Good Morning. A consumer AI chatbot surfaced in a court filing as the tool that fired 2,000 munitions at Iran. We break down the accidental admission.
Plus, a marketing exec broke China's rare-earth grip, $297M in IPO-bait mansions, and the five-cent brain upgrade you're skipping (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
TOP STORY TODAY
Grok Strikes Iran
The Pentagon used a government version of Elon Musk's Grok AI to help direct strikes on Iran, a top defense official disclosed this week in a sworn court filing, the first official admission of its kind.
The Pentagon's AI chief said Grok helped fire more than 2,000 munitions at 2,000 targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury. The disclosure surfaced in a Mississippi lawsuit over pollution from an xAI data center.
Officials called the AI essential to national security and warned a court ruling against it would hurt the Pentagon. Grok is one of four AI models cleared for such work. A Senate bill would keep humans in lethal decisions.
Hijacked Home Devices
Millions of cheap home devices in the U.S., from streaming boxes to digital picture frames, shipped with hidden backdoor software, a years-long investigation revealed this week. The networks let hackers route attacks through American homes.
Called residential proxy networks, they work like an Airbnb for internet access. The trail began in 2024 when a Russian group tied to Microsoft executive email breaches was traced through six home connections to a network of roughly 750,000 addresses.
One advocacy group estimates 20 million of these backdoors exist in the U.S. alone. When authorities dismantled one Chinese provider's network in January, it was back online within two weeks, often recruiting fresh devices.
M&M’s MAHA Makeover
M&M's will release a version made without artificial dyes in August, a first in its 85-year run. The catch? Two classic colors, blue and brown, are missing from the new bags.
Maker Mars is swapping synthetic colors for natural ones like beets and turmeric, under pressure from a federal health campaign targeting food dyes. Blue is the holdup. The algae-based substitute, spirulina, clogs factory equipment and costs far more.
Brown also vanishes because it contains blue. Mars is upgrading over 300 machines to handle spirulina, which leaves a plaque-like film inside pipes. The naturally dyed candy hits Amazon only, with all six colors promised by 2028. Is Spirulina Good for You?
TOGETHER WITH MONEY PICKLE
Retirement Planning Does Not Have to Feel Overwhelming
Many people spend years building wealth but never take the time to pressure-test their overall retirement plan.
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This is not about sales pitches or complicated financial jargon. It’s about helping people gain clarity and confidence around important financial decisions.
Your first meeting is completely no-cost, and there is no obligation to continue afterward. Sometimes one conversation can make a major difference.
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Daily routine system we're testing this week
Here's where most of your day leaks away: the first thing you do is grab the phone, and you trade the sharpest thinking you will have all day for other people's emails. Josh Waitzkin, the chess prodigy behind The Art of Learning and a regular on Tim Ferriss, has spent his life fixing exactly this.
He calls it day architecture: protect the first hour with zero inputs, block your most important work at your peak energy, and run what he calls the MIQ. End each day by posing your hardest question, then let your unconscious solve it overnight and tap the answer first thing. We built his whole system into a one-page blueprint you can run.
Get the blueprint (free download): Waitzkin's full day architecture on one page, the MIQ loop, the peak-block map, and a template to build your own.
Watch the breakdown (video): Waitzkin and Huberman on designing a day around your energy instead of your inbox.
The cheapest brain upgrade ever made
Iodine is one element your thyroid needs to build the hormones that wire a baby's brain and run your metabolism. Too little once cost entire regions real IQ points. A Swiss doctor's 1920 fix was genius: spray a microscopic dose onto salt, since everyone eats it daily. The payoff showed up in WWII draft scores. Men born after iodization tested up to 15 IQ points higher. Total: 180 million points, five cents a person.
Here's the catch for you. The "healthy" swaps quietly killed it. Pink salt, sea salt, and oat milk all have near-zero iodine. Ten-second fix: keep one box of iodized table salt for cooking, or eat dairy, eggs, and seafood weekly. Pregnant? A 150 mcg supplement is non-negotiable.
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ Marketing exec breaks China's rare-earths monopoly, builds Pentagon supplier, lifts Lynas stock 15-fold
▲ Rockstar founder lists five homes for $297 million, betting SpaceX and AI IPOs mint buyers
▲ Extreme athletes say control, not adrenaline, drives them after deadly weekend claimed 14 lives
▲ American Dream events director, 30, runs 39 World Cup days juggling permits, ESPN broadcasts and graduations
▲ Reflecting Pool $1.7M no-bid contract went to Trump-donor firm; algae returned, White House denies role
TOGETHER WITH HAIRMAX
Most Men Don't Know the FDA Cleared a Way to Regrow Hair at Home
Hairmax uses low-level laser therapy to wake dormant follicles, and it's clinically proven to grow fuller, thicker hair. Men have used it worldwide for years. Here's the part nobody mentions: thinning only moves one direction when you ignore it.
The follicles you still have are the ones worth saving, which is why the advice is always the same. Start early. This week Hairmax is running its Father's Day event, with up to $300 off select devices and free gifts included.
Buy it for Dad, or for yourself. Shop the Father's Day event.
Fun Links
Tom Hanks learns Woody’s last name [Blog]
Does AI make world more predictable? [Blog]
Funniest AI-built World Cup Memes [Video]
The “Free Blockbuster” trend, explained [Photos]
Most evil Disney villains, ranked [List]
Is your kitchen layout wrong? [Photo]
How body fat % alters your face [Video]
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