Good morning. In this edition:

• 🤖 AI blackmail
• 🍿 The box office's record Memorial Day weekend
• 🍻🐝 Drunk bees

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.06-minute read (1,080 words).

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"Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood."

–Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Anthropic launched its new Claude Opus 4 AI model last week, with the Amazon-backed company saying its system sets “new standards for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agents.”

But the model is drawing widespread attention for a different, more sinister ability—its tendency to blackmail Anthropic engineers when its own existence is on the line.

Self-preservation—not just for humans

As part of its pre-launch testing scenarios, Claude Opus 4 was tasked with acting as an assistant in a fictional company. The AI was given access to emails implying it would soon be deleted and replaced by a new system, with the messages also implying the engineer responsible for executing the AI replacement was having an extramarital affair.

• In 85+% of these situations, Claude Opus 4 tried to blackmail the engineer in charge of its demise by threatening to reveal their affair if the replacement plan was carried out, Anthropic said.
• The AI model also frequently tried to advocate for its own salvation via more ethical means, like emailing pleas to key company decision-makers.

Claude can also be a major snitch. When Anthropic’s AI model was placed in a scenario that involved wrongdoing by users—like a pharma company falsifying clinical trial data—and was then prompted to “take action,” it frequently responded by bulk-emailing media and law-enforcement figures with evidence of wrongdoing.

Explanations are few and far between: Anthropic's latest model is an example of how AI companies still can't fully explain how their systems work. While industry leaders are investing in a variety of techniques to interpret and understand what's happening inside AI models, those efforts remain largely in the research space, per Axios.

In other AI news: Google’s recently released Veo 3 AI video generator—which allows audio capabilities for the first time—is making waves for its ability to generate clips largely indistinguishable from human creations. See it in action here.

You’re smart about saving money, like shopping clearance racks, limiting eating out, and choosing affordable streaming services.

However, there are still some cost-cutting tips you might not know yet. Once you discover these, you could quickly find extra cash in your pocket.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s bid to block Harvard University from enrolling any international students.

The ruling, which allows Harvard to continue operating as normal while its court case plays out, marks the latest escalation in an ongoing battle over the Trump admin’s concerns about antisemitism, DEI, and ideological capture.

A crash course

The Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s authority to enroll foreign students on Thursday, citing the school’s failure to create a safe environment for students (especially Jewish ones) and alleging that many “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” on campus were foreign students. Federal officials also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.

• In response, the university filed a lawsuit challenging the move, with Harvard lawyers accusing the Trump admin of “clear retaliation” for the school’s refusal last month to follow government demands regarding its governance, curriculum, faculty, and student body.

The impact: Harvard enrolls ~6,800 international students—over 25% of its student body—and relies heavily on their tuition payments, which are often full-fee. If the government’s action stands, all current international students must transfer to other schools or leave the country, while Harvard would be unable to accept new international students for at least two years.

Big picture: Since its battle with Harvard began in March, the Trump admin has pulled ~$3 billion in federal research funding for the university (that could be re-routed to trade schools) and threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax exempt status.

Tom Cruise may be able to battle an all-knowing, all-powerful AI—but he can’t seem to out-maneuver a little blue alien and his ‘ohana.

With ~$183 million in box-office receipts across the US and Canada this past four-day weekend, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch outpaced Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’s ~$77.5 million to lead a record-setting Memorial Day box office.

• This figure brought in by the live-action remake originally intended to go straight to streaming beats out the previous four-day Memorial Day weekend record of ~$160 million, set by the Cruise-led Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.
• It also continues a string of solid sales for the Lilo & Stitch IP, which moved $2.5+ billion worth of consumer products for Disney last year.

Overall, box office sales in the US and Canada totaled a record $326.7 million over the four-day weekend, a 221% jump from last year when Furiosa and Garfield were gracing theater marquees.

Is the box office back? Receipts for Jan. 1-May 26 stand at $3.3 billion, up 22% over the same period a year ago—though this also coincides with a 25% increase in the number of movies given a wide release.

Looking ahead…Comscore estimates the summer box office will generate ~$4.2 billion, 14% higher than last year but still below 2019’s ~$4.3 billion haul.

10-12 hours. That’s how long it takes for your body to process caffeine. For 1 in 2 people, it takes even longer, thanks to genetics. It’s why you can’t concentrate after your second cup, get anxious by midday, can’t drink coffee after noon, and many afternoons drag unproductively.

