☕️ Got milk?

AI deepfakes come for a high-school principal... [Advertisement] April 27, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Death & Co]( Good morning. The (apparently very good, very sexy) movie Challengers is out in theaters, and it marks the continuation of one of Hollywood’s most bizarre casting traditions: the Spider-Man-to-tennis movie pipeline. - Kirsten Dunst went from Mary Jane Watson in the first live-action Spider-Man movie to Lizzy Bradbury in Wimbledon. - Emma Stone portrayed Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes after a stint as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man films. - Challengers stars Zendaya, who played Michelle “MJ” Jones in two Spider-Man movies. Of course, the next wave of Mary Janes will all be in pickleball movies. —Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,927.90 +2.03% S&P 5,099.96 +1.02% Dow 38,239.66 +0.40% 10-Year 4.669% -3.7 bps Bitcoin $63,992.89 -0.76% Alphabet $171.95 +10.22% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 2:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks shrugged off the news that the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge ticked up last month as strong earnings reports from Big Tech pushed them [higher]( yesterday, giving the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 their best weeks since November. Google parent Alphabet had its best day since July 2015 after showing that some of its AI investments are already paying off and teeing up its first-ever dividend.  EDUCATION [Campus protesters make divestment demands]( [Columbia pro-Palestine encampment ]( Images Protest encampments are front and center in college quads across the US as students stage demonstrations against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Among the loudspeaker slogans reverberating through campuses is [a call for universities]( to divest from Israel. What do the protesters want? Many student groups that condemn Israel’s actions claim that universities are complicit by plugging endowment dollars into its economy or companies that profit from the war. Not all the demands for divestment are the same: - Yale protesters are calling for the university to pull investments from defense manufacturers that supply the Israel Defense Forces. - Columbia activists have targeted investments in companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft over their contracts with the Israeli government. Pro-Palestinian activists say they’re inspired by the 1980s divestment push aimed at the apartheid regime in South Africa and more recent wins, like convincing institutions to drop fossil fuel investments. They argue that cutting ties with companies on moral grounds sends a powerful message. Long odds Many schools have cracked down on the protests amid accusations of antisemitism, and no university has announced plans to divest. College administrators don’t have a unified stance on the war, and many have condemned the protests. But even if they did want to decouple from the country, it’s not a matter of hitting the “sell” button. - Universities don’t invest in individual stocks or bonds: Most endowments consist of hedge fund- and private equity stakes. - Endowment experts say weeding out assets with ties to Israel would be hard to implement (more so than with fossil fuels) and could result in financial losses. And some question divestment as a tactic: Charles D. Ellis, who used to chair the Yale endowment’s investment committee, told the WSJ that universities have more leverage by remaining shareholders and pushing for changes from within. Big picture: Endowment controversies are a major headache for elite universities, which rely on the multibillion-dollar piggy banks to fund research, financial aid, and maintain facilities.—SK PRESENTED BY DEATH & CO [We’ll drink to this]( [Death & Co]( You have two days left to [invest in Death & Co]( as they define cocktail-anchored hospitality. Since 2006, Death & Co has expanded from New York to Denver, LA, and DC. But even with 7k+ weekly visitors, the vision doesn’t stop there. Plans include more Death & Co locations, and a new brand, Close Company, will open this year in three cities. Plus, the group will debut its first hotel in Savannah next year. Being named one of “America’s Best Bars” has positioned Death & Co as a [national industry leader](. Leveraging brand recognition with an online marketplace, canned cocktails, and more drives revenue, attracts customers, and unlocks nationwide opportunities. The best part? You can invest for a limited time as they grow. [Become a Death & Co shareholder by April 29](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [The facade of the FDIC]KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images Regulators seize and sell Republic First Bank. The FDIC said regulators had seized the troubled Philadelphia-based bank and [agreed to sell]( it to Fulton Bank. While news of a regional bank failure might take you back to March 2023 when Silicon Valley Bank bit the dust, Republic First was much smaller than SVB (and much smaller than the similarly named First Republic, which ultimately got absorbed by JPMorgan Chase as regional banks struggled), and because there’s already a buyer, there are no lingering questions about the safety of deposits. So, while the first bank failure of the year is a sign that regional banks are still in a bad way, it’s unlikely to spur a larger crisis. The government may not ban menthol cigarettes after all. The Biden administration has [delayed]( its plan to bar the sale of menthols. The Wall Street Journal reports that it made the move after considering whether the public health benefits were worth potentially upsetting Black voters in an election year. More than a third of cigarettes sold in the US annually are menthols, and, as of 2020, 81% of Black smokers smoked them while only 30% of white smokers and 51% of Hispanic smokers did, in part because they were aggressively marketed to Black communities for decades, per the WSJ. The ban, which was meant to be part of the administration’s efforts to fight cancer, also faced strong pushback from tobacco companies. Prime NBA deal in the works. Amazon Prime Video and the NBA have outlined [a deal]( that would make the streaming service one of the main hubs for NBA games starting with the 2025–2026 season through the next nine years, according to The Athletic. The potential deal with Prime and another reportedly pending with ESPN/ABC leave only one spot left to broadcast some basketball games unless the NBA decides to partner with four networks—an idea the NBA is said to be open to. Right now, it seems like TNT, owned by current game broadcaster Warner Bros. Discovery, or NBC could nab the third spot. Prime has already gone big on sports through a deal with the NFL. FOOD & BEV [Don’t freak, but bird flu virus fragments found in milk]( [Dairy cows eating hay in barn,]( Group, Reading Eagle/Getty