Colbert Show Ends, Harvard-flation, and Longevity Glutes

 Need To Know 

Colbert Signs Off

The last episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs tonight on CBS at 11:35 pm ET after an 11-year run. The episode, an extended finale, marks the end of the “Late Show” franchise, launched in the post-Johnny Carson 1990s.

CBS announced last year it would end the show, citing financial reasons. Colbert led the time slot over competitors Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, averaging 2.4 million viewers per episode last year. However, late-night viewership has dropped since the 2010s, while production costs have reportedly risen. The decision came amid long-standing tensions between Colbert and President Donald Trump (whom Colbert frequently mocked), and as Paramount sought regulatory approval for a merger with Skydance Media. Rewatch Colbert’s 2015 interview with then-candidate Trump here.

The “Late Show” slot will be filled by “Comics Unleashed,” hosted by Byron Allen; Colbert will continue cowriting a “Lord of the Rings” film (see how the gig came about).

US Indicts Castro

The Justice Department yesterday unsealed an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro for murder and conspiracy to kill US citizens. The charges stem from the 1996 downing of two civilian planes that killed four Cuban exiles. 

Survivors' and victims' relatives spent 30 years pressing for criminal charges against Raúl Castro, who served as defense minister at the time. His older brother, then-Cuban President Fidel Castro, took responsibility for the attack, claiming the activist group operating the plane had previously distributed anti-communist pamphlets. The group maintained it was searching for people fleeing the island nation by sea. See the rafts Cubans used to escape here. 

The indictment lays the groundwork for potential US military action to extract 94-year-old Castro from Cuba, similar to the January operation against Cuban ally and former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Since Maduro's capture, the US has imposed a de facto oil blockade to weaken Cuba's communist regime. Scroll here to see how dependent Cuba is on oil imports.

The Crimson Letter

Harvard University’s faculty voted yesterday to restrict the number of A's an undergraduate professor can award students. The new policy, set to go into effect in 2027, caps the number of A's in each course to 20%, with the flexibility to award up to four additional A's (A-minuses will not be impacted). 

The decision comes as the number of A's awarded at Harvard has grown from 25% of grades in 2005-06 to 60% last year, with AI potentially expediting grade inflation. Faculty warn the trend could harm the university’s credibility in the eyes of employers and graduate schools. One professor also suggested grade inflation negatively impacts enrollment in courses taught by professors who give out A's sparingly. The decision is unpopular with students, who are concerned the new approach will reduce collaboration between students and impact their mental health. 

Harvard faculty also voted yesterday to replace GPA with percentile rank to determine honors such as cum laude (how do Latin honors work?).

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> James Murdoch, son of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, buys Vox Media's New York magazine, podcast network, and more in a deal reportedly worth over $300M (More) | Watched "Succession?" Roman Roy is supposedly based on James (More) 

> North Korean women's soccer team beats South Korea in first sports match between the political rivals since 2018 (More) | French Open players will limit media appearances in protest of 14.3% prize money revenue share; other major events offer 22% (More)

> Taiwan Travelogue, written by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King, becomes the first book originally written in Mandarin Chinese to win the International Booker Prize (More) 

Science & Technology

> Tyrannosaurus rexes and other meat-eating dinosaurs likely evolved smaller arms as they came to rely on their increasingly powerful skulls and jaws to attack prey—a phenomenon one researcher describes as "use it or lose it" (More) 

> Stability AI launches new music creation model that enables users to create up to six-minute songs with text prompts (More) | Listen to some songs created on the platform (More)

> Small primates in South America were 4% heavier in 2023 than in 1999 as average temperatures rose, likely because warmer weather reduced energy needs for temperature regulation (More) | See the cute creature in question (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.1%, Dow +1.3%, Nasdaq +1.5%) as oil prices fall and US Treasury yields ease (More) | SpaceX publicly files for IPO on the Nasdaq composite index with a $2T valuation goal (More)

> Nvidia's revenue jumps 85% year-over-year in its first-quarter earnings report; chipmaker boosts its stock buyback plan by $80B (More) | Intuit to lay off roughly 17% of its workforce as the software giant sharpens focus on AI initiatives (More)

> Wendy's taps former Potbelly CEO Bob Wright to lead the burger chain after five straight quarters of same-store sales declines (More) | Airbnb adds hotels, car rentals, and grocery delivery to app in bid to become "Amazon for services" (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Justice Department provides immunity to President Donald Trump, his family members, and businesses as part of settlement with the IRS (More) | Read the one-page document (More) 

> Former Rep. Barney Frank (D, MA-4) dies at age 86; Frank was known for spearheading the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, and was among the first openly gay members of Congress (More) 

> Two police officers who defended the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, sue the Trump administration, seeking to prevent rioters from accessing payouts from $1.8B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" (More) | Learn about the fund (More)

In-Depth

> The Family Man 

Deep Cover | Jake Halpern. Two sisters grow up thinking they know their father—until they watch him on TV fleeing police as the infamous "Boonie Hat Bandit." (Listen) 

> How Heat Scrambles Our Brain

Knowable Magazine | Marta Zaraska. Dog bites increase in summer. Birds struggle to learn. Goats pick more fights. It's not discomfort; heat is neurologically impairing animals. And scientists think we're only seeing the beginning of it. (Read) 

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