Good morning. In this edition:

• ✌️ America’s efforts for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal have stalled
• 📜 Rare Shakespeare plays are up for auction
• 💵 How the US gov’t spends each dollar

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.57-minute read (1,215 words).

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“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

–Vince Lombardi (1913-1970)

President Trump has ramped up efforts to reach a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war—but in recent days, talks have stalled amid disagreements over what that deal should look like.

Catch up quick

At a meeting in Paris last week, Trump administration officials presented Europe and Ukraine with a proposal to end the war, according to multiple reports. Along with a full and permanent ceasefire, the US proposal reportedly includes plans to:

• Have the US officially recognize Ukraine’s Crimea region as Russian.
• Freeze most other occupied Ukrainian territories along current battle lines, effectively leaving them under Russian control.
• Allow Ukraine to have an adequately equipped and manned army, as well as a defense industry.
• Establish a "robust security guarantee" for Ukraine involving a group of European countries and potentially also like-minded non-European countries.
• Promise that Ukraine won’t become a member of NATO.
• Lift economic sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine says “nay”: Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the US proposal and said Ukraine would act in accordance with its constitution, which forbids the country from legally recognizing Russia’s occupation of Crimea. Zelensky has also previously ruled out accepting Russian control of parts of four regions in eastern Ukraine.

• President Trump pushed back against Zelensky’s statement, arguing that his peace deal doesn’t require Ukraine to recognize Russian control of Crimea—only the US. He also argued that Zelensky's refusal to accept US terms "will do nothing but prolong" the conflict.

Trump’s frustration with both sides is mounting. On Thursday, the US president made a personal appeal to Russia’s Vladimir Putin urging him to stop attacks on Ukraine and agree to a peace deal, after Moscow launched an overnight airstrike that killed 12 people and injured 90 others in Kyiv.

📊 Flash poll: On the whole, do you support or oppose the terms included in the US-backed proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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After two decades of development, the RoboBee from Harvard’s Microrobotics Lab is almost ready for a full release, according to a new study. Soon to come: morbid online polls determining their next human target.

The specs: The RoboBee measures about half the size of a paper clip, and weighs less than one-tenth of a gram. It flies using artificial “muscles” that contract when a voltage is applied, with additional modifications allowing some RoboBee models to transition from swimming underwater to flying, as well as “perch” on surfaces using static electricity.

The lab hopes to use the tiny robots for environmental monitoring, disaster surveillance, and even artificial pollination to aid declining actual bee populations.

Harvard, we have a problem: In the past, researchers have struggled to engineer consistent, safe landings for the RoboBee due to how small and light it is. Previous iterations suffered from significant ground effect, or instability as its flapping wings drew closer to the landing surface.

• Scientists looked to the crane fly for inspiration in their most recent redesign, giving the RoboBee long jointed legs that help ease its transition from air to ground.
• The robot bug also received an updated controller that helps it plop-down gently upon landing rather than going full speed.

Looking ahead…While the RoboBee is currently tethered to off-board control systems, Harvard researchers’ long-term goal is for their bots to have full autonomy.

Tennis Hall-of-Famer Andre Agassi, a former #1-ranked player who retired in 2006, is set to compete in the mixed pro division at the US Open Pickleball Championships alongside Anna Leigh Waters, the top-ranked pickleball player in the world. It’ll be his first pro pickleball appearance.

The event, which draws a crowd of ~50,000 each year, kicks off tomorrow.

Not his dad’s sport

The 54-year-old Agassi may hate tennis—but he’s been quite active in the pickleball community. He’s participated in made-for-TV pickleball exhibitions with other former tennis players like John McEnroe, and recently released his own pickleball paddle with JOOLA.

He’s not the only one to ride the 🎾 → 🏓 pipeline. Former Wimbledon finalist Genie Bouchard—one of many pro tennis players to swap out their rackets for paddles—is playing her second year of pro pickleball.

• Top pickleballers, like Waters (who’s been a mainstay in the sport since she was 12 years old; now 18), can take home millions from salary and endorsement deals.
• In fact, pickleball players now make more money than WNBA and NWSL players.

Zoom out: Pickleball was the fastest-growing sport in America in 2024 for the fourth consecutive year, according to USA Pickleball—much to the chagrin of hardcore tennis enthusiasts and HOA board members everywhere, for whom the loud “thwacks” serve as a constant reminder of what’s been lost (court space and peace & quiet).

+Editor’s note: Want more stories like this? Sign up for Press Sports, our sister newsletter delivering smart, witty sports news to inboxes 2x/week. It’s free.

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The “most significant publication in the history of English literature” will soon be up for grabs—and all it takes to gain possession is several million dollars and the will to outbid other interested parties.

