Good morning. In this edition:

• 📝 Gaza peace plan
• 👑 Global gold rush
• 🥛 Why milk is popular again

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.24-minute read (863 words).

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“Life must be a constant education; one must learn everything, from speaking to dying.”

–Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)

Yesterday marked two years since Hamas’ October 7th surprise attacks against Israeli citizens. And while the war in Gaza appears closer than ever to ending, the region will likely never be the same.

The anniversary of the Gaza war—which started with the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and continued with the worst killing and displacement of Palestinians since 1948—came one day after delegates from Israel and Hamas began indirect talks over a US-proposed peace plan to end the fighting.

What’s in the plan?

The 20-point peace proposal, announced last week by President Trump and supported by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, lays out a series of obligations for both Israel and Hamas to follow:

• All hostilities would immediately end, with Hamas releasing all 48 hostages it holds, living or dead, within the following 72 hours (Israel believes 20 are alive).
• Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in its prisons and 1,700 people detained from Gaza since the war began, including all women and children.
• All of Hamas’ military infrastructure, including tunnels, would be dismantled, while members who pledge to live peacefully would be granted amnesty and can leave Gaza if they wish.
• Once Hamas disarms, Israeli troops would withdraw from Gaza while an international security force deploys to the area. Hamas would have no further role in administering the territory.
• Gaza would be governed by an interim administration of Palestinian technocrats, which would be overseen and supervised by an international transitional body that’s headed by Trump and includes other heads of State.
• Palestinians would not be expelled from Gaza. Large amounts of humanitarian aid would be allowed into the territory, run by “neutral international bodies” including the UN and the Red Crescent (a version of the Red Cross).

Both Israel and Hamas have conditionally agreed on the broad outline of the plan, but disagreements remain on the details. Hamas has committed to the deal’s stipulations about releasing hostages and an interim Palestinian administration, but hasn’t addressed other specific issues like Hamas being de-armed or barred from exercising political power in Gaza.

Looking ahead…The two sides, who refuse to speak directly, will rely on mediators from the US, Qatar, and Egypt to ferry messages back and forth this week in an attempt to bridge existing gaps in the peace process.

📊 Flash poll: In general, how do you feel about the 20-point peace plan under consideration by Israel and Hamas?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 👑 Price of gold surpasses $4,000/troy ounce for the first time in history; gold has increased its value by 50+% so far in 2025.
• 🏭 Devastating fire at a key auto supplier’s plant is expected to disrupt major automakers’ operations for months (especially Ford); the damaged Norvelis plant in Oswego, NY, supplies ~40% of all aluminum sheet used in the US auto industry.
• 🚗 Tesla debuts more affordable versions of its popular Model Y SUV (~$40,000) and Model 3 sedan (~$37,000).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 Cleveland Browns trade QB Joe Flacco and a sixth-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a fifth-round pick; it’s the first trade between the division rivals since Cleveland re-joined the NFL in 1999.
• 📺 California legislators approve new law requiring streamers to set the noise level of commercials at the same level as the movie or TV series.
• 🥊 Conor McGregor suspended from the UFC for 18 months due to three missed drug tests; retroactive suspension ends in March 2026, ahead of the UFC White House card that McGregor has been aiming to come back for.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🏆 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to three scientists—one American, one British, and one French—for their work on quantum mechanics.
• ☄️ Spacecraft on Mars captures new images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in the closest view yet, per the European Space Agency; comet is the third interstellar visitor ever confirmed to have entered our Solar System.
• 🦠 Scientists “wake up” ancient microbes that were frozen in Alaskan permafrost for up to 40,000 years; findings suggest microbial life that’s been locked in permafrost since the Ice Age could awaken following a stretch of extreme warmth.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• ✈️ Airport staffing issues stemming from the ongoing US gov’t shutdown have led to delays at airports in major cities, including LA, Newark, and Denver.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Supreme Court hears oral arguments in case challenging the legality of state bans on conversion therapy, or treatment aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
• 🏛️ Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her first hearing since her confirmation. Here’s what to know.

☝️ A full Harvest supermoon appeared in the night sky on Monday, inspiring photographers around the world to take up their cameras. Check out more of the best shots here.

🤔 Did you know? Just 12 plants and five animals account for about 75% of the world’s food supply. Out of the hundreds of thousands of edible species on Earth, our global diet mostly depends on crops like rice, wheat, and corn, along with livestock species including cows, pigs, and chickens.

📰 Worth a read: Why everybody’s drinking milk again

🖱️ Clickbait: How Disney uses these two paint colors to make its parks feel more magical

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

1. 🧠 5 lbs: Weight of the average adult human brain
2. 🐮 4 gallons: How much milk a dairy cow typically produces each day
3. 🧊 2 hours: How long it takes to make ice cubes in a standard kitchen freezer

💍 More than 600 couples tied the knot at the same time this weekend in Asunción, Paraguay, as part of a government push to make civil weddings more affordable and accessible.

1. 🧠 Under; ~3 lbs
2. 🐮 Over; 6-7 gallons/day
3. 🧊 Over; 3-4 hours

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