As Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka look across the court at one another in the US Open Final today, they’ll know that no matter which of them wins, they’ll take home the same amount as the men’s champion: $3 million.

That’s because 50 years ago, when Stan Smiths weren’t just a shoe and rackets were made out of wood, Billie Jean King fought for equal prize money, won, and changed the future of women’s sports.

How’d she do it?

In 1972, BJK won her third US Open (and ninth major title) and $10,000 in prize money. Meanwhile, Ilie Năstase won the men’s championship (his first major title) and received $25,000. Believing that that made zero sense, King got to work.

She created the Women’s Tennis Association and secured sponsorship from Ban deodorant to ensure equal funding for the US Open women’s and men’s prizes. While it was a huge W on King’s home court, it took 28 years before another Grand Slam, the Australian Open, committed to equal prize money for men and women. The French Open and Wimbledon didn’t offer equal pay to men and women winners until 2007, after Venus Williams met with the Grand Slam committee.

Even in 2023—the year of the Barbie movie—some payouts for men and women remain drastically different:

• At the Italian Open, men’s prize money totaled approximately $8.4 million, while women’s was $3.9 million.
• When Gauff won the Cincinnati Open last month, she got $455,000. The men’s champion, Novak Djokovic, got over $1 million.

But, thanks to King and the WTA, that might change soon: Since tournament organizations point to broadcast agreements and the number of players participating as the reasons for the disparity, the WTA announced new rules in June to help achieve equal pay in all professional tennis tournaments by 2033. They include requiring players to attend more tournaments for bigger broadcasting rights deals and sponsorship packages.—CC

September is here, which means school pickups, practices, and, of course, homework. With only so many hours in the day, it’s important for kiddos to make the most of their time (we know—much easier said than done).

But thanks to AT&T In-car Wi-Fi, it’s easy to optimize that otherwise idle time between school, lessons, and practices. Since AT&T covers more roads than any other carrier,* kids can finish that last chapter of their book, catch up on assignments, and more at any time.

Turn your backseat into your mobile classroom with AT&T In-car Wi-Fi. See if your car qualifies for a free trial.

More than 600 killed in an earthquake in Morocco. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the High Atlas Mountains southwest of Marrakesh last night at around 11:00 pm local time, knocking down buildings in the old city area and forcing people into the streets. It’s believed to be the strongest quake to hit the region in over 120 years. As of early this morning, state media reported that at least 632 people had been killed, many in the mountains which made it hard for rescue teams to reach them, and another 329 people were being treated in hospitals for injuries.

Lindsey Graham narrowly avoided indictment. The Republican senator from South Carolina was one of 20 people recommended for indictments by a special grand jury for alleged efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results but ultimately not charged alongside Donald Trump and others, according to a report released yesterday. Also on that list were former Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia (who each lost their 2020 reelection bids) and former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Separately, a judge refused former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’s request to move the claims against him in the case from state court to federal.

White House’s treatment of social media companies violated 1st Amendment, court says. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that top Biden administration officials ran afoul of the Constitution’s free speech guarantee by pushing tech companies to crack down on Covid misinformation on their platforms. So, although the court pared down an earlier ruling curbing the government’s contact with companies such as Facebook and X to ask them to remove postings in its 75-page opinion, it also said the ban should continue to apply to officials at the White House, CDC, and FBI.

The only place tenser than this weekend’s G20 summit is a theater club sleepover the night of the Anything Goes cast list posting. World leaders have traveled to New Delhi, India, to spend the next two days attempting to find common ground on major economic and political issues…and avoid talking about the leaders who decided not to come.

The yearly G20 summit isn’t just a place to take horribly staged group photos—it’s a meeting where 19 countries and the EU, representing roughly 85% of the global GDP, hammer out international policy suggestions.

The attendees have one goal: Agree on a vague, joint statement by the end. But even that may be tough, especially since this year’s notable no-shows are Chinese President Xi Jinping (missing for the first time since he took office in 2013) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (blowing it off for a second year), who are bringing the drama despite being absent.

