Today’s Big Story

Going for the Gold

Here’s how much athletes at the Paris Olympics earn for winning medals

There are 184 countries competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. And while the spirit of the Olympics is about striving for personal bests and the comraderie of sport, it’s also a massive competition—maybe the biggest on Earth. And those who win have their lives changed forever. There’s Olympic glory, and then there’s a real pay day from national committees, the sports themselves and endorsements. Especially this year, when going for the gold takes on new meaning. So just how much is standing atop that podium worth?

When athletes win at the 2024 Games, they bring home more than just a gold, silver or bronze medal (and a little piece of the Eifel Tower)—they also take home a decent chunk of change. But as it turns out, the exact payout depends on the athlete’s country of origin.

Forbes reports that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee rewards gold medalists with $37,500, silver medalists with $22,500 and bronze medalists with $15,000. But some of the payouts for athletes from other countries dwarf those of the United States. According to a survey conducted by USA Today Sports, athletes from countries such as Malaysia, Morocco or Serbia would receive upwards of $200,000 for bringing home the Olympics’ highest honor. And at least six other countries, including Italy, offer payouts of more than $100,000. Others reportedly sweeten the deal with apartments, vacation vouchers and extra money if an athlete breaks an Olympic record.

And while the International Olympic Committee does not give out prize money for winning medals, individual sport federations are now exploring ways to reward winners. The global track and field organization, World Athletics, announced that for the Paris Games, they’d issue $50,000 to individual gold medalists regardless of country (and for relay teams, the $50,000 winnings will be divided evenly). The WA also hopes to make similar announcements for silver and bronze medalists at future Olympic Games.

And speaking of medal hauls, Team USA just made history after becoming the first country in the world to earn 3,000 total Olympic medals. The U.S. achieved the rare feat after American swimmers won four additional medals at the swimming finals on Tuesday, July 30. Team USA confirmed the milestone with a message on X that featured photos of several Olympic athletes showing off their medals.

Gen X, Millennials More Likely to Get Cancer

The rates for 17 of the 34 most common cancers are increasing in progressively younger generations

Well, this is a little disheartening, speaking as an elder millennial who has already survived a bout with melonoma: Generation X and millennials are at an increased risk of developing certain cancers compared with older generations. The shift, experts say, is likely due to generational changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental exposures.

The large scale study from the American Cancer Society found adults in their 30s, 40s and 50s are more likely than previous generations were to develop 17 different types of cancers, including breast, liver and pancreatic cancers. While the new study doesn’t answer why this is happening, Sung and other experts have a prime suspect in their sights: obesity. Ten out of 17 of the cancers that are becoming more common over the generations have been linked to obesity, the study authors noted.

On the bright side, while the risk of getting cancer is rising, the risk of dying from most cancers has stabilized or declined among younger people. But if the current trend continues, Ahmedin Jemal, of the American Cancer Society (who was the senior author of the study) says the increased cancer and mortality rates among younger people may “halt or even reverse the progress that we have made in reducing cancer mortality over the past several decades.”

Dark Chocolate Is Good for Us, Right?

A lot of chocolate contains lead and other heavy metals. How worried should we be?

Whenever I eat dark chocolate, I’m convinced it’s basically an act of self-care. But I actually prefer the semi-sweet, slightly bitter chocolate to the more standard milk chocolate. However, new research published Wednesday found heavy metals in dark chocolate—it’s the latest in a string of studies to raise concerns about toxins in cocoa products. Why can’t we have nice things?!

The researchers tested 72 dark chocolate bars, cocoa powders and nibs to see if they were contaminated with heavy metals and 43% contained higher levels of lead than the law considers safe, and 35% had higher concentrations of cadmium. Both metals are considered toxic and have been associated with a range of health issues. Surprisingly, organic products were found to contain higher levels of lead and cadmium compared to nonorganic items. But none of the products surpassed the maximum for arsenic … so we’ve got that going for us.

And “the amount of lead that was found, in general, was not alarming,” said Leigh Frame, the co-lead author of the study told the Washington Post. The study’s findings are not a reason to stop eating dark chocolate, Frame said. “I would not want someone to be afraid of chocolate,” she said. “That would be the worst thing that could come out of the study to me … frankly, it’s a small contributor to our diet.” And some studies suggest flavonoids found in dark chocolate may lower the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

Honda Restored Its First Concept

After four decades, the incredible HP-X is finally coming to America

Between political unrest and the ever-expanding use of seemingly omnipotent artificial intelligence, it can sometimes feel like we are living in a version of George Orwell’s 1984. But at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Honda will rewind history to 1984 in a more positive light. The Honda HP-X concept, a stunning mid-engine sports car originally revealed at the 1984 Turin auto show, has been meticulously restored and will gleam under the sunlight on the Pebble Beach lawn later this month.

In terms of design, the HP-X was a wild departure from anything Honda—or any Japanese car company—had done at the time, featuring a radical wedge shape and fighter jet-inspired interior. The Drive says it’s easy to see the Italian influence in its design, given the popularity of cars like the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa back then. Unlike those, however, this was a real concept car, meaning it had some truly radical characteristics. For example, the HP-X doesn’t have any doors. Instead, it sports a removable single-piece Perspex canopy.

According to Jalopnik, Honda experimented with several advanced materials, too, using honeycomb panels, carbon fiber and Kevlar to reduce the HP-X concept’s weight and improve its performance. What’s especially cool is that some of the lessons learned here later showed up in the first-generation NSX (sold globally as a Honda and with an Acura badge in the U.S.). It also featured an Electronic Drive Support System that used “special sonar” and previewed more advanced technologies such as navigation and road warnings that we now take for granted.

The Long Read

A world built for cars has made life so much harder for grown-ups

Make yourself happy.