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Finland hands out a very expensive speeding ticket... [Advertisement] June 09, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Naqi]( Good morning. Some trips to Miami come with Apple and Adidas profit-sharing; others come with a judge reading out criminal charges against you. Former President Trump said last night that he’d been [indicted]( over his mishandling of classified documents and was summoned to appear in a Miami courthouse Tuesday afternoon. The DOJ did not comment, but Trump’s lawyer confirmed that he was indicted on seven counts. This marks the first time a former president has faced federal criminal charges; about two months ago, Trump was charged with falsifying business records in New York. He pleaded not guilty. Despite his deepening legal troubles, Trump is the front-runner to get the GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential election. And he started a fresh fundraising campaign within 20 minutes of announcing he’d been indicted... —Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 13,238.52 +1.02% S&P 4,293.93 +0.62% Dow 33,833.61 +0.50% 10-Year 3.720% -7.7 bps Bitcoin $26,570.56 +0.73% Carvana $24.23 +56.02% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 2:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: We are so back. Thanks to the rally in tech stocks, the S&P 500 entered a [new bull market]( yesterday, meaning it’s climbed 20% from a recent low (the Dow and Nasdaq were already in their bull market eras). Heck, even Carvana got in on the festivities. Shares of the floundering online used-car retailer [spiked]( after it said its Q2 results would come in higher than projections.  WORK [Workers offered carrots and sticks to RTO]( [Pizza box with note that reads "Please come back"]( Francis Scialabba From prodding gently to making straight-up threats, large companies are pulling out all the tricks to get employees back in the office. On Wednesday, Google [warned]( workers that if they didn’t abide by the company’s three-day in-office requirement, it would be noted in their performance reviews, CNBC reported. Google’s chief people officer told staff via email, “There’s just no substitute for coming together in person,” despite the company famously developing an entire suite of products to, in fact, not come together in person. Plus, there’s a whole lot of drama at the insurer Farmers Group, the WSJ reported. Last year, its CEO informed employees that WFH was permanent. But a new guy, Raul Vargas, took over the position and last month said actually, never mind. Vargas told staff that in order to foster “collaboration, creativity, and innovation,” workers needed to be back in the office at least three days a week. Employees revolted Farmers Group staff raged on an internal communication site, according to the WSJ, saying they’d made huge [lifestyle changes]( (like moving to new cities and ditching their cars), thinking they would get to work from their living rooms forever. Some threatened to quit, and others suggested unionizing. Return-to-office mandates have not gone over well at other companies, either. Last week, crowds of corporate Amazon workers [walked out]( of the Seattle headquarters to air their grievances with the company, including its demand for in-person work three days a week. Amazon’s response? Thanks for the feedback: See you in the office If not a threat, maybe a treat? Salesforce tried a different tactic than Google to get workers to return to HQ. This week, the software giant said it would [donate $10]( to local nonprofits every day an employee comes into the office between June 12 and June 23. From a PR perspective, at least, the move backfired: It was criticized as emotionally manipulative. Our idea for CEOs to get workers back in the office: Pivot to AI. According to the NYT, some tech entrepreneurs are [returning to San Francisco]( from their pastoral pandemic getaways because they don’t want to miss out on the AI boom.—MM   TOGETHER WITH NAQI [Bringing the digital world within arm’s reach]( [Naqi]( You don’t have to be a T. rex to see the benefits of hands-free device control. Naqi’s revolutionary [superpower earbud technology]( lets you control almost any device through facial microgestures like nods and blinks. Even better, this early-stage, high-potential company has opened their doors for Morning Brew readers to become shareholders. As the world gets more connected, effortlessly controlling digital devices, including augmented and virtual reality, will be essential to everyday life. And Naqi’s breakthrough is unlocking a world of opportunities. The smart-earbud market is projected to grow 764% by 2030, and with Naqi’s 22 patents, they’re uniquely positioned in this exciting industry. With Naqi, we