Shutdown Breakthrough, 40-Hour Workweek, and the Best of April

 Need To Know 

Partial Shutdown Ends

The House voted unanimously to approve the Senate's bill to end the 76-day partial government shutdown, sending the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk for approval. The move is expected to soon end the longest partial government shutdown in US history. 

The bill funds all Department of Homeland Security agencies except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Republicans will now work to supply additional funding to ICE and CBP through the budget reconciliation process, which requires a simple majority, forgoing the need for Democratic support. That process kicked off this week, with House committees directed to draft legislation to deliver $70B to ICE and CBP through the end of Trump’s term. 

Democrats have refused to fund ICE and CBP without reforms following the deaths of US citizens in Minnesota (see standoff details). The shutdown saw more than 1,000 TSA agents leave the agency.

Birth of the Weekend

Today marks 100 years since Ford Motor Company became one of the first American companies to officially adopt the five-day, 40-hour workweek for factory workers, a decision that reshaped work-life balance.

Henry Ford’s idea to eliminate Saturday from the workweek initially met hesitation from some hourly workers worried about reduced pay. However, his daily wages of $5 to $6—roughly double the industry average—helped to ease concerns (read 1920s reactions). Ford reportedly redirected Saturday wages to hire thousands more people for Monday through Friday shifts, reducing unemployment. The move also boosted productivity, reduced turnover, strengthened morale, and gave workers more leisure time, some of which they spent buying and traveling in Ford cars. 

The US formally codified the 40-hour workweek in 1940, mandating overtime pay for hourly employees. More recently, momentum has grown around four-day workweeks, with the largest trial yet suggesting they could improve productivity and well-being.

Fastest 2 Minutes in Sports

The 152nd Kentucky Derby will be run tomorrow at Churchill Downs, with 20 3-year-old thoroughbreds set to cover 1.25 miles in the “Run for the Roses.” The race carries a $5M purse, including $3.1M to the winner. Coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET (NBC and Peacock), with post time set for 6:57 pm ET.

As of this writing, Renegade is the favorite to win at 5-1 after a dominant Arkansas Derby, though he drew the No. 1 post, which has not produced a winner since 1986. Other contenders include Commandment (7-1), Chief Wallabee (9-1), The Puma (8-1), and Japan’s unbeaten Danon Bourbon (14-1). This year, 18 of the 20 entrants were born in central Kentucky, though some were trained elsewhere. See how horses qualify here and a race simulator here.

First run in 1875—with a roughly $3K purse—the Derby is the oldest continuously held US sporting event and the Triple Crown’s opening leg. Traditions include a hand-sewn 40-pound garland of 465 roses, as well as mint juleps, with over 125,000 served over two days.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulls funding from LIV Golf, which announced new leadership and is in talks with outside investors; PGA Tour says it will consider allowing top golfers to return on a case-by-case basis (More) 

> Singer-songwriter David Allan Coe, a country music icon known for his rebellious past, dies at age 86 (More) | "Tennessee Whiskey" was first recorded by Coe, revived by Chris Stapleton over three decades later; listen to the original (More)

> "Apprentice" reboot reportedly under early discussion at Amazon, with Donald Trump Jr. as potential host (More) | Britney Spears is charged with a DUI, will likely be able to avoid jail time with reckless driving plea deal (More) 

Science & Technology

> President Donald Trump taps former Fox News Channel contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier as surgeon general after Senate stalls on health entrepreneur and former physician Dr. Casey Means, partly over her stance on vaccines (More) 

> Scientist and entrepreneur J. Craig Venter—who raced the government to decode the human genome with faster, cheaper methods and his own DNA—dies at age 79 (More) | What happened when Venter challenged the government? (More, w/video)

> Distantly related butterflies and moths found to use the same two genes to evolve near-identical wing patterns, suggesting evolution may be more predictable than long assumed (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +1.6%, Nasdaq +0.9%), closing best month for stocks since 2020 (More) | Reddit reports 69% rise in Q1 revenue, beating analyst estimates (More) 

> US economy grew 2% year over year from January to March after recovering from last fall's 43-day government shutdown (More, w/charts) | US debt now exceeds the size of the US economy (More) | Ranking the world's top economies (More) 

> Uber taps Hertz to clean, charge, and fix its robotaxis; Hertz shares close up over 13% on the news (More) | Chipotle to soon test happy hour tacos to win over customers (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Camp Mystic halts plans to reopen amid ongoing investigations into last year's deadly floods that killed 25 campers, two counselors (More) | See an interactive map of how the flooding occurred (More)

> Myanmar military moves former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest; the Nobel laureate was removed from office in a 2021 coup (More) | The coup, explained (More)

> Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) announces she is suspending her campaign to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R), clearing the Democratic field for Graham Platner (D) (More) 

In-Depth

> The Sobriety Paradox

Knowable Magazine | Emma Yasinski. The longer you stay clean, the stronger the pull can get. That's not a failure of willpower but how addiction reshapes the brain's synapses, and understanding it changes how people think about relapse. (Read) 

> The Real Cost of AI Slop

Close All Tabs | Morgan Sung. Generating a five-second AI video can use as much energy as running a microwave for over an hour—and that's before accounting for what we can't see. This episode unpacks the hidden costs of generative AI, which tools are most resource-intensive, and how to size up your own footprint. (Listen) 

> Why "Cool" Is So Cool 

Storied | Staff. "Groovy," "rad," "lit," and, more recently, "goated"—each has had its moment as a young people's go-to stamp of approval. But one slang term has never gone out of style: "cool." What gives it so much staying power? (Watch)

> Killing to Save Lives

The Guardian | Cal Flyn. Texas oil heir Corey Knowlton reportedly paid $350K to hunt a critically endangered rhino in Namibia. Unpack the counterintuitive case for trophy hunting as a conservation tool—and whether it justifies the kill. (Read) 

Editor's note: More than 12 million monthly clicks can't be wrong. Here are the most popular stories we ran in April. Enjoy!

(4/8/26) See Artemis II's jaw-dropping photo of the moon in shadow. 

(4/7/26) Do you remember these 33 photos that shocked the world? 

(4/6/26) The latest internet term is "mogging." 

(4/14/26) Who had it harder: millennials or boomers? (w/graphs)

(4/8/26) The annual salary needed to afford a home in each state.

(4/22/26) Items from the 2000s that are now collectibles.

(4/13/26) See 10 of the US' best small towns.

(4/21/26) This Lego set might be the most sought-after corporate swag.

(4/8/26) See what people from 1899 thought 2000 would look like.

(4/20/26) Gas station clerk rescues girl from kidnapping. (w/video)

(4/27/26) Five surprising things couples fight over during divorce.

In partnership: Experts are revisiting this ancient walking practice for its proven weight loss.*

Clickbait: Dragon scales found on Mars.

Historybook: Frontierswoman and sharpshooter Calamity Jane born (1852); Dwarf planet Pluto is named (1930); Empire State Building opens in NYC (1931); Country artist Tim McGraw born (1967); Actress Olympia Dukakis dies (2021).

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