Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 📲 Apple is refreshing Siri
• 🏗️ Meta’s “workforce academy”
• 🎓 Free college campus 'for sale'

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.82-minute read (1,016 words).

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"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear."

–Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Hollywood isn’t the only behemoth whose strategy involves leaning into reboots. On Monday, Apple announced an all-new version of Siri during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), a move that could bring its 15-year-old glorified timer digital assistant up to speed with AI rivals like ChatGPT and Claude.

What’s new: Outside of its timer and alarm responsibilities, the rebuilt Siri (what Apple is calling “Siri AI”) will be able to factor personal information on a user’s iPhone into answers, such as referring to a user’s photos, messages, calendar events, etc. when responding to queries.

Additionally, Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen, or go out to the web to get up-to-date information using broad world knowledge and generate a helpful answer. Siri 2.0 will be available both in a standalone app and on-device, and also comes with a more conversational chatbot-like interface.

Why so Siri-ous?

After announcing an ambitious set of AI features two years ago at WWDC 2024, Apple has struggled to deliver upon these promises, recently agreeing to pay $250 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of “misleading consumers” about Apple Intelligence’s availability and performance. And while Apple stock keeps heading higher, AI disappointments have spurred short-term selloffs over the past couple of years.

Catching up in the AI race has been seen as a clear priority for Apple and incoming CEO John Ternus (more on that in a sec). Earlier this year, it struck a deal with Google for Gemini to power new Apple Intelligence and Siri features, allowing Apple to focus on its AI products and features, not the models that underpin them.

The initial result of this partnership and renewed concentration was revealed yesterday; in addition to a rebuilt Siri, Apple showcased iOS 27, its upcoming software release that it hopes will deliver the next generation of Apple Intelligence:

• Bloomberg reports iOS 27 is being positioned internally as Apple's "Snow Leopard" moment, a reference to the 2009 Mac OS X release that focused entirely on under-the-hood performance rather than new features.
• The implication being that iOS 27 is preparing Apple's software stack for everything that comes next, including a foldable iPhone expected as early as this fall.

Hello, goodbye: This year’s WWDC likely marks the last major event for departing CEO Tim Apple Cook, a longtime supply chain exec who, after taking over from the hardware-focused Steve Jobs in 2011, went on to guide Apple from a $350 billion company to one worth more than $3 trillion, and built one of the most profitable businesses in corporate history. During his tenure, Apple expanded beyond the iPhone into services, wearables, custom silicon, and privacy-focused features.

The September 1 installation of incoming CEO John Ternus, who like Jobs comes from a hardware background, marks a shift into the company’s next phase. Analysts view the board's choice of Ternus as reflecting an internal view that Apple's next decade will be defined by hardware-software co-design.

Investors aren’t stoked so far…Shares in Apple fell ~2% yesterday, as many of the new AI features the company announced were similar to advances that were previously unveiled and delayed.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🤖 OpenAI is preparing to transform ChatGPT into a "superapp" that prioritizes coding tools and agents, in its biggest overhaul since the chatbot launched in late 2022, per Financial Times report. | OpenAI also files confidential IPO paperwork with the SEC, setting up the AI giant to potentially go public as soon as this fall.
• 🏗️ Meta to launch free, five-week “workforce academy” to train Americans to build its data centers, with graduates guaranteed a job.
• 🏭 Nippon Steel plans to spend $2 billion–$2.5 billion to renovate the oldest steel mill owned by US Steel, which Nippon acquired in a controversial deal last year.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby wins injunction in Texas state court allowing him to play this season, overruling the NCAA’s ban on Sorsby for admitting to gambling on college sports (including dozens of bets on his own team’s games at Indiana); college sports leaders near-unanimously denounce the decision.
• 🏀 NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs (1-2) defeat NY Knicks (2-1) by a score of 115-111 in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, with Trump becoming the first sitting US President to attend an NBA game.
• 🐕 Scooby-Doo live-action series at Netflix reveals first look at the titular crime-solving canine; show is expected to debut in 2027.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🐝 Bumblebees can solve a classic problem set previously solved by chimps and elephants, despite having brains roughly the size of a sesame seed, per new Science study.
• 🦠 WHO and Africa CDC unveil $518 million emergency response plan to combat the ongoing Ebola outbreak through November; it comes as confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC rose to 515 on Monday, including 91 deaths.
• 🌿 Traditional Chinese medicinal root emerges as potential new hair loss treatment after being linked to healthier hair follicles, improved scalp blood flow, and hair-growth signals.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 💥 Iran and Israel agree to pause attacks against each other after exchanging missile fire, while warning that any violations could trigger renewed hostilities.
• ⚖️ Federal judge blocks President Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee, ruling the administration unlawfully imposed a tax without congressional authorization.
• 🗳️ Nithya Raman, a progressive City Council member, overtakes Republican Spencer Pratt for second place in Los Angeles’ mayoral race; the winner between the two will face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who won the primary.

☝️ A world record 254 people gathered in Ontario, Canada, to participate in the largest game of human foosball ever recorded. The competition was held in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the US, which kicks off on Thursday.

🤔 Did you know? Hungary holds the world record for inflation in a single month, with a 42 quadrillion percent (41,900,000,000,000,000%) monthly rate recorded in July 1946. This means prices doubled once every ~15 hours for the entire month, which came as Hungary’s government bet that hyperinflation could allow it to escape massive, unsustainable debts following World War II.

📰 Worth a read: Google plans on releasing mosquitoes by the millions.

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• Free college campus listed in Vermont
• Happiest couples do these 5 things at night—instead of watching TV
• 7 ways to trick yourself into eating better

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Yesterday we covered the increasingly popular idea of the US government taking an ownership position in major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which has been floated by Sam Altman, President Trump, and Sen. Bernie Sanders in different forms.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should the US government take equity stakes in major American AI companies?

• Yes: 25%
• No: 53%
• Unsure/other: 22%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

❓ Follow-up question for “Yes” folks: Which of the proposals do you support more?

• Trump’s version: 37%
• Sanders’ version: 63%

+Note on sample size: We received 590 votes and 52 longform responses.

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❓ Trivia: What’s the only US state that doesn’t have a rectangular flag?

🎓 True or false?… Rh Null, or Golden Blood, is the most common blood type in the world.

🤔 Riddle me this: What gets wet while drying?

🎭 Inmates are taking the stage in a UK prison theater program, using performance to challenge stereotypes, build confidence, and reshape how both they and the public see life behind bars.

+Note: This story previously appeared in Positive DONUT.

❓ Trivia: Ohio

🎓 True or false?… False, it’s the rarest

🤔 Riddle: A towel

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