won’t need cameras and screens to control the digital world. Don’t miss this opportunity to invest in a groundbreaking new technology. The last chance to invest in Naqi is June 30. [Learn more about Naqi’s potential](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Tour de headlines]Maurizio Fabbroni/Getty Images Tesla’s charging network adds another big name. GM CEO Mary Barra said that her company’s electric vehicles will be able to [plug into]( Tesla’s lightning-fast Supercharger network starting next year. Plus, beginning in 2025, all of GM’s freshly made EVs will come with Tesla’s charging hardware. GM’s announcement follows a similar move Ford made last month, and the deal among the three largest US-based automakers essentially guarantees that Tesla’s chargers will be the industry norm moving forward. SCOTUS hands win to Alabama’s Black voters and bolsters voting rights law. In a surprise decision, the Supreme Court [ruled 5–4]( that a congressional map created by Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act. That map was accused of denying Black Alabamians fair representation because while Black people account for more than 25% of the state’s population, they were the majority in only one of Alabama’s seven congressional districts. The Supreme Court ordered the state to create a new map, but Alabama’s GOP attorney general said he will fight to keep it intact. The DeSantis campaign published doctored images of Trump and Fauci. AI was expected to play a disruptive role in the 2024 presidential race, and that prediction is [already coming true]( Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign released several images on Twitter that show DeSantis’s rival, Donald Trump, hugging and kissing Dr. Anthony Fauci. Experts say these images were likely generated by AI, perhaps marking the first time a presidential campaign released a digitally rendered image intended to mislead voters and damage an opponent, Semafor reported. ENVIRONMENT [Updates on the killjoy wildfire smoke]( [Philadelphia is covered in a thick haze from the Canada wildfires]( Joe Lamberti/Getty Images The wildfire smoke that blanketed New York City on Wednesday headed south to the mid-Atlantic that night, suffocating Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, with historically poor air quality levels yesterday morning. And, while the worst may be behind most areas of the US for now, the smoke drifting from Canada’s raging [wildfires]( has already won the Monkey Wrench of the Week Award for disrupting plans in parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Because of the toxic air… - About 600 flights were delayed due to poor visibility at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and Philadelphia International Airports on Wednesday and Thursday. - NYC Public Schools—the largest district in the country—went remote yesterday and today, and Washington, DC, public schools canceled all outdoor activities yesterday. - On Wednesday, Broadway paused some shows, and actress Jodie Comer walked offstage 10 minutes into her one-woman play, Prima Facie, due to difficulties breathing. Winners of the week: Air purifiers and masks [spiked]( to top spots on Amazon’s bestsellers lists, and the EPA’s air quality app climbed to No. 1 in the App Store’s weather category. Looking ahead…the US has sent hundreds of firefighters to help battle the blazes in Canada, which stand to worsen now that El Niño has [officially begun](. In the meantime, experts think that by tomorrow, changing wind patterns will bring relief to all wildfire-smogged states.—ML   TOGETHER WITH DISCOVER [Discover]( Spectacular savings. An Online Savings Account from [Discover]( is your ticket to maximizing your savings. You’ll earn interest that’s a whopping 5x* the national savings average, with no pesky monthly fees and no minimum opening deposit. [Start saving to the max]( + get 24/7 US-based customer service. Learn more at Discover.com and start saving with confidence today. Discover Bank, Member FDIC. INTERNATIONAL [Just Finnish things: reindeer, Nokia, and $130k speeding tickets]( [Digital speed sign that says "YOUR SPEED" and Euro symbol]( Francis Scialabba On Sunday, a man in Finland was [fined]( €121,000 (~$130,000) for going ~20 mph over the speed limit. Before you decide to never rent a car in Helsinki, know two things: 1) it’s really the best way to explore the Lapland countryside and 2) speeding tickets in Finland are calculated based on income. It’s called the “day fine” system, wherein half of the offender’s daily income is multiplied by a certain number of days, which increases according to the severity of the offense. And the driver hit with the six-figure fine has a fairly large daily income—it was Anders Wiklöf, founder of the multimillion-dollar Wiklöf Holding company and one of Finland’s richest people. Finland established its day fine system in 1921, and other countries have adopted it since, including Switzerland, which is far from neutral when it comes to the rules of the road. In fact, the Swiss hold the world record for the biggest speeding fine: the equivalent of over $1 million to a man who went Mad Max: Fury Road on his motorcycle. It could happen here: A bill was [introduced]( in the New York City Council last month that would make parking fines proportional to income in an attempt to alleviate the affordability crisis and recover some of the city’s ~$1 billion of outstanding parking and speeding tickets.