A set of the first four printed editions of William Shakespeare’s plays—the First through Fourth Folios—goes up for auction next month for the first time since 1989, Sotheby’s announced on Wednesday (Shakespeare’s 461st birthday).

• The First Folio is a collection of 36 of Shakespeare’s greatest works, published together shortly after his death in 1616. Without the Folio, scholars say plays like Macbeth, The Tempest, and Julius Caesar may have been lost forever.
• The other three Folios, which are reprints of the original, were published later in the 17th century following the success of the first.

Not in many port-folios: Only 235 of the original 750 First Folio copies are known to still exist—and the Third Folio is even rarer, at 150 copies.

Looking ahead…The Folio set goes up for auction at Sotheby’s on May 23. It’s expected to fetch up to $6 million.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📊 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +2.0%; Dow: +1.2%; Nasdaq: +2.7%). | US jobless claims last week came in about even with analysts' forecasts (~222,000 vs. ~220,000 projected). | Sales of previously owned homes fell 5.9% in March from February; at 4.02 million units, it marks the slowest March sales pace since 2009.
• 💻 Alphabet reported stronger-than-expected Q1 growth after the bell; shares rose more than 5% in after-hours trading.
• 📝 Elon Musk will reportedly scale back his leadership role with DOGE and his time at the White House in the coming weeks.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Four Leaf Rover

• 🏈 Football legend and commentator Shannon Sharpe will "step aside temporarily" from his duties at ESPN following a $50 million lawsuit filed against him for alleged rape. | NFL Draft: QB Cam Ward (Miami) was chosen #1 overall by the Tennessee Titans; see all the first round picks here.
• 🦚 Peacock narrowed its loss to $215 million in Q1, from $639 million in the year-ago period; subscribers rose to ~41 million.
• 🤣 Bad Bunny is set to be the final musical guest of SNL Season 50; Scarlett Johansson will host.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚗 Volkswagen is partnering with Uber to deploy thousands of robotaxis in the US. | Tesla started testing its autonomous ride-hail service with employees in Austin and the Bay Area; plans to roll it out more widely this summer.
• ⚖️ Eli Lilly sued four telehealth companies for allegedly selling illegal copies of its weight-loss drug, Zepbound.
• 🥳🎂 Scientists found what’s believed to be the oldest ant in history; the ~113 million-year-old fossil was uncovered in Brazil. | The Hubble Telescope turned 35 yesterday; check out 10 of its most-iconic photos.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with Autio

• ⚖️ A federal judge in Maryland ordered the Trump admin to facilitate the return of another man sent to an El Salvador prison.
• 📝 President Trump signed a memo directing AG Pam Bondi to investigate ActBlue, the main online fundraising platform used by Democrats.
• 🤑 Cybercriminals and online scammers raked in a record $16.6 billion last year, per new FBI data.

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☝️ You’re looking at a breakdown of how the US federal government spends every dollar, courtesy of think tank Third Way.

🤔 Did You Know? Meteorologists around the world all launch weather balloons at the same time in order to gather accurate weather forecasts; it occurs twice per day—12 pm and 12 am GMT—every day of the year.

📰 Worth a Read: Man buys racetrack, ends up launching the Netflix of grassroots motorsports

🖱️ Clickbait: Everyone is tipping less. See how you compare

☂️ 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke recently tapped back into his Mary Poppins roots, performing a seamless rendition of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" for fans last Sunday.

🐶 A new small study by researchers at Chiang Mai University in Thailand found that petting a dog may be the easiest way to reduce stress without medication.

🧊 The Ice Bucket Challenge is back after more than a decade—and this time, it's aimed at raising money for mental health awareness.

Our weekly news quiz is live. How well did you pay attention this week? Let’s find out.

🏡 DIY-ers: Read this before starting your home renovation.

🌐 In case you were curious: Here’s a map of all the submarine internet cables in the world.

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Below are three lists of ingredients. Your job is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Butter
• Strawberries
• Buttermilk
• Vanilla extract
• Heavy cream
• Sugar
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Milk

2️⃣ Recipe #2:

• Mayonnaise
• Buttermilk
• Prepared pesto
• Garlic
• Black pepper
• Herb & garlic couscous
• Salmon
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Greek seasoning

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Ground beef
• Chili powder
• Ground chipotle
• Pepper & salt
• Cinnamon
• IPA beer
• Sugar
• Oregano
• Fire-roasted tomatoes
• Extra chunky salsa
• Pinto beans
• Sour cream
• Green onions
• Cheddar cheese
• Cilantro

☝️ Recipe #1: Strawberry biscuits

2️⃣ Recipe #2: Salmon couscous salad

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Lazy hazy beef chili