|  | Nasdaq | 22,668.21 | |
| | S&P | 6,878.88 | |
| | Dow | 48,977.92 | |
| | 10-Year | 3.962% | |
| | Bitcoin | $65,806.91 | |
| | Wells Fargo | $81.45 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks sank like a waterlogged rubber duckie yesterday, as investors continued to worry about ripple effects from risky private credit and AI. Banks—whose performance is often viewed as a stand-in for investors’ views on the health of the economy—took a particular hit, producing the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index’s largest dip since tariffs were announced back in April.
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AI SWITCHEROO The US Department of Defense ended yesterday with an agreement to let an AI company access its classified network with some guardrails in place—but that company was OpenAI, not Anthropic. How we got here Even before time ran out on the Pentagon’s 5:01pm ET deadline for Anthropic to lose its $200 million defense contract unless it stopped requiring that its AI-model Claude could not be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, President Trump posted on Truth Social that the government would “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” using Anthropic’s technology and “not do business with them again!” After the deadline passed, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the DOD would label Anthropic a “supply chain risk”—a label typically stuck on businesses from adversarial countries that bars companies with US government contracts from doing business with them. And then…around 10pm ET last night, Sam Altman posted on X that OpenAI had “reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network.” Earlier in the day, Altman said OpenAI shared Anthropic’s “red lines,” and his post suggested he’d somehow gotten the contract while maintaining them. It identified “prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance” and “human responsibility for the use of force” as two of the company’s bedrock principles and went on to say that the Defense Department agreed and “we put them into our agreement.” The fight was about who gets to make the rules The US military has developed plenty of advanced technology, like GPS, which gave it control over how that tech was used and disseminated. But it didn’t lead AI development. Private companies were better positioned to raise and spend billions of dollars to move quickly and amass specialized talent—leaving the government reliant on public–private partnerships, which bring complications: - To turn a profit, tech companies must focus on commercial applications that bring in cash.
- Government contracts are an important money-maker, too. But if a company gets a bad rap for letting its tech be used in dicey situations, it risks losing its commercial customers.
Bottom line: The Defense Department has said it wants to be an “AI-first” fighting force, and all the major AI companies are competing for lucrative contracts as the technology evolves much quicker than any regulations on its use.—HVL, AR | | |
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WORLD  OpenAI secures $110 billion in historic fundraising. The ChatGPT maker is getting $50 billion in fresh funds from Amazon and $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, OpenAI announced yesterday, kicking off one of the world’s largest private investment rounds. The deal values OpenAI at $730 billion pre-funding, more than double the company’s valuation from its last funding round a year ago. This is the most cash Amazon has ever invested in another company, but the full amount is contingent on OpenAI either going public—which the Wall Street Journal reported it plans to do in the fourth quarter—or announcing that it achieved artificial general intelligence, an unnamed source told Bloomberg.—ML
 Embassy staff evacuate as Trump says he’s “not happy” with Iran. President Trump told reporters yesterday that he had not yet made a decision about whether to attack Iran, but said he was “not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have” in negotiations over the country’s nuclear program. With tensions remaining high after talks this week failed to yield a deal, the US ordered non-emergency personnel to evacuate its embassy in Israel. The UK and China have also evacuated embassy staff in the Middle East, according to Bloomberg, and several countries have advised their citizens to stay away from the area.—AR
 Bill Clinton says he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong” in relationship with Epstein. The former president sat for an unprecedented hourslong closed-door deposition before a Republican-led House committee yesterday. Clinton, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, had a well-documented relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but said that he “had no idea” about Epstein’s crimes. His wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was deposed the day before and said she did not know Epstein. Democrats on the committee have said President Trump should also answer questions about his ties to Epstein, and Republican Nancy Mace joined calls for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify as well.—AR
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HAPPY BDAY, PIDGEY If you were confused seeing Pikachu pop up during the 2026 Winter Olympic men’s hockey final, don’t be: Pokémon is everywhere. The iconic brand turned 30 yesterday and has been rolling out the red carpet for the little monsters to celebrate being a part of the highest-grossing media franchise in the world, as evidenced by its sponsorship of the icy intermission report during the hockey game and with a star-studded ad during the Super Bowl a few weeks prior. The Pokémon Company has generated around $150 billion in revenue through games, movies, TV shows, and more since it debuted its first two games in Japan in 1996. And about 30 million people still play Pokémon GO every month, 10 years after it first hit smartphones. But if you’re looking to make your own money from the phenomenon, the cards are Arceus: - The Card Ladder index, which tracks the value of a collection of the most popular trading cards, showed the most popular Pokémon cards’ worth was up about 6,208% this month compared to May 2004, beating the S&P 500’s rate of return, which jumped just 521% during the same timeframe.
