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Your Daily BriefJuly 27th, 2022 |
Good morning, and welcome to your Wednesday! We’re not sure about you, but we feel like this week is flying by (and we’re not exactly complaining about it), so while you get ready to attack the day, here’s what we have for you:
In Today’s Brief
- Shopify: Lays off 10% of its global workforce
- Buzz Aldrin: Apollo 11 space suit sells for almost $2.8 million at auction
- Adele: Some tickets to Las Vegas residency going for $41,000 per seat
- Raising Cane’s: CEO buys 50,000 Mega Millions tickets and promises to share jackpot prize with employees
- Instagram: CEO Adam Mosseri responds to backlash over new features
- Top Tips: EU reaches a deal to curb gas consumption, Teva to pay over $4 billion in an opioid settlement, Russia will leave the International Space Station after 2024
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European Union reaches a deal to ration natural gas consumption by 15%
EU leaders yesterday approved a plan to curb natural gas consumption by 15% this winter to shield the bloc of nations against any further supply cuts from Russia.
The deal (based on a proposal dubbed “Save Gas for a Safe Winter”) comes after Russian-owned Gazprom announced that it will reduce gas supplies sent to the EU via the Nord Stream Pipeline to 20% of its capacity starting on Wednesday. Gazprom cited technical issues with one of the turbines as the reason for the supply cut. Germany–which receives gas from the pipeline–said there was no technical reason for the reduction, and EU energy chief Kadri Simson called the move “politically motivated.”
EU nations will take part in voluntary measures to reduce gas consumption between August through March 2023 per the agreement, which exempts essential services from rationing and includes a trigger for mandatory measures if the bloc deems it necessary.
Pharmaceutical company Teva will pay over $4 billion in a settlement over opioids
Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals has reached a proposed settlement worth up to $4.25 billion to resolve thousands of lawsuits over its alleged role in opioid deaths in the United States.
As part of the settlement, Teva–which manufactures generic opioids–agreed to pay over $3 billion in cash to U.S. states and local governments over the next 13 years, and said it would also contribute up to $1.2 billion worth of the opioid overdose reversal drug naxolone (brand name Narcan). Teva also said it would supply an additional $100 million in cash to Native American tribes, and that the total sum covers the company’s previous settlements of lawsuits with governments.
The proposed settlement comes as U.S. states, cities, and counties have filed over 3,000 lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Over the past two decades, government data shows that over 500,000 people have died of opioid overdoses.
Russia plans to leave the International Space Station after 2024
According to an announcement from Yury Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Russia will leave the International Space Station after 2024.
The International Space Station (or ISS) was constructed 23 years ago as a collaboration between the United States and Russia. Under current agreements, the ISS is to remain operational through 2024. Borisov–who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to inform him of the plan–said the “decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made,” and added that following its withdrawal from the ISS, Roscosmos will focus on building the country’s Russian orbital station.
In February, NASA said that it planned to keep the ISS operational until 2030, when it will de-orbit and crash into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. However, Russia operates six of the station’s 17 modules, including Zvezda, which houses the main engine system and is critical to keeping the station in orbit.
Around the Globe
- Shopify is laying off about 10% of its global workforce, or roughly 1,000 workers; CEO Tobias Lütke cited slower-than-expected growth and customers’ return to pre-pandemic shopping behaviors as reasons for the staff reduction
- Egyptian social media content creator Tala Safwan was arrested in Saudi Arabia and accused of posting sexually suggestive content in a clip with lesbian undertones; Safwan maintains that the clip was taken out of context from the full video she posted
- Three United Nations workers and at least twelve civilians were killed during anti-U.N. protests in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to local authorities
On the Homefront
- Documents show that U.S. cattle feeding companies sent thousands of cattle that died in a June heatwave to be buried in a Kansas landfill where they were mixed with trash
- Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin’s Apollo 11 mission space suit has been auctioned off to an unidentified bidder for $2,772,500; it is the highest auction price ever paid for an American space-flown artifact, according to Sotheby’s, which handled the sale
- The Uvalde school district placed Robb Elementary School’s principal Mandy Gutierrez on paid administrative leave two weeks after a report showed that she was aware of security issues that enabled the shooter to carry out the attack on May 24th
Glitz and Games
- Tickets for Adele’s Las Vegas residency are reportedly selling online for between $600 to almost $42,000 per seat
- The 19,380-square-foot Jackie Robinson Museum opened yesterday in Manhattan after 14 years of planning, with a gala ceremony attended by Robinson’s 100-year-old widow and two of his children
- Alyssa Farah Griffin, former White House Director of Strategic Communications under President Trump, is in final talks to replace Meghan McCain as a permanent host of ABC’s The View talk show
Money Moves
- Major indexes in the stock market slid gradually throughout the day with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses (Dow -0.71%, Nasdaq -1.87%, S&P 500 -1.15%)
- Google parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) reported lower-than-expected earnings per share and revenue for Q2; shares rose as much as 4% in after-hours trading
- Twitter will hold a shareholder meeting on September 13th at 10:00 am PT to vote on Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the company; shareholders will be able to watch the meeting live via webcast and then vote, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission
Tip & Tricks
- Bump This: We can’t get enough of the chill, melodic vibes in the new Joey Bada$$ song “Cruise Control” - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
- Creep Out: Singer The Weeknd has partnered with Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights for a haunted house experience this fall inspired by songs from his album After Hours (just when we thought we’d never have to hear “Blinding Lights” again…)
- Cash Grab: Co-founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Todd Graves, bought 50,000 Mega Millions tickets and says he will share the money with all of his employees if any of his tickets win the jackpot prize
- Bum Out: Klondike has discontinued the Choco Taco dessert after nearly 40 years on the market (RIP–you really never know what you have until it’s gone)
- Say What: “If you’re seeing a new, full-screen version of a feed or you’re hearing about it, know that this is a test. It’s a test to a few percentage of people out there, and the idea is that a more full-screen experience, not only for video but for photos, might be a bit more fun and engaging experience. But I also want to be clear, it’s not yet good,” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said after backlash over the app’s new features
- Hot Goss: Former Shahs of Sunset star Mike Shouhed is facing 14 criminal charges following his arrest on March 27th, including one charge of domestic violence
- Life Hack: Dabbing some Vicks VapoRub on cystic acne–aka those pesky zits below the surface of your skin–helps to shrink them
Looking Back…
On July 26th: The Chicago Race Riot was sparked after a young Black man named Eugene Williams was stoned and drowned in Lake Michigan (1919); Sir Walter Raleigh brings the first tobacco to England (1586); Bugs Bunny made its debut in the Looney Tunes short film A Wild Hare (1940); actor and playwright Sam Shepard dies (2017).
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