Good morning. In this edition:

• ☀️ Solar-powered cars
• 🛒 ChatGPT “instant checkout”
• 🐤 Rubber duck problem solving

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.92-minute read (1,042 words).

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“Life is trying things to see if they work.”

–Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

The US federal government is poised to shut down at 12:01 am ET tomorrow morning, unless Congress can pass a short-term funding measure between now and then—an agreement that seems increasingly unlikely to happen.

State of play: Senate Republicans need seven votes from Democrats to approve a bill that funds the US government beyond September. But Democrats say they won’t agree to pass any spending bill unless the GOP extends Obamacare subsidies, reverses cuts to Medicaid, and restores other health programs cut by the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act this summer.

• President Trump met with top Republican and Democratic lawmakers yesterday afternoon in a bid to reach a seven-week stopgap funding deal.
• However, the meeting resulted in little progress, with VP JD Vance afterwards saying “I think we’re headed to a shutdown.”

What happens during a shutdown?

It’s difficult to establish exactly which federal programs or services would immediately end if the government shuts down, given that agencies have been slow to release their latest contingency plans.

But here’s what we do know:

• Historically, ~60% of federal employees have remained on the job as part of services deemed essential—including in-hospital medical care, border patrol, air-traffic control, and law enforcement—while the other ~40% were furloughed.
• Mandatory spending like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and VA benefits would continue to function, but there could be some delay in services.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics says it won't issue any economic reports, meaning there wouldn’t be a September jobs report published this coming Friday.

It would also be the first shutdown since the Trump admin began significantly cutting the federal workforce. White House officials are threatening even more layoffs in the event of a shutdown, which would give the President broad discretion to decide which services are essential, and which employees can be let go.

Bottom line: With the House out on recess this week, reaching an agreement in the Senate is the only option available to avoid a government shutdown by midnight tonight.

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For years, the idea of vehicles that run entirely on sunlight most or all of the time has been mostly limited to science clubs and hobbyists.

But thanks to recent technological breakthroughs, a growing number of EV drivers have begun using their vehicles regularly while barely ever plugging them in.

Here comes the charge

Startups across the US are rolling out new EVs and vehicle add-ons that can efficiently transform sunlight into fuel, and power short trips in their entirety.

• Telo Trucks produces a compact pickup with optional solar panels that can boost daily range by 15–30 miles on sunny days, supplementing its 350-mile battery.
• Aptera Motors plans to launch a $40,000 EV as early as next year with custom solar panels that capture enough sunlight to add 15–40 miles/day to the vehicle’s range.
• DartSolar targets existing EV owners by selling the world's first solar roof-rack system, which the company says can add 10-20 miles/day to a parked Tesla Model 3.

Driving (heh) the trend: Experts say the key to new solar innovations lies with next-gen EVs that are lighter, leaner, and smarter than previous editions, and carry electronics that are more powerful and efficient at channeling sunlight into the battery.

Looking ahead…If early adopters find that solar-powered EVs can deliver on fuel-saving promises, analysts expect demand for such vehicles and add-ons to climb.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🎮 EA—it’s in the bank: Electronic Arts to go private in $55 billion deal with investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Silver Lake; if completed it would mark the largest leveraged buyout in history, with $20 billion in debt financing from JP Morgan.
• 🤖 OpenAI launches new "instant checkout" feature, bringing commerce directly into ChatGPT; it currently supports Etsy purchases, with Shopify coming soon.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Charlie Javice, founder of software startup Frank, sentenced to seven years in prison for charges related to deceiving JPMorgan Chase into buying Frank for $175 million.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎤 Bad Bunny selected to headline Super Bowl 2026 halftime show. | Dolly Parton postpones upcoming Las Vegas residency due to “health challenges.”
• ⚾ MLB Wild Card round kicks off today, with four consecutive games starting at 12 pm CT.
• 🍿 The Simpsons Movie sequel officially greenlit by Disney’s 20th Century, with a release date of July 2027. | AI talent studio Xicoia says it’s in talks with talent agencies interested in signing the studio’s first creation: AI actress Tilly Norwood.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 Startup Katalyst Space Technologies lands $30 million NASA contract to launch a first-of-its-kind spacecraft designed to knock another spacecraft deeper into space.
• 🍄 World’s first mushroom-powered toilet requires just four maintenance visits per year; the new project from the University of British Columbia has future potential in parks, remote communities, and developing regions.
• 🌳 Amazon rainforest trees are getting ~3.3% thicker every decade due to absorbing extra CO2, suggesting they’re more resilient to global warming than previously thought, per new research.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🌍 President Trump announces 20-point peace plan for the war in Gaza shortly after meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he supports the plan; among other things, Trump’s plan calls for Hamas to release all remaining hostages within 72 hours while leaving open the possibility of Palestinian statehood.
• 🚨 Suspect in 1991 “Yogurt Shop Murders” was a potential serial killer linked to multiple cases across the US, per authorities; the suspect, who died in 1999, was newly identified following last month's release of HBO documentary series The Yogurt Shop Murders.
• 💰 Social Security Administration will no longer issue paper checks for the majority of retirees starting today, under a new electronic payments policy.

☝️ The world’s highest bridge opened in China on Sunday; the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge stands ~2,050 feet above a gorge in the southern Guizhou province. The mega project, constructed over nearly four years, aims to cut travel time between the two sides of the canyon from ~2 hours to ~2 minutes.

🤔 Did you know? There’s an island in Europe that swaps nationalities every six months. Pheasant Island—located between France and Spain—spends half the year as French, and the other half as Spanish.

📰 Worth a read: Why explaining your problems to a rubber duck actually works

🖱️ Clickbait: How the new tax law can drive your bill to $0

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Yesterday we covered the Trump admin’s decision to indict former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying to Congress and obstructing justice, in an escalation of a legal campaign by Trump against his political opponents.

❓ Our question to you: How do you feel about the Trump admin’s decision to charge former FBI Director James Comey?

• Support: 26%
• Oppose: 68%
• Unsure/other: 6%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 982 votes and 165 longform responses.

❓Trivia: What’s the only continent with land in all four hemispheres (North, South, East, West)?

🎓 True or false?…Octopuses have blue blood.

🤔 Riddle me this: What has hands, but can’t clap?

🏀🐾 Two dogs have been cast for the title role in Air Bud Returns after director Robert Vince combed through 5,000+ submissions to find his new stars. The latest sequel to Air Bud will come out in fall of 2026.

❓Trivia: Africa

🎓 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: A clock

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