Images We don’t want to ruin your Saturday morning cartoons and Frosted Flakes bender, but your 2% is at the center of the latest bird flu discourse. One in five samples of pasteurized milk tested recently [contained]( virus fragments, according to the FDA, meaning bird flu is more common on dairy farms than previously thought. Before you start dumping…these fragments aren’t live viruses, meaning the pasteurization process is doing its job of killing off anything swimming around in there that could be harmful to humans. There have only been two known cases of humans in the US contracting bird flu (both mild) and only one (who had contact with infected cows) during the current outbreak. Scientists are a little nervous, though, because this outbreak is the first time bird flu has been detected [in cattle]( which indicates that the virus mutated to jump into a mammal. And there’s still a lot to learn about how it travels between species. Starting Monday, lactating dairy cows will need to be tested before they cross state lines. Big picture: While there isn’t much immediate threat to humans, the bird flu is [wiping out]( wild and farmed bird populations around the world.—MM TOGETHER WITH GERBER [Gerber]( Something’s cookin’ in the great outdoors. Don’t limit your menu just because you’re camping. Prep, cook, and serve in style—without sacrificing space or utility—when you use Gerber’s new [16-piece ComplEAT set](. Enjoy full kitchen capabilities wherever you set up camp. [Breakfast/lunch/dinner is served](. AI [Principal framed with AI to appear racist]( [audio tracks]( Scialabba If you think your hometown takes the cake for the most bizarre high-school incident, wait until you meet someone from Pikesville, Maryland. The town is reeling from a widely circulated audio clip of Pikesville High School’s principal purportedly going on a racist and antisemitic rant. The thing is, the rant was [concocted with AI]( by a vengeful colleague, police say. According to Baltimore police: - Former Athletic Director Dazhon Darien, who was arrested Thursday, used AI vocal software to mimic Principal Eric Eiswert’s voice in the [confirmed-manipulated]( clip, provoking threats against the school and Eiswert’s family. - Darien accessed OpenAI tools from school networks late last year. Investigators also linked him to an email address that circulated the audio. Potential motive: Eiswert was considering not renewing Darien’s contract, police said. He had also started investigating Darien in December for allegedly mishandling ~$2,000 in school funds. Zoom out: AI vocal cloning is [improving alarmingly quickly]( moving beyond the playfulness of fake Drake songs. Earlier this year, a robocall that sounded like Joe Biden told New Hampshire voters to skip the presidential primary.—ML GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [A newborn baby in a maternity ward]MediaNews Group, Long Beach Press-Telegram/Getty Images Stat: Despite what your Insta feed might suggest, everyone is not having babies. Last year, ~3.6 million babies [were born]( in the US, which is the smallest number of births since 1979, according to data from the CDC. That put the fertility rate at 1.62 births per woman, the lowest the rate has fallen since the government began tracking in the 1930s. Although the drop in births is noteworthy, especially since 2023 was the first full year since the Supreme Court overturned national protections for abortion, it’s a continuation of a longstanding trend—disrupted only by a post-Covid baby boom in 2021 and 2022. Quote: “Our goal is to be stewards for this thing.” This is not fake news, even though it sounds like a headline from The Onion: G/O Media has [sold]( the satirical publication to Chicago-based firm Global Tetrahedron. If the buyer’s name sounds familiar, it’s because The Onion has been using it as the name of a fake company since its 1999 book, Our Dumb Century. But the (real) Global Tetrahedron, which purchased The Onion for an undisclosed sum and plans to keep its writing staff on board, is owned by former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson and will be led by ex-NBC reporter Ben Collins. “The world needs laughter; it needs satirical criticism more than ever,” Lawson told the NYT. Read: Why your vet bill is so high. ([The Atlantic]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Tornadoes]( tore across the Midwest yesterday, causing serious damage in Nebraska. - [Exxon and Chevron]( reported lower (but still massive) profits for Q1 in part because of plunging natural gas prices. - [US safety regulators]( are probing whether Tesla’s recall to update its Autopilot system did enough to keep drivers focused on the road. - [The UK’s King Charles]( will resume public duties next week after seeing encouraging progress from cancer treatments. - [New York City’s]( controversial congestion pricing plan, which has drawn lawsuits and caterwauling from neighboring New Jersey, will begin on June 30, transit officials said. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Cook: This super easy [ramen recipe]( packs a whole lot more flavor than a foil packet. Watch: What if you were [swallowed by a whale]( LOL: Take a walk down memory lane with the FBI’s questionable 2014 [dictionary of internet slang](. Where to hang with the .01%: These are the cities with the [most billionaires](. Don’t go it alone: Join [Sidebar’s exclusive leadership program]( for motivation, accountability, and career-building camaraderie. 93% of members called Sidebar a career game changer. [Forge your professional path]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew crossword: Today’s crossword will leave a great taste in your mouth. [Play it here](. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that seems like it’s been around forever, but is actually pretty young. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price. [Versailles-inspired mansion in New York.]Zillow Today’s [home]( is in Old Brookville, NY, a name that already sounds expensive. The Versailles-inspired, fully limestone mansion was built in 2017, and the decor style is “valuable things just sort of scattered around.” Amenities include: - 8 beds, 15 baths - Saltburn-esque hedges - An overwhelming amount of pastels How much for the new home in the old town? SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER $45 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: caterwauling, meaning “to complain noisily.” Thanks to Lisa Lahm from Lawrence, KS, and several others for not objecting to our use of their suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From Death & Co This is a paid advertisement for Death & Co’s Regulation CF offering. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please read the offering circular at [invest.deathandcompany.com](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( Sam Klebanov, [Matty Merritt]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011