Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🚀 NASA readies moonshot
• 🥇 Olympic legends earn gold
• 💞 The science of soulmates

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.01-minute read (1,067 words).

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“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.”

–Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

The show must go on…even when the rocket springs a leak.

That’s the motto at NASA this week, where scientists are running a wet dress rehearsal of the space agency’s Artemis II Moon mission—including a simulated launch later tonight—that’s designed to mirror the real thing as closely as possible.

Some quick background: The mission’s predecessor, Artemis I, launched in November 2022 and successfully orbited the Moon without a crew, testing the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as part of NASA’s overall goal to return humans to the Moon’s surface.

• Artemis II, which represents NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in over five decades, aims to send four astronauts on a 10-day test flight around the far side of the Moon to validate Orion’s life-support systems for future lunar landings.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing: A test earlier this month uncovered a hydrogen leak in SLS rocket’s 212-foot core stage, pushing back Artemis II’s timeline for launch to March at the earliest.

What’s happening tonight?

During the wet dress rehearsal, which concludes with the simulated launch tonight, NASA scientists run through the full launch-day playbook, from fueling the SLS rocket with roughly 700,000 gallons of liquid propellant—hence the term “wet”—to a mock countdown at the end.

• Once finished, the propellant will be drained as if a real launch had been scrubbed.
• Engineers at Kennedy Space Center, along with support staff at Johnson Space Center in Houston and other NASA facilities, will be monitoring every step along the way.

Looking ahead…NASA has yet to confirm a new Artemis II launch date, though its previously announced window for March included the 6th–9th as the earliest possibilities.

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The only thing moving faster than Olympic bobsleds this year? The tech behind the cameras.

If you’ve tuned in, you’ve probably spotted new high-tech drones zipping just feet behind the high speed athletes.

While drones have appeared at past Games, this year’s models deliver 360-degree, real-time replays that place viewers in the athlete’s POV while safe at home on their couch.

How it works: Skilled pilots, often former athletes with deep knowledge of the sport, control the lightweight drones using VR goggles that show exactly what the flying machine sees.

The drones can reach speeds of up to 75 mph while maintaining broadcast quality and flying safely behind competitors—never in front or above.

Drones are just the start

Other advanced new tech has also debuted at the Milano Cortina Winter Games:

• Getty Images introduced infrared and thermal cameras to highlight heat signatures in the cold Italian mountains.
• NBCUniversal launched a new AI-powered Olympic guide that provides real-time info on results, sport regulations, and any other questions about the Games.
• Omega’s new AI-powered cameras—which can track figure skaters’ movements down to the millimeter—are helping judges determine whether skaters successfully land their lightning-fast moves.

Looking ahead: The 2026 Olympic Winter Games officially wrap up this Sunday, with the closing ceremony set for 1:30 pm CT.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 JPMorgan Chase plans to open 160+ new US branches this year and renovate another 600 stores, in new multibillion-dollar investment announced yesterday.
• ☣️ Bayer proposes $7.25 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of current and future US lawsuits alleging its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.
• 🏛️ Kevin Hassett, the White House’s top economic adviser, tells CNBC that authors of a New York Fed study finding that American companies and consumers shoulder ~90% of Trump tariff costs should be disciplined.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🥇 Winter Olympics: US ski legend Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in the slalom to snap eight-year Olympic drought; she’s now tied for the third-most golds won by a US Winter Olympian (3). | US men’s hockey team ekes out 2-1 overtime win vs. Sweden to advance to Friday’s semifinals against Slovakia. | Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo wins 10th career gold, becoming second Olympian ever to reach double digits (behind Michael Phelps’ 23).
• 🏈 Seattle Seahawks announce franchise is up for sale just over a week after winning Super Bowl LX; Seahawks are currently owned by the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who died in 2018.
• 💻 Mark Zuckerberg testifies in Los Angeles court in landmark social media trial; his testimony aims to defend Meta against claims it knowingly offered a product that is addictive and harmful to kids and teens.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 💉 FDA agrees to review Moderna’s experimental mRNA flu shot, reversing an earlier decision to refuse the application.
• 🪐 Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may be the result of a massive collision between two other moons, new study suggests; this collision also initiated the formation of Saturn’s rings, scientists say.
• 🦭 Seal pups communicate in ways that are more similar to humans than previously thought, new research based on 1,000+ hours of audio reveals; scientists found seal pups speak in turns and adopt each other’s vocal features after spending time together.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🙏 Eight backcountry skiers were found dead and one remains missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe, while six other skiers survived and were evacuated; it marks the deadliest US avalanche since 1981.
• 🏛️ Leslie Wexner, the former Victoria’s Secret CEO, testifies before House Oversight Committee regarding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
• 🌍 President Trump reportedly convened his top advisers yesterday for a meeting on the current crisis with Iran; it comes as a second US aircraft carrier and its strike group are set to reach the Middle East near Iran in the coming days. | US military is reportedly in the process of withdrawing all of its ~1,000 troops from Syria, ending a decadelong military operation in the country.

👆 A deep sea camera operated by the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre snagged this photo of a shark in Antarctic waters for the first time in recorded history. The “hunk of a shark” was spotted 1,600+ feet below the surface in near-freezing 34° water—a feat previously thought impossible for the cold-blooded creatures.

🤔 Did you know? While up for some debate, the most commonly accepted longest word in the English language is *takes deep breath* Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, or a type of lung disease caused by inhaling very fine silicate or quartz dust. Another top contender is the chemical name for the human protein titin, which contains 189,819 letters. (No joke—here’s a 42-page PDF with the full name.)

📰 Worth a read: The science of soulmates: Is someone out there exactly right for you?

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• The #1 phrase to shut down a manipulator
• How to create a sleep routine that's perfect for you
• The world’s smallest possum

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Yesterday we covered a new proposed ballot measure in Massachusetts that would limit the amount by which landlords can increase rent for tenants each year, which has drawn both support and opposition from local leaders.

❓ Our question to you: Do you support or oppose the new proposed rent-control measure in Massachusetts?

• Support: 48%
• Oppose: 32%
• Unsure/other: 20%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 515 votes and 53 longform responses.

Which Caribbean island is closest to the US coast?

🐾🥇 A two-year-old dog named Nazgul went for gold at the Winter Olympics yesterday, sprinting onto the homestretch of the cross-country ski course in the middle of a race. 

Officials quickly collared and escorted the pup back to his nearby bed-and-breakfast home before he could disrupt the competition.

Bimini, Bahamas

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