8.25.2023

 

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Good morning. It's Friday, Aug. 25, and we're covering a high-profile booking in Georgia, the ending of a college football era, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

 

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Need To Know
 

Trump Arrives in Georgia

Former President Donald Trump traveled to Atlanta yesterday evening, turning himself in on state felony charges alleging he conspired to overturn the 2020 election. One of 19 indicted, Trump was released on predetermined bail terms of $200K. It's Trump's fourth indictment this year; he has maintained his innocence in all cases (see timeline). 

 

Trump was required to take a mug shot, a step that was not required during previous intakes this year. Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis proposed a quick turnaround for the start of the trial—seeking a start date of Oct. 23. The presiding judge has yet to respond as of this writing. 


The processing comes a day after the first GOP primary debate, which Trump declined to participate in. He currently leads the field of contenders by double digits in primary polls from Iowa, the first primary state on the schedule. 

 

Separately, House Republicans said they would launch a probe into Georgia officials' investigation of Trump, alleging a political motivation behind the charges. 

 

College Football Kicks Off

The 2023 college football season begins Saturday, with a pair of games involving the top 15 teams before the schedule gets fully underway next weekend. No. 13 Notre Dame will take on Navy (2:30 pm ET, NBC), followed by No. 6 Southern California facing San Jose State (8 pm ET, PAC-12 Network). No. 13 Utah follows up next Thursday, hosting Florida (8 pm ET, ESPN). 

 

A top narrative this year will be the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs' quest for a third straight title, while led by new starting QB Carson Beck. The top five teams are rounded out by Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, and LSU. See full rankings here.

 

The season marks a transition between eras in the sport, with seismic shifts in conference alignment and postseason format beginning next year. Heavyweights Texas and Oklahoma will begin play in the Southeastern Conference in 2024, while the century-old PAC-12 conference will see USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon depart for the traditionally Midwest-centric Big 10. Meanwhile, the sport's playoff will expand from four teams to 12 beginning next year.  

 

See the projections for the best returning players at every position here.

 

BRICS Expansion

The BRICS alliance announced yesterday six countries will be joining its bloc of developing economies. The alliance—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—invited Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates to join starting January 1.

 

The bloc, currently representing 40% of the world's population and over 25% of global GDP, seeks to counterbalance Western dominance in international affairs and expand its global influence. With the additional countries, BRICS claims 46% of the world's population and more than 30% of the global economy.

 

The group will now include several major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest crude oil exporter. More than 80% of international trade takes place in US dollars, and the expansion could push forward the bloc’s goal to trade in alternative currencies. The group plans to allow further expansion, with more than 40 countries expressing interest in joining the alliance.

 

The announcement comes at the end of the group’s 15th annual summit in South Africa and marks the first expansion since the addition of South Africa in 2010.

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Battery power may be the rage, but the combustion engine is experiencing a remarkable renaissance. Giants like Toyota and BMW are selling cars with hydrogen-powered engines as a clean energy alternative—which is great for LiquidPiston, whose engine is both HEV and Hydrogen compatible.

 

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Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for LiquidPiston’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.liquidpiston.com

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In The Know
 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani won't pitch again this season after elbow injury; Ohtani, who leads the MLB in home runs, may continue to play as designated hitter (More)

> R. Kelly and Universal Music Group ordered to pay over $500K in music royalties to cover fines and victims' restitution (More) | 24/7 CNN live news stream to launch on Max Sept. 27 (More)

> World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen of Norway defeats 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa of India to win Chess World Cup 2023 (More)

 

Science & Technology

> Meta (Facebook) releases Code Llama, a computer code-finishing AI platform built on top of its Llama 2 large language model (More)

> Researchers find octopuses gather near hydrothermal vents to provide advantages to their offspring (More) | See (similar) previous write-up (More)

> Scientists reveal universal mechanisms behind DNA and RNA repair processes; findings help explain how the environments within cells may ultimately lead to genetic conditions (More)

 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -1.4%, Dow -1.1%, Nasdaq -1.9%) led by decline in tech stocks (More)

> Subway to be sold to private equity firm Roark Capital—owner of brands such as Dunkin’ and Arby’s, among others—for a reported $9.6B; sandwich maker ended 2022 with over 20,000 restaurants, down from its 2015 peak of 27,000 (More)

> T-Mobile to lay off 7% of workforce, or approximately 5,000 employees, in cost-cutting effort (More)

 

Politics & World Affairs

In partnership with Semafor

> Heat wave continues over the middle of the US, with more than 140 million under heat advisories from the Midwest down to the Southeast; weather pattern expected to let up over the weekend (More) | How do heat domes work? (More)

> Preliminary intelligence suggests former Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a Wednesday plane crash, was assassinated (More) | Russia extends pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter and US citizen Evan Gershkovich until November on charges of alleged espionage (More)

> Maui County sues Hawaii Electric over alleged role in sparking deadly wildfires that burned across the island two weeks ago; at least 115 victims have been confirmed from the disaster (More)

From our partners: The daily global news briefing you can trust. Our friends at Semafor work diligently each day to compile the biggest news stories from around the globe into a comprehensive newsletter. What to expect? Talent-first reporting, rich insights, and global perspectives. Subscribe today for free.

 

In-Depth

> China's Economic Slowdown

WSJ | Lingling Wei, Stella Yifan Xie. A look at the figures behind the end of China's historic 40-year growth boom, with predictions for the juggernaut's next moves. (Read)

 

> The Evolution of the Cooking Video

NY Times | Priya Krishna, Umi Syam. Trace the development of culinary cinema, from dry midcentury how-tos to fast-cut minutelong viral TikToks. (Read)

> How to Control a Crowd

Wendover | Sam Denby. Deadly crowd surges are often blamed on mindless individuals, but there's evidence the tragedies are the result of bad design. (Watch)

 

> Leprosy in Florida

Sawbones | Sidnee McElroy, Justin McElroy. (Podcast) Dive into the history of this ancient bacterial infection, which has seen an uptick in Florida in recent weeks. (Listen)

In partnership with LiquidPiston

This Engine Company Just 2X Their Revenue

 

LiquidPiston is reinventing the combustion engine with a patented design that delivers up to 10X the power-to-weight of traditional engines—marking the first major disruption to the space in over 100 years.


After earning over $30M in US government contracts, they've already raised their share price this year in keeping with their growing valuation. Join them as a shareholder while you still can.

 

Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for LiquidPiston’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.liquidpiston.com

Please support our sponsors!

Etcetera
 

It's time to find the Loch Ness monster

 

Watch National Park wolves retrieve toys for pups

 

One in 100 Americans identify as vegan.

 

This 3D printed house takes two days to build

 

British doctors carry out the country's first womb transplant

 

LinkedIn is the new Facebook

 

Health officials warn against cuddling your pet turtle

 

Missouri woman lights house fire with a spicy tortilla

 

Clickbait: ... and a Virginia man and three parrots rob a McDonald's

 

Historybook: Matthew Webb becomes first person to swim across English Channel (1875); Singer Aaliyah dies in plane crash (2001); Voyager 1 becomes first human-made object to enter interstellar space (2012); Astronaut Neil Armstrong dies (2012); Sen. John McCain dies (2018).

"In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test."

- John McCain

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