How Sam Altman's universal basic income experiment went...
July 23, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [LMNT]( Good morning. Something to ponder: This is the first presidential election without a Bush, Clinton, or Biden on the ballot since 1976âwhen the first Star Wars was being filmed. And the winner of that 1976 election is still alive. Thatâd be 99-year-old Jimmy Carter. âMolly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Sam Klebanov, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 18,007.57 +1.58% S&P 5,564.41 +1.08% Dow 40,415.44 +0.32% 10-Year 4.260% +2.0 bps Bitcoin $67,576.52 -0.69% CrowdStrike $263.91 -13.46% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Tech stocks staged [a comeback]( yesterday, giving the S&P 500 its best day since early June. Nvidia led the pack, thanks in part to reports that itâs developing an AI chip for the Chinese market. One company notably excluded from the tech party was CrowdStrike, which continued to plunge after causing worldwide chaos with a bad update. Â ELECTION 2024 [Itâs Kamala time for Dem donors](
[Kamala Harris on July 22]( Harnik/Getty Images After a tense month of candidacy panic for Democrats, the [coconuts]( are falling into place: Left-leaning leaders on Wall Street and Capitol Hill have flocked to VP Kamala Harrisâs camp in the day-and-a-half since President Joe Biden [bowed out]( of the election and endorsed her, ginning up a wave of support for the #HarrisSomeone2024 ticket. Hereâs whoâs backed Harris so far: - The [majority]( of Democrats in the House (186/212) and Senate (41/47) and all Democratic governors in the US have pledged support, according to the New York Times. And as of yesterday evening she had the support of enough delegates to clinch the nomination, the AP reportedâthough they wonât make it official until August.
- LinkedIn co-founder and Democrat megadonor Reid Hoffman was also one of the first to voice support for Harris yesterday. Billionaire Biden backers Alex and George Soros and a litany of private equity and investment banking executives have also [joined]( what Bloomberg called the âKHive.â Campaign cash is flowing again. Biden dropping out of the election was like a dam bursting for Dem fundraising: After last monthâs slow-motion Democratic dumpster fire presidential debate, donors to the pro-Biden super PAC Future Forward told the New York Times theyâd [withhold]( $90 million if he wasnât replaced on the ticket. Abigail Disney (yes, that Disney) said yesterday sheâll [resume donations]( to the Democratic Party after pausing for the same reason. In the first 24 hours after [Biden dropped out]( - Future Forward received $150 million in new funds for Harris, Politico [reported](.
- The Harris camp also raised $81 million, setting a single-day record for presidential campaign fundraising (and almost doubling the war chest itâll inherit from Bidenâs camp). Could Harris woo Big Tech? Tech execs told Wired that they [expect]( more Silicon Valley leaders to endorse Harris since her replacing Biden is seen as a potential [unburdening of what has been]( for Big Tech antitrust enforcement, The Information [reported](. In the past, Harris has voiced support for [regulation]( over breaking up big companies, and some big business critics say she didnât rein in tech giants enough as Californiaâs attorney general.âML PRESENTED BY LMNT [Quench your potential](
[LMNT]( Believe it or not, this heat *can* be beat. (âHow?!â you ask, standing directly in front of your AC.) By replenishing those sweet, sweet electrolytes. Hydration is paramount, so why not boost yours with a [science-backed electrolyte drink mix]( that doesnât add any sugar or dodgy ingredients? Thatâs LMNT for ya, now in a variety of delicious flavors. Kick-start your day, recharge as you travel, recover after your workoutsâ¦the possibilities are thirst-quenchingly endless. [LMNT]( can even decrease headaches and muscle cramps, support fasting and a low-carb diet, and improve cognitive function. Sounds like you could be sippinâ on success. Try LMNT and [get a free sample pack with any purchase](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#)
[People waiting for help because their Delta flights were canceled]Jessica McGowan/Stringer/Getty Images Delta struggles to bounce back from the global IT outage. While other airlines were mostly back to normal yesterday following the global IT fallout from CrowdStrikeâs faulty software update, Delta was [still stuck]( like a passenger on a canceled flight. The airline canceled at least 900 flights yesterday, accounting for about two-thirds of all cancellations worldwide (including the majority of canceled US flights). The airline has been singled out by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said his agency received hundreds of complaints about Delta, and Deltaâs CEO apologized to affected passengers. Deltaâs difficulties appear to stem from the outage impacting its crew tracking system, the same system that bedeviled Southwest when it stumbled after a storm. Secret Service director refused to answer big questions before Congress. Republicans and Democrats might not agree on much, but they were united yesterday, with lawmakers from both parties calling for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatleâs resignation. While testifying before the House oversight committee for more than four hours, Cheatle [said]( she accepted responsibility for the failures that led to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump but declined to answer many questions seeking specifics about what had happened, citing an ongoing investigation. Google puts its hand back in the cookie jar. Four years after saying it would eliminate the cookies advertisers rely on to track web surfers from Chrome, Google has [decided not to](. Googleâs decision to backtrack on the much-delayed plan to get rid of the tracking tech comes after both advertisers and regulators gave Googleâs replacement plans some serious side-eye. The search giant said it will roll out a new plan that relies on usersâ informed choice to determine whether they want to allow cookies as they browse. ECONOMICS [What happened when Sam Altman gave out free cash](
[Robot hand giving cash to a human hand]( Scialabba Cash provides people with a lot of flexibilityâthatâs one of the main takeaways from the Wu-Tang Clan classic âC.R.E.A.M.â and from a $60 million study of universal basic income (UBI) backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The AI cheerleader has been a proponent of UBI for years, fueled by his belief that AI will eventually [eliminate]( traditional jobs, and he put his money behind it, partially funding the [largest]( US basic income pilot program ever. The findings are now trickling in. How it worked: The [program]( enrolled 3,000 people across Texas and Illinois with an income below $28,000. From November 2020 to October 2023, a third of the participants received $1,000 a month for three years (the rest received $50 a month for three years). For those who got $1,000, the study found: - They spent $310 more per month on average, mostly on rent, transportation, and food.
