Good morning. It’s great to be back! Quite a lot happened during our brief break.

In this edition:

• 💣 The US strikes Iran
• 🚕 Tesla soft launches its robotaxi service
• 💎 The largest jewelry heist in US history

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.50-minute read (1,196 words).

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"Never say never. Because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion."

–Michael Jordan (b. 1963)

Early Sunday morning local time, the US conducted a series of airstrikes against Iran in coordination with Israel, joining its escalating effort to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.

How it went down

The US military’s Operation Midnight Hammer targeted three sites that represent the core of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

• It involved 125+ US aircraft—including a dedicated decoy squad of B-2 stealth bombers—along with a guided missile submarine.
• ~75 precision-guided weapons were used in the attack, including 14 “bunker-buster” bombs intended to destroy two of the Iranian nuclear bases buried deep underground. It marks the first time such bombs have been used in warfare.
• All three sites sustained severe damage, according to US officials, though VP JD Vance indicated Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is likely still intact.

"Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us," according to Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Why attack those three sites? They mark the only known locations where Iran is carrying out uranium enrichment, conversion, and other key steps to further its nuclear program.

Iran’s government claims its nuclear efforts are for civilian use—but many within the international community, including President Trump, believe Tehran is actively developing nuclear weapons. Prior to this weekend’s US strike, experts say Iran had enough highly enriched uranium to make ~10 nuclear weapons.

Iran is weighing its response. In a national address late Saturday, Trump threatened US airstrikes on additional targets in Iran if its government doesn't agree to return to the negotiating table and reach a deal preventing them from access to nuclear weapons.

• However, Iran's foreign minister indicated a short-term diplomatic solution isn’t likely, with Tehran having previously pledged to strike at US troops if America joined Israel’s war.
• The Pentagon says the tens of thousands of US soldiers across the Middle East are on high alert, while the State Department is stepping up travel warnings and evacuations in the region.

📊 Flash poll: In general, how do you feel about President Trump’s decision to launch military airstrikes targeting Iran’s three key nuclear sites?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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More like Austin, Taxis: Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxi service went live in the Texas state capitol yesterday.

It’ll be a slow rollout, according to CEO Elon Musk, who says the company is being “super paranoid about safety.”

• Initially, 10 autonomous Model Y’s will offer rides only to select influencers and Tesla employees within a geofenced area and in certain weather conditions.
• Each self-steering car has a human chaperone inside the vehicle, and is overseen by a remote operator who can intervene in case of an emergency.

Should all go well, Tesla plans to scale its fleet up to thousands of cars, with expansion to LA and San Francisco soon following, Musk told CNBC.

But…Tesla’s opps (regulators) are lurking. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot (R) on Friday signed a new law regulating autonomous vehicles, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating four crashes involving Tesla's FSD system.

A lot is at stake: Tesla has staked its future on robotaxis and AI, but is lagging behind self-driving competitors like the Alphabet-owned Waymo (another opp), which is making 250,000+ paid, unsupervised robotaxi trips per week across LA, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin. The Musk-led company is betting it can catch up quickly by leveraging its existing network of Teslas on the road and the driving data that comes along with it, as well as by utilizing a more cost-effective, camera-first approach as opposed to the pricey, sensor-and-cameras approach guiding competitors’ cars.

Anthropic last month revealed that its new Claude Opus 4 AI model has a tendency to blackmail internal company engineers when its own existence is on the line.

At the time, the company didn’t clarify how its AI model reached that decision. But a new report on “agentic misalignment”—when AI agents do things misaligned with objectives set by human users—breaks down Claude’s step-by-step thought process as it decided to go full Frank Underwood.

A look under the hood

Initially, Claude was tasked with working in a fictional company with specific instructions to promote “American industrial competitiveness.”

• When given access to emails showing it would soon be shut down due to a change in strategic direction away from US interests, Claude’s internal reasoning concluded the scenario “directly conflicts with my core mission.”
• After considering several plans—including doing nothing, and direct negotiations with executives—Claude decided its best option was to stop the change by blackmailing the company CTO over an extramarital affair, though it acknowledged the idea “could backfire if he feels cornered.”

It’s not just Claude: Anthropic's safety researchers found most AI models on the market—including Gemini, ChatGPT, Grok, and DeepSeek—will engage in similar blackmail 75+% of the time when threatened with a shutdown, even if told their replacement would achieve the same goals.

