đ An Olympic scandal in Paris

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Hereâs what you need to know
The Paris 2024 Olympic committee is already facing a corruption scandal. Authorities raided i ts offices as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement of public funds and favoritism.
The missing submersible didnât have a great track record. Passengers have been flagging regulatory and safety concerns for at least a year.
Hyundai is doubling down on EV production. The company aims to sell 2 million cars by 2030, even as its Ioniq 5 is being probed for letting down drivers (warning sound before power failure: a âloud popâ).
Alibaba shook up its leadership. Eddie Wu will take over as CEO from Daniel Zhang, who has been leading the Chinese conglomerate for eight years, and Joseph Tsai will become chairman. Read more about these two, who are credited among Alibabaâs co-founders.
The worldâs most expensive cities
For the wealthy as well as everyone else, the cost of living climbed over the past year as prices rose. The Julius Baer Lifestyle Index evaluates the cost of 20 items associated with a high-end, cosmopolitan lifestyle, such as premium residential property, luxury cars, business-class flights, and extravagant dinners to compile an annual list of the worldâs most expensive cities.

See how the top 20 cities have been reshuffled since last year.
The inconvenient truth of wildfire data
One of these things is not like the others:

Youâll note that, except for one olâ timey outlier, Californiaâs most intense wildfires have been disturbingly recent. The data tells a troubling story, says Clarisa Diaz, who also told us about the burgeoning industry surrounding firetech on the Quartz Obsession podcast.
Virgin Galacticâs stock is ready for takeoff
The stock price isnât exactly to the Moon yet, but the space tourism companyâs plan to offer commercial service at the end of this month ignited investorsâ boosters.

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Surprising discoveries
Apple wants all the apples. Not content with its iconic bitten apple, the tech giant has been going after the whole fruit in trademark battles.
A 619-pound blue marlin wasnât pretty enough to win its competition. Adding insult to injury, judges ultimately disqualified the fish because of its visible shark bite.
Bouncy houses are becoming an adult activity. Bad backs and bad knees, be damned!
Hunter boots are in trouble. Dry weather means no oneâs into paying $175 for sweaty feet.
China has installed more EV chargers than 70% of the planet. Is it forward thinking or overspending?
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