- On average, people worked 1.3 hours less per week.
- Recipients went to hospitals, doctors, and dentists more often. Butâ¦researchers said there was no direct evidence of improved physical and mental health. While stress and food insecurity reduced for the first year, it leveled out in the second and third years, and participantsâ long-term financial position stayed the same.âCC TOGETHER WITH BAMBOOHR
[BambooHR]( Itâs festival season. Okay, apologies for the lead-onâitâs not what youâre thinking. Weâre talkinâ about feedback fests (i.e., good olâ performance reviews). This year, let [BambooHR streamline and boost your evaluation process]( to new heights. To get you started, they just put together a super-handy checklist for performance reviews thatâll [make things easy](. GOVERNMENT [Prison phone calls are getting much cheaper](
[Prison phone]( Source/Getty Images Americans will soon pay less to stay in touch with incarcerated loved ones, per a new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule. The agency [recently capped]( the cost of communicating with inmatesâan expense that can add up to hundreds of dollars a month for their families. The move was welcomed by prison reform activists, who have long pointed to studies showing that regular contact with the outside world improves incarcerated peopleâs health and reduces recidivism. - The maximum price of a 15-minute phone call to or from large jails was slashed from over $11 in some cases to just 90 cents. And at small jails, itâll be capped at $1.35, down from a ~$12 upper limit.
- The rule also sets a first-ever cap on video call pricing and bans additional communication service fees. Why are calls so pricey? The vast majority of prison and jail calls are facilitated by three companies. Critics say that the lack of competition has led to exorbitant prices. They also blame call-charge-sharing schemes, in which call providers give jails a cut of the proceedsâa practice the new FCC rule prohibits. The industry retorts that costly call security measures drive up prices. Itâs not just callsâ¦incarcerated people still face [exuberant charges]( for services like electronic messaging and reading e-books.âSK STAT [Prime number](#)
[Cars waiting in line at a McDonald's drive thru]Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images Turns out people really do prefer spending less money for things. About 93% of McDonaldâs locations voted [to extend]( the burger chainâs $5 Meal Deal promotion, which was scheduled to end this month. The chain said customers are lovinâ itâand itâs getting them back into the restaurants after many stopped craving McNuggets following [price hikes](. The day the fast-food giant debuted the deal, June 25, was Mickey Dâs biggest Tuesday of the year at that point, with 8% more visitors than the average, and visits remained above average for at least the rest of the week, according to data from Placer.ai. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Warner Bros. Discovery]( isnât letting basketball go without a fightâthe company said it plans to exercise its matching rights on Amazonâs prospective NBA broadcast deal, potentially setting up a legal battle with the league.
- [AMC]( struck a deal to restructure up to $2.45 billion of its debt, a win for the theater chain beloved by Redditâs stock-pickers.
- [Ryanair]( said lower fares are coming after the budget European airline reported a 46% dip in profits last quarter.
- [Krispy Kreme]( sold its majority stake in dorm-room snack staple Insomnia Cookies but is holding onto a minority stake.
- [Priscilla Presley]( sued four of her former business partners, accusing them of elder abuse and plotting to steal âevery last penny she had.â
- [A Florida man]( who called himself the âWolf of Airbnbâ was sentenced to more than four years in prison for defrauding landlords in NYC and a federal pandemic-relief program. RECS
[Tuesday To Do List] Improve your vocab: AI terms defined [for the nontechnical]( among us. Laugh and cry: [A tribute]( to the work of Robin Williams. Feed the meter: The cities that make the most money off [parking tickets](. Travel tip: What to do when your [flight gets canceled](. Finally launch your app idea: Got a killer app (or software) business Idea, but no clue where to start? [Check out this new way of building apps]( no coding skills required. Boost prostate health: The bendable Molto is [a doc-recommended prostate vibrator]( designed by urologists for targeted stimulation, AND itâs FSA/HSA eligible. [Save 25% now]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: This Mini by Jack made several people at the Brew office go, âOhhh, thatâs so clever!â [Play it here](. Nutritional facts Weâll give you the ingredients for a popular food product, and you have to name it. Ingredient list: Milk, Cream, Sugar, Vegetable Gum (Tara), Natural Flavor. 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. Weâre saying weâll 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 Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Creamâhad to on National Vanilla Ice Cream Day. Chocolate is better, of course. Word of the Day Todayâs Word of the Day is: bedeviled, meaning âcaused distress.â Thanks to Jan from Florida for the untroubling suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and Sam Klebanov 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](.
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