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05.22.2025

 

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Good morning. It's Thursday, May 22, and we're covering OpenAI teaming up with the designer of the iPhone, a study showing drastic weight loss in mice, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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Need To Know
 

DOJ Halts Lawsuits

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is dismissing pending settlements and dropping investigations into several US police departments, senior officials revealed yesterday. The move comes days before the fifth anniversary of the death of George Floyd, whose killing by a police officer triggered widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and calls for reform. 

 

Following the killings of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the Biden administration’s DOJ launched probes into Minneapolis and Louisville, finding patterns of misconduct concerning the civil rights of Black people. The investigations prompted police reform agreements known as consent decrees with the two cities, intended to rectify civil rights violations with reforms overseen by a court-appointed monitor. 

 

The head of the division said yesterday the decrees were unjustified and would have led to micromanagement. The news comes as an estimated 250 of the division's attorneys (roughly 70%) are leaving the department in response to changes.

 

Here's Jony

OpenAI has purchased designer Jony Ive's hardware startup io, the company announced yesterday. The all-equity deal, valued at $6.4B, will involve the development of AI-powered hardware devices, the first of which will be unveiled next year. Read the announcement here (w/video).

 

As former chief design officer at Apple, Ive is credited with designing iconic products, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. In yesterday's announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hinted at Ive's development of a laptop-replacing device, with reports suggesting his team has designed headphones and other screenless devices to better integrate AI into everyday life. Ive and his team—many of them former Apple employees—will assume creative and design responsibilities across OpenAI and io, which will merge.

 

The purchase is OpenAI’s largest and comes weeks after the company announced it would buy AI coding tool Windsurf for $3B. OpenAI is granting Ive and his creative team $5B in OpenAI stock, with the company recently valued at $300B. 

 

Cysteine Weight Loss

Eliminating a single amino acid caused mice to lose 30% of their body weight in one week, a new study has found. Cysteine is found in nearly all foods, with the study showcasing its critical role in metabolic processes. Read the full study here.

 

Researchers fed adult mice a cysteine-free diet and genetically engineered the mice to be incapable of producing the amino acid. The combined interventions interrupted cells' ability to produce the energy-carrying molecule adenosine triphosphate. The interventions also triggered two separate stress responses—a phenomenon previously seen only in cancer cells. The mice burned fat rapidly in a failed effort to produce energy. The elimination of cysteine outperformed any of the nine essential amino acids in achieving rapid weight loss.

 

Cysteine is present in all fruits, vegetables, and meat, making a cysteine-free diet impractical for humans. Fruits and vegetables have lower levels of cysteine's precursor, methionine, whose restriction has been associated with various health benefits. 

In partnership with SmartAsset

$1B Startup Disrupting Retirement Industry

 

This Princeton grad's startup raised $161M to help people plan for retirement.

 

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In The Know
 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins NBA MVP after finishing runner-up in the voting last season (More) | Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts owner and CEO, dies at age 65 (More)

> Universal Orlando's Epic Universe officially opens to the public today; the theme park includes Super Mario World and themed "Harry Potter" and "How to Train Your Dragon" sections (More

> "Heart Lamp," a short story anthology by Indian author Banu Mushtaq, wins prestigious 2025 International Booker Prize for best work of fiction translated into English (More

 

Science & Technology

> Humpback whales have poor eyesight despite relatively large eyes, new study reveals; animals may have trouble resolving details of potential threats beyond three to four body lengths (More

> Volcanoes trigger cloud formation during eruptions, with ash providing a surface for ice to begin forming in the atmosphere; findings fill a knowledge gap around how eruptions influence climate (More

> New manufacturing process significantly reduces corrosion of steel rebar, could eventually lead to a tripling of the lifetime of bridges to around 100 years (More

 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -1.6%, Dow -1.9%, Nasdaq -1.4%) amid jump in Treasury yields and concerns tax bill moving through Congress will add to the US deficit (More) | Bitcoin price jumps to all-time high of $109,500, closing the day at $108,955.10 (More)

> Target shares close down 5.2% after reporting 3.8% year-over-year decline in same-store sales; company attributes the drop in part to tariff uncertainty, boycott over ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (More

> United Arab Emirates launches Arabic-language AI model it says can match the performance of models up to 10 times its size (More)

In partnership with BOXABL

The Father-Son Duo Rethinking Homebuilding

Home construction is slow, costly, and inefficient. So in 2017, Paolo and Galiano Tiramani founded BOXABL to change that—bringing factory efficiency to a ~$5T industry.

 

Today, new homes can roll off their assembly lines in nearly 4 hours. They’ve already built more than 600. Now, they’re prepping for Phase 2, where they can combine modules into larger townhomes, single-family homes, and apartments. 

 

But there’s no need to wait. Invest in BOXABL for just $0.80/share today.**

 
 

Politics & World Affairs

> Rep. Gerry Connolly (D, VA-11) dies at age 75, weeks after announcing he would not seek reelection following the return of esophageal cancer (More

> Rep. LaMonica McIver (D, NJ-10) makes first court appearance following assault charges stemming from May 9 visit to ICE facility (More) | Justice Department opens investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) House committee testimony on spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes (More)

> Department of Defense accepts $400M luxury Boeing jet from Qatar, intended to serve as Air Force One (More) | Federal judge rules against Department of Homeland Security for sending eight migrants convicted of violent crime to South Sudan, requires DHS to keep migrants in US custody (More)

 

In-Depth

> Power Hungry

MIT Tech Review | James O'Donnell, Casey Crownhart. Recent estimates suggest data centers account for around 4.4% of US electricity consumption, with new facilities supporting the AI boom consuming more power than the state of New Hampshire each year. The energy impact of individual prompts varies greatly based on question, model, and more. (Read)

 

> The People Who Are Too Friendly 

BBC | Jasmin Fox-Skelly. Affecting around one in 7,500 people, one of the striking symptoms of Williams syndrome is the propensity to treat strangers as close friends. Understanding this rare genetic condition may shed light on the evolution of our drive to be social. (Read)

In partnership with SmartAsset

How Long Will $1M Last in Retirement?

 

The answer can depend on some important factors such as your retirement age, life expectancy, and the kind of lifestyle you plan to live. Find out a few additional factors to consider as well as 3 hypothetical examples of how long $1M could last in retirement

 

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Etcetera
 

About 30% of US adults use astrology or fortune-telling at least once a year.

 

Could centipede robots help with farming?

 

The tale of a Rockefeller con artist.

 

A look back at the NBA's Knicks-Pacers 1990s rivalry.

 

Finalists for the 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year.

 

What to do if you find a baby bird out of its nest.

 

Six regionally themed hot dog cars to race in the "Wienie 500."

 

Why flamingos are such weird eaters.

 

Clickbait: Photos from the 2025 Pet Gala.

 

Historybook: (First) first lady of the US Martha Washington dies (1802); The Associated Press is founded (1846); Poet Langston Hughes dies (1967); Supermodel Naomi Campbell born (1970); Manchester Arena bombing kills 22 following Ariana Grande concert (2017).

"Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

- Langston Hughes

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*Disclosure: "Journal of Retirement Study Winter" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study.

 

**This is a paid advertisement for Boxabl’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.boxabl.com/

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