☕ Long distance connection

AI bots might start dating for you... May 11, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Manscaped]( Good morning. The sun is throwing a tantrum, and it could lead to dazzling displays here on Earth. For the first time in 20 years, the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch as unusually strong outbursts of plasma from the sun reach our planet, beginning yesterday and lasting through Sunday. A severe solar storm has pros and cons. On the one hand, it could make the northern lights visible as far south as Alabama, which is awesome. On the other, it could disrupt communications, the power grid, and GPS, which is less awesome. Couldn’t you be a normal sun and send flowers on Mother’s Day weekend? —Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Cassandra Cassidy, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq $16,340.87 -0.03% S&P $5,222.68 +0.17% Dow $39,512.84 +0.32% 10-Year 4.504% +5.0 bps Bitcoin $60,634.73 -3.11% Novavax $8.88 +98.66% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks were a mixed bag as investors considered new consumer sentiment data that showed people expect to get walloped by inflation. But nothing could dull the Dow’s shine as it cruised into its [eighth winning day]( capping off its best week of 2024. - Stock spotlight: Proteins aren’t the only thing spiking at Novavax: The Covid vaccine-maker’s value doubled after it announced a $1.2 billion deal to develop new shots with Sanofi. Pretty major for a company that said in February 2023 it might not have the cash to continue operating.  ENTERTAINMENT [Miss USA and Miss Teen USA return their crowns]( [Miss USA and Miss Teen USA]( Barritt / Getty Images The Miss USA Organization’s problems seem to be growing so big even a choreographed group number can’t distract onlookers. This week, both Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava [renounced]( their crowns and announced it via Instagram posts. A week earlier, Miss USA’s social media director, Claudia Michelle, publicly resigned from the org, calling it a toxic workplace for her and title holders. Publicly, Voigt cited her mental health in her renunciation, while Srivastava said that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.” In a resignation letter viewed by NBC, Voigt [said]( Miss USA maintained a toxic environment that “at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment.” The organization did not respond to NBC’s request for comment on the letter. Michelle said that the group’s leadership would restrict the two women’s social media posts (though eagle-eyed pageant fans noticed the first letters of the sentences of Voigt’s resignation post spelled out “I am silenced”). Behind the scenes The [last few years]( at the Miss USA Org have been about as eyebrow-raising as an early episode of Toddlers & Tiaras. - In 2022, Anne Jakrajutatip, a wealthy Thai businesswoman, bought the brand (including its sister pageant, Miss Universe) with her company JKN Global Group for $20 million and became the first woman to own the organization. - In 2023, then-Miss USA President Crystle Stewart left her role following allegations that the 2022 competition was rigged. Stewart’s husband, Max Sebrechts, VP of Miss USA, also stepped down after multiple competitors accused him of sexual harassment. - Stewart was replaced within hours by fashion designer Laylah Rose, who now owns the Miss USA franchise. - Just over a week before the 2023 Miss Universe pageant, it was revealed that JKN Global Group had filed for bankruptcy. The rapid resignation of two title holders has now brought new scrutiny to Miss USA and to Rose, whom Voigt accused of mistreatment. What next? The organization said it supported both former title holders in their decision. Several Miss USA 2023 competitors called on the organization to let Voigt out of her NDA so she can share her experience.—MM PRESENTED BY MANSCAPED [For your trimming, taming, and freshening needs]( [Manscaped]( Make it efficient. Make it effective. Make it easy. That’s the ideal grooming routine—and it’s exactly what you get with [The Lawn Mower® 5.0 Ultra by MANSCAPED®](. This groin and body hair trimmer is the gold standard of body grooming. Just look at some of its next-gen features: - [interchangeable SkinSafe™ Blade Heads]( for a skin-close shave or trim - waterproof for shower-friendly use - dual LED spotlight so you can clearly see areas that need trimming - powerful lithium-ion battery that holds a charge for up to 60 minutes Elevate your routine with MANSCAPED. [Take an extra 20% off with free shipping, plus two free gifts]( when you bundle and save with their kits. