GameStop's Gambit, the Pulitzer Prize, and a Cuddly Robot

 Need To Know 

Strait Showdown Escalates

The US reportedly sank six Iranian military speedboats yesterday, while its ally, the United Arab Emirates, accused Iran of a drone attack, putting the four-week ceasefire between the US and Iran under strain. 

The speedboats were allegedly targeting US Navy ships that were aiding commercial vessels as part of a mission President Donald Trump announced Sunday to help guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims it struck an American warship, but the US denies this and says it successfully transited two American-flagged commercial ships through the strait. Meanwhile, the UAE said Iran launched four drones, hitting a key facility used to avoid shipping some oil through the strait. As of this writing, it is unclear whether an explosion aboard a South Korean-operated ship off the UAE was caused by Iranian fire. 

Roughly 20,000 sailors have been stuck in the Persian Gulf for weeks, unable to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Who are they?  

Who Bids on the Bidding Site?

GameStop made an unsolicited $56B offer Sunday to acquire eBay, a bid to create a combined company capable of rivaling Amazon. EBay said yesterday its board will review the offer, which is nearly 20% above its $46B closing valuation Friday.

GameStop, valued at nearly $12B, is pursuing a company nearly four times its size. To fill the gap, the largely brick-and-mortar company is offering 50% cash and 50% GameStop shares, and says it has secured a commitment of up to $20B from TD Bank in debt financing. CEO Ryan Cohen maintains the combined company could leverage GameStop’s roughly 1,600 stores to fulfill eBay orders, largely focused on collectibles. Cohen also hopes to push eBay toward live commerce, involving real-time video streams of sales (see 101).

GameStop's stock gained popularity in 2021, when Keith Gill, known online as "Roaring Kitty," inspired investors to send the company's shares up over 1,600% in days. See a visual timeline here.

Pulitzer Prize Winners

The 2026 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced yesterday, honoring last year's distinguished work in journalism and the arts.

The Washington Post received the Gold Medal for Public Service for its coverage of the Trump administration's overhaul of federal agencies. Reuters won for documenting the expansion of executive power (national reporting); The New York Times for exposing conflicts of interest tied to the presidency (investigative reporting); and The Associated Press for its global probe into Silicon Valley-built surveillance tools now deployed by the US Border Patrol (international reporting).

Other winners include "Pablo Torre Finds Out" for its investigation into how the Los Angeles Clippers allegedly skirted the NBA's salary cap (audio reporting); Texas Monthly's Aaron Parsley for a first-person account of survival and loss after deadly Central Texas floods (feature writing); and Daniel Kraus for "Angel Down" (fiction). See the full list of winners.

The awards are named after Joseph Pulitzer, one of the founders of modern journalism, who left $2M to Columbia University upon his death in 1911 to establish its journalism school and the prize. Winners receive $15K.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Met Gala attendees interpret dress code "Fashion Is Art," an ode to the Met's new exhibit showcasing artistic representations of the dressed body spanning roughly 5,000 years (More) | See last night's best red carpet looks (More)

> Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settle legal battle stemming from the 2024 film "It Ends With Us" two weeks before trial (More) | Britney Spears pleads guilty to reckless driving, avoids DUI charge and jail (More)

> Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency due to an unspecified medical condition (More) | John Sterling, radio voice of the New York Yankees for over three decades and five World Series titles, dies at age 87 (More) 

Science & Technology

> Three passengers dead, others presumed ill after suspected hantavirus outbreak among roughly 150-person cruise; ship has been refused permission to dock (More) | What is hantavirus? (More)

> Small, icy object beyond Pluto appears to have an atmosphere, suggesting distant worlds in our solar system may be more complex than previously thought (More) 

> Researchers pioneer method for turning a single protein into two new proteins with completely different functions, offering potentially simpler ways to improve both medicines and manufacturing processes (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.4%, Dow -1.1%, Nasdaq -0.2%) as investors worry Iran conflict could intensify again (More) 

> Tech giant Palantir reports 85% year-over-year growth in Q1—the fastest sales expansion since at least 2020, fueled by strong US military demand (More) | Pinterest shares rise after reporting 18% year-over-year Q1 revenue growth (More) 

> Anthropic partners with Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, and other Wall Street firms to launch $1.5B AI venture targeting private-equity-owned companies (More) | See what large companies are owned by private equity (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signs redistricted congressional map into law; could see up to four House seats going to Republicans (More) | Track mid-decade redistricting map, with expected political impact (More)

> Supreme Court restores access to mail-order abortion drug mifepristone, reversing a federal appeals court decision (More) | Mifepristone 101 (More)

> Driver plows into crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig, killing at least two people and wounding 20 others; the driver was a 33-year-old German man whose motive is unclear as of this writing (More) 

In-Depth

> Prediction Market Sharks

WSJ | Staff. Less than 1% of accounts take home two-thirds of Polymarket profits, while more than 70% of accounts lose money. How do the winners do it—and why does everyone else keep betting? (Read) 

> Finding Grace in a Burger Bun

Cautionary Tales | Tim Harford. Dick and Mac McDonald built a simple burger stand and were happy keeping it that way. Then Ray Kroc arrived—an ambitious salesman who saw something they didn't. What followed became one of the greatest betrayals in US business history. (Listen) 

See 15 game-changing airplane seat designs.

How Twister went from too risqué to childhood staple.

Postal Service unveils 10 new Barbie stamps.

Salary needed to be upper class, by generation.

See how humanoid robots in China direct traffic.

It took 40 years to create this three-sided zipper. 

What over 2 million fans look like at a free Shakira concert.

Watch a golden retriever politely decline a grooming.

In partnership: Americans over 55 are ditching hearing aids for these dual-chip devices.*

Clickbait: A robot you'll want to cuddle.

Historybook: Napoleon Bonaparte dies while in exile (1821); Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexican victory in the Battle of Puebla (1862); Alan Shepard becomes first American in outer space (1961); Singer-songwriter Adele born (1988); "Spider-Man" becomes the first movie to top $100M in its opening weekend (2002)

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