Good morning. In this edition:

• ⚡ AI energy savings
• 📺 Kimmel’s show returns
• 💰 Cost of the American Dream

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.02-minute read (1,068 words).

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

–Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

Americans across the country have seen the cost of car repairs go through the roof in recent years, with prices accelerating even further over the past several weeks. Or enough to turn anyone into Dulé Hill from Holes: “I can fix that.”

• The average monthly cost to repair and maintain a vehicle has risen by 43.6% from January 2019 to January 2025, per data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• And repair bills have continued to rise this year, with the latest Consumer Price Index showing a 5% jump between July and August alone—representing the largest monthly increase on record.

A look under the hood

Analysts say several main factors are driving the recent surge in repair costs:

• Tech overload: Modern cars are essentially rolling computers, with advanced sensors, lidar cameras, and chip-heavy systems that make even routine fixes more complex and costly.
• Labor crunch: A shortage of qualified technicians—driven in part by the skills needed to service today’s high-tech vehicles—have pushed hourly wages higher across the industry.
• Vehicle age: The average vehicle on US roads is now a record-high 12.6 years old, meaning drivers are seeing more service visits, more parts failing, and more money fly out of their pockets.
• Tariffs: The US recently levied a 25% tariff on many imported vehicles and components—outside of those that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—in a move widely viewed as having contributed to higher auto repair costs.

Looking ahead…Prices for car repairs will likely continue to climb for the foreseeable future, according to industry experts, who say the trends placing upwards pressure on costs—as laid out above—are unlikely to change anytime soon.

Veriheal connects you with licensed physicians who help you obtain an official cannabis certification letter—which can be the difference between acceptance and denial.

• Provides legal documentation supporting your cannabis use
• Helps employers and case workers understand your medical needs
• Reduces legal hurdles when applying for services

Today’s biggest AI models burn more power than entire cities, when accounting for the costs of training and operation.

• The energy cost of training a single frontier AI model—like OpenAI’s GPT-4o or xAI’s Grok-3—currently sits at ~100 megawatts, or enough energy to power 100,000 US households.
• That figure is also projected to skyrocket in the coming years to reach 5-10 gigawatts (equivalent to 5-10 million homes).

By 2028, AI alone is projected to consume as much electricity as 22% of all US households annually.

A take and give situation

At the same time, some experts say power-hungry AI technology can also help use a whole lot less energy by creating more efficiencies. Examples include:

• Buildings: Research suggests AI-enhanced HVAC, lighting, and shading systems can save energy and reduce building-sector emissions by up to 19% over the next 25 years. AI can also manage a building’s batteries to shift grid use to off-peak times.
• Transportation: AI route optimization can help freight companies cut fuel use by 10%-15%, help airlines reduce emissions by 3%-10%, and cut ships’ fuel use by up to 20%.
• Materials: AI can accelerate material-science innovation and the discovery of more energy-efficient products to replace—or add to—materials like cement, steel, and plastic.

However…A future where AI enables significant energy savings is far from guaranteed. Many of the efficiency gains promised by AI also require massive data collection, and raise major privacy concerns (like tech companies knowing when consumers are or aren’t home).

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🤖 Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and provide it with data center chips as soon as late 2026, both companies announced; OpenAI says deal will allow it to build and deploy 10+ gigawatts of Nvidia systems for AI data centers.
• 💊 Pfizer is acquiring weight loss drugmaker Metsera in a deal worth up to $7.3 billion; move comes months after Pfizer scrapped its own lead obesity pill candidate over safety concerns.
• ✈️ Spirit Airlines will furlough 1,800 of its ~5,200 flight attendants; it marks the latest effort by the bankrupt airline to cut costs.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with MorningSave

• 📺 Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show to return to the air tonight, nearly a week after Disney suspended it indefinitely following Kimmel’s on-air remarks regarding the Charlie Kirk shooting. (Dive deeper: Why Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s show)
• 🍿 Taylor Swift returning to movie theaters on October 3 with Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl; it marks the same date that her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, will be released.
• 🏀 Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl, 65, abruptly retires after 11 seasons, including a Final Four appearance last year (the second in program history); Bruce to be replaced by son Steven Pearl.

*From our partners: 💧 3-pack Tervis Tumblers for $24.99… 24 oz, insulated, and stainless steel. Keeps your drink cold for up to 60 hours. Easy-to-clean and easy-close lid. Save $105 (reg. $130) here at MorningSave.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧠 President Trump warns that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is a potential cause of autism, though other scientists and Tylenol-maker Kenvue disagree; Health Secretary RFK Jr. says FDA will move to update the label for acetaminophen and conduct a public awareness campaign about its potential link to autism; Trump officials also touted the drug leucovorin as a way to help alleviate some autism symptoms.
• 🥤 Everyday exposure to plastics—especially during childhood—may increase the risks of heart disease, infertility, asthma, and brain development issues down the line, per new study.
• 🧑‍🚀 10 new astronauts selected by NASA, which plans to send them on missions to new space stations, the Moon and possibly Mars; the class has a 6-4 female ratio, the first time women have outnumbered men.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ The Pentagon says it will forbid journalists who cover the military from reporting any information that hasn’t been authorized in advance for release; this covers both classified and unclassified information.
• 🎓 US student visa arrivals fall 19% year-over-year in August to reach lowest level since 2021; Asia posts the biggest total decline, led by a 45% annual drop in Indian students.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Supreme Court allows President Trump to remove FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter—the last remaining Democrat on the FTC—while Justices consider whether to allow federal agency members to be fired without sufficient cause.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 2025 Spotlight Awards, a competition that celebrates commercial photography and its practitioners. The Grand Prize went to photographer Todd Antony for his image of Tajikistan residents playing “Buzkashi,” or “goat-pulling,” a centuries-old Central Asian sport often compared to polo (top left).

🤔 Did you know? The world record for most attempts to pass a driving test belongs to 69-year-old South Korean woman Cha Sa-soon, who finally earned a driver’s license after ~960 tries and thousands of dollars spent on application fees.

📰 Worth a read: Longer words and real reflection: the science behind a convincing apology

🖱️ Clickbait: The American dream now costs $5 million. Here's a breakdown

Yesterday we covered a proclamation by President Trump imposing a new $100,000 fee for all H-1B visas moving forward, in a decision aimed at reshaping how foreign workers get hired within the US.

❓ Our question to you: How do you feel about the Trump admin’s move to implement a one-time $100,000 fee for all new H-1B visas moving forward?

• Support: 34%
• Oppose: 42%
• Unsure/other: 24%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 1,085 votes and 97 longform responses.

🪖 Them’s fighting words: The 18-year-old Marine who convinced 800 Japanese to surrender during WWII

🎢 No cheap thrill: Inside the very expensive, extremely overwhelming, engineered fun of theme parks

🤑 Money to blow?...“This Is Why I'm Broke” is a curation of unique, unusual, and novelty items available for purchase online

❓Trivia: What’s the only mammal capable of true flight?

🎓 True or false?…The liver is the human body’s largest internal organ.

🤔 Riddle me this…I have many teeth but can’t bite. What am I?

🪶 A rescued gull that flew the coop in 2001 was recently spotted soaring free in British Columbia, some 24 years after its rehabilitation and release. Proof that second chances really can go the distance. 

❓ Trivia: Bats

🎓 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: A comb (or a gear)