Good morning. In today’s edition:

• ☢️ US-Saudi nuclear deal
• 🌍 Trump imposes new global tariffs
• 🥶 The human fridge

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.34-minute read (1,155 words).

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"The world only exists in your eyes – your conception of it. You can make it as big or as small as you want to."

–Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Yesterday, President Trump unveiled plans to add a new condition to the landmark US-Saudi nuclear agreement announced earlier this week, saying the deal will only move forward if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes relations with Israel.

Quick background

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, are a series of US-brokered agreements establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries.

• Saudi Arabia, who wasn’t a part of that initial agreement, later grew close to normalizing relations with Israel under a potential megadeal negotiated by the Biden admin, though it was ultimately sidetracked following Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.
• The Biden admin’s US-Saudi deal would have included a defense pact and cooperation on a civilian nuclear program.

What’s in Trump’s new agreement?...Under the landmark 30-year nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia signed Wednesday by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, American companies would help establish a commercial nuclear power industry in the kingdom.

• The deal would trigger a two-year study over whether uranium enrichment—a key process in both nuclear energy and weaponry—is feasible and necessary on Saudi soil.
• If enrichment is eventually permitted, Saudi Arabia would be required to source its commercial nuclear technology, material, and equipment exclusively from US companies, completely blocking out competing nations like China and Russia.
• The deal would rely on American inspection teams to monitor Saudi Arabia's compliance, rather than an International Atomic Energy Agency protocol allowing for snap inspections by the UN.

Lawmakers’ reactions are split

Supporters of the deal, including many Republicans in Congress, note that it gives the US greater control over Saudi Arabia's nuclear program than if the kingdom sought similar partnerships elsewhere.

• Under the deal, any future uranium enrichment on Saudi soil would be controlled by US companies using technology that isn't shared with Saudi Arabia, which proponents say reduces the risk of nuclear proliferation.
• Trump admin officials also say the agreement significantly strengthens US-Saudi ties, and builds regional security by normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

On the flip side: Many nonproliferation experts and Democratic lawmakers have pushed back against the deal, arguing that it still gives Saudi Arabia access to sensitive nuclear technology, and warning that its safeguards are unlikely to hold over the long term.

• Some critics question whether the separate US-Saudi monitoring agreement—outside of UN authority—provides enough oversight of Saudi nuclear activity to prevent weaponization.
• Others argue that signing the nuclear agreement without firm assurances of a broader Israel-Saudi peace deal has weakened one of Washington's strongest sources of leverage to encourage normalization with Israel.

Looking ahead…Trump is expected to submit the US-Saudi deal to Congress, triggering a 90-day review period before lawmakers vote on it. While some will likely oppose the deal, they’re not expected to reach the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.

However, Trump’s condition that Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords could prove a major hurdle. Saudi leaders have repeatedly said they won't normalize relations with Israel unless there's an irreversible and time-bound path toward a Palestinian state, while Israeli leaders have consistently opposed committing to such a framework.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the Trump admin’s new nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

⚽🎟️ The average World Cup final ticket sold for $12,751 on SeatGeek in the lead up to the game, beating out the 2024 Super Bowl—by $2,000+—to become the most expensive sporting event ever on the site.

⚡ The combined electricity demand added by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta between 2022-2025 is roughly twice the entire annual consumption of New York City, per VU Amsterdam researcher Alex de Vries-Gao.

🍽️ Reservations for solo dining have risen by 23% over the past year, according to OpenTable data.

🏢 Americans filed a record-high 5.7 million new business applications last year, and are currently on track to surpass that figure in 2026, Census Bureau data shows.

🍺 Gen Z is boozing after all: 74% of Gen Zers have had a drink in the past six months, up sharply from 66% just three years ago, per IWSR data. For comparison, that figure is 76% among all US adults.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US stocks close down across the board as oil prices rise above $100/barrel amid renewed conflict in the Middle East (S&P: -1.2% | Dow: -1.0% | Nasdaq: -2.2%)
• 🌍 Trump admin unveils new tariffs ranging from 10%-12.5% on 60 countries that collectively make up 99% of all US trade; they replace a temporary 10% global tariff enacted by President Trump after the Supreme Court struck down most of his earlier global tariffs. | Trump announces plans to impose a 100% tariff on imported generic drugs in 2028 unless manufacturers move their operations to the US, increasing to 200% after one year.
• 💼 Just 187,000 Americans filed new unemployment benefit claims last week, the lowest number in 56+ years (dating back to September 1969).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎶 Shania Twain’s seventh studio album, Little Miss Twain, releases today.
• 🎥 Venice Film Festival announces lineup for upcoming 83rd edition.
• 💥 San Diego Comi-Con kicked off Thursday, with 135,000+ attendees expected during the four-day convention.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧓 Absolute peak of human lifespan is around 150-190 years, assuming scientists create the perfect anti-aging medicine, per new study; researchers say immortal life in humans is currently scientifically impossible, since random DNA mutations would continue accumulating in our cells until the body could no longer function.
• 🌕 Astronomers may have discovered the first moon outside of our solar system, called an “exomoon,” that’s orbiting a brown dwarf 71 light-years from Earth.
• 🌿 Moss patches produce surprisingly complex electrical activity that looks similar to a neural network, new research reveals.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 📉 America is on track to reach a new historic low in the annual homicide rate in 2026; homicide rates have fallen 18% this year compared to 2025, which recorded the lowest rate since 1900 (4 in 100,000 people).
• 🧑‍⚖️ DOJ withdraws subpoenas against NY Times reporters over their coverage of security issues involving President Trump’s new Air Force One jet, which was gifted to him by the Qatari government.
• 🏛️ Pentagon signs 10-yr contract with Oracle worth nearly $7 billion for use of its software at military data centers.

☝️ Engineers at Northwestern University have developed the Phantom Twist, a prototype drone that uses motion blur to appear as a faint haze, and is ~10 times less visible than a conventional quadcopter. Researchers say the design could make drones less disruptive for tasks like monitoring wildlife, surveying ecosystems, and inspecting infrastructure.

🤔 Did you know? There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Scientists estimate Earth has ~3 trillion trees, while the Milky Way contains roughly 100–400 billion stars. That works out to about 7–30 trees on Earth for every star in our galaxy.

📰 Worth a read: How Netflix broke TV’s most important promise

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The human fridge: the best way to cool down?
• Mark Zuckerberg is an AI optimist
• The power of little treats

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1. What is the perimeter of a rectangle with length 7 cm and width 4 cm?
2. What is the median of this set of numbers: 12, 15, 9, 18, 15, 21?
3. Is pi a rational or irrational number?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

🏎️ When a paralyzed Ohio shelter kitten couldn't walk on its own, a vet thought of a quick and clever solution: making the kitty a custom wheelchair out of tiny Hot Wheel toys.

1. 22 cm
2. 15
3. Irrational, since it can’t be written as a simple fraction

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