ECONOMY

D.C. Heats Up

Today, Congress returns to a shmoiling Washington, D.C., to debate the next coronavirus relief bill. 

To extend or not to extend 

Of the many thorny questions lawmakers will debate is the extra $600/week in federal unemployment benefits introduced by the CARES Act in March. That’s set to expire at the end of this month, and Democrats and Republicans are butting heads about whether to keep it going.

• Democrats say the extra benefits have been a critical lifeline for the roughly 25 million people who’ve accessed them. Removing the $600/week would reduce benefits for most recipients by 50%–75%, according to the AP.
• Republicans think the added income is so substantial it could discourage people from coming back to work. In May, unemployment benefits accounted for 6% of U.S. income; in February, they were just 0.1%. 

It seems like a compromise could be in order. For example, on Friday two former Fed chairs proposed extending extra benefits but capping total payments at a fixed percentage of total income.

Unemployment won’t be the only issue on the table

Lawmakers are focused on a number of other target areas, including...

Liability: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to introduce a bill that includes a five-year liability shield for businesses, healthcare providers, and schools so they don’t suffer an “epidemic of lawsuits.” 

Schools: How to open schools safely (or whether to do it at all) will be a major challenge this fall. Either way, it’s going to take a lot of money, and lawmakers have signaled they’re willing to help.

State and local governments: They’re on the frontlines of the pandemic, but they’re stuck in an unprecedented financial hole. The Dems will be forceful in trying to secure more funding for state and local officials.  

Looking ahead...we don’t say this a lot about Congress, but things could move quickly. 

CYBERSECURITY

Twitter Hackers Spill the Tea

Who was behind last week’s mega-hack of Twitter's elite? Not sophisticated hacker cells with ties to foreign intelligence. Instead, it was a group of young hackers, including a teenager, who bonded online over unique usernames. 

How they did it

A hacker who went by “Kirk” told another user on messaging platform Discord he works at Twitter (apparently he does not) and could seize any account from inside, participants told the NYT. 

The hackers targeted 130 users and tweeted a cryptocurrency scam from 45 accounts they could access. They hauled in ~$120,000.

• Twitter says the hackers downloaded account info for up to eight users, though none were verified with the blue checkmark. 

Follow the breadcrumbs: The hackers first connected as fans of “OG usernames” (highly sought-after handles like @6). There are signs they previously hijacked social media accounts to access these handles to sell.  

Big picture: Twitter has become the go-to platform for political and business leaders, which makes it a volatile piece of the geopolitical landscape. It’s unclear how much private info hackers obtained, but DMs from prominent accounts like Joe Biden’s could be valuable for spies, blackmailers, or foreign governments.

SPACE

The UAE Needs a Little Space

The United Arab Emirates is about to turn 50—but instead of booking a weeklong golfing trip, it launched its first Mars orbiter on a Japanese rocket Monday morning. The first interplanetary mission by an Arab country, it’s fittingly named Amal, or Hope. 

• “The Emirates' Mars mission is a message of hope to the Arab youth. If a young nation like UAE is able to reach Mars in less than 50 years, then we can do much more as a region,” project director Omran Sharaf said on Twitter. 

The mission: Upon arriving at Mars in February 2021, the orbiter will circle the planet for at least two years, providing the first full picture of its atmosphere during seasonal shifts.

So far, the U.S. is the only country to land and operate rovers on Mars. But as costs drop, other nations are joining in. In the coming days, China plans to launch its first solo Mars trip, which includes an orbiter, lander, and rover. And as early as July 30, NASA will launch the Perseverance rover to uncover any signs of ancient life. 

Go deeper: As more countries get into the space race, the absence of rules could lead to conflict. 

SPONSORED BY ELECTRIC

Skip the Drive-In

Your idea of a perfect summer lies in the deft hands of a group of IT gurus.

Seriously. If you make IT decisions at your company—and your company has between 20 and 2,000 employees—simply take a short meeting with Electric. They’ll upgrade your summertime movie nights and your IT.

After hashing out your IT sitch, Electric will send you a movie night kit (complete with a projector, ingredients for s’mores, and other goodies), or make a $100 donation to the NAACP on your behalf. 

Electric is the IT solution that protects your company from security threats, enables remote work at half the cost, and provides full visibility into your IT infrastructure. 

If they produced a summer blockbuster, the premise would likely involve a hacker who spends the entire movie trying—and failing—to crack Electric’s secure IT systems. 

Sit back and relax with some popcorn, Electric has your IT covered.

CALENDAR

The Week Ahead

Baseball is returning this week. And if it means watching cardboard cutouts behind home plate instead of Marlins Man, so be it. 

