Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🇨🇳🇺🇸 China’s AI gains test US
• 🌡️ Major US “heat dome” approaches
• 💒 Shotgun weddings go mainstream

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.76-minute read (999 words).

Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here for free.

“The best of us sometimes eat our words.”

–Albus Dumbledore (1881-1997)

Chinese startup Zhipu AI has released a new AI model that can match Anthropic's flagship Mythos system at finding software security bugs in certain benchmark tests, according to cybersecurity company Semgrep.

While the model, called GLM-5.2, still trails America's top AI systems in many broader tasks, it's another sign the technology gap between the two countries is shrinking.

• Zhipu's GLM-5.2 is open-weight, unlike Anthropic and OpenAI's newest models, meaning companies can download, modify, and run it on their own hardware.
• That appeals to businesses looking for lower-cost AI and more control over sensitive data, but it also gives hackers access to the same bug-finding capabilities without the safeguards built into most closed AI systems.

Security teams can use them to find hidden software flaws before they're exploited, review huge amounts of code in a fraction of the time, and help developers fix security problems sooner.

But at the same time, bad actors can use the latest AI models to look for those same weak spots before they're patched, search thousands of programs at once for potential entry points, and automate work that once took teams of people.

Striking an AI balance

The potential downsides of new models have drawn pushback from the White House in recent weeks.

• The Trump admin earlier this month blocked broad access to Anthropic's Mythic 5 model, before restoring it for certain trusted organizations under a deal reached last Friday.
• That same day, OpenAI limited access to its newest GPT-5.6 models to a small group of customers approved by the Trump admin, citing discussions with US officials reviewing their cybersecurity implications.

Some researchers worry the current US strategy could backfire. Chinese companies continue releasing cheaper, increasingly capable open-weight models while companies including Microsoft explore offering them on their platforms. If those models become easier for businesses to access, America's AI advantage may depend as much on adoption as innovation.

Zoom out: AI excitement is still running high, but some investors on Wall Street are becoming more selective about where they're placing their bets.

OpenAI is reportedly leaning toward delaying its IPO until next year as advisers question whether investors are ready to support CEO Sam Altman's targeted $1 trillion valuation, while the company continues spending billions on data centers, computing power, and recruiting top AI talent.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion: Should the US govt’t have fewer rules around AI to promote innovation and boost competitiveness globally, even if it carries increased risks? Or should the US have stricter rules to make AI safe and/or fair, even if it slows innovation and competitiveness globally?

• Stricter rules for safety and/or fairness
• Fewer rules to promote innovation/competitiveness
• Unsure/other

Dry eyes take up enough space in your day. Don't let them become another thing you've learned to live with. Peep Club's Complete Eye Rescue Routine brings together four optometrist-developed essentials designed to support comfortable, refreshed eyes from morning to night.

The Heated Eye Wand LED+ helps restore comfort to dry, tired eyes, the Instant Relief Eye Spray calms and refreshes even while wearing makeup, Coconut Balm Wipes gently cleanse the delicate eye area, and the Super Omega Eye Vitamins support natural eye hydration from within. Together, they tackle every stage of dry-eye care, from daily comfort to long-term eye health.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🚘 US auto sales projected to fall by 2+ million units by 2040 (-12%), per new Bain & Company report.
• 🤖 Google imposes limits on Meta’s use of its Gemini AI models after Meta sought more computing capacity than Google could provide, disrupting and delaying some internal Meta AI projects, per Financial Times report.
• 🚀 SpaceX to become one of the quickest additions ever to the Nasdaq-100 index, with the Elon Musk-led company’s inclusion set for after-market on June 6.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚽ World Cup’s 32-team elimination bracket kicked off yesterday with Canada eliminating South Africa 1-0 on a stoppage time goal; Team USA faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in Round 1 on Wednesday (7pm CT) after winning Group D.
• 🎥 Toy Story 5 remains atop the domestic box office with $70 million in its second weekend; Supergirl brings in $38 million domestically and $68 million globally in its debut.
• 🏆 2026 BET Awards aired last night, with Druski becoming the youngest-ever host; see the full list of winners.

