Good morning. In this edition:

• 💰 President Trump’s 2026 budget plan
• 🤖 Researchers catfished Redditors with AI for science
• 🍺 How IPA beer got its name

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.67-minute read (1,241 words).

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“I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk.”

–Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954)

In a letter to Congress on Friday, the White House outlined a fiscal blueprint for the 2026 budget that would significantly reduce spending on domestic programs while boosting funding towards national security.

• It marks the first budget of Trump’s second term, in which presidents typically define the main goals of the administration alongside their party in Congress.

The budget blueprint

The White House’s fiscal plan aims to reduce discretionary non-defense spending—which excludes programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—by $163 billion compared to the current fiscal year, a drop of 22.6%. The plan would bring spending in that area to its lowest level since 2017, according to the White House.

Overall, programs throughout the federal government related to climate change, foreign assistance, and diversity, equity, and inclusion would see cuts. These include the EPA, USAID, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Science Foundation (NSF).

Other areas would see spending boosts. Trump’s budget proposal would increase military spending by 13% to a record $1.01 trillion, while appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security—which oversees border security—would increase by ~65% to $107 billion.

• Charter schools would have their funding increased, while Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative would receive $500 million.
• Air and rail safety, veterans’ health care, and law enforcement would also see boosted spending.

Both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns. Democratic lawmakers pushed back against Trump’s budget proposal, framing it as an attack on government programs that help working Americans and also ensure the US remains the world leader in innovation and research.

On the flip side, some GOP defense hawks argue Trump’s proposal doesn’t actually boost military spending, since it includes $120 billion that’s part of pending legislation via a separate budget process.

Looking ahead…Presidential budgets almost never survive the congressional appropriations process fully intact, but serve to shape debates on Capitol Hill about the coming fiscal year.

Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose President Trump’s budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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As part of a recent experiment, researchers from the University of Zurich unleashed an army of AI bots onto unwitting users of the subreddit r/ChangeMyView—a digital coliseum where ~3.8 million gladiators of thought go to politely roast each other's hot takes.

The goal: Find out whether AI-generated responses could change people’s views. As part of the experiment:

• The bots posted 1,000+ comments on topics such as the housing crisis, DEI programs, and Israel/US relations. To increase their persuasiveness, many bots adopted fake personas—like a male rape victim or a Black person critical of Black Lives Matter.
• A separate AI was also used to analyze users’ post histories to infer personal details, such as age, race, political beliefs, and location, and tailor responses accordingly.

It worked. The study’s initial results suggest the AI responses were 3x-6x more persuasive than those made by humans.

But…Backlash to the experiment has been intense—on Reddit and in academic circles. Amy Bruckman, a Georgia Tech professor who’s studied online communities for 20+ years, told The Atlantic ($) it’s “the worst internet-research ethics violation I have ever seen.” Reddit said it’s considering legal action.

Big picture: AI is becoming better at persuasion than Bob Burg—the man who wrote The Art of Persuasion—raising concerns about the ability for malicious actors to deploy botnets on a large scale to influence beliefs. In another recent study, an AI chatbot convinced ~25% of conspiracy theorists to reconsider their beliefs after just three conversations.

You could practically see the tumbleweeds rolling through theaters this weekend at the premiere of the Alex Baldwin-starring western Rust, which opened this weekend to $25,000 across 115 theaters ($217/screen) following an onset tragedy that claimed the life of a crewmember, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

It’s not a great showing. However, the film’s limited marketing spend is weighted towards getting people to stream the movie online—where the better part of its revenues will come from—vs. viewing it in theaters, according to Deadline.

• Typically, ~80% of revenue made from streaming goes back to the distributor, compared to the ~50% seen from movie theaters.

The money path: Funds from the pic will go into the pockets of Hutchins’ family. Her husband, Matthew, came onto the project as an executive producer following her death.

Honoring a legacy…You can watch Rust on Amazon Prime or Apple TV. A documentary about Hutchins’ life created by her friends, Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna, is also streaming on Hulu.

More box office news: Marvel’s Thunderbolts opened to ~$76 million, making it the top-grossing film of the weekend. Sinners came #2 in its third weekend of release, with $33 million, down just 28% from its prior outing (a strong hold).

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At long last, the Oracle of Omaha foresees a new future. Warren Buffett, 94, announced this weekend in front of thousands of fans and investors at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting that he will be stepping down as CEO of the investment juggernaut at year’s end.

