Fragile Deal in Israel
NO BULL WITH RAGING ROBERT.
A diverse coalition of opposition parties in Israel agreed to a deal to form a unity government, likely spelling the end of the current tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister. Unprecedented in the diversity of partners, the pact is led by secular centrist leader Yair Lapid and religious conservative Naftali Bennett and includes six other parties, including the Arab-Israeli Raam.
The agreement forestalls what would’ve been a fifth national election in two years, presuming current President Reuven Rivlin signs off on the deal and parliament swears in the new government within two weeks. Composed of historic rivals, the bloc has a slim majority in the 120-seat Knesset, the country’s legislature — one or two defections could collapse the partnership. Netanyahu and allies are expected to lobby individual lawmakers prior to a swearing-in.
Separately, Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog was elected by the legislature to succeed Rivlin as president when Rivlin’s term ends July 9.
Farewell Tour in Durham
Mike Krzyzewski, legendary coach of the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball program, announced yesterday he will retire following the upcoming 2021–22 season. Jon Scheyer, the 33-year-old current associate head coach of the Blue Devils and a former player under Krzyzewski, is expected to take over.
The 74-year-old Hall of Famer is the winningest coach in men’s Division I basketball, having amassed a 1,170–361 record. After a five-year coaching stint at Army, Krzyzewski joined Duke in 1980, elevating the program to a perennial presence at the top of the sport. He won five national championships across three decades, made 12 Final Fours, and was named College Coach of the Year three times. Krzyzewski also led the US men’s national team to three straight Olympic gold medals from 2008–16.
Duke missed the NCAA tournament during last year’s pandemic-disrupted season, its first absence since 1995 — a season Krzyzewski missed due to health reasons. The team is ranked №13 in early rankings for Krzyzewski’s upcoming swan song.
America’s Biggest Companies
Fortune magazine released its annual ranking of America’s largest companies, with Walmart topping the list for the ninth straight year. Boosted by the pandemic-driven consumer shift to online and bulk purchasing, the retail behemoth brought in nearly $560B in revenue. The company was followed by Amazon ($386B in revenue), Apple ($275B), CVS Health ($269B), and UnitedHealth Group ($257B). The combined list generated almost $14T in revenue last year — about two-thirds of the US economy. Still, the cumulative profit of $859B marked a 30% drop from the previous year.
A record of 41 companies on the list are helmed by female CEOs, including the first two Black women in Rosalind Brewer (Walgreens Boots Alliance, №16) and Thasunda Brown Duckett (TIAA, №79). Microsoft topped the magazine’s first-ever ranking of companies on diversity and inclusion metrics.
See where the companies are located across the country here.
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IN THE KNOW
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tests positive for steroid for second time; runner-up Mandaloun poised to be named winner (More) | Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert banned for two years from Churchill Downs (More)
> Robert Hogan, prolific actor who appeared in more than 100 prime-time TV shows, dies at 87 (More) | Radio broadcasting pioneer George Beasley dies at 89 (More)
> YouTube paid $4B to music industry over past year via royalties to artists, songwriters, and rights-holders, a 33% increase from the previous 12-months (More)
Science & Technology
> Microsoft to unveil the next generation of its Windows operating system at June 24th product event; company says its current OS, Windows 10, operates on 1.3 billion devices (More)
> NASA to return to Venus for the first time since 1989, announcing two separate missions to Earth’s nearest neighbor; objectives will focus on understanding the evolution of the planet’s atmosphere and geology (More) | Explore Venus here (More)
> Gene-editing tools developed to engineer mosquito populations incapable of spreading diseases like West Nile; previous work has been demonstrated in mosquitoes spreading malaria (More)
Business & Markets
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> Trading of meme stock AMC Theatres halted several times as it surges to end day up 95%; stock is up more than 2,800% in 2021 (More)
> Programmer Q&A website Stack Overflow to be acquired for $1.8B by European tech giant Prosus (More)
> LinkedIn to compensate leaders of internal employee resource groups $10K per year (More) | Amazon announces Prime Day will be held June 21 (More)
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Politics & World Affairs
> Iran’s largest warship catches fire, sinks in the Gulf of Oman (More) | Meanwhile, two other Iranian ships appear on track to cross the Atlantic; US officials believe ships are en route to Venezuela (More)
> Senate parliamentarian rules Democrats may only use budget reconciliation once more this fiscal year; maneuver allows certain bills to be passed with a simple majority, avoiding the filibuster (More)
> Former President Donald Trump shuts down communications platform one month after launch; adviser hints Trump will join or launch a new platform (More) | Dr. Anthony Fauci emails from early 2020 obtained by The Washington Post under Freedom of Information Act request (More) | Read emails here (More)
IN-DEPTH
Rising Again
Smithsonian | Franz Lidz. By 1987, the California condor population had dwindled to about two dozen. A decadeslong effort has successfully reintroduced them into the wild, but the scavenger birds still face an unexpected but lethal foe: lead poisoning. (Read)
Editor’s note: The birds’ courtship dance is also worth checking out.
The Thousand Autumns of Naomi Osaka
Racquet | Louisa Thomas. (From 2018) Now the №2 ranked women’s tennis player in the world, Naomi Osaka made waves after withdrawing from the French Open citing mental health concerns and the demands placed on athletes. See inside the life of the young phenom, and the expectations placed on her by an entire nation. (Read)
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ETCETERA
Ranking the world’s richest millennial billionaires.
International Space Station nailed by space junk.
Transparent pool suspends swimmers over London.
Mapping where chess pieces are most often captured.
The mystery of New Jersey’s $113M deli. ($$, NYT)
Detroit construction crew finds a century-old message in a beer bottle.
When that perfect volcano shot costs you a drone.
Food sampling is back at Costco.
Clickbait: Piranhas may be loose at LSU.
Historybook: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain (1539); Singer and actress Josephine Baker born (1906); Ed White becomes first American to walk in space (1965); HBD Rafael Nadal (1986); RIP Muhammad Ali (2016).
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
- Muhammad Ali
