Good morning. According to a new Bloomberg report, Apple will be unveiling its approach to artificial intelligence at its annual developer conference next month. A sneak preview: the tech giant is focusing on creating AI-powered features that iPhone/iMac owners can use in their daily lives.

Some examples:

• Using AI to automatically suggest replies to emails and text messages.
• AI-generated emojis: Apple is developing software that can create custom emojis based on what users are texting.
• Siri becoming Her: The company plans to program its AI assistant to communicate with users via more natural-sounding interactions.
• AI-powered recaps that provide users with summaries of missed notifications and individual text messages, as well as other forms of media.

In other words, Apple may soon need to add an “A” in front of the lowercase “i” preceding the names of its product lines. The AiPhone/AiMac era is upon us.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.76-minute read (1,268 words).

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“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

–Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

Closing arguments were held yesterday in the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump, with the 12-member jury now tasked with deliberating the fate of the first former US president to face criminal charges.

Background: The case centers around allegations that Trump broke the law by covering up a $130,000 hush-money payment made months before the 2016 election to a woman who said she had an affair with Trump a decade prior. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, previously pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for making the hush-money payment.

• Trump is facing 34 Class E felony counts – the lowest level of felony – over accusations that 34 separate business records were falsified to cover up the payment.
• Under New York law, such actions are classified as misdemeanors unless they’re carried out to commit or conceal another crime.

The arguments

Over the past four weeks, prosecutors have laid out their case that felony charges are warranted because Cohen's payment acted as an illegal personal donation to Trump’s 2016 campaign, representing ~50x the legal contribution limit at the time.

• On the flip side, Trump has denied having an affair with the woman or being involved in the cover-up. His lawyers have also targeted the credibility of Cohen, who they described as the "MVP of liars,” and argued that New York prosecutors have miscast minor charges as a sweeping election conspiracy.

Looking ahead… Today marks the start of jury deliberations, which could last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. Trump faces up to four years in prison for each count – though first-time offenders typically avoid any jail time.

• When it comes to the presidential election, Trump’s case isn’t expected to have any legal impact on his campaign – even if he’s convicted. But a verdict in either direction will likely have a large political impact heading into November.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, should Donald Trump be convicted on some or all charges in his New York hush-money trial?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🇹🇼 Taiwan’s legislature passed a law seen as pro-China, despite public protests. The controversial law, if approved by the executive branch, would give Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature greater power to control the country’s budgets, including defense spending. Thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament yesterday to oppose the new measure, framing it as a plan by Taiwan’s China-friendly opposition party to block military spending as a concession to Beijing.

🇰🇵 A North Korean rocket carrying what would’ve been its second-ever spy satellite exploded after launch. Government officials say the explosion shortly after liftoff on Monday was likely due to a problem with North Korea’s newly developed liquid oxygen-petroleum engine. The mission represents North Korea’s third failed satellite launch in the past year, though officials claim to have successfully placed the country’s first satellite into orbit last November.

🇿🇦 South Africa is holding national elections today. The country’s African National Congress (ANC) party is expected to lose majority control of the government for the first time since Nelson Mandela helped the party rise to power and end apartheid in 1994. This would mean the ANC remains the largest party in South Africa, but must form a coalition government with other parties to re-elect President Cyril Ramaphosa and enact their legislative agenda focused on economic equality. Analysts say the ANC’s popularity has waned in recent years due to corruption scandals, high unemployment, and rising poverty.

In 2017, reports emerged that a secretive group was buying up farmland in rural Solano County, California, 90 minutes northeast of San Francisco. And they purchased a lot of it – ~60,000 acres.

Many thought it was the Chinese government working to set up shop near Travis Air Force Base. But a NY Times investigation determined it was actually a company called California Forever, a collective of billionaires including Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Marc Andreessen, who had spent ~$900 million to acquire the land with the aim of creating a new city from scratch for as many as 400,000 residents.

Why? Jan Sramek, a 37-year-old former Goldman Sachs trader leading the project, told CBS News: "Instead of taking all of these well-paying jobs that are being created in Northern California and sending them to Texas or Florida, [our goal is to] create a place where we can send them to Solano County.” His vision is to build a walkable city in the mold of Savannah, Philadelphia, or New York City's West Village.

• Overall, California Forever aims to bring 15,000 local jobs paying $88,000+/year to the city over the next decade. The project has already received hiring commitments from a dozen companies in tech, manufacturing, and finance.

👀 Looking ahead… The new city's fate will ultimately be decided this November by Solano County voters, who have to decide whether or not to overturn a 30-year-old law restricting where new development can go.

