Good morning, and a warm welcome to all our new subscribers. In today’s edition:

• 🛢️ US-Venezuela oil deal
• 💥 Iran war reignites
• 🫄 “Cryptic pregnancies”

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.96-minute read (1,053 words).

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"The meaning of life is that it stops."

–Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

President Trump announced a new oil deal with Venezuela on Friday that would give the US a stake in a private company with rights to a major portion of Venezuela’s oil fields, which contain world’s largest proven crude reserves.

Trump, whose social media post called it “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY,” said the agreement is part of an effort by his administration to secure more oil and help lower gas prices for Americans.

Quick background: President Trump has pushed American oil companies to invest in Venezuela since January, when the US removed previous President Nicolás Maduro from power and installed interim President Delcy Rodríguez.

• So far, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and others have held back, citing concerns about Venezuela’s aging oil infrastructure and whether their investments would be protected if Venezuela’s political environment changes.
• Venezuela currently produces just ~1.1 million barrels of oil/day, roughly as much as North Dakota, despite its vast proven reserves.

How does the deal work?

The US stake will be in North American Blue Energy Partners, a private oil company that’s Venezuela's second-largest private oil producer behind Chevron. The company is led by local businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who has close ties to interim President Rodríguez.

• The deal would reportedly give the US government a 35% ownership stake in North American Blue Energy Partners via “penny warrants,” meaning the US would only pay a nominal amount.
• America would also get first dibs on buying 20% of the company’s oil production at cost, with the Defense Department ultimately holding both the ownership stake and those purchase rights.

Meanwhile, North American Blue Energy Partners would receive 100-year rights to develop 17 oil fields containing 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, about one-fifth of Venezuela’s total. The Pentagon is expected to help finance the oil venture, which officials say could also attract nearly $100 billion in private investment.

However, legal questions remain

Article 12 of Venezuela’s 1999 Constitution says the country’s oil reserves belong to the state and can’t be sold, leading critics and legal analysts to question whether interim President Rodríguez and her largely unelected government have the authority to grant those rights.

• Oil companies are also worried about what happens if Venezuela gets a new government, since a future administration could challenge the agreement and potentially put past investments at risk.
• Some Venezuelan critics have gone further, accusing the US of helping legitimize Rodríguez’s government in exchange for access to the country’s oil.
• On the US side, there’s also pushback from the oil industry over the government backing a company that could eventually compete with American producers.

Looking ahead… Oil analysts say the process of rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry, and any potential impact on US gas prices, will likely take years, though it should help drive down prices at the pump in the long run if commitments materialize.

📊 Flash poll: On the whole, do you support or oppose the Trump admin’s new oil deal with Venezuela’s government?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers first keynote address at annual Jackson Hole Symposium; Warsh reaffirms the Fed’s commitment to bringing annual inflation down to 2.0% and says US labor market data is "broadly consistent with full employment."
• 🤝 Aon, a major insurance broker and consultancy, is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire insurance broker USI from investment firm KKR for ~$17 billion, including debt.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Federal appeals court rules states have the ability to regulate prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, not just federal regulators; decision conflicts with separate appeals court ruling, increasing the chances of SCOTUS taking up the issue.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 College football “Week 0” saw North Carolina beat TCU, Virginia top North Carolina St., and more. | Star NFL DT Aaron Donald, 35, agrees to come out of retirement and sign 1-yr deal with Los Angeles Rams; Donald, a 3x Defensive Player of the Year and 8x first-team All-Pro, retired in March 2024 after 10 seasons.
• 🍿 Spider-Man: No Way Home remains atop the domestic box office with $22.2 million in ticket sales; Coyote vs. Acme opens at second with $15.3 million.
• 🏌️ World #1 Scottie Scheffler wins Tour Championship and $10 million first prize, passing Tiger Woods to become PGA Tour’s all-time money leader ($130.4 million).

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 NASA launches Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into space early Sunday; $4.3 billion mission is designed to further understanding of mysteries like dark energy and dark matter.
• 🏥 Conflicting information has surfaced regarding Pennsylvania health officials’ announcement of two measles-related deaths (the state’s first since 1991), which Gov. Josh Shapiro called “completely preventable” last week; county coroner later rejected state officials’ initial framing, and says he’s only seen one newborn who tested positive but didn’t die from measles.
• 🧬 CRISPR gene-editing therapy helps people with high cholesterol and triglycerides maintain lower levels for at least a year, per first-in-human clinical trial.

US, WORLD, & POLITICS

• 💥 US forces attacked two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday; shortly after, American forces defended against Iranian missiles launched at Jordan; it marks the first US strike since late July.
• 📰 Treasury Department bars economics journalists from certain publications—New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg—from attending this week’s G20 meetings in North Carolina. | President Trump also threatens to report NBC News Meet the Press host Kristen Welker over her remarks saying Trump had “mixed results” with GOP endorsements this primary cycle.
• 🗺️ Google Maps officially changes Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” following President Trump’s recent executive order amid a tariff spat with Canada.

☝️ Spain’s annual La Tomatina food fight painted the town of Buñol red last week. The festival, now in its 79th year, involves ~165 tons of overripe tomatoes being hurled through the streets between thousands of tourists and locals.

🤔 Did you know? It's possible not to realize you're pregnant until labor begins. An estimated 1 in 2,500 so-called “cryptic pregnancies” cause no symptoms or baby bump and largely go unnoticed by the mother until they start giving birth, though they should still get a positive pregnancy test.

📰 Worth a read: How to reclaim your attention

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• 14 expert rules for a clean, healthy, happy home
• The happiest couples never fight about this 1 thing
• For ancient Romans, pooping was a group activity

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On Friday, we covered how the Trump admin’s immigration crackdown has intensified this summer, with ICE arrests of immigrants living in the US illegally surging to new heights as the agency increasingly targets people without criminal records.

❓ Our question to you: Speaking in general terms: Do you think all, some, or none of the immigrants living in the US illegally should be deported?

• All: 23%
• Some: 57%
• None: 20%

Read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 684 votes and 97 longform responses.

Monday: US House returns from August recess

Tuesday: September 1; Massachusetts holds primary elections; Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey for July

Wednesday: ADP private jobs report for August

Thursday: Weekly unemployment claims; College football Week 1 begins (through Monday); The Gentlemen Season 2 debuts on Netflix

Friday: Labor Dept.’s August jobs report; Mayday starring Ryan Reynolds debuts on Apple TV

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

1. Bibl
2. Cent
3. Crypt
4. Fin
5. Infra

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👵🏻 The world’s oldest person, as acknowledged by Guinness World Records, turned 117 last Friday. Ethel Caterham shared that her secret to longevity is her “nonconfrontational” attitude towards life: never arguing while rarely compromising.

1. Bibl = Book (e.g., bibliography)
2. Cent = Hundred (century, centipede)
3. Crypt = Hidden (cryptography)
4. Fin = End (final)
5. Infra = Below (infrastructure)

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