Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 💥 Iran war update
• 💼 Disappointing jobs report
• 💎 Why humans love crystals

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.77-minute read (1,004 words).

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“All those who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.”

–Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924)

Israeli and US forces expanded ​their bombardment of Iran over the weekend, while Tehran continued to fire missiles at targets across the Middle East, as the war in the region entered its second week.

Catch up quick

Israel says it targeted several fuel-storage complexes in Iran, marking the first time energy infrastructure has been hit since the conflict began.

• Meanwhile, Iran launched multiple waves of retaliatory attacks targeting Israel, US military bases, and neighboring Gulf states.
• The country’s military is now leaning heavily into exploding drones, with the intensity of its ballistic missile attacks declining by ~90% since the war began due to ongoing US-Israeli strikes.

Casualties continue to mount. More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed as a result of the ongoing strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iran’s navy and air force have also been “wiped out”, according to President Trump, who says Israel and the US will soon have complete control of Iranian skies.

• In Lebanon, Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah have killed nearly 400 people, per the country’s health ministry.
• President Trump on Saturday attended the dignified transfer of six Americans killed in a drone attack on a Kuwait base during the first weekend of fighting. They represent the only US deaths reported thus far.
• Israel has reported 11 deaths from retaliatory strikes by Iran since the conflict began.

Water could become a growing issue. An Iranian drone attack damaged a desalination plant in Bahrain, bringing the war to the oil-rich Persian Gulf’s most strategic resource: drinking water.

• While Iran didn’t claim responsibility for the attack, it came one day after their foreign minister accused the US of striking an Iranian desalination plant.
• The Middle East’s ~5,000 desalination plants, which remove salt from seawater, are the key source of drinking water for millions of residents across the region.

On the horizon

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Friday said the White House expects military operations in the Middle East to last 4-6 weeks.

• Writing on social media, Trump said: "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
• In an earlier interview, he also expressed a desire to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader, similar to Venezuela.

On Sunday, Iran’s Assembly of Experts announced the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, defying President Trump’s wishes with a new head of state who’s expected to take a confrontational stance against the West.

Iran’s supreme leader is the commander in chief of the armed forces, along with leading the executive branch, judiciary, and legislature. He’s also designated as the pre-eminent authority for the world’s ~200 million Shia Muslims.

📊 Flash poll: How long do you think the ongoing Middle East conflict will last beyond today’s date?

• Within 2 weeks
• 2-4 weeks
• 4-6 weeks
• 6-8 weeks
• 8+ weeks

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💼 US economy loses 92,000 jobs in February—far lower than projections of a 60,000-job gain—as the unemployment rate ticks up to 4.4%, per latest US jobs report; Labor Dept. also revised December’s figure from 48,000 jobs added to 17,000 jobs lost.
• 📰 Axel Springer, the German parent of Politico and Business Insider, announces $770 million deal to acquire Telegraph Media Group of London, which includes the 170-year-old newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
• 🇺🇸 Customs and Border Protection says tariff refund system will be operational within 45 days; agency estimates it collected ~$166 billion under President Trump's global tariffs, which were ruled unconstitutional last month.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎥 Pixar’s Hoppers tops weekend box office with $46 million domestically. | The Bride! opens to lower-than-predicted $7.3 million domestically.
• ⚾ Team USA wins first two games of World Baseball Classic against Brazil (15-5) and Great Britain (9-1); Game 3 is tonight vs. Mexico, while the knockout bracket begins Friday.
• 🙏 Country Joe McDonald, widely recognized as one of the defining voices of the 1960s counterculture movement, passed away at 84.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ☄️ NASA’s 2022 DART mission—which involved ramming a spacecraft into an asteroid to test humanity’s ability to protect Earth from a hypothetical space rock—successfully knocked the asteroid into a slightly different orbit around the Sun, new study reveals.
• 💉🦴 GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy may be tied to a higher risk of developing skeletal disorders osteoporosis, gout, and osteomalacia (all of which can all be caused by sudden weight loss); that’s per new research which has yet to be peer-reviewed.
• 💎🦧 Chimps seem to highly value crystals, similar to humans, experiment reveals; results hint at evolutionary explanation for why human ancestors have treasured crystals like quartz 780,000+ years, despite no apparent practical value.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Federal judge rules Kari Lake’s appointment as acting CEO of US Agency for Global Media for much of last year was illegal; decision invalidates sweeping series of actions Lake took to cut USAGM staff and end many operations at its Voice ​of America unit.
• 📜 Some of America’s most precious founding documents are on a multicity exhibition tour marking the US’ 250th birthday; the “Freedom Plane” is landing in Kansas City, Atlanta, LA, Houston, Denver, Miami, Dearborn (MI), and Seattle between now and mid-August.
• 🇨🇳 China lays out new five-year roadmap that calls for turbocharging scientific breakthroughs and aggressively adopting AI across the world’s second-largest economy.

👆You’re looking at one of 2026’s new stamps honoring America’s national mammal: the bison. See all the new stamps—including a tribute to Muhammad Ali, and Colorado’s statehood anniversary—here.

🤔 Did you know? About half of the world’s retail cashews are reportedly sold at Costco. The warehouse giant sources the nuts from 20+ countries and works with millions of small farmers.

📰 Worth a read: The lost languages of ancient humans: How scientists can listen to stone-age chat

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Dutch museum makes ‘needle in a haystack’ confirmation of Rembrandt painting
• What you get when Japanese and Italian food collide
• Why everyone hates the new “modern era” American Girl Dolls

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On Friday, we covered how initial results from the 2026 midterm election—which kicked off with three state primaries last week—indicate that incumbent federal lawmakers could face a more spirited battle for reelection this season compared to years past.

❓ Our question to you: To all our prospective voters: will incumbency play a significant role in deciding your vote in primary or general elections this midterm season?

• Yes: 32%
• No: 64%
• Unsure/other: 8%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 548 votes and 56 longform responses.

Monday: National Napping Day

Tuesday: Mississippi holds 2026 primary elections

Wednesday: Labor Dept. publishes February CPI; Scarpetta starring Nicole Kidman debuts on Prime Video

Thursday: Weekly unemployment claims; Every Brilliant Thing, Daniel Radcliffe’s new solo show, debuts on Broadway

Friday: Latest Yellowstone spinoff The Madison debuts on Paramount+

+Over the weekend: The Oscars hosted by Conan O’Brien are on Sunday

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Ciner
2. Graph
3. Maj
4. Omni
5. Poli

♻️ 13-year-old Ryan Hulance has recycled 1.5+ million aluminum cans since 2023, raising around $20,000 for charity. He spends ~20 hours a week collecting cans from local businesses—taking the whole "trash into treasure" thing literally.

1. Ciner = Ash (e.g., incinerate)
2. Graph = Draw (graphic)
3. Maj = Greater (majority)
4. Omni = All (omnipotent)
5. Poli = City (metropolis)

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