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Tesla Superchargers]Picture Alliance/Getty Images Looks like Elon Musk wants to make more Superchargers after all. Just over a week after Tesla shocked the electric vehicle world (and probably President Biden) by [firing]( its entire 500-person Supercharger team, CEO Musk said on X yesterday that there are still plans to [keep building]( the charging network. “Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year,” Musk wrote. However, Musk’s new post didn’t contradict an X statement from around the time of the layoffs saying the network—which other car companies and even the government are counting on to help spur EV adoption—would grow more slowly. Two Virginia schools to get Confederate names again. Virginia’s Shenandoah County School Board [voted]( yesterday to rename two schools in the district for Confederate generals, after deciding to change them in 2020 as the country grappled with the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The board voted 5–1 to reinstate the names Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School, which had been changed to Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School by a previous iteration of the board. Though the names of Confederate generals have been removed from many public spaces as communities reckon with their racial implications, this appears to be the first time a school has restored them. Planet Fitness to raise membership price for the first time since 1998. It’s going to take more than $10/month to join a gym once Planet Fitness [raises]( the price of a basic membership for new members to $15 per month this summer. The $10 amount, which has held steady for 26 years, was considered a sweet spot where people were happy to sign up and wouldn’t bother to cancel once they gave up on their fitness goals. But after posting weaker-than-expected Q1 results, the gym chain decided it’s time to change, even though execs acknowledged that customers are looking to save rather than spend. TECHNOLOGY [Let AI date for you, says Bumble founder]( [AI dating]( Castro AI bots awkwardly flirting with each other is the future of human dating, or so Bumble founder and executive chair Whitney Wolfe Herd would like you to imagine. Speaking at Bloomberg’s tech conference this week, she [floated the idea]( of AI dating “concierges” getting to know each other to spare people the tedium of cringing through convos with strangers they’ll never vibe with. Aside from helping to narrow the pool of contenders, Wolfe Herd envisions users’ AI chatbots doling out dating advice based on people’s insecurities. The Bloomberg crowd chuckled at her dead-serious comments, which came as Bumble tries to convince singles that its matchmaking services are still worth paying for. Make algorithms attractive again Bumble is already adopting features intended to make swiping for love feel less like a full-time job: - The “Opening Move” function will soon let users [preselect DMs]( to initiate conversations instead of racking their brains for quirky opening lines. - The app is also updating the options it gives users to describe the type of relationship they want to include more specific options (among them “life partner” and “ethical non-monogamy”) and letting users display those preferences on their profiles. The revamp arrives as dating apps’ paid user [growth slows](. Only 21% of Americans think that algorithms can predict who they’ll fall for, per a 2023 Pew survey. Gen Z is swiping left on apps…a recent Axios/Generation Labs survey revealed that nearly [4 in 5 college and grad students]( don’t use them.—SK TOGETHER WITH CURRENCYCLOUD [CurrencyCloud]( Your $$$-generating guide. Listen up, global enterprises. Currencycloud’s [foreign exchange (FX) guide]( has the info that can help you understand, implement, and generate revenue with FX. Dive into a straightforward breakdown of the technical nuances, risk management strategies, and more. Download the [FX for business guide](. CULTURE [Hello from the other side]( [Photo of the portal in NYC]( Brew’s friendliest writer, Cassandra, greets the people of Dublin. Macy Gilliam The Barack Obama-themed [rest stop]( on Ireland’s M7 highway is no longer the most important Irish–US connection. This week, two giant [portals]( that look like something out of a sci-fi movie appeared in New York City and Dublin, connecting the two cities with a 24/7 video feed. The portals, placed on Dublin’s famous O’Connell Street and in New York’s Flatiron district, are part of Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys’s vision to unite the world. His organization, Portals.org, first [placed]( sculptures in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Lublin, Poland, in 2021. It also plans to also connect New York and Dublin to those cities in the near future. You still won’t learn how to correctly pronounce “Moher.” The portals are designed without sound because 1) New Yorkers and Dubliners wouldn’t understand each other anyway and 2) it forces people to use the universally understood communication, body language, according to the Portals.org website. That hasn’t limited connection…videos on social media show people on both sides waving, [dancing]( writing their Instagram handle on a sign, and giving out their phone numbers.