—CC   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Freaks and Geeks character saying that they're going to get high on life]Freaks and Geeks/Apatow Productions Stat: Whether they’re opting for shroom chocolates or just being hangover-conscious, Gen Z is buying [noticeably less alcohol]( at concerts, Billboard reported. One club owner in Tucson, AZ, told the outlet that at every event aimed at Gen Z, alcohol sales fell by as much as 25% compared to concerts for older folks. While that may be a hopeful sign for society, it’s a sobering development for smaller venues that need to make up lost revenue. Quote: “That could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want.” If Mark Zuckerberg is worried about Apple’s new headset treading onto Meta’s turf, he didn’t show it. In an [all-hands meeting]( watched by The Verge, Zuck said that Apple’s tech didn’t contain anything Meta’s engineers hadn’t thought of, and played up how he and Tim Cook think about virtual reality differently. While Meta wants to emphasize social connection and activity, “every demo that [Apple] showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself,” Zuck argued. Plus, he added, Meta’s headset is seven times cheaper than Apple’s. Read: The dried apricots, the broken lock, and other stories of people losing their minds over free food at work. ([Ask a Manager]( QUIZ [Livvy quizzed up Baby Gronk]( [New Friday quiz image]( The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to making a new friend in your thirties. It’s that satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [The Kilauea volcano]( Hawaii’s second-largest, started erupting on Wednesday after three months of calm. Officials urged tourists to be respectful when snapping pics of the lava. - [China]( inked a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic snooping base on the island, the WSJ reported. John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, called the report “not accurate.” - [Pat Robertson]( the evangelical Christian broadcaster and one-time Republican presidential candidate, died at 93. - [Uber]( is taking on Turo with a peer-to-peer car-sharing service that will launch soon in North America, per Axios. RECS [Friday to-do list] Futuristic machinery: This thread shows (very real) infrastructure that [looks like sci-fi](. Pizza wrapped: Here’s your [2023 Slice of the Union]( recap of everything you wanted to know about the US pizza industry. Confused by the news quiz title? Here’s an [explanation of the viral meme]( it references. Junk-be-gone: Here are some tips on how to [stop getting mail](. Superfoods, super easy: Hungry? [Thistle]( has the fully prepped, nutrient-rich, delish meals you crave, delivered to your doorstep and made with seasonality and full-body health in mind. New customers get [$100 off their first 4 weeks]( Money on your mind: Listen to the [Money with Katie]( podcast for tips and tricks on how to [master your money]( sponsored by Vin Social.* *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Jigsaw: Ever been to Arches National Park in Utah? If not, you can travel there in today’s Jigsaw. [Complete the puzzle here](. Friday puzzle How many triangles can you find in this image? [An image showing many triangles ] AROUND THE BREW [Decode the data]( [Decode the data]( Zoolander/Paramount Pictures Gain the tools you need to create data dashboards that tell a compelling story. Our Business Dashboards sprint begins July 23—[register now](. Tech Brew offers tech news that’s relatable, understandable, and even funny. [Subscribe for free today](. Wondering how to utilize the cloud for your business? Check out IT Brew’s guide to [choosing the right cloud strategy](. ANSWER There are 44. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Matty Merritt]( 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 Scoop](  [Money With Katie](  [Raise]( Business education without the BS - Programs in [Business Essentials]( [Analytics]( and [Leadership]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2023 Morning Brew. 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