- And rare cards can skyrocket in value: Logan Paul sold a Pikachu Illustrator card for a record $16.5 million last week.
Prepare for Trouble! The valuable collectibles have also attracted a whole mess of scalpers, resellers, and even robbers—last week, thieves tunneled through a California store’s wall to steal $180,000 worth of cards.—MM | | |
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ICYMI Here’s everything that didn’t make it into this week’s newsletters but we immediately sent to the group chat.  An Australian supermarket chain apologized after its AI chatbot, Olive, received complaints about it making small talk and telling stories about its mother. If Olive wants to overshare with grocery shoppers, she should go work at Trader Joe’s.
A nudist camp in Florida is up for sale with an asking price of $2.5 million. The price covers the property’s 12 motor homes, making them the only things on the property that are covered. Researchers discovered that the origins of writing go back tens of thousands of years further than originally believed. Scientists discerned patterns of meaning in lines, notches, dots, and crosses in caves and determined the first comment ever written was, “First!” It had 14,000 likes and was pinned to the top of the cave. Padres pitcher Matt Waldron is out indefinitely because of what his manager called an “infection in his rear end.” In most workplaces, you can’t even ask why someone is going to see a doctor. But in baseball, your boss will tell the media, “This guy needs a few days off because his butt is really barking.” Previously convicted stowaway Svetlana Dali was arrested again this week on charges of sneaking onto a flight from Newark, NJ, to Milan, Italy, without a ticket. Bruce Springsteen sings about escaping New Jersey, and he’s a hero. Svetlana goes and actually does it, and she’s a criminal. It’s simply not fair.—DL |
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NEWS - President Trump told reporters yesterday that the Cuban government is talking to the US and said, “We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.”
- Novartis settled a lawsuit with the family of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were collected without her consent while she was dying of cervical cancer in 1951. Novartis profited significantly from the collection.
- NASA is overhauling its plans to send astronauts back to the moon.
- Kansas was sued by transgender residents over a state law that abruptly invalidated their driver’s licenses.
- South Korea will finally get the full version of Google Maps after conditionally agreeing to allow the app to export precise geographic data, which it had previously forbidden.
- Dell’s stock jumped 22% after it beat earnings expectations, even as it struggles with rising memory costs.
- Neil Sedaka, the pop hitmaker behind songs like “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” and “Calendar Girl,” has died at age 86.
- Six planets will be visible in the sky tonight.
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COMMUNITY Last week, we asked: “What’s a do-it-yourself project you’ve completed that you’re proud of?” Here are some of our favorite responses: - “Replacing a flush valve as a new homeowner while not flooding the entire home or accidentally turning it into a makeshift bidet.”—Zach from Baltimore
- “For my Music Theory IV class, I had to write a song to perform as my final exam. I decided to base mine on John Cage’s ‘4'33.’ It was 2 minutes and 40 seconds of absolute silence interrupted occasionally by my friends and family calling me an idiot. I titled it ‘A Test of Theory’ because it was a) for a theory test and b) I was testing the limits of my theory teacher’s patience. I still don’t know how I got an A on that assignment.”—Elise from Larson, TX
- “My basement floor has 88,000 pennies on it that were donated by friends and family. It took three years to create the 12x36 ‘tiles’ on mesh sheets that interlock and have rows that run heads/tails across the entire floor wall to wall.”—Aimee and Leslee from Denver, CO
- “In college, two of my friends and I swapped out an engine in a 1957 Hillman Minx. It took us two days and four cases of beer, and I drove the car for the remaining two years of college.”—Dennis Brew from Mechanicsburg, PA
- “My backyard neighbor, who is a homebrewer, and I brewed a brown ale with bourbon and coffee. We submitted the beer to the Minnesota State Fair and won a second place ribbon!”—Kevin from Sioux Falls, SD
This week’s question What’s the most random gig you’ve ever done? Sam’s answer to get the juices flowing: “I worked a shift as a bodyguard at a concert of a famous Russian pop singer when I was a scrawny high-schooler weighing 140 pounds.” Submit your response here. |
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PLAY Brew Crossword: The Brew’s Saturday puzzle is feeling extra cute this week. To find out why, play the Crossword here. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that always wins. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.  ZillowToday’s home is in Reno, NV, and it has a name: the Pennington Mansion. This 14-acre estate was built in 2004 by the late William Pennington, a casino executive who helped construct the Las Vegas Strip. Amenities include: - 4 beds, 8 baths, 9 fireplaces
- Wine cellar, billiards room, large gym
- 8-car garage
- A guaranteed grand entrance to your patio soirée
How much for the gated gargantua? |
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SHARE THE BREW  Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/r/?kid=3e335dcc |
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ANSWER $13.95 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: soirée, meaning “a party held in the evening.” Thanks to Ellen from Asheville, NC, for a suggestion worth throwing a bash for. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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