Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🤖 Quantifying AI job cuts
• 🚀 NASA recruits Moon + Mars volunteers
• 🧜 Real-life mermaids

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.76-minute read (1,000 words).

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“Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.”

–Unknown

Democratic nominee Graham Platner suspended his campaign for Maine's open US Senate seat late Wednesday evening, after losing support from Democratic leaders in the wake of a sexual assault allegation.

How we got here

Platner, a Marine veteran, handily won the Democratic primary on June 9 after two-term Gov. Janet Mills—the Democratic establishment’s preferred candidate—failed to gain support, and quit the contest in April.

His decision to step down this week comes after his campaign had already weathered several controversies in recent months. These include:

• The revelation that Platner had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo with Nazi symbolism, which he has since covered up; Platner claims he got the tattoo without knowing its historical meaning.
• Reports that his wife alerted campaign staff after discovering sexually explicit text messages between Platner and several other women.
• A Reddit account linked to Platner that featured a number of controversial posts between 2009-21, including dismissing sexual assault in the military, self-identifying as a communist, and asking why Black people don’t tip.

Still, Democratic leaders in Congress had largely continued backing Platner prior to this week, viewing him as an opportunity to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins and help regain control of the Senate.

But the latest accusation marked a turning point

On Monday, Politico published a series of interviews with Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine woman who dated Platner in 2021. In the article, Racicot detailed an alleged incident in which Platner sexually assaulted her at her home while drunk, despite Racicot repeatedly telling him to stop.

The political fallout was swift. Over the next two days, a number of major US senators, House members, and major Democratic organizations withdrew their support for Platner’s campaign. Platner has categorically denied Racicot’s allegation, even after suspending his campaign for Senate on Wednesday.

Looking ahead…Maine Democrats have already begun preparing for a replacement nominee for Platner, who plans to formally withdraw on Monday.

If Platner follows through, Democrats would be allowed to select a new nominee before a July 27 filing deadline. Maine is seen as a key Senate race for Democrats, who need a net gain of four seats to reclaim the chamber after the November midterms.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, how important is a political candidate’s moral character—covering scandals, controversies, etc.—compared to the policies they support?

• Moral character matters more
• Political policies matter more
• Roughly the same
• Unsure/other

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

💰 US charities received a record-high $617.2 billion in giving from donors last year, up 5.7% from 2024.

🤖💼 AI has been blamed for nearly a quarter of all US job cuts through the first half of this year (~102,000 out of 443,604).

🇺🇸 Just over half of Americans (53%) can correctly identify that the historical event celebrated by America on July 4 is the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

📈 More venture capital dollars were invested in US companies over the first half of 2026 ($412.7 billion) than in any full year to this point.

🏡 Nearly half of adults under 30 lived with a parent last year (49%), up 12 percentage points from 2019.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 Fed Chair Kevin Warsh names leaders of five outside task forces formed to examine the Fed’s operations; they include venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, former Bank of England Governor Mervin King, and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.
• 🏘️ US existing-home sales fell 2.4% in June, well below economists’ expectations of a 0.7% rise; it comes as median US home price hits record-high $440,600 in June, per National Association of Realtors.
• 🤖 OpenAI broadly releases its new GPT-5.6 model, after initially staggering the rollout at the request of the US government.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚽ World Cup: France blanks Morocco 2-0 to advance to third straight World Cup semifinal; striker Kylian Mbappé scores his eighth WC goal, tying Lionel Messi for tournament lead.
• 🏀 LA Clippers-Toronto Raptors trade centered around star F Kawhi Leonard won’t be completed until NBA investigation into possible cap circumvention by the Clippers over Leonard is finished.
• 🍿 Live action Moana releases this weekend in theaters; it currently holds Disney's lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in history for a live remake, per early reviews. | 🙏 Bonnie Tyler, the Grammy-nominated Welsh pop star best known for 1980s hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” passed away at 75.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧑‍🚀 NASA is recruiting four volunteers for a year-long simulation meant to replicate traveling to and living on the Moon and Mars. | 🙏 Wally Funk, one of the most accomplished female pilots of her time who also became the oldest person to fly into space, died at 87.
• 🚘 NHTSA sends letter to autonomous-vehicle companies ordering them to address their driverless vehicles’ tendency to impede or ignore first responders and emergency vehicles.
• 🦢 MIT engineers create new flapping robot that swims and flies like a diving bird; design could lead to next-gen class of aerial-aquatic vehicles for ocean exploration.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• ✈️ PBI is now DJT: South Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) has officially been renamed the President Donald J. Trump International Airport (DJT), per the FAA.
• 🌍 Israel has shared intelligence with the US that indicates Iran is considering a fresh plan to assassinate President Trump, per WSJ report published last night.
• 🏛️ President Trump’s plan to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near Arlington Cemetery wins initial approval from a key federal commission.

☝️ A team of marine scientists have captured the first-ever camera footage of a particular type of barreleye fish that's equal parts cute and terrifying. This barreleye, a rarely-seen species named Winteria telescopa, was spotted by an autonomous underwater vehicle some 2,300+ feet below the surface.

🤔 Did you know? Hedgehogs’ bodies are naturally buoyant, allowing them to bob on the water's surface like tiny spiky boats. They can even swim when needed to cross a pond or stream.

📰 Worth a read: The real life mermaids of Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• How to embrace alone time and actually enjoy it
• Dating in the GLP-1 era
• New 6-min theme park ride to break 3 world records

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How well did you pay attention this week? Find out here.

1. What is 15% of 80?
2. Which number is equal to 9² − 4²?
3. A number is multiplied by 5 and then increased by 8. The result is 43. What was the original number?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

🍋 Lemonade stands for all: Michigan lawmakers unanimously passed a bill allowing kiddos to run the classic rite-of-passage business without permits or fees.

+Note: This story previously appeared in Positive DONUT.

1. 12
2. 65
3. 7

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