Good Morning. Iran's power to close the Strait of Hormuz was its trump card. We break down how the Gulf turns it into a bluff.
We also include the Everest guide who cheated death, statues making a comeback, and your 60-second longevity test (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
TOP STORY TODAY
The New Oil Map
The Iran war choked the Strait of Hormuz and sent fuel prices swinging worldwide. Now Gulf petrostates are pouring billions into pipelines, rail and storage to keep oil flowing around the chokepoint that once carried a fifth of global crude.
Saudi Arabia now runs its East-West pipeline at full tilt, around 7 million barrels daily, up from 2 million before the war. The UAE, fresh off leaving OPEC, is doubling a bypass route by 2027 (see maps).
Each new exit chips away at Iran's leverage, and analysts say the shift will outlast the war. Once enough oil flows around Hormuz, closing it becomes pointless, because Iran would mostly cut off itself. Three pipelines racing to escape Hormuz.
Shrinking Customers
American apparel retailers are battling a surge in returns, and weight-loss drugs are the culprit. One online suit seller reported a 50% jump over the past year as customers shed pounds and shrink sizes (WSJ).
GLP-1 users can drop a clothing size monthly, so shoppers order multiple sizes and send back what no longer fits. Exchanges where buyers sized down hit 14.6% in 2025, with larger sizes returned most.
Returns gut profits (a 5 to 10 point rise can erase $20 million at a billion-dollar brand), so retailers are pushing back. Some doubled restocking fees to 20% while urging shoppers to check size charts first. Plus-size clothing may be harder to find.
Back From The Dead
Dawa Sherpa, a 52-year-old veteran climbing guide presumed dead on Mount Everest, was found alive Thursday, June 4, crawling toward Base Camp. He had survived nearly a week alone on the world's tallest mountain.
Last seen around May 29 descending after a summit attempt, he vanished while his client reached camp safely. Missing six days, his family began funeral rituals, losing hope above 24,000 feet.
A cleanup crew dismantling seasonal ropes spotted him crawling through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. Rescuers gave him food and water, then airlifted him to a Kathmandu hospital, where he arrived conscious and talking.
TOGETHER WITH ETHOS
Your employer covers your salary. Not your family's future.
Many workplace life insurance plans provide limited coverage, often tied to salary. Financial planners recommend 10x, to ensure the long-term security of your family. Between your kids finishing school and not.
With Ethos, you can get covered in as little as 10 minutes, fully online, with no medical exam. Coverage up to $3 million, starting around $54 a month* (available in every state except NY).
*Disclaimer: Sample rate: 10-year term $1M life policy for 40 y/o healthy, non-smoking male.
GET 1% BETTER
Health metric we’re testing this week
Your VO2 max drops roughly 10% per decade after 30, and grip strength is now treated as a standalone predictor of how long you live.
The home test is free: hang from a pull-up bar, feet off the floor, no swinging. Sixty seconds is the 2026 benchmark for functional longevity. Most guys in their 40s tap out around 30.
The fix is boring and proven: three lifts a week built on hinges, pulls, and carries, plus one long zone 2 session.
Find your number: the clinical grip chart by age and sex, with the cutoff that flags a real problem
Huberman's copy-paste template: the longevity routine in his own words
Money rule we’re stealing
Sahil Bloom had everything he wanted by 30 and was still miserable, so he spent three years reverse-engineering 25 rules for a wealthy life.
The one worth tattooing: you get rich mostly by not screwing up. Dodge the unforced errors (impulse buys, avoidable debt, emotional investing) and compounding does the heavy lifting.
The harder rule is the one most people avoid: define your "Enough," the exact dollar figure where more money stops buying more life. Without that number, you keep running a race with no finish line.
The full 5 Types frameworl [book*]: time, social, mental, physical, financial
Run the "Enough" exercise: his $27 planner that walks you through naming your number
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ Anthropic warns AI may soon improve itself, urging a global pause despite revenue nearing $50 billion | Read memo
▲ Copper prices hit records, up 38%, as a South Carolina startup mines the metal from waste
▲ Jeff Bezos bankrolls Flourish hunting the brain's "core algorithm" to reinvent AI, valued at $2.5 billion
▲ U.S. cities restore Confederate and Columbus statues removed in 2020, ahead of America's 250th anniversary
▲ John Bolton agrees to plead guilty to one of 18 classified-records counts, facing $2.25 million fine
TOGETHER WITH HUME HEALTH
Recovery is the longevity metric most trackers hide.
HRV, readiness, and sleep depth are the numbers that actually predict how well you age, yet most wearables either bury them or lock them behind a $30/month subscription. The Hume Band v2 surfaces all of them with no mandatory fee.
Built for preventive health instead of step-counting, it tracks heart rate variability, recovery and readiness scores, deep sleep, stress load, and proprietary metabolic health metrics. It also syncs with Hume's body composition tools, so you see both how your body is performing and how it is changing over time.
If you have optimized everything except your own healthspan, this is the number to start watching.
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Fun Links
“Emily Blunt believes in aliens.” [WSJ]
Fast food ingredients, then vs now [List]
NBA Playoffs Game 1 highlights [Video]
How to stop a killer asteroid [Blog]
Finland’s gold bar treasure hunt [Blog]
Protein powder shortage is coming [Blog]
Updates on White House UFC [Photos]
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