Good morning—it’s great to be back following a brief hiatus. In this edition:

• ⛪ Pope Francis’ death and succession
• 🤖 The UAE’s AI-powered lawmaking
• 🤔 How optical illusions work

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.81-minute read (1,279 words).

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"Thinking will not overcome fear but action will."

–W. Clement Stone (1902-2002)

Pope Francis, the head of the global Catholic Church and its ~1.4 billion global followers, passed away early Monday at the age of 88 due to a stroke and heart failure.

Pope Francis, a history

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Francis was the first pope from the Americas, as well as the first from the Jesuit order. He was initially ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969 and later made a cardinal in 2001.

• In 2013, Francis was elected to head the Church following the unusual resignation of Pope Benedict XVI amid internal conflict over alleged financial management, as well as its response to an emerging sexual abuse crisis among clergy.
• During his papacy, Pope Francis led efforts to reform the Vatican’s finances and enact other structural changes. In 2019, he also held an unprecedented Church leadership summit centered around sexual misconduct to establish new procedures for reporting and responding to allegations.

Francis also embraced political activism. He consistently advocated for migrants and other marginalized groups, urged grassroots activists to bridge the gap between rich and poor, encouraged laws supporting same-sex civil unions (outside of marriage), and called on wealthier countries to better protect the environment.

Many of his detractors—including those within the Church—argue Francis’ actions served to further divide the church over contentious moral and political issues like homosexuality, environmentalism, wealth inequality, and immigration.

The next steps

Pope Francis’ funeral will be held this Saturday. The College of Cardinals, which elects each new pope, will hold a papal conclave sometime between May 6-12. The Vatican regards the conclave as an act of total secrecy—all participating cardinals must swear an oath of secrecy under threat of excommunication, and are forbidden from outside communication while it’s ongoing.

• Inside the conclave, electors vote via secret ballots until one candidate receives a two-thirds majority, with the process repeating 4x/day for however long is necessary.
• The public is updated after each vote through smoke signals created by burning ballots. White smoke means that cardinals have chosen a new pope, while black smoke means another vote is needed.

See the top contenders to succeed Pope Francis here.

📊 Flash poll: In general, how would you describe your opinion of Pope Francis?

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Unsure/other

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Sinners, a Western vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers, was a hit in its first weekend at the box office. But the movie currently has Hollywood abuzz for a different reason—the deal director Ryan Coogler cut with Warner Bros.

• As part of his contract, Coogler received final cut, a creative dispensation reserved for top directors, and first-dollar gross earnings, or a percentage of box-office revenue that starts right from the theatrical opening (rather than after the studio has turned a profit).
• But there's also a clause—the most controversial element— that reverts ownership of Sinners from Warner Bros. to Coogler after 25 years.

Show business is up in arms. Some studio executives have expressed concern that other directors will start demanding copyright ownership en masse—something that studios heavily rely on for profit as films age. And the more directors that demand film rights, the less money studios make in the long term.

But…Other experts say concerns may be overblown. Coogler himself isn’t planning to demand copyright for any other films, so the trend isn’t guaranteed to catch on. The Sinners director says he wanted those specific rights due to its symbolic importance.

Big picture: Sinners outperformed analysts’ expectations in its opening weekend, generating $45.6 million to top the domestic box office.

That’s Senator AI to you: In a world first, the UAE last week unveiled plans to use artificial intelligence to help draft, amend, and review laws.

The plans, which will be overseen by a newly created Regulatory Intelligence Office, involve creating a comprehensive up-to-date database of federal and local laws, court rulings, government procedures, and public service information. An advanced AI system will trawl through this data—then regularly suggest and write legal updates.

• The goal, according to the UAE government, is to speed up the process of lawmaking by up to 70% by letting artificial intelligence shoulder the load, from analysis to implementation.
• The Gulf state estimates AI will have a global market value of $15.7 trillion by 2030, boosting the UAE’s GDP by 35% and reducing government costs by 50%.

But…As movies dating back to the 1960s have showcased, handing machines the reigns and stepping back can lead to consequences. Researchers have raised concerns about AI’s reliability, given its tendency to hallucinate, as well as the potential for the model to create laws that make sense in its “brain” but not when applied to human norms and concepts.

In other AI news: Cluely, a startup offering an AI-powered tool to cheat on exams, sales calls, and job interviews, raised a $5.3 million seed round. It was cofounded by a Columbia student who was suspended for creating the tech.

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Every rose has its thorn—and also used to be the same color as Big Bird.

After analyzing the genomes of 80+ Rosa species—for context: roses of all colors, such as white, red, pink, and peach, belong to the genus Rosa in the Rosaceae family—researchers in a recently published study were able to trace all roses back to one common ancestor: a yellow, single-petal flower with seven leaflets.

