This morning, 160,000 actors, announcers, game show hosts, and even the people who pretend to be Harrison Ford tucking and rolling through booby-trapped temples will announce they are going on strike. Their union, SAG-AFTRA, did not reach a deal with the studios by last night’s deadline, meaning they will join the already striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) on the picket line.

It’ll be the first time writers and actors have been on strike at the same time since 1960. Both groups are seeking better pay as streaming transforms the entertainment industry landscape, as well as assurances that studios aren’t going to replace them with AI.

So, what happens now?

The WGA strike, now in its third month, has already shuttered most film and TV production in New York, LA, and even Chicago, and with the actors joining in, the few projects that were proceeding with already written scripts will also shut down. Plus, the SAG-AFTRA strike will keep members from filming projects overseas, too, so the highly anticipated House of the Dragon and part two of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning will likely have to halt filming.

SAG-AFTRA strike rules also bar actors from participating in promotional activities. So, premieres like the one for Disney’s Haunted Mansion won’t be star-studded, and Margot Robbie’s pink carpet couture is going back in the Barbie trunk.

And hopefully the Emmys didn’t already print invites: Even though we all tweeted our congrats to Jennifer Coolidge on her nomination yesterday, the people in charge will likely push the ceremony from September to January to avoid having a show with no famous people.

This might take a while…since the studios appear ready to play hardball. Deadline reported yesterday that execs have no interest in meeting with Writers Guild reps to negotiate until late October, with one anonymous source saying, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers denied this, but don’t expect your favorite show to resume filming soon.—MM

The credit card experts at The Ascent landed on a pick so good, they almost wanted to keep it a secret. But you know what they say: What good is a secret if you can’t tell anyone?

We’re spilling the beans, and here’s the juicy part first: This card offers a 0% APR until nearly 2025 on purchases aaand balance transfers. That’s 15 months of no interest—unmatched numbers.

But that’s not all. This bad boy also offers:

• up to 5% cash back on rotating categories (that you’ll actually use)
• an unlimited bonus cash-back match
• no annual fee

Sound good? Duhhh. Apply in less than 2 minutes for this 5-star-rated card.

Bob Iger plans to stay at the House of Mouse for a while. Disney CEO Bob Iger, who returned to the role to replace Bob Chapek in November, has agreed to lead the company through 2026—two years longer than initially planned. Iger has already begun restructuring, including laying off 7,000 employees as the company contends with the transition to streaming, dwindling park attendance, and a feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The extension will give Disney extra time to pick the best successor to take the reins once Iger steps down.

It’s getting hotter in the water. Ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida have climbed to unprecedented highs of nearly 97 degrees Fahrenheit when readings in the 80s would be more typical. The temps are so high that they’re off the color scale of some weather maps, according to the Washington Post. These Jacuzzi-like temperatures pose a major danger to the coral in the area, which is likely to bleach (meaning turn white from starvation)—especially since it’s only July and corals usually suffer most from the heat in August and September.

Fox News got hit with another defamation suit. Tucker Carlson may be broadcasting on Twitter now, but he’s still causing headaches for his former employer. Trump supporter Ray Epps sued the network, claiming the bow-tied host pushed the “fantastical story” on Fox that Epps was an undercover FBI agent who instigated the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, rather than being a regular protester. The fallout from Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case against Fox, which the network settled for $787.5 million, got Carlson booted from the network in April.

Get ready to make hella frittatas because it looks like the days of $14 eggs are behind us. Inflation cooled to a two-year low of 3% last month, according to government data released yesterday—meaning the worst of the crisis is probably over.

Core inflation (which takes out volatile food and energy prices) rose only 0.2% in June—its slowest pace since early 2021.

