NEED TO KNOW

Primary Elections

Voters cast ballots yesterday for primary races in five states—Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, and Washington—deciding how the November elections will take shape. Candidates endorsed by by former President Trump, many of which back his ongoing efforts to dispute the 2020 election results, won in a number of marquee GOP primaries.

In Arizona, state Rep. Mark Finchem won the GOP primary for secretary of state—the state’s chief election officer. Venture capitalist Blake Masters, backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, topped the GOP primary for US Senate and will face Sen. Mark Kelly (D).

Finally, as of early this morning, Trump-backed Kari Lake held a slight lead over Karrin Taylor Robson, backed by former Vice President Mike Pence, in the GOP gubernatorial primary. As of this writing, 75% of the vote had been reported. The winner will face current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) for governor.

In Missouri, the state's attorney general, Eric Schmitt, beat out a crowded 21-person GOP field for the race to replace retiring Sen. Roy Blunt (R). In Michigan, John Gibbs, won the Republican primary for US Senate over freshman Rep. Peter Meijer who voted to impeach Trump; conservative commentator Tudor Dixon won the nomination for governor and will face incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the general election. 

Separately, Kansas voters rejected a ballot measure by a margin of 59% to 41% to remove the right to an abortion from the state constitution.

See a breakdown of the races here.

Stephen King Testifies

Horror author Stephen King took the stand yesterday as a Justice Department witness in the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster antitrust trial, stating consolidation is bad for competition in the industry. The bestselling author, mainly published by Simon & Schuster, testified to his belief large publisher mergers lead to lower pay for authors.

The trial began Monday to block the $2.2B merger, which would combine two Big Five publishers, giving them control of nearly half of the market. The government argued the deal would negatively affect authors with fewer bidders for their work, resulting in lower author advances—especially for those who earn advances of $250K and up. The publishers argue it would allow both companies to pool their resources to make the industry more competitive, offering higher advances. The two publishers will still operate separately and can bid against each other for book deals.

The trial is expected to last up to three weeks and includes testimony (see here and here) from top book executives throughout the publishing world.

Pelosi Lands in Taiwan 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-12) arrived in Taiwan yesterday, the highest-ranking US official to visit the island since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. The stop was part of a tour by Pelosi through Asia, the official itinerary of which excluded the Taiwan trip.

The trip was widely rebuked by Chinese officials, who view such visits as de facto recognition of Taiwan's sovereignty (see background). Beijing views the self-ruling island as part of China, while Taiwan maintains its independence. The US has long adopted an ambiguous policy, which analysts say may be increasingly untenable as China becomes more assertive in the region. 

The visit was met with bipartisan approval from US lawmakers—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a letter of support signed by 25 other GOP senators.

China responded to the perceived provocation with a show of force, conducting military exercises completely surrounding the island.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, who was the voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 years, dies at 94 (More) | Washington Nationals send superstar outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell to San Diego Padres for six Padres players in blockbuster trade (More) | See full list of MLB trades (More)

> Netflix begins work on fifth and final season of "Stranger Things" (More) | "Batgirl" film won't be released on any platform, despite being nearly completed with $90M budget (More)

> The NFL strips Miami Dolphins of 2023 first-round pick and fines owner Stephen Ross $1.5M for tampering with Tom Brady (More) | Racing legend Sir Lewis Hamilton joins ownership group of Denver Broncos led by Walmart heir Rob Walton (More)

Science & Technology

> An estimated $190M in various cryptocurrencies bridge platform Nomad after hackers find a flaw that fails to confirm transaction amounts; marks the sixth largest known cryptocurrency hack (More)

> California, Illinois join New York in declaring monkeypox a public health emergency (More) | The US reports more than 5,800 cases, no deaths; see numbers by state here (More)

> Researchers demonstrate the use of light to treat certain diseases, including cancer; approach "turns on" light-activated proteins to help restore mitochondrial function (More) | Mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell (More)

Business & Markets

In partnership with Bobacino

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.7%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -0.2%) (More) | US job openings fell to 10.7 million in June from 11.3 million in May, per the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report (More)

> Starbucks beats expectations; shares up in after-hours trading (More) | Airbnb beats expectations; sees 58% year-over-year revenue growth, but shares fall near 10% in after-hours trading (More)

> Free stock trading giant Robinhood to lay off 23% of staff (More) | TD Bank to acquire investment bank Cowen for $1.3B (More)

From our partners: The $1.9B boba market is expected to grow 128% by 2028. And 94% of consumers in their 20s have purchased boba (bubble tea) in the past three months. Bobacino seeks to meet growing demand with cost-cutting robotic kiosks that can set up shop virtually anywhere (think: malls, universities, airports). Their boba bots boast 6X higher profit margins than traditional boba shops, thanks to their 16-square-foot footprint and fully automated process. Invest in the boba boom before Bobacino's fundraising round closes Aug. 12.

Politics & World Affairs

> US Senate votes 86-11 to pass legislation expanding healthcare benefits for veterans suffering illnesses due to toxic exposures; President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law (More)

> US Department of Justice sues Idaho for law banning most abortions, which goes into effect Aug. 25; it is the Biden administration's first legal challenge since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (More)

> Russia's Supreme Court designates Ukraine's Azov Regiment as a terrorist group; about 1,000 Azov soldiers, including those captured from Mariupol's besieged steel plant, are being held by Russia and its separatist allies (More) | See updates on the war (More)

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ETCETERA

The last Salem witch has been exonerated—329 years later.

Simple physical exercise is shown to fortify your brain.

Data insights on how friends impact your life. 

NFL team values jump again. 

A bear rings a doorbell, but no one's there. 

Dunder Mifflin comes to the District of Columbia.

Workers who change jobs are earning more.

A bell pepper with a sad posture. (via Twitter)

Clickbait: Make reservations for a truly Fancy Feast. 

Historybook: HBD singer Tony Bennett (1926); HBD Martha Stewart (1941); Rival basketball leagues merge to form the NBA (1949); HBD Tom Brady (1977); 23 killed and 23 injured in mass shooting in El Paso, Texas (2019).

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- Tony Bennett

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