Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🌡️ Historic El Niño
• 🤖 Robots that feel
• 🗺️ America’s OG travel influencer

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.10-minute read (1,090 words).

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“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

–Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968)

All three host nations have been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, after falling in the Round of 16 earlier this month.

But outside of exiting the tournament a few rounds earlier than they’d hoped, the World Cup has been a smashing success for the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The numbers are hard to ignore

Team USA’s Round-of-16 loss to Belgium drew a combined 50.1 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo, the largest soccer audience ever recorded in the US, even with the Americans losing 4–1.

• Mexico’s clash with England brought in 46.7 million US viewers, while nearly 80,000 fans packed Estadio Azteca.
• Through the round of 16, FIFA reported 6.26 million fans attended matches, filling 99.7% of available seats with an average crowd of 65,204.

It shows no signs of slowing: The tournament now heads into a dream semifinal slate: France vs. Spain (today; 2 pm CT) and England vs. Argentina (tomorrow; 2 pm CT).

The matchups feature some of the sport’s biggest stars, including Argentinian legend Lionel Messi, French superstar Kylian Mbappé, English strikers Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, and Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal.

Can the US remain a soccer country?

Historically, American soccer enthusiasm has spiked during World Cups before fading once the tournament ends. Soccer historian Stephen Brandt compared the phenomenon to the Olympics or March Madness: huge attention for a few weeks, then a quick return to normal.

Looking way ahead…Analysts say this year’s World Cup success - on track to bring in $9 billion for FIFA, or ~$2 billion more than 2022 - has boosted the chances of the world’s biggest sporting event returning to North America in 2038.

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Mother Nature is preparing to turn the thermostat all the way up over the next several months.

Federal forecasters say the current El Niño event may become one of the strongest on record, per new data published last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

• There’s now an 81% chance of a “very strong” El Niño developing between October and December, up from 63% in June.
• The pattern is also now expected to stick around through early spring 2027.

What exactly is El Niño?

The weather event represents the warm phase of the El Niño-La Niña pattern that develops in the tropical Pacific Ocean. During El Niño events, weak trade winds are associated with above-average surface temperatures in those waters, sending ripples through weather patterns around the globe.

For the US, the effects are a mixed bag:

• A stronger El Niño typically results in a warmer-than-average winter across the northern US, while southern states often see a stormier winter with increased chances of rain and snow.
• Strong El Niño events also usually suppress Atlantic hurricanes by creating higher atmospheric stability, making it more difficult for them to form.

But it isn’t all sunshine and snow days. El Niño events are associated with increased risks of flooding, high tides along the West Coast, and harmful algae blooms. Previous versions have also led to some of the hottest years on record, including record-breaking global temps in 2024.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏛️📺 Attorneys general from 12 states sue to block Paramount's $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing consumers would face higher prices, lower film quality, and less content.
• 🏢 Meta announces expansion of data center currently under construction in Northeast Louisiana to 5 gigawatts of capacity (from 2 GW) and $50+ billion in total costs (from $27 billion); it would represent one of the largest data centers in history.
• 🍽️ Chipotle announces plans to open its first location in Mexico this week under a development agreement with restaurant group Alsea. | Olive Garden to resurrect its popular Never Ending Pasta Pass for first time since 2019.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ MLB Home Run Derby: St. Louis Cardinals RF Jordan Walker wins his first Derby title in his first appearance, outlasting hometown hero and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the final; Walker is the first Cardinals player ever to win. | MLB All-Star Game is tonight at 7 pm CT.
• 🙏 Sam Neill, longtime actor best known for his leading role in Jurassic Park, passed away at 78.
• 🎓 NCAA faces class-action lawsuit over its new eligibility rules granting all athletes five years to compete; suit comes from group of athletes who exhausted their four-year eligibility in 2025-26, and won’t be granted a fifth year under new NCAA rules.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌌 First sugar detected in interstellar space near the Milky Way galaxy, suggesting these life-creating compounds are more abundant than previously thought and could help spark life on other planets.
• 🦖 Gus the T-rex fossil, who was found on private South Dakota land in 2021, goes up for auction today; one of the largest and most complete T-rex specimens ever found, Gus is expected to fetch ~$30 million.
• 🤖 Robots can feel and react to touch using an electronics-free soft sensor made entirely from flexible materials, per new research from the National University of Singapore.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🚢 Iran war: President Trump announces the US will reimpose a blockade on Iranian shipping after Iranian attempts to block ships amid a recent escalation of the conflict. | Trump also proposes 20% toll charge to ships moving through the Strait after declaring the US the “guardian” of the shipping route; further details of the plan are still unclear.
• 🗳️ Darline Graham Nordone, sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), is selected by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to serve out her brother’s Senate term through January; a special election will be held next month to pick a new Republican candidate for November’s election.
• 🏛️ Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) breaks public silence and reveals his recent four-week absence from Congress was caused by a fall that led to his hospitalization.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 19th annual iPhone Photography Awards, with this year’s edition drawing thousands of entrants from 140+ countries. The overall grand prize winner is Robyn Jensen from the Cayman Islands, who captured a volcanic eruption on his iPhone 15 Pro (center).

🤔 Did you know? In 1797, the US government was spending roughly one-sixth of its entire budget (~16%) on annual tributes to Barbary pirates, who raided American trading ships from the north coast of Africa.

📰 Worth a read: America’s original travel influencer drew up a revolutionary itinerary 200 years ago.

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Why is Messi so bad at penalty kicks?
• America’s 10 worst states to live in for 2026
• Was Einstein wrong about anything?

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On Friday, we covered how Democratic nominee Graham Platner suspended his campaign for Maine's open US Senate seat late Wednesday evening, after losing support from Democratic leaders in the wake of a sexual assault allegation.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, how important is a political candidate’s moral character—covering scandals, controversies, etc.—compared to the policies they support?

• Moral character matters more: 48%
• Political policies matter more: 10%
• Roughly the same: 35%
• Unsure/other: 7%

Read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 630 votes and 64 longform responses.

❓ Trivia: What’s the national animal of Scotland?

🏜️ True or false?… Snow occasionally falls in the Sahara Desert.

🤔 Riddle me this: I have branches, yet I have no leaves, no trunk, and no fruit. What am I?

🏃‍♀️🙏 Sister Stephanie Baliga has spent the past 15 years turning marathon miles into meals, raising more than $2 million to help feed Chicago families. The nun will hit the starting line again this fall for her 16th consecutive Chicago Marathon, with nearly 200 runners joining the mission.

❓ Trivia: The unicorn

🏜️ T/F: True, as recently as 2022

🤔 Riddle: A bank

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