Good morning. In this edition:

• 🔋 Big tech + the nuclear option
• 🏜️ Saharan dust storm to hit US
• 🧀 How music impacts the taste of cheese

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.24-minute read (1,128 words).

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"Ideas do not reach perfection in a day, no matter how much study is put upon them."

–Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

Yesterday, Meta announced a deal with nuclear energy provider Constellation Energy to buy massive amounts of electricity over the next two-plus decades to fuel its AI ambitions.

The deal calls for 1.1 gigawatts of power—just shy of Doc Brown’s favorite number—to be supplied from a Constellation nuclear plant in Illinois between 2027–2046, or enough to power ~800,000 US homes. 

Meta won’t actually use the energy, however: Constellation will deliver electricity on behalf of Meta to the local grid, helping the tech giant maintain its decarbonization goals.

Welcome to the nuclear family

Meta’s agreement is the latest in a slew of deals between nuclear energy firms and big tech companies, as the industry continues to embrace the development of power-hungry AI systems.

• Microsoft has a 20-year agreement to buy nuclear energy from Constellation after it restarts the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania (the site of the worst nuclear meltdown in US history).
• Google last month signed a deal to develop three new nuclear sites that will produce a combined 1.8 gigawatts of power.
• Amazon has invested $500+ million in the development of small modular nuclear reactors, which have faster construction times and can be built closer to power grids than conventional options.

Why use nuclear energy? Fission reactors—not to be confused with fusion reactors, which are still years or decades from commercial viability—can be used to generate electricity without emitting any carbon dioxide as a by-product.

• Replacing fossil fuel-based power plants with fission reactors on a large scale could allow America to sharply reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by the electricity industry, which collectively accounts for ~30% of all such emissions in the US.
• Nuclear reactors are also able to produce maximum power over 93% of the time during the year, making them twice as reliable as fossil-fuel plants and 3x more reliable than solar or wind plants.

On the flip side: Critics of nuclear fission cite a range of downsides, including extremely high building and operating costs—sometimes more than 15x original forecasts—as well as challenges in the disposal of radioactive waste.

There’s also the potential for nuclear meltdowns like those that occurred at Fukushima, Three Mile Island, or Chernobyl, where the surrounding area was rendered uninhabitable for years due to radioactivity.

📊 Flash poll: In general, how do you feel about using nuclear energy as a source of electricity in the US?

• Strongly agree
• Agree/Somewhat agree
• Neutral
• Disagree/Somewhat disagree
• Strongly disagree

Did you know 1 in 2 people genetically process caffeine differently? If coffee causes you anxiety, brain fog, or disrupted sleep, this is probably why. Enter Rarebird, coffee created by a UC Berklee PhD scientist. It uses Px, a cleaner caffeine metabolite your body processes more efficiently.

It helps with energy, concentration, and fat loss without compromising sleep. And 80% of Rarebird customers report feeling significantly less stressed while maintaining peak focus.

If you love the morning ritual of coffee but not the nervous system overload, Rarebird tastes the same and delivers better results.

It turns out your mom was right—you do have food at the house.

US consumers are zipping past fast-food restaurants and cooking at home at the highest rate since early 2020, when the pandemic first started, according to Campbell's, who released an earnings report on Monday that indicates shoppers are pulling back from impulsive snacking and focused on finding more value in the grocery aisle.

• The company—whose snack brands include Goldfish, Snyder’s pretzels, and Cape Cod chips—saw snack sales slip 5% in the last three months.
• Meanwhile, sales of its meals and beverages rose 6%, mainly driven by Rao’s pasta sauces and soup sales in the US.

This tracks with other data: In a recent NIQ survey, 42% of consumers reported buying snacks less, and 37% said they’re searching harder for deals.

Along the same vein: Chipotle and McDonald’s most-recent earnings show Americans are increasingly resisting the temptation of queso and driving by the omnipresent Golden Arches. At the same time, bargain retailers are on the rise, such as Dollar General, whose stock turned in its biggest intraday gain since May 2022 yesterday after reporting record quarterly sales and raising its outlook.

Zoom out: The cost of out-of-home dining was up 3.9% YoY in April, federal data shows, while at-home food prices rose just 2% over the same period, slower than inflation overall.

Americans in the Southeast are about to feel like they’re on the set of Mad Max. A cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert that’s roughly the size of the continental US is expected to reach the Gulf Coast later today, after traveling 5,000+ miles across the Atlantic.

• The cloud—known as the Saharan Air Layer—is considered the biggest of its kind this year, and marks the start of the annual dust plume season that typically runs from April-October.

Dust in the wind

Areas affected by the incoming dust cloud will see reduced visibility, hazy orange or reddish skies (resulting in beautiful sunrises/sunsets), and diminished air quality.

• Local forecasters in those areas warn that people with seasonal allergies, asthma, and other similar conditions should remain indoors or wear face masks outside while the dust cloud is present.
• The drier air from the dust cloud can also squash thunderstorms and tropical systems in areas that it passes through, meaning a dayslong break in the current rainy season for Florida and other nearby states.

