The conversation about why our country’s leadership looks like the inside of a Perkins at 4pm is again sweeping the nation after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze up and stopped talking for a full 21 seconds during a press conference in DC this week.

McConnell and his aides say he’s fine and plans to serve the rest of his term. But the event—and other recent health scares from older politicians—add to the growing concern from other politicians and constituents regarding the age and mental fitness of elderly public servants. By 7pm on the day of 81-year-old McConnell’s incident, Google searches had quadrupled for the term “gerontocracy,” the word for a government controlled by old people.

Aging has no political party

McConnell, who has had multiple health problems in the past few years, might be in the spotlight now, but he’s only the fourth-oldest senator.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the oldest person in office right now. She has struggled with ongoing health problems, some that kept her away from work for an extended stretch and prompted calls for her resignation. This week, she had to be corrected twice during a hearing, once because she started giving remarks during roll call.

• An April Reuters poll found that 44% of registered Democrats think Joe Biden shouldn’t run for reelection because of his age—he’s 80 and the oldest president we’ve ever had.
• The same poll found 34% of Republicans think 77-year-old Donald Trump is too old to run for the highest office in the land.

Big picture: Members of Congress born before 1946 only account for about 6% of the entire governing body, which matches their share of the overall US population. But Capitol Hill is no nest of spring chickens: Baby Boomers (those born 1946–1964) make up nearly 49% of Congress compared to 21% of the US population. The average age of a member of Congress is 58 years old.—MM

The Emmys have been postponed. You’ll have to wait a little longer than expected to watch the four good acceptance speech clips because the awards originally scheduled for September are being pushed due to the writers and actors strikes, according to Variety. Pushed to…when? Maybe January? But a source told Variety that a date hasn’t been cemented since the Golden Globes are that same month. This is the first time the Emmys have been postponed since 2001 in the wake of 9/11.

The Fed’s favorite inflation measure fell. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a key data point for JPow and Co., grew by only 3% last month compared to the previous June—its lowest annual rise since 2021. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the employment cost index, another favored gauge that tracks wages and benefits, also rose at its slowest rate in two years. Powell said earlier this week that central bankers will be watching the data to decide whether to raise rates again in September, and these are signs that things are moving in the direction the Fed wants.

Court rejects J&J bid to end talc lawsuits—again. For the second time, a bankruptcy court has thrown out Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to resolve the 38,000 lawsuits claiming its baby powder causes cancer, putting the $8.9 billion deal the company struck in jeopardy. Once again, the court found that J&J didn’t have a reason to go through the bankruptcy system rather than fighting the cases in other courts. Judge Michael Kaplan ruled that the lawsuits did not actually put the company in financial distress, saying, “This court smells smoke, but does not see the fire.” The company vowed to appeal.

Several former Northwestern University athletes have filed lawsuits against the school for emotional, physical, and psychological harm, and many more are expected to follow.

This comes after an investigation revealed widespread hazing in the Wildcat football program, which—along with firsthand accounts published in the university’s student newspaper—led to the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald earlier this month.

According to former players…

• Upperclassmen singled out teammates for coerced sexual acts, usually after they made a mistake on the field.
• Former coaching staff made Black players cut off their dreadlocks, taunted Latino players with “jokes” about cleaning houses, and enabled white teammates to make racist comments.

Five former Northwestern football players have filed lawsuits against the university, its president, and its current and former athletic directors. It’s not just football: A former Northwestern volleyball player is also suing over an alleged 2021 hazing incident, and the school’s baseball coach has been fired. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents some former football players, said he expects to file more than 30 lawsuits on behalf of past Northwestern athletes.

Zoom out: Experts say this is a chance for other schools to reexamine their own programs. A 2016 NCAA survey found that 74% of college athletes get hazed.—ML

A house potentially haunted by the poltergeist of a long-deceased ex-resident will now cost you more than a brand-new place, upending the usual housing market order.

Axios reports that the median existing single-family home was going for $416,000 last month, while the median price tag for just-built ones was $600 lower.

The housing market typically prizes youth over history. Older homes have higher repair and energy costs, which lower their attractiveness to buyers—a Victorian with ornate molding is charming only until the roof starts leaking.

Why is old now pricier than new?

It's mostly about interest rates: Since the Fed kept hiking them, the average 30-year mortgage rate now sits at 6.81%, more than double its lowest point during the pandemic. That’s making current homeowners, many of whom snagged their mortgages before prices went into the stratosphere, reluctant to sell their pad and get saddled with a much more expensive mortgage for a new one.

This creates a shortage of pre-owned homes on the market but no shortage of aspiring homeowners. Some developers have signaled they’re more than happy to swoop in with more affordable homes for first-time buyers, and housing construction has begun to recover from a steep decline last year.—SK

Stat: It’s official: Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is not only propping up the economy, it’s also making the Earth move. The singer’s dancing fans at a pair of Seattle shows last weekend created seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3-magnitude earthquake, according to measurements by seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach. That means the Swifties went even harder than the Seahawks fans that caused the legendary 2011 “Beast Quake” from the cheers that erupted during Marshawn Lynch’s touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints (though Caplan-Auerbach said the magnitude difference between the two fan-made quakes was only 0.3).

Quote: “Obviously, if you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around.”

But Threads may not be as awesome a Twitter killer as Zuck wants it to be. The Meta CEO acknowledged at a company town hall Thursday that after rapidly gaining users, the new app has lost more than half of the people who signed up, per a report from Reuters. Still, he told staffers the drop-off was actually less than expected, and that retention will likely improve as the company adds new features to the app. In perhaps even more disappointing news in the showdown against Elon Musk, Zuckerberg said he wasn’t sure their much-hyped cage match would to come together.

Read: Why building a better search engine isn’t enough to beat Google. (The Verge)

In breach: An observer captured a video of three whales surfacing at the same time like synchronized swimmers.

Once-terrifying tech: For a break from all the “AI will take your job” talk, look back at how the publishing industry feared…photocopiers.

  Deserted islands: Here are the stories behind how these places ended up abandoned.

Easy as pie: Watch a chef answer any question you could have about pizza (including whether calzones count).

Feel good: Some say productivity is all about hard work and discipline—but what if there’s another way? In Feel-Good Productivity, Dr. Ali Abdaal uncovers an easier, science-backed path to success. Pre-order your copy here.+

Loyalty is everything: Julie Bornstein turned that motto into millions with Sephora’s Beauty Insider program. Here’s how she did it.

^{+ This content is from an editorial partner.}

Brew Crossword: Think of today’s crossword as an air conditioner for the mind. But don’t think too hard about that because we’re not exactly sure what it means. Either way, play the puzzle here.

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that already knew precisely how much old houses cost. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.

Today’s home is in Union, Maine, and was built in 1820. The only thing more impressive than this house still standing after 200+ Maine winters is its lush landscaping. You’ll feel like you’re wandering around the Secret Garden. Amenities include:

• 4 beds, 4 baths
• Private access to Lermond Mill Pond. Lermond.
• In-law suite

How much for this old house?

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