Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🏫 LA schools restrict screentime
• 🏛️ Record-low approval of Congress
• 🐙 Whale-sized octopuses

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.05-minute read (1,077 words).

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"You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated."

–Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in America at 500,000+ students, this week became the first major US school district to formally limit classroom screen time.

More details: The LAUSD board’s sweeping resolution, which passed by a 6-0 vote with one recusal, encourages pen-and-paper assignments instead of using laptops or tablets in class, amid concerns over classroom distractions and falling grades.

Other key features:

• YouTube and other streaming platforms will be banned on school-issued devices.
• Students in first grade and below will not be allowed any screen time.
• Schools will be encouraged to move away from one-device-per-student models and rely more on computer labs.

There are also expectations to restrict device use during lunch and recess for most elementary and middle schoolers, while giving parents the option to opt their children out of classroom technology altogether.

The shift comes after years of heavy investment in classroom tech, even as the district moved to ban cell phones in 2024.

Why now?

School leaders say the goal is to better align classroom practices with established guidance on child development. This includes recommendations from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has long warned about the effects of excessive screen time.

• The policy references research that shows children ages 8-11 who exceed recommended screentime limits face higher risks of obesity and depression, and lower performance on cognitive assessments.
• Officials say that trend accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when devices became essential for remote learning, and argue the district has yet to fully recalibrate its approach in the years since.

Not everyone is on board: The shift comes after years of heavy investment in classroom tech by the LAUSD, and some officials say the trend should continue. They argue that providing every student with a device helps close learning gaps tied to income and computer access at home.

• Some officials also contend that technology can improve learning outcomes when used intentionally
• They argue the focus should be on how devices are used, rather than overall screentime.

Looking ahead: LAUSD’s new rules are set to take effect with the 2026–27 school year. More broadly, at least 16 states have introduced proposals this year that could limit screen time or internet use in schools.

📊 Flash poll: Do you support or oppose with LAUSD’s new plan to limit classroom screen time and de-emphasize the use of devices in school?

• 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.

🏛️ 86% of Americans say they disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job, matching the highest figure in Gallup polling history (reached in November 2015).

🚘 The number of new basic car models selling for ~$25,000 (adjusted for inflation) has fallen from roughly a dozen in 2012 to just four this year, per economist Clifford Winston.

🌁 Nearly half of Americans (44%), or 152 million people, live in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, per new American Lung Association report.

🐻 Three Californians were sentenced to 180 days in jail for a fraud scheme that involved dressing up in a bear costume to stage attacks on luxury cars, then seeking ~$142,000 in insurance payouts.

🎓 College application rates can vary by up to 10% depending on whether prospective students visited the school on an especially warm/cold day, or on a day with nice weather, new study suggests.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💼 Jobs: Meta lays off ~10% of its workforce (~8,000 employees) and scraps plans to hire 6,000 open positions amid renewed focus on generative AI. | Nike announces new layoffs affecting 1,400 employees, or 2% of its global workforce. | Microsoft to reportedly offer first voluntary employee buyout, which is aimed at older workers near retirement.
• 💻 Intel reports significantly higher-than-expected earnings and revenue; shares of US chipmaker rise ~19% in after-hours trading.
• 🚘 Tesla to offer hardware upgrades or trade-in discounts to millions of customers who own its older vehicles without autonomous driving tech; it comes as CEO Elon Musk confirms Teslas made before 2024 can’t achieve full unsupervised driving, contrary to prior claims.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 NFL Draft: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is selected #1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders; see the full results.
• 🎥 Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic starring his nephew Jafaar, debuts in theaters today; early RT critic ratings are poor (39%), while audience scores are high (95%).
• 📺 Dancing With The Stars announces new spinoff series called The Next Pro, hosted by season 34 winner Robert Irwin (Steve Irwin’s son). | Stranger Things: Tales from '85, new animated series based on the hit show, premieres on Netflix.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🐙 Giant octopuses the size of whales lurked in the depths of the ancient oceans ~100 million years ago, reaching up to 62 feet in length, new fossil study reveals.
• ☀️ Florida is experiencing its worst drought in 15 years, with 70+% of the Sunshine State facing "extreme" to "exceptional" drought conditions per the US Drought Monitor.
• 🪐 NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover discovers new organic molecules never before seen on the red planet; scientists say discovery confirms ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🌎 President Trump announces three-week extension of ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. | US soldier who participated in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is charged with using classified information to earn $400,000 in profit by making bets on Maduro’s ouster on Polymarket.
• 🌿 Trump admin moves to reclassify cannabis as a less-dangerous drug, shifting from Schedule I—reserved for drugs without medical use and high potential for abuse—to the less-regulated Schedule III.
• 🏛️ Senate takes next steps to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, voting to fund ICE and Border Patrol over Democratic objections in late-night vote-a-rama; budget framework now heads to the House. | Virginia judge blocks results of state referendum that could net Democrats four extra House seats from the state in 2026; Virginia’s AG says he plans to appeal the decision.

👆 This 2.38-acre waterfront property just hit the market for $237 million in Florida, eyeing the record for most expensive property ever sold in Miami-Dade County. And if it looks familiar, it probably is—the 13,000-square-foot estate appeared in Scarface, and also part of a compound used by President Nixon as a “Winter White House.”

🤔 Did you know? A single sneeze can blast air, mucus, and other irritants out of your nose/mouth at speeds up to ~100 mph, one of the fastest involuntary actions the human body can produce.

📰 Worth a read: The JP Morgan vice president who inspired people to ‘shroom

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The hunt for extraterrestrial life enters a new frontier
• Mysterious "golden orb" in ocean depths is finally identified
• Coca-Cola unveils 'Canny Pack' bag for cans

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1. A builder is putting a fence around a rectangular yard that is 15 feet long and 8 feet wide. How many feet of fencing are needed?
2. A number is doubled, then increased by 3, and the result is 19. What was the original number?
3. What is the sum of the first three square numbers? (1² + 2² + 3²)

🦋🐝 Broomfield, Colorado, recently became the first 'pollinator district' in America. The community, which has a park within walking distance of every home, is strategically designed to support the growth of pollinator habitats.

1. 46 feet
2. 8
3. 14

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