Oil Whiplash, First Phone Call, and a Spectacular Superbloom

 Need To Know 

Gulf Oil Squeeze

Oil prices whipsawed yesterday, rising to roughly $120 per barrel—the highest since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine—before retreating below $100. The swing came as traders reacted to the expanding war in the Middle East and signs that governments may step in to stabilize energy markets. 

The conflict, involving the US, Israel, and Iran, has disrupted oil production and tanker traffic across the region, especially in the Strait of Hormuz (see visual explainer), through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE are among producers that have reduced output amid the fighting, prompting traders to bid up oil futures (contracts to buy oil at a set price in the future) in anticipation of shortages. Prices later retreated after reports that the US and the Group of Seven nations may release emergency oil reserves if prices keep climbing. Explore the best resources we've curated on oil markets here.

For consumers, the impact could mean higher gas prices (track here) and heating costs. Analysts warn that sustained high oil prices could push inflation higher and slow economic growth. Separately, President Donald Trump held a news conference yesterday on war updates; see takeaways. 

Anthropic Sues Pentagon

AI company Anthropic filed two lawsuits against the US government yesterday over the decision to label it a supply chain risk. Anthropic is the first American company to receive the designation, typically reserved for foreign entities working with US adversaries. 

The designation came last week, after a Feb. 27 deadline for Anthropic to remove restrictions on the Pentagon’s use of its technology, specifically for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. (The military has reportedly used Anthropic’s AI tools for attacks in Venezuela and Iran.) Since then, the Pentagon has signed a contract with Anthropic competitor OpenAI, which says it will build guardrails into its systems' code.

Barring judicial intervention, government contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir have to cut ties with Anthropic or lose business with US agencies, including the Defense, State, and Treasury Departments. Most of Anthropic’s $14B in projected revenue this year comes from businesses and government agencies.

Birth of the Telephone

Today marks 150 years since Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call from his Boston lab to his assistant in a nearby room.

The breakthrough came just days after Bell received a patent for telephone technology, four days after his 29th birthday. His successful prototype used acidified water to convert acoustic oscillations created by the human voice into electrical, voice-mimicking oscillations that could travel to a receiver (watch how). The design closely resembled that of American electrical engineer Elisha Gray, who unsuccessfully contested Bell's patent in court. Bell went on to commercialize his telephone by founding the Bell Telephone Co., which eventually became the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., or AT&T.

Nearly 100 years after Bell's first phone call, Motorola engineer Marty Cooper made the first cellphone call. Listen to his story on our "1440 Explores" podcast here.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Live Nation reaches tentative settlement in federal antitrust case to avoid potential breakup of the concert giant, which includes Ticketmaster; several states reject deal and vow to proceed with litigation (More)

> Miami Dolphins release quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, will eat record $99.2M in dead money on salary cap; Tagovailoa to sign one-year deal with Atlanta Falcons (More) | Woman, 35, arrested for attempted murder in connection to shooting at Beverly Hills home of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky (More)

> Australia grants humanitarian visas to five Iranian women soccer players who were dubbed traitors for declining to sing Iranian anthem (More) | Iraq's head soccer coach asks FIFA to postpone team's World Cup qualifier, citing travel disruptions due to Iran war (More) 

Science & Technology

> Amazon-owned Zoox begins mapping streets of Dallas, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, as precursor to introducing robotaxis (More) | Uber expands feature allowing women passengers and drivers to request women-only rides nationwide, following similar move from Lyft in 2024 (More)

> Researchers simulate complete life cycle of a stripped-down bacterial cell in 4D for first time, providing insight into how cellular processes influence one another (More)

> Rock-paper-scissors study sheds light on the brain networks that interpret and modulate responses to others' actions, helping researchers better understand social conditions such as autism and borderline personality disorder (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.8%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +1.4%) after President Donald Trump initially signals Iran war is nearing an end (More) 

> Nasdaq to partner with crypto exchange Kraken to build infrastructure for tokenized stock trading, allowing blockchain-based versions of its listed equities to move between regulated markets and decentralized networks (More)  

> Hims & Hers shares rise nearly 41% after striking deal to sell Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drugs; Novo Nordisk drops patent infringement case over copycat drugs (More) | What are semaglutides and how do they work? (1440 Topics) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Jury selection begins in the Florida trial of four men charged with assassinating Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 (More) | Alexander brothers found guilty on all counts in federal sex trafficking trial; sentencing scheduled for August (More)

> New York prosecutors charge two men from Pennsylvania for allegedly throwing explosive devices at the home of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D); FBI investigates the attack as an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State (More) 

> Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide who exposed the Watergate tapes that led to former President Richard Nixon's resignation, dies at age 99 (More)

In-Depth

> The End of an Iceberg

BBC | Mark Poynting and Erwan Rivault. A23a was once Earth's largest iceberg, measuring 1,540 square miles. Now, after moving north to the warmer waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, it likely has weeks before it ceases to exist. (Read)

> The Hair Capital

The Guardian | Alessandro Gandolfi. It's estimated that more than 1 million people travel to Istanbul each year for a hair transplant. Here's a glimpse of what the city holds for bald travelers. (Read)

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... and how much it costs a family to visit Disney World.

In partnership: Hidden AI inside this hearing aid makes voices crystal clear.*

Clickbait: Finnish pair wins annual wife-carrying contest. 

Historybook: Courrières mining accident kills 1,099 in France (1906); Harriet Tubman dies (1913); Sharon Stone born (1958); Dot-com bubble peaks as the Nasdaq hits 5,048 (2000); Ethiopian Airlines flight crashes, killing 157 (2019).

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