Good morning. It was a big news weekend; let’s push the boulder down the hill (rock ‘n roll).

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.71-minute read (1,255 words).

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“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.”

–Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Users will soon experience a major shift in the way they interact with Google Search. At its annual developers conference last week, Google unveiled plans to roll out new AI-powered summaries in its default search results, starting with the US and eventually expanding worldwide.

These new “AI Overviews” automatically answer certain searches with a summary from Google’s Gemini chatbot, complete with a list of citations to websites. They’re meant to be the Vegas headliner of Search results, appearing at the top of the page, while Google’s traditional search results appear below.

And, like it or not, this is the new Search normal. Users can’t opt-out of AI Overviews, unlike Google’s Search Generative Experience, a tool introduced last May that provided similar AI-generated responses.

• Not all searches receive an AI Overview, however. Google says they only appear in scenarios where testing has found they provide clear value, such as answering lengthy queries.

AI Overviews has received significant pushback. Online publishers are concerned it’ll cause their web traffic to plummet, since users won’t need to click through to the source for information. According to estimates from consulting firm Gartner, websites across the board will see a 25% drop in search-engine referral traffic by 2026 due to AI-powered tools.

A potential side effect of this drop:

• Some experts argue a significant decrease in web traffic will make it less appealing for people to share knowledge with others online, knowing their posts won’t get as much visibility.
• And, since generative AI systems rely on web-based information to answer questions, search engine tools like AI Overview could result in less accurate, less timely, and less interesting information.

On the flip side: Google says it’s committed to prioritizing sending traffic to publishers, and cited test data showing that people clicked on links incorporated in AI Overviews more than when they were displayed as normal search results.

Looking ahead… AI Overviews are expected to be rolled out to all US users within the next several days, and will be available worldwide by year’s end.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support the introduction of AI Overviews into Google Search results?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇮🇷 Iran’s president was killed in a helicopter crash. President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s second most-powerful government official, was traveling with other senior officials through heavy fog yesterday when their helicopter reportedly crashed near the border with Azerbaijan, leaving no survivors per state media. Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will assume the presidency, pending approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

🇫🇷🇳🇨 France declared a state of emergency in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia. Widespread protests broke out in New Caledonia last week in response to a new law granting greater voting rights to French citizens living on the islands, leading to at least five deaths and 200+ arrests. Indigenous leaders in New Caledonia, a semi-autonomous territory controlled by France since 1853, say the law undermines their independence movement.

💥 Israel-Hamas war: Politician Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, threatened to quit the government by June 8 if PM Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t present a plan to end the war and secure Gaza’s future before then. Gantz’s comments came days after Israel’s defense minister – who fills out the three-member war cabinet with Netanyahu – publicly criticized the PM for failing to plan for Gaza’s future, collectively marking the harshest internal criticism from Israel since the war began.

Watching this upcoming NFL season is about to be like the end of a long, yet noncommunicative situationship – complicated.

Last week, Netflix announced a deal that will see the streamer exclusively broadcasting two NFL games in 2024. Which brings the total number of subscriptions fans need to watch all the league’s games this season to seven: a cable or YouTube TV subscription plus Sunday Ticket, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, ESPN+, NFL+, and, of course, Netflix.

The cost for all that? $1,600+/year.

Streamers are increasingly turning to sports to drive subscriptions and maximize revenue. Live sports still draws massive audiences – especially the NFL, which accounted for 93 of the 100 most-watched broadcasts last year. And streamers are working to leverage these eyeballs into consistent revenue.

• Peacock became the first platform to exclusively host an NFL playoff game, a matchup between the Chiefs and Dolphins, on January 13 of this year. The game required a paid subscription to watch (no free trial), and drove three million new signups to Peacock – with 71% of these users remaining subscribers through the end of February 2024.

It’s not just the NFL… For the past 21 years, the NBA has had just two TV partners: ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT. But, as Bob Dylan said, the times they are a’changin. Analysts widely expect the league to select more distributors for its next media-rights deal, which is currently in negotiation.

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💬 Quoted: “It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding.”

• Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly assaulting an officer while driving to his tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Local police say Scheffler dragged an officer with his vehicle while trying to get around the scene of a fatal accident, while Scheffler’s lawyer denies the golfer dragged an officer with his vehicle and says he was following instructions from another officer. Scheffler was released later in the morning and kept competing in the tournament, eventually finishing tied for 8th behind champion Xander Schauffele, who claimed the first major title of his career.