🌴 Receive 51% off… Embark on a 12-day journey through China, from giant pandas to Terracotta Warriors.. Book by 7/31 here.

🏨 Up to 56% off… Soak up the best of Miami with this Art Deco 2-night beachfront escape for two. Book by 7/31 here.

🚢 Save up to 25%… Enjoy a Cancun beach escape for 2 packed with all-inclusive amenities and free stays for kids. Book by 7/1 here.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌡️ Upcoming US “heat dome” forecast to bring dangerously high temperatures to eastern half of America this week; widespread temps from 90°F–100°F will likely extend through the July 4 weekend. | Ongoing European heatwave is worst in the continent’s recorded history, scientists say; blistering conditions have disrupted power generation and overwhelmed healthcare systems, with France reporting 1,000+ excess deaths.
• 📜 University of Kentucky engineers use AI to decipher virtually all contents of a scroll buried by the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius; researchers have worked for centuries to interpret the scrolls, which are too fragile to unroll without disintegrating.
• 🪐🪐 Astronomers discover rare pair of Jupiter-sized "super-puff" planets orbiting the same star; both have densities lighter than cotton candy, making them the lightest exoplanets ever seen.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 💥 US-Iran tensions continue to escalate over the weekend; Iran attacked a second commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, prompting retaliatory US airstrikes Saturday evening, which in turn drew retaliatory Iranian attacks on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday; President Trump on social media says the US may be forced to “militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” adding that “Iran will no longer exist” if that happens.
• 🏛️ President Trump nominates Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper and current senior DHS advisor, as the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). | John Bolton, former Trump admin National Security Advisor, pleads guilty to illegally retaining classified information.
• 🌍 Ukraine launches one of its heaviest drone attacks since the war with Russia began, targeting 12 regions in its neighboring enemy alongside the Crimean Peninsula.

☝️ The European Space Agency released the largest and most detailed photo of the Milky Way’s middle ever taken in visible light. The image, captured by the ESA’s Euclid space telescope, contains 60+ million stars.

🤔 Did you know? The world's oldest preserved cake is 4,000+ years old. Discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb in 1913, the honey-and-milk-filled wheat flatbread was baked between tightly fitting copper molds that created a partial vacuum, helping preserve it for more than four millennia.

📰 Worth a read: How will AI make moral decisions for you and me?

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Do you actually need 10,000 steps a day?
• Shotgun weddings are going mainstream
• The first summer camp in America

🏖️ Win a trip to Bali… Enter with Alltroo for chance to win 7-night villa stay for 2. Ocean views, massages, flights, and private driver included. Entries start at $10 and support GLAAD. Get 150 extra entries with code DONUT150.

On Friday, we covered details of the the bipartisan Road to Housing Act, which passed Congress and appears on track to become law despite President Trump withholding his signature last week in a push for lawmakers to support a separate, election-related bill.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you support or oppose Congress’ new bipartisan housing bill?

• Support: 72%
• Oppose: 13%
• Unsure/other: 15%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 518 votes and 42 longform responses.

Monday: Wimbledon begins

Tuesday: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for May; WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship (Liberty v. Aces)

Wednesday: July 1; Team USA faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in World Cup elimination stage; Elle, Prime Video’s Legally Blonde prequel series, debuts; Enola Holmes 3 hits Netflix

Thursday: June jobs report

Friday: No DONUT newsletter (July 4 holiday); Minions & Monsters hits theaters; Madonna drops new album Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II

+Over the weekend: July 4 is on Saturday

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

1. Avi
2. Chron
3. Eco
4. Grat
5. Pseud

(keep scrolling for the answers)

🧚‍♂️ Montana organization The Bar Fairies is spreading pixie dust around the state. Founded by a mother in honor of her son, who was killed by a drunk driver, the organization leaves gift cards and small gifts on cars left at bars overnight as a thank-you for choosing not to get behind the wheel after drinking. 

1. Avi = Bird (e.g., aviation)
2. Chron = Time (chronological)
3. Eco = Home (economics)
4. Grat = Thank (gratitude)
5. Pseud = False (pseudonym)

Advertise with us: Want to reach other smart and inquisitive readers like you? Become a DONUT partner here.