• As roses evolved and were domesticated, they developed new colors, distinct petal markings, and the ability to bloom in clusters, per the study.

Big picture: There are currently 150-200 species of roses and 35,000+ cultivars, spawned by a rose-breeding renaissance in the 1700s that involved crossing Chinese and European plants, Phys.org reports. Overall, roses account for ~30% of the cut flower market.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US markets closed higher, recovering from Monday’s losses (S&P: +2.5%; Dow: +2.7%; Nasdaq: +2.7%). | Gold briefly rose above $3,500/ounce for the first time.
• 🚗 Tesla reported Q1 earnings that missed on top and bottom line estimates; automotive revenue fell 20% from a year earlier.
• 💳 Capital One’s ~$35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial was approved by US regulators; the deal will create America's largest credit-card issuer by total loan volume (~$250 billion; 22% of US credit card market).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Wild

• 🏆 NBA Playoffs: The first round is in full swing; see the up-to-date playoff picture, results, and latest news here. | The NHL Playoffs are also in full swing; see the latest playoff picture here.
• 🥊 WrestleMania 41, held last weekend, was the most viewed and highest-grossing event in WWE history.
• 📺 Bill Owens, executive producer of CBS' 60 Minutes, is stepping down after 37 years.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ☄️ Two separate meteor showers—the Lyrids and Eta Aquarids—will overlap in the night sky through April 26.
• 🤖 Canada has seen a recent spike in books about political figures (like PM Mark Carney) created via generative AI and sold on Amazon, per Bloomberg.
• 🏥 Overall US cancer deaths steadily declined between 2001-2022, per a new study.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with Your Everyday Heroes

• 🏛️ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly shared information about US military strikes in Yemen in a second Signal group chat that included his wife and brother; Hegseth says the messages were “informal” and “unclassified.”
• 🎓 The National Institutes of Health says it will pull medical research funding from any US university with DEI programs or boycotts of Israeli companies. | Harvard University sued the Trump admin over its decision to freeze billions worth of grants and contracts.
• 🏛️ Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a plan to reorganize the State Department and realign it with President Trump’s priorities. | Nadine Menendez, wife of former US Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), was convicted of partnering with her husband in a yearslong bribery scheme tied to Egypt.

*From our partners: ‼️ Limitless and limbless… Born without limbs, Brett Eastburn lives a fulfilling and inspiring life. He’s a motivational speaker, comedian, and, most recently, Twitch Streamer. Brett says, “You’re handicapped if you choose to be… It’s only over when you say, ‘I can’t.’” Watch Brett’s story here at Your Everyday Heroes.

☝️ Earth Day 2025: Americans across the country gathered to observe the international annual event aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues.

🤔 Did You Know? In 2016, a Canadian man legally changed his name to Above Znoneofthe ahead of a local election, in an attempt to appear on the ballots as "Znoneofthe Above.”

📰 Worth a Read: Was Talos, the bronze automaton of Greek myth, an early example of artificial intelligence?

🖱️ Clickbait: Optical illusions and how they work

On Friday, we covered a federal judge’s ruling that found Google operates a monopoly in multiple digital advertising markets, marking the second antitrust case to go against the tech giant in less than a year.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you support stronger or weaker antitrust enforcement against Big Tech?

• Stronger: 66%
• Weaker: 15%
• Unsure/other: 19%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 1,987 votes and 212 longform responses.

💃 Great-grandmother Mary Marson recently celebrated her 94th birthday with a community Zumba class; the nonagenarian attributes her long and healthy life to eating well and dancing three days a week.

🟡 Liesl Benecke’s one-in-a-Minion personal collection won a Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Minions memorabilia; it encompasses 1,035 items, including clothes, movie posters, stuffed animals, key rings, and figurines.

👁️ Scientists at UC Berkeley say they've discovered a new color named "olo" that's never been seen by the human eye.

📡 Interesting: Wonder where that plane/helicopter overhead is going? Use this real-time flight tracker to find out.

👀 Second-screen material: Explore.org offers a plethora of livestreams featuring animal species in their natural habitats.

🧠 Explore: The origin, etymology, and history of first names.

😵‍💫 Life feels messy: Find instant calm with the free Mindfulness Emergency Kit—11 proven mindfulness practices to ease stress in just 60 seconds.*

💰😏 MoneyTok talk: Short Squeez dishes out free finance and biz news with a side of laughs to 200k readers—sign up today.*

*A message from our partners

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

1. Nes
2. Opt
3. Phon
4. Rur
5. Tract

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1. Nes = Island (e.g., polynesia)
2. Opt = Choose (option)
3. Phon = Sound (microphone, phonics)
4. Rur = Country (rural)
5. Tract = Pull (tractor)