⚡ Stat of the Day: It’s getting hot in herre, so turn up your AC🥵 (and take out your wallet). Scorching temps across Texas caused state energy prices to rise to $688/MWh for roughly an hour on Friday – a 1,600+% increase compared to energy prices the previous day, per Reuters. Overall, Texas is projected to set a new all-time high for energy use in the month of May.

🤔 Did You Know? As of November 2022, an estimated 137 billion humans had been born on Earth, with the average life expectancy across human history standing at ~10 years.

📰 Worth a Read: A writer and artist breaks down his unhealthy obsession with Scrabble → (The Paris Review)

• ☝️ A bright comet fragment lit up the night sky over Spain and Portugal late Saturday; the European Space Agency said the object flew at ~28 miles/second before burning up over the Atlantic.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Tugboat

• 💰 US markets closed mixed on Friday (S&P: +0.1%; Dow: +0.3%; Nasdaq: -0.1%); the Dow ended trading above 40,000 for the first time in history.
• ✈️ Frontier Airlines is changing its pricing model to bundle perks it has long sold a la carte; the airline also eliminated its change fee; the moves comes amid a government crackdown on so-called "junk fees."
• 👎 Mercedes-Benz workers at an Alabama plant voted 56%-44% against joining the UAW. (Read more)

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📱 TikTok confirmed that it’s testing letting users post videos up to 60 minutes long. | 🎵 Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted to beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released video of the attack.
• 🍿 IF topped the domestic box office with $35 million in its weekend debut. | 🏰 Disneyland’s character actors officially voted to unionize.
• *Breathes in * 🏀 NBA Playoffs: The Conference Finals matchups were finalized yesterday; it’s the Celtics v. Pacers in the East, and the Timberwolves v. Mavericks in the West. | 🏇 Seize the Gray won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, denying Mystik Dan a shot at the Triple Crown. | ⚽ Manchester City won the English Premier League for a record fourth straight season, and the sixth time in seven years. | 🥊 Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become boxing’s first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion. *Exhales*😅 (Rappers have nothing on that breath control.)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Monk Manual

• 🧑‍🚀 Ed Dwight, a 90-year-old former astronaut candidate, became the oldest person to reach the edge of space as part of a Blue Origin mission yesterday.
• 🤖 OpenAI disbanded its Superalignment team focused on the long-term risks of AI; the move comes days after the departure of both team leaders, including OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever.
• 🥜 Australian researchers developed a test that can purportedly predict whether a child will one day outgrow their peanut allergy.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• ⛈️ Severe storms in the Houston area contributed to at least seven deaths and knocked out power to 900,000+ homes and businesses; officials said many residents will be without power for weeks.
• 🇬🇪 The president of Georgia (the country) vetoed a controversial "foreign agent" law that has sparked weeks of mass protests.
• ⚖️ A federal judge sentenced the man convicted of assaulting and attempting to kidnap Paul Pelosi, the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), to 30 years in prison. (Read more)

CLICKBAIT

• 👵🍦 McDonald’s introduces a new McFlurry inspired by grandma.

Monday: Michael Cohen resumes testimony in Trump case

Tuesday: Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon hold primaries

Wednesday: National Solitaire Day

Thursday: Tires starring Shane Gillis hits Netflix

Friday: Start of Memorial Day weekend; Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits US theaters

On Friday, we covered new Treasury Department data that shows the US government is spending more money on interest payments associated with the national debt than both defense and Medicare for the first time in history.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, how should the US government deal with its rising national debt and associated interest payments?

• Raise taxes: 14%
• Cut spending: 39%
• Print more bonds/money to cover interest: 8%
• Some combination of the above: 23%
• Nothing needs to be done: 7%
• Other/unsure: 9%

Click here to read the most-thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,462 votes and 389 longform responses.

Taquería El Califa de León is a tiny, no-frills taco shop located in the San Rafael neighborhood of Mexico City.

And it just became the first Mexican taco stand to earn a coveted Michelin star.

🌮 Their secret? It's in the simplicity, chef Arturo Rivera Martínez shared with the Associated Press. “It has only a tortilla, red or green sauce, and that’s it. That, and the quality of the meat.”

• The taco shop only measures about 10-feet by 10-feet, and has been around for 50+ years. 

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Bor
2. Carbo
3. Crit
4. Doc
5. Ex

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What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize.

Start referring.👇

1. Bor = North (e.g., borealis)
2. Carbo = Coal (carbon)
3. Crit = Judge (critical)
4. Doc = Teach (indoctrinate)
5. Ex = Out (exclude)