbait: Hundreds of people just opened the world’s largest time capsule.

Yesterday, we covered how the US government officially concluded they have no evidence that convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein ever blackmailed powerful figures, kept a secret "client list," or was murdered.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you agree with the federal government’s conclusions regarding the Jeffrey Epstein situation?

• Yes: 17%
• No: 70%
• Unsure/other: 13%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,220 votes and 268 longform responses.

Greenland, the world's largest island, belongs to which kingdom?

🥲 Tyson Cash is a pup-bus driver for a doggie daycare center in Georgia. When he spotted a stray Labrador chasing after his dog bus, desperate for a ride, it broke his heart he couldn't let the pup on. After posting about the stray dog, however, the pup captured the heart of a nearby local—and found his way to his forever home🥰.

🎥 Sarah Vincent was 39-weeks pregnant when she went to the movies with her young son and parents. They didn't get to see the ending, as the mom went into labor mid-screening and ended up giving birth in the movie theater lobby. Mo Williams, general manager of the Cinema World, announced the baby girl will get free movies for life.

🐼 Ying Ying, a 19-year-old giant panda in China, gave birth to twins after more than a decade of unsuccessfully trying to mate. She is officially the oldest known first-time panda mother in history. 

+Note: These stories previously appeared in a Aug. 2024 edition of Positive DONUT, our weekly newsletter surfacing all the good things you don't hear about in the news.

The Kingdom of Denmark