Canada Wildfires, Homer Bound, and a Cat Burglar

Good morning, it's Friday, July 17. Wildfires from Canada are impacting air quality in parts of the US. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: Christopher Nolan's take on "The Odyssey" (Need To Know), nearly invisible drones (Sci. & Tech.), a pipeline to avoid the Strait of Hormuz (Bus. & Mkts.), robots saying "I do" (Etc.), and much more. 

Don’t keep us a secret: Share the email with friends or share via SMS/social.

 Need To Know 

Smoke Over America

Millions of Americans are under air quality alerts this week as more than 800 wildfires continue to rage across Canada. See a map of the affected areas.

The wildfires are not due to a single cause and can be exacerbated by seasonal conditions, including drought and warm weather. Some were sparked by lightning, which can strike hard-to-reach areas of Canada’s forests and is responsible for most of the total area burned in Canada. As fine particles enter the atmosphere, they can drift farther south. Chicago, Detroit, and New York ranked among the top five worst cities for air quality yesterday, with NYC officials working to distribute KN95 masks to commuters. See photos of smoky skies over New York.

In areas with poor air quality, people are encouraged to stay indoors and run air-filtration systems if possible. See other tips here.

Go inside the science of today's wildfires in our latest "1440 Explores" episode (listen here).

Nolan Meets Homer

“The Odyssey,” Christopher Nolan’s reported $250M adaptation of Homer's epic poem, opens in theaters today with a global debut projected to top $200M. The film is the first narrative feature shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, though just 25 US theaters have the equipment to show it as intended.

The movie marks Nolan’s first release since “Oppenheimer” swept the Academy Awards. His take on the ancient Greek epic stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the hero on a perilous 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, where Penelope (Anne Hathaway) waits while fending off aggressive suitors. The journey includes encounters with mythological creatures such as the one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus, who may have been inspired by elephant bones. Tom Holland plays Odysseus' son Telemachus, and Robert Pattinson portrays the villainous suitor Antinous. Watch the trailer for the 172-minute epic here.

Learn about the real creatures that may have inspired the film’s monsters, then trace Odysseus' journey with this interactive map.

Want more? Sign up for 1440 Society & Culture, which delves into the historical side of the epic journey tomorrow.

Cholesterol Super Pill

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved a daily pill shown to help lower cholesterol levels by up to 60% in fewer than six months—a result previously only achieved with more expensive injectable drugs.

The daily pill, enlicitide, blocks PCSK9, a protein that weakens the liver's ability to clear cholesterol from the bloodstream. Cholesterol can accumulate in artery walls, forming plaque that restricts blood flow. Enlicitide is intended as a supplement to statins, widely prescribed pills that directly target cholesterol (w/video). Although PCSK9 inhibitors have been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks by 20% among high-risk patients, only 1% of roughly 6 million eligible patients use injectable versions, which can cost more than $500 monthly. Experts hope enlicitide, priced at $315 per month and taken orally, will broaden access to PCSK9 inhibitors.

Over one in 10 Americans age 20 and older have high cholesterol. Doctors generally recommend that healthy adults have their levels checked every four to six years.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Rupert Murdoch biopic by "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle selected to open the Venice Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 2-12 (More) | See historic posters from the world's oldest film festival (More)

> Major League Baseball's 2027 season scheduled to have the earliest opening day in league history on March 24, pending successful labor contract negotiations (More) | Scroll through vintage photos of past MLB opening days (More)

> British government urges FIFA to investigate after Argentine players celebrate 2-1 World Cup win over England with banner claiming sovereignty over disputed Falkland Islands (More) | The nations have a long history of World Cup disputes (More) 

1440 x Men in Blazers: Gear up for the World Cup final on Sunday at 3 pm ET with in-depth daily coverage (Sign up)

Science & Technology

> Mary-Dell Chilton, an American biochemist whose research team developed a now-widespread method for genetically modifying plants, dies at age 87 (More) | See how plant breeding has evolved over millennia (More)

> Engineers create the "Phantom Twist," a drone that spins up to 25 times per second, making it nearly invisible to the human eye; previous efforts to create invisible drones focused on blending them into their surroundings (More, w/video) 

> Astronomers detect an atmosphere around a rocky, Earth-like planet for the first time, a promising sign the planet—LHS 1140 b—could host life; LHS 1140 b is 48 light-years away and about 1.7 times the size of Earth (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq -1.5%) (More) | Alphabet shares drop 4% following report that its most powerful AI model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, is delayed (More) 

> Chevron pursuing investments in two major Iraqi oil fields and exploring a pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz; about 20% of the world's oil moved through the strait before the Iran war (More) | See interactive map of marine traffic (More) 

> Uber agrees to buy Germany-based Delivery Hero in $14.8B deal; move could nearly double Uber's international footprint (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> President Donald Trump calls for Congress to pass his SAVE America bill in address to the nation; alleges conspiracy to downplay vulnerabilities in US voting systems and Chinese election meddling (More) | Watch the speech (More)

> Protests erupt in Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy removes popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov from his post (More) | See war updates (More, w/map)

> Former CEO of Italy's main highway operator is sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 2018 Genoa highway bridge collapse that killed 43 people (More) | See footage of the collapse (More via YouTube, warning—sensitive)

In-Depth

> What Happened to Congress? 

1440 Explores | Sony Kassam. If you've ever wondered why Congress feels stuck, the story begins more than a century ago. Trace the reforms and turning points that reshaped American government. (Watch) 

Prefer audio only? Listen on Spotify or Apple. 

> The Shape You Never Noticed

Parakeet | Louie Mantia. You probably spend a good chunk of your day looking at Apple app icons without noticing their steady evolution into the now-familiar squircle. After reading this, you may never look at your iPhone home screen the same way again. (Read) 

What would an "Odyssey"-inspired menu look like?

The Italian sculptor who made the World Cup trophy.

Russia holds symbolic wedding for humanoid robots.

Boy opens dinosaur fossil museum at age 9.

The only state that puts veggie pizza on a pedestal.

... and the most popular grilled food in each state.

Detroit Zoo gorilla bonds with her new baby. (w/photo)

Why you can escape quicksand by floating horizontally.

Explore all nine generations of Pokémon.

In partnership: The sleeper play behind Elon's $1.6T mobile expansion. See what investors are buying.*

Clickbait: Cat burglar busted.

Historybook: Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California (1955); Jazz singer Billie Holiday dies (1959); Broadcast legend Walter Cronkite dies (2009); Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down, 298 killed (2014); Politician and civil rights leader John Lewis dies (2020). 

*Please support our sponsors.