| All your news in a single email. We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below. |
| Need To Know. |
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| Uber Goes Public. |
Ride-sharing giant Uber priced its initial public offering last night and is set to start trading later this morning, opening at $45 per share. The price falls at the lower end of the $44-$50 per share range projected by Uber at the beginning of its roadshow (what is that?) - motivated in part by rival Lyft's rocky launch after pricing at a lofty $72 per share. The company will open with an estimated valuation of nearly $82B, making it one of the most valuable companies to ever go public, and is expected to raise $8.1B in funding. The company was a pioneer in on-demand transportation, and has spent the past two years dealing with the aftermath of founder Travis Kalanick, who was accused of promoting an unethical corporate culture. The company has never turned a profit, and although its reported 2018 revenue of $11.3B was a 43% increase over 2017, the company reported adjusted losses of $1.8B. Uber becomes the latest in a string of high-profile IPOs (or anticipated IPOs) from tech companies including AirBnB, Pinterest, Palantir, Slack, and others.
You can see the most valuable IPOs in US history here, and read how Uber and Lyft have become the biggest drivers of urban congestion. |
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| US Seizes North Korean Vessel. |
| According to Justice Department officials, the United States military seized a North Korean ship yesterday it said was exporting coal, in violation of US and international sanctions on the country. The move represented the first time a North Korean ship had been seized for violating sanctions and represents an escalation of tensions between the two countries just two months after a high-level summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fell apart. The sanctions, meant to force the North to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, include an export ban on the mining, minerals, and energy sectors. Coal briquettes are the country's top export at $367M per year (see a great visualization here), usually smuggled illegally with the help of China. The news also follows two missile tests by North Korea within the past week, including a reported test of short-range ballistic missiles yesterday. |
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| Chinese Tariffs Jump Overnight. |
Tensions between the US and China also rose dramatically overnight as tariffs on nearly $200B on imported Chinese goods jumped from 10% to 25%. The original 10% tariffs were put in placed last September, joining a separate $50B in Chinese goods already subject to a 25% tariff - the rise now means that almost half of all Chinese imports are subject to an effective 25% tax. The increase comes as Chinese and US trade negotiators rush to strike a wide-ranging trade deal, and despite a personal letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to President Trump. The tariffs - leveled largely in response to Chinese theft of intellectual property from US firms - would make Chinese goods more expensive, and therefore less competitive, in the US marketplace. China, which already has some level of tariffs on over 90% of US goods entering the country, vowed to retaliate while still pursuing a trade deal with US negotiators.
The US imported nearly $540B dollars in Chinese goods last year, while exporting about $120B to China (see full stats). |
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| In The Know. |
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| Sports, Entertainment & Culture. |
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> Kevin Durant to miss rest of Warriors' Western Conference Semifinals series against Rockets with calf injury; Warriors lead 3-2 in best-of-7 series (More) | See full NBA Playoffs bracket and schedule (More)
> Woodstock 50 organizers file $17M lawsuit against investors who canceled the iconic festival last week (More) |
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> 2018 World Series champs Boston Red Sox honored at White House; one-third of the team skips ceremony (More)
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| Science & Technology. |
| > Reports say new US military missile technology can make precise, single-kill strike without causing explosion and dealing collateral damage (More) |
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| > Instagram implements machine learning algorithm to begin hiding search results leading to anti-vaccination misinformation (More) |
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| > Scientists develop light-based computer chip that stores and retrieves information similar to the human brain (More) |
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| Business & Markets. |
| > Petroleum giant Occidental wins bidding process for oil and gas driller Anadarko Petroleum as Chevron bows out of process (More) |
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| > Volkswagen's new all-electric hatchback passes 10,000 orders in first 24 hours of availability (More) |
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| > Shaving startup Harry's acquired by Schick parent company for $1.37B (More) |
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| Politics & World Affairs. |
| > Russia celebrates 74th anniversary of defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII (More) |
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| > Pope Francis issues new Catholic church law requiring reporting of sexual abuse and cover-ups, provides whistleblower protections for those making reports (More) |
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| > Trump nominates Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to fill position permanently; Shanahan was formerly a 30-year Boeing executive (More) |
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| Level up your sleep. |
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| Weekend Reads. |
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| Cancertown. |
| The Guardian | Jamiles Lartey and Oliver Laughland. With a chemical manufacturing plant nestled in its center, the small town of Reserve, Louisiana, has a cancer rate 50 times the national average. Can anything be done to save this working-class town of 10,000? (Read) |
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| When My 13-Year-Old Son Joined the Alt-Right. |
| Washingtonian | Anonymous. A personal look at how extremist online communities are flourishing by wooing those at vulnerable points in their lives - and what happens when online bravado meets reality. (Read) |
| Can You Buy a Cure for Loneliness? |
| Vox | Laura Entis. Coworking spaces, friendship apps, and adult dorms are selling human connection, aiming to cure the pervasive loneliness of the Internet Age. (Read) |
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"It always seems impossible until it's done."
- Nelson Mandela |
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