Several big vaccine mandate deadlines hit this week—so what have we learned? They appear to be effective at driving up vaccination rates.

One of the most high-profile mandates in Corporate America was introduced by United Airlines, the first airline to require its employees to get vaxed. On Tuesday, United said that more than 99% of its ~67,000 US workers have complied with the requirement, and just 593 face termination.

• For comparison, Delta Air Lines, which doesn’t have a vaccine mandate but will soon raise health insurance costs for unvaxed employees, says that 82% of its employees are vaccinated.

Another closely watched mandate was implemented by New York’s health system, which required all workers to have at least one vaccine dose by Monday. That deadline appeared to drive a spike in vaccinations: 92% of the state’s 650,000+ hospital and nursing home workers have received one dose, up from the low-80% range it at just one week ago.

There are notable exceptions in which the vaccine mandate has resulted in staff shortages. Oneida Health in New York lost about 12% of its workforce this week, per officials.

All eyes on the NBA

The conversation around vaccine mandates spilled onto the basketball court this week, when observers pointed out that Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who is unvaccinated, would have to sit out all of the team’s home games this upcoming season. The NBA is not mandating vaccinations, but New York City does require it for anyone entering an indoor arena.

Around 90% of NBA players are vaccinated, much higher than the US’ overall vaccination rate, but the league is likely frustrated that one of its most influential stars is, at least for now, bucking the trend.

To increase pressure on unvaccinated players like Irving to get their shots, the NBA said yesterday it would not pay players who miss games for failing to adhere to local vaccination requirements.

+ While we’re here: YouTube is banning all content that spreads vaccine misinformation.—NF

In a humbling act of defeat, Dollar Tree said yesterday that it’s adding items that cost $1.25 and even $1.50. The bargain store already offers some higher-priced items in its Dollar Tree Plus section, but yesterday’s announcement is a consequence of supply chain bottlenecks and higher costs.

• In July, annual US inflation rates hit their highest point in 30 years.

What’s a quarter or two extra? Since it opened in 1986, Dollar Tree hasn’t wavered from its mission to sell cheap meat and off-brand party decor. But recent cost pressures are forcing it to evolve. Most other ultra-discount retailers—Five Below, Dollar General, and even Family Dollar, which Dollar Tree bought in 2015—all regularly price products above the $1 mark.

• In 2019, a full-on proxy war almost broke out because, among other complaints by shareholders, Dollar Tree execs refused to break the buck.

Zoom out: Investors think customers will be able to afford the cost increases. While Dollar Tree shares had fallen 20% this year, they shot up 16% yesterday.—MM

Lies, deceit, impersonations...the story of Ozy Media sounds like it’s straight out of daytime TV. On Sunday, the New York Times released an investigation into Ozy’s sketchy business practices, and the fallout has been postnuclear.

What that report revealed: On a phone call in February between executives at Ozy and Goldman Sachs—which was at the time considering a $40 million investment into the company—Ozy cofounder and COO Samir Rao impersonated a YouTube exec in order to tout Ozy’s success on the platform.

• Ozy’s response: Cofounder Carlos Watson confirmed the NYT’s story, adding that Rao was going through a mental health crisis at the time. Even if that’s true, according to Bloomberg's Matt Levine, it would not excuse Ozy from having committed fraud.

This is about more than the phone call. Ozy had boasted its audience—across its site, newsletters, podcasts, and social media—was in the tens of millions. But media analysts say these numbers are inflated. For example, Ozy has 654,000 Instagram followers but its most recent post got 46 likes.

The latest: One of Ozy’s earliest investors, SV Angels, surrendered its shares of the company—a super rare slap-in-the-finance that underscores the seriousness of these accusations.—JW

Stat: The number of eviction filings in major US metropolitan areas has stayed flat or even dropped in the month after the national eviction moratorium was struck down by the Supreme Court, perplexing experts who predicted a “tidal wave” of evictions after the ruling.

Quote: “In tonight’s performance, the role of the duck will be played by a beet, doing things no root vegetable should be asked to do.”

The NYT’s food critic Pete Wells reviewed legendary restaurant Eleven Madison Park’s new all-vegan menu. Seems like he did not enjoy it all that much.

Read: How a team of musicologists and computer scientists completed Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony using AI. (The Conversation)

It appears that Amazon is after another piece of Macy’s business: its iconic NYC billboard. And like anyone with property that close to a Shake Shack, the department store chain is holding onto it for dear life, even suing the ad agency that owns the billboard.

The backstory: The billboard on the OG Herald Square store has featured the Macy’s logo since the 1960s. But Macy's execs claim that the Kaufman Organization, which owns the billboard, was in talks with a “prominent online retailer” in May that they surmised to be Amazon.

• Macy’s said an ad from a company like Amazon would damage the “customer goodwill, image, reputation, and brand,” according to the filing.
• Macy’s reminded Kaufman that its original lease stated that other retailers were “indefinitely barred” from advertising on the sign.

Neither Amazon nor Kaufman have responded to the lawsuit or the claims.

Zoom out: Macy’s didn’t need a pep talk to take on the e-commerce king. The chain crushed Q2 earnings and reported that digital customers accounted for 41% of its 5 million new shoppers last quarter.—MM

The last of the ivory-billed woodpeckers: The US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing 23 species from the endangered species list because they went extinct. See the list here.

Viral videos of the day: 1) When Jordan Belfort discovered crypto and 2) how to catch a gator in flip-flops.

Two stranger things: 1) The miniature dry stone walling festival and 2) why are you the way you are, English language?

Brew Mini: Today's puzzle features a cameo by Amazon's new robot. Play it here.

Three Headlines and a Lie

Three of these news headlines are real and one is faker than whatever an adaptogen is. Can you guess the odd one out?

1. Blogger and cookbook author the Pioneer Woman is floating the idea of creating a VC firm.
2. Errant turtle closes runway, delays turtle-themed plane at Japan's Narita Airport.
3. A museum says they gave an artist $84,000 in cash to use in artwork. He delivered blank canvases and titled them “Take the Money and Run.”
4. Crypto exchange pays $24 million in transaction fees for $100,000.