Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 💼 Job market tilts to non-degree holders
• 🏃 A little intense exercise goes a long way
• 🏆 Primetime Emmy Awards

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.79-minute read (1,009 words).

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“Youth has no age.”

–Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

The hottest accessory in today’s job market might be a tool belt, not a bachelor’s degree. Workers aged 22–34 without college degrees are experiencing one of their strongest job markets in the past two decades, according to a new analysis from the Burning Glass Institute.

Meanwhile, college-educated workers in the same age range have only seen worse unemployment during two instances over the past 20 years: the pandemic, and the slow rebound from the 2007-09 recession.

In today’s job market, the more physical and in-person the work is, the lower the unemployment tends to be by that occupation’s own historical standards.

• Manufacturing unemployment fell to 2.9% in July from 4.2% a year earlier, while jobless rates among installation, maintenance, and repair workers stood at just 2.1%.
• Last month’s jobs report further reinforces the trend; restaurants and bars added 59,000 jobs in August, more than a third of all US job gains for the month.

By contrast, recent college grads (ages 22-27) face an elevated unemployment rate of 5.6%, compared to 4.1% for all US workers.

Behind the divide

The trends mostly come down to supply and demand. America is seeing a growing shortage of skilled tradespeople, with more older workers retiring and immigration declining in recent years, leading to higher demand for employees.

At the same time, more Americans than ever have college degrees, driving down the demand for such workers. And the recent rise of AI that’s increasingly capable of handling some entry-level tasks has also driven down the need for younger white-collar workers.

But don’t toss out your diploma just yet. Among US workers aged 25–54, college degree holders averaged a 2.7% unemployment rate over the 12 months ending in July—well below the 3.6% rate for workers with just some college education, and 4.7% for workers with a high-school diploma only.

Bottom line: A college degree still provides a significant boost in the job market. But that advantage is facing some unusually strong headwinds.

Your days run on caffeine, deadlines, and adrenaline. They keep you moving until they leave your body wired, depleted, and unable to settle.

You can’t think your stress away while your body is still carrying it. Get Your Lust for Life Back is a free illustrated guide to the Body-First Way: a simple method for turning the bath or shower you already take into a restorative Ritual Bath using water, botanical aroma, and mindfulness to help undo the effects of stress.

Learn the complete method in two minutes, then explore our Ritual Bath Kits for Calm, Center, Energize, or Inspire ~ or follow your senses through our full collection of botanical aromas to create a ritual bath entirely your own.

Created by Jason Harler, natural perfumer, herbalist, and creator of the award-winning Standard Spa, Miami Beach, the guide draws on more than two decades of experience designing bathing rituals that change how people feel.* It’s a method you can begin tonight.

Your boss says work smarter, not harder. But your personal trainer may disagree.

Just three minutes of all-out exercise can provide more health benefits than 1.5 hours of moderate exertion, according to a new study.

Sweating the small stuff

Researchers had 19 healthy young men either cycle with moderate effort for 90 minutes, or complete six 30-second, all-out sprints over the course of 23 minutes. They also collected the volunteers’ blood before, immediately after, and three hours after each workout.

• More than 700 proteins changed in abundance immediately after the sprint workout, compared with just seven following moderate cycling.
• Specifically, scientists saw a surge in protein changes associated with a lower risk of heart and metabolic disorders, including obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

These proteins can act like microscopic messengers traveling between organs and prompting responses throughout the body.

There are a few caveats: The study involved only healthy young men, and compared two very different workouts with nothing in between. Researchers also didn’t show that three minutes of intense exercise actually produces better long-term health outcomes than 90 minutes of moderate exercise.