Monday: IBM earnings; Walmart’s mask mandate goes into effect 

Tuesday: Vaccine developers testify before Congress; earnings (Coca-Cola, Snap, United Airlines, Novartis, Texas Instruments, Lockheed Martin, Philip Morris); ISS spacewalk 

Wednesday: Existing home sales; earnings (Tesla, Microsoft, Chipotle); National Hot Dog Day; Comic-Con@Home begins

Thursday: Initial jobless claims; earnings (Twitter, Intel, AT&T, American Airlines, E-Trade, Blackstone, Unilever, Quest Diagnostics); Microsoft Xbox event; Opening Day!

Friday: Manufacturing PMI; earnings (American Express, Verizon, Honeywell); Orioles could be undefeated

ENTERTAINMENT

COVID Scenes

Tired: Drive-in theaters

Wired: Float-in theaters 

This was the scene Saturday night in Paris, which held a socially distant floating movie experience. A company called Beyond Cinema is bringing them to U.S. cities starting in September, including NYC, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.

COMMUNITY

Are You on Product Hunt?

It’s a great resource to discover new products as they launch.

Well...what a crazy coincidence. We know of a great product that just launched: Mad Libz, our interactive game that lets you connect with coworkers you haven't seen in months.

If you haven't already, play the game and send it around your office. Then, to show off the strength of the Brew community, go on Product Hunt, show your support, and comment what you love about Mad Libz.

Go to the Mad Libz by Morning Brew product page.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Chris Wallace of Fox News interviewed President Trump about a variety of subjects yesterday.
• Disney, Facebook’s top U.S. advertiser for the first half of 2020, has substantially cut ad spend on the platform, the WSJ reports. 
• NFL players including Drew Brees and Russell Wilson tweeted coordinated attacks against the NFL for its lack of a COVID-19 plan for player health and safety.
• Black people (many of them immigrants) account for less than 2% of Maine’s population but 23% of its coronavirus cases, per the WaPo.
• Trader Joe's is facing a petition asking it to remove labels like "Trader Ming" from its ethnic food products for perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

SPONSORED BY APOLLO NEURO

We’re getting good vibes from this wearable. Apollo is the new stress relief wearable that uses gentle vibrations to help your body recover from stress. Its scientifically validated technology was developed by neuroscientists to help you clear your head, focus, relax, and sleep. Melt away stress with Apollo today and get 15% off your purchase.

BREW'S BETS

Show about banking: Bulge Bracket on Amazon Prime Video tells the story of a young Asian woman who joins an investment bank. If you guessed the next line in the description is "she encounters a frat house culture," you'd be correct. 

Reddit gems: 1) All the questions you were afraid to ask and 2) this visualization showing trending Google searches by state.

FROM THE CREW

Start Talking

On Mondays, we'll present some of the thorniest business topics of the day, give you a jumping-off point with resources, and encourage you to debate it with friends, family, and coworkers. 

Today’s topic: Let’s keep the conversation going on the extra $600/week in federal unemployment benefits. Should Congress extend the pandemic unemployment compensation (PUC) program? 

• Debunking myths about CARES Act unemployment benefits. (Brookings) 
• Economists can make a case for both sides. (Fortune)
• The White House wants to sunset PUC payments, but has some ideas for what’s next. (CNBC)
• That $600/week kept millions of families out of poverty. (Marketplace)
• Extra benefits were a net positive for the economy and increased consumer spending. (JPMorgan Chase Institute)
• Letting benefits expire could devastate the economy. (CNN)

PARTS OF A WHOLE TRIVIA

Due to a tornado that swept through northern Michigan, Brew Crossword is taking the week off (don’t worry, everyone’s ok). Instead, let’s play the classic Brew game Parts of a Whole. We’ll give you the complete ingredients to something, you have to determine what that something is.

1. Two egg yolks, ¼ lemon, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch cayenne pepper, ¼ cup salted butter, melted 

2. England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland 

3. Media networks; parks, experiences, and products; studio entertainment; direct-to-consumer and international 

4. 1682, 1758, 1835, 1910, and 1986 

5. Red, orange, yellow, green, and purple 

PARTS OF A WHOLE TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. Two egg yolks, ¼ lemon, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch cayenne pepper, ¼ cup salted butter = Hollandaise sauce 

2. England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland = United Kingdom

3. Media networks; parks, experiences, and products; studio entertainment; direct-to-consumer and international = Disney’s business units

4. 1682, 1758, 1835, 1910, and 1986 = years Halley’s Comet was seen

5. Red, orange, yellow, green, and purple = colors in a typical bag of Skittles