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Credit crumble. For just the second time in history, the US’ top-ranking credit rate has been downgraded from AAA to AA+ due to concerns over its finances and debt burdens. While the cut has drawn intense criticism from top economic leaders — calling it “arbitrary,” “strange,” and even “inept” (ouch) — the move has others across the globe scrambling. As you can imagine, the stock market did not respond well to the news.
In other news…The Daily Show seeks a successor, luggage-free trips take off, and celebrities hang out on LinkedIn.
Top Trends
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ENTERTAINMENT
It could happen… // Illustration by Kate Walker
Hasan Minhaj eyes The Daily Show desk
The Future. Comedian Hasan Minhaj is the leading candidate to take over for Trevor Noah at The Daily Show. No paperwork has been signed, but Minhaj could be taking the chair just as audiences start to depart late-night altogether (at least on TV), with newer entrants like The Problem With Jon Stewart not taking off, and younger-skewing offerings like Desus & Mero closing up shop.
Dedicated stage
Almost a year after Trevor Noah’s surprise exit from The Daily Show, Comedy Central may finally be landing on a new host.
Variety reports Hasan Minhaj is the front-runner for the position, but a deal hasn’t been finalized yet.
Others like Sarah Silverman, Kal Penn, and Leslie Jones have also been floated as options after temporarily hosting the show (as has Minhaj).
Minhaj, a correspondent for the show between 2014 and 2018, has signaled he’d be down to take the gig.
Minhaj previously hosted Netflix’s political satire talk show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which ran for six seasons and won an Emmy and a Peabody.
Reports indicate while Comedy Central did want to name a successor in time for Upfronts (TV networks’ big ad sale marketplace), other execs were pushing to keep testing on-air talent — the rotating hosts led to an increase in ratings. Call it the Saturday Night Live effect.
If Minhaj does take on hosting duties, it comes at a key transitional time for the late-night talk show industry. Stalwarts like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert have seen linear viewership and traditional ad dollars drop, as audiences prefer to watch clips of the shows online, as opposed to actually tuning in for the program — a byproduct of cord-cutting.
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TRAVEL
Wrong luggage choice
Tomorrow’s travel may ditch the luggage
The Future. Over-tourism is becoming a major problem at travel hotspots, so some destinations are looking to cut down on the impact each traveler brings — specifically, luggage. If more travel agencies and booking platforms provide easy solutions for travelers to pack nothing but their essentials, most tourists may soon need little more than a backpack or duffel.
No check-ins
These destinations want you to travel much, much lighter.
In Japan, Japan Airlines is testing a program where passengers can rent all their clothes instead of bringing their own, with luggage ready for them as soon as they land. It’s a pilot to measure the environmental impact of carrying bags.
In ski countries across Europe, like Switzerland and Austria, resorts are encouraging patrons to rent all of their equipment from the hotel (skis, poles, helmets, etc.) instead of lugging it with them.
In Croatia, the government is telling visitors to leave their rolling bags behind when stopping by the cobblestone streets of its capital, Dubrovnik. But if you need to bring them, just don’t roll them.
In safari lodges in African countries like Kenya and Tanzania, tour operators insist tourists pack their belongings in soft-sided bags with no wheels to cut down weight on light aircraft. The lodges also provide all necessary toiletries.
But with many cities also cutting down on short-term rentals, traveling light may soon be the least of your worries.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
The new fame // Illustration by Kate Walker
Celebrities are LinkedInfluencers now
The Future. While influencers try to flaunt a glamorous life on social media, top celebrities are busy listing their business skill sets on LinkedIn. The evolution of fame may be the artist-turned-branding-empire… which may give A-listers plenty of financial freedom to fund the art they’ve always wanted to make.
Entertainment in the front, business in the back
Forget X (Twitter) and Instagram. The new celebrity hangout is LinkedIn.
Actors like Ryan Reynolds, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mindy Kaling, and Jennifer Lopez are showcasing their business successes alongside their unique personalities and quirks.
LinkedIn editor-in-chief Daniel Roth also says there’s been a 37% increase in pro athletes posting on the platform over the past five years, including soccer players like Amobi Okugo and Raphaël Varane.
Why the sudden influx of name-brand talent? Insider notes the celebrity-as-entrepreneur is now one of the differentiating tenants of being a star. It makes sense when Rihanna and George Clooney have both joined the nine-figure club because of their companies.
Or, in the words of PR agent Mark Borkowski, “The world has gone corporate.”
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
With the writers strike entering its fourth month, the AMPTP reached out to the WGA to discuss restarting contract negotiations, setting a meeting for August 4th. Read more → thr
The FIFA Women’s World Cup match between the US and the Netherlands was the most-watched show last week, also scoring the biggest English-language viewership ever for the games. Read more → forbes
Elite LA lunch spots are the latest victim of Hollywood’s dual strikes… which means normal people like us can finally snag tables at eateries such as Mother Wolf and Hamasaku. Read more → bloomberg
Fashion & E-Commerce
Fashion NFTs are no longer trending, with brands like adidas, Gucci, and Nike all reporting declining values for their Web3 projects. Read more → bof
Lil Baby partnered with Foot Locker to give away $300,000 worth of sneakers and school supplies to kids in Atlanta. Read more → complex
English soccer team Crystal Palace has recruited sports marketing pro Kenny Annan-Jonathan as its creative director to lead apparel collections and fashion collabs — the first role of its kind in the Premier League. Read more → bof
Tech, Web3, & AI
After years of heavy losses, Uber is finally making money — the first time the company has been profitable since 2009. Read more → wsj
After rolling out measures to stop AI companies from scraping Twitter to train their large language models, Elon Musk said his firm, xAI, will train its system on your tweets (X’s, posts, or whatever they’re called now). Read more → pcmag
Researchers at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine have helped a paralyzed patient regain feeling and movement thanks to AI-enabled brain implants. Read more → engadget
Creator Economy
YouTube is rolling out its own TikTok Live… er… “mobile-first vertical live experience” to get in on all that strange NPC-creator action (among other things). Read more → tubefilter
X will now let people cover up the shame of paying for a Twitter Blue (X Blue?) subscription by allowing users to hide their checkmarks. Read more → variety
Digital creators can multiply their followings by dubbing their content in different languages to reach new audiences… so a host of startups are lining up to offer their services. Read more → tubefilter
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.