🌊 How the Other Half Hinges

Dating apps are fueling income inequality per new study...

September 16, 2024

Did you know that the “Like a Good Neighbor” State Farm jingle …

…was written by top-selling artist Barry Manilow? If you don't like Barry Manilow, that might mean you have good taste — or you're Flo from Progressive. Either way, there's a fun fact to tell your aunt.

🇺🇸 Another assassination attempt on Trump's life

💸 Online dating fuels inequality

🍿 "Am I Racist?" movie opens at #4

–Max, Max, and Owen

KEY STORY

Assassination Attempt #2

There was another attempt on Donald Trump’s life

  • Trump was golfing at his West Palm Beach, FL, club on Sunday when Secret Service agents looking for threats several holes ahead spotted a rifle poking through the fence line. They opened fire, prompting the assailant to drop an AK-style weapon and flee

  • He was apprehended in a neighboring county when police stopped his car

  • The FBI said the situation “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.” Kamala Harris posted on X, “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America”

Dig Deeper

  • The man was apprehended in a neighboring county when police stopped his car

  • In a press conference, officials said the man had a calm demeanor upon his arrest and did not question why he was being stopped

  • The local sheriff estimated that the shooter was 300-500 yards away from Trump and said that he had hooked a GoPro on the fence: “He was intent on filming what was going on”

  • The sheriff added that if Trump were a sitting president, “we would have had this entire golf course around it. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible”

  • He added, “The Secret Service did exactly what they should have done”

KEY STORY

Hinge & Income Inequality

The rise of online dating is contributing to an increase in income inequality, according to researchers from Haverford College and the Fed

  • Since dating apps allow people to search by criteria such as education level, more Americans have been marrying people like themselves, the economists say

  • The researchers say the two main drivers of income inequality between spouses are education and skills. Men have become more selective of education, while women have become more selective of age

  • The team says online dating accounts for half of the rise in household income inequality from 1980-2020

Dig Deeper

  • The researchers say their data shows dating apps are the primary culprit for growing inequality: “Our findings refute two out of three potential explanations [for growing household income inequality] – reduced search costs and growing spatial segregation”

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KEY STORY

US Rejects Maduro Plot

The US rejected allegations of CIA involvement in an alleged assassination plot against Venezuelan President NicolĂĄs Maduro

  • Last week, the US Treasury sanctioned 16 of Maduro’s allies, accusing them of obstructing the disputed July election and committing human rights abuses. Venezuela’s interior minister later claimed foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow Maduro and kill government leaders

  • On Saturday, the US State Department confirmed the detention of a US military member and acknowledged reports of two additional US citizens detained in Venezuela. “Any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false,” it stated

Dig Deeper

  • Despite global condemnation, Venezuela’s supreme court – loyal to Maduro – confirmed his victory in August. Meanwhile, the attorney general filed conspiracy charges against GonzĂĄlez, who fled to Spain last week

  • The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela,” the US State Department stated

KEY STORY

Betting on US Elections?

Just hours after it began, legal betting on this year’s elections is back in limbo

  • Last Thursday, Kalshi, a startup predictions market where people can bet on real-world events, got approval to set up markets for the 2024 elections after successfully suing the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

  • Hours later, the CFTC filed an appeal, and an appeals judge ordered a temporary pause on election betting. The CFTC’s main concern is market manipulation

  • Popular trading platform Interactive Brokers also planned to open an elections betting market after the district judge’s ruling. It’s unclear what will happen next for Kalshi, Interactive Brokers, and bettors who already waged money

Dig Deeper

  • The other major player is Polymarkets, an offshore crypto-based betting platform that has received funding from Peter Thiel and partnered with polling expert Nate Silver

  • Some politicians like Elizabeth Warren (D., MA) and Jeff Merkley (D., OR) urged the CFTC to fight back against the district court’s ruling, worrying that billionaires could “wager extraordinary bets while simultaneously contributing to a specific candidate or party” and that political insiders could “bet on elections using nonpublic information”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

✈️ 30,000+ Boeing workers went on strike after rejecting a new contract offer

🇮🇱 The head of Israel’s largest military intelligence unit announced he would resign because of October 7-related failures

🏛️ A North Dakota court ruled the state’s abortion ban unconstitutional, paving the way for clinics to return to the state

💥 The Houthis launched what it claimed was a hypersonic ballistic missile, claiming the attack marked a new “beginning” in its strikes on Israel

🇺🇸 The US military disclosed that an August 29 raid in Iraq killed four ISIS leaders and resulted in seven wounded American servicemembers

COMMUNITY

🧠 Today’s question: In honor of the Emmy’s, what’s your favorite TV show (drama) of all time?

