Good morning. This is 1% Better. Unbiased news and practical life advice that makes you a little better every day.

Today we're covering the continued battle for AI talent, Tesla’s first driverless delivery, and the therapist that breaks all the rules.

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Senate Republicans narrowly voted 51-49 Saturday to advance President Trump's sprawling 1,000-page agenda bill, despite opposition from two GOP lawmakers. The dramatic vote saw last-minute arrivals and vote changes as Republican leadership scrambled to secure passage of the comprehensive package.

Two Republicans opposed the measure: Sen. Rand Paul cited concerns over a $5 trillion debt limit increase, while Sen. Thom Tillis objected to $38.9 billion in federal Medicaid funding cuts affecting North Carolina. Sen. Ron Johnson switched from "no" to "yes," helping push the bill forward. Tillis won’t see re-election after these results (more).

Over the next decade, the bill is estimated to add $3.3T to the federal budget deficit. The US' $1.4T deficit breakdown, here.

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth called OpenAI CEO Sam Altman "dishonest" during a company meeting Thursday, disputing claims about $100 million signing bonuses for talent poaching. Bosworth said Altman exaggerated the widespread nature of such offers, explaining they apply only to senior leadership roles in Meta's superintelligence team.

The dispute centers on Meta's successful recruitment of OpenAI researchers. Bosworth confirmed several OpenAI employees have joined Meta, with more transitions pending. He suggested Altman's public comments stem from frustration over losing talent to Meta's AI initiatives. Last week, Meta hired hired Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai (more).

The talent war reflects intense competition in artificial intelligence development. Both companies are building advanced AI teams as the industry races toward superintelligence capabilities. Meta's aggressive recruitment strategy appears to be yielding results in the high-stakes battle for top AI researchers.

Related: Sapiens author Yuvan Noah Harari talks promise / perils of AI.

Tesla completed its first fully autonomous vehicle delivery Saturday, transporting a Model Y from its Austin Gigafactory to a customer without human supervision. The 30-minute journey, documented in a video posted on X, covered city streets and highways using the same robotaxi technology currently being tested in Austin.

CEO Elon Musk confirmed no remote operators controlled the vehicle during the delivery, marking a milestone for Tesla's self-driving capabilities. The demonstration comes amid ongoing concerns about the robotaxi service, which has encountered safety issues including brief wrong-side driving and hard braking near emergency vehicles.

Tesla's autonomous driving technology faces scrutiny from federal safety regulators following multiple incidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the Full Self-Driving system's involvement in crashes and requesting information about robotaxi performance issues as the company expands its autonomous vehicle operations. See the video on X.

Most apologies make things worse. Therapist Terry Real's research shows that when confronted, people default to two failing strategies: arguing objective reality ("That's not accurate") or defending themselves ("I can't believe I have to deal with this"). Both responses escalate conflict instead of resolving it. This apology framework explains why taking ownership actually gives you more power in relationships, not less.

Step 1: Enter compassionate curiosity - Instead of defending or fact-checking, ask "Help me understand why that felt bad." Your partner might be "nuts," but find out what kind of nuts they are, he jokes.

Step 2: Land on it - When they explain what you did, acknowledge it completely. "I did it" without minimizing, denying, or adding "but." No excuses, no context, no deflection.

Step 3: Walk up the ladder yourself - Instead of letting them escalate from incident to pattern to character ("You always do this, you're selfish"), you do it for them: "You're right, I was late. I can be late - it's an issue we both know about. When I do that, I'm being thoughtless and kind of selfish."

Why this works: When your partner has to drag admissions out of you, they feel powerless and get angrier. When you voluntarily acknowledge both the specific incident AND the pattern, they think "Wow, there's hope here." You're giving them what they want (validation) before they have to fight for it. Full interview here. This section 18:05.

Small tasks compound into major productivity drains. David Allen's Getting Things Done research shows that micro-tasks create disproportionate mental overhead when deferred. Your brain uses the same cognitive resources to track "reply to Sarah's email" as "finish quarterly report." For you, this might mean immediately filing documents instead of creating paper piles, responding to quick texts rather than letting them accumulate, or washing dishes after each meal instead of facing kitchen disasters. The two-minute rule explains why people who handle small things instantly seem calmer than those who batch everything. Watch the video. Get the book.

> Investors flock to Europe as Trump's trade wars drive $100 billion shift from US markets (More).

> Mexico imposes $5 cruise passenger tax starting Tuesday, eventually rising to $21 per visitor (More).

> OnlyFans owner seeks $8 billion sale as mysterious billionaire Leo Radvinsky avoids spotlight (More).

> Cracker Barrel ditches rustic decor at 40 locations, dividing loyal diners over modern makeovers (More).

> Vin Diesel announces Fast & Furious finale hits theaters April 2027 with Paul Walker's character returning (More).

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