The massive Saharan dust cloud is projected to remain hovering over southeastern US states through this weekend before dispersing.

To learn more about this transcontinental dust cloud…Check out this clip from Nat Geo’s One Strange Rock.

This June for Pride Month, Autio is highlighting the voices that changed history—and the stories that continue to inspire progress. Explore narratives of LGBTQ+ trailblazers and the transformative events that shaped the very places you walk through today.

• Autio's 23,000+ story database reveals Pride histories often missing from standard guidebooks
• Premium storytelling from co-founder Kevin Costner and celebrated voice artists
• Stories activate seamlessly during exploration—connecting you to the movements that made history

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 Nvidia‘s market cap surpassed Microsoft; with the move, the chipmaker regains its title as America’s most valuable company. | Hudson’s Bay, a 355-year-old company that once owned one-third of Canada, is permanently closing.
• 🚗 Ford sales in the US increased 16% YoY in May; the jump comes amid employee pricing offers and rising tariffs.
• 📝 EuroTrip: Alaska Airlines will make its Europe debut next year with flights to Rome. | McDonald’s is bringing the Snack Wrap back to US restaurants next month. | Peloton is launching a resale marketplace for used bikes and treadmills.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Beam

• 🏀 The New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons despite the team reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. | 🥎 Texas Tech ended Oklahoma’s run of four straight Women’s College World Series titles with a walk-off victory in the semifinals; TTU faces Texas in the best-of-three WCWS finals starting today.
• ⚖️ The closing arguments for Harvey Weinstein's second sex crimes trial in New York were held yesterday.
• 📺 The 2025 Gotham TV Awards took place Monday night; Netflix’s Adolescence swept the limited series categories, while The Studio and The Pitt also took home trophies.

*From our partners: ✨ Your body is trying to tell you something… Brain fog, bloating, mood rollercoasters—sound familiar? Glow by Beam packs 18 targeted nutrients into one tasty daily drink that actually supports your hormones instead of fighting them. Clean energy, zero crash, only 10 calories. Use code DONUT for up to 40% off.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌌 The Milky Way galaxy is far less certain to collide with the Andromeda galaxy within the next 10 billion years than previously thought, per a new study; rather than a sure thing, researchers now peg the chances at 50-50.
• 🚀 SpaceX is on track to record ~$15.5 billion in revenue this year, per CEO Elon Musk.
• 🌊 Scientists unveiled the first direct evidence that mega-tsunami waves in a fjord in Greenland set off global tremors for nine days in September 2023.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with MANSCAPED®

• ✉️ Threatening letters to President Trump that led to the arrest of an undocumented immigrant last month were forged by a jailed Wisconsin man seeking to have him deported to prevent court testimony, per federal prosecutors.
• 🇰🇷 South Korea presidential election: Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, was elected to succeed former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached for declaring martial law last December.
• 🏛️ Elon Musk called the Trump-backed tax and spending bill in Congress a “disgusting abomination” in a series of critical X posts, saying it will “burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”

*From our partners: 🧔‍♂️🎁 Upgrade Dad's most important equipment…This Father's Day, give Dad the grooming tools trusted by 12M+ men worldwide. Whether it’s for the face, bod, or up top, MANSCAPED® delivers the award-winning gear for every job. Shop the Father's Day Gift Guide from MANSCAPED® and save 15% here.

☝️ NASA unveiled the winners of its 2024 Pictures of the Year awards, which heavily features its Artemis Moon mission.

🤔 Did You Know? A 2019 study found wheels of cheese that aged for six months while “listening” to music tasted better than cheese that wasn’t exposed to any tunes, with different musical genres attributed to different tastes and smells in the cheese.

📰 Worth a Read: How your pets help boost your immune system

🖱️ Clickbait: The best and worst places to raise a family in the US

🎂 Many high school seniors are baking “rejection cakes” when they get turned down from colleges. Explore the lighthearted trend.

🐢 California’s only native turtle species is making a triumphant return to Yosemite National Park after years of conservation efforts.

🍾 An 11-year-old Michigan girl found a message in a bottle from Hawaii while vacationing with her family in Florida. The bottle had been thrown into the sea eight years earlier. 

How it works: We provide an incorrect stat. Then you guess whether the actual number is over or under the given value.

• 🏋️ 75%: How many New Year's resolutions are abandoned by February
• 💼 15: Average number of jobs a person has in their lifetime
• ☔ 180: Days of rain London receives each year

🌱 Go green: The most popular houseplants in America, according to Google searches.

⚾ POV: You just got called up to the Big Leagues…then hit a walkoff in your MLB debut.

🐳 Whale of a time: Click to watch belugas from an underwater boat cam.

💰Money mastery: Short Squeez dishes out finance and biz news with a side of laughs to 200,000 readers. Sign up today.*

🥡 Save: Midweek takeout draining your wallet? Get 15 easy, fast, cheap, and pantry-friendly 5-ingredient dinners from Frugal Friends.*

*A message from our partners

1. 🏋️ Over; 80% of resolutions
2. 💼 Under; 12 jobs
3. ☔ Under; 106.5 days