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

👃 Brick by Brick: An Arizona resident can finally “smell colors” after freeing a Lego piece from their nose. The Lego got lodged 26 years ago while playing with toys

🏀 Clark takes the crown: Indiana Fever superstar and 2024 No.1 WNBA Draft pick Caitlin Clark became the league’s all-time rookie scoring leader

These dogs are basically land dolphins.

🍿 Boxofficejuice: Tim Burton’s sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” topped the domestic box office again with $51.6M in ticket sales. The Daily Wire’s “Am I Racist?” placed fourth, with an estimated $4.7M from 1,517 theaters

🥁 Battle of among the bands: The Jane’s Addiction concert in Boston on Friday night ended abruptly when one band member shoved and punched another. Crew members escorted them offstage after the brief scuffle

🏥 Mowing to the rescue: A Mississippi man drove his lawnmower to seek help after his home exploded. He was reportedly still asleep when the explosion – believed to be caused by a space heater – took place

ROCA WRAP

Monday Morning Madness

Here’s a selection of strange and quirky stories from last week to start your Monday.

Oh, The Irony…

The UK police and crime minister was robbed at a conference for senior police officers.

While she warned of an “epidemic of antisocial behavior, theft, and shoplifting” during a speech to a police association, her purse was stolen out of the hotel where the conference was being held. The theft came on the same day that the UK government began releasing prisoners to reduce overcrowding.

When Candles Go Wrong

A nine-year-old girl at a Dollar Tree in South Bend, Indiana, spilled a urine-containing candle on herself.

Her mom explained: “We’re smelling candles, and she picked up a candle to smell and tilted it back, and it literally, liquid, went down her. At first, we were like maybe it’s just water, and as we were just walking through the store, we get a foul smell, and Gray goes, ‘Mom, my shirt really stinks.’”

The store manager offered a replacement shirt but said they weren’t sure who was responsible: “They have been telling me this has been happening over a month, and they’re not able to catch the person doing it, and there’s no cameras down the aisle where he is doing it, so the store employees, the manager, has asked corporate to put in cameras in those areas. And corporate just doesn’t want to pay for those,” the mom said.

See Something, Say Something

An 11-year-old Virginia boy was suspended for waiting to tell his teachers about a bullet in the classroom.

The boy spotted the bullet while he was about to begin mandatory testing, so he waited until after the exam to notify the principal. Upon doing so, the principal thanked him but also suspended him for waiting too long to report the issue.

“We teach our children, ‘see something, say something,’ but that means ‘see something, say something’ when it is safe,” the family’s attorney said.

The boy’s mother said she told him, “Hold your head high,” and that he should ask the other students, “If this were you, what would you do?”

Butt Shots & Screwdrivers

A Florida man was accused of shooting a man in the butt and chasing him with a screwdriver at a Waffle House.

The 24-year-old reportedly tried to shoot a man outside the Waffle House, and the bullet hit the ground and ricocheted into the victim’s buttocks. The target went running into the Waffle House, where chaos ensued. When a different patron ran outside, the assailant chased him with a screwdriver. Upon arresting the alleged attacker, police found multiple bags containing marijuana and MDMA.

Boom Goes the Can

An excessively hot canned food item caused an explosion that harmed six people at the Kansas State Fair.

The explosion – which happened at a vendor called the “Fry Shack” and resulted in a fire and two hospitalizations – took place on Tuesday night and shattered a window. Officials investigated the explosion and later concluded that it was nothing nefarious but that a can of food stored too close to a food warmer became excessively hot and exploded.

The type of canned food wasn’t made public.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

We just checked the 20 Questions form from Friday, and so far the worst-rated dad joke is: “What did Elvis say to his landscaper? Thank you for the mulch!”

It’s Monday, so we wanted to make your morning even tougher with that one. Hope you had a nice weekend, let’s have ourselves a week!

–Max and Max