—CC GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Jim Simons]Sylvain Gaboury/Getty Images Quote: “I did a lot of math. I made a lot of money, and I gave almost all of it away. That’s the story of my life.” There are longer versions of the [life story]( of Jim Simons, the legendary mathematician, quantitative investing pioneer, and philanthropist who died yesterday at age 86, but we think [his summary]( is pretty good. In 1978, Simons started what would become his wildly successful hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, where he used his mathematical savvy to deliver a performance that outpaced Warren Buffett and George Soros. Its signature fund averaged 66% annual returns. With his wife, Marilyn Simons, he also started the Simons Foundation, which gave billions to causes they cared about—including, most recently, the Dublin–New York portals. Stat: McDonald’s has heard everyone’s freak-out about that $18 Big Mac meal, and it’s trying to push a cheaper option to get customers to come back like they’re desperate for Grimace shakes again. With Americans ditching fast food as prices rise, the chain is hoping to introduce a [$5 meal]( that could include a McChicken or a McDouble, fries, and a drink, an anonymous insider told Bloomberg. The problem? Franchisees are not lovin’ it. Franchise operators, who run 95% of MickeyD’s locations, refused to endorse the $5 deal earlier in the year, so the burger behemoth has gotten Coca-Cola to chip in cash this time around to help keep it from cutting into franchisees’ profits, per Bloomberg’s source. Read: The Caitlin Clark Effect is real, and it’s already changing the WNBA. ([Businessweek]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - Israel update: [The UN General Assembly]( voted to back Palestine’s bid for full UN membership, but membership can only be decided by the Security Council, where the US has vowed to veto it. However, [the US]( did say that Israel may have used weapons it provided to violate international humanitarian law. Meanwhile, [police]( cleared pro-Palestinian protest encampments from three US universities. - [Target]( said it will put LGBT Pride-themed merchandise in fewer stores after facing backlash last year. - [Sweetgreen’s]( stock popped 34% yesterday following an announcement that it beat revenue expectations last quarter and raised its forecast for the year. Analysts also reacted positively to plans to add steak to the menu. - [An appeals court]( upheld the conviction of former Trump advisor Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6 committee. - [A zoo]( in China was accused of dyeing dogs’ fur and trying to pass them off as pandas. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Find out where your friends are going: The most Googled [travel destinations]( broken down by state. Make some dip: Could the secret to the perfect cheese sauce be in [the medicine aisle]( Listen: [Acquired]( is the four-hour monthly podcast the business world can’t get enough of. Watch: Macy dropped off some lunches and narrated from a bike to find out [if food delivery apps can survive](. All thrills, no pills: [Tenuto 2]( is the only male vibrator clinically shown to improve ED and performance anxiety in 100% of study participants. Maximize blood flow and partner pleasure. [Save 20% today]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew crossword: Today’s crossword might bring back memories of finals week (the good memories, like when they bring animals you can pet to campus). [Play it here](. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section with a shockingly low HOA fee. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price. [Mansion in Arkansas with a bunch of horrible turets and colums.]Zillow Today’s early aughts mess is a 6,987-square-foot [home]( in Maumelle, Arkansas. The listing boasts oversized windows, a dual walk-in steam shower, and a hibachi grill, all things you thought would only exist together in a Sims 3 build. Amenities include: - 5 beds, 8 baths - Home theater (as is tradition in these places) - Golf course access How much for the kinda-castle? 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=4904f90a]( ANSWER $1.1 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: renunciation, meaning “the formal rejection of something, typically a belief or course of action.” Thanks to Barbara from Nashville for sticking with us and offering the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Matty Merritt]( Sam Klebanov, and [Cassandra Cassidy]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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