Good Morning. Two goodbye letters yesterday. Tim Cook's after 15 years running Apple, Messi's after 21 with Argentina. Plus, the PBR heist, Michael Jordan's Wizards, and the first man banned from Kalshi (first time? Join 523,000 Betterists here).
Yesterday’s most clicked link: The NFL is going International
TOP STORY TODAY
Tupac’s Killer Convicted
A Las Vegas jury convicted Duane Davis of first-degree murder Monday in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. Jurors deliberated under three hours. He faces life in prison, with sentencing October 13.
Nobody was charged for nearly thirty years. Davis placed himself in the Cadillac in police interviews and a 2019 memoir, and prosecutors showed jurors a scrapbook he kept of articles about the shooting.
He did not fire the shots. Prosecutors argued he handed over the gun and called for them, as the leader younger gang members had to obey. He is the only one of the four still alive. What the defense argued.
Amazon Misleading Advertisers
The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon yesterday, alleging it added a hidden surcharge to ad auctions and took more than $20 billion from 1.2 million advertisers since 2019. Amazon called the case misguided.
More than 500,000 were small businesses. The complaint says the surcharge was calculated after each auction had already picked a winner and a price, then charged if it came out higher.
Amazon says its auctions saved advertisers $8 billion between 2021 and 2025. Regulators are seeking restitution, and recovery in cases like this is calculated from documented ad spend rather than estimates. How this changed CPC.
The move: if you ran Amazon ads since 2019, export and save the billing records now | What the internal documents called it
Messi’s Retirement
Lionel Messi announced yesterday that he is retiring from Argentina's national team at 39, ending 21 years, six weeks after losing the World Cup final to Spain. He posted a handwritten page (photos). Read the translation here.
He dated the note July 21, two days after the final, then held it while his father was ill. Jorge Messi died August 8. Messi announced a retirement once before, in 2016.
He reversed that one and went on to win two Copa Américas and the 2022 World Cup, Argentina's first in 36 years. He leaves with 125 goals in 207 games and keeps playing for Inter Miami. Only one man has scored more.
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Tim Cook’s Final Memo at Apple
“There is something truly special about Apple. I am most proud of what an annual report could never capture. This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything. We share a belief that what we build matters, and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it.”
Full memo here. John Ternus is the new CEO.
Lawncare: How To Do A Fall Overseed
Fall is about 3 weeks away. Do it in this order or the seed sits on top of dead grass and never touches dirt.
Scalp it. Drop the mower a level at a time until it's as short as it goes. Bag the clippings. It will look terrible. That's the point.
Dethatch twice. One pass each direction, blade set as low as it goes. Rake up between passes. This step is the whole job.
Seed. Perennial ryegrass germinates in 7 to 10 days. Overseed at 5 to 7 pounds per thousand square feet.
Top-dress with peat moss. An eighth to a quarter inch, no more. This is what pushes seed into soil, and seed-to-soil contact is what decides germination.
Water short and often. Two or three times a day. Keep it damp, not soaked.
Wait two weeks before mowing. Fertilize before that and the established grass crowds out what you just planted. Add this the 10-minute tutorial to your calendar.
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Fun Links
Mini-doc: Michael Jordan + the Wizards [Video]
Chicago Cubs create rom-com series [Blog]
$25,000 worth of PBR stolen yesterday [Blog]
One major perk of staying single [Blog]
Which cities overspend the most on cars? [List]
A look at blue collar bodybuilding [Video]
Auction: Steve Jobs’ 8th grade science fair [Blog]
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