Good morning. In this edition:

• 🚦 Gridlock o’clock
• 🏦 Fed interest-rate cut
• 🍫 Chocolate = money

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.60-minute read (957 words).

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“Never put off to tomorrow what you can do to-day.”

–Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Traffic congestion hasn’t just come back following the Covid pandemic—it’s brought friends, snacks, and no intention of leaving, new data shows.

The average American now spends 63 hours a year stuck in traffic, according to new research from Texas A&M. That’s nearly double the 36-hour average experienced in 2020, and good for the highest level on record.

Rush hour, redefined

The researchers also found that while traffic used to be mostly confined to rush hour, there's now more congestion at other times of day—making it an issue for all Americans, not just commuters.

• The daily traffic trends have also shifted compared to pre-pandemic.
• Mondays now tend to be noticeably lighter on traffic compared to other weekdays, while Thursday has nearly caught up with Friday as the heaviest traffic day of the week.

Researchers say the trend can be attributed to several reasons, including the rise of flexible and remote work, as well as a recent economic boom contributing to worse traffic congestion.

A potential solution?

Texas A&M researchers also identified several regions across the country where traffic congestion is down compared to pre-pandemic figures.

• The most notable city is Washington, D.C., where officials recently launched a new tolling strategy called dynamic pricing.
• This forces drivers to pay a higher fee to enter the city during the morning and evening rush hours, as well as other times of peak congestion.

A similar effort is currently underway in New York City, where drivers now pay as much as $9 to enter Lower Manhattan. NYC’s first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan has already cut traffic in the toll zone since its launch in January, though data is still being collected.

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Ring’s controversial new doorbell feature aims to finally end the centuries-old mystery of “Who’s at the door?”

The Amazon-owned smart doorbell maker is launching a new AI-powered facial recognition feature called “Familiar Faces” for Ring users across the US.

How it works: Familiar Faces allows Ring users to create a catalog of up to 50 faces of people who regularly come by, including friends, family, delivery workers, etc.

Once someone is labeled by Ring, the device will automatically recognize them and send the user personalized notifications, like “Cousin Joey at Front Door.”

But…Despite several privacy assurances from Amazon—including claims that the facial data is encrypted, and that unnamed faces are deleted after 30 days—others have raised concerns over potential breaches of privacy.

• US Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and several consumer protection organizations have called on Amazon to remove its facial recognition feature from Ring doorbells.
• And local privacy laws prevent Amazon from launching the feature in Illinois, Texas, or Portland, Oregon

Zoom out: Public polling shows Americans have grown more comfortable with the use of facial recognition software in recent years, with nearly half of the population now believing its widespread use would be a good thing for society.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 Federal Reserve cuts baseline US interest rates by a quarter-point to a new range of 3.5% to 3.75%, marking the third such reduction this year.
• 🚀 SpaceX is reportedly moving forward with the biggest IPO in history, which would value Elon Musk’s rockets-and-satellites company at $1.5 trillion; at that figure, Musk’s ~42% stake would be worth $600+ billion.
• 💻 Oracle reports better-than-expected earnings, but lower-than-expected revenue; company’s shares fell 11% in after-hours trading.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 University of Michigan fires head football coach Sherrone Moore for cause due to an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member”; Moore is later reportedly detained by police.
• 🙏 Sophie Kinsella, who wrote the massively popular Shopaholic book series, passed away at 55 following a battle with brain cancer.
• ⚾ Baltimore Orioles sign 1B Pete Alonso to a 5-yr, $155 million contract, stealing him away from the Mets.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🔥 Neanderthals created fire as early as ~400,000 years ago, marking the oldest known evidence of fire-making, per new Nature study; previously, evidence of human fire-making only dated back ~50,000 years.
• 🏛️ Ancient Romans specifically formulated their concrete to build long-lasting, self-healing structures, per study based on newly discovered materials from Pompeii.
• 🛰️ NASA loses contact with its Maven spacecraft that’s been orbiting Mars for the past decade-plus; engineering investigations are currently underway.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🗳️ Eileen Higgins (D) wins Miami’s mayoral election by an 18-point margin, becoming the city’s first-ever female mayor; Higgins is also the first Democrat to lead Miami in three decades; the race was widely seen as a bellwether for America’s national mood ahead of the 2026 midterms.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Federal judge blocks President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, ordering them returned to the control of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
• 🌎 President Trump says the US seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that had been under US sanctions for years. | Foreign tourists from 42 countries could soon have to provide five years of social media history when entering the US, under new proposed law.

☝️ You’re looking at a map of homeownership rates across the US, courtesy of Visual Capitalist, which shows how rates can swing depending on your zip code.

🤔 Did you know? Chocolate was once literally money. The ancient Maya used cacao beans as currency, meaning you could buy dinner, pay your taxes, or treat yourself to a foamy cacao drink using the same stuff we now melt into brownies.

📰 Worth a read: What we can learn from the ethics of animal societies

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The 100 best TV episodes of the 20th century
• The 4-word trick to saying a great goodbye
• How Rudolph's nose could scientifically glow

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Yesterday we covered the official roll-out of Australia’s first-of-its-kind social media ban for children under 16, which is aimed at protecting kids from harming their mental health.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, what should be the minimum age for kids to use social media?

• 11 or younger: 5%
• 12 years: 7%
• 13 years: 9%
• 14 years: 15%
• 15 years: 12%
• 16+ years: 52%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 739 votes and 64 longform responses.

Which chemical compound gives the White Cliffs of Dover their color? (Hint: It’s a common household item)

📻 Back to the basics: UK startup Karri developed a “screen-free smart phone” for kids ages 5-13 to stay in touch with loved ones without the distraction of a screen. Their inspiration behind the design? The walkie-talkie.

+Note: This story previously appeared in Positive DONUT, our weekly newsletter surfacing all the good things you don't hear about in the news.

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