Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🌍 US threatens Iran
• 💰 Incomes up, rents down
• 👮 Luigi Mangione jailbreak attempt

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.84-minute read (1,021 words).

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“Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.”

–Samuel Butler (1835-1902)

On Wednesday, President Trump announced that the US has deployed a “massive armada” to Iran, and warned military action could follow “with speed and violence” if Tehran doesn’t agree to a US-proposed deal to dismantle its nuclear program and make other changes.

• The USS Abraham Lincoln was dispatched to the Indian Ocean, giving the US a launchpad for potential sea-based strikes.
• Regional air exercises are underway this week, as thousands of American troops remain on high alert.

Some quick background: Tensions between the US and Iran escalated sharply in June, when the US struck three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities—the most critical sites responsible for high-level uranium enrichment—with a fleet of B2 stealth bombers.

The operation caused severe physical damage, though experts disagree on whether it completely destroyed or merely delayed Iran’s secretive uranium enrichment program.

• Since then, Iran has seen widespread anti-regime protests tied mostly to the country’s collapsing currency, sparking a government crackdown which activists say killed thousands of protesters.
• President Trump issued a series of warnings to Tehran earlier this month in response to the protest crackdown, and has built up US military presence in the region ever since.

What the US wants

On Truth Social, Trump called for “a fair and equitable deal, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.” Behind the scenes, US officials are reportedly demanding a permanent end to Iran’s uranium enrichment program—a key step to creating nuclear warheads—along with restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, and an end to its support for regional militant groups.

On the flip side: Iran thus far has stuck by its three longstanding red lines for negotiations:

1. Refusal to enter talks under pressure to agree to outcomes predetermined by the US
2. No giving up what Iran calls its right to enrich uranium on its own soil
3. Refusal of any constraints on the country’s powerful ballistic-missile program

Looking ahead…US officials say they’re still weighing their options—including potential military action—if Iran balks at demands for a nuclear deal.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the use of military threats and pressure by the US government in an attempt to get Iran’s government to agree to its latest terms?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

📈 The US median household income rose to $80,734, per new Census Bureau data from 2020-24. It marks a 4.4% increase from 2015-19 after adjusting for inflation.

🧬 Each human’s lifespan is ~55% decided by their genetics, far higher than previous estimates of 20%-25%, according to new research.

🏥 UnitedHealth forecast its first annual revenue decline since the end of the Cold War (1989) on Tuesday, expecting a 2% year-over-year drop in 2026.

🏛️ President Trump has fired zero Cabinet secretaries or senior White House officials during his second term thus far—a sharp break from Year 1 of his first term, when Trump set a modern record for senior staff turnover (34 members).

🤖 The percentage of US employees who use AI daily in their professional lives has tripled over the past two-and-a-half years to reach 12%, per new Gallup polling.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💰 Amazon is reportedly in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI; the ChatGPT-maker is seeking up to $100 billion in funding at a valuation of ~$830 billion.
• 🏘️ Median US apartment rent stood at $1,353/month in January, down 1.4% year-over-year and the lowest figure for January since 2022.
• 🍎 Apple reports better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its fiscal first quarter, including a 16% annual jump in revenue on the back of particularly strong sales in China.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏆 The 68th Annual Grammy Awards are scheduled for this Sunday starting at 7 pm CT.
• 🙏 Shirley Raines, a TikTok star and nonprofit founder famous for helping the homeless on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, passed away at 58.
• 🎶 Spotify reported a record ~$11 billion payout to the music industry in 2025; the figure topped its previous-year total by $1 billion for the second straight year. | Jeff Buckley entered the US Hot 100 Chart for the first time nearly three decades after his death; surge in popularity comes after “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” went viral on TikTok.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🫀 Men’s risk of heart attack spikes in their mid-30s, years earlier compared to women, per new large, long-term study; researchers say their results suggest heart screenings should start earlier in adulthood.
• 💡 Thomas Edison’s early light bulb experiments may have unknowingly produced graphene—a “wonder material” with growing importance in modern electronics—decades before it was formally theorized, new study suggests.
• 🫁 Custom-engineered machine allowed Northwestern University doctors to keep a man alive for 48 hours without any lungs, long enough to enable an emergency double lung transplant.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Tom Homan, the White House border czar, announced plans to reduce ICE’s presence in Minneapolis due to increased local cooperation. | A newly surfaced video appears to show Alex Pretti—whose fatal shooting by ICE officers has sparked national outrage—scuffling with federal officers in Minneapolis 11 days before his death. | President Trump and Senate Democrats agree to a deal that would avert a partial gov’t shutdown this weekend; the plan would provide a two-week extension for DHS funding amid a Democrat-led push for new restrictions, while funding other areas through September 30.
• 🚨 Man posing as FBI agent in an attempt to release United Healthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione from jail has been arrested, per a criminal complaint lodged yesterday.
• 🗳️ Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has spent months investigating the results of the 2020 election—which President Trump lost—in a search for potential crimes, sources told the WSJ.

☝️ Researchers recently discovered the world’s oldest known example of cave art at a site in Indonesia. The stencils, dating back at least 67,800 years, were most likely created by blowing pigment onto a hand pressed against the rock’s surface.

🤔 Did you know? Lions are one of the world’s loudest land animals, with their roars hitting 110–114 decibels at close range (as loud as a strong car horn). Under ideal conditions, you can hear a lion roar from ~5 miles away.

📰 Worth a read: How to think differently about procrastination

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• What’s a false memory? Psychologists explain how your brain can lie
• What to eat when nothing sounds good
• Men are picking up 'attraction hobbies' to get dates. Does it work?

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How well did you pay attention this week? Find out here.

📖 Read: The science behind why some people just click together.

🤔 One and done: Is it really rude to respond to a text with a one-word answer?

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