Still, the findings suggest exercise intensity can have a major influence on how our bodies respond at the molecular level.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 10-year Treasury yield briefly eclipses 5% for the first time since October 2023, including its highest intraday level since 2007; it comes as Brent crude oil reaches a session high of $109/barrel.
• 🏘️ Airbnb reportedly commits initial $250 million investment to provide gap financing for housing projects across the US.
• 💊 Novo Nordisk rebrands as just “Novo,” with new slimmed-down name aimed at helping the Wegovy maker resonate more with consumers as it competes with rival Eli Lilly in the weight-loss market.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏆 78th Primetime Emmy Awards took place last night in Los Angeles, with Mariska Hargitay serving as host; see the full list of winners.
• 🏛️ Kennedy Center is facing bankruptcy and potential closure as early as Tuesday, and President Trump won’t lead its "fiscal rescue" unless his name is added to its facade to recognize his efforts, Kennedy center officials say in legal filings.
• 🙏 Bob Mackie, a prolific costume and fashion designer who “dressed every spangly woman in show business,” died at 87.

When you can’t be there, ElliQ is. This companion robot keeps your aging loved one company, keeps their family close, and fills the quiet hours between visits. Built for older adults living independently, ElliQ offers more than smart-device convenience. A proactive, empathetic presence.

A cheerful morning greeting, a comforting evening check-in, music, gentle medication reminders, and virtual social activities with the ElliQ community all work together to keep your loved one active, engaged, and connected.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌕 Cities on the Moon may not be possible due to lack of enough water to sustain large populations, even with near-perfect recycling, new research suggests.
• 👟 Faster walking pace may provide similar reductions in mortality risk without the need to reach the recommended 10,000 steps a day, study finds.
• 🏭 EPA eliminates federal limits on greenhouse gas pollution emitted by US coal- and gas-burning power plants.

US, WORLD, & POLITICS

• 🤖 President Trump rejects calls for additional regulation of AI development, saying any slowdown could cost the US its lead over China.
• 🛢️ Saudi oil pipeline hit in recent drone strikes could take 3-5 weeks to repair, potentially disrupting up to 4 million barrels/day if the flow stops completely.
• ⚖️ 22 Democratic led states plus Washington D.C., alongside NYC, Chicago, and other major US cities, file two separate lawsuits to block the Dept. of Homeland Security’s “public charge” rule; this measure, set to take effect Friday, would make it easier to deny green cards or visas for immigrants who may use public benefits.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year awards, with top honors earned by photographer Julien Anton for his shot of a seahorse with newly born babies (top left).

🤔 Did you know? Through the 1960s, surveys show some 90% of US doctors would typically not inform their patients that they’ve been diagnosed with cancer—often considered a “death sentence” at the time—or any other terminal illnesses. But by the late 1970s, data shows this practice had become relatively rare.

📰 Worth a read: Did a crypto bro pay $4.5 million to marry a movie star? A scandal grips China.

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The top 25 party schools in America
• At restaurants, phones are becoming the new cigarettes
• What salary you need for the most expensive US cities

Yesterday we covered how the biggest AI leaders in America called for a slowdown in the development of highly advanced AI models over the weekend, citing fears that increasingly capable systems could become difficult to control.

❓ Our question to you: How concerned are you about advanced AI becoming difficult to control and posing a significant threat to humanity?

• Very concerned: 57%
• Somewhat concerned: 32%
• Not very concerned: 7%
• Unsure/other: 4%

Read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 652 votes and 61 longform responses.

❓ Trivia: What’s the only metal on Earth that’s liquid at room temperature?

🎓 True or false?... There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

🤔 Riddle me this… What has roots nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, and yet never grows?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

🦴 A dozen surprise puppies recently reunited with mom Tilly and dad Lolo to celebrate their first birthday with party hats, dog-friendly cake, and enough zoomies to register on the Richter scale. The 12 pups’ owners have stayed connected since their birth via group chat, turning the unexpected litter into what they call a “real extended family."

1. Mercury
2. True; Earth has ~3 trillion trees, while the Milky Way has an estimated 100 billion–400 billion stars
3. A mountain (riddle from The Hobbit)

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*Our Promise: Feel the shift or it’s on us. Because your peace is beyond price.

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