When Buffett—arguably the world’s greatest investor not named Bobby Axelrod—took control of Berkshire it was a failing textile maker. The conglomerate, now worth ~$1.1 trillion, owns 60+ companies, including Geico, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, NetJets, and Dairy Queen, as well as major stakes in Apple, Coca Cola, Bank of America, and American Express.

• Fun fact: Berkshire stock could fall 99% and it would still outperform the S&P 500 since the Oracle came on board in 1965, according to Barron’s.

Who’s replacing him? Buffett is recommending to Berkshire’s board that Greg Abel take over as CEO starting in 2026. Abel joined Berkshire in 2000, and since 2018 has been in charge of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations, which include BNSF, one of America’s largest railroads.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📊 US markets rose across the board last week (S&P: +2.9%; Dow: +3.0%; Nasdaq: +3.4%). | US crude oil prices fell more than 4% yesterday after OPEC+ agreed to surge production in June.
• ✈️ American Airlines is debuting long-haul first-class suites with sliding “privacy” doors.
• 🪙 French police are investigating a string of crypto millionaire kidnappings.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with FinanceBuzz

• 📸 The 2025 Met Gala takes place tonight in New York City.
• 🏅 Kentucky Derby: Sovereignty won the the 151st Run for the Roses, turning in a time of 2 minutes, 2.31 seconds on a wet track. | Gregg Popovich, legendary coach of the San Antonio Spurs, is stepping down after 29 years with the team; the winningest coach in NBA history will transition to team president full-time.
• 🎮 The release of GTA VI was delayed (again) from fall of this year until May 2026.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ☄️ The ETA Aquarids, one of the best annual meteor showers for viewing, are projected to peak in the night sky today and tomorrow.
• 🚀 Introducing Starbase, TX: A small South Texas town almost exclusively made up of people connected to SpaceX voted to incorporate into a new city called Starbase.
• 🌌 The science of Star Wars: Some iconic elements of the saga have a scientific basis, including lightsabers and carbonite freezing, according to an assistant chemistry professor.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with Kanguro

• 🗳️ ~65% of voting-age Americans cast a ballot in last November's elections, down from ~67% in 2020, per new Census Bureau estimates.
• 🏛️ An appeals court blocked a ruling that had ordered the Trump admin to reinstate Voice of America (VOA) employees and contractors.
• 🌏 Australian election: PM Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party defeated an alliance of conservative parties; he’s the first PM to win back-to-back three-year terms since 2004. | Ireland fined TikTok ~$600 million for transferring EU user data to China in violation of GDPR. | Ukraine said it shot down two Russian fighter jets with naval drones, marking the "first time in history" that drones have destroyed a crewed combat aircraft.

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☝️ Lady Gaga put on a free concert Saturday night at Brazil’s Copacabana Beach; organizers said ~2.1 million fans attended the show, which would make it the 5th most-attended concert on record.

🤔 Did You Know? India pale ale (IPA) got its name in the early 1800s after English brewers added extra hops and a higher alcohol content to help the beverage last the long sea voyage from England to India. The higher hop content acted as a natural preservative, giving the ale a distinct bitterness still recognized in craft brews today.

📰 Worth a Read: I recorded everything I said for three months. AI has replaced my memory.

🖱️ Clickbait: Do animals have regional accents?

Monday: Cinco de Mayo; Pulitzer Prize winners announced

Tuesday: National Teacher Appreciation Day

Wednesday: The Vatican starts conclave to elect new pope; Federal Reserve interest rate decision

Thursday: Three days of Russia-declared ceasefire in Ukraine begins

Friday: Fight or Flight starring Josh Hartnett hits theaters

On Friday, we covered how Nvidia and Anthropic recently clashed over US export controls related to artificial intelligence chips, with each finding themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum in advocating for stronger and weaker controls.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you prefer tighter or looser US export controls when it comes to artificial intelligence chips?

• Tighter: 47%
• Looser: 21%
• Unsure/other: 32%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 1,836 votes and 195 longform responses.

🤖 The Marquez Charter Elementary School's fourth-grade robotics team and its “Hole in One” bot is heading to nationals months after the Palisades fire burned down their school and robotics lab.

🌷 Behind “Meadowscaping” a trend that has people turning their lawns into wild meadows—and helping the environment in the process.

🥳 UK resident Ethel Caterham, 115, just received the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest living person.

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

1. Hort
2. Kilo
3. Myri
4. Plas
5. Terr

k

e

e

p

s

c

r

o

l

l

i

n

g

1. Hort = Garden (e.g., horticulture)
2. Kilo = Thousand (kilobyte)
3. Myri = Countless (myriad)
4. Plas = Mold (plastic)
5. Terr = Dry land (terrain)