It’s Saturday. Last night, a 400-foot rocket reached space, lost an engine, and exploded on landing. Let’s talk about SpaceX's $1.5 trillion gamble.
We also cover a billionaire dumping Bitcoin, a beach-shade ban, Kingley’s Moses, and a robotaxi that can't dodge floods (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
TOP STORY TODAY
SpaceX’s 400-Foot Rocket
SpaceX launched an upgraded 400-foot Starship just after 6:30 p.m. ET Friday from a new pad at its Starbase site in Texas. The flight marked the debut of the third-generation vehicle after a scrubbed attempt the day before (Full Launch Video).
The booster crash-landed in the Gulf of Mexico and was lost, while the spacecraft lost an engine but still reached space and deployed dummy satellites. The company has yet to launch a Starship into orbit with a real payload.
SpaceX has poured $15 billion into Starship, the centerpiece of an IPO pitch valuing the company near $1.5 trillion. It hopes to start lofting operational Starlink satellites with the rocket in the second half of the year.
Tulsi Gabbard Resigns
Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, told President Trump in an Oval Office meeting yesterday that she is resigning, effective June 30. In a letter posted to X, she said her husband, Abraham Williams, was diagnosed with an extremely rare bone cancer.
Gabbard wrote that she needed to step away from public service to support him, citing the demands of the role. She was confirmed in February 2025 by a 52-48 Senate vote and has led the office for about 16 months.
Principal Deputy Director Aaron Lukas will serve as acting DNI. Her tenure had drawn scrutiny in recent months, including over her handling of the Iran conflict.
The Lipstick Veto
Estée Lauder and Spanish beauty group Puig called off merger talks Thursday, ending a tie-up that would have created a $40 billion empire spanning Clinique, MAC, La Mer, and Charlotte Tilbury.
The deal died over one founder. Tilbury, the British mogul behind Pillow Talk lipstick, hired an adviser and pushed to trigger a sale of her 21.5% stake, a move that could have cost Puig roughly 850 million euros.
Anyone holding Estée Lauder woke up richer. The stock jumped more than 10% Friday on the news the deal was dead, while Puig fell over 13%. Estée Lauder says it will go it alone.
TOGETHER WITH WONDER PROJECT
Ben Kingsley IS Moses.
The Oscar winner who played Gandhi takes on another world-changer. In The Old Stories: Moses, Sir Ben Kingsley plays the prince of Egypt turned exile who confronts his past and leads his people toward an impossible escape.
It's the next chapter from director Jon Erwin, whose House of David became a breakout hit. This time he's building a cinematic anthology of the Bible's biggest moments, told through the stories a young shepherd named David heard from his father.
Three episodes: The Calling, The Confrontation, The Deliverance. Streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
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TODAY’S LIFE ADVICE
Don’t Make it Easy. Make it Simple.
Your brain handles hard just fine. What breaks it is messy.
On episode 1,100 of Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson drew a line most people miss: difficulty and complexity are not the same problem.
Difficulty is a heavy squat, one clear task that demands everything you've got.
Complexity is ten medium tasks fighting for attention at once.
We're built to grind through the first and quietly drown in the second.
The trap is reaching for "easier" when the real fix is "simpler." Easier lowers the bar. Simpler cuts the count.
How to apply it this week: Name the real problem. When you feel underwater, ask: is this actually hard, or just tangled? Most overwhelm is complexity wearing a difficulty costume.
Where You Live vs. Your Health
To live longer and healthier, forget intense gym sessions alone. The healthiest states like Hawaii show us that daily movement matters most: walking throughout the day, doing household chores, gardening. Strength train 2-3 times weekly for protective effects, but prioritize constant low-level activity. Build community connections through daily walks to stores or coffee shops. Your longevity depends less on crushing workouts and more on never being sedentary.
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ Mark Cuban sold roughly 80% of his Bitcoin, calling it a failed "digital gold" hedge
▲ "Vibe slop" could kill startups as AI-generated code collapses under real production conditions
▲ Shibumi shades divide Carolina beach towns as Myrtle Beach bans the $255 wind-powered sheets | Experience Shibumi
▲ U.S. borrowing costs hit a generational high as Iran blockade squeezes global oil supplies
▲ Waymo pauses all U.S. freeway robotaxi rides after vehicles drove into flooded roads
TOGETHER WITH BEARS WITH BENEFITS
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