Slap Five

It’s Monday.

The world says go faster.
Move quicker.
Post more.
Catch up. Stay relevant. Be productive. Now.

But you?
You might need something else entirely.

Not another sprint.
Not another deadline.
Not another version of “success” that burns you out by Friday.

Maybe this week isn’t about speed at all.
Maybe it’s about deliberate movement.
One decision at a time.
One breath before you say yes.
One pause before you prove something you don’t even believe in.

Good morning. It's Friday, May 23, and we're covering the domestic policy bill moving through Congress, the Jewish museum attack in DC, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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PS—The 1440 team will be off for Memorial Day (but look out for our Sunday email on the anniversary of the Apollo program). Have a great long weekend and we'll see you bright and early Tuesday!
Need To Know

House Passes 'Big Beautiful Bill'
House Republicans passed a broad domestic policy bill early Thursday by a 215-214 vote following overnight negotiations and last-minute changes to the legislation. The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” now heads to the Senate, where expected tweaks may result in a back-and-forth between the two chambers.

The House version renews and expands trillions of dollars in tax cuts first enacted in 2017 and boosts spending for defense, border security, and immigration enforcement while reducing the budget for food assistance and Medicaid programs. Medicaid recipients would see stricter eligibility criteria, including the first federal work requirement of 80 hours a month for able-bodied adults (92% of recipients currently meet the standard). The bill would also create $1,000 child savings accounts and increase the debt limit by $4T ahead of the July deadline. See what's in the bill here.

Passage relied on several eleventh-hour alterations, including the implementation of Medicaid work requirements three years sooner. Senators indicated the bill would likely see significant changes, particularly around reducing the deficit.

Jewish Museum Attack
A suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and murder of foreign officials after killing two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, this week. The 31-year-old assailant, who is believed to have acted alone, shouted “Free, Free Palestine” after firing at the victims at close range. More charges are expected as officials investigate the act as a hate crime and act of terrorism.

World leaders condemned the attack, with Israel’s government blaming the violence on a climate of antisemitism and anti-Israel incitement amid the country’s ongoing war in Gaza. Officials were investigating whether a 900-word manifesto released the day before the attack was authentic. The Chicago-based suspect was affiliated with left-wing politics, at one point a member of a local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

The two victims—Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky—were an interfaith couple who met while working together at the embassy. Family members say Lischinsky planned to propose next week. Learn more about the victims here.

A Penny Saved Is a Nickel Earned
The US Treasury announced yesterday it will stop issuing new pennies, ending more than 200 years of production for the one-cent coin. The Mint has already placed its final order for penny blanks—the metal discs used to create coins—and will continue minting until that supply runs out, likely in early 2026. Consumers can continue using existing pennies, but as circulation declines, banks and retailers will likely round cash transactions to the nearest nickel. Digital payments will remain unaffected and will continue to be processed to the exact cent.

The decision is largely driven by cost. Each penny costs about 3.7 cents to produce, resulting in an $85M loss in 2024. Treasury officials estimate the move will save $56M annually in materials and manufacturing. However, the nickel—which costs 13.8 cents to produce—may see increased demand, potentially cutting into the anticipated savings.

Check out our overview of US currency and all the currencies taken out of print here.
In partnership with Pacaso
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Now, after 18% adjusted gross profit growth last year, surpassing $110M+ total, Pacaso is ready for what’s next. Best of all? You don’t have to wait to join. Until May 29, you can become a Pacaso investor for just $2.80/share. Buy Pacaso stock today.*
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In The Know

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Lilo & Stitch" and "Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning" projected to open with a combined $485M worldwide box office haul, potentially a record for Memorial Day weekend (More)
> New York Liberty's owners sell stake in the WNBA team at $450M valuation, the highest ever for a women's pro sports franchise (More) | NBA conference championships continue this weekend; see latest schedule (More) | ... NHL's conference championships also underway; see latest bracket (More)
> College Football Playoff committee approves change to seeding for the upcoming season, granting the top four seeds a first-round bye whether or not they won their conference (More)

