☕️ Theranos, but real

Senate passes landmark online child safety bills... July 31, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Infinity Fuel]( Good morning, and happy 44th birthday to Harry Potter. Time has done a number on your favorite boy wizard—he’s growing a butterbeer belly and seeking more out of life than just the Snitch. For further reading: - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Metamucil - Harry Potter and the Kidney Stone - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Parent–Teacher Conferences - Harry Potter and the Ginny Where Are My Keys —Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Cassandra Cassidy, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 17,147.42 -1.28% S&P 5,436.44 -0.50% Dow 40,743.33 +0.50% 10-Year 4.143% -4.0 bps Bitcoin $66,017.18 -1.77% JetBlue $6.66 +12.31% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks embodied the first half of that Chumbawamba lyric yesterday, getting [knocked down]( while investors await the conclusion of the pivotal Fed meeting today. It was JetBlue that was able to get back up, ending the day +12% after it shocked Wall Street with a surprise profit in Q2.  SOCIAL MEDIA [Senate passes landmark online child safety bills]( [US senators hold a press conference for the Kids Online Safety Act]( Nishimura/Getty Images The Senate [passed]( two bills yesterday that would change how minors can interact with the internet for the first time since Creed released “Higher.” The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) passed the upper chamber 91–3 and will now head to the House, where their prospects are uncertain. What’s in the bills? First introduced in 2022 by a bipartisan pair of senators, KOSA aims to [push]( the responsibility for protecting children on social media platforms onto the tech companies that own them. The legislation, championed by parents of children who died by suicide after cyberbullying, requires tech companies to take “reasonable” measures on their platforms to mitigate danger for kids by reducing cyberbullying, harm related to mental health disorders, and drug promotion. - Platforms would have to add restrictions on users exchanging messages with minors and on features that encourage kids to use apps longer, like autoplay. In some cases, platforms like TikTok may be forced to redesign their entire experience for children. - COPPA 2.0 is an update on its 1998 predecessor that would ban targeted advertising to minors and allow parents or kids to delete their info from sites. Opposition intensifies Microsoft and Snap endorse KOSA, as do various child welfare advocacy organizations. Meta said it supports standards but prefers legislation requiring kids to get approval from parents before downloading apps. But [opponents]( worry the bill gives too much power (even after revisions) to state attorneys general to decide what content is harmful to children. The ACLU, privacy experts, and free-speech advocates worry the bill could not only be unconstitutional, but could also empower government officials to torch anything on the internet they dislike. - One of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, believes the bill would “protect minor children from the transgender in this culture and that influence.” - The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that is also behind Project 2025, has promised to use KOSA to limit online content about sexual and gender identity. What’s next? The House has its version of the bill headed to committee, but it’s on recess until September. In the meantime, expect more tech companies to weigh in.—MM PRESENTED BY INFINITY FUEL [The future of fuel: Green hydrogen]( [Infinity Fuel]( The renewable energy market is about to get real in 2024: Infinity Fuel is inviting private investors like you to [participate in their first capital raise](. Why invest in Infinity? [The company is pioneering fuel cells that work underwater]( and in space, and has over $50m+ in grants and contracts to date working with names like NASA, US Navy, and Air Force. Plus, they just made history by launching their tech on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-23 and NS-24 flight (yes, Jeff Bezos’ spacecraft). Not to mention, William Shatner* joined as Infinity’s brand ambassador and advisory committee member, thanks to their shared goal of a future fueled by clean power. Don’t miss your chance to join their webinar tomorrow featuring William Shatner! [Learn more and become one of Infinity’s earliest shareholders while you can](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas]AFP via Getty Images Hamas’s political leader was assassinated in Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, [was killed]( in Tehran after attending the inauguration ceremony of the country’s new president. Israel did not comment on his death, but it has pledged to kill Hamas leaders following the Oct. 7 attack and has carried out assassinations of top targets in Iran in recent years. Hours before Haniyeh’s assassination, the Israeli military claimed it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a “targeted strike” in a Beirut suburb. Going forward, the focus will be on how Hamas and Hezbollah respond to these strikes and their impact on ongoing Gaza cease-fire negotiations. The US women’s gymnastics team won gold. Led by Simone Biles and Suni Lee, Team USA dominated Italy and Brazil to take home their first gold medal in team all-around since 2016. The win [avenged]( their runner-up finish in 2021 to Russia, which was barred from competing this year due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. With the victory, Biles likely cemented herself as the greatest US gymnast of all time, passing Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals, with eight. Biles will look to further entrench herself as the GOAT with the women’s individual all-around final this afternoon. [Check here]( for more of yesterday’s highlights from Paris. Starbucks had a bad day. The coffee giant’s Tuesday got off to an inauspicious start when its mobile ordering system went down in the morning, though service was mostly restored by the afternoon. Things got worse after Sbux reported deeply underwhelming fiscal third-quarter earnings, missing on revenue estimates while [posting a decline]( in same-store sales for the second straight quarter. Starbucks is grinding to emerge from its sales slump amid inflation, increased competition, and pressure from activist investors. AI [Tech earnings land amid AI doubts]( [AI spending]( Parsons In the same sheepish way you check your bank account after a hedonistic vacation, investors are eyeing Big Tech earnings to see if their spending spree on AI is paying off. Yesterday, it was Microsoft’s turn to go under the microscope: - The software giant reported pouring $19 billion into business investments last quarter, a 78% jump from a year ago, largely due to spending on AI infrastructure. - Meanwhile, AI spending by Microsoft’s customers helped it grow its Azure cloud business by 29% over the past quarter, less than analysts predicted. FOMO spending Even though explosive AI-driven revenue growth hasn’t happened yet, Big Tech execs want to keep the money flowing. Last week, Alphabet stock tumbled 5% after its earnings report made investors wonder if its AI spending will eat away at profit. CEO Sundar Pichai [admitted]( that the company may overspend on AI, but he claims that the risks of not spending enough are higher. