Good morning. It's Friday, May 23, and we're covering the domestic policy bill moving through Congress, the Jewish museum attack in DC, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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PS—The 1440 team will be off for Memorial Day (but look out for our Sunday email on the anniversary of the Apollo program). Have a great long weekend and we'll see you bright and early Tuesday!
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House Passes 'Big Beautiful Bill'
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House Republicans passed a broad domestic policy bill early Thursday by a 215-214 vote following overnight negotiations and last-minute changes to the legislation. The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” now heads to the Senate, where expected tweaks may result in a back-and-forth between the two chambers.
The House version renews and expands trillions of dollars in tax cuts first enacted in 2017 and boosts spending for defense, border security, and immigration enforcement while reducing the budget for food assistance and Medicaid programs. Medicaid recipients would see stricter eligibility criteria, including the first federal work requirement of 80 hours a month for able-bodied adults (92% of recipients currently meet the standard). The bill would also create $1,000 child savings accounts and increase the debt limit by $4T ahead of the July deadline. See what's in the bill here.
Passage relied on several eleventh-hour alterations, including the implementation of Medicaid work requirements three years sooner. Senators indicated the bill would likely see significant changes, particularly around reducing the deficit.
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A suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and murder of foreign officials after killing two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, this week. The 31-year-old assailant, who is believed to have acted alone, shouted “Free, Free Palestine” after firing at the victims at close range. More charges are expected as officials investigate the act as a hate crime and act of terrorism.
World leaders condemned the attack, with Israel’s government blaming the violence on a climate of antisemitism and anti-Israel incitement amid the country’s ongoing war in Gaza. Officials were investigating whether a 900-word manifesto released the day before the attack was authentic. The Chicago-based suspect was affiliated with left-wing politics, at one point a member of a local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The two victims—Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky—were an interfaith couple who met while working together at the embassy. Family members say Lischinsky planned to propose next week. Learn more about the victims here.
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A Penny Saved Is a Nickel Earned
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The US Treasury announced yesterday it will stop issuing new pennies, ending more than 200 years of production for the one-cent coin. The Mint has already placed its final order for penny blanks—the metal discs used to create coins—and will continue minting until that supply runs out, likely in early 2026. Consumers can continue using existing pennies, but as circulation declines, banks and retailers will likely round cash transactions to the nearest nickel. Digital payments will remain unaffected and will continue to be processed to the exact cent.
The decision is largely driven by cost. Each penny costs about 3.7 cents to produce, resulting in an $85M loss in 2024. Treasury officials estimate the move will save $56M annually in materials and manufacturing. However, the nickel—which costs 13.8 cents to produce—may see increased demand, potentially cutting into the anticipated savings.
Check out our overview of US currency and all the currencies taken out of print here.
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
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> "Lilo & Stitch" and "Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning" projected to open with a combined $485M worldwide box office haul, potentially a record for Memorial Day weekend (More)
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> New York Liberty's owners sell stake in the WNBA team at $450M valuation, the highest ever for a women's pro sports franchise (More) | NBA conference championships continue this weekend; see latest schedule (More) | ... NHL's conference championships also underway; see latest bracket (More)
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> College Football Playoff committee approves change to seeding for the upcoming season, granting the top four seeds a first-round bye whether or not they won their conference (More)
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> AI startup Anthropic releases next version of its flagship chatbot, Claude 4 (More) | See rankings of AI models (More) | New AI model learns how to connect specific sounds with visual data without human assistance; may have use in helping robots understand their real-world environments (More)
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> Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. releases "Make America Healthy Again" report, blaming ultraprocessed foods, pesticides, lack of physical activity, overmedication, and more for a wide range of chronic childhood conditions (More) | Read the report (More)
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> Engineered contact lenses allow the wearer to see in infrared, a part of the electromagnetic spectrum invisible to the human eye (More)
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In partnership with Pendulum
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +0.3%) as 30-year Treasury yield hits highest level since October 2023 (More)
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> Existing home sales in April fall to lowest level for the month since 2009; new listings reach highest level since March 2020 at 1.9 million (More)
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> Adtech platform MNTN shares soar 65% on first day of trading; the company—which boasts actor Ryan Reynolds as chief creative officer—was valued at $1.2B before its debut (More) | Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno to step down in July (More)
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> Department of Homeland Security revokes Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, blocking the school from enrolling international students; move comes amid battle between Trump administration and the university over records on international students, admissions policies (More)
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> Supreme Court deadlocks on what would have been the nation's first religious charter school; 4-4 ruling prevents state funding for the school (More) | Federal judge blocks executive order to close the Department of Education, requiring reinstatement of 1,300 terminated employees (More)
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> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts above-average hurricane season, anticipating six to 10 hurricanes, three to five of them Category 3 or higher (More)
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> Read the Obits
MIT Press Reader | Keith Sawyer. How reading obituaries can take us out of the everyday routine and spark new, creative connections. (Read)
> The Last Nomads
The Dial | Natela Grigalashvili. A community in Georgia’s Adjara highlands travels to higher pastures every spring with their cattle. Their nomadic way of life may be coming to an end. (Read)
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In partnership with Pacaso
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Zillow’s Co-Founder Has a Big New Idea
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Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow, scaling it to a $16B valuation. But everyday investors couldn’t invest until the IPO, missing early gains.
"I wish we had done a round accessible to retail investors prior to Zillow's IPO," Rascoff later said. Now he’s fixing that with Pacaso, his new company disrupting the $1.3T vacation home market. And unlike Zillow, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company. Firms like SoftBank are already on board. And until May 29, you can invest for just $2.80/share.*
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