Science & Technology
> AI startup Anthropic releases next version of its flagship chatbot, Claude 4 (More) | See rankings of AI models (More) | New AI model learns how to connect specific sounds with visual data without human assistance; may have use in helping robots understand their real-world environments (More)
> Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. releases "Make America Healthy Again" report, blaming ultraprocessed foods, pesticides, lack of physical activity, overmedication, and more for a wide range of chronic childhood conditions (More) | Read the report (More)
> Engineered contact lenses allow the wearer to see in infrared, a part of the electromagnetic spectrum invisible to the human eye (More)
In partnership with Pendulum
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Picture this—scientists from Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Berkeley, and Stanford team up to master the science of probiotics. They're the first minds to produce one of the most beneficial strains for gut health in a bioavailable way. Soon, movie star Halle Berry wants in.

That’s the story of Pendulum. They’ve improved countless lives with their Akkermansia probiotic, which strengthens your gut lining, improves metabolic and digestive health, and increases GLP-1 production.*

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Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +0.3%) as 30-year Treasury yield hits highest level since October 2023 (More)
> Existing home sales in April fall to lowest level for the month since 2009; new listings reach highest level since March 2020 at 1.9 million (More)
> Adtech platform MNTN shares soar 65% on first day of trading; the company—which boasts actor Ryan Reynolds as chief creative officer—was valued at $1.2B before its debut (More) | Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno to step down in July (More)

Politics & World Affairs
> Department of Homeland Security revokes Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, blocking the school from enrolling international students; move comes amid battle between Trump administration and the university over records on international students, admissions policies (More)
> Supreme Court deadlocks on what would have been the nation's first religious charter school; 4-4 ruling prevents state funding for the school (More) | Federal judge blocks executive order to close the Department of Education, requiring reinstatement of 1,300 terminated employees (More)
> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts above-average hurricane season, anticipating six to 10 hurricanes, three to five of them Category 3 or higher (More)

In-Depth
> Read the Obits
MIT Press Reader | Keith Sawyer. How reading obituaries can take us out of the everyday routine and spark new, creative connections. (Read)

> The Last Nomads
The Dial | Natela Grigalashvili. A community in Georgia’s Adjara highlands travels to higher pastures every spring with their cattle. Their nomadic way of life may be coming to an end. (Read)
In partnership with Pacaso
Zillow’s Co-Founder Has a Big New Idea

Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow, scaling it to a $16B valuation. But everyday investors couldn’t invest until the IPO, missing early gains.

"I wish we had done a round accessible to retail investors prior to Zillow's IPO," Rascoff later said. Now he’s fixing that with Pacaso, his new company disrupting the $1.3T vacation home market. And unlike Zillow, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company. Firms like SoftBank are already on board. And until May 29, you can invest for just $2.80/share.*
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Etcetera

Sixty historic photos of the US military and its service members.

The story of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Mapping the arrival of the Brood XIV cicadas.

What to do when your information leaks to the dark web.

Plants can "hear" the approach of pollinators.

Inside the weird world of animal robot research.

An exhaustive list of the best places to live in America.

We need to talk about your filthy water filter.

Clickbait: Police intervene in attempted baby graduation.

Historybook: Infamous bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are killed by police (1934); John D. Rockefeller dies (1937); German N**i officer Adolf Eichmann revealed to have been captured in Argentina (1960); Musician Jewel born (1974); James Bond actor Roger Moore dies (2017).
"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
- John D. Rockefeller
Why 1440? The printing press was invented around the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. More facts: In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. We’re here to make each one count.
*Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.
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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.

Don’t keep us a secret: Share the email with friends (copy URL here)​.

And, as always, send us feedback at [email protected].
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.

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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.

Consulting a fiduciary advisor can be a great first step to helping make sure you’re on track to meet your financial goals, regardless of how much you have saved. Try SmartAsset's no-cost tool to get matched with vetted financial advisors serving your area, each legally bound to work in your best interest. Take the free matching quiz today.
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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
Why 1440? The printing press was invented around the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. More facts: In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. We’re here to make each one count.
*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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