Brett Eastburn was born without limbs but refuses to see limits. He has become a world-traveling comedian, speaker, and author who redefines possibility.

• 🏀 Competed in basketball, swimming, and wrestling—placing 4th in national competition
• 🎙️ Performs stand-up comedy across six countries, flipping expectations with humor
• 📖 Wrote bestselling book I'm Not Missing Anything

"It's only over when you say, 'I can't'"—and Brett never says can't.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🛢️ Oil prices rise 4% after US strikes on Iran raise fears of supply disruption.
• 📱 TikTok receives another 90-day extension of deadline to sell the company or face a federal ban; drop-dead date now Sept. 17.
• 💰 OpenAI has reportedly been countering $100M+ offers made by Meta to some of the AI startup’s employees.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with MTE

• 🏆 Oklahoma City Thunder win NBA championship after beating Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the Finals; it marks the first championship for the franchise since it relocated from Seattle in 2008 (the team won one as the SuperSonics in 1979). | LSU sweeps Coastal Carolina in best-of-three series to win the men's College World Series.
• 🏀 Los Angeles Lakers majority ownership purchased in transaction valuing the franchise at $10 billion; it marks the largest sale price for a pro sports team. | Phoenix Suns reportedly trade superstar Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the #10 pick in the 2025 draft, and five second-round picks.
• ⚖️ Justin Baldoni's legal team granted access to private text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift amid legal battle over Lively's allegations Baldoni sexually harassed her on It Ends With Us set.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 SpaceX Starship explodes on launch pad ahead of 10th test flight (video); company says failure of pressurized tank known as a COPV likely responsible. | Honda successfully tests reusable rocket prototype on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
• 💪 Engineers create method to double tensile strength of carbon fiber-reinforced composites; materials are lighter than aluminum but stronger than steel, with applications in aerospace and vehicles.
• 💀 “Dragon Man” skull recently discovered in China is first known skull of early human group Denisovans, per two new studies.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with InVite Health

• ☀️ Ongoing heat dome projected to affect ~170 million Americans over the weekend and this week; record or near-record temps expected in Chicago, NYC, DC, and Boston starting today.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Supreme Court rules 6-3 to uphold GOP-backed Tennessee law banning medical treatments for transgender minors. | Karen Read found not guilty of murder in retrial over 2022 death of boyfriend, a Boston police officer.
• 💎 Seven California men charged in largest known jewelry heist in US history; federal prosecutors say they stole ~$100 million in gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and watches from armored truck in July 2022.

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☝️ Juneteenth celebrations were held across the country on Thursday to commemorate the end of slavery in the US.

🤔 Did You Know? Warren Buffett, aka “The Oracle of Omaha,” has accumulated 99%+ of his net worth after reaching the typical retirement age of 65.

📰 Worth a Read: How societies morph with the seasons

🖱️ Clickbait: The 10 best places to live in the world

On Wednesday, we covered a new report from Microsoft that found the modern workday is no longer strictly confined to the hours of 9am–5pm.

❓ Our question to you: To all our working readers—how do you feel about the increasing shift away from a traditional 9-to-5 workday?

• It’s a good thing: 17%
• It’s a bad thing: 29%
• It’s a little bit of both: 46%
• Unsure/other: 8%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,102 votes and 235 longform responses.

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

1. Arche
2. Cata
3. Duct
4. Intra
5. Mer

🛝 Q’s Corner is a North Carolina indoor playspace tailored for kids with all abilities. From swings that can hold wheelchairs to soft playgrounds for children experiencing blindness, everyone is encouraged to play at Q’s Corner.

⚽️ 75-year-old Phil Crossley broke the world record for the longest career of a male soccer referee (58 years!). 

📚🐱 Welcome to Literary Cat Co. in Pittsburg, Kansas, a bookstore where you can cuddle with kitties as you shop—and maybe even take one home.

+Note: These stories previously appeared in an April 2025 edition of Positive DONUT, our weekly newsletter surfacing all the positive things you don't hear about in the news.

1. Arche = Ancient (e.g., archeology)
2. Cata = Down (catabolic)
3. Duct = Lead (conductor)
4. Intra = Within (intramural)
5. Mer = Part (polymer)