There’s one big unknown: whether the leaders will sign off on a statement condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine, as the US would like. Last year’s statement agreed that the war took a toll on the global economy. But despite a growing US–India relationship, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of summit host India wants to remain neutral and keep buying Russia’s cheap oil.

On less tense topics…the statement is expected to include calls to stop global temps from rising and provide financial help for low-income countries to achieve green changes.—MM

This episode of Extreme Makeover features a DC property at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The Situation Room, aka the uber-secure complex below the White House’s West Wing, just underwent a $50 million all-out remodeling. The 12-month revamp entailed completely gutting the glorified meeting rooms where the presidents have held top-secret convos and managed high-stakes situations.

The new sitch in the Situation Room

The updated Situation Room is where state-of-the-art tech required by evolving adversarial threats meets classic Executive Branch interior design. It now consists of three conference rooms, two phone rooms for top officials, and the so-called Watch Floor with displays of 24/7 national security monitoring.

• There are sleek screens, cutting-edge anti-espionage devices, and clocks displaying the time in Kyiv, Tehran, and wherever the POTUS is at any given moment.
• The reno also features mahogany walls, leather chairs, and a reception area that gives off luxury hotel vibes with a White House seal etched into marble from a Virginia quarry, according to a New York Times reporter who got a tour.

Don’t worry, history buffs…furnishings from the nook of the old Situation Room where President Obama was famously photographed watching the bin Laden raid were preserved and will be shipped to his presidential center in Chicago.—SK

Stat: You can now add crypto fraud to the list of crimes that’ll have you doing time until the heat death of the universe. The CEO of collapsed crypto exchange Thodex, Faruk Fatih Ozer, was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison by a Turkish court for a potpourri of offenses, including aggravated fraud and money laundering. Thodex went belly-up in 2021, costing its investors an estimated $2.6 billion. If you’re thinking “That’s surely the longest jail sentence ever handed down for fraud,” think again: In 1989, Thai pyramid-schemer Chamoy Thipyaso was slapped with a 141,078-year sentence, or roughly 12.6 Ozers (though she was released after only a few years).

Quote: “He knows what makes my fat butt move!”

Oscar winner Guillermo Del Toro surprised the Toronto International Film Festival crowd on Thursday to praise animator extraordinaire Hayao Miyazaki and introduce the premiere of Miyazaki’s new movie, The Boy and the Heron. The Studio Ghibli film made history as the first Japanese title and the first animated feature to open TIFF. Miyazaki skipped the festival and has opted to forgo any marketing for the movie in order to build mysterious word-of-mouth buzz. (You can watch the trailer here.)

Read: The “Tomatometer” is easy to hack—the film industry relies on it anyway. (Vulture)

Learn: The history of song titles.

Clean up: A how-to guide for getting your baking sheets to sparkle.

Watch: A neuroscientist explains how optical illusions trick your brain.

Visit: An offbeat attraction in each of the 50 states—perfect for your next road trip.

Spreadsheets are out. And AI-based accounting is in. Klarity is hosting the Generative AI: The Future of Accounting Summit on Sep. 20 in San Francisco. Use code CFOBREW50 for 50% off.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

Brew crossword: Collinsworth slide into the NFL season with today’s crossword.

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that never wants the party to end. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.

Today’s party pad is in Zanesville, Ohio. It’s proof that, given the proper square footage (8,880), both carpeted bleacher seating and a place to play Crazy Frog remixes can fit comfortably under one roof. Amenities include:

• 5 beds, 6 baths
• Not a single matching chair
• Technically a yard

How much to keep the good times going forever?

Open House: $325,900

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: “potpourri.” While it literally means a mixture of dried petals and spices kept for scent, it’s often used figuratively to designate a mixture of things (like we did). Thanks to Anne-Marie from Fort Smith, Arkansas, for the sweet-smelling suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.