Wednesday, August 31, 2022

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Mississippi's capital has no running water...
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Morning Brew

Apple One

Good morning. Father Time comes for us all, but two ageless athletes are politely telling him to piss off for a bit longer. Consider…

  • August 29, 2001: Albert Pujols hits a home run and Serena Williams wins at the US Open.
  • August 29, 2022: Albert Pujols hits a home run and Serena Williams wins at the US Open.

By the way, Pujols needs just six more home runs to reach 700. He's got 34 games left. Easy peasy.

Abby Rubenstein, Max Knoblauch, Jamie Wilde

MARKETS

Nasdaq

11,883.14

S&P

3,986.16

Dow

31,790.87

10-Year

3.110%

Bitcoin

$19,995.11

Oil

$91.64

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 10:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Markets: Sliding stocks hit a three-day losing streak as more central bankers suggested that their battle against inflation will require extended interest rate hikes to slow the economy. On that gloomy note, oil dropped sharply, and gasoline futures ended the day at their lowest level since before Russia invaded Ukraine.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Mississippi's capital has no running water

Hands reaching for bottles of water Mark Felix/Getty Images

The 180,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have had no water coming from the tap to drink, brush their teeth, or even flush toilets since Monday, and city officials say the situation will go on "indefinitely."

While it may be shocking that a US state capital is without reliable drinking water, it's not entirely new for Jackson's inhabitants. A winter storm in February 2021 shut down the city's water system, leaving many without water for a month, and they've been advised to boil their water since July. The city's aging water treatment plant has been understaffed for years.

How did we get here?

The immediate cause of Jackson's predicament is flooding from the nearby Pearl River, which affected a city-run water treatment plant.

But the roots of the city's failing infrastructure go back much further and mirror those of other majority minority US cities. Water systems that consistently violate federal drinking water laws are 40% more likely to be located in areas with more residents of color, according to a 2019 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Jackson is more than 80% Black.

The city also lacks a strong tax base to fund repairs and maintenance for the plant. The Jackson metro area increased jobs by a measly 6.6% between 2009 and 2019. At the same time, median wages there dropped by 7.6%, the largest decline of all large US metro areas, per the Brookings Institution.

So what now? Mississippi's governor declared a state of emergency and the National Guard will help distribute water while the plant is repaired.

Mississippi is slated to receive $75 million from the recently passed federal infrastructure bill to fix its water issues. The problem? Jackson's mayor said last week that repairing the city's water system will cost as much as $200 million.—AR

        

TOGETHER WITH APPLE ONE

One and done

Apple One

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Apple One bundles six subscriptions into one for one great monthly price. With favorites like Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+, simplifying all your subscriptions into one has never been easier.

And since there's something for everyone, you aren't the only one who gets to take advantage. You can share your subscription with up to five people. They can access each and every service, across each and every one of their devices.

Get Apple One here.

        

WORLD

Tour de headlines

A disappearing ghost Francis Scialabba

Snap to lay off 20% of employees. The Verge reports that the job cuts, which will impact more than 1,000 staffers, will begin today, targeting both software and hardware developers. The layoffs come after Snap's stock plummeted on the heels of bleak second quarter results, and the company withdrew its guidance for the current quarter. Snap hasn't commented publicly on its staffing plans.

Mikhail Gorbachev died at 91. The final leader of the Soviet Union is credited with bringing dramatic reforms to the insular, communist economy and opening it up to global markets. That's best exemplified by, of all things, a 1998 Pizza Hut commercial he appeared in, which highlighted how brands from Cold War-foe America were setting up shop in Russia.

🌧 Where are the hurricanes? It's the last day of August, and there hasn't been a named storm in the Atlantic Hurricane Alley this month—the first time that's happened in 25 years. Atlantic hurricane season lasts through November, though, and meteorologists are already monitoring a storm that could grow into something significant by Labor Day.

MEDIA

Subject of true crime podcast found guilty

Chris Dawson Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Chris Dawson, 74, was found guilty on Tuesday of murdering his wife, Lynette Dawson. Though the murder occurred 40 years ago, Chris was only arrested in 2018—shortly after a podcast detailing his alleged crime, The Teacher's Pet, was released and became a global hit.

The podcast didn't just bring attention to the case: It helped to surface new evidence, according to police. And every bit of evidence counts in a case where no body, let alone a smoking gun, has ever been found, leaving the judge to rule based on the "combined force" of all the circumstantial evidence.

On the flip side, the judge also said that The Teacher's Pet, which details Dawson's obsession with his 16-year-old student, may be one-sided and could have corrupted some of the case's evidence. To try to ensure fairness, the trial was initially delayed and the podcast was taken down in Dawson's home country of Australia after he was charged. Also, his case was decided by a single judge rather than a jury.

Zoom out: This isn't the first time a true crime podcast has made huge soundwaves. In 2020, charges were dropped against accused murderer Curtis Flowers after a key witness recanted his story on In the Dark. And earlier this year, Adnan Syed was approved to get new forensic testing after Serial explored the fairness of his trial.—JW

        

EDUCATION

More schools are hitting the snooze button

A photo illustration involving time. Photo Illustration: Dianna "Mick" McDougall, Sources: Getty Images

It took a few decades of study, but officials are starting to come around to the idea that having high schoolers dissect a frog at 7:15am on a Tuesday may not be the move. A new California law in effect this year—the first in the country—requires all public high schools in the state to start no earlier than 8:30am.

