Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

July 13th, 2023

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Travelers are always looking for the next great place to explore, and nothing is more enticing than a tunnel into the unknown. If you’ve got some time this morning, check out this list of the world’s most incredible tunnels. You never know the next time you might stumble on an interesting underground pathway yourself!

In Today’s Brief

North Korea: Suspected missile launch
Greyhound: Four-vehicle crash in Illinois
Hollywood: Actors prepare for strike
Domino’s: Inks new deal with Uber

...and more

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Top Tips

June inflation report

Inflation in the U.S. as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3% in June compared to last year and 0.2% from the month prior, per a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the Labor Bureau’s report, energy prices decreased by 16.7% year-over-year, while the index for food rose by 5.7% from June 2022 levels. Other categories that saw price increases in the days between May and June were gasoline (+1%), physicians’ services (+0.7%), and rent (+0.5%). “Core” inflation–which removes the food and energy components of the report–increased by 4.8% compared to the same period last year, and rose 0.2% in June after also rising 0.4% in May and April.

June’s 3% annualized rise in the CPI marks a decline of 6% from its June 2022 level, which saw an annualized increase of 9% compared to June 2021–the highest inflation the U.S. had seen since November 1981. Price categories that decreased in June are airline fares (-8.1%), tools, hardware, and supplies (-0.9%), and used cars and trucks (-0.5%).

Elon’s new AI startup

Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk officially launched his AI startup, xAI, yesterday afternoon.

According to the new company’s website, xAI is led by Musk and aided by a team of research engineers who have previously worked for Google Research, DeepMind, OpenAI, Microsoft Research, and Tesla. In a tweet, Musk wrote that he announced the formation of xAI to “understand reality,” and the company’s website states that its goal is to “understand the true nature of the universe.”

The unveiling of Musk’s new company comes on the heels of Meta’s launch of Threads, a competitor messaging app to Twitter which reached 100M users in five days and caused Twitter’s web traffic to fall 11% compared with the same days in 2022. According to a disclosure from Fidelity at the end of May, Twitter is worth one-third of the amount it was when Musk and co-investors bought it for $44B in 2022.

2023 Emmy Nominees

The 75th Primetime Emmys, which are scheduled to air on September 18th, announced the full list of nominees yesterday.

Succession led this year’s nominees with 27 nods. The Last of Us received the second-most amount at 24, and The White Lotus got 23 total nods; all three series are HBO shows. Actors who received nominations include Pedro Pascal for The Last of Us, Jeremy Strong for Succession, Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary, and Jenna Ortega for Wednesday. With three nods, Pedro Pascal has become the most-nominated actor of Latin descent in a single year.

It remains to be seen how Hollywood’s ongoing writers' strike will impact the ceremony. The possibility of an actors' strike also looms as SAG-AFTRA–the union which represents over 160K actors–continues contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The current contract expired tonight at 11:59 PM PDT.

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Quick Tips

Around the Globe

North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile that landed short of Japanese waters yesterday morning; the launch comes after North Korea threatened retaliation against alleged U.S. spy plane incursions over its territory (More)
Turkey will not ratify Sweden’s NATO bid before October, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Turkish parliament will not be in session for the next two months, but Erdogan hopes for a “swift” ratification in October (More)
Protests in Kenya over opposition to President Ruto’s tax hikes saw Kenyan police firing tear gas into crowds in the second week of demonstrations; three schoolchildren were reportedly sent to the hospital after tear gas was sprayed into their school (More)

On the Homefront

Arizona resident Ray Epps filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News; Epps accuses Fox and its former host Tucker Carlson of "spreading falsehoods" that he was an undercover FBI agent and was responsible for inciting events at the Capitol (More)
Two IRS whistleblowers will testify before the House Oversight Committee next Wednesday, July 19th; the whistleblowers will reportedly testify on alleged misconduct at the Justice Department and IRS with respect to the Hunter Biden investigation (More)
A Greyhound bus crashed into three vehicles in Illinois yesterday, leaving three people dead and 14 injured, according to a statement released by state police (More)

Glitz & Games

In partnership with Bright Cellars

‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ author Milan Kundera passed away at age 94 in Paris on Tuesday, according to the Moravian Library in the Czech city of Brno (More)
The MLB’s first regular season games will take place in South Korea next season between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, according to an announcement from the league (More)
Hollywood actors are preparing to go on strike along with writers in the industry, who began striking two months ago; the current contract for SAG-AFTRA expired at 11:59 PM Pacific Time yesterday (More)

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Business & Markets

Stocks ended yesterday’s session higher after investors responded positively to the Labor Bureau’s inflation report (Dow +0.25%, Nasdaq +1.15%, S&P 500 +0.74%)
Bob Iger will remain as CEO of the Walt Disney Co. through 2026; In 2022, Iger was brought back as CEO of the company after stepping down from the role less than a year prior, replacing Bob Chapek (More)
Domino’s announced a new deal with Uber to list its menus on its Uber Eats and Postmates delivery apps in the U.S.; the pizza chain is expected to roll out the agreement in the fall (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: After 20 years in the making, a California military base in the city of Irvine is being transformed into the largest city park in the United States - once complete, the new Great Park of is expected to dwarf Central Park by more than 500 acres
Bump This: Skrillex released a new song with Boys Noize called “Fine Day Anthem” that you might be into if you’re a fan of high-octane dance music - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: Few things are better than a cold delicious treat to cool you off on a hot day, especially when it doubles as a healthy snack- try this recipe for pina colada “nice” cream for an easy dessert to make your summer sweeter without the added sugar
Nerd Out: Scientists conducted a study that found that music lessons have a positive impact on brain health in older adults and can even lead to an increase in gray matter, boosting your brain’s connectivity and how fast we process things
Go Deep: Check out new findings that support a long-standing theory that the body type of present-day Polynesians—which tends to be larger and bulkier—results from the harsh conditions their ancestors faced when first traveling to New Zealand
Hot Goss: Former One Direction member Zayn Malik appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast for his first interview in six years where he talked about co-parenting, fatherhood, his 2021 altercation with Yolanda Hadid, and more
Life Hack: A ancient Chinese concept called “wu wei,” which translates to “non-action” or “effortless action,” can help us lead more balanced, fulfilling, and successful lives - here are three ways to make wu wei a part of your daily routine and stop sweating the small stuff

Tip-Offs

See a map of the most dangerous cities in the U.S.

Where Europeans go to escape summer crowds.

… and the world’s hotels with the best fine dining.

Why people are feeling dissatisfied with dating apps.

How to cook pasta with a restaurant-quality taste.

What it’s like to play tennis against Novak Djokovic.

NASA’s stunning new image of a star being born.

The surprising benefits of reading children’s books.

Looking Back…

On July 13th: Frank Sinatra records his first single, “From the Bottom of My Heart” (1939); Henry Rowe Schoolcraft identifies the source of the Mississippi River as Lake Itasca (1832); the multi-venue benefit concert Live Aid draws 1.5B television viewers worldwide (1985); actor Harrison Ford is born (1942).

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