Good evening. Ford earlier today unveiled a new midsize electric pickup that is scheduled to debut in 2027. The model carries a starting price of ~$30,000, putting it among the cheapest EVs available, and will be built on a brand-new flexible vehicle platform the company says will allow it to bring a series of more-affordable EVs to the US market.

Ford’s announcement regarding its upcoming slate comes a few months after Slate, a secretive EV startup reportedly backed in part by Jeff Bezos, started taking preorders for its Truck, a ~$27,500 barebones electric pickup that’s been likened to the flip phone of electric cars, since it lacks features like an infotainment system or power windows (a purposeful decision in order to reduce cost).

It also comes as the $7,500 federal EV tax credit is set to expire at the end of September, other automakers including GM are walking back EV commitments, and Chinese EV giant BYD is making inroads in numerous international markets while Tesla’s sales flounder.

You could say things in EV land are…electric.

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Each of the following events happened on August 11. Your challenge is to put them in the order in which they occurred by year, earliest to latest. Answers at the bottom!

• A) The genre of hip-hop is born at a back-to-school party in the Bronx, New York, when DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell) introduces the technique of playing the same album on two turntables and extending the drum section (which becomes known as the breakbeat).
• B) Jackson Pollock, an American painter influential in the possibly CIA-pushed Abstract Expressionism art movement who was known for his radical poured, or “drip,” technique, dies in an automobile accident.
• C) The first prisoners, a group of federal inmates classified as “most dangerous,” are housed at Alcatraz, a 22-acre rocky island prison situated 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay. The prison was decommissioned in 1963, and is now a tourist attraction famously rented out by Erlich Bachman and Big Head to serve as the site of the famed launch crash party of Bachmanity Capital.
• D) American comedian and actor Robin Williams, an influential staple of many millennial and Gen Z childhoods (Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, etc.), dies by suicide. An autopsy later diagnoses him with Lewy body dementia.

Hint: New life is sandwiched between death

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Mini

Arise, ye dear reader, it’s time for today’s mini crossword. If you can complete it in under one minute and 18 seconds, you’ll hold the top time here at DONUT HQ.

• Play today’s puzzle here.

Sudoku

Today’s sudoku wants you to do a number on it (or numbers). Make its wish come true👇.

• Play today's puzzle here.

Click to play any (or all) of the three GOATWars’ challenges below, then pick the GOAT through a series of head-to-head matchups. This data-driven process was developed to create definitive best-of-all-time lists using a more objective approach than random bloggers just publishing controversial opinions for clicks.

• 👠 THE GREATEST FASHION DESIGNERS OF ALL TIME
• 😂 THE GREATEST STAND-UP COMEDIANS OF ALL TIME
• 🍕 THE GREATEST PIZZA TOPPINGS OF ALL TIME

😈 THE GREATEST MOVIE/TV VILLAINS OF ALL TIME

1. Darth Vader (Star Wars franchise)
2. Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal Lecter franchise)
3. Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter franchise)

Explore the full list.

😋 THE GREATEST SCHOOL LUNCH ITEMS OF ALL TIME

1. Square Pizza
2. Chicken Nuggets
3. Taco Day

Explore the full list.

🏎️ THE GREATEST SPORTS CARS OF ALL TIME

1. Porsche 911 Carrera
2. Dodge Viper
3. BMW M3

Explore the full list.

C, B, A, D

• C) 1934: The first prisoners, a group of federal inmates classified as “most dangerous,” are housed at Alcatraz, a 22-acre rocky island prison situated 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay.
• B) 1956: Jackson Pollock, an American painter influential in the possibly CIA-pushed Abstract Expressionism art movement who was known for his radical poured, or “drip,” technique, dies in an automobile accident.
• A) 1973: The genre of hip-hop is born at a back-to-school party in the Bronx, New York, when DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell) introduces the technique of playing the same album on two turntables and extending the drum section (which becomes known as the breakbeat).
• D) 2014: American comedian and actor Robin Williams, an influential staple of many millennial and Gen Z childhoods (Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, etc.), dies by suicide. An autopsy later diagnoses him with Lewy body dementia.