Today’s Big Story

Iran’s President Dies in Crash

The Shiite cleric was seen as a possible successor to Iran’s supreme leader

Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, along with several other officials died on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in the country's East Azerbaijan province. A protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi was a conservative Shiite Muslim cleric who had a hand in some of the most brutal crackdowns on opponents of the Islamic Republic.

According to NBC News, the cause of the crash Sunday was not immediately clear. Iranian officials said fog and bad weather in the area slowed rescuers’ response. Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States was “one of the main culprits” in the crash that killed Raisi, citing U.S. sanctions affecting aviation in comments on state television.

Raisi’s sudden death, along with Iran’s foreign minister and other officials, comes as Iran struggles with internal dissent and its relations with the wider world. According to the Associated Press, Raisi lost an earlier presidential election to the relatively moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani in 2017, but ended up coming to power four years later in a vote carefully managed by the country’s supreme leader to clear any major opposition candidate.

The deaths also come at a time of turmoil in the wider region, as the war in Gaza has escalated tensions. The news elicited shocked responses from several world leaders and political figures, many of whom have aligned themselves with the country. In a statement, Hamas expressed condolences and thanked Iran for its support in the war with Israel.

The Iranian cabinet held an "emergency meeting" on Monday following the announcement of Raisi's death, state news agency IRNA reported. First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, 68, who is next in line to succeed Raisi, led the meeting. The chair where Raisi usually sits was vacant.

Unionization on the Rise

Disneyland character performers are the lastest group to form a union

Disneyland character performers in Anaheim, California voted to unionize with the Actors' Equity Association, the National Labor Relations Board confirmed Sunday. Disneyland Resort cast members, who play characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse and who perform at parades, voted 953-258 in favor of unionizing, according to a union statement that hailed the results as “a landslide victory.”

On the other side of the country, Disney World character actors have been represented by Teamsters since the 1980s. According to CNN, they now represent around 800 cast members at Disney World. This latest development is part of the national rise in private-sector unionizations, which rose by more than a quarter million last year.

According to the latest Gallup polls, unions continue to enjoy high support in the U.S., with 67% of Americans approving of them, similar to the elevated level seen in recent years after more than a decade of rising support. Some of the strongest support comes from young people. Entering the labor force in a time of economic uncertainty, Gen Zers are more pro-union now than when they first entered the workforce in 2016.

Mosquitoes Are Buzzing

Swarms are popping up in more places, and the future could bring even more

Here’s another unfortunate side effect to climate change. After flood-inducing rain pummeled much of Texas over the past few weeks, swarms of mosquitoes are now pummeling the area. Harris County health officials who monitor and try to control mosquito populations caught more of the little blood suckers in April compared to previous years.

According to the Washington Post, as the world gets warmer and—in many areas—wetter, scientists worry that human-caused climate change may turn more places into perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Higher temperatures often make the pests hungrier for human blood and allow them to expand their territory. Increased rainfall gives them more pools of standing water in which to procreate. Many types of mosquitoes wait for just this moment to spring to life.

One of the most prominent examples of this is the arrival of increasing numbers of mosquitoes in regions where they haven’t previously been a significant presence. Scotland, for example. But there are new methods being tested to keep them at bay. The effort includes releasing tens of thousands of sterilized male mosquitoes into the wild to mate with female mosquitoes—something that proved successful in Florida and is now being trialed in California.

The Longevity Industry Is Booming

The business of eternal youth is big business

Consumers, especially those with ample disposable income, are spending big on the colossal, growing longevity industry—everything from spas and healthy food subscriptions to gym memberships and state-of-the-art supplements.

The wellness industry is worth nearly $500 billion in the U.S. and $2 trillion globally, according to McKinsey data. 82% of American consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their everyday lives, the survey found. But there's a growing gap between what's available to wealthy consumers and everyone else. Axios found that most of the popular new offerings come at sky-high prices.

Per capita spending on wellness in North America is $5,108, Bloomberg reports. Accross the pond in Europe? It's just $1,596. Apparently, it pays to promise eternal youth: The wellness market is doubling down on rich customers with exclusive, luxury, hyper-personalized offerings, according to the Global Wellness Institute, an industry research group. Think invite-only Pilates classes at $75 a session, six-figure facelifts and elite clubs charging thousands in monthly fees for saunas and ice baths. What’s more, costs are even increasing on the cheaper end: Planet Fitness this month announced its first membership price hike in 26 years.

Your May Reading List

From two moving memoirs to a stylish crime spree story, there’s a lot check out this month

Have you been reading as much in 2024 as you'd hoped to be? We’re getting started on our reading list a little later than usual, but there are some great books to check out this month. I'm currently finishing up one book, so I'm ready to find a new one. Thankfully, this month brings some good fiction and non-fiction options.

Please choose wisely.