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg made a similar confession, saying that the alternative could be falling behind on the most important tech “for the next 10 to 15 years.” Looking ahead: Further AI judgment lies ahead as Meta reports earnings today and Apple shares its financials tomorrow.—SK TOGETHER WITH APOLLO NEURO [Apollo Neuro]( Wear have you been all my life? [The Apollo wearable]( is the award-winning touch therapy band that can help train your body to feel less stress and to snooze more deeply. Tested across thousands of peeps, users can experience 40% less stress and anxiety and up to 25% more focus. [Try it on for size](. HEALTH [These startups are doing what Theranos couldn’t]( [Finger prick blood test]( Photo Library/Getty Images Elizabeth Holmes may have retreated from your mind as little more than a fraud played by Amanda Seyfried in a Hulu miniseries. But now the health industry may finally be on the verge of delivering what Holmes and her company, Theranos, promised. Nixing the needle: Theranos burst onto the health-tech scene after claiming it found a way to conduct hundreds of medical tests with a single drop of blood, negating the need for painful venous blood draws that take longer and require more blood. Holmes now sits in prison after Theranos’s tech was deemed to be a sham. But five years after Theranos went dark, a [couple]( of startups have managed to develop the futuristic tech, according to the Wall Street Journal. - Becton Dickinson developed a finger-prick device to collect drops of blood. - [Babson Diagnostics]( made a machine that analyzes blood obtained through Becton’s device. It runs routine tests that you’d get at the doctor with one-tenth of the amount of blood that a traditional vein collection requires. Zoom out: There’s lasting optimism that a simple, reliable, and relatively painless method for testing blood is possible, despite the Theranos disaster. That solution could first come out of [Texas]( where Austin-based Babson said clinical studies have shown its finger prick draws are clinically equivalent to intravenous blood tests.—CC STAT [Prime number: Air conditioners are so hot right now](#) [AC repairman in Texas]Brandon Bell/Getty Images I feel bad for our planet, but this is tremendous HVAC content. The global market for air conditioning has grown 7% annually in the last decade, the Washington Post reported. By 2050, the International Energy Agency expects there to be 5.6 billion AC units in buildings, up from 1.6 billion in 2018. All that means more demand for HVAC manufacturers and [more work]( for contractors, who are reportedly seeing a hefty uptick in repairs this summer as US temps continue to break records that climate scientists and anyone who’d prefer not to live in The Day After Tomorrow do not want to see broken. One HVAC specialist told WaPo that 70% of his company’s recent repair jobs were for emergencies. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Meta]( agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle a lawsuit over the company allegedly using facial recognition tech to collect data on Texans without their consent. - [Spirit Airlines]( the low-cost airline known for its remarkably bare-bones customer experience, is adding some bones in the form of snacks, wi-fi, and other perks. - [Disneyland workers]( voted to ratify a new contract that includes wage hikes, averting a potential strike that would have brought the California theme park to a standstill. - [Microsoft]( experienced another series of outages to its apps and services yesterday, which appeared to be smaller and unrelated to the massive CrowdStrike outage earlier this month. - [Bill Ackman]( cut the fundraising target for the IPO of his investment fund for the second time ahead of its imminent launch on the New York Stock Exchange. RECS [Wednesday to-do list] Eat: The oldest restaurant [in every state](. Chill: Tricks to [lower your heart rate]( when you’re anxious. Read: [The longlist]( for this year’s Booker Prize. Watch: The US women’s rugby team scores the equivalent of a 99-yard touchdown [as time expires]( to win its first-ever Olympic medal. Getting married? Connect with over 200,000 local wedding professionals—from DJs and photographers to officiants and makeup artists—through [The Knot Vendor Marketplace]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Word Search: In one of the more absurd Word Searches you’ll ever play, today’s puzzle asks you to identify the people name-dropped in “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” [Try to fight it here](. Olympic motto trivia The original motto of the Olympics, introduced in 1924, is: Citius, Altius, Fortius. What does that mean? 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 Faster, Higher, Stronger Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: bare-bones, which means “including only what is most basic or necessary.” Thanks to Desmond from Glasgow, Scotland, for the simple suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From Infinity Fuel This is a paid advertisement for Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. Reg CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [](. * Section 17(b) disclosure. Mr. Shatner is compensated as an Infinity advisor at $10K/month. He also has received options to purchase up to 100K shares vesting over 9 months at an $8.00/share strike price. Written by [Adam Epstein]( [Matty Merritt]( Sam Klebanov, [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Neal Freyman]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Take The Brew to work - Marketers: [Marketing Brew]( - Corporate: [CFO Brew](  [HR Brew]( - Tech: [IT Brew](  [Tech Brew]( - Retailers: [Retail Brew]( - Healthcare: [Healthcare Brew]( Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy](  [Brew Markets](  [The Playbook]( 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