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| 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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| Oregon Lawmakers Absent. |
Republican Oregon lawmakers avoided the State Capitol building in Salem for the fifth day in a row in a bid to slow down a vote on climate legislation. Democrats, who control both the House and Senate in the state, are preparing a cap-and-trade bill that aims to reduce the state's emissions by 80% by 2050. Without the 11 Republican lawmakers - whose rural districts would be disproportionately hit by the law - the state's Senate does not have the quorum required to hold a vote. Governor Kate Brown (D) threatened to order law enforcement to round up the absentee members, though reports suggested at least some had crossed state lines and are hiding out in Idaho.
In unrelated news, lawmakers are wrangling over how to deal with the state's six-year marijuana surplus. |
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| Iran Sanctions. |
The Trump administration rolled out fresh sanctions against Iran's top leaders yesterday, applying economic pressure in the wake of the downing of a US drone by Iran's Revolutionary Guard last week. While past sanctions have primarily targeted Iran's energy and industrial sectors, the new round takes aim at the country's leaders (read order). The new restrictions aim to cut off Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and anyone associated with his office from the international financial system. The order allows US agencies to target any foreign financial institution that does business with Khamenei, in turn preventing those institutions from doing business with the US. A number of Iranian military commanders are also targeted. At the center of the standoff is Iran's nuclear program - the country is set to leave the remains of the 2015 nuclear deal on July 8th unless terms are renegotiated.
Iran's inflation rate has soared from 10% last year to over 50% after the US left the nuclear deal and reapplied sanctions. |
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| Medical Pricing. |
President Trump signed an executive order yesterday requiring insurance companies, doctors, and hospitals to provide the costs of services to patients in advance of receiving treatment. The order, which kick starts a rule-making process at the Department of Health and Human Services, is aimed at increasing transparency and consumer information in the health care industry. Providers will also be required to provide an estimate of the out-of-pocket costs patients will face prior to being treated. The move could shed light on long-secret negotiations between insurers and healthcare providers over the cost of services, and supporters say more transparency in the notoriously murky world (paywall, NYT) of healthcare pricing will help drive down costs.
Here's a deeper look into the upside-down world of healthcare pricing. |
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| In The Know. |
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| Sports, Entertainment & Culture. |
| > Milan and Cortina, Italy selected as co-host cities for 2026 Winter Olympics; edged Stockholm by a vote of 47-34 (More) |
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| > Giannis Antetokounmpo named NBA MVP, Luka Dončić wins Rookie of the Year at 2019 NBA Awards; see full list of winners (More) | US tops Spain 2-1 to advance in Women's World Cup; will face France in quarterfinals on Friday (More) |
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| > Warner Bros. taps Ann Sarnoff, BBC Studios America president, as its CEO; first female CEO in Warner Bros. history (More) |
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| Science & Technology. |
| > Study finds rapid interaction between neurons and star-like cells known as astrocytes leads to behavioral hyperactivity (More) |
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| > Judge rules Facebook can be held liable for data breach, allows lawsuit over 2018 hack that exposed info on 30 million people to proceed (More) |
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| > Astronomers spot the most energetic light bursts ever recorded, likely remnants from a supernova; gamma rays emanating from the Crab Nebula were 1 trillion times more energetic than visible light (More) |
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| Business & Markets. |
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> US Supreme Court strikes down provisions 6-3 denying trademarks deemed “scandalous" or “immoral” (More)
> Members of the Pritzker & Disney families and other billionaires release letter requesting increased taxes on America’s wealthiest families (More) |
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> Amazon launches online beauty store for industry professionals, Ulta Beauty (-3%) & Sally Beauty (-17%) shares plunge (More)
Pay 0% interest until nearly 2021 with some of the top-rated credit cards. Enjoy some of the longest-lasting 0% APRs on the market today, with no interest payments until nearly 2021 (More) #Ad |
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| Politics & World Affairs. |
| > Hundreds of thousands continue protests in the Czech Republic, calling for Prime Minister Andrej Babis to step down over fraud probe (More) |
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| > Election 2020: Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon (D) to challenge US Sen. Susan Collins in 2020 (More) | Dem Candidate Bernie Sanders announces plan for 100% free college with no eligibility criteria (More, WashPo paywall) |
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| > Supreme Court to hear case on whether insurers can seek $12B from government under Obamacare program that encouraged them to expand coverage to the previously uninsured (More) |
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| In Depth. |
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| The Great Rikers Island Art Heist. |
| Esquire | James Fanelli. In 1965, Salvador Dalí agreed to paint with the prisoners at Rikers Island jail in New York City. After falling ill, Dalí sent an apology painting which traveled around the facility for 40 years - from the mess hall, to storage, and even to the trash. But during a fire drill in 2003, the cameras watching went dark and the million-dollar painting disappeared. (Read) |
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| Who Gets to Own the West? |
| New York Times | Julie Turkewitz. 100 of America's wealthiest families own over 42 million acres of land in the American West, up 50% since 2007. But as they buy up land at an accelerating rate, they're also cutting off access to the outdoors and impacting locals' way of life. (Read, paywall) |
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"Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have."
- Anthony Bourdain |
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