UK Shake-Up, a Century of Exams, and TSA-Compliant Ranch

 Need To Know 

Starmer Bows Out

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday that he will resign, paving the way for Britain's seventh head of government in a decade. Starmer will stay on in a caretaker role until his Labour Party selects a new prime minister by September.

The decision comes after Andy Burnham—the former mayor of Greater Manchester—was elected to Parliament in a special election last week. Burnham positioned himself as Starmer’s rival, calling for a change in leadership. Starmer’s decline in popularity came amid uproar over his appointment of a Jeffrey Epstein associate as US ambassador and after the Labour Party suffered losses in local elections. Labour leaders had pressed Starmer to resign as polls show Nigel Farage’s nationalist-populist Reform UK party may defeat Labour in the 2029 general election (see polls).

Next up, the Labour Party will accept nominations to replace Starmer from July 9-16; if Burnham is uncontested, he could assume the role as soon as next month.

Why does Britain keep changing leaders?

Farewell to 'The Maestro' 

Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chair known as "The Maestro," died yesterday from complications of Parkinson's disease at age 100. He led the central bank from 1987 to 2006, steering the US economy through a stock market crash, the dot-com boom, the 9/11 attacks, and years of growth that made him the defining policymaker of his era. 

After high school, Greenspan enrolled at Juilliard to study clarinet but dropped out to join a touring jazz band. Less than two years later, he pivoted to economics. He went on to become the first Fed chair to explain interest-rate decisions publicly, while investors parsed his convoluted communication style known as "Greenspeak." His reputation dimmed after the 2008 financial crisis; critics argued his support for low interest rates and deregulation had fueled the housing bubble. Years later, Greenspan reflected on what he got right and wrong—watch his interview.  

Traders reportedly tracked the size of his briefcase before Federal Reserve meetings, believing a stuffed bag signaled major policy changes ahead. Read more about how Greenspan reached celebrity status. 

SAT Turns 100

The first SAT was administered 100 years ago today, with the goal of helping elite colleges identify promising high school students. (Challenge yourself to 1926 test questions here.)

American psychologist and eugenicist Carl Brigham modeled the standardized test on an IQ exam used to evaluate World War I army recruits for officer positions. He said the SAT measured so-called innate intelligence, and Ivy League schools became the first to require applicants to submit their scores in the 1930s. Many schools followed suit, increasing the number of test-takers to about half a million by 1957. However, critics say SAT scores largely reflect socioeconomic background, with higher-income students historically performing better (scroll for visuals). 

Over 2 million students took the SAT last year, the most since 2020, when COVID-19 closures disrupted testing. The pandemic also accelerated the test-optional movement, with around 80% of four-year institutions no longer requiring SAT scores.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> NBA draft starts at 8 pm ET; Washington Wizards expected to take BYU star AJ Dybantsa as No. 1 pick (More) | Watch Dybantsa's highlights (More) | Tennis star Marketa Vondrousova suspended for four years after refusing doping test (More)

> Music executive Clive Davis, who helped launch Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, and Alicia Keys to stardom, dies at age 94 (More) | See all the artists he discovered (More)

> Lionel Messi sets World Cup’s all-time scoring record in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria (More) | England faces Ghana in Boston Stadium at 4 pm ET, and Croatia takes on Panama at 7 pm ET in Toronto Stadium (More, w/schedule)

1440 is partnering with Men in Blazers to bring you the most detailed coverage of the world’s biggest tournament this summer. Sign up here to get daily, in-depth updates.

Science & Technology

> Younger generations are biologically aging faster than their older counterparts, possibly contributing to the rising prevalence of early-onset cancer (More) | How do cancer cells behave compared to regular cells? (More, w/video)

> Human ancestors' body size jumped to roughly 132 pounds with the emergence of Homo erectus roughly 2 million to 2.5 million years ago, challenging the assumption that our ancestors gradually grew larger (More) 

> Citizen scientist discovers rare bow-and-arrow-shaped galaxy emitting powerful jets of plasma across nearly 1.8 million light-years of space (More, w/image) | Explore citizen science projects available through NASA (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.4%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq -1.3%) (More) 

> Uber-backed Lime, an electric scooter and bike operator, seeks up to $1.7B valuation in its US initial public offering (More) 

> Amazon Prime Day begins today and runs through Friday, June 26; Amazon shifted its traditional July sales slot to June this year, citing the timing of the FIFA World Cup and America's 250th birthday celebrations (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction for Pedro Hernandez, the former store clerk found to have killed 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979 (More) | Patz was among the first kids whose faces appeared on milk cartons; revisit the history (More)

> Vice President JD Vance says Iran agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into the country, while Iran says it made "no new commitments"; inspectors have had limited access since Israeli strikes on Iran in June 2025 (More) 

> Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz," a migrant detention center surrounded by swampland, will permanently close, sources say, after officials evacuated detainees last week over hurricane season concerns (More) 

Kraft Heinz creates TSA-compliant ranch dressing.

South Carolina ends decades-long youth pinball ban. 

Oxygen starts messing with your wine long before you uncork it.

Can you pass China's notoriously hard university entrance exam? (w/quiz)

Watch what really happens inside your dishwasher. 

Saudi Arabia is betting on astrotourism. 

Why are humans the only creatures that sleepwalk? 

What an annoyed koala sounds like. (w/video)

In partnership: Audiologists rank 17 hearing aids. The #1 pick isn’t sold at Costco.*

Clickbait: Watch out, dogs. Are raccoons man's new best friend?

Historybook: Computer scientist Alan Turing born (1912); Track and field great Wilma Rudolph born (1940); 1440 reader Bill, also known as Sparky, born (1949); Title IX enacted, banning gender discrimination in public education and sports (1972); Polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk dies (1995); The UK votes to leave the EU (2016).

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