Maybe the only thing more stressful than watching Olympics gymnastics is watching athletes' families watching Olympics gymnastics. And about the only thing more stressful than watching athlete's families watching the Olympics gymnastics is watching all of us watching our investment portfolios today. After rising to new heights, our portfolios just got the twisties mid-air and now we're all holding our breath hoping the market can stick a soft landing. Many investors were forced to sit on their hands (or cover their eyes) during the tumbling exercise as Schwab, Fidelity, other online trading brokerages appeared to go dark during the market sell-off. The only thing moving faster than panicked trades are self-certain think-pieces assuredly explaining exactly what's happening. But short term market movements are hard to explain and even harder to predict. I'm just glad I recently rebalanced my portfolio by shifting money out of stocks and bonds and into Xanax. Here's the latest from CNN: Global stock markets plunge. (Forgive any typos today, it's difficult for me to write from the fetal position.)

2

Strapped

"It’s a diverse group: Over half are women and the majority are Black, but there are white and Hispanic students, too. Some are as young as 18, and a handful are older, but most of them are 20- and 30-somethings. Several are new to firearms or are planning to get their first gun soon. Everyone is there for a common reason: to complete Illinois’s required training to get a concealed carry license, which will allow them to bring their guns in public. Brown teaches these classes most weekends. For the past few years, he says, they’ve been packed." Similar scenes are increasingly playing out across the country as America somehow is buying even more guns. Vox: What happens when everyone decides they need a gun? "Previously, American gun sales were driven by a small number of people: overwhelmingly white men adding to their existing gun collections. The people who bought their first guns during the pandemic were different."

3

Bracing

Actually, there's something that makes me a lot more nervous than watching the stock market. Watching the Middle East. "Joe Biden will convene his national security team Monday to discuss developments in the Middle East as the region braces for an Iranian retaliation to a series of assassinations blamed on Israel 10 months into the war in the Gaza Strip." Biden's ceasefire efforts have been repeatedly thrown under the bus by Netanyahu. In that sense, Biden has a lot in common with Israeli security officials. NYT: "A quarrel between President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s approach to cease-fire talks mirrors growing domestic tensions between Mr. Netanyahu and senior Israeli security officials over his perceived resistance to a swift deal with Hamas."

+ Negotiators are still working on a ceasefire deal. But for the moment, everyone in the Middle East is bracing for week that could determine the course of the Gaza war (and hoping that course doesn't spill out across the entire region.)

4

Five Ring Circus

After years of work (and almost that much trash talk), Noah Lyles won the Men's 100m by a nose. Actually, by a torso. One of the biggest Olympics events was also one of the closest. Lyles grabbed first place ahead of Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by .005 seconds. How Lyles' torso decided greatest Olympics 100m final. And here's a photo breakdown of Noah Lyles' 100m win.

+ "Noah Lyles and his long-time sports psychologist, Diana McNab, have been executing a pre-race routine all season long. Together, they come up with a sort of script, which lays out the psychological game plan on race day—from what Lyles should think when he wakes up, when he arrives at the track, when he’s warming up, when he’s in the blocks, and so on. This mental script is meant to produce strong physical results. As per their practice, McNab got on the phone with Lyles the night before his 100-m race in Paris, and rang her Zen chimes three times while Lyles did breathing exercise." The Inside Story of How Noah Lyles Pulled off That Incredible 100-M Win.

+ If you don't want to know who won the floor exercise, don't click. If you know who won and want to see an absolutely epic photo from the medal ceremony, here it is.

+ "When I take everything in consideration, this probably is the biggest sporting success I’ve ever had in my career." Uh, this seems like a pretty big statement when the person making it is Novak Djokovic.

+ "They obsess over the physics of lateral velocity, rotational radius and acceleration paths. The biomechanically optimal angle of release — 36 degrees? 38 degrees? — can be a topic for debate." How a 'light bulb moment' in an Arkansas barn made Ryan Crouser a shot put juggernaut. (Well, when you put it that way...)

+ The pole vault competition turned out to be the battle of the bulge. And the bulge lost. (Yes, it's possible to lose but still have the most impressive member of any team.)

5

Extra, Extra

Expelled by Students: "Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh’s history, resigned and fled the country on Monday, bringing a tumultuous end to her 15-year rule as an extraordinary wave of protest succeeded in toppling her government. Her ouster came after weeks of relentless protests and clashes with security forces that have killed nearly 300 people." BBC: How Bangladesh's protests ended Sheikh Hasina's 15-year reign.

+ That Helsinki Feeling: Before celebrating today's stock market plunge, Donald Trump congratulated Putin over deal that brought Evan Gershkovich home, and it barely made a ripple in the news. (Howard Dean once yelled into a mic and his whole campaign was destroyed.) Meanwhile, as a way to get out of debating Harris, Trump reneged on the original plan and said he'll only debate on Fox News in front of a MAGA-friendly crowd. (He's also agreed to race Katie Ledecky as long as it’s in the Mar-a-Lago pool, she has Sean Hannity tied to one leg, the Pillow Guy tied to the other, and the winner is determined by a panel of imprisoned Jan 6th insurrectionists whose scores will be tallied by Judge Cannon.)

+ Debby Downer: Tropical Storm Debby could bring unprecedented flooding to Georgia and South Carolina. It's already brought about a million bucks worth of coke to the Florida Keys. Here's the latest from CNN.

+ Vote Moat: "Heightened school safety protocols and sustained attacks on voting systems and the people who run them — largely by Trump and his supporters — have prompted school leaders across America in both red and blue states to close their doors to the democratic process, according to interviews with nearly 20 school district leaders, county officials, school safety officials and election experts. In at least 33 states, the law says public buildings, including schools, can or should be made available as polling locations. In many districts, administrators now cancel classes on Election Day." WaPo: With voting under attack, Arizona schools don’t want to be polling locations. (We've got to turn back this movement in November.)

+ Right Rise: "The attack has triggered Islamophobic and anti-immigration sentiments in the U.K., leading to hundreds of arrests, dozens of officers injured, and multiple buildings damaged — including a mosque and a hotel known to have housed asylum seekers. The riots entered its sixth day on Sunday and showed no signs of waning." Far-right, anti-immigration riots persist across the U.K. Here's what to know. I covered this last week: The Outsiders.

6

Bottom of the News

There's still one guy we can count on to remind us that, yes, political news can always get weirder: RFK Jr. admits to dumping a dead bear in Central Park, solving a decade-old mystery.

+ "Following in the footsteps of Berlin and Tokyo, venues in a new all-night district in Montreal's city centre will be licensed to remain open, and serve alcohol, throughout the night." Can 24-hour drinking zones transform a city? (On market days like this, every city is a 24-hour drinking zone...)