Good Morning. Fox News did something rare: it stood with CNN. Plus, Amazon blocks Muse, Fincher's sequel, and Sandra Bullock’s $50M real estate portfolio (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists).
Yesterday’s most clicked link: Hilary Duff’s new fitness campaign
TOP STORY TODAY
Press Pool Standoff
Fox News, ABC, CBS and NBC suspended their TV coverage of President Trump yesterday after the White House barred CNN, which was scheduled to film his trip to the United Nations.
The networks normally take turns sending one camera crew and sharing the footage with outlets worldwide. The four joined CNN in a statement saying no administration should restrict a news outlet over its reporting (is this legal?).
Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Friday, saying he was targeting what he calls fake news, not the free press. The three outlets are suing on First Amendment grounds. He suggested two major newspapers could be next. The Fox bureau chief's note to networks.
Amazon vs. Meta
Amazon began blocking Meta's new AI agent, Muse, from shopping its site Sunday night, after Meta declined a request to remove Amazon from the service. Muse became the top free app on Apple's U.S. App Store in a week (More).
Shoppers using Muse now get a pop-up saying the agent violates Amazon's terms. Amazon says Muse doesn't identify itself and stores customer logins; Meta has said the agent can't see users' passwords or payment details.
The companies are partners elsewhere, with Meta running AI work on Amazon's chips. Amazon, which earned over $68 billion in ads last year from shoppers browsing its pages, has also moved to block agents from Google and OpenAI. Only 16% trust AI to shop for them.
Water Systems on Mars?
NASA's Perseverance rover found rocks on Mars that interacted with water at least three separate times, according to a study published Monday. The rocks sit along the shoreline of an ancient lake inside Jezero Crater (interactive Mars map).
Scientists expected layered lake sediments but found rock formed from magma instead. The rover fires a laser up to 21 feet to read a rock's chemistry, and it zapped more than 185 targets across the area.
On Earth, water reacting with this kind of rock can release hydrogen that feeds microbes and leaves behind minerals that preserve traces of life. The area sits inside one of the largest carbonate deposits on Mars. NASA's finding announcement.
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The truth about food cravings
Dilbert creator Scott Adams had a diet trick (in this book): instead of fighting cravings with willpower, reprogram your food preferences "so willpower is less necessary."
That's harder than it sounds, because your cravings have had help:
Most food is engineered. About 68% of the U.S. food supply is "hyperpalatable," combining fat, sugar and salt in ways that make it hard to stop eating.
Big Tobacco shaped it. Tobacco companies owned major food brands from 1980 to 2001, and their products were up to 80% more likely to be hyperpalatable.
Fruit got sweeter. Growers breed varieties like Cotton Candy grapes for maximum sweetness.
The good news: salt preferences can be retrained within months. Sugar is more stubborn, so Adams's backup plan works best: keep junk food out of the house.
The most anticipated sequel of the year
Netflix just dropped a new trailer The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. Written by Quentin Tarantino. Starring Brad Pitt. Directed by David Fincher. Watch it here.
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▲ Pennsylvania measles cases near 800, with exposures reported at Philadelphia's airport and children's hospital | Up 168 cases in under two weeks
▲ Paramount settles with 12 states, pledging 30 movies a year and $1.5 billion in U.S. production | Last week's threat to leave California
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Fun Links
Sandra Bullock’s $50M RE portfolio [Photos]
How to paint like Pablo Picasso [Video]
Get a free bag of small roast coffee [Partner*]
Average cost of a wedding by state [List]
Harley Davidson: a tariff punching bag [WSJ]
Yellowstone volcano eruption predictions [Blog]
Huberman’s eye-movement sleep hack [Video]
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