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💬 Quoted: “I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way.”

• Roughly a year ago, the Titan submersible infamously imploded during a trip to the Titanic’s wreckage and killed all five passengers onboard, sending the personal-sub industry into crisis mode as many people swore off the vessels for good. But Ohio billionaire Larry Connor is seeking to reverse the public’s perception by developing a new sub that can repeatedly and safely ferry passengers to see Jack and Rose’s old stomping grounds. Connor and others within the industry say the Titan, an “unclassed” sub that wasn’t certified as safe or up to code, shouldn’t be confused with “classed” subs that are considered exceptionally safe due to rigorous third-party testing.

🕵️ Stat of the Day: Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a 72-year-old former CIA officer and contract linguist for the FBI, recently pleaded guilty to spying for China for at least a decade during his career. But here’s the kicker: in a court hearing on Friday, the FBI revealed that Ma’s entire eight-year tenure with the agency was a Truman Show-like “ruse” to monitor his previously known contact with Chinese intelligence officials.

🤔 Did You Know? There was a math question on the 1982 SAT that every single test-taker got wrong, since its creators failed to include the actual answer in the multiple-choice options.

📰 Worth a Read: Putin hijacked Austria’s spy service. Now he’s going after its government → (Politico)

• ☝️ The five-bedroom house in which Kevin McCallister was abandoned by his family in Home Alone recently hit the market with a list price of $5.25 million; located ~20 miles north of Chicago, the 5,700-square-foot house features a home theater and indoor basketball court.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with INVRS

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: +0.03%; Dow: -0.6%; Nasdaq: +0.6%); shares of chipmaker Nvidia rose 7%, boosting the Nasdaq to a record close. | 📆 All US stock trades now settle in one business day rather than two, a system last used in the 1920s, per new SEC rules. | 📈 US consumer confidence increased in May; this follows three straight months of declines.
• 🌐📲 T-Mobile agreed to buy UScellular's wireless operations and select spectrum assets for $4.4 billion. | 🏢🚫 WeWork founder Adam Neumann dropped his bid to buy back the bankrupt co-working company.
• 🇨🇳📱 Apple’s iPhone sales in China rose by 52% in April, per new government data; that’s up from a 12% increase in March, and a combined 37% drop in January and February.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ MLB umpire Angel Hernandez, one of the league’s most maligned officials, is retiring effective immediately; his departure reportedly follows a settlement with the league. | ⚾ Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., last year’s National League MVP, is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL.
• 🏀 NBA Playoffs: The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Dallas Mavericks last night to force a Game 5; the Mavs lead the series 3-1.
• 🔪 Netflix announced the main cast for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025), the third installment in the film series featuring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Spleash

• 🤖 OpenAI announced a new safety and security committee led by senior executives; the AI company also revealed it recently began training its next cutting-edge model.
• 🥜 Introducing peanut butter to the diets of infants and small children helps prevent them from developing an allergy in adolescence, per a new study.
• 🥶 US government scientists built a prototype refrigerator that can generate temperatures close to absolute zero – a process used in quantum computing and astronomy – far quicker and more efficiently than current methods.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 💸 Melinda French Gates is donating $1 billion through 2026 to advance women's rights and health around the world; it’s her first major commitment since departing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this month.
• 🎓 Harvard announced a new policy of no longer weighing in on public matters that don’t immediately affect the university’s “core function.”
• 🇬🇪 Lawmakers in Georgia (the country) overruled the president’s recent veto of a controversial "foreign agent" law that has sparked weeks of mass protests.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏜️ Mad scientists build Dune-inspired stillsuit that can recycle sweat.

Meet Moses, an orange tabby cat on an inspiring weight loss journey. 

• Moses weighs about twice as much as he should for a cat his breed and age – he's closer to the size of a French Bulldog, and his weight was starting to interfere with his day-to-day life and happiness.

🏃‍♂️ Cardio cat... The kitty has been enrolled in swimming lessons and hydrotherapy aimed at shedding pounds. While Moses wasn't a fan of the water at first, he quickly mastered the underwater treadmill and has already started losing excess weight. 

• “He is a lot more active at home and generally feeling much better in himself," Moses' owner shared with SWNS. “I am very proud of Moses’ progression; he’s even walking with the incline on the treadmill now.”

⚾ Trivia: Which brand makes the official baseballs used in the MLB?

🩻 True or False?... The “X” in X-ray stands for unknown.

🤔 Riddle Me This: I can fly but have no wings. I cry but have no eyes. What am I?

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⚾ Trivia: Rawlings

🩻 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: A cloud