Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🧸 The future of play
• 🥖 Panera value menu
• 🌲 Tree electricity

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.85-minute read (1,025 words).

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"If you go out looking for friends, you're going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere."

–Zig Ziglar (1926-2012)

Representatives from 700+ companies gathered at the North American Toy Fair in NYC last week to pitch what they hope is the next must-have toy, with exhibitors all competing for one precious resource: kids’ attention.

And for many of those kids, play has migrated to tablets, gaming subscriptions, and short-form video.

• A major trend on display at Toy Fair was “phygital immersion,” or toys designed to blend physical play with digital storytelling.
• For example: National Geographic’s new VR kit pairs illustrated books with virtual journeys into prehistoric worlds and natural wonders.

As one industry executive put it: “The definition of ‘toy’ has changed.” A doll now competes directly with an iPad app, with only so much spending to go around.

That shift is showing up in earnings

The two biggest US toy makers, Mattel and Hasbro, reported sharply different results just days before Toy Fair kicked off.

Mattel said its full-year net sales dipped 1%, with global doll sales falling 7% in the latest quarter. Overall, the company’s stock has fallen by over 20% in the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, Hasbro posted a 31% fourth-quarter sales jump, and a 14% gain for the year. The toymaker has seen shares rise by ~46% since this time last February.

A digital divide: One major reason for the companies’ diverging fortunes lies in how each one is navigating the toy industry’s current trend towards digital offerings.

• The leading element of Hasbro’s portfolio is its Wizards of the Coast division, which includes the company’s portfolio of digital and video games like Monopoly Go!
• On the flip side, analysts say Mattel is in the early stages of investing in gaming, and lags several years behind Hasbro in that area.

Looking ahead…Toy companies are expected to keep embracing digital products in 2026, as children continue to be introduced to electronics earlier in their development.

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Panera’s latest move is geared towards customers who love its ‘You Pick 2’ deal…but hate the ‘You Pay $22’ part.

The fast-casual chain announced its first-ever value menu yesterday, where customers can choose at least two options from a list of soups, salads, and sandwiches.

What’s on the docket: The new menu features 10 Panera staples, including the Creamy Tomato soup, Toasted Italiano sandwich, Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup, and Fuji Apple Chicken salad.

• Customers can bundle between two and 10 picks to receive the $4.99/item discount.
• The Mix & Match menu also comes with a free side of a baguette, chips, or an apple with every order.

Driving the move: Panera was once considered the top fast-casual brand in the US, but now sits at #3 behind Chipotle and Panda Express. And with ~3 in 4 diners saying discounts and deals influence where they eat, the chain is betting on value to bring customers back.

Zoom out: Panera joins a long list of on-the-go restaurant chains seeking to emphasize discounts. McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell have all rolled out new or expanded value deals within the past year in an effort to win back budget-conscious diners.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 Nvidia reports better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, driven by 75% revenue growth in its core data center business; shares rose slightly in after-hours trading.
• 🏛️ At least 1,800 companies have filed lawsuits seeking refunds from the US gov’t following the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling last week.
• 🎥 Paramount raises bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery from $30/share to $31; Netflix, which previously agreed to buy WBD, sees biggest single-day share increase in nearly a year on the news.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🤘 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announces 2026 nominees, including Billy Idol, Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, P!nk, and Oasis.
• 🎸 Metallica to launch an eight-show Life Burns Faster residency at the Las Vegas Sphere later this year.
• 📺 Scrubs revival premiered last night on ABC, 17 years after the show ended its original run; first two episodes are now available on Hulu. | Survivor announces cast for Season 50, featuring 24 fan-favorite competitors from past seasons.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 Anthropic, the AI company that frames itself as more devoted to safety than other AI giants, is scaling back its core safety commitments due to competitive pressure.
• 🏥 Casey Means, President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, appears before Senate for confirmation hearing; analysts say Means will likely have the votes to be confirmed.
• 🦖 Almost-complete skeleton of 95 million-year-old carnivorous dinosaur that weighed less than a small chicken is providing new insights into the evolution of alvarezsaurs, among the smallest dinosaurs that ever lived.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🇨🇺 Cuban officials say border guards shot and killed four people who entered Cuban waters on a US-registered speedboat, and opened fire on a coast guard vessel that approached them; six other passengers were wounded in the incident; US officials say the vessel wasn’t carrying any US gov’t personnel, though they’re still gathering facts.
• 📝 Bill Gates reportedly admits to two affairs and apologizes for spending time with Jeffrey Epstein at town hall with Gates Foundation staff. | Larry Summers, former Harvard president and US Treasury Secretary, to resign his university positions following new revelations about his closeness with Jeffrey Epstein.
• 🏛️ Trump admin reportedly refuses to share classified intel with Congress related to a whistleblower complaint against US spy chief Tulsi Gabbard, citing executive privilege; complaint centers around a conversation two foreign nationals had about Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who volunteers for the US gov’t.

👆 For the first time, scientists directly observed faint electrical discharges called coronae flickering on treetops during thunderstorms. The study results imply that storms paint entire forest canopies with a scintillating blue glow, albeit too faintly for human eyes to see.

🤔 Did you know? Most people stop listening to new music in their early 30s, according to recent research. A 2015 study of Spotify users’ listening habits found that most people stop listening to new music at age 33, while a 2018 report by Deezer found the cut-off to be at age 30.

📰 Worth a read: “The biggest commercial juggernaut ever”: Why the Oscars peaked in 1998—and then slumped

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Are we over-rewarding our kids?
• 1 owner accidentally controlled thousands of robot vacuums
• Why you wake up at the same time every night

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Yesterday we covered how the Pentagon has given artificial intelligence giant Anthropic a deadline of Friday to comply with its demands on using its AI models, or face cancellation of its US military contract.

❓ Our question to you: Which side of the current disagreement over AI military usage do you support more: Anthropic or the US Defense Department?

• Anthropic: 74%
• US military: 19%
• Unsure/other: 7%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 676 votes and 75 longform responses.

What’s the southernmost capital city in the world?

🏃‍♂️💨 When 16-year-old Sam Ruth crossed the finish line at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston earlier this month, he claimed a world record along with it. The New Zealander ran a 3:48.88-minute mile, outpacing a field of professionals to win the race on an indoor track.

Wellington, New Zealand

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