Why later? Science says teens need more sleep, so having to catch the bus when it's still dark out isn't ideal. A 2019 CDC survey found that just 22% of high schoolers logged eight hours of sleep on school nights. The "stop scrolling" TikToks aren't likely to make a dent in that, either.

Sleep deprivation also affects mental health, and a study released by the CDC in April found that 44% of high schoolers had "persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness."

Does starting later work? It seems to. In 2016, Seattle public schools moved their start time from 7:50am to 8:45am, and students logged a median 34 extra minutes of sleep. Students in a suburban Denver school district recorded 45 extra minutes on average after shifting later.

Zoom out: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, and the US Virgin Islands are working on similar bills that would push school start times.—MK

Stay tuned for more Back to School stories throughout the week.

        

GRAB BAG

Key performance indicators

Tomatoes strewn across a California highway California Highway Patrol via Twitter

Stat: A truck accident splashed 150,000 tomatoes onto I-80 in California on Monday, injuring four people and creating a saucy situation on the highway. The route is a major thoroughfare for tomato transport during the growing season—California is responsible for nearly half of all processed tomatoes globally and 90% in the US.

Quote: "It's very messy."

Accurate words, spoken at the World Gravy Wrestling Championships by organizer and pub manager Carol Lowe. The charity event, which takes place in northwest England, is basically what it sounds like: Competitors dress up in costumes and wrestle each other in about 530 gallons of gravy. The event, back after a two-year Covid hiatus, was attended by a crowd of about 1,000 onlookers.

Read: Online creators are de facto therapists for millions—with their own ethics. (Washington Post)

TOGETHER WITH FIDELITY

Fidelity

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BREW'S BETS

Looking for something to watch besides the GoT prequel? Here's a fall TV preview and a look at what's coming to Netflix.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's death. Here's a look back at her walk through an active minefield, her iconic fashion, and a meeting with Michael Jackson.

Thinking about becoming a corporate finance leader? Join us at CFO Brew's virtual launch event on Sept. 14 at noon ET, sponsored by Oracle NetSuite, to hear valuable career insights from Andrew E. Page, EVP and CFO of Foot Locker, Inc. Sign up here.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • NASA said it's going to reattempt a moon launch of its Space Launch System rocket on Saturday after the first one had to be scrubbed on Monday.
  • First Solar plans to spend $1.2 billion to open a new US solar panel factory thanks in part to renewable energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • Cameron Smith, the No. 2 ranked golfer in the world, is the latest player to defect from the PGA Tour to the higher paying, Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
  • Tesla can't ban workers from wearing union-supporting clothing at its factories, the National Labor Relations Board ruled.

GAMES

The puzzle section

Picdoku: Relive this summer's road trip memories with today's Picdoku. Play it here.

Guess the skyline

Long Island City skylineGetty Images

Student loan forgiveness: fair or unfair?

Student loan forgiveness: fair or unfair?

President Biden's student loan wipeout is more divisive than cilantro. We hit the streets to ask people what they thought of the student loan forgiveness plan. Watch here.

Check out more from the Brew:

When Amanda Seales went from a career in hip-hop into the world of comedy, no agent wanted to work with her. On Imposters, Amanda tells Alex how she managed to build her audience and find success. Listen or watch here.

Calling all marketers: Introducing The Brief, a one-day summit with the world's most influential brands and marketers. Register now.

FROM THE CREW

10 tips to improve your work life

tips to improve your work life

Don't reinvent the wheel: When you're trying to achieve a work–life balance, you don't need to start from a blank page—just borrow the playbook of someone successful.

Some of the top entrepreneurs and business leaders around today shared their advice for achieving an optimal work life with our team at Sidekick, who boiled it down to 10 tips of pure insight.

Check it out.

ANSWER

You might be surprised to find out it's just Long Island City, a neighborhood in Queens, NY.

✳︎ A Note From Fidelity

Digital payments processing companies are subject to various risks, including those associated with intense competition, changes in regulation, economic conditions, deterioration in credit markets, impairment of intellectual property rights, disruptions in service, and cybersecurity attacks and other types of theft.

The fund will not invest in digital assets (including cryptocurrencies) directly, or indirectly through the use of digital asset derivatives. Cryptocurrency and blockchain companies are subject to various risks, including inability to develop digital asset applications or to capitalize on those applications, theft, loss, or destruction of cryptographic keys, the possibility that digital asset technologies may never be fully implemented, cybersecurity risk, conflicting intellectual property claims, and inconsistent and changing regulations. Currently, there are relatively few companies for which these activities represent an attributable and significant revenue stream and therefore the values of the companies included in the index may not be a reflection of their connection to these activities, but may be based on other business operations. 

Before investing in any exchange-traded fund, you should consider its investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus, offering circular or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

         

Written by Abigail Rubenstein, Max Knoblauch, and Jamie Wilde

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