Good morning, it's Wednesday, Sept. 2. A US Postal Service whistleblower warning ahead of the midterms. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: a possible detection of dark matter (Need To Know), the Los Angeles Angels' next owner (Sports, Ent., & Cult.), House passes funding bill (Pol. & World Affairs), America's loudest states (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

USPS Whistleblower Claims

A whistleblower warned Congress yesterday that a rushed US Postal Service system stemming from President Donald Trump’s effort to impose new federal requirements on mail voting could prevent legitimate ballots from reaching voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The system, temporarily blocked by a federal judge, would require election officials to upload voter information and ballot bar codes to a federal portal before ballots are mailed, giving USPS a new role in verifying who may receive them—a process traditionally handled by state and local officials (see what’s different). The whistleblower alleges USPS built the system in roughly three months, despite such projects typically taking roughly a year. A single bar code failing a sample check could cause an entire batch to be rejected and returned to election officials. Roughly 30% of Americans voted by mail in 2024; see how mail-ballot deadlines vary by state.

Explore the 160-year history of voting by mail, beginning with Civil War soldiers casting ballots from the battlefield.

A Glimmer of Dark?

Hundreds of physicists are poring over a finding that may signal the first-ever detection of dark matter—or is otherwise difficult to explain using any known particle. They published their findings yesterday in the hope of gathering input from scientists across the world.

Dark matter accounts for about 85% of the matter in the universe. We cannot see or touch it, but its existence is considered necessary to explain how galaxies rotate, among other phenomena (watch our favorite explainer). To detect dark matter, scientists filled a tank with liquid xenon and placed it a mile underground. The goal was to minimize, isolate, and identify particles passing through. Visible particles would predictably release light and electrons; however, there is one case—recorded in June 2023—where a particle released energy on a scale suggesting its mass is more than 200 times that of a proton.

Researchers say there is a 0.5% chance the recording could be explained by other known physical properties. Go deeper with one potential dark matter candidate: supersymmetric particles.

Russian Drones in Germany

The German government accused Russia yesterday of directing three drones to Leipzig/Halle Airport in the eastern town of Schkeuditz last month. Germany's second-largest cargo airport serves as a key logistics hub for shipments bound for Ukraine.

On Aug. 4, an airport employee found a drone carrying military-grade explosives near a Ukrainian cargo plane parked in a secure area. A second drone hit a different cargo plane approaching the airport. A third landed in a nearby field. None of the drones detonated. Germany’s investigation revealed elements of the attack were consistent with hybrid operations Russia has employed against Ukraine. In response, the government announced yesterday that it is tightening restrictions on Russians entering the country, terminating the lease of a Russian cultural center in Berlin, and closing its last Russian consulate. The Kremlin denies responsibility. 

Germany did not call for NATO action in response to the attack. Here’s how the alliance works (w/video).

 In The Know 

Science & Technology

> Waymo expands its autonomous vehicle services to San Diego, Denver, and Tampa, Florida; Amazon plans to test its Zoox robotaxi in Houston and San Diego with human supervisors (More) | How do self-driving cars navigate? (More, w/video)

> New map of the brain region responsible for movement control, decision-making, and habit-forming could lead to more efficient drugs for Huntington’s disease, addiction, schizophrenia, and other disorders (More) 

> Reheating clay pottery can offer researchers a new way to identify counterfeits; the approach reveals a time stamp left behind by Earth’s magnetic field when a piece was originally fired (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.7%, Dow -0.8%, Nasdaq -1.0%) as rising bond yields and oil prices weigh on stocks (More) | Why do bond yields matter? (More, w/video) | ... and why global bond yields are rising to multiyear highs (More) 

> Camera maker GoPro to merge with Starman Optical in $285M deal, expanding into AI, defense, and aerospace; GoPro shares jump 40% on the news (More) | GoPro's unlikely surfing origins (More) 

> Shein shares drop 9% after the Chinese e-commerce giant debuts on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (More) | Dell shares rise 8% in after-hours trading after reporting better-than-expected earnings, fueled by demand for AI servers (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> US launches new round of strikes against Iran, with President Donald Trump accusing Iran of planting more sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz; Jordan says it intercepted 10 ballistic missiles as of this writing (More) | See war updates (More)

> Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) heads off primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D, MA-6) (More) | House votes 370-48 to pass bill extending funding by three months in effort to avoid federal government shutdown Oct. 1; the bill already passed the Senate and heads to President Donald Trump's desk for signature (More) 

> Judge orders jurors deadlocked in Lindsay Clancy case to return to deliberations (More) | See previous write-up (More)

Ranking states by how loud they are. 

Poll shows which Americans see themselves as "working class."

South Korean trend involves simulated shopping.

Why some Gen Z men are "pheromone maxxing."

Serena Williams' body double makes it to the US Open.

Why "artnappers" have to ransom their stolen goods. (w/video)

"Grey Beard" hiker completes Appalachian Trail at age 91.

Why did people stop wearing hats 60 years ago?

... and folding fans are making a comeback in Spain.

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Historybook: US Treasury Department is founded (1789); Japan surrenders, ending World War II (1945); Astronaut and teacher Christa McAuliffe born (1948); Actor and musician Keanu Reeves born (1964); Vietnamese president and revolutionary Hồ Chí Minh dies (1969).

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