🌞 Tuna Sandwich – June 24 2021

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00am ET.

• Markets: Major cryptocurrencies ticked lower this morning as they remain under pressure from a sell-off triggered by regulatory action in China.
• Economy: New weekly jobless claims are expected to continue to drop when the Labor Department releases their numbers this morning. 

The Lead: Infrastructure Stimulus

credit: getty

There's a buzz in D.C. that we might be close to a deal. Congressional leaders will meet with President Biden today to try to reach a deal over the $1 trillion infrastructure proposal. 

The President’s original plan was for over $2 trillion but that did not fly with Republicans who are still concerned about spending money on credit. Republicans have been willing to discuss less expensive packages implemented over time. The current discussion revolves around $973 billion over five years and $1.2 trillion if it continues over eight years. 

This deal came from a bipartisan group of 21 Senators. Republicans refused to budge on the idea of raising corporate taxes to pay for this and it seems that the White House has given in on that and instead proposed a gas tax and a fee on electric vehicles. 

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Forget Cars, Meet The Tesla Home

credit: tesla

Tesla has signed a deal with home builder Alset EHome to build solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and a Powerwall battery into each new home in an entire community. 

One of the hurdles to EV and solar panel adoption is the upfront cost and the pain of deciding whether or not your home and roof can accommodate panels. Solar companies regularly turn down customers whose homes either have too much shade or the wrong infrastructure for panels. None of that will be a problem in these new communities! 

The first Alset community will be in Porter, Texas. The goal is to build 100 homes by the end of 2021. 

In addition to Tesla solar power, the homes will also have water filtration and purified air filters built-in and the housing community will have a solar farm and organic farm in shared spaces. The developers call it a community “designed to power itself.” 

Just Winging It

credit: cnn

Since there is a chicken wing shortage, restaurants would like patrons to fall in love with chicken thighs. Wingstop, the national chain, has launched Thighstop, a virtual brand that sells crispy breaded chicken thighs. 

Why are there so few chicken wings? During the pandemic, wings were a popular takeout option. Sales at Wingstop grew 21% last year. The wholesale price has skyrocketed as a result. 

“The [wholesale] price of wings a year ago was as low as 98 cents,” per pound, Charlie Morrison, Chairman and CEO of Wingstop Restaurants Inc., told CNN. "Today, it's at $3.22. So it's a meaningful difference." Thighs, on the other hand, are "much less expensive," he said, coming in at about half of what wings cost per pound today.

But do diners want the thighs? Not quite. Americans prefer white meat. Morrison says that thighs “don’t get the appreciation they deserve.” 

News By The Numbers

credit: guardian

$1.99. That is the cost of the “CRISTIANO” reusable glass water bottle now on sale at Ikea. This is an homage to Cristiano Ronaldo’s shunning of soda in favor of water at a recent press conference. 

40%. That is how much Victoria Beckham’s clothing line will reduce the costs of dresses in order to “future-proof” demand for fashion in a post-pandemic world. 

$3,630. That is the cost per kilo of the Miyazaki mango, the most expensive in the world. An Indian couple planted some unbeknown of the value and now has to hire security guards and dogs to prevent theft. A single mango from their tree costs $50. 

$41.52 trillion. That is how much money the wealthiest 1% of Americans controlled in the first quarter of 2021, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Monday. Conversely, the bottom 50% controlled just $2.62 trillion. 

Sustainable Lego

credit: Giphy

Confession: Lego is the most plasticky thing we buy our children, despite its impact on the planet. We buy those enormous Star Wars builds for our children because it occupies them for hours and we know they’re not sustainable. But soon we can do this without guilt! 

Lego has developed bricks made from recycled plastic which the Danish company says will hit the market in the next 18 to 24 months. A single one-liter plastic bottle can yield about 10 standard Lego bricks. 

Current Lego bricks are made with oil-based plastic and the company admits to using 100,000 tons of plastic per year. The company has been making some parts of their products with sustainable parts but the bricks themselves area challenge. The recycled plastic bricks are hard to dye and are a bit flimsy but they are still prototypes. 

Lego has invested $400 million in research and development of sustainable materials. Mattel has also committed to using sustainable materials in its plastic toys by 2030.

Do You Need A Bra In Space?

credit: giphy

Tide is developing laundry detergent for space in partnership with NASA. Astronauts need clean undies too! 

The space detergent has to be degradable and work in the closed-loop water system that is currently at the International Space Station. This means that water, air and even urine are recycled back into usable water. With this kind of system, you can’t put heavy chemicals into your laundry if the water will be filtered into potable water. Tide's space detergent has to clean stains and odors with far less water. 

If Tide succeeds, this product could make its way to Earth-bound consumers. It would be one of many consumer products that were developed for space but became useful on Earth. Did you know that solar panels were originally developed for the Mars Rover and that Velcro was originally developed for space suits? 

NASA says that if astronauts can do laundry, they won’t have to pack so many clothes for their trips. I guess they’d been bringing their dirty laundry back with them? Who knew? 

Today's Live Show

WHO KILLED JOHN MCAFEE? MATT GAETZ EMBARRASSES HIMSELF AGAIN

Join us on today's live morning show. We'll be looking at the mystery surrounding billionaire John McAfee's suddent death. Matt Gaetz tries to embarrass a General and it backfires. President Biden nears a deal on stimulus, and much more. Click here to RSVP and I'll see you at 9 AM Eastern. 

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