Not all prices are coming down, though. According to the Wall Street Journal’s deep dive into the data, there are still some things to avoid buying if you want to hang on to your cash:

• Don’t: Burn your toast, chug Diet Coke, or eat frozen peas. The price of white bread increased 11.5% over the past year, carbonated drinks went up 9.1%, and frozen vegetables jumped 17.6%.
• Do: Go on a road trip, buy a 55-inch LCD, and attend a destination wedding. Gas is down 27%, TV prices decreased 10%, and airfares dropped 19%.

Big picture: The Fed’s string of interest rate hikes appear to have done their job. But inflation remains above the 2% target, so JPow and friends are expected to raise rates again later this month. Experts say inflation’s slowing pace means it’ll likely be the last increase for a while.—CC

The world’s biggest cruise ship is coming soon, and it would probably send a Victorian child into a coma.

Longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is a Pimp My Ride fever dream that just passed its first sea trials. It’s got twenty decks, more than 40 venues for wining and dining, an ice rink, a 55-foot waterfall, nine whirlpools, and an open-air “Central Park” with real foliage.

The new ship is five times larger than the Titanic, and while some people (and probably orcas, if they could tweet) call it a dystopian monstrosity, plenty of eager cruisers have already booked passage on the big ship.

• Royal Caribbean had its largest-ever booking day when Icon tickets, which started at $1,537, dropped last October.
• All 5,610 passenger spots on the Icon’s inaugural January 2024 voyage from Miami to the Caribbean are sold out. But seven-night trips later in the year are still available, and those who want to hit the candy-colored waterslides like a baller can spring for a suite at ~$10,864 per person.

Zoom out: After suffering a 15-month pandemic shutdown, the cruise industry has come back even bigger. Next year, 36 million people are expected to vacation at sea, compared to 29.7 million in 2019, according to the Cruise Line International Association.—ML

Stat: Moviegoers will soon be coming to AMC for twice the magic: Barbenheimer—a double feature of the upcoming films Barbie and Oppenheimer—has made the leap from internet obsession to driver of actual ticket sales. More than 20,000 people have already ordered tickets from the theater chain to experience the peanut butter and pickles-like pairing of a movie about a doll discovering the world outside her hot-pink Dreamhouse and another about the creation of the atomic bomb. And the meme-turned-IRL five-hour commitment isn’t just a US phenomenon: UK cinema chain Vue told Bloomberg that 19% percent of Oppenheimer ticket buyers also purchased Barbie tickets.

Quote: “Evaluated biomarkers from biofluids, devices and imaging, no benefits detected.”

Those suffering from sanguivoriphobia (that’s fear of vampires, if your Greek is rusty) can breathe a little easier knowing that 45-year-old tech millionaire Bryan Johnson has said on Twitter that he ended the “young plasma exchanges” he was hoping would help keep him from aging. Johnson had been using his 17-year-old son as his “blood boy” while giving his own blood to his 70-year-old father. But after not getting any younger, Johnson has called it off, though he is continuing other parts of what Bloomberg described as his $2 million-per-year efforts to look 18.

Read: Take Antarctica off your travel bucket list. (The Atlantic)

Doing Rube Goldberg proud: Here’s the story behind a very elaborate music video.

Yes, chef: Learn how to make the potato chip omelet from The Bear (YouTube).

Add to the pile on your nightstand: Reader’s Digest just named its 100 best books of all time.

Don’t get fooled by the machines: This is how to tell if something was written by AI.

CFOs, meet HR: Discover how one finance team partnered with their HR department to improve talent retention.

Brew Mini: Today’s Mini is so nerdy and fun. Neal solved it in 3:27…can you beat that?

Three headlines and a lie

Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a super chill goldendoodle. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Snakes calm down when near a friend, new study finds
2. She steals surfboards by the seashore. She’s a sea otter.
3. China is sending fish to its space station
4. Toads swarm Austin coffee shop after munching on trashed grounds and getting addicted

Say hello to your new colleague: AI. Ninety percent of high earners have exposure to AI, whether it’s in Big Tech integrations or board meetings. Check out the report.

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Explore ideas vs. reality: Experience a virtual tech extravaganza from Tech Brew on July 25. Find the details here.