Developing story in Hawaii: A wildfire has forced the evacuation of the historic town Laihana on the island of Maui. The fires — fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora passing to the south — are now affecting other towns. Thankfully, no fatalities have been reported so far. We’ll continue to track the story.

In today's edition:

• Portnoy buys back Barstool from Penn

• Car crashes into second story of PA house

• Sanitation workers hit jackpot

 🔑 Key Stories

Portnoy Buys Barstool

Penn Entertainment announced a partnership with ESPN to launch ESPN Bet, a new sportsbook, and sold Barstool Sports back to founder Dave Portnoy

• In 2020, casino conglomerate Penn Entertainment bought 36% of Barstool and launched Barstool Sportsbook, a sports betting app. It later bought the remaining 64% of Barstool for $388M in February 2023

• But the sportsbook struggled to compete. On Tuesday, Penn announced a deal with ESPN to launch ESPN Bet, a new sportsbook

• The same day, Portnoy said he bought back 100% of Barstool. “For the first time in a decade, I own 100% of Barstool Sports,” he said in a video, claiming that he and Penn “underestimated just how tough it is for myself and Barstool to operate in a regulated world”

Dig Deeper

• It’s unclear how much Portnoy paid for Barstool or how he financed the purchase

• Penn said that per the deal’s terms, it will receive 50% of the proceeds if Portnoy sells Barstool again. Penn stock rose 26% on the news

Chinese Exports Plummet

Chinese exports fell 14.5% over the year to July, imperiling its post-pandemic economic recovery

• China – which has the world’s second-largest economy – is heavily dependent on exports. Its economy has struggled in recent years due to Covid restrictions and a tech crackdown, and it has since reversed many of those policies to try to spur growth

• Despite that, China’s government released economic data on Tuesday that showed exports fell 14.5% over the year to July. Exports to the US so far in 2023 fell 18.6%

• Analysts say the drop reflects slowing in the US and EU economies, geopolitical tensions, and more

Dig Deeper

• China was the US’ top trading partner for much of the past decade, however Mexico and Canada have pulled ahead since 2021. China’s trade with the EU is also down 5% through the first seven months of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Its trade with Russia – whose economy is 1/13th the size of the US’ – increased 70%

New Zealand 🤝 Blackrock

New Zealand said it is partnering with BlackRock to eliminate all fossil fuels from its electricity grid

• BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing $9T+. Its CEO supports “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) investing, wherein investors promote sustainability and social goals

• New Zealand gets ~82% of its electricity from renewables but says it wants to reach 100% by 2030

• On Monday, BlackRock’s CEO said it launched an investment fund to raise $1.2B to help New Zealand reach that goal. Its CEO called it BlackRock’s largest “low-carbon transition investment” in a country ever

Dig Deeper

• BlackRock won’t invest its own money into the fund but will target “institutional investors” – organizations that invest money on behalf of others – to raise funds

DeSantis Replaces Campaign Manager

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis replaced his campaign manager as he struggles in the polls

• DeSantis launched his presidential campaign in May and was widely seen as Trump’s biggest rival. Since then, though, Trump has pulled ahead and the DeSantis campaign has cut ~40% of its staff and acknowledged that it has spent poorly

• On Tuesday, DeSantis replaced his campaign manager with his chief of staff

• DeSantis has been campaigning in Iowa, the site of the first Republican primary nomination. He currently trails Trump by 35+ points in most polls

Dig Deeper

• The first Republican debate is in two weeks, although Trump has suggested he may not attend. While DeSantis has refrained from directly attacking Trump, he said this weekend that, "Of course he lost [the 2020 election]"

MANSCAPED’s Annual Summer Sale is Back!

Together with Manscaped

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Dig Deeper

• Click here to shop MANSCAPED’s annual Summer Sale and claim your 20% Off + Free Shipping sitewide. Trust us, Your Beach Balls Will Thank You

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Death to deepfakes? Google and Universal Music are in talks to license artists' voices for AI-generated songs, per the FT. The deal would allow fans to create legitimate AI-generated tracks that pay artists

• City that never... SHARK!: A shark bit a 65-year-old woman’s leg at NYC’s Rockaway Beach in what authorities are calling the city’s first confirmed shark bite “in recent memory”

• Truth Hurts: The Baltimore Orioles removed broadcaster Kevin Brown for discussing the team’s poor road record against the Tampa Bay Rays. He will return to the booth on Friday

Wildcard

• Oh no: Police arrested 17-year-old Nathan James Cruz – cousin of the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooter – on suspicion that he planned to “do the same thing”

• The King’s loyal subject: A Burger King worker with a 27-year perfect attendance record has received $402,560 in crowdsourced donations after his daughter set up a GoFundMe

• Pennsylvania drivers smh: A man appears to have intentionally crashed a Toyota Corolla into the second floor of a Pennsylvania home. Firefighters believe the car hit a tunnel next to the house, propelling it into the air

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

You win $1M in the lottery and can spend the money on one thing only. What is it?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

In June, a group of 11 women in India decided to buy a lottery ticket.

