Daily Pulse: Obama's Supreme Court Wild Card, A $2 Billion CEO Email Scam, A Huge Stanford Bequest

And I raise you … President Obama is vetting a centrist Republican, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Mike DeBonis and Juliet Eilperin report for The Washington Post. This might just be high-stakes politics, since the Senate's GOP leadership has said pre-emptively they won’t consider anyone Obama nominates. The optics would be difficult, and that may be the only point of what may not even be a trial balloon: If this comes true Senate Republicans would have to snub one of their own or reverse what they have put forth as a principled stand. One more thing: The Senate approved him for a federal judgeship in 2005, when he was a George Bush nominee.

The Pound takes a pounding: Britain’s currency is trading at seven-year lows on fears the country will leave the European Union — a distinct possibility now that "Brexit" is up for popular vote on June 23. Prime Minister David Cameron is campaigning to stay in the 28-nation bloc, but many in his Conservative Party are on the other side. Among the most prominent is London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has ambitions to be PM himself.

Nigerian CEO: A twist on a familiar email scam has cost businesses more than $2 billion over the last two years, Kara Scannell of The Financial Times reports. How?! An email which appears to be from the CEO convinces an employee to wire money somewhere. These are pretty big bank accounts: The average loss has been $120,000, but some companies have been tricked into sending as much as $90 million to the thieves.

Per Amy Qin in the New York Times: The Mermaid tells the story of a mermaid named Shanshan (Lin Yun) who is sent on a mission to prevent a tycoon, Liu Xuan (Deng Chao), from moving forward with an environmentally disastrous plan to develop a scenic waterfront property. In a review in The New York Times, Glenn Kenny called it an ‘exhilarating, bizarre, good-hearted, blatantly obvious sci-fi-fantasy-slapstick eco-fable.’”

Save the World: Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight pledged $400 million to Stanford University, one of the largest university bequests ever. The gift is more than half the endowment for a new program which aims “to address society’s most intractable problems, including poverty and climate change,” writes Alessandra Stanley in The New York Times.

What Do You Really Think: Facebook has rolled out “reactions” to all users, meaning that everyone on the world’s largest social network can now like, love, laugh, or express awe, sadness or anger instead of just liking something. Time to get in touch with your true feelings …

Cover Art: LCpl Darren King checks over the Bloodhound SSC, a supersonic car backers hope will beat the current land speed record of 763 mph. The bid has been postponed to 2017 due to lack of funds, but a test run by the car — powered by a Eurofighter jet engine and A ROCKET — could be held this year.

What you may have missed — and really should read:

• A Former Homeless Man’s Perspective into Homelessness in San Francisco
• Bill Gates just wrote a rallying cry for clean energy. But is it enough? Gates discusses his letter in our interview.
• Could the Yelp scandal have been avoided? Here’s why companies should offer career coaching as a wellness benefit
• Joe Nocera is not on good terms with the NCAA: Is it exploiting young athletes?

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Missed the last update? Catch up: 'Three in a Row for Trump, The Pound Hits a New Low, Is Code Free Speech?'

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