NATO member Turkey has blocked Finland's and Sweden’s initial applications to quickly join the military alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has “legitimate security concerns that they [Finland and Sweden] have been supporting terrorist organizations,” though it remains unclear how far Turkey will go to impede the Nordic countries’ membership. Meanwhile, 700 more Ukrainian fighters that held out inside Mariupol’s pounded steel plant surrendered, and the first captured Russian soldier tried for war crimes has pleaded guilty to killing a civilian — he now faces life in prison. And in a rare sign of normalcy, the U.S. Embassy reopened in Kyiv after being closed for three months. NY TIMES

Interesting side note: Finns are so excited for their country to potentially join NATO, they launched a NATO-inspired beer.

More than a day after polls closed, the GOP Senate primary remains too close to call. Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz is deadlocked with hedge fund CEO David McCormick with fewer than 1,800 votes separating the two; at least 22,000 mail ballots are among votes still uncounted. Oz was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who has called for Oz to declare himself the winner, saying, “It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find.’” Trump made the assertion on Truth Social, the social media site he founded. If Oz and McCormick finish within 0.5 percentage points of each other, it would trigger an automatic recount under Pennsylvania’s election rules. AP

Making more moves to combat the baby formula shortage, President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act, which allows the government to direct suppliers of formula ingredients to prioritize delivery to formula manufacturers before other customers. Biden also launched Operation Fly Formula, which will speed up formula importation by permitting the use of the Department of Defense’s commercial planes to bring formula shipments from abroad. Earlier this week, the administration established a website, HHS.gov/formula, to provide resources to families in need. CNN
 
Biden: the baron of baby formula.

Thomas Lane, one of the former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's killing, has pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. Lane’s defense attorney said Lane agreed to plead guilty because he faced a mandatory 12-year sentence if convicted of unintentional murder in an upcoming trial. Instead, the state and Lane’s attorneys agreed to a recommended sentence of three years, which is below state sentencing guidelines, that can be served concurrently with a federal sentence. During the arrest, Lane was responsible for holding Floyd’s legs down while Derek Chauvin — who has since been convicted of murder — pressed his knee into the neck and back of Floyd. AP

The U.S. Men’s and Women’s soccer teams will be paid equally, following a years-long battle by the women’s team advocating for equal pay. Yesterday, a collective bargaining agreement reached by the U.S. Soccer Federation will evenly split World Cup prize money, which is based on how far a team advances in the tournament. This is key because the U.S. women have enjoyed far more success than the men; when the American women won the 2019 World Cup, players received a $110,000 bonus. Had the U.S. men won the World Cup, each player would have received $407,000. The U.S. federation is the first national governing body to reach such an agreement. CHEDDAR

One day after Walmart’s poor quarterly earnings performance, another retail giant faced a similar disappointment. Target reported a staggering 52% drop in its first-quarter profit, sharply missing Wall Street estimates. The company’s shares subsequently plunged 25%, its biggest decline since 1987. CEO Brian Cornell attributed the poor performance to supply chain disruptions and changes in shopping behavior — customers aren’t scaling back spending but are buying experience-based items, such as luggage, rather than lockdown-era items, like TVs. Cornell said it’s a sign of American consumer resilience; even with prices soaring, consumers continue to buy — just not the same things. CNBC

Safe to say that earnings … missed the target.

Martin Shkreli, known as Wall Street’s “Pharma Bro,” was released early from prison and transferred to a halfway house to complete his criminal sentence. Shkreli gained notoriety as the “Pharma Bro” after he aggressively defended his pharmaceutical company’s decision to hike the price of a lifesaving AIDS drug by more than 4,000%. However, Shkreli wasn’t serving this sentence for that crime, but for separate federal security fraud charges involving hedge funds he managed. Convicted in 2017, Shkreli was originally set to serve a seven-year sentence, but will be released from federal custody in September. WSJ

“Pharma Bro” sounds like the name of a CVS brand ambassador.

Amazon and New York have a checkered past, and it’s not getting any better. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state has filed an official complaint against the e-commerce giant, accusing the company of discriminating against pregnant and disabled workers by denying them reasonable accommodations and forcing them to take unpaid leave. The complaint mentioned one incident where a pregnant woman was refused accommodation to avoid lifting packages over 25 pounds. New York is calling on Amazon to pay fines for its actions and adopt nondiscriminatory policies. CHEDDAR

The first case of monkeypox has been detected in the U.S., as health officials confirmed that a Massachusetts resident tested positive for the virus. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the patient is an adult male who recently traveled to Canada, though most of the recent cases were detected in the United Kingdom. The health department said the small outbreak poses no risk to the public. But what is monkeypox? A rare disease first recorded in Africa in 1970, monkeypox can cause fever, muscle aches and fatigue. Health officials say it can be transmitted via large respiratory droplets in the air, or if an infected animal bites or scratches a person. ABC NEWS

At this point, it feels like we’re just naming viruses by randomly picking an animal and adding “pox” to it.

…New McFlurry flavor. Chocolatey Pretzel McFlurry combines salty and sweet, mixing vanilla soft-serve ice cream with chocolate-covered pretzel bits and a caramel swirl topping. The new McDonald's treat is available for a limited time starting May 25. ABC NEWS

…50 years of Big Macs: A Wisconsin man is celebrating 50 years of eating Big Macs nearly every single day. Don Gorske’s streak started on May 17, 1972, and since then, he's gone just eight days total without a Mickey D’s burger. TMZ

Congrats?

ThredUp CEO Sees Inflation Accelerate Growth of Secondhand Apparel Market

James Reinhart, CEO of ThredUp, one of the largest online secondhand and thrift store businesses, joined Cheddar to talk about the growing resale market in the United States, resale trends, and his biggest takeaway from the company's 10th annual resale report. CHEDDAR