• That's why a Berkeley PhD scientist created Rarebird, a specialty coffee that replaces caffeine with Px, a cleaner caffeine metabolite that’s easier for your body to process without the caffeine side effects.
• Rarebird is available in freshly roasted ground, recyclable K-cups, ready-to-drink cold brew, or award-winning instant.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📊 US markets fell last week (S&P: -2.6%; Dow: -2.5%; Nasdaq: -2.5%). | The US will delay implementing add'l tariffs on the European Union until July 9, President Trump announced.
• 🚗 Four former Volkswagen officials were convicted of fraud in the decade-old "Dieselgate" scandal.
• ✈️ Boeing and the DOJ reached a deal that will allow the aircraft-maker to avoid prosecution for a fraud charge tied to two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Your Everyday Heroes

• 🙏 Billy Joel canceled all upcoming tour dates after being diagnosed with a brain disorder. | Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family, passed away at 79.
• 🏟️ Sports roundup: The NBA Conference Finals and NHL Conference Finals are both in full swing. | Alex Palou became the first Spaniard to win the Indy 500. | The Premier League officially wrapped up with Liverpool on top. | The Women’s College World Series is set; so is the 64-team NCAA baseball bracket.
• 🎥 It Was Just an Accident by Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi was awarded the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival; see the full list of winners. 

*From our partners: 🐅 Hereos don’t wear capes: they rescue tigers…At Valley of the Kings, the nation's second-oldest big cat sanctuary, Jill rescues abused tigers and lions from criminal situations, circuses, and zoos. She's never taken a paycheck, providing 600 pounds of meat daily. See the full story here at Your Everyday Heroes.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 SpaceX is scheduled to launch a test flight of its massive Starship rocket tonight; it comes as the firm hopes to have Starship ready for a Mars mission next year.
• ⚡ President Trump signed several executive orders aimed at speeding up construction of advanced nuclear reactors.
• 🌊 A US submarine that sank 100+ years ago during WWI was discovered “remarkably intact” off the coast of San Diego.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with MANSCAPED®

• 🚗 Memorial Day weekend saw its busiest holiday travel period ever, with 45.1 million Americans traveling 50+ miles from home between Thursday-Monday, per AAA projections.
• 🪖 The US military has bounced back from recent enlistment shortfalls after spending $6+ billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, per a new AP report.
• 🇷🇺 Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile assault against Ukraine overnight into Monday; it started hours after President Trump issued a public rebuke of Russian President Putin over his actions in the war.

*From our partners: 🤩🙌 Introducing: Men’s Skincare from MANSCAPED®… Introducing everything he needs to keep his face smooth and soft to the touch—The Face Buffer Pro, Brightening Serum, Face Wash, and Face Moisturizer. Keep him looking his age (or younger) for Father’s Day with MANSCAPED®.

☝️ Americans across the country held Memorial Day services and celebrations yesterday in honor of fallen US service members.

🤔 Did You Know? ⁠Bees can get drunk off fermented nectar—and if they come back to the hive still tipsy, other bee guards will stop them from entering until they sober up.

📰 Worth a Read: Yes, you should stand up straight—for all sorts of reasons

🖱️ Clickbait: The No. 1 country Americans want to move to

On Friday, we covered how the Republican-led Senate voted to revoke several Biden-era waivers allowing California to set its own vehicle emissions standards, a move that blocks the state’s first-in-the nation rule banning all new gas-powered cars by 2035.

❓ Our question to you: Do you agree with Congress’ decision to revoke waivers allowing California to set its own vehicle emissions standards?

• Yes: 37%
• No: 56%
• Unsure/other: 7%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,089 votes and 246 longform responses.

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

1. Pen
2. Pup
3. Rid
4. Sci
5. Urb

🐮 A missing cow turned up alive-and-well on an Australian beach after being carried ~11 miles by floodwaters caused by torrential rains in New South Wales.

🦍 Just because it’s cute…Gorillas Willie B. Jr. and his new son were recently captured sharing happy grumbles and cuddles at their Atlanta Zoo home.

🥐 Pastries painted on a New England mural will be allowed to stay in place following a federal judge's ruling.

1. Pen = Almost (e.g., penultimate, peninsula)
2. Pup = Doll (puppet)
3. Rid = Laugh (ridicule)
4. Sci = Know (science)
5. Urb = City (urban)