Good morning. It’s Thursday, April 10th — and the weekend is practically knocking on the door with a bottle of wine and no plans.

The news cycle is throwing punches again. Tariffs, economic panic, headlines screaming like it's the end of days. Fear sells, and apparently, business is good.

But not here. Not today. This space is for reality checks and stories that don’t come with a panic attack. So take a breath. Sip something nice. Your Thursday newsletter is here — calm, collected, and exactly on time.

Today’s stories:

• Amazon satellites launch, rivaling Elon’s Starlink

• Ancient Sahara mummies reveal new population

• Bodega cats illegal, loved, and untouchable

• Renewables now power 32% of electricity

• Dire wolves return — one named Khaleesi

• Claude drops $200 AI pro subscription

• Cruise’s final Mission heads to Cannes

• $30B medical debt erased for millions

• iPhone buyers panic over 54% tariffs

• UK baby born from womb transplant

  and more…

Markets just staged one of their biggest rallies since WWII after President Trump hit “pause” on most of his global tariffs — except for China, which got hit even harder (because of course).

The S&P 500 jumped 9.5%, the Nasdaq soared 12.2%, and the Dow added nearly 3,000 points like it was trying to win a game show. Volume? Off the charts — literally the busiest day on record in 18 years. Investors were basically clapping with both hands and feet... for a tariff timeout.

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Tariffs, Tears, and iPhones

iPhone panic is in full swing. Shoppers rushed Apple stores over the weekend, grabbing devices like they’re about to vanish — and maybe they are. Trump’s new 54% China tariffs just hit, and most iPhones are made there. Apple stock’s down 25% since January. A Wedbush analyst says making iPhones in the U.S. would take $30B, three years, and a suspension of reality. U.S.-made models could hit $3,500 — so yeah, people are panic-buying now. 

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$30B in medical debt, erased. One massive win for the people: Long Island City-based Undue Medical Debt just cleared $30 billion in medical bills for 20 million Americans. In a single deal with Pendrick Capital, they wiped away debt that’s been hanging over folks for years. The average debt was $1,100, but some were deep in six-figure territory. All of it — gone. No collectors, no calls, no more waiting for the other shoe to drop. It won’t fix the system, but it’s a huge breath of fresh air. Real help, real impact, and a reminder that good news still exists — even in healthcare.

Amazon vs. Musk: it’s on. Amazon just launched its first Project Kuiper satellites, stepping into the ring with SpaceX’s Starlink — and riding a wave of anti-Musk energy while doing it. The $10B+ satellite project is finally leaving the launchpad after six years in development. Kuiper’s goal: deliver broadband from space with a 3,000+ satellite network. The first batch took off from Cape Canaveral aboard a ULA rocket.

Chatbot wars just got more expensive. Anthropic just dropped a $200/month subscription tier for its AI chatbot Claude, taking direct aim at OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro. The new “Max” plan offers 20x the usage of Anthropic’s $20 tier, priority access to new features, and a soon-to-launch voice mode. It’s built for power users — coders, marketers, media pros — basically anyone squeezing every drop out of their chatbot. Claude, launched in March 2023 by ex-OpenAI researchers, has been gaining serious ground. With Amazon backing it and business users piling in, Anthropic is positioning itself as OpenAI’s more pragmatic, less chaotic sibling.

Renewables Hit 32% — and Climbing

Renewables made up a record 32% of global electricity in 2024, according to Ember’s latest Global Electricity Review. That’s up from 30% the year before, with wind, solar, and hydro doing the heavy lifting. Electricity demand spiked 4%, fueled by heatwaves and energy-hungry data centers. With countries rethinking energy security, homegrown power sources are looking better than ever.

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Dire wolves are back. Scientists just de-extincted dire wolves — kind of. Three pups with 20 dire wolf genes were born after years of genetic tinkering, fossil-DNA wizardry, and some dogs acting as surrogates. That’s impressive. What’s less impressive? Naming one of them Khaleesi. Sure, the other two are called Romulus and Remus — cool, classic, wolf-adjacent. But Khaleesi? She has zero connection to wolves. She’s the dragon lady. The wolves look cool though — long tails, thick fur, extra tall. A+ in genetics. D- in cultural literacy.

First womb transplant baby arrives. A healthy baby girl named Amy just made history — the first child born in the UK to a mother with a transplanted womb. Grace Davidson, 36, was born without a functioning uterus and received her sister’s womb in 2023. Two years later, she gave birth to her daughter, named after the sister who made it all possible. The transplant was the UK’s first successful one of its kind. Since then, doctors have performed three more using deceased donors, with plans for a total of 15 in a clinical trial.

Mummies in the Sahara. Scientists just sequenced full genomes from two 7,000-year-old mummies dug up in Libya’s Takarkori rock shelter. Turns out, these ancient women belonged to a population nobody had seen before. Fully isolated, fully local, and hanging out in the Sahara way before it turned into a sandpit. It’s the first time researchers have pulled complete genomes from human remains in a place this hot and dry. Big win for science, big rewrite for the human history books.

Bodega Cats: Illegal, Iconic, Unbothered

New York’s bodega cats are technically breaking the law — but no one seems to care, least of all New Yorkers. State law says animals aren’t allowed in places that sell food. The Department of Agriculture could fine store owners, but most inspectors look the other way — or at least offer a warning first. Meanwhile, the internet is doing its part. A petition to protect bodega cats from fines has already pulled in 10,000+ signatures. Bodega cats are technically banned, but spiritually essential. 

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Mission: red carpet. It’s official — Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is heading to the Cannes Film Festival. This eighth and final Mission chapter has Cruise’s Ethan Hunt facing his biggest enemy yet: a rogue AI called the Entity. He’s got the key to destroy it, but first he needs his team and a sunken Russian submarine holding the source code. Same Cruise. Same stunts. Bigger stakes. And yes, there will be running. Lots of running.

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TikTok of the day: watch here