Rebellion weakens Putin

We’re also covering:

• An epic fight over realtors could reshape homebuying forever.
• Inside JPMorgan Chase’s drawn-out breakup with Jeffrey Epstein.
• How the loss of the Titan submersible was years in the making.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

Student loans, cruise, & Lemon

• Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan might not be doomed after two new rulings from conservative Supreme Court justices.
• A Royal Caribbean cruise was battered by gusts of rain and wind before departure. Passengers shared videos of patrons sliding across the deck during the storm.
• The former CNN anchor Don Lemon spoke out two months after his ouster from the network: “I’m not a perfect person. No one is.”

Wagner rebellion

As Charles R. Davis reports, experts say that Russians won’t forget the sight of mercenaries seizing military installations, capturing a city home to more than one million people, and marching to within striking distance of the Kremlin.

The Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin showed that the Russian president no longer enjoys a monopoly of force in his country. Mikhail Zygar, a Russian journalist, told The New Yorker that there is a “growing feeling” that Putin is “a lame duck” who’s “not really running the country.”

Zygar added that, while the crisis was staved off following the intervention from the president of Belarus, the damage to Putin’s standing had already been done.

Real-estate, JPMorgan, & more

• An epic fight over how real-estate agents get paid could transform the housing market forever. Two class-action lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors and the country’s largest brokerages pose an existential threat to the real-estate industry. If the plaintiffs prevail, these cases could radically reshape what buying and selling homes looks like.
• The Titan submersible’s “catastrophic implosion” was years in the making. Experts and even former passengers have described major flaws with the vessel’s construction and safety features. Together, they paint a picture of a disastrously ill-equipped submersible created by a CEO who gloated about his disdain for safety regulations.
• Inside JPMorgan Chase’s drawn-out breakup with Jeffrey Epstein. Internal emails show that JPMorgan Chase executives worried about the bank’s ties to Epstein. So why did it take so long to cut him loose? Read our full story.
• The battle over short-term rentals is heating up in Montana. The number of short-term rentals in Bozeman nearly doubled from 2020 to 2023, and residents are locked in a debate over how to regulate them. Four Bozemanites share how they’re affected, from supporting their family to pricing them out.
• Jobs are now requiring experience with ChatGPT — and they’ll pay as much as $800,000 a year for the skill. We reviewed dozens of job postings to see which companies are looking to hire workers with that experience — and found companies focused on marketing, software development, and teaching are among those hiring.
• One man bought a lifetime pass from United Airlines for $290,000. He’s flown 23 million miles since. Tom Stuker, of New Jersey, bought the pass in 1990 — and according to The Washington Post, he’s now flown more miles than any individual in history. Stuker said it was the “best investment of my life.”
• A “Mythbusters” video shows what a deep-sea implosion does to a faux human in a scuba suit. An old clip has resurfaced on Twitter — but what it shows is under extremely different circumstances from the lost sub. You can watch it here.
• Step aside Ozempic and Wegovy. Another weight-loss drug, Mounjaro, is potentially even stronger, according to trial results. But the side effects could be stronger too. Read more.

Rounded houses

Air-travel heroes

Keep up with Insider

• Get Insider’s app and notifications to be the first to find out about the stories you want to know — from tech to business. Download it here.
• Become an Insider subscriber to get actionable, high-value news and insights to improve your career, company, and community. Subscribe here.
• Want more of Insider in your inbox? Sign up for our newsletters here.