The women lived in a coastal town in southern India and ranged in age from their 20s to their 70s. They were all sanitation workers who built public toilets and collected and sorted trash for a living. Their daily income was 250 rupees – $3. “We all come from very poor families with lots of debt and liabilities,” one of the women said.

The women had a habit of splitting lottery tickets, particularly when there was a “bumper prize” – an extra-large prize offered for festivals and other special occasions. The women had bought three bumper prize tickets as a group before. In June, they bought a fourth, which, in honor of the annual monsoon, was worth 100M rupees ($1.2M).

The ticket cost 250 rupees ($3) and while the women agreed to split it, not all of them could afford it. Two women paid 12.5 rupees ($.15) each while the other nine paid 25 ($.30). They agreed to be paid out proportionately.

The numbers were picked this week, although the woman who bought the ticket said, “I decided to wait until the next morning after the results were announced to be able to check it with my mates.” “When I checked the winning number, it was the same as the ticket. But we could not believe it!”

The woman who held the ticket asked her boss to confirm she was reading it right, then went to the bank to validate it. The payout would be $700,000 after taxes – for women who were earning $3 a day. The sum is potentially life-changing for the 11 women who spend their days sorting trash and building toilets.

One 62-year-old woman told the Guardian that she would pay off her debts and rebuild her home, which had been washed away in devastating floods that struck the region in 2008. "Luck was never on my side," she said.

Another woman, 50, had lost her husband last year after being unable to pay for a kidney transplant. "He used to buy lottery tickets with the money we kept for dialysis," she told the BBC. "He left us without finishing the construction of our house. I have to complete it now.” She said she will also pay for a good education for her daughter.

The 49-year-old who bought the ticket said that she had lost thousands of dollars in financial scams and was facing heavy debts. “It’s unbelievable,” she said. “We had to check with multiple people to make sure that we won and still we couldn’t believe it.”

Another 49-year-old said that just the night before the drawing, her husband had been saying how he couldn’t find construction work because of heavy rains. The couple will now spend the money on their daughter’s education.

The list goes on.

Another woman needed to pay for surgery for her daughter, who fell off a train; five of the women were Dalits – the caste once known as “Untouchables” – who often face mistreatment and poverty. While their lives may not change overnight, they now have $700,000 to solve their problems.

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

If it were your decision, would you

Euthanize Hank the Tank: 10%
Send Hank the Tank to a wildlife refuge: 75%
Let Hank roam free: 15%

Yesterday's Question:

If you could only keep one photograph, what would it be? As always, feel free to submit pics!

Andi: “I would keep the photograph of a sunrise my partner sent me from the UK; I couldn't sleep, so they asked if I wanted to watch the sun rise with them while they were on a morning walk. Its the sweetest thing anyone has done for me.”

Tom from Ireland: “A photo of my Son and daughter in law on their Wedding Day in Ireland 🇮🇪”

Bob from Indianapolis: “This is a screen shot of find my iPhone. Our daughter Jenna is at our home in Indianapolis while our other daughter Alison was on a school trip to Israel while becoming a journalist. I love that you can see the planet outline”

Jen from Orange Beach, Alabama: “The photo of the three of us moments after our son was born. After two miscarriages, it felt like I held my breath through his entire pregnancy. I was so happy and relieved to be holding him in my arms. I feel that joy every time I look at the photo”

Lindsay from Gallatin, Tennessee: “This is a photo of my grandparents taken in my parents’ back yard the year they built their dream home, 1988, the year I was born. I had never seen this photo until I came across it in an old album in May. A few days later my grandmother went to be with my grandfather in Heaven. I had this photo enlarged into a canvas print and hung it on my wall. It warms my heart.”

🧠 Final Thoughts

Thank you all for your wonderful and moving responses to yesterday’s question of the day. We loved seeing/reading them, and